|
Teaching
EFL/ESL Students How to Read Time and Newsweek
by J. Ignacio Bermejo
Larrea
- 3
Conclusion:
a Standard Lesson Plan to Read Time and Newsweek Stories
A
standard lesson plan to read Time and Newsweek stories in
the EFL/ESL class could be the following:
1.
Read the highlighted information (headline, subheadings, caption,
look at the pictures and charts).
2. Discuss your predictions in pairs and then as a class.
3. Skim the text in one or two minutes, to find the backbone
of the story, the aspects of the story that are going to be
covered. Try to find the topic sentences to do this. When
students are not yet familiar with the concept, function and
location of topic sentences, stages 3 and 4 can be done after
the reading comprehension (6).
4. Discuss these summaries in pairs and as a class, if it
is necessary.
5. Read the story at your own speed.
6. Discuss comprehension questions in pairs and as a class.
7. Discuss the meaning of unknown words, difficult sentences,
the headline…, in pairs and/ or as a class.
8. As a follow-up activity give your opinions about the content
of the story.
This
lesson can be dynamic, motivating and amusing because it will
include a variety of tasks such as reading highlighted information,
anticipation, skimming, reading for specific comprehension,
vocabulary and syntax analysis, discussions… The lesson
will encourage natural, meaningful communication and student
interaction in the EFL classroom because learners will have
to think and use English to solve the tasks. But teachers
have to play a decisive role as mediators in this learning
experience: we have know very well the peculiarities of Time
and Newsweek stories so that we can plan activities that teach
our students how to read this particular example of journalistic
style.
References
Bell,
A. 1991. The Language of News Media. Oxford: Blackwell.
Nunan, D. 1989. Designing Tasks for the Communicative Classroom.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hughes, G. 1992. "Timespeak" in McArthur, T., The
Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Newsweek, January 24, 2000.
Newsweek, February 21, 2000.
Prabhu, N.S. 1987. Second Language Pedagogy. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Ross, N. 1995. "Coping with Time and Newsweek",
Modern English Teacher, vol 1, nº 1: 15-19.
Skehan, P. 1998. A Cognitive Approach to Language Learning.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Time, October 11, 1999.
Time, February 7, 2000.
Time, February 21, 2000.
Williams, M. and R. Burden. 1997. Psychology for Language
Teachers. A Social Constructivist Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Biodata
|
J.
Ignacio Bermejo Larrea has been a teacher at the
Escuela Oficial de Idiomas nº 1, Zaragoza, Spain,
for fifteen years, where he served as vice-director
for 10 years and was directly involved in the creation
of a self-access centre. He holds a BA degree in English
Philology from Zaragoza university, and currently is
working on a distance MA degree in Applied Linguistics
(TESOL) with Macquarie university (Australia). He has
published articles in Lenguas Modernas, Educación
y Biblioteca, the Internet TESL Journal, The IATEFL
ESP Newsletter, Language Magazine, and Academic Exchange
Quarterly.
His professional interests include journalistic English,
oral language assessment, and the cognitive processes
that affect verbal memory and the development of fluency
in SLA. His e-mail address is nbermejo@educaragon.org
|
To
the beginning of the article
Print-friendly
version
Back
to the articles index
|
