This is week 10 of the fall semester. Time flies when you’re having fun, right?
Two activities below are group work projects which will be done in class.
ESL Speaking Warm Ups
Part A
This group speaking activity is about making comparisons. Look at the topics below. Choose one per person. If you don’t like these topics, feel free to choose another that interests you.
- Think about the topic.
- Right down your main idea.
- Write a three or four bullet points of categories that will be used to make the comparisons (not full sentences or a full script).
- Create the topic sentences and discuss in more detail in your group.
Suggested topics to make a comparison:
- fast food restaurant French fries
- two countries
- two cities
- two pets
- two books
Here is an example introduction about French fries.
McDonald’s French fries just might be the best fries in the country. Certainly, they are better than the stuff which people get at Lotteria. I think any reasonable person would agree with me after looking at three important factors: taste, texture and price.
This is the first part. Then you would finish your discussion by providing more information (reasons, evidence and details).
Part B
Make new groups with different partners. Tell each person your topic and comparative analysis.
Intonation Practice
This is an activity to be done in your new group.
This lesson helps ESL students develop an awareness of intonation and the way it can change the meaning of words by delivering a different emotional message.
Here is a list of words and phrases. Practice saying these words with different kinds of intonation. Then explain the true emotional impact of that expression.
- I love you.
- Oh.
- Really.
- Hello.
- Good morning.
- Well.
- Come here.
- You.
- Yes.
- I don’t know.
- Come on.
Analysis of Today’s Activities
You have completed two group projects.
Summarize what you have done, what you have leaned and why this lesson was useful or not.
Intelligence is Social
In some way, these ESL activities are a kind of classroom experiment. They are based on an idea that intelligence is social.
In a study about social interaction and intelligence, some US professors did a study. They made three groups of students. One group discussed a topic for ten minutes. The second group studied the material and did a puzzle. The third group watched a TV show. Then everyone in the study was given a test.
The tests results showed that the people in Group 1 (discussion group) had test scores that were just as good as Group 2 (the people who studied in the traditional way).
This suggest that the power of social interaction to influence intelligence is just as great as traditional studying.
“When it comes to being intelligent, it is clear that there is much more than simply what we can do as an individual; how we interact with others is a crucial element of how smart we are in the real world.”