TECH TALK elementary TB

Contents Introduction Unit Unit 12 Unit 15 Review and Remember 18 Unit4 19 Unit 23 Unit 27 Review and Remember 30 Unit 31 Unit 35 Unit 38 Review and Remember 41 Unit 10 42 Unit 11 45 Unit 12 48 Review and Remember 52 Unit 13 53 Unit 14 56 Unit 15 59 Review and Remember 62 Unit 16 64 Unit 17 68 Unit 18 71 Review and Remember 74 Unit 19 75 Unit 20 78 Unit 21 81 Review and Remember 85 Appendix Working with Tech Talk 87 Appendix Games and activities for changing the pace 90 Introduction Who is Tech Talk for? Tech Talk is a cou rse for people w ho n eed both g eneral English and English for tech n ica l jo b s It is suitable for tech n icia n s, en g in eers, and s cie n tists w orking in a w ide variety o f tech n ical fields, for exam ple, light and heavy engineering, co n stru ctio n , IT (inform ation technology), m aterials en gineering, ch em ical en gineering, and p h a rm a ceu ticals Typical u sers m ig ht be engaged in production, planning, m ain ten an ce, purchasing, testin g , laboratory work, p ro ject work, and qu ality issu es The course T h e m ain em p h asis th rou ghou t Tech Talk is on developing sp eaking and listen in g skills A noth er im p o rtan t skill area is reading and u n d erstan d in g te ch n ica l d o cu m en tatio n and em ails Tech Talk E lem en tary is designed for groups o f e lem en tary level le arn ers and it can be used in two ways • From sta rt to finish It tak es ap proxim ately -7 hou rs to co m p lete th e co u rse from beg in n in g to end It assu m es u sers have at le a s t a fa lse-b eg in n er level at th e start, and th e book p rogresses fairly speedily New language is in troduced sy stem atically and recycled at regular in tervals, so u sing th e book from sta rt to fin ish will provide le a rn ers w ith a se n se o f p rogression and en su re regular review • As a dip-in reso u rce Each u n it and each sectio n o f th e cou rse is free-stan d in g, so se ctio n s can be selected and used out o f seq u en ce according to th e n eed s o f p articu lar stu d en ts U sing th e book in th is way will en able tea ch ers to ca te r to veryp articu lar stu d en t n eed s and in terests Tech Talk E lem en tary can also be u sed as a revision course Learners w ho had a little Introduction English at school, or w ho have already tak en a b asic g eneral English course, will find the tech n ica l co n tex ts and vocabulary add a new p ractical d im en sion to th eir English The approach Tech Talk Elem en tary h as b e e n designed to m e e t th e n eed s o f bo th learn ers and teach ers W h ilst it in clu d es tech n ica l language at an elem en tary language level, it also a ssu m es th a t English teach ers m ay have little sp ecia list know ledge or d irect exp erien ce o f scien ce and technology Several e lem en ts in p articu lar have shap ed its approach Making m eanings clear New vocabulary is introduced in co n tex t and exten siv e u se is m ade o f illu stratio n s to p rom ote u nderstanding Employing authentic co n ten t M any real products and p ro cesses have b een included to p rom ote tech n ica l credibility Drawing on the stu d en ts’ creativity Th e stu d en ts are encouraged to co n tribu te th e ir own id eas in m any activities, and th u s co n trib u te to th e cou rse co n ten t Fostering a positive learning atm osp h ere Th e focu s in th e cou rse is on activities and gam es w h ich involve a lot o f stu d en t-to -stu d en t in teractio n , facilitatin g thorough p ractice and developing a positive group dynam ic The syllabus Our goal is to provide learn ers w ith th e language th ey n eed for early p ractical co m m u n icatio n T each ers fam iliar w ith o th er elem en tary level English co u rses will find th e Tech Talk Elem en tary syllabus covers m any sim ilar b a sic language poin ts However, th e tech n ica l n atu re o f th e cou rse m ean s th ere are som e key differen ces T h e language o f in stru ctio n s receives p articu lar em p h asis, to b e tte r prepare lea rn ers for u n d erstan d in g and explaining w ork task s, and also for reading in stru ctio n al m ateria ls such as m anu als Sim ilarly, th e language o f n u m bers and m e a su re m e n t receives su b stan tial atten tio n and p ractice T ech n ical co m m u n icatio n task s have driven th e syllabus, and co n seq u en tly som e ling u istic form s th a t m ig ht have b een left u ntil a la te r stage in a general or b u sin ess English cou rse have b een covered early A good exam p le is th e dropping o f th e -s in ad jectival ex p ressio n s o f quantity, e.g fo u r m etres, bu t a fou r-m etre ladder T h e sam e th in g applies to tech n ica l vocabulary, and th e co u rse in clud es m any words th a t would n o t n orm ally be included in an elem en tary level g eneral English course For exam p le, verbs su ch as raise, rotate, and loosen, and ad jectiv es su ch as rusty, chipped, and ben t have b een included Sim ilarly you will find separable ph rasal verbs su ch as turn it on and lift it up Th e n eed s o f th e tech n ica l lea rn er have in flu en ced th e syllabus design in o th er key w ays too • W h ilst le a rn ers u sin g Tech Talk Elem en tary will n eed English p rim arily to operate in th e w orkplace, we ex p ect th eir n eed s to exten d beyond ju s t th ese co n tex ts T h e syllabus also in clu d es w h at m ig ht b e s t be term ed ‘survival’ language, su ch as b asic language for travelling, buying food, and asking for help • W e e x p e ct th a t m any learn ers will n eed to co m m u n ica te w ith n o n -n ativ e sp eakers as w ell as native sp eakers o f English To prepare stu d en ts for th is, th e recordings co n tain a variety o f n o n -n ativ e and native sp eaker a ccen ts • Tech Talk E lem en tary fo cu sses on language th a t is accep table in b o th B ritish and A m erican English so th a t learn ers have th e flexibility to cope w ith d ifferen t v arieties o f Course components Tech Talk Elem en tary co n sists o f th e follow ing co m p o n en ts Studen t’s Book T h is is th e core book th a t stu d en ts will need for class work See below for in fo rm atio n on its stru ctu re and featu res T each er’s Book T h is provides a range o f su ggestion s for exploiting th e cou rse m aterials effectively It acts as a guide through th e ex ercises and offers optional ideas for exten d in g activities It provides extra guidance for te a ch e rs w ho are new to teach in g tech n ica l English, and som e id eas th a t we hope will be stim u latin g for exp erien ced tech n ica l English te a ch e rs too For p ractical ideas about w orking w ith Tech Talk, th ere is an appendix at th e back o f th is book on page 87 T h ere is also an appendix o f gam es and activ ities at th e back o f th is book on page 90 th a t can be u sed to su p p lem en t th e activities in th e teach in g n otes W orkbook T h is co n tain s additional language p ractice activities along w ith answ ers It is an e x ce lle n t sou rce o f self-stu d y w ork and review m aterials th a t learn ers can co m p lete in th e ir own tim e It can provide fu rth er p ractice during th e course, or can be u sed for review w h en th e cou rse is co m pleted It can also be u sed as a sou rce o f additional classroo m ex ercises Recordings Recordings o f all th e listen in g m aterials in Tech Talk E lem en tary are available in eith er audio ca sse tte or audio CD form The Student’s Book T h e S tu d en t’s Book h as 21 four-page u n its and each u n it tak es ap proxim ately th ree hours o f classroo m tim e to com p lete Each u n it is subdivided in to two, three, or four free-stan d in g sectio n s according to th e language points covered Key language poin ts are p resen ted in th e form o f a listen in g or reading text T h e m ateria l is generally exp loited in th e follow ing way English W