practising_fce_listening_part_3.pdf

Practising Cambridge English: First Listening Part 3

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Practising Cambridge English: First Listening Part 3 www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org of 7

Contents

A. TEACHER’S NOTES ...........................................................................................................2

A1. ...............................................................................................................2 Lesson Plan

A2. ................................................................................................4 Classroom Handout 1

A4. ...............................................................................................................5 Answer keys

A5. ...............................................................6 Suggested homework / self-study activities

B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES ......................................................................7




A. TEACHER’S NOTES

Description

Time required: 30–35 minutes

Materials required:

Classroom Handout 1 (one copy for each student)

Aims: To provide students with an integrated approach to working on the testing focus of Listening Part 3.

To focus on the need to expand vocabulary through the use of synonyms.

A1. Lesson Plan

1. Give out A2 Classroom Handout 1 and ask students to read it quickly until they’ve decided what the topic is (holidays – this should be easy to establish). Next ask them to tell you what type of holiday is being described. They have to look closely at the text and pick out the vocabulary that will help them decide. (See Answer keys below.)

If your class is finding it difficult to decide on the answer, write up the following multiple choice options on the board:

a) cycling holiday

b) camping holiday

c) city break holiday

d) caravan holiday

Timing: 5 minutes

2. Ask students to highlight the key words / expressions that helped them to reach their decision. (See Answer keys below.)

Timing: 2–3 minutes

3. Ask the class to think about a particular holiday they had when they were children. They should write a short description about the holiday, including vocabulary that will help show what type of holiday it was but without stating it. They will have to make sure that they do not make it too easy. Allow students to use (online) thesaurus to help come up with different synonyms. Monitor the vocabulary being used, offering suggestions for synonyms and checking that they are not using synonyms that are




not too obscure. When they have finished their text, ask them to write at the bottom of the text what type of holiday it is.

Timing: 10 minutes

4. Select four students, ensuring that they have not written about the same type of holiday. Ask these four students to come to the front of the class. Each student takes it in turn to read out their text. The rest of the class listens and then, in groups, decide the type of holiday that is being described. You can make this more competitive by giving points to the team with the correct answer.

Alternatively, you could write up the four holiday types on the board adding an extra one as a distractor. Label them a)–e). The class then listens to each student and matches the options to each speaker.

Repeat this stage with the other students who have not yet read out their texts. Alternatively, use the remaining texts in subsequent lessons as a warmer / cooler.

Timing: 10–15 minutes




A2. Classroom Handout 1

Read the following text and decide:

a) What is the topic?

b) What is specifically being talked about?

Highlight the key words / expressions that helped you to decide.

When I was a kid we always spent the summer by the sea. We’d pack up all the equipment, things like the sleeping bags and camping stove and head off. I don’t know how the four of us could eat and sleep in such a small space! We’d sing songs and eat sandwiches as dad drove along what seemed like hours and hours of roads, until we finally arrived at the coast. We always stayed at one particular campsite which had an area for families in tents, but also an area for people like us who’d brought their home along with them!




A4. Answer keys

A1 Lesson Plan

Step 1

Initially they may think it is a camping holiday, and although there are many words that point to that, the final line indicates that it is in fact a caravan holiday.

Step 2

sleeping bags

camping stove

eat and sleep in such a small space

drove along

an area for families in tents, but also…

brought their home along with them




A5. Suggested homework / self-study activities

1. When starting a new topic in class, ask students to brainstorm vocabulary related to the topic and think of synonyms. These can be presented as mind maps. Students then bring their maps / lists to the following class. They then share their vocabulary in groups.

2. Use websites with recordings or podcasts on different topics, e.g.:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/talk-about.

http://www.elllo.org/

For homework students can listen to one or more recordings on specific topics. They can use the transcripts to add to their synonyms list / maps on different topics.

3. Students record themselves at home talking about a particular topic. They listen back to themselves and substitute some vocabulary / expressions for synonyms they find. Re-record the text and bring it to the following class to play to a partner, or upload to the class blog. Other students then listen and decide on the topic/feeling, etc.

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/talk-about

http://www.elllo.org/




B. GUIDANCE FOR FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITIES

1. This is an integrated lesson which will have students using speaking skills to produce their own material for Listening Part 4 practice. The focus is expanding vocabulary and synonyms and using them to decide on meaning. This activity also helps to develop students’ active vocabularies when speaking or writing. Build on this process by:

Organizing discussions about a related topic (e.g. people should only holiday in their own country)

Setting up a negotiation or ranking activity on the topic (e.g. which of these items would be most useful to take on holiday?)

Setting up writing tasks similar to Part 1 of the Writing test (e.g. Write an email inviting a friend to come on holiday with you and explaining what you will do)

Giving learners the first or last line of a story to complete (e.g. It was certainly the most unforgettable holiday I’ve ever had!)

2. The stages of this lesson are very adaptable. E.g.

Use this lesson with any topic you are currently working on in your course book.

Focus on other Part 3 question types such as understanding of gist and feeling. For example:

On small pieces of card or on the board, write one or more topics and focuses, e.g. Topic - Family, Focus - Feeling. Students must then write a text on the topic given, referring to how they feel about their family or member of the family, but indirectly. At the end of their text they must summarise the feeling in a word, e.g, proud, irritated, annoyed, etc. Continue with the activity as described above.

3. In A5 Suggested homework/self-study activities, learners are asked to make mind maps or lists of relevant vocabulary. These be used in follow-up lessons:

Award points to students/groups who use the new lexis in class.

Ask students to explain everything they mean without using the precise word for something. This can be done for 5–10 minutes in pairs/groups. This means that the listeners must focus on gist and interpret what is being indirectly said.

practising_fce_listening_part_3.pdf

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