Hi followers, a friend, fellow teacher and sound engineer contacted me recently about starting a podcast! Being a massive fan of the genre I jumped at the offer and we’re aiming to start in the new year. The aim is to make it something accessible for students rather than a TEFL podcast for teachers. We’d like to release a 30-minute show every two weeks. The idea would be to have short recurring segments but also longer features on specific topics and activities; some of the ideas we’ve got so far include:
Jokes
Expression of the day
Exposure to different accents and dialects
Interviews with near-peer role models
Current affairs pieces
Debates
Film/music/book reviews
Investigative journalism
So I thought I’d throw it open to you guys, we welcome your help and suggestions. The main points we want suggestions for are:
Content, features, recurring segements
A name for the podcast! Can’t think of any! (We’ve already thought of Poddy McPodcastface)
This is a lesson plan for higher levels (C1+) designed to help students develop their discourse management and debating skills. Download the handouts below:
In this section of the lesson students will watch a video from the Guardian 5-minute debate series in order to analyse the ways in which the speakers structure their arguments and the language they use. The topic of the debate is:
Should slang words be banned in the classroom?
In the debate the two speakers (Michael Rosen and Lindsay Johns) are specifically talking about London street slang. A school in South London took the decision to ban street slang from the classroom, the banned words are in the picture below:
code switching – changing from one language, dialect, or way of speaking to another depending on who you’re speaking to.
cultural relativism – the theory that beliefs, customs, and morality exist in relation to the particular culture from which they originate and are not absolute. (What’s considered acceptable in one culture might not be in another)
Live in an ivory tower – to be out of touch or to not understand the true reality of a situation. To live in a privileged position and therefore not understand the real world.
Have students watch the debate, while they are watching they should answer these questions:
Give out the transcript and show students the powerpoint. The powerpoint will take them through some of the structural techniques that Michael Rosen uses such as:
Conceding/partially agreeing
Hedging/being more indirect
Asking and answering your own questions
Presenting evidence
Being emphatic
A Less Formal Debate – Debate-O-Rama Cats vs. Dogs
Now tell students they’re going to watch a less formal debate, the topic is dogs vs. cats. Split the class into two groups: the dog group and the cat group. Each group has to watch the video and and write down the arguments that the two people give to support their animal, i.e dogs are smelly, cats are selfish.
Students watch the video and takes notes. (Video from 1:15)
Give out the debate language handout. Tell students that they are going to recreate the dogs vs. cats debate but using the language on the handout and some of the structural techniques we saw earlier. Give them 8-10 minutes to structure their arguments. The debate will follow the following structure:
Debate Structure
Opening statement (90 secs)
Cross examination (30 secs)
(repeat)
Rebuttal #1 (30 secs each)
Rebuttal #2 (30 secs each)
Closing Statements (30 secs each)
Award a winner based on the strength of their arguments and how well structured they are. The debate handout has further debate topics for future classes.
Debate Handout:
Language
Opinion
The way I see it,
In my view,
In my opinion, I think that
My view on the matter is…
As far as I understand it,
As far as I’m concerned,
I’d say that…
I personally am (not) a big fan of…
Evidence/Popular Opinion
All the evidence points to/suggests…
I think you’ll find that…
If you ask anyone,…
The vast majority of people would say…
We have no evidence that…
9 out of 10 people would say that…
There’s no evidence to support that whatsoever.
Main arguments
I support/oppose the notion that… for the following reason: Firstly,…
The key issue here is…
The real question/dilemma is… (question form)
The critical/crucial factor here is…
It’s vital to remember that…
By far and away the most important point is…
Adding points
What’s more,
On top of that,
Besides that,
Apart from that,
Another thing to consider is…
We shouldn’t forget that…
It’s also worth bearing in mind that…
Rebutting/Cross-Examining
So what you’re saying is…
So let me get this straight…
Correct me if I’m wrong but…
You’re not seriously suggesting that…, are you?
You can’t possibly be saying that…
I feel I must also disagree with you about…
Conceding/Partially Agreeing
I admit that your point about… may be true, however,
This is a lesson plan designed for higher levels (B2+) to help students develop their presentation skills. Download the phrase sheet and topic cards below:
Prepare a 2-minute example presentation on a topic close to your heart using as much of the language from the handout as you can.
Procedure
Tell students that you’re going to give a presentation, tell them that they need to make notes on: the main idea, supporting ideas and impressive language.
Give your presentation and then give students a minute to compare their notes and share in open class.
Give out the handout and have students look for the expressions that they heard, clear up any doubts students may have about the language.
Students then choose presentation topics for each other. Give them 2-3 minutes to prepare their presentations. Pairs then join together to make groups of 4. Each member gives their presentation, teacher monitors and takes notes for feedback. Other members of the group note how many expressions their classmates use in their presentations and give them constructive feedback.
Homework: Students prep another micro-presentation for the next class. Topics could include: a hobby, a product sales pitch, a persuasive argument.
Handout
Language
Starting
The thing about… is…
What I find most interesting about… is…
Abbreviating
In a nutshell,
To cut a long story short…
Sequencers
First of all,
To begin with,
First and foremost,
Secondly,
Finally,
Last but not least,
And to top it all off,
Addition
What’s more,
On top of that,
Besides that,
Apart from that,
Another thing to consider is…
We shouldn’t forget that…
It’s also worth bearing in mind that…
Adding Emphasis
(I don’t agree with him) at all.
Without a shadow of a doubt.
By far the best/worst/biggest etc. is…
The park near my house is especially/particularly beautiful
Fillers
You know?
So,
I mean,
In other words
How can I put this?
Contrast/Comparison
On the one hand, on the other hand,
But actually…
But in actual fact…
However
Whereas/while
Conclusion
So to sum up,
So in summary,
So to wrap up,
So as I was saying,
All in all,
Topics
Choose a topic for your partner from the list below, you have two minutes to make notes before giving a two minute micro-presentation.
