Teaching EFL Listening via FUN WITH ENGLISH Books/8B/Lesson 13

Grade 8
FUN WITH ENGLISH 8B
Chapter 15
Anqing Foreign Language School
Lesson 13
Version 0.2

Lesson Objectives

I will talk with all the students individually about their grades and they will understand where they are and where they can go next.
The students will listen and complete the textbook activities quickly.
The majority of the class will get involved in the charities around the world activity.
The song will attract their attention.

Lesson Plan

Before Class Starts

If time, walk around and mingle with the students before the bell rings. (King)
Get the computer working and ready to go.
3 Minutes before the bell get the students who have to go to the other class out, and the students in my class in their seats.

Greeting: USA What's up?

Yo! What's up? Not much, you? Not much.

Riddle

Why is 6 afraid of 7?

Textbook: Page 58 Let's get ready A & B

While the students are doing this, play some music.
Call them up one by one to tell them their grades and discuss quickly what they can do next.
Talk about the song before going over the answers.

Activity: Charites Around the World (Mr. Brown)

Now you are going to make a charity.
I will make 6 teams.
- Teams need to be made before class begins.
Each team will make a charity to solve one problem.
- Problems:
  - Not enough food
  - No clean water
  - War
  - People are sick
  - People have no education
  - People have no jobs
  - People have no home (Class 3 Student's Suggestion)
You will think of 8 ideas to solve your problem, and write them on this paper.
- Give them a copy of the paper.
Put a song on while they are writing.
Maybe make them come to the front of the class to speak?

Lesson Review

26 May 2010 AM Period 2 Grade 8 Class 3

In class about 3 minutes before the bell and everyone was in their seats to begin.

Greeting
- They didn't add "You?" to the end of "Not much."
Riddle
- One boy said "Because 7 can eat 6." or something to that effect, which was the right answer.
Let's get ready
- Kept it quick
World Charity Activity
- Went well, one girl pointed out we did it last week, in the post-class review another girl said it was "just so-so".
Words missing listening
- Numb got, but could not hold much of a response. Tried "Beat It" which a couple of boys were nice enough to dance to, until they fell.

Next Week

Go over select answers.
One young man requested to watch "Moonlight" a couple of weeks back.
Some students asked to listen to "Nobody"

26 May 2010 AM Period 4 Grade 8 Class 2

In class before the bell and I got everyone in their seats.

Riddles
- Ended up doing 3, the English/Chinese one really got people chuckling.
Where will LeBron go next? Wade?
- Chatted about these topics, listing teams and reasons and then taking a vote for a while.
Words missing listening
- Not much of a response
Positions in basketball
- Went through the different positions, not all of which they knew, then people who play each position.

Next Week

Finish the people/positions exercise.
Go over their grades with them.
One boy said something about "New Moon City"

26 May 2010 Notes

What Could I Have Done Better?

Told the G8 C2 students their grades

What Did I Do Well?

Completely freelanced for a lesson the boys liked.

What Did I Learn?

Sometimes its better to throw the lesson plan out the window.

What Did My Students Get From The Lesson?

Aural practice, experience working in groups and thinking critically about the NBA.

Were the Lesson Objectives Achieved? Why?

I will talk with all the students individually about their grades and they will understand where they are and where they can go next.
- Done in 1 class, not the other because I was not ready.
The students will listen and complete the textbook activities quickly.
- Done in 1 class, the other class I decided not to try the textbook.
The majority of the class will get involved in the charities around the world activity.
- In the class I tried, yes.
The song will attract their attention.
- No, "Numb" isn't really getting anyone's attention.

How can I Improve the Lesson?

Different song.

27 May 2010 AM Period 2 Grade 8 Class 5

Riddles (did them last week)
Textbook
- Did the let's listen on "Mother Teresa" which went well.
Make a charity activity
- They were bored.
Missing Words Listening: Linkin Park

Next Week

Grades

27 May 2010 AM Period 3 Grade 8 Class 4

Tongue Twisters
Let's get ready
Let's listen 2 Mother Teresa
Charity activity
Missing Words Listening: With or Without You
Listened to "Just Dance" by Lady Ga Ga without the words, just pausing and tying to have the students repeat what they heard. Not sure if that's an effective way or not.

Next Week

If I haven't already, grades.

27 May 2010 PM Period 1 Grade 8 Class 6

Short attempt at a conversation.
Riddles
Let's get ready
T--- (Can't decipher it from my notes)
Let's listen 2
Birds short film _ chat
Missing Words Listening: U2

Next Week

Grades?

