Job Discussion Forums

[kev7161]

These are the texts I use in my classes. My process for the using the taped conversations are as follows:

1. Ask the students what they think is going on in the picture (sometimes the kids are smart and start reading the dialogue before I get to that).

2. Go over any words and phrases that might be new or uncommon.

3. Listen to the dialogue on the tape.

4. Do a "listen and repeat" with the dialogue (I speak a line, they all repeat it). This is for proper pronunciation.

5. Team them up in pairs or trios and have them practice it with each other 2 or 3 times.

6. Call, at random, some kids up to perform it in front of the class.

7. Choose two students to memorize the dialogue before next class and then they must present it sans book.

This is pretty much the standard I use with these dialogues. I try to encourage the kids not to be so robotic when doing the dialogues. Some kids are so quiet and stiff and some are really a blast to watch. Their classmates get a kick out of watching them too.

However, this "routine" is getting a little boring and I would love some suggestions on how to spice them up.

[Plan B]

Hi Kev,

From having read previous posts of yours, I understand that you are a big fan of New Interchange. I am not a great fan myself, but I am finding that with the right supplimentary materials, I am creating reasonable lessons.

Despite my reservations, I find that the conversations in the book are reasonably relevant to the unit, and almost always introduce a grammar point, which is discussed in the next exercise. I believe that the conversations merely act as exposure to the new grammar - create a context in which it is used. Therefore, it should not be labored over to much. I follow the same steps as you to begin with - i.e. introduce new vocabulary, check pronunciation of difficult words, let them practice, and maybe pick two students to read in class. I think that anything more than this is overkill.

My procedure for half a unit is something like this :
- 50% of the time, I replace snapshot with something more interesting and relevant.
- Do the conversation as discussed above.
- Go through the grammar focus. With advanced classes I try and extend the grammar point to create interest in it.
- Do the remaining listening and vocabulary exercises as described in the TB. Replace most of the groupwork exercises with supplimentary material, as I have never found them to work particularly well.
- The pronunciation section I usually integrate with the conversation and grammar sections. Although I pay close attention to it, I never go through it explicitly.

The problem I often have with teaching New Interchange is not about keeping the lesson interesting for the students, but keeping it interesting for me, and the more I have to strictly adhere to the text, the more mind-numbingly bored I become. Furthermore, if I were to make them repeat the same conversation more than 2 times, whether it be directly from the book, whether it be the much lauded but effectively redundant "look up and say" technique, or whether it be a role-play in front of the class, I would seriously have to question the value of my input as a teacher.

[kev7161]

You are right, I tend to enjoy the text . . . to a certain degree. I too do things outside the book that are (I hope) more interesting for the students. For example, we just finished a unit on aches and pains and medications. The book suggested that students create a commercial about a "miracle" medicine (a pill that could make you fly, for example) and I really enjoyed watching these commercials. Next unit is on menus and restaurants and food. I will have my groups create menus and write a sketch that takes place in a restaurant. As a matter of fact, I've been running a competition between groups to see who could garner the most points during a pre-determined time. The winning group gets a dinner out with their FT. This happens to coincide with the end of the food/menu unit.

But, as to the dialogues: I understand their purpose, but just thought I could "shake things up" a bit. I'll keep thinking about it and still welcome any suggestions.

[foreignDevil]

Kevin I have used the New Interchange books for several years now.

The way I use the conversations and related listening exercises has evolved to this: I may introduce new vocabulary, grammatical structures, or unusual pronunciations of words. Then we practice the conversation together and in groups/pairs. And then...no...we don't use the recording. Not yet. First I have pairs create their own dialogues based on the part A. conversation. Their dialogue will either model the part A. dialogue, or it will use the part A. dialogue to create their own part B. dialogue.

THis kind of activity can take a whole class period or more, comprised solely of the STUDENTS talking, under controlled circumstances. It is only as a WRAP-UP to this activity that the students listen to the audio recording. And then, at a later time, perhaps as part of a "review," I might have them watch and engage with the companion VCD unit.

So, for my classes, "the listening comprehension" using the audio/video recordings becomes an almost incidental part of the activity, and one made extremely easy because of the extensive speaking practice they have already completed.

[kev7161]

So, f-devil, sort of like a "what happens next" exercise, right? I like that idea. The dialogue presented by the book is the set-up and then they students right the next "scene". I'll keep that in mind for next semester.

[yaco]

I teach the New Interchange series of books to college students and find it an effective listening tool.

My only criticism is that some of the language used in the book is unsuitable when learning English in a non - English speaking environment.

