neide Out |
Sue Kay, Vaughan Jones,
Helena Gomm, Peter Maggs
& Chris Dawson
Pre-intermediate
Teacher’s Book
FA
MACMILLANContents
Student's Book contents map
Introduction
Practical methodology
'* Teaching pre-intermediate students
¢ The top 10 activities for preintermediate students
* Anecdote tasks
*# Key concepts in New Inside Out
The Common European Framework and New Inside Out
TEACHER'S NOTES
1 Name
2 Place
3 Love
Review A
4 Shopping
5 Fit
6 Job
Review B
7 Eco
8 Education
9 Smile
Review C
10 Lifestyle
11 Animals
12 Incredible
Review D
RESOURCE MATERIALS
Contents
Teacher's notes
Photocopiable worksheets
Sample e-lesson
iv
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Xx
wai
XXXVI
nN
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151Docabulary & Qronunciation
@ Tense view los ok ie
© Family. Description. Names
yeemember names at partie Focus on: names
{© ee you s good language learner? © Long vowel sounds ih fo
(@ Lectalkng about somebody who
{is important to him
@ Countable and uncountable nouns.
se/sch- erg. Quantity expressions
© Wina dream holiday fortwo! Places ina city. Adjectives to describe
DP ebisg’s cg bert places. Countries, nationalities.
lLecation
(© Emma taking about the bt”
pace she has ever vite Focus tie
nel phe: Saying where you @ Word ste: counties, rationaites
atom
(@ red an Edna aking about @ Past simple and continuous. Adverbs
tt alonlp preoes
ere a © Retationship expressions, Narrative
(DO Telinga vor Linking © The Hollywood director and the linkers. cing adjectives
res Nate Ametcan iar Sat
© Revenge is weet Dinner by post @ Iegular verb: sound groups
reece eee!
Review A Pages 2,2 Grammar / Vocabulary /romancation review re
oon 28 ‘Pape 3031 Mending & Listening Weng aratve te Speaking * Son: Stnd By Me
4 Shopping yng prees (© Wat people ely want fr thir @ Adverbof equ. eb with two
peer “Anecdote: The last time you birthday “objects Verbs followed by ing form
ae: bought somebody a present (@ Eddie tatkng about the lst ime ‘or tonite. Present simple and
55 ‘Aides sorpng fg esse toot ‘onsinuoas
© Calocton: ebm f arf
{© shopping tends and habs @ Twomen talking about shopping
© Men's or women's fashion?
© The a price of sion
set phrase: dates shop
‘te. Clothes and accessories
Focus on verbs sed with clothes
© Plural nouns fe © fad
© Areyou dangerously unit? @ Comparative and supetatves,
© Ta aking about her © Phrasal vets
experiences of spor at school Haw +adtve/adve. Sport
(© Advertisers dacssing sports Numbers
sa Foci on: verbs use with sports
© 16 ways to destess © Schwa fin English expressions
© Lager cabs
‘ef peste: Giving instructions
=e @ Four people taking about their @ Permission and obligation (can hve).