h en new item s o f vocabulary are introd uced w h ich differ in British and A m erican, th ey are glossed on th e page they first appear T h ere is also a B ritish -A m erican glossary on page 115 o f th e S tu d en t’s Book Listening or reading for co n ten t A task -b a sed activity h elp s th e stu d en ts to pick out sp ecific poin ts o f in fo rm atio n from th e text Listening or reading for language T h e focus sh ifts to vocabulary or form s o f th e language Introduction and stu d en ts pick out sp ecific w ords and p h rases Fu rth er p ractice T h is is perform ed in m any d ifferen t ways, in clud in g drill-type activities, Working with technical English in fo rm atio n gap activities, and gam es Many o f th e p ractice activities involve pair or sm all group in tera ctio n to m axim ize th e am ou n t o f p ractice lea rn ers receive T ech n ical term inology Tech Talk E lem en tary aim s to provide vocabulary th a t w ill be u sefu l across groups o f learn ers w orking in a variety o f d ifferent tech n ica l co n texts Review and R em em b er In addition to th e 21 standard u n its, th ere are also seven Reuieu; and R em em ber sectio n s They follow every third cou rsebook unit T h ese se ctio n s generally tak e around an h ou r to co m p lete and th ey revisit and co n so lid ate som e key language from earlier u nits, and in trod uce a little m ore vocabulary, providing op portun ities for review and ex ten sio n They also p rom pt a ch an ge o f pace b ecau se, although th ey still involve in teractio n , th ey also involve m ore solitary ‘th in k in g ’ work O ther featu res T h ere are a n u m ber o f additional featu res at th e back o f th e S tu d en t’s Book, and you m ay w ish to draw your stu d e n ts’ a tten tio n to th em at th e s ta rt o f th e course In fo rm ation file (pages -1 ) A dditional in fo rm atio n for pairw ork activities and su ggested answ ers to som e exercises D irections for w h en to u se each file ap p ear at th e appropriate p oin t in th e S tu d en t’s Book M etric-im p erial co n v ersio n s (page 115) Quick version tables T h e book co n tain s a variety o f b o th m etric and im p erial m easu rem en ts B ritish English / A m erican E nglish g lo ssary (page 115) A list o f term s in Tech Talk E lem en tary th a t d iffer in B ritish and A m erican English N um bers (page 116) In fo rm ation on how we say and w rite d ifferen t n u m bers (cardinal n um bers, ordinals, d ecim als, fractio n s, and prices) Irregular verb s (page 117) A referen ce list o f irregular Sim ple Past form s M any o f th e m o st co m m o n verbs in English are irregular L isten in g scrip t (pages 1 -1 ) A num bered scrip t o f all th e listen in g m aterials Introduction It assu m es th a t individuals will m eet specialized term s during th eir w ork th a t they will need to learn on th eir own, outside th is course Every area o f scien ce and tech nology co n ta in s a large n um ber o f sp ecialized term s For exam p le, som eo n e w orking on aircraft skin dam age m ig h t need to know words su ch as pitting, fayin g, pillowing, exfoliation, etc However, th e se term s m ay be o f no in terest to a person w orking on an aero-en gin e on th e n ex t b en ch w ho n eed s to know an oth er com p letely differen t se t o f term s T h erefore Tech Talk Elem en tary does n ot a ttem p t to include specialized tech n ica l term s As w ell as having differing n eed s, learn ers m ay have d ifferen t exp ectatio n s as to w h at words th ey will learn on th eir cou rse and th is will probably n eed exp lan atio n and class d iscu ssion early on You should be ready to m ake th e ratio n ale clear T h is exp lan atio n can be done eith e r in English or th e le a rn e rs’ m o th er tongue One approach is to co llect to g eth er som e te ch n ica l words th a t your stu d en ts n eed for th eir jo b s W rite th em on th e board or on slips o f paper, th en ask th e stu d en ts to b rain storm m ore and group th em as to w h eth er th ey are: • sp ecialized te ch n ica l term s - words sp ecialists need; • g en eral tech n ica l term s - words lots o f te ch n icia n s and en g in eers need Point out th a t actu ally th ere is a n o th er group o f w ords th a t th ey need for th e ir jo b th a t are n ot p articu larly tech n ica l a t all T h en co n stru ct a diagram w ith circles, show ing overlaps if appropriate Explain th a t you w ill be fo cu ssin g on u sefu l g eneral words and g eneral te ch n ica l term s - n ot th e sp ecialized term s General vocabulary Specialized technical term s / exfoliation working erythropoietin cardio-pulmonary resuscitation plug stop go ladder amplitude / pillowing pitting battery router transmission socket hydraulic safety telephone solder alarm pump output kilogram pressure electromagnetic cylinder antenna horizontal General technical term s • W h ilst p recision is appreciated, am biguity is not U nless it im p inges on accuracy, w h erever possible, yes or no answ ers should b e favoured over maybes On a related b u t p erso n al note, as I sw itched from b u sin ess to tech n ica l English to w rite th is book, I em barked on a steep te ch n ica l learn in g curve I’m delighted to report th a t it w as a w onderful exp erien ce Not only did th e tech n ica l co n te n t m a tte r tu rn out to be hugely in terestin g to w ork w ith, b u t in m y exp erien ce, th e tech n ica l English lea rn er brings u n su rp assed creativity and good h u m o u r to th e classroo m W e had huge fun developing and p iloting th e se m aterials, and earn estly hope o th er u sers exp erien ce th e sam e en jo y m en t A technical approach to language Be aw are th a t tea ch in g te ch n ica l English stu d en ts ca n b e rath er d ifferen t from teach in g b u sin ess or g eneral English stu d en ts Obviously every le a rn e r brings th eir own individual p erso n ality to th e learn in g p rocess, so g en eralizatio n s are dangerous But during our resea rch for th is book su fficien t tea ch ers (and stu d en ts) m en tio n ed th e p oin ts below for us to feel th ey are w orthy o f m en tio n here • Practical problem -solving task s are appreciated over ta sk s th a t involve sharin g exp erien ces or developing social relation sh ip s • Too m u ch sta tic deskw ork can be co u n ter­ productive and it is b e s t in tersp ersed w ith activities w h ere stu d en ts can stan d up and m ove around th e class • A ctivities w h ere stu d en ts can physically m an ip u late things are o ften p articularly m otivating Realia in th e form o f real equ ip m en t, real tools, or p ictu res, flash card s, and words or labels m ou n ted or printed on cards th a t can be m oved around, etc are extrem ely useful • T each ers should try to en su re exp lan atio n s and p ractice activities are very clea r and sy stem a tic T h e u se o f diagram s, tables, and ch a rts is generally m uch appreciated • In a g eneral or b u sin ess English class we m ight en courage stu d en ts to guess th e m ean in g o f new words from co n text However, be aw are th a t tech n ica l English lea rn ers o ften n eed to u n d erstan d in greater d etail and w ith m ore precision Introduction Can you speak English? Tell th e stu d en ts to read th e in stru ctio n and ch eck everyone u n d erstan d s it befo re you play th e recording T h en play each co n v ersatio n once and co llect th eir answ ers D on’t co n firm or co rrect yet W h en th e y ’ve listen ed to all four co n versatio n s, go back and co n firm w h ich are correct Play th e co n v ersatio n s again if necessary First m eetings Survival p h rases: Please sp ea k slow ly, It’s fo r you, T hanks, No problem , etc Reference and telephone num bers N um bers: -1 Pronu nciation: serial, referen ce, and telep h o n e num bers Answers 1st picture: 2nd picture: Identifying things W