Set of exercises for the development of speaking skills

Activity title:

Set of exercises for the development of speaking skills

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Skill(s):

Speaking

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Level(s):

B1

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Exam part:

Speaking

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Aim(s):

- to develop speaking skills by talking about reading books;

- to discuss the role of reading;

- to practice asking questions skills.

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Materials needed:

Cards for pair work, 2 pictures for group discussion; some photos of famous book characters, question cards, reflection and self-reflection cards

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Preparation:

Handouts preparation

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Procedure:

Step 1. Warming up activity. To guess the topic of the lesson students should guess the riddle about a book:

This thing has a cover
But it is not a bed
It has many pages
And is something that's read.

Step 2. Pair work. All students are divided into pairs. They should talk and find out the necessary information about their partner (cards for small talks). Then they should tell about each other and present the received information during their small talk.

Step 3. Group work. Students are divided into small groups according to their answers to the last question from the card about the type of reading:
Group 1. The students who prefer reading paper books
Group 2. The students who prefer reading eBooks
Two picture are given to both groups (pictures for discussion). Each group should describe the picture and name the advantages and disadvantages of the suggested type of reading.

Step 3. Game "Who am I?" Group work with cards. Groups one by one take a card with the name of any well-known writer or character ("Who am I?" cards). They describe this person or character to the opposite team and they should guess who is it. Then they exchange their roles.

Step 4. Situation solving. Both groups have the same problem situation: Imagine that you are a group of young writers and your task is to write a book. What book would you like to write? Think about the genre of your book; the main characters and their appearance, their inner world; the place where the events happen and the main problem of your book (helping cards are given to students). Then you should present your book to the opposite group.

Step 5. Final discussion. Students should read the quote by Paul Sweeney on the blackboard and answer some questions (question cards):
"You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend."

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Variation(s)

Step 3. Students can ask yes/no questions or wh-guestions to each other instead of definitions.
Step 4. Students can work not only in groups but also individually or in pairs.

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Reflections

The teacher should use cards with reflection questions for students and a card for self-reflection