caren Present perfect ime ‘upto no oF
alan © Charlotte Dutton: rom pst simple fished ime)
a. Sanus aeonne © jjobe. Cllcatione (woe) shoul. Of5ce
© Nightmare jobs ssripment
@ terview with a store owner Focus om: werk and ob
(© Kim tatkng about er friend's Fast pariples (regular verbs): vowel
= sound
Useful phrases: Presenting yourlt
Review B Pages 56, 57: Grammar Vocabulary! Pronunciation review
= Pages 58 58 Reading & Listening, Wiiing (description) & Speaking * Song: Suspicious MindsUnits & topics Try @eading & Listening texts @rammar, Docabulary & Oronunciatio
© Climate change march © Subject questions Dynamic and
© Environmental sues (@ Fourpeople taking about why they __sfative meanings. ature forms:
© Wiring rport are protesting (6) ging teat pepent continous
© Wotunser work © How green ar you? © Climate change. Opinions
DO Niaing writen © Welcome to Original Volunteers Focus one and hae got
suggestions. Linking sentences (6) @ Two convertion about yolunering @ Word stress word ending in tn
‘Useful phrases: On the lephone
8 Education © school experiences © Training tobe geisha © Permission and btigation ould /
aaa Anecdote: Your favourite school @ Andy talking about his favourite 0 shld and mat for advice
rearaae subject schoo subject © Education and teining
page 68 © Changes in society © Tre generations * Focus on: words sed with dation
© What makes successful date @ Two generations talking about @ Word stress: schol subjects
D0 Personal ete changes in sais
Contractions in informal weting, (How to meet the parents
(© Aman meets his giiend’s parents
© tre pert gitend boyfriend
Useful phrases: Giving your opinion
pene ~ smiting suite andthe word sues © Vers followed by in-form. for and
Soh © Describing character with you sine. Present perfect simple and
page 76 © Holidays © Whatsina smite? conto
peal ole eae SSE TT © ce Charter aes Pat
DO Taveldog. tisting © Thailand: land of sles vi
Points, Using adverbs of atitude _ @% On holiday in Thailand eae eae ee
‘or tinfitve (with change in
© Living in Thailand sos
Useful phrases: Using body idioms semen sens
Review € ‘Pages 84 85: Grammar / Vocabulary / Pronunciation review
ge 64 Pages 86 87: Reading & Listening, Writing (paagraphing)& Speaking * Song: Money
20 Lifestyle @ Ltaiyis © How not to die before you git old @ sel Future tine dunes ater when,
porate © Food and cooking @ Atclephone enquiry soma. ase fo
Food Anecdote: The fittest/healthiest —@ 104 things to do with a banana © Collocations, Food and cooking. Cars
rs non you know (0 Josh taking about the fitest/ Focus on: words used with deving
age 88 © cas ealthist person he knows © Vowel sounds and speting
Aneedoe Your dream ar © Myfintcar
DO Neratve Linking @ Pat's dream car :
ods ie, during ‘Useful phrases: dom with food
44 Animals © Aims © Avimal atitudes @ Defining relative clauses, Unreal
© Moral dilemmas @ Thrce prope talking about animals conditions
Asaclah pospon ta they the /itike © Asimats. Adjective + preposition
© Giving opinions. © Tree stores about animals Focus on ha
Linking: giving examples © Peopleaking abou their pets __@ Homophones artes)
(© "Mandy aking about he fiend’ pot
‘Useful phrases: Polite requests
© sang cincences © wo Lars; Word part © Past perfect. Passives wil and might
Anecdote: The most increible @ The coolest hotel inthe word for faar possibilty
‘pling youve ever seen © Curr talking about the mast Collocation with ne ma, td
© Tre ftuce incredible bullding he's ever seen The weather
D0 Desptin 2 (© Nort ote weather forcast Focus on cllocations with 38,
buuling Tent organisation, The Ole ace ak, ke
Prepon phrses
” Useful phres:Excliming
Review D ages 12,11: Grammar /Voeabulay / Pronunciation review
page 112 Pages 14,15 Reading & Listening, Weng naratve linker) & Speaking * Song Have A Dream
Pairwork:Stadent A pape 16 * Pairwork: Student B page 121 * Grammar Extra page 126 + Recordings page 10 +
Phonetic symbols 6 Speling page 138 » Imola eb page 19Practical methodology
Teaching pre-intermediate students
In many ways, pre-intermediate is the one of the more rewarding levels to teach. Students
have seen most of the basic structures and have a core vocabulary enabling them to ‘get by’
‘n most situations. The teacher can therefore assume a certain amount of knowledge and
this helps the pace and flow of the lesson. On the other hand, there are still plenty of new
language areas to explore. The key to success at this level is how to strike the right balance
between forward progress on the one hand and the consolidation of ‘learned! language on
the other. If you go too fast, there's the risk that the students’ more basic errors become
permanent ‘fossilised’ errors, If you go too slowly, the students are likely to become bored,
demotivated and disenchanted with the whole process.
In New inside Out Pre-intermediate we've tried to get
this balance right. Students are challenged to explore
ew grammar and vocabulary, but they mix this with
important recycling and consolidation work in more
familiar areas. A relentless focus on meaning, and in
particular how students can make their own meanings
With the language, is built into every stage of the
learning process. It's this core feature of Inside Out
‘which helps students maintain their enthusiasm and
‘motivation.
