Comunicación humana

1. ABOUT
COMMUNICATION
A TD PRESENTATION
RICARDO CHAVEZ
From: Spratt Mary: Language for the Teacher CUP

2. STARTER
What might these animals be saying to each
other?

3. Communicating something?

Are they communicating?

4. Look at the list below and tick those things which
humans use to communicate:
Then compare your answers with a partner:
 Style of dress
 Gestures
 Listening
 Facial expressions
 Accurate use of language structures
 Eye movements


5. Which of these items contribute most to
communication?
Number the five most important:
 Body posture
 Fluency
 Hair
 Style
 Vocabulary
 Behaviour
 Accent

6. Reading






If your students of English went on an exchange
trip to an English speaking country for a month,
which aspect of their communication in English
would you expect to improve most? Choose from
the list below and then discuss your choices with a
partner.
Accent
Vocabulary
Fluency
Accuracy in use of language structures
Other (specify)

7. Look at the words below; put a * above the stressed
syllable in each word or group of words
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
Exchange trip
Performance
Accent
Accuracy
Fluency
Vocabulary
Structures
Average
Improvement
adjectives

Explain the meaning of
the words as if you were
doing so to a group of
intermediate students.

8. Read the article again and complete the chart
below which summarises the research:
Number of pupils tested
Just over 100
Number of groups in study
Age range of groups
Amount of overall language
improvement after stay of:
-A month
-Less than a month
Improvements in:
Fluency
Accuracy
Vocabulary
Accent
15-19%

9. Talking points





Talk about one or two of the points below with a
partner:
Do any of these research findings surprise you?
Why do you think accent seems to improve less
than other aspects of communication
What benefits might you yourself get out of an
exchange trip?
Discuss the benefits of any exchange trips you
have heard about.

10. Listening
A teacher might introduce a listening text with the following instructions:
read them and fill in the blanks


“OK, now this time we’re going to listen a)______
the excerpt again but in greater detail. I want
b)___ to c)___ the summary of the excerpt as you
listen. OK? That’s right, fill d) ____ the blanks in
the passage.”
“Now, before you listen again, e)___ you read the
summary to make f)___ you understand it and to
know what you’re listening g)___? If there are any
words you don’t understand, just h)___me.”

11. Conclusions


Look at the list of
the kinds of
activities in this unit
and find them and
complete the
columns. Discuss
your answers with
a partner.
What can you
conclude from your
answers?
Activity Enjoy
No
Reading for
detail
Wk on word
stress
Fluency pract.
Gap-filling
summarising
Opinion gap
Self awareness
Act
Most
Useful

12. Assessing written work



Read the student composition. What is it
about?
Correct the mistakes underlined in the
composition
Why do you think the student made
mistakes a, c, e, f and g?

13. Grammar

Complete the following
explanations which
contrast three tenses:
‘When you want to talk about
habitual or continuig f)___ or
states in the past you use the
g)___ simple tense or used
to. You only use the past
continuous tense for past
actions or h)___ that were
i)___ as something else
happened, that is, for
background actions or states.’
‘When you’re talking about states
or actions that only took place in
a)___ and are now completely
b)___, you c)___ the past simple
tense. You only use the past
perfect d)___ when there are two
consecutive states or actions, and
you want to stress that the e)___
one happened b fore the other.’
The past
simple
and past
perfect
tenses
The past
simple and
past
continuous

14. Explaining students:

a.
b.
c.

-
Would any of the following students find the abovwe
explanations helpful?
A teenage intermediate students with a little formal
knowledge of grammar
An adult intermediate student with a good formal knowledge
of grammar.
An adult intermediate student with no formal knowledge of
grammar.
Discuss:
Are grammatical explanations helpful to students?
Would you correct all the mistakes in the composition you
read before, before returning it to the student? If not, which
mistakes would you correct? Why? How?

15. Writing.
Read this part of a letter from a T friend who is studying
Spanish

I’m thinking of giving up my course – I don’t seem to be
Making any progress. I can’t speak fluently or really understand
Radio or TV programmes. I don’t know if I can wait six months
Before I go to Spain next year – I feel so discouraged now.
What did you find helpful? I’d appreciate any tips!
Anyway, take care! Love Sandra.

Write a letter replying to Sandra but stating
your feelings about your present course.

16. Reading:


Pre-reading: The pictures in your handout
illustrate the different stages of two
consecutive language lessons. Look at
them and, with a partner, work out what is
going on in each picture.
Now read the passage in the HO which
describes the two lessons. Were you and
your partner right?

17. Vocabulary work:
Look at the passage again. What is meant
in f) by:
 ‘spot remedial teaching.’
 ‘a follow-up lesson?’
• Look at the list below. Match the verbs on
the left with the nouns on the right. Some
verbs may be matched with more than one
noun:


18. activity
To get into
the teacher
b) To hold
a recording
c)
To consult
a closed circle
d) To play back
unfamiliar words
e) To write up
remedial teaching
f)
To play through
a conversation
g) To do
* Now look at the pictures again and, describe to a
partner what is happening in each stage of the
lesson. Make notes, if you wish.
a)

19. Talking points:
Talk about one or two of the points below
with your partners:
 Have you ever experiences problems like
George’s? If so, what techniques did you
use to cope?
 Do you see yourself as ‘a performer, an
entertainer’?
 Do you see teaching as a vocation? Why?


20. Grammar: the habitual past
Read the following sentences. Can used to and would be
interchanged? Could the past simple tense be used
instead?
a.
I used to work in a primary school
b.
At the beginning of my teaching career I would spend hours
and hours preparing lessons.

Read the grammar rules below. Are they true of false? If
they are false correct them.
a.
Used to is used to contrast past habiltual actions, states or
situations with very remote past ones.
b.
Would, when used to refer to the past, is only used for
repeated past actions, not states or situations.
* Tell your partner about what you used to do, or would do, in
your early days as a teacher.


21. Speaking






Complete the chart about yourself I note form.
Compare and discuss your answers with a partner using
the following expressions.
Really
that sounds dreadful
Did you?
That must have been exciting.
I can imagine.
Right
Were you?
Oh dear.
Reasons for
becoming a T
Current
teaching job
Non teaching
jobs
Problems with
teaching
Teacher training
Pleasures from
teaching
1st teaching job
Future plans

22. Assessing oral communication:





Listen to the conversation between two students.
Alberto from Italy and Maki from Japan. They are
carrying out a task their teacher has set them .
What do you think the teacher has asked them to
do?
Which of the following difficulties did a) Alberto
and b) Maki have? Which of these areas most
aided or prevented their communication?
Pronunciation
intonation
Vocabulary
grammatical accuracy
Fluency
other