hat’s this? It’s a / an Vocabulary: everyday o b jects N um bers: 1 -2 International w ords W ell-know n English words First meetings T h is sectio n in cludes: • ex p ressio n s for m eetin g new people • survival p h rases • words and p h rases th a t stu d en ts are likely to have heard before, e.g Can you sp ea k English? No problem Note One of your key tasks at this stage is to get an idea of your students’ levels of English, so you can pitch your speed accordingly Whilst it’s unusual to find complete beginners in English these days, some exist But many people will have had at least a little exposure to English before, and students can generally understand more than they can say M Before th e stu d en ts listen , focus a tte n tio n on th e photographs and ask sim ple q u estio n s about th em , e.g Look at picture one W h at can you see? How m any peop le are there? W here are they? W hat are they saying? See how m uch th ey u nd erstand A ccep t all answ ers and d on ’t co rrect yet W rite any u sefu l language they suggest on th e board Unit f ) C heck th e stu d en ts u n d erstan d w h at th ey have to do, th en play th e recording again, p au sing w h en n ecessa ry to give th em tim e to w rite th e words C ollect and ch eck answ ers, w riting words on th e board w h en n ecessary If appropriate, refer back to th e language th ey su ggested in and p oin t out sim ilarities and d ifferen ces Answers please speak slowly for you It’s a manual 3rd picture: 4th picture: to meet you an electronic T h e stu d en ts can th is alon e or in pairs W h en th ey ’ve finish ed , ch eck answ ers w ith th e w hole class T h en tell th e stu d en ts to cover up th e lettered resp o n ses and ask th em to recall th em by looking at th e num bered p h rases T h en reverse th e procedure so th ey cover up th e num bered ph rases and try to recall th e m from th e resp o n ses Answers Id, 2e, 3c, 4g, 5f, 6a, 7b Read b o th th e A and B roles o f th e co n v ersatio n s aloud, pau sing so th e stu d en ts can suggest w h at words m ig h t be m issing T h en tak e role A y o u rself and ch oose a stu d en t to tak e role B D em o n strate how th e activity w orks in fro n t o f th e class W h en everyone know s w h at to do, m ove into pairw ork p ractice Possible answers A Excuse me Are you ? B Yes, I am A Hello, I’m B Hi, nice to meet you A Nice to meet you, too A Welcome to B Thanks A Can you speak ? B No, I’m sorry Can you speak English? A Just a little, so please speak slowly B OK, no problem A B A B A B W hat’s this? It’s a manual It’s for you Thanks / Thank you very much You’re welcome Is it in ? No, it’s in English Gently bump into the person you are changing positions with Say I'm sorry, and elicit OK, no problem Offer your hand to shake and say Welcome to Munich (or wherever it is that you are) Elicit a response like Thank you It's nice to be here Ask Excuse me.Areyou Franz? Elicit Yes, I am./No, I'm nof.lntroduce yourself [Hi, I'm ) and shake hands Ask Excuse me Can you speak English? and elicit a response Pick up a textbook and give it to the student saying This is for you Elicit What is it? or Thank you very much, and say You're welcome Reference and telephone numbers M ost stu d en ts will know th e n u m bers 1-10 Th e goal h ere is to give th em extra co n fid en ce and speed in h an d lin g th em If appropriate, p oint out to th e stu d en ts th a t th ere is a referen ce page on n u m bers at th e back o f th e S tu d en t’s Book on page 116 Extra activity This'circle'game reviews the survival phrases from the First meetings section You can play it at the end of the section, the end of the unit, or the start of the next lesson Tell the students to stand up and form a circle with you Point to a student on the opposite side of the circle to you and beckon them forward Indicate that they should swap places with you As you change positions give them a wave, say Hello, and encourage them to reply Indicate that everyone else should the same, i.e swap places with someone else on the other side of the circle, and say Hello Elicit -1 from th e class, co u n tin g on your fingers C ount round th e class up to ten and th en back down Find out if th e stu d en ts can co n tin u e up to tw en ty or h ig h er too f a C heck th e stu d en ts u n d erstan d th e in stru ctio n s and play all five co n versatio n s o n ce w ithou t stopping T h en play th em again, pau sing w h ere n ecessa ry for th e stu d en ts to w rite C heck answ ers a fte r each versation, w riting th e co rrect n u m b ers on th e board w h en necessary Answers 962 AF337 384-8235 783/70 +44 (0)1223 270938 ext no 542 When everyone is back in position, repeat the process several times, but vary the encounters each time you pass, using the ideas below Say Hello, nice to meet you Elicit Nice to meet you, too, and shake hands Unit At the appropriate p oin ts, pau se th e recording and draw a tten tio n to: • - dash • / slash • 33 (pronounced as double three) • (pronounced as zero, th en la te r oh) In som e languages, telep h o n e n u m bers are pronou nced in groups o f two digits rath er th a n th rees or fours, as th ey are in English If necessary, w rite a long telep h o n e n u m ber on th e board and in d icate w here w e ’d pau se in English, e.g 610 555 9630 Identifying things T h is sectio n : • in tro d u ces n am es for som e co m m o n o b jects • preview s n u m bers 1 -2 and som e alp h ab et le tte rs (vowels and co n so n an ts) T h e alp h ab et and n u m bers 1-1 0 will receive m ore in ten siv e p ractice in th e n ex t unit Note Double is commonly used for repeated digits in British English (and you sometimes hear treble for three digits too), but it’s less common in American English Therefore it’s probably more important for your students to be able to understand the word double than to use it in their own speech S tartin g w ith stron g er stu d en ts first, call on d ifferen t stu d en ts to say p articu lar referen ce n u m b ers aloud T h en put th e stu d en ts into pairs and tell th em to te s t each other, i.e one stu d en t poin ts at a n u m ber and th e o th er says it aloud Ask a stu d en t to tell you th eir telep h o n e n u m b er and w rite it on th e board Ask w h ich p art is th e area code, and ask for th e country code, and e x te n sio n num ber, if th ey have one M ark th e n a m es o f th e p arts, as in th e S tu d en t’s Book Let th e stu d en ts rem ain seated to co m p lete th e first line o f th e table w ith th e ir own co n ta ct n um bers T h en tell th e m to w alk around th e room to co llect in fo rm atio n from a n o th er th ree stu d en ts Extra activity Dictate your telephone number to the students.Tell them to call you tonight, this weekend, or whenever, to say'hello'(in English, of course) Begin w ith a closed -book p resen tatio n Point to or pick up d ifferen t singular o b jects in th e room and ask W hat’s this? Elicit th e n a m e s o f som e d ifferen t item s, including th e n a m es o f som e o f th e item s th ey w ill see la te r in th e picture, e.g a pen, a pencil, a bag, a key, a m obile phone If th e stu d en ts c a n ’t n am e item s, w rite What's this? on th e board and en courage th em to ask you Note Contracted forms are very common in spoken English, so get the students using contractions like what’s from the start To demonstrate its parts, hold your left fist in front of you and say what, hold your right fist out and say is, and then clasp them together and say u;hat's Tell th e stu d en ts to th e m atch in g task alone or in pairs Before co llectin g answ ers, ch eck your stu d en ts can say th e n u m bers 1-20 Let th em look at th e n u m bers sp elt as words if n ecessa ry to aid th eir m em o ries f a W h en th e stu d en ts have com p leted th e listen in g task, encourage th em to w ork out th e rule by looking at th