Right from the start
Every teacher has their own way of setting up
their classroom, interacting with their students and
conducting their lessons. Here ae a few things that we
have found useful to bear in mind,
The right atmosphere
It’s important to do everything you can to create a
supportive learning environment. Start by memorising,
cevery student's name and learn as much information
as you can about them. Make sure students learn
each other's names too and that they al get to know
things about each other early on in the course, Think
‘of appropriate ways you could help foster good
classroom dynamics. For example, you could nominate
« ‘homework partner’ for each student. They'd then be
responsible for collecting handouts or passing on lesson
notes or homework instructions when their partne
absent,
Pay attention to how you respond to students both
individually and collectively. Make sure you find time to
chat to individual students or small informal groups of
students before or after class, More formally it’s a good
‘dea to devote at least one lesson per term to counse!
your students individually and discuss their progress.
« Ey
Even at pre-intermediate level students are often shy
and under-confident about speaking in class, As anyone
‘who has learnt a foreign language will know, it takes
‘a great deal of courage to open your mouth and say
something in the very early stages of a course. Yet
‘we know thatthe sooner you start, the more practice
you get, the more confident you feel and the easier
it becomes. For this reason, students are encouraged
to work in pairs and groups so they can rehearse the
language in private rather than be immediately required
to speak in the more intimidating arena ofthe class.
Always give your Students time to think. If perfectly
‘normal to have moments of silence while students
absorb and process new information, write down new
vocabulary from the board, or think about their answers.
Don’t be afraid of the pregnant pause!
The right environment
Your classroom might be the only exposure to English
that students get, Make that exposure as rich as you can
by decorating the walls with maps and posters. Here are
some further ideas:
‘+ Stick up useful formulaic phrases. For example, Can
_you spell that please?, Can you repeat that please? or
What does XXX mean? ete
‘+ Keep a wordbox’ on your table where words or
phrases that come up in the lesson are recorded
‘on strips of paper and put in the box. Invite the
students to record the words for you. They can
then be used in a variety of quick revision games
in subsequent lessons. Alternatively, you could
institute the ‘class scribe’ idea. One stucent in
the clas i given the role of recording any new
language that comes up during the lesson that isn’t
necessarily the target language ofthat lesson. This
record is then photocopied for everyone in the class,
including the teacher, who can use the data for
revision activities. The role of class scribe is rotated‘+ Introduce your students to simplified graded
readers, Many of them now come as ‘talking
books’ with CDs. This is invaluable input. Get your
students hooked on books!
‘= Use English in the classroom. I's very tempting to
slip into the students’ language ~ particulary if you
are teaching in a monolingual situation. Try only to
use LI as an absolute lat resort: an occasional quick
translation or brief explanation.
‘Students will always benefit from help with learning.
strategies. Here are some thoughts:
+ Spend time encouraging students to experiment
with how they record words and phrases from
the lesson. Get them to draw the word rather than
translate it. They're then associating the word with
the concept rather than with another word. Make
sure they note the part of speech - verb, noun,
adjective. Tell them to find away of noting the
pronunciation ofthe word, either using phonemic
scrip in the back ofthe Students Book) or by
developing their own system. Ask them to write
complete personalised sentences putting the new
wort or phrase in a real context and thereby making
it more memorable.
‘+ Adictionary isa very important language learning
tool and most students will buy one. Usually
students prefer a bilingual dictionary as this
provides them with a quick translation of the
‘word they need. Spend time showing them all the
other information that a dictionary can give them,
in particular the phonetic symbols. Work with
The right amount of practice
In our experience, the most successful lessons consist
of a manageable amount of new input, and then a lot
‘of meaningful practice. For this reason, we've tried to
provide maximum practice activities in New Inside Out,
‘both in the Student's Book and in the other supporting.
‘components. But there is never enough time in the
lessons alone. Always set homework, even if it's just
reading a chapter from a reader, and make homework
feedback or correction an integral part ofthe lesson.
