Is it sensible to be sensible?
I discovered an excellent website this week thanks to the Woodpecker App. I was searching for inspiration for a new lesson topic and while trying out the News Reader function in the app, I came across BBC Radio 4's, '4 In Four' webpage. I must admit that I'm rather excited about this find, as it contains a treasure trove of short articles and videos perfect for conversation lessons and self-study activities. Firstly, the topics are upbeat and up-to-date. Secondly, they are short in length, which makes them manageable for students. What's more, they contain an abundance of wonderful native expressions. The website's tagline is 'What can you do in 4 minutes? Feed your curiosity and learn cool stuff with Radio 4 in Four'. This kind of thing is perfect for my higher-level adult students.
The article that caught my attention was, 'Is it sensible to be sensible?'. It contains some interesting expressions and idioms and consists of 8 short paragraphs. Additionally, it is a light topic, yet thought-provoking enough to guarantee getting students talking and expressing their opinions about it.
The lesson plan
The Conversation lesson is based on the article 'Is it sensible to be sensible' from the BBC Radio 4's, 4 In Four web page. The objective of the lesson is to use an authentic article to expand vocabulary, improve comprehension and develop speaking skills.The lesson consists of 7 tasks:
Warm-up and Tasks 1 and 2
Should be completed before reading the article, these are designed to introduce both the topic and the key language as a preparation for reading the article.
Task 3 - Reading
Click on the link within the lesson plan in the Woodpecker app (if you have connected the student to your custom link). Alternatively, your student can copy and paste the link to the article in the Woodpecker browser or go to the article in their regular web browser. Group classes can read the article individually (and use the app to assist in comprehension). In an online, one-on-one lesson, I use reading aloud as an important opportunity to work on pronunciation. I request that the student read one paragraph at a time. At the end of each paragraph, I give pronunciation feedback and check comprehension. If the student needs to re-read the paragraph in order to understand (some students find that reading aloud interferes with their ability to comprehend the text) they should do so and then move on to the next paragraph.
Task 4 - True or False? and Task 5 - Comprehension
Comprehension activities. Encourage students to check their answers in the text and use language from the text, where necessary, to explain their answers. If time, promote short discussions to encourage the student to express their opinions.
Task 6 - Expressions
Review some of the more native and idiomatic expressions from the article.
Task 7 - Debate
Could be worked on in class or prepared for homework.
Task 8 - Quote
Encourage students to define the meaning of the quote and to give examples to demonstrate its meaning. In addition, ask students to search for other quotes online concerning being sensible. They can type in their Google search bar 'Quotes about sensible' or 'Sensible quotes'.
The lesson Materials:
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| Lesson Materials |
Click to view the materials in Google Docs
Click to view the article in your browser
To view the article in the Woodpecker app, touch the main menu bar, then Web Browser and copy paste the link into the URL bar:
Key Woodpecker functions in this lesson
Built-In English-English dictionary
Woodpecker has recently added a monolingual English-English dictionary to their app. I feel that this is more beneficial to students than translating to their L1. An advantage of the app is that the student can choose, depending on their level or the difficulty of the video or news article, which dictionary they would prefer to use.
Watch the video tutorial below to see how to choose and use a dictionary:
Custom Link to connect students directly to lesson plans in the app
Woodpecker offers an amazing option for teachers. You can contact Woodpecker and request to receive a custom link to your blog or website that will appear in your students' Woodpecker Main Menu. You can read more about how this works on the Woodpecker website. This means that you can add a lesson plan using Google Docs or your blog, that will appear under your custom link. The lesson plan should contain a link to the article you wish to work on, which your student can select in order to read the article or watch the video within the Woodpecker app.
Conclusion
I am eager to continue using BBC Radio 4 in Four's website as a source of authentic materials to use with my language learners. I am certain that the variety of eclectic topics will motivate and inspire my students to read more in English and with the help of the Woodpecker app, using such websites becomes a stress-free activity, one that is possible for even lower level students and for self-study activities.
Please feel free to comment, I appreciate any feedback. If you are a Google+ member please comment below. If you're on Facebook please message me there and of course, you can always contact me through my website: http://talk2meenglish.wixsite.com/lessons
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