e ir answ ers Answers to and a bag a ticket a pencil an electronic organizer a newspaper an orange a manual a torch an umbrella 10 an electronic pass 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 an apple a passport an alarm clock a key a mobile phone an identity card a battery an English dictionary a map a pen Rules With vowel sounds, use an With other sounds, use a 10 Unit D em o n strate th is activity w ith a student T h en m ove on to pair practice and As in th e S tu d en t’s Book T h ese activities can also be p erform ed w hile w alking around th e room M ake sure th e stu d en ts have pen and paper ready to jo t down answ ers, before you play th e recording International words So m any English words have b eco m e alm o st in tern a tio n a l th a t stu d en ts m ay know m ore words th a n th ey are aw are of T h is sectio n is designed to rem in d th em o f ‘good frien d s’ words th a t m ay be sim ilar in th eir m o th er tongu e and so requ ire less m em o ry effort to learn Answers It’s an alarm clock / a clock It’s a telephone It’s a keyboard It’s an ambulance / a siren It’s an email It’s an electric drill / a drill It’s an aeroplane / a plane It’s an insect / a bee D irect atten tio n to th e language n ote at th e b o tto m o f th e page Point out: We use co n tractio n s w h en we speak, e.g it + is - it’s We u se not to m ake negatives, e.g isn’t T h e word order ch an g es in qu estio n s, e.g It is a siren? W e d on ’t co n tract yes answ ers, e.g Yes, it is / Yes, it’s X T h e stu d en ts can w ork alone or in pairs Note Wrong word stress is generally more of a hindrance to intelligibility than mispronunciation of individual sounds Take this opportunity to show the students how to mark the main stress in words There are several ways this can be done: RObot robot Oo 'robot enginEER engineer ooO engin'eer B rain sto rm a few words w ith th e w hole class, so th e stu d en ts get th e idea, th e n put th e stu d en ts in to sm all groups to th in k o f m ore words Variation Make this a competition.The group that can think of the most international words is the winner We co n tra ct no answ ers, e.g No, it isn’t / No, it’s not / Extra activity Play the Labelling game on page 91 of this book to review the names of objects in the room Unit 11 Answers Make sure never Unplug As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Wear remove Keep allow operate Part o f th is activity can be done w ith th e w hole cla ss th er th a n in groups if you ’d prefer Get th e stu d en ts to b rain sto rm as m any ‘dangerous th in g s’ as possible Th e p ictures w ill serve as in sp iration Put th e stu d en ts in sm all groups to w ork on th e w riting activity in p art One person should w rite and th e o th ers should d ictate and ch eck spellings In p art 3, w h ilst th e groups report back to th e class, co llect exam p les o f good language and w rite th e m on th e board Draw atten tio n to th e u se o f will in th e s e n te n ce s you co llect, and read th e language note Turn the activity above into a team game Who wrote: the most instructions? the most technically correct instructions? the most creative instructions? the most grammatically correct instructions? Award prizes, team points, rounds of applause, etc Have a class vote As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Let th e stu d en ts read through th ese s e n te n ce s before th ey listen again See if th ey can recall any o f th e m issin g words T h en play th e recording again, pau sing for th em to fill in th eir answ ers Answers had cut Accidents T h is sectio n : • p ractises p red ictions w ith will and w on ’t • co n tra sts th e qu estio n s Why? and Why not? • in trod u ces som e irregular Past Sim ple verbs Go through th e p ictures one by one asking th e stu d en ts to describe th em Ask qu estio n s as appropriate, e.g W hat can you see? W hat are they doing? W hat’s wrong? T h en tell th e stu d en ts to th e m atch in g task as in th e book Answers 1st picture: 3rd picture: 5th picture: C hoose a stu d en t and d em o n strate how th is w orks to th e class M ake sure th e stu d en ts realize th a t a positive in stru ctio n requ ires a Why? q u estio n and a negative in stru ctio n requ ires Why not? T h en m ove on to pair p ractice Answer He tripped and cut his leg Variation Do th is activity w ith th e w hole class Elicit as m any resp o n ses as seem appropriate for each picture, e.g H e’ll fa ll asleep at the w heel H e’ll haue an accident H e’ll crash into another car Provide vocabulary as required and w rite exam p les o f u sefu l language on th e board 2nd picture: 4th picture: 6th picture: Will left put, forgot won’t As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers and won’t (see - will + not = won’t) 1, 2, 4, and Tell th e stu d en ts to u nderline th e Past Sim ple verbs in s e n te n ce s 1, 2, 4, and Ask th em w h ich verbs are regular (tripped) and w h ich are irregular (had, cut, left, put, forgot) Elicit th e P resen t Sim ple form o f th e irregular verbs Explain th a t m any very co m m o n verbs in English are irregular, and read th e language note Unit 20 79 As in th e S tu d en t’s Book T h e stu d en ts can w ork alone or in pairs Answers put rang stopped forgot tripped were cut needed 10 went 11 came 12 was W h en ch eckin g answ ers w ith th e class, highlight: • T h e verb be h as two Past Sim ple form s: u;as and w ere • Som e verbs have th e sam e p resen t and p a st form , e.g cut, put • T h e Past Sim ple form o f go is went Conversions T h is sectio n review s d ecim al n u m bers and m e a su re m e n ts and it delves in to an area th a t ca n b e a big h ea d ach e in in tern a tio n a l co n texts: m e a su re m e n ts and versions In p articu lar it looks at im p erial and m etric m e a su rem en t system s Answers km/h yd °F mm lbs m2 ft? kj tonne 10 in2 11 gal 12 kW/h 13 psi 14 °C 15 kg/cm2 metric imperial imperial metric imperial metric imperial metric imperial imperial imperial metric metric 16 mph imperial kilometres per hour yards Fahrenheit millimetres pounds square metres cubic feet kilojoules tonnes square inches gallons kilowatt hours pounds per square inch centigrade or Celsius kilograms per square centimetre miles per hour Tell th e stu d en ts to w ork on th is in pairs before co llectin g answ ers from th e class Answers 1 and 16 and and 4 and 10 and 14 and 11 13 and 15 and 12 As in th e S tu d en t’s Book ( Pl ay th e recording once w ithou t stopping T h en play it again, p au sing for th e stu d en ts to w rite th eir answ ers Rem ind th e stu d en ts o f th e ru les for w riting d ecim als as n ecessa ry (see page 116 o f th e S tu d en t’s Book) Possible answer Broadly speaking, the USA uses imperial measurements, while most of the world operates on a metric system This is somewhat simplistic though, as metric systems are widely employed in certain industries in the US (e.g automotives) and consequently in certain geographical areas (e.g the Midwest, around Detroit) As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers To orbit Mars Its launch Its landing 85 km 60 km One team used imperial measurements The other used metric Answers 0.0447 2205 914.4 1550 Go through th e list one by one, inviting d ifferen t stu d en ts to say th e m ea su rem en ts aloud 80 Unit 20 6 6.229 0.07031 0.02778 -17.78 T h is is an in fo rm atio n gap activity M ake sure th e stu d en ts know th a t th ey should n ot look a t each o th e r’s in fo rm atio n u n til th ey have com p leted th e task 21 What a great idea! Locating parts R eferen cin g w ith it and they is attached to, is supported by, is su spen ded from Vocabulary: m a ch in e p arts - chute, gear, pivot, winch, etc Vocabulary: m ov em en ts - drop, low er, roll, raise, rotate, etc Answers If, 2i, 3a, 4e, 5g, 6d, 7h, 8b, 9c Describing inventions Gerund