The top 10 activities for
pre-intermediate students
‘These tried and trusted activities can be used as
lead-ins, warmers, filles, pair-forming activities, or for
revision and recycling. Most of them require very little
‘or no preparation and can be adapted to cover a wide
variety of different language points. You may be familiar
with some of the ideas and others may be new. In any
‘event, we hope they provide a useful extension to your
teaching repertoire. They certainly get used and re-used.
in our own classrooms! "
It’s always useful to have a stock of small white cards
and access toa stock of pictures, Magazine pictures are
‘deal, and cag be filed in alphabetical order according to
topics,
1 Board bingo
Aim
“This activity is good for revising any type of vocabulary
Preparation
Write down twelve to fifteen words you want to revise
‘on the board.
Procedure
‘+ Ask the students to choose five of the words and.
write them down. When they've done that, tell the
students that you're going to read out dictionary
definitions of the words in random order and that
they should cross ut their words if they think they
hear the definition. When they've crossed out all
five words, they shout Bingo! Make sure you keep
a record of the word definitions you call out o that
you can check the students’ answers.
+ Ifyou teach a monolingual class, you could read
out a translation of each word rather than an
English definition. Alternatively, you could turn
itinto a pronunciation exercise by working on the
recognition of phonetic script. Hold up cards with
phonetic transcriptions of the words in random
order. Students cross out their words if they
think they've seen the corresponding phonetic
transcription.2 Standing in tine
Aim
‘This isa great way to review names after Unit 1.
Preparation
None.
Procedure
Askall the students to stand up and then line up in
alphabetical order according to the first letter of theic
first name, Show the class where the line should begin,
(Once they've lined up, check that they're inthe correct
order by asking them to take it in turns down the line to
say My name's
‘© Here are some more criteria for different line-ups.
1. Alphabetical order according to their surnames
ot their mother’s or father’s first name, or a
random selection of words that you want to
revise written on cards (they say the words out
aloud and line up according to the first letter).
2 Numerical order according to age or age of
‘mother, or age of youngest member oftheir
family, or number of cousins they have (most/
fewest), or number of times they've been to
London, ete.
3 Distance order (furthest/nearest) according to
distance they live from the school, or distance
they were born from the school, or longest
distance they have ever walked, cycled or
driven, ete
4. Time onder according to the time they got up
this morning, or the time they went to bed lst
night othe time they started work, or their
favourite time ofthe day, ete
5 Spelling order according to long words they
know. Give each student a letter of the word you
‘want to revise and ask them to sort themselves
‘out into the correct order to spell the word.
Here's a selection of words you might want to
revise from Unit 1: colleague, exercise, fashionable,
neighbour, signature, technique, et.
6 Word order according to a sentence with atleast
eight words int. Give each student a word
‘and ask them to sort themselves out so that the
sentence makes sense,
3 Battleships
Aim
Torevise vocabulary.
Preparation
Each stuclent will need two grids of 10 squares across
and down (see below). Graph paper is ideal for this
activity
Procedure
Demonstrate the activity by drawing a blank grid
fon the board. Think of a word or words you want
to wevise and write them onto a different grid on a
piece of paper, but do not tll the students what they
are yet. You should write the words horizontally,
one letter per square, as shown below.
piy|ilaimials
| [ tive
gitovies
alr(e lilo [s[s
Teli [o the [s |
12345678 9 10
‘+ Now tell the students that there are some words
hidden in the grid. Explain that they need to find
the squares with letters in them, Tell them to guess
squares by giving letter and number references.
For example, C-2, F-10, -4 etc. When a student
‘guesses a square with a leter in, write the letter in
the square--They can guess a word when they think
they know what itis. Continue like this until they've
found al the words.
‘+ Now ask the students to work in pairs. First, they
should draw two grids. One of them should remain
blank, and on the other they need to write down,
six words, but without showing their partner,
Either you can let the students choose their own
‘words from the ones they've learnt recently, or else
you can give them a topic. For example, write six
nationalities / jobs / classroom objects / weather
conditions / animals.
‘+ When they've written their words, tell the students
to take it in turns to name a square on their partner's
‘grid. If there's a letter in the square, their partner
should say what the letter is and they should write
it in the blank grid.
‘+ Assoom as they think they know their partner's
word, they can guess. If it's wrong, they miss a
tum,4 Category dictation
Aim
This activity can be adapted to review almost any
vocabulary It can also be used to review certain
‘pronunciation and grammar points,
Preparation
‘Choose the language you want to review and devise a
‘way of categorising i into two or more categories.
