Objectives:
Stages:
I. Introduction.
II. Warm-up activities.
Teacher: Good morning Students! Nice to see you again. I hope you are all feeling well.
Students: Thank you, we are fine. And what about you? How are you getting on?
Teacher: Thank you. I am well. Today in this room we can see many guests. They are all teachers of foreign languages. Some of them are English teachers from our school and the others are French & German teachers. What do you think is it easy to learn foreign languages?
Students 2: Personally I think that learning a foreign language is not an easy thing. It is a long process that takes a lot of time & efforts.
Teacher: Student 3, what about you?
Students 3: Well. I guite agree with student 2. Because there is a big problem of spelling of the large number of exceptions to any rule, besides prepositions are terrible. But anyway I like English. Nowadays, it is impossible to do without foreign languages.
Teacher: What about you, student 4? Have you got any problems with English?
Student 4: I have none. Besides English is my favourite subject at school. I have always been interested in foreign languages, countries, their culture & people. I want to learn English in particular not only because my dream is to visit the USA or Great Britain, but also because to know foreign languages today is absolutely necessary for every educated person, for every good specialist.
Student 5: As for me I didn't like English in past because I had problems with it. And now I like English, I dream of teaching English to students. In my view it is a noble & interesting profession.
Teacher: I can't but agree with you. Good luck to you. You are very guiet today, student 6. What is your favorite subject? Does it belong to the humanities or science?
Student6: Well, I know that all subjects are important & they all must be paid much attention to, but I like exact sciences. English is out of question. With the formation of independent states it is important for the development of international contacts. Hundreds of joint ventures spring up in every city. They need specialists who have a command of one or two foreign languages.
III. Listening for specific information.
1. Pre listening activities.
Teacher: Well students, I see now that you all like English & understand the importance of studying it. Today we are going to read & listen to the stories about people whose native language is English & who belong to the World of Art. At out English lessons we have learned much about the USA. Speaking about this country, we always remind the most famous places in it. One of them is Hollywood. Have you ever heard anything about Hollywood?
Students: Of course, we have.
Student1: Hollywood is the centre of cinematographic industry in the USA. It is situated not far from Los Angeles
Student2: A great number of various films are released in the USA every year. Hollywood - released films differ in genre as well as in artistic value.
Student3: There are nearly 48studious in Hollywood. The most famous among them are "21st Century", "Fox", "Golden Myre", Tristar & others. They make various cinema productions including historical, detective comedies, westerns, dramas & melodramas as well.
Student4: Americans call Hollywood "A Factory of Dreams", because some actors have become stars from unknown people.
2. Listening and taking notes.
Teacher: Now pupils Welcome to Hollywood.
Listen to the text about one of the famous Hollywood actresses Andrea de Silva.
Work in pairs. One of you will match sentences in Present Perfect, the next will do the same in Past Simple.
| Present Perfect | Past Simple |
| Andrea de Silva, the Hollywood actress, has made over 25 films. | She started acting at the age of fourteen. |
| She has traveled to many parts of the world. | Her favorite place was Argentina. |
| She went there a year ago when she made the western "Good Times Bad Times". | |
| She has won three Oscars | She won her first Oscar in 1987. |
3. Post listening activities. (Speaking.)
Teacher: Swap your information. What is the result of your conversation.
Who is the volunteer in your pair?
What have you learned about Andrea de Silva?
IV. Reading for the main idea.
Teacher: As you know the world of Art consists not only of actors, producers, singers, but of writers as well.
Look through the newspaper article about Barbara Hivery.Student2 read the instruction to it. 2 minutes for you. Are you ready?
(Student2 reads the text.)
V. Role-play (Press Conference)
Teacher: Imagine that you are at the press conference.
You are journalists of different magazines & newspapers. Student1 you will be a chairman. Student2 will be Barbara Lively. Think of some questions to ask her about literary career.
Chairman: Ladies & gentlemen! I'm glad to meet you at our Press Conference on Modern Authors. We're here to meet a famous American Writer Barbara Lively. Mrs. Barbara is ready to give you some information about her life & activity. Well, journalists get ready to ask questions.
Welcome Mrs. Barbara.
Writer-(Student1): Nice to see you friends.
Journalists: Good morning, Mrs. Barbara.
J1: My name is : I represent the magazine "Mirrow"
W-J1: Pleased to meet you.
J2: When did you start writing?
W-J2: I became very keen on literature early in life. This probably happened because we had a very good library at home. Books stirred my imagination and filled my life with great expectations of joy & happiness. I started writing myself after the death of my husband.
J3: I'm Kate Smith from the newspaper "Times" I have just finished reading your book
W-J1: Which one?
J3: `Lifetime` You have created very believable characters. Your book gives a real feeling of what life is like. My question is: How many books you written?
W-J1: Thank you for your words. I have written over 40 books.
J4 - I'm a journalist from the magazine "Spectator" In your books you have described different countries & the atmosphere of the time with great skill. Besides you have a fine imagination & hold readers` interest right to the end of the book. I think you have traveled a lot.
W-J1: You are absolutely right. To begin with I spent my childhood in Egypt & came to England in 1966. I have lived in many parts of the world including Japan & India. The events described in some books are all true.