form s: like / love / hate doing W h at is it? It’s fo r + -ing (review) Answers How many its are there? the sun the beam of sunlight the large spoon the bed Locating parts T h is sectio n looks at th ree m ach in es and provides p ractice in: • id en tifyin g p arts by n am e • exp lain in g how th ings work • backw ard referen cin g w ith it and they • d escribing how p arts are related physically: is attached, is supported, is suspen ded Do th is activity w ith th e w hole class W rite any u sefu l vocabulary you elicit on th e board Tell th e stu d en ts to label th e diagram w ith th e words before th ey listen D on’t co rrect any answ ers at th is stage T h en tell th e stu d en ts th a t you will play th e recording o n ce and th ey should ch eck th eir answ ers A fter th ey have heard it once, play it again, p au sing w h ere appropriate and ch eck in g th e ir labels are correct Allow th e stu d en ts som e tim e to study th e m a ch in e and w ork out w h at h ap p en s before th ey give you an answ er Answer It’s for waking you up in the morning Answers a cable lines b winch c boom d hook e load Possible extra questions Do you want a machine like this? (Yes Why? No Why not?) Do you know anybody who needs a machine like this? (Who and why?) A sk th e stu d en ts W hat can you see? What p arts does this m achine h a v e ? Elicit th e n am es o f p arts th e stu d en ts know A ccep t all answ ers at th is stage and re je c t none T h en tell th e stu d en ts to read how th e m ach in e w orks and n u m ber th e parts As in th e S tu d en t’s Book T h e stu d en ts will have to w ork out w h at it is by looking back T h e th in g about a back referen cer like it is th a t its m ean in g is largely derived from co n text f hydraulic ram g operator’s cab h gear i outriggers Play th e recording again w hile th e stu d en ts look at th e listen in g scrip t on page 127 Tell th em to u nderline th e words it and they in th e text Go through th e text, elicitin g w h at part o f th e cran e each it or they refers to Unit 21 81 Answers and it bums through the rope and it pushes the switch The wind comes through the window and the weight drops The piece of wood rotates on the pivot, It blows the ship across the water, The magnifying glass focusses the beam, The string pulls the window shut This turns on the lamp Answers It runs up (the boom) it lifts the load (the boom) It’s a piston cylinder (the hydraulic ram) and it pushes the boom up (the hydraulic ram) They’re attached to a hook (cable lines) It rotates the boom left and rig h t (a gear) They support the crane (outriggers) strong winds can’t blow it over (the crane) T h en read th e language n ote on it and they and tell th e stu d en ts to co m p lete th e rule H ighlight th e word it in th e description Ask W hat does each it refer to? It blow s the ship across the w ater (the wind) and it pushes the switch, (the ship) and it burns through the rope, (the beam ) Answers it refers back to one thing they refers back to two or more things 10 As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers raise roll drop lower rotate push blow burn pull Focus a tten tio n on th e pictu re initially Let th e stu d en ts w ork out how th e m ach in e w orks, th en ask qu estio n s about it: W hat can you see? What's it for? (shu ttin g a window) W hat p arts does it have? T h en tell th e stu d en ts to th e labellin g task in th e book Answers a piece of rope b piece of string c weight d piece of wood e pivot f magnifying glass g beam of light h tank of water i lamp Put th e stu d en ts in sm all groups o f th ree or four to th is task Tell th em to describe e a ch action in th e p rocess C ollect feedback from th e class D on’t co rrect or co n firm at th is stage T h en tell th em to look a t file 33 on page 114 and see if th ey w ere correct They ca n th e ta sk th ere individually, and th en ch eck th eir answ ers w ith th e group 82 Unit 21 Ask th e in itial q u estio n to th e class, bu t d on ’t spend too lon g on it b ecau se th e ex ercises th a t follow w ill guide th e stu d en ts through th e se co n cep ts m ore fully, and they should help to clea r up any qu estio n s in th eir m inds A fter th ey have looked at th e diagram s, put th e stu d en ts in groups o f th ree or four and tell th em to work through qu estio n s to together -13 As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers 11 a is attached b is suspended c is supported 12 a cable wires b hook c the outriggers 13 The tank is supported by four legs The string is attached to the window The wood is suspended from the hook Extra activity Tell the students to look around the classroom Ask Can you see anything that is supported, attached, or suspended? Variation: Give groups of students 'post-it' notes and ask them to write sentences about things in the room using: is supported, is attached, or is suspended and then stick them in appropriate places Describing inventions T h is sectio n reviews: • W h at’s it for? It’s fo r -in g • th e exp ression It takes (to refer to tim e) • d escribing how th ings work It also in tro d u ces m ore gerunds (nouns form ed w ith -ing) for d escribing likes and dislikes Look at ea ch picture in tu rn and ask th ese q u estio n s as appropriate: W hat can you see? W h at is it? W hat’s it for? How does it work? Tell th e stu d en ts to ignore th eir books and ju s t liste n th e first tim e you play th e recording T h en play it again, pau sing after each in ven tio n for th e stu d en ts to com p lete th e picture colu m n in th eir ch art Check th e ir answ ers as you go T h en ask th e stu d en ts w h at each item is for If n ecessary, play th e recording again to co llect full d escriptions As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers Painting walls Shopping Inventing machines Students’ own answers D em o n strate how th is activity w orks by askin g d ifferen t stu d en ts som e o f th e qu estio n s and elicitin g d ifferen t resp o n ses Read th e language n ote and th en m ove on to pair p ractice M ake th is a class b rain sto rm in g activity Th e m ore jo b s th ey can th in k of, th e g reater th eir ch o ice w ill be w h en th ey co m e to th e final task in th is sectio n Let th e stu d en ts b rain sto rm for a w hile, th e n if possible, provide each group w ith a large sh e e t o f paper and coloured pens T h is way th ey can produce a large picture to show th e class later A lternatively you could offer differen t m ed ia su ch as th e w h ite board or overhead tran sp aren cies Answers Invention Picture What it’s for d Hanging your shirts on the ceiling b Checking your socks match c Painting walls Call on groups to com e and exp lain th eir m ach in es one by one, and provide feedback a Finding your wife in a shopping mall Variation e Saving gasoline As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers filled with, floats puts on, match takes, automatic, saves map, useful magnet, pulls, friendly Turn the activity above into a team game Which team's machine was: the most useful? the most imaginative / creative? the most technically correct? the funniest? Which team's presentation was: the most informative? the most accurate? the funniest? Have a class vote Award prizes, team points, rounds of applause, etc Unit 21 83 What is it? T h is puzzle review s a variety o f stru ctu res from earlier in th e book and can be u sed for eith er read ing or listen in g practice It can also be exten d ed as a w riting activity Read th e d escrip tion s s e n te n ce by sen ten ce, pau sing after ea ch line to allow th e stu d en ts to guess w h at th e se th ings are A lternatively, call on d ifferen t stu d en ts to read th e d escrip tion s aloud You can also organize it as a tea m gam e Everyone closes th eir books and you read th e se n te n ce s aloud Team s are allow ed to guess