Procedure
‘Write the category headings on the board and ask
the students to copy them onto a piece of paper.
Two simple categories is usually best. More than
three can get complicated. Then dictate the words
(10-12 maximum) slowly and clearly, and ask the
students to write them down in the correct category. *
For exaniple, you want to revise jobs from Unit 6,
your categories nllght be jobs you do inside and jobs
‘you do outside. So, write the following on the board
land ask the students to copy it down.
* Then dictate the words: e.g. a farmer, an archaeologist,
4 surgeon, an au pair, ave, etc. The students write
down the words in the correct category. When
{you've dictated 10 or 12 words, ask students to
‘compare their lists. When they've done this, ask
them to call out their answers and write them on.
the board in the correct category, so that they ean
check the spelling. Alternatively, you could ask the
students to take iin turns to write the answers on
the board,
‘= Here are some more ideas for categories:
1 Revise family words, (Unit 1)
Suggested categories: Male or Female, Have ot
Don’t have (this will obviously lead to different
answers for each student).
2 Revise adjectives to describe places. (Unit 2)
Suggested categories: Positive or Negative, Can
describe where we are now or Can't describe where
3. Revise past tense forms. (Unit 3)
Suggested categories: Regular or Irregular, Past
{orm the same asthe infinitive (eg. beat /beat,
hut it et /set, ete.) oF Past form different from the
infinitive (eg, choose chose, forget forgot, ride/
rode, ete.)
4 Revise sports. (Unit 5)
Suggested categories: Sports with a ball and
‘Sports without a ball; Sports you play in teams and
Sports you play individually: Spots you use ‘go
with or Sports you use ‘play’ with
5 Revise parts of the body (Unit 9)
Suggested categories: Abooe the wast and Below
the waist, or You have one ofthese and You have foo
ofthese
5 Mill drills
Aim
To provide controlled practice of new language in a
drill-ike way and to give students the opportunity
torepeat the same language with several different
partners
Preparation
Organise your classroom so that the students can move
around and speak to-one another. Prepare one prompt
card for each student inthe class. The prompts will
slepend on the language you want to practise. (See
below for examples of cue cards.)
Procedure
‘+ Tell the students that they're going to spend 10 to
15 minutes practising the new language, and that
you're going to demonstrate this.
‘+ Give one card to each student in the class, and
keep one for yourself, Write a sample dialogue on,
the board. Point to the part ofthe dialogue to be
supplied by the picture or word prompts on the
card. For example:
Sample dialogue
side2 onboard
‘a a te
Sample dialogue
‘on board
A [aoe
+ Explain thatthe language will change according to
the prompt on the card. Show the students how to
hold their cards. This is important because cards
rust be held in sich a way that when the students
are talking to a partner, they're both able to see each.
other's cards.
‘+ Choose a confident student to demonstrate the
activity with you. Then ask two or three pairs of
students to demonstrate the dialogue.
‘+ Askall the students to stand up and to go round the
class or group, repeating the dialogue with as many
different partners as possible, and using their cards
as prompts.
‘+ Stop the activity after a few moments and ask the
students to either exchange cards with another
student, or turn their card around so that students
get the opportunity to make new responses.6 Five favourites
Aim
‘This activity is good for revising any words learnt
recently,
Preparation
None
Procedure
‘Students look back through thei lesson notes for the
last two weeks and select from the words they've
recorded five words that they think are particularly
useful. They compare their list with a partner and.
together they produce a common list of five words.
from the combined list often. To do this they'll have
to argue for and against words on the combined list
tuntil they are both satisfied that they have the mést
‘useful five. If you wanted to continue the activity,
‘you could ten have each pair join up with another
ppait as a group of four and repeat the procedure,
Depending on the sizeof yout class, you might
continue until you had established a list of “five
favourites’ for the whole class.