An example is

'I get up in the morning'.

Students normally understand; ' I wake up in the morning'.

Native speakers understand that there is many ways to express this action but most Chinese students have a limited vocabulary.

[rickinbeijing]

Let them work in pairs or fours to construct their own dialogues as "spin-offs" of the original dialogue. Or let them focus on some small part of the picture and generate a dialogue from it. Or have them compare the situation in this generic textbook to a culturally specific (re: Chinese) similar situation. Not many Chinese kids can relate to Western style buffets, for example. Make it culturally relevant.

[rickinbeijing]

Yeah, f-devil is on the right track. Impromptu dialoguing is more realistic. Even the state-sponsored textbook series has gotten away from rote, formalized dialogues. Not so useful and by playing the tapes you encourage students to mimic rather than discover for themselves; also may inhibit them as in they think they can't improve on the tape.

[Plan B]

[Brian Caulfield]

Hi Kev,
Have you tried doing a line drill ? You put the students in two lines .
Come to class early and write the dialogue on the blackboard using different color chalk for each person in the dialogue . Then have the students practice saying the dialogue facing each other . After one run have them change partners by moving the front person from one line and moving them to the back and the back person from the other line to the front . Everyone then practices the dialogue again . You do this a few times then take your eraser and make a diagonal sweep of the board . Students then do the dialogue again with a new partner . You then make another diagonal sweep of the board in the opposite direction . The idea is to eventually erase the board so they can't read anything .
Finally you have two students do the dialogue without reading .
I like getting my students out of their seats . They seem to enjoy doing this drill . I find it usefull in being able to get closer to my students when they are speaking in a non threating way .
The only problem I have with Interchange is that the conversations are very contrived . Like have you ever said in your life "Tell me about your daily schedule ?" I believe it is in book one chapter 3

[Paul Barufaldi]

New Interchange is a focused and well-designed text for lower level English learners. The conversation drills are great, during which I usually focus on pronunciation and sentence rhythm/intonation. They also introduce the grammar nicely, which can be explained in simple, almost algebraic, terms and is further reinforced by the workbook exercises, which can be assigned as homework.

As far as grammar goes, aside from verb tense and prepositions (which the students can never get enough practice with) the most useful constructs for spoken English are the noun phrase and gerund phrase. The majority of Chinese students already know how to speak in clauses -maybe only know how to speak in clauses. Since the scope of the exercises is limited, I encourage students to apply the structures in other ways. It’s not just a matter of organizing a sentence, but a way of organizing thoughts. I’ve had a lot of success teaching them to consider an entire noun or gerund phrase (including prepositions and infinitives) as the subject or object of a sentence. Using this simple formula, they can now actually apply this grammar to their spoken English rather than just written, speaking in sentences that that contain more information, are more complex, and grammatically correct. That said, I’d recommend supplementing New Interchange 3 with a good lesson on comma usage. This improves written grammar as well as introducing common spoken grammar structures not covered in New Interchange. To me, it’s about getting them to think in “chunks” or large phrases, enabling them to formulate sentences quickly enough to use orally.

I hate getting bogged down in long detailed grammar lessons. I try to keep them brief, only long enough to give them a clear understanding of the formula. From there on it’s best to reinforce it with exposure and usage. In fact, I’ve found for learning grammar at higher levels, nothing is better than reading. Students who read novels, even very simple ones, will passively pick up more grammar than those who spend the same amount of time buried in a grammar textbook!

However, in the oral English department, New Interchange does come up lacking. I cover and test them on every grammar focus and word power in the book. There are some good discussion exercises and some bad ones. For each unit I have designed some sort of exercise to practice the grammar covered in the text as conversationally as possible through the use of question lists, discussions, oral presentations, games, or role-plays. In a typical two-hour class, I’ll cover one conversation, grammar lesson, and word power in the first hour and devout the second hour to intensive oral practice. To do so, I end up skipping a lot of material. But my feeling is that if teacher covers every exercise in the book, the students won’t see much oral improvement -which is the main objective after all.

[oprah]

Who has a two hour class?? 40 minutes once a week, with 52 students is a challenge..

[kev7161]

Thanks for all the feedback in this thread (so far) - - very interesting.

I agree with Oprah. I have my kids 2X a week for only 45 minutes at a time (when classes aren't canceled for testing or other reasons, that is). My Senior 3s I had for all of once a week. I, too, try to step outside the book as often as I can, but I also want to make sure I'm not going too fast for the lower-level students. Sometimes I actually WISH I could have certain classes longer. For other classes, that 45 minutes drags on . . . and on.