28 May 2010 AM Period 1 Grade 8 Class 10

Arrived to class about 2 minutes before the bell, trying to get everyone in their seats, didn't have time to get my finicky USB ready.
- Girl whose been trouble was sitting up front. All I had to do was a quick eye movement to her seat and she went. As soon as I did it I was wishing I hadn't I should have let her slide.
Cost me, as at the start of the lesson wihtout my USB stuff ready I wasn't ready to begin.\
Stall time riddle didn't work as a girl got the answer immediately.
In the meantime one girl decided to challenge me with regards to where she was sitting.
Had them go into the textbooks, got that one girl to move.
Textbooks went quick. After I went over the answers I went around the room asking different people questions. Talked to most of the class.
- Made them sort of fun or easy questions too, if their level wasn't so high.
- During this process all of their other classmates were just chatting amongst themselves.
- Went through about 15 of them, then stopped because I felt like I was losing them.
- Girl whose been trouble all term stormed across the room later and proceeded to distract one of her classmates.
Played "The Birds" from Pixar.
- Short chat afterwards about the different birds and how they felt about things.
- Even without the sound it quieted them down.
Played "Partly Cloudy" from Pixar
- Got them listening.

Next Week

One student recommended more movies with "questions".

28 May 2010 PM Period 1 Grade 8 Class 8

Riddle
Knock Knock
QQ English Corner Announcement
Textbook
- Did let's listen mother teresa
Missing Words Listening
- Gotta be - some of the students were even kinda singing near the end
- With or Without You
Pixar alien film
- Loved it, but no great facial expressions.

Next Week

2 quiet girls in the front row have taken to passing me notes to ask me questions. Bring some paper and notes to ask them next week?
- One of them likes "The Vampire's Assistant" - try to find and watch it?
One boy mentioned that he liked the Spice Girls
Take a picture?

28 May 2010 PM Period 2 Grade 8 Class 7

Riddle
Knock Knock
- Made one boy help me as a volunteer demonstrator.
QQ English Corner Announcement
Textbook
- Did let's listen from the doctors without borders chapter which went alright.
Missing Words Listening
- Gotta be
  - Gave them the words at first for a minute or so of the song, then took them away and played it again.
- With or Without You
Pixar: Li
- Asking them questions afterwards is alright. Focused on "How does he feel?" for different facial expressions.

Next Week

Did I ever give them the answer to the 158 222 riddle?
Make sure that one boy who wasn't in my class today comes.
Somebody made a request for "We are not alone" by MJ

Friday 28 May 2010 Notes

Same for grade 7 and grade 8.

I have officially become dependant on the computer. If the USB doesn't work for one of my lessons, my heart sinks a little bit. It doesn't destroy my lesson, but I definitely need it.
After I lost faith in the "Group activity" exercises I sort of lost faith in my lessons in general this week.
Did not try to get any sort of conversation going.
Movies are definitely effective in their own way. Got to be a better way to get a conversation going around them, though.
- Ask questions before hand?
- Have them make the dialogue?
Going around asking questions of the individual students only works for a certain amount of time, at a certain point the others lose interest.
I try to kind of poke fun at certain boys whose levels are alright in order to get them speaking talking about wives or girlfriends or whatnot. Is that an effective way to teach? Its lighthearted, but might they think I'm bullying them?
A common response to riddles or jokes is that they are "very cold". I wonder what the literal translation for that is, in Chinese?
Making eye contact with students is important. Sometimes when I'm using the computer I'm spending too much time looking down at the machine instead of them.
Students really hate to get answers wrong. Is that something I should be reinforcing by only giving them questions in front of peers I know they can answer?

What could I have done better?

When I am disheartened find a way to change things up?

What did I do well?

Not let my anger distract me too much.

What did I learn?

Movies can be a valauble teaching device.
I am overdependant on the computer.

What can I do next lesson?

Movie again, but with more structured English usage?
- Mr Brown's suggestion: Play it once through, then play it again stopping and asking silly questions including putting certain people on the spot.
The lesson about common mistakes - including time.

Appendix

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all the 7th and 8th grade classes at Anqing Foreign Language School who had this lesson for their participation and feedback. I would also like to thank the Anqing Foreign Language School for allowing me to teach there.

References

I get many ideas from Stuart Brown. (Mr. Brown).
- In this lesson it was his idea to create the different charities around the world for the students to try and help.
Marjorie King provided some feedback on my last lessons, that was built into this lesson. (King)

Changelog

Version 0.2 26 May 2010

More or less the same thing as Lesson 12 version 0.2 with different textbook questions.

Version 0.1 18 May 2010

Textbook questions chosen during my weekly meeting with Mr. Brown.