a fter ea ch line T h e te a m th a t gu esses correctly first sco res a point Answers A dictionary A microwave oven Water A telescope A cog or gear A brain A one-armed bandit / fruit machine / gambling machine 84 Unit 21 Extra activity This writing activity is challenging If you have mixed levels, pair or group weaker students with stronger ones After the students have completed the puzzles in the book, tell them to write their own similar puzzles Give them some ideas of different things they can describe before they begin, otherwise you may find everyone writes descriptions of cars Suggest these things: Something you wear - clothing perhaps Something you eat, or something you drink Something you use every day at work Something you measure things with Something you want as a present Walk round the class while they are writing, helping where necessary, and encouraging them to put the more obscure descriptions first so they don't give the game away too early When they have all written their descriptions, they should read them line by line to the class and the other students should guess what they are Review and Remember will and Irregular verbs As in th e S tu d en t’s Book As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers Answers 1 I’ll won’t You’ll We’ll She’ll won’t Will I see you tomorrow? Will she be late? Will it burst? Will we set off the alarm? Will they be cold? (1H (y\N A D No E T R H ’5 '; v- /\ (k/ (o/ \T) Tj X H A $i D L E) D V (P / E E u/ > (c ) ■M X T w \ °v \ N ^ A/ / \X |dJ f t / N Safety instructions Answers The students should stand up (The green lever should be ‘down’.) The students should stand up (The wiring is correct.) The students should raise their right arm (The gauge on the left at the bottom should not be over 2.) The students should put their right hands on their heads (Knob should be on 6.) The students should put their right hands on their heads (It’s OK to turn on this machine.) The students should put their hands on the table (The diagrams are correct.) ip u (C /—\ [M] N A W h en you are reading tech n ica l in stru ctio n s, it is o ften im p o rtan t to u n d erstan d th e m ean in g o f every word T h is reading co m p etition provides p ractice in th is skill Play it as a gam e T h e stu d en ts will be surprised w h en they read th e first in stru ctio n and find th ey have to stand up M ake sure everyone gets to th eir feet before you m ove on to th e n e x t in stru ction {W \ ^x I s] w K Measuring As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers What is it? What does it measure? What are the units of measurement? A thermometer temperature degrees Celsius, Fahrenheit, etc A guage pressure / fuel etc psi, litres or gallons, etc A tape measure length / distance centimetres, metres, inches, feet, yards, etc Scales weight grams, kilograms, ounces, pounds, etc A volt-meter voltage and electrical resistance ohms, volts Review and Remember 85 Encourage th e stu d en ts to d escribe th e m easu rin g eq u ip m en t th ey u se at work As in th e S tu d en t’s Book Answers Length: 65 mm Height: 93 mm Width: 32 mm Recording time: 60 minutes at 15 frames per second Material: latex Colour: green Sizes: small, medium, and large Pack sizes: 100 pairs per box, 10 boxes per case Dimensions: 12.9 in x 11.6 in x 3.7 in Weight: 3.31 lbs Power consumption: 25 watts Price: $63.72 Guarantee: 12 months Tank volume: 0.93 gal Voltage: 115 - 60 v Operating pressure: 120 psi Speed: 11 pages per minute (black and white) 8.5 pages per minute (colour) Memory: 4MB built-in RAM Operating temperature: 5°C - 40°C Software: MS Windows, MS-DOS compatible 86 Review and Remember Appendix Working with Tech Talk: some practical suggestions In the first lesson M ake sure everyone know s each o th e r’s n am es Devote som e energy to learn in g th em before you open th e books • Introduce yourself Shake h an d s w ith class m em b ers and say Hi / Hello, I’m and say your n am e Encourage th e stu d en ts to: a an sw er back w ith Hello, I’m and say th e ir n am es, b in trod uce th em selv es to o th er class m em b ers in th e sam e way (In large cla sse s th ey can stan d up and w alk around th e room to this.) • Try to n a m e th e class Look at each stu d en t in turn, and say th eir n am e D on’t worry if you c a n ’t rem em b er th em all first tim e Let th em rem in d you and co rrect your pron un ciation A fter you have n am ed everyone, call on a n o th er stu d en t to try to th e sa m e thing Let everyone have a go at n am in g th e class • W rite your n am e in large letters on a piece o f folded card or paper and stand it up on th e desk Tell your stu d en ts to th e sam e thing T h e cards w ill serve as useful m em ory prom pts for th e first few lesso n s C heck your stu d e n ts’ d ictionaries Ideally th ey should all have a good u p -to -d ate bilingu al dictionary As th e cou rse p rogresses, encourage th em to look words up in th e ir d ictionaries W h ere appropriate, p oin t out d ictionary featu res su ch as [U] [C] for u n co u n table / co u n table nouns Pairwork and group work M any activities in Tech Talk Elem en tary involve pairw ork O ften th e q u ick est way to show how they work is by d em o n stratin g th em yourself Play one role and se le ct a m ore co n fid en t stu d en t to play th e other S tart perform in g th e activity in fro n t o f th e class and w h en you are co n fid en t th a t th e stu d en ts u n d erstan d how it w orks, pair th em up and tell th em to th e sam e thing W h en pairs o f stu d en ts are w orking w ith two d ifferen t sets o f in fo rm atio n , m ake sure they ju s t look at th eir in fo rm atio n and n o t at th e ir p a rtn e r’s Pairwork telep h o n e calls can be sim u lated w ith stu d en ts sittin g back -to -b ack , so th ey c a n ’t see each other W h en pairs have com p leted an activity, they should get in to th e h ab it o f sw apping roles and doing it again If n ecessary, exp lain to th e stu d en ts th a t it en ables th em to p ractise all th e language and m axim ize th eir op portun ities for in teractio n and speaking practice M any o f th e pairw ork activities can be adapted to o n e-to -o n e lesso n co n tex ts, w ith th e te a ch e r tak in g a role in co m m u n icatio n activities In addition to pairw ork activities, th ere are also activities for sm all groups W ith a class o f six or fewer, you can run m any o f th e se as w hole cla ss activities W ith large cla sses, you ’ll probably n eed to divide stu d en ts up in to sm aller groups Feedback and correction Feedback is a m ajo r p art o f our jo b and also one o f th e m o st difficult T h ere are no hard and fast rules about how it is b e s t accom p lish ed , bu t h ere are som e poin ts to b ea r in m ind It’s often h and y to have a notepad w ith you as you w alk around listen in g to pairw ork and group work If you n otice so m eth in g lots o f stu d en ts are having difficulty w ith, you can stop th e class in m id -activity to explain O therw ise you can jo t down poin ts to go over w ith th e class at th e end Linguistic accu racy is only one a sp ect o f effectiv e co m m u n ication M any o f th e fu rth er W orking w ith Tech Talk 87 practice activities are task -b ased , so you can evaluate th e stu d e n ts’ p erfo rm an ce by a m uch m ore p ractical m easu re, i.e w as th e o u tcom e o f th e ta sk su ccessfu l? For exam p le, in th e ch eck in g an order task such as th e one in U nit page 11, you can evaluate in term s of: w h eth er th ey got th e jo b done su ccessfu lly (in th is case th a t m ean s id en tifyin g all th e errors) how long it took (Were th ere any u n n ecessa ry delays? Tim e co sts m oney!) th e ir m a n n e r (Would a co-w orker have found th e m easy to w ork w ith? Did th ey sound friendly and helpful?) Involve th e stu d en ts in th e feed back w ith qu estio