J5: What's your point of view on this statement: the rise of television has been coupled with the death of books. What can be done to rescue them?
W-J5: I don't think books need to be rescued. A book is one of the greatest wonders in the world. It gives us a unique chance to link up with authors who lived hundreds & thousand of year ago. Thanks to books we can talk to people who lived in different ages & countries. Through reading books we hear their thoughts & feelings. The book is a faithful & understanding friend, it can be put aside & taken up again at any moment.
J6: I'm Ann Williams. I represent the newspaper "Modern Way of Life". What sort of things do you write?
W-J1 - Well, I write both prose & poetry. But I am a woman & live in the world of my feeling. That's why I'm best known for romantic novels.
J7: Many people say that beauty is a harmonious combination of appearance & high moral qualities, others think that character is the main thing. What is more important in a person for you: his character or his appearance?
W-J7: Well, I think everything must be beautiful in a person-face, spirit & mind. It's difficult to judge a person according to appearances.
J8: Have you won any awards?
W-J8: Sure. I have won many awards including the Booker Prize.
J8: What are you working on at that moment?
W-J8: Actually I'm doing something very different from my usual work, but it's a secret.
J8: We'll be waiting for your new books. Thank you.
Chairman: Our conference comes to the end. Thank you for coming Mrs. Barbara & good luck to you.
VI. Listening for detail.
T: It is difficult to interview people, isn't it?
Students: Yes, of course. Certainly. It goes without saying.
Let's listen to the way it can be done professionally.
1 Pre listening activity
At first read the definitions of some of the words in the interview.
(On the board)
Keyboard (n) - piano, organ.
A band (n) - another word for a group of musicians.
A hit record - a successful record
An album (n) a long - playing record.
2. Listening
T: You will hear an interview with Paul Carrack, the lead vocalist with a band called Mike and the Mechanics.
As you listen, put a tick(v) or a cross on the chart. S1, will you help me? Hand out the charts
3 Post listening activities
T:1. What instrument does he play?
2.Which bands has he played with?
3.What countries has he been to?
VII. Reading for detail.
T: The next thing we are going to do is to continue getting acquainted with another well-known man of the world of Art - Paul Newman, the Hollywood film star.
1. Pre-reading (brainstorm activity)
Have a look at the pictures.
What do they tell you about Paul?
Students:
He is a good - looking man.
To my mind, he is over 50.
Probably he is married.
May be he is good sportsman.
He is a member of racing team.
I think he is not only a film star but also a businessman
T. Well pupils. Let's read the article to prove if you are right or wrong. If you need my help, please ask me.
2. Reading
Let's read 2 extracts aloud. Take it in turns to begin.
3. Post-reading activities (speaking)
T-S, what did you learn that you didn't know before about Paul Newman.
S1: Paul Newman is a method actor who believes in living the part before beginning the film. To my mind it is a very important trait of his character. He was marriage twice & his last marriage is one of the longest and strongest in Hollywood. He has made 45 films, but he has never won an Oscar. Paul has been interested in car racing when he made the film "Winning" and he took part in the 24 hour Le Mans race and came the second. His son died of a drug overdose and as a result Newman created the Scott Newman Foundation to inform young people on drug abuse.
T: Let us see were you attentive while reading. On the blackboard you can see summaries of the seven paragraphs of the article. Match them to the correct paragraph.
5 Some of his films
3 His rise to stardom
4 The end to one marriage, the beginning of another
1 His early life
6 The highs & lows of his later life
2 His first professional work
7 Newman the person, not the movie star
VIII: Grammar activities.
T: Well done. Some people think it's easy to answer the question than to put them. Try to do your best to refute this statement.
Here are the answers to some questions from the article. What are the questions?
- In 1925 - When was be born?
- After graduating - When did he start working in the theatre?
- While they were acting together - When did he meet his wife?
- In 1949 - When did they married?
- Three - How many children did they have?
- He was thirty - When did he go to Los Angeles.
- A Greek slave - What was his first role?
- No, he didn't (enjoy making the film) - Did he enjoy making the film?
- About Graziano's childhood - What did the talk about?
Work in chain.
IX. Follow-up activities.
T: Something pupils find themselves in difficult situations when they can't express their thoughts & feelings in words. Let's do this exercise to enrich your vocabulary.
Match a word in the text to the following definitions.
Paragraph 1
1) to use badly or unproductively (to waste)
2) a profession or occupation (acting)
Paragraph 2
3) a person who is the "property" of someone else and who has to work for them (a slave)
Paragraph 3
4) a lucky opportunity that leads to success (break)
5) the state of being a star (stardom)
Paragraph 6
6) more of something than is safe(overdose)
7) using something in the wrong way (abuse)
Paragraph 7
8) a person's understanding of what is right and wrong (conscience)
9) an organization that helps people who need help(charity)
10) to do something again & again (to keep trying)
X. The conclusion of the lesson.
T: It's a pity our lesson comes to the end.
You've learned more about American Famous People, haven't you? I hope you understand why not only Americans, but people all over the world like & admire them.
I am satisfied your work
Thank you.
References:
Texts are taken from Student's Book "Headway" (Pre Intermediate) by John and Liz Soars,
Oxford University Press, 1996, p 52-53, p 48-49.