Skip to main content

A task-based lesson plan

This is for an intermediate class (Y9-11 in England and Wales) and is closely based on an idea in Bill VanPatten's book While We're on the Topic, which I recently reviewed. It's far from original in concept but is a nice low preparation activity which would take about 25 minutes and which features many repetitions of perfect tense verbs.



Quelles activités avez-vous faites hier? Lisez et cochez les choses que vous avez faites.

1. J’ai lu.
2. J’ai travaillé à l’ordinateur.
3. J’ai fait de l’exercice.
4. J’ai fait du vélo.
5. J’ai marché au moins dix minutes.
6. J’ai voyagé en voiture.
7. J’ai regardé la télé.
8. J’ai joué aux jeux vidéo.
9. J’ai rangé ma chambre.
10. J’ai préparé quelque chose à manger.

B.  Interviewez quelqu’un pour trouver s’il/elle a fait ces activités. Notez les réponses. Voici les questions qu’il vous faut.

1. Tu as lu quelque chose?
2. Tu as travaillé à l’ordinateur?
3. Tu as fait de l’exercice?
4. Tu as fait du vélo?
5. Tu as marché au moins dix minutes?
6. Tu as voyagé en voiture?
7. Tu as regardé la télé?
8. Tu as joué aux jeux vidéo?
9. Tu as rangé ta chambre?
10. Tu as préparé quelque chose à manger?

C. Now rate yourself and your partner on the following scale, based on the information you obtained in Steps A and B.

Très actif                                                             Très sédentaire

5                        4                     3                          2                               1

D.   Ecoutez la prof qui va vous demander vos réponses.

[Ask the students for their rankings and put them on the board. The class calculates the group average. Just how active/sedentary is this group of students? And the teacher? Share your answers, and the class assigns a ranking for you.]

Version B: Sédentaire ou actif?

A. Faites une liste de DIC choses que vous avez faites hier. (par exemple J’au lu, J’ai fait du sport)).

B. Interviewez un partenaire. Demandez s’ils ont fait les choses sur votre liste. Notez les réponses.
Exemple: Tu as fait du sport?

C. Now rate yourself and your partner on the following scale based on the information you obtained in Steps 1 and 2.

D.  

As above


This is an example of task-based learning. Version B is more demanding of pupils since they need to supply more input and output.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is skill acquisition theory?

For this post, I am drawing on a section from the excellent book by Rod Ellis and Natsuko Shintani called Exploring Language Pedagogy through Second Language Acquisition Research (Routledge, 2014). Skill acquisition is one of several competing theories of how we learn new languages. It’s a theory based on the idea that skilled behaviour in any area can become routinised and even automatic under certain conditions through repeated pairing of stimuli and responses. When put like that, it looks a bit like the behaviourist view of stimulus-response learning which went out of fashion from the late 1950s. Skill acquisition draws on John Anderson’s ACT theory, which he called a cognitivist stimulus-response theory. ACT stands for Adaptive Control of Thought.  ACT theory distinguishes declarative knowledge (knowledge of facts and concepts, such as the fact that adjectives agree) from procedural knowledge (knowing how to do things in certain situations, such as understand and speak a langua...
Post a Comment
Read more

The 2026 GCSE subject content is published!

Two DfE documents were published today. The first was the response to the consultation about the proposed new GCSE (originally due in October 2021) and the second is the subject content document which, ultimately, is of most interest to MFL teachers in England. Here is the link  to the document.  We are talking about an exam to be done from 2026 (current Y7s). There is always a tendency for sceptical teachers to think that consultations are a bit of a sham and that the DfE will just go ahead and do what they want when it comes to exam reform. In this case, the responses to the original proposals were mixed, and most certainly hostile as far as exam boards and professional associations representing the MFL community, universities, head teachers and awarding bodies are concerned. What has emerged does reveal some significant changes which take account of a number of criticisms levelled at the proposals. As I read it, the most important changes relate to vocabulary and the issue ...
5 comments
Read more

La retraite à 60 ans

Suite à mon post récent sur les acquis sociaux..... L'âge légal de la retraite est une chose. Je voudrais bien savoir à quel âge les gens prennent leur retraite en pratique - l'âge réel de la retraite, si vous voulez. J'ai entendu prétendre qu'il y a peu de différence à cet égard entre la France et le Royaume-Uni. Manifestation à Marseille en 2008 pour le maintien de la retraite à 60 ans © AFP/Michel Gangne Six Français sur dix sont d’accord avec le PS qui défend la retraite à 60 ans (BVA) Cécile Quéguiner Plus de la moitié des Français jugent que le gouvernement a " tort de vouloir aller vite dans la réforme " et estiment que le PS a " raison de défendre l’âge légal de départ en retraite à 60 ans ". Résultat d’un sondage BVA/Absoluce pour Les Échos et France Info , paru ce matin. Une majorité de Français (58%) estiment que la position du Parti socialiste , qui défend le maintien de l’âge légal de départ à la retraite à 60 ans, ...
1 comment
Read more