n s like: Any questions? How was it? Was it u sefu l? Was it easy / difficult? Would you like to it ag ain ? (Nou; / Next week?) Using recordings and listening scripts Encourage th e stu d en ts to ch eck th eir answ ers to ex ercises in pairs after listen in g It prevents th e stro n g est stu d en ts answ ering all th e tim e and gives you an opportunity to gauge how m uch d ifferen t stu d en ts have understood Give d ifferen t stu d en ts trol o f th e tape record er or CD player som etim es It encourages in tera ctio n b etw een cla ssm a te s as th ey ask for p au ses and replays, and it can be revealing as regards how ch allen g in g th ey are finding th e recordings T h e listen in g scrip ts on pages 11 -1 o f th e S tu d en t’s Book can be u sed to create additional activities and ex ercises Here are som e ideas for how they can be used R ead-throughs A fter listen in g to th e co n versatio n and doing th e exercises, pairs o f stu d en ts tak e d ifferen t roles and read through th e listen in g script W h en they have finished, th ey swap roles and it again -5 read -throughs As above, bu t w hen th e stu d en ts are fam iliar w ith b o th roles, they read it again w ith only one stu d en t looking 88 W orking w ith Tech Talk at th e listen in g script T h e stu d en t th a t’s looking h elp s th eir p artn er w h en th ey falter W h en th ey have finished, they swap over and th e o th er stu d en t looks W ith sh o rt co n versatio n s, th ey m ay eventually b e able to m ove onto a third stage w h ere n eith e r of th em looks and th ey recall th e en tire versation Mixed language levels M any tech n ica l English cla sses co n tain stu d en ts at d ifferen t language levels, and th is m ay well be th e case in your class W h ilst th is is n ’t an ideal sta te o f affairs, it ’s n ev erth eless possible to create a very effectiv e learn in g en viron m en t, providing th ere is a positive group dynam ic Obviously you need to pace th e lesso n at a level w h ich does n o t let th e n eed s o f h ig h er or low er level stu d en ts dom inate R em em b er to ch eck w ith th e class on a regular b asis Try to get everyone to agree to th e speed you progress at and tak e a vote if necessary W eaker stu d en ts can be h elped along by settin g th em extra hom ew ork and show ing th e m w h at th ey need to to stay up w ith th e class Sittin g th em n ex t to a h igher level stu d en t w ho can help th em is o ften helpful D on’t hold th e stron g er stu d en ts back though Encourage th em to extra th ings in class if th ey fin ish activities faster, su ch as looking up vocabulary in a dictionary Concentration levels Fatigue can be a serious problem w h en learn ers are com bin in g an English class w ith a long w orking day Try to pay a tten tio n to th e group’s energy levels and ch an ge th e p ace if they are flagging Be ready to drop th e task in h and and go back to review so m eth in g you ’ve done before, or try a new sim p ler activity It’s often th e case th a t so m eth in g th a t w as difficult w h en your stu d en ts w ere tired, tu rns out to be very easy for th em w h en th ey are fresher G am es are extrem ely u sefu l for ch an gin g th e pace and also providing u sefu l repetitive p ractice You’ll find a variety o f su g gestion s th rou ghout th is book You will recognize m any o f th em and th ey have b e e n included b e ca u se o f th e p articu lar value th ey can afford in providing p ractice in te ch n ica l cla sses You ca n o ften in je c t m ore fun and h u m o u r into activities by adding a com petitive elem en t, e.g The fir st p air to fin ish is the winner The group w ith the longest list is the winner You can award points to d ifferen t te a m s (and su b tract them ) You can award prizes and organize rounds o f applause You ca n have stu d en ts vote on th ings, e.g Whose ideas w ere the best? The m ost creative? The m ost practical? The m ost unusual? You can have stu d en ts place b e ts and gam ble People o ften learn b e s t w h en th ey are h aving fun Appendix Games and activities for changing the pace Countries T h e se gam es and activities will be fam iliar to m o st tea ch ers, b u t are u sefu l for ch an gin g th e pace and recyclin g key language and vocabulary They can o ften be adapted to provide u sefu l follow -on p ractice for d ifferen t S tu d en t’s Book activities This game reviews n am es o f countries, nationalities, and languages Get in order Team one says th e n am e o f a country, e.g Brazil Team two m u st th en say th e n ationality, e.g Brazilian Team th ree m u st th e n n am e th e language people speak in th a t country, e.g Portuguese This g am e is great fo r getting tired students on their f e e t and moving about Ask th e stu d en ts to form a line They should stan d in fro n t o f you so everyone is facin g you and th ey are one beh in d th e other W h en th e line is straight, tell th em to m ake a n o th er line, so th ey are lined up in order o f th eir: h eig h t (e.g tall people at th e back) n a m e s in th e alp h ab et (their first n a m es - th en th e ir la st n am es) age m o n th (the m o n th o f th e ir birthday) len g th o f tim e w ith th eir com pan y cars (their age, th eir size) len g th o f tim e m arried w ake up tim e (the tim e th ey se t th eir alarm clock in th e m orning) jo u rn e y tim e (their jo u rn ey to work) English skills (who sp eaks th e b e s t English?) shoe size Variations You can also specify the order they should line up, e.g big feet at the back - big feet in front, etc In large classes, form teams to race one another 90 Games and activities Ask th e class to form th ree team s T h en tea m two n a m es a cou ntry and tea m th ree th e n ationality, and so on Award p oin t for each co rrect answ er Simon says This g am e practises instructions and im perative form s It also gets students up and m oving abou t w hich can revive a tired class Teach or revise about ten in stru ctio n s For exam ple: Stand up Sit dow n Turn around clockw ise Close your eyes Open your books Pick up a pencil Draw a rectangle Stand on your left leg Raise your right arm Put your han ds behind your back Call out th e in stru ctio n s If you say Stand up, th e stu d en ts m u st stan d up If you say Don’t stand up, th ey m u stn ’t stan d up A nyone w ho gets it w rong or h e sita te s is ‘o u t’ or lo ses a p oin t for th eir team Variations Variations Let the students take turns calling out the instructions Use the structures You m ust /You have to / Never /You mustn't to give the instructions To review the names of materials, students have to label different things with the name of the material they are made of, e.g plastic, wood, etc Fizz Buzz To review the names of geometric shapes, students have to find things to label with different shape descriptions, e.g It's rectangular It's spherical This g am e practises num bers Stu d en ts co u n t around th e class, 1, 2, 3, etc But w h en it ’s th e ir tu rn to say a n u m ber w h ich you can divide by five, th ey have to say/izz in stead So 4, fiz z , 6, 7, etc W h en th ey have got used to fiz z , in trod uce th e word buzz too W h en it ’s th eir turn to say a n u m b er w h ich you can divide by seven, they have to say buzz in stead If you can divide th e n u m b er by five and seven, th ey have to say/izz buzz Variation Count downwards instead of up, e.g.