Lesson Plan | Active Learning | Speaking Activities

Assumptions: This Active Lesson Plan assumes: a 100-minute class, prior student study with both the Book and the start of Project development, and that only one activity (among the three suggested) will be chosen to be conducted during the class, as each activity is designed to take up a significant portion of the available time.

Objectives

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

This stage of the lesson plan is crucial to establish a clear foundation of what is expected for students to learn and achieve during the lesson. By defining specific objectives, students can focus their efforts on key areas and maximize classroom time. This approach also helps align expectations between teacher and students, ensuring a more targeted and effective learning experience.

Main Objectives:

1. Develop skills for oral interaction in English, exploring different pronunciations and meanings.

2. Empower students to recognize and apply differences in English pronunciations in various contexts.

Side Objectives:

1. Foster students' confidence when speaking English in public.

Introduction

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The introduction serves to engage students and bridge the gap between their prior knowledge and practical application. The problem situations are designed to activate critical thinking and prepare students for the challenges they will face trying to understand and be understood in different speaking contexts. The contextualization helps give meaning to learning, showing how the ability to speak English well can benefit everyday situations and beyond.

Problem-Based Situations

1. Imagine you are on a trip to an English-speaking country and need to ask for directions to get to a tourist spot. How would you ask for this information considering different accents?

2. Think of a situation where you need to make an order at a diner where the waiter has a strong British accent. How would you prepare yourself to be understood and to understand what is said?

Contextualization

The importance of understanding and being understood when speaking English goes far beyond the classroom. In real-life situations, such as traveling, exchanges, or even in professional contexts, the ability to adapt to different accents and pronunciations is crucial. Curiosities about how pronunciation varies between British and American English or even within different regions of the same country can help perceive the richness and complexity of the English language.

Development

Duration: (65 - 75 minutes)

The development stage is designed to put into practice the concepts of oral interaction in English, focusing on the diversity of accents and their influences on communication. Through playful and challenging activities, students will have the opportunity to experiment and enhance their pronunciation and listening comprehension skills in a controlled and collaborative environment. This section promotes the direct application of students' prior knowledge and stimulates confidence in oral expression.

Activity Suggestions

It is recommended to carry out only one of the suggested activities

Activity 1 - Accent Detectives

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Practice comprehension and imitation of different accents in English, reinforcing the learning of pronunciation variations.

- Description: In this activity, students are divided into groups of up to 5 people, and each group receives a card describing a character from a story. They must create a dialogue where the character interacts with others, and each character must have a different accent (British, American, Australian, etc.). The challenge is not only to write the dialogue but also to represent it, trying to imitate the accents as best as possible.

- Instructions:

• Divide the class into groups of up to 5 students.

• Distribute character cards, each with a specific assigned accent.

• Students must discuss and write a dialogue involving all characters, where each one must speak with their characteristic accent.

• After writing, groups must rehearse and represent the dialogue to the class.

• Other students must try to guess what accent each character has.

Activity 2 - Pronunciation Contest

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Develop the ability to differentiate and reproduce different English accents, improving pronunciation and listening comprehension.

- Description: Students will participate in a contest where they must correctly pronounce a list of words and phrases in various English accents. The teacher will project a short video showing native speakers from different regions, and the students, after hearing each speech, will try to imitate the pronunciation. Points will be given for accuracy and clarity of pronunciation.

- Instructions:

• Prepare a list of words and phrases to be used in the contest.

• Project the video with native speakers and pause allowing students to repeat.

• Students must note the pronunciations they hear and try to imitate as faithfully as possible.

• Each student will have the chance to pronounce the words in front of the class and will receive a score based on the accuracy of their pronunciation.

• The student with the highest score at the end is the winner.

Activity 3 - Accent Drama

> Duration: (60 - 70 minutes)

- Objective: Explore the practical application of different accents in speaking contexts, improving comprehension and imitation skills.

- Description: Students choose a scene from a movie or play in English and must reenact it; however, each group must interpret the scene with a different accent. After the presentation, other students should guess which accent was represented, and accuracy and creativity in the representation will be scored.

- Instructions:

• Choose or allow students to choose a scene from a movie or play in English to reenact.

• Assign each group a specific accent to interpret the scene.

• Groups rehearse and present their scenes to the class.

• After each presentation, other students try to guess which accent was represented.

• Discuss the representations and the accents used, scoring for accuracy and creativity.

Feedback

Duration: (15 - 20 minutes)

The purpose of this stage is to consolidate the learning acquired during practical activities, allowing students to articulate what they learned and how they felt while applying that knowledge. The group discussion helps develop communication skills and critical reflection, as well as providing an environment where students can learn from each other by sharing strategies that worked and challenges overcome.

Group Discussion

Start the group discussion by inviting each group to share their experiences and main learnings from the activities performed. Suggest they start by talking about the challenges they encountered and how they overcame them. Encourage them to discuss what they found most interesting and what they found most difficult when trying to imitate different accents. This is an opportunity for students to reflect on the learning process and exchange insights.

Key Questions

1. What were the main challenges in trying to imitate the different accents? How did you overcome these challenges?

2. What did you learn about how pronunciation can affect understanding in different contexts?

3. How do you feel now about your ability to imitate and understand different accents in English?

Conclusion

Duration: (5 - 10 minutes)

The purpose of this stage is to ensure that students have a clear and consolidated understanding of the topics discussed, linking classroom learning with practical and everyday applications. Additionally, it aims to reinforce the importance of studying accents and pronunciations in effective communication in English, motivating students by demonstrating how these skills are relevant in their lives.

Summary

To conclude, the teacher should summarize the main points covered in the lesson, recalling the different accents explored and the activities conducted, such as 'Accent Detectives', 'Pronunciation Contest', and 'Accent Drama'. It is essential to recap the pronunciation variations and the challenges faced when trying to imitate them.

Theory Connection

During the lesson, the connection between theory and practice was established through interactive activities that allowed students to directly apply theoretical knowledge about accents in practical and fun situations. This included understanding how different accents affect comprehension and oral expression, preparing them for real-life situations of using the English language.

Closing

The importance of mastering spoken English goes beyond the school context, influencing social and professional interactions. This skill is crucial in travel, exchanges, and the globalized job market, where the ability to understand and communicate effectively in different accents can be the key to success.