‘© ‘The value of this activity lies in the students looking
back through their notes, choosing the words and
then arguing for them to be part of the combined
list, The whole procedure gives them valuable
repeat exposure to words recently learned
+ A possible extension activity after each pair has
formed their common list of five words is to collect
the lists and redistribute them so that each pair has
a different list. The pairs then write a dialogue or
short story incorporating the five words they have
fn the lst they've just received. You could then
ask them to read out their dialogues or stories and
the other students guess what the five listed words
7 Crosswords
Aim
This activity is good for revising lexical sets and can.
help with spelling,
Preparation
Choose a lexical set you want to revise. For example,
places ina city (Unit 2, office equipment (Unit 6), schoo!
subjects (Unit 8), food (Unit 10), animals (Unit 11), ete
Procedure
‘+ Students work in pairs. They'll need a piece of
papat, preferably graph paper with squares on.
Choose a topic, for example, schoo! subjects.
‘© Student A writes ‘Across’ words, and Student B
‘writes ‘Down’ words,
‘It’s good idea to provide the first word across, and
‘make sure that isa long one. Student B then adds
another school subject down the paper from top to
bottom. This word must intersect with the school
subject written across the page.
‘© Student A then writes another school subject across
that intersects with the school subject Student B has
‘written down, Students continue taking it in turns
to write in their words,
‘Students build up a crossword until they can’t think
fof any more school subjects. (You could make it
{nto a game by saying that the last person to write a
school subject is @ winner) Note that students must
leave a one square between each word ~ this is why
its better and clearer to use squared paper.8 Odd one out
Aim
This activity can be used to revise almost any language.
Preparation.
‘Think of the vocabulary, pronunciation or grammar
point you want to revise.
Procedure
Write five words on the board andl ask students
‘which one is the odd one out. The students then
explain why: This is usually relates to the meaning
of the word.
pink red dog blue yellow
Here dg is the odd one out because it’s an animal
The other words are colours
Note that it ddesn’t matter if the students can’t
explain in perfect English why dog is the odd one
out. The important thing is that they're looking at
and thinking about the words you want them to
‘You can use this format to practise and revise all
sorts of things. Here are some examples:
1 For meaning
sister / nephew / daughter / wife / mother
nephew is the odd one out because he's a man.
‘The other words describe women,
2 Forspelling:
ppen / book / bag / phone / diary
diary is the odd one out because you spell the
plural ies. The other words you just adds
3. For pronunciation: sounds
AIT/H/J/K
Tis the odd one out because the vowel sound is
different.
4 For pronunciation: stress
hospital / banana / potato / Italian / computer
hospital isthe odd one out because the stress is
on the first syllable. The other words have the
stress on the second syllable.
5 Forcollocation: do or make
your homework / the washing / an
appointment / a training course / the shopping
‘a appointment isthe odd one out because you
"use mate. For the others you use do.
5 For grammar
cash / credit card / cheque / coin / note
shtis the odd one out because itis uncountable
you can’t say «cash. All the other words are
countable,
‘You should tell the students what the criteria i,
Sr example ‘think about meaning’ or ‘think about
Se sounds’. To make the activity a little more
“Gallenging, instead of writing the words on the
‘Beard, you can dictate them, As a follow-up, ask the
“Seecents to write their own odd ones out,
9 Making sentences
Aim
This activity is god for revising any type of vocabulary
Itworks best ifthe words are a fairly random selection
and not part ofa tight lexical set.
Preparation
Choose 12 words you want to revise and write them in a
circle like a clockface) on the board.
Procedure
‘© Students work in pairs. They choose two or more of|
the words and try to make a sentence with them,
Example sentences:
My brother is doing yoga in the park.
‘The snowoboarder ents organic vegetables on Friday
1 saw an ambitious puppy inthe canal with a blue neck
blue
eae
ee roo
Pa " pened
cr e an
ets pt
park
‘+ ‘Thestucents then read out their sentences and you,
connect the words they have used on the board.
You can correct the grammar as necessary (or you
can make it more difficult for the students by only
accepting grammatically correct sentences). It
doesn’t matter how bizarre the sentences are, the
‘important thing is that students spend time looking
at and remembering the vocabulary.
‘© Ifyou write the words and draw the connecting
lines on an OHP transparency, you can show it
to the students a few weeks later and see if they
remember the sentences they wrote.10 Random letters
Aim
‘This activity is good for revising any type of vocabulary.
Preparation
None
Procedure
+ Ask the students to call out any seven letters from
the alphabet. (It doesn’t have to be seven letters
anything between seven and twelve is fine.) Write
the letters scattered on the board.