>4 hundred and one, fizz, ninety nine Labelling Another g am e th at gets students on their f e e t and m oving around, and it can be used to review a variety o f vocabulary Divide th e stu d en ts in to tea m s (e.g A, B, and C) and provide each team w ith lo ts o f labels ‘Postit’ n o tes are ideal, bu t if not, ordinary slips o f p aper and sticky tape will also work Tell th e stu d en ts th a t th is is a labelling com p etition T h e goal is to w rite labels for everything in th e room and put th em in position On one side o f a label, th ey should w rite th e ir tea m n am e (i.e A, B, or C), and on th e o th er side, th ey should w rite th e n am e o f a thing (You can d em o n strate by w riting th e word chair on a label and stickin g it on a chair.) At th e end o f th e allotted tim e (say five m in u tes), you w alk around th e room in sp ectin g th eir work and th e tea m w ith th e m o st correctly w ritten labels is th e w inner To review the names of joints and fastenings, students have to label different things with the thing that is fastening or joining them together, e.g glue, hinge, staple, etc You can insist on the correct spelling, ban or encourage the use of dictionaries as you see fit Labels with words that are duplicated by another group can be disqualified, or words that no other team has thought of can receive extra points Chinese whispers This gam e w orks best in larger groups W h isp er a s e n te n ce into one stu d e n t’s ear They th en w h isp er it into a n o th er stu d e n t’s ear, and th ey w h isp er it to th e n ex t stu d en t and so on, round th e class Th e final stu d en t says th e s e n te n ce aloud and th e resu ltin g s e n te n ce is com pared to th e original Variations Whisper words so they travel round the circle in two directions For spelling practice, whisper the letters of a word into a student's ear.They then have to spell it to the next student, and so on Allow students to write down what they hear and then dictate it to the next student, e.g an email address Categories This gam e is useful fo r review ing a variety o f vocabu lary sets W rite a list o f word categ ories like th e se on th e board (the categ ories can be adapted to suit your class) Games and activities 91 A m aterial A sh ap e A colour A country Som ething you can w ear A tool Something to eat Som ething to drink An uncountable noun Som ething in this room Give th e class a le tte r o f th e alphabet, e.g R, and ask th e m to th in k o f one word beg in ning w ith th e le tte r R for each category, e.g rubber, rectangle, red, Russia, etc W rite th e words they th in k o f alongside th e categ o ries (so m etim es it w o n ’t be possible to th in k o f a word) Form te a m s o f th ree or four stu d en ts M ake th e sure stron ger stu d en ts are distributed evenly around d ifferen t team s Tell ea ch tea m to appoint a secretary to copy th e list onto a p iece o f paper Give th e class a n o th er le tte r o f th e alph abet, e.g P, and ask th e m to rep eat th e task T h e first tea m to finish , or th e tea m w ith th e m o st words a fte r say th ree m in u tes is th e w inner T h en a n o th er le tte r o f th e alp h ab et is ch o sen and th e gam e replayed Variation Allow winning teams to suggest new categories to add to the list Draw it This g am e can be used to review a variety o f words and fo r injecting som e fu n into a lesson w hen a class is tired Form tea m s w ith two to five stu d en ts in each team Call one m em b er from each tea m to you and quietly tell th em a word T h ey should all have th e sam e word T h ey th e n retu rn to th eir group, w h ere th ey m u st draw th e word They can n o t say anything T h e o th er tea m m em b ers m u st try to guess th e word T h e first tea m to guess th e word w ins a point T h e n ex t tea m m em b ers th e n com e to you and receive a n o th er word, w h ich th ey th e n draw 92 Games and activities Suitable words burger / cylinder / height / pressu re / leaking / construct / yes / M onday / yellow / plastic Variation Instead of drawing the word, students have to mime it The storeroom This gam e is useful fo r review ing the n am es o f tools, everyday objects, or coun table and uncountable nouns W rite th is p h rase on th e board Go to the storeroom and g e t Ask stu d en ts to suggest som e p ossible words to fin ish it, e.g a ham m er, som e rope, etc Tell th e stu d en ts you are going to m ake a very long list So for exam p le th e first stu d en t says Go to the storeroom and get a hammer T h en th e second one says Go to the storeroom and get a h am m er and a brush T h e third one m ig ht say a ham m er, a brush, and a torch, so th e list gets lon ger each tim e T h e goal is to create as th e lo n g est list possible before so m eo n e forgets Variation The items they name must begin with consecutive letters of the alphabet, e.g an apple, a book, a cart, etc 10 Hangman This classic g am e is good fo r practising the a lp h ab et and spelling T h in k o f a word and w rite a h orizon tal line on th e board to rep resen t each letter T h e stu d en ts take tu rns to call out letters In sist on th e co rrect p ron un ciation o f th e letters they suggest If the le tte r is in th e word, w rite it on th e co rrect line If not, add a line to th e ‘h a n g m a n ’ T h e goal is to co m p lete th e word before th e m an is hanged th ey c a n ’t, m ake th em put th e slip back into th e bag C ontinue u ntil all th e slips are gone Th e w in n er is th e p erso n w ith th e m o st slips Variations Students take turns to think of a word, come to the board and draw the hangman Students play in teams 11 Tools and devices As well as review ing the n am es o f devices, this gam e also practises the use o f It’s for -ing/or describing purpose Don’t tell the students how the w hole gam e will w ork to start with That way the memory elem en t will com e as a surprise Tell th e class to th in k o f som e u sefu l tools or devices th ey have They should w rite th eir n a m e s on d ifferen t slips o f paper, e.g a knife, a digital cam era knife 12 Find a person who You need at least six students to play this gam e It’s great fo r getting students circulating and practising questions form s M ake a q u estio n n aire like th e one below for all your stu d en ts Tell th em to circu late round th e class and ask qu estio n s to co llect th e in fo rm atio n Find a person w ho: likes fo o tb a ll (w hat’s their fav ou rite team?) h as an old car (w hat m ake is it?) is m arried (what’s their h u sban d ’s / w ife’s job?) h as children (how m any? w h a t are their nam es?) has an interesting hobby (w hat is it?) has a nicknam e (w hat is it?) sp ea k s an other lan guage (w hat language?) digital camera Show th e class w h a t’s w ritten on a slip you have prepared, e.g can opener Say I hav e a useful can opener It’s fo r opening tins o f ba k ed bean s T h en fold up th e slip and put it in a bag Go round th e class callin g on stu d en ts to describe th e tools on th eir slips like th is: I hav e a It’s fo r -ing E xam ples A I hav e a knife It’s fo r opening letters B I haue a digital cam era It’s fo r taking shots o f my children C ontinue u ntil all th e slips are in th e bag W h en th e bag is full, sh ak e it up and se le ct a slip Read th e word and th en try to recall w hose tool it w as and w h at they did w ith it, e.g Clara has a palm computer It’s fo r storing her contact details T h en p ass th e bag to a stu d en t and get th em to th e sam e (i.e read th e n am e o f th e tool and say w h ose it w as and w h at th ey did w ith it) If th ey ca n rem em ber, they can keep th e slip If not, en courage th e m to guess anyway, b u t if Games and activities 93 ... with Tech Talk 87 Appendix Games and activities for changing the pace 90 Introduction Who is Tech Talk for? Tech Talk is a cou rse for people w ho n eed both g eneral English and English for tech. .. ghou t Tech Talk is on developing sp eaking and listen in g skills A noth er im p o rtan t skill area is reading and u n d erstan d in g te ch n ica l d o cu m en tatio n and em ails Tech Talk. .. in g tech n ica l English, and som e id eas th a t we hope will be stim u latin g for exp erien ced tech n ica l English te a ch e rs too For p ractical ideas about w orking w ith Tech Talk,