‘© Then ask the students in pairs to think of a word.
beginning with each letter on the board. The most
“obvious criteria is to revise words from a specific
lexical set that you have taught recently, e.g obs,
clothes, fod, animals, ete. Alternatively, you could
simply ask them for words they've noted down in
lessons over the past two weeks.
+ Another possibility would be to find the most
interesting words they can from the Student’s Book
‘unit that you've just finished. Ifthe lexiat set you
‘want them to revise is particularly rich, you could.
ask the students to think of as many words for each
letter as they can in say three minutes: make it into a
contest to find the most words.
+ There are lots of possible variations using different
criteria for words from the letters on the board. Here
are a few:
1 Use the same criteria as above but ask the
students to think of words ending with the letter
fn the board
2 Ask the students to write only nouns, or
Adjectives or irregular verbs or some other part
of speech.
3. Ask the students to write only words with three
syllables or words with the same vowel sounds.
4 Ask students to write only words that start with
the same letter in their own language or only
words that start with a different letter.
5 _Askstudents to think of words that can combine
tomakea coherent sentence, e.g, Basil likes
selling Christmas trees at weekends. Accept only
‘grammatically correct sentences no matter how
bizarre they might be.
Anecdote tasks
New Inside Out Pre-intermediate includes a number of
‘extended speaking tasks, where stuclents tackle a longer
piece of discourse, We've called these ‘Anecdotes’. They
are based on personal issues, for instance, memories,
stories, people you know. When you learn a musical
instrument, you can’t spend all your time playing scales
and exercises: you also need to learn whole pieces in
order to see how music is organised. Anecdotes give
students a chance to get to grips with how discourse
is organised. We have found the following strategies
helpful in getting our students to tell their Anetdotes.
1 Choose global topics that everybody can
relate to
(One ofthe main objectives of an Anecdote isto
encourage students to experiment with and hopefully
{grow more competent at using language at the more
‘demanding end of their range. It therefore seems
only fai to ask them to talk about subjects they know
something about. With familiar subject matter students
can concentrate on how they're speaking as well as what
they’te speaking about, The nine Anecdote topics in New
Inside Out Pre-ntermediate have been carefully selected
to appeal tothe widest range of students, whilst atthe
same time, fitting in tothe context ofthe unit
Unit 1 | Somebody who is
portant to you
Unit2 The best place you have ever visited
'A present you bought for somebody
‘Your experiences of sport at school
A person you know with a good job
| Unit Your favourite subject at school
Unit 10 | The fitest/healthiest person you know
Your pet ora pet you know |
‘The most incredible building you've |
“Unit 11
Unit 12
[Assoon as you have got to know your students well
tenough, you'll be able to choose other Anecdote topics
suited to their particular interests and experiences.
2. Allow sufficient preparation time
‘Students need time to assemble their thoughts and
think about the language they'll need. The Anecdotes
are set up through evocative questions. Students read
ot listen toa planned series of questions and choose
‘what specifically they'l talk about; shyer students can
avoid matters they feel are too personal, This student
preparation is a key stage and should not be rushed.
Research, by Peter Skehan and Pauline Foster among,
others, has shown that learners who plan for tasks
attempt more ambitious and complex language, hesitate
less and make fewer basic erors.
‘The simplest way to prepare students for an Anecdote
is to ask them to read the list of questions in the book
land decide which they want to talk about. This could
bbe done during class time or as homework preparationfor the following lesson. Ask them to think about the
language they'll need. Sentence beginnings are provided
in the Student's Book to give the students some extra
hhelp. Encourage them to use dictionaries and make
‘notes — but not to write out what they'll actually say.
Finally, put them into pairs to exchange Anecdotes. +
A variation isto ask the students to read the questions in
the book while, at the same time, listening to you read
them aloud. Then ask them to prepare in detail for the
task, as above.
“Alternatively, ask the students to close their books ~ and.
then to close their eyes. Ask them to listen to the questions
fas you read them aloud and think about what they evoke,
Some classes wil find thisa more involving process. It also
allows you to adapt the questions to your class: adding
‘new ones or missing out ones you think inappropriate
‘Affe the reading, give them enough time to finalise their
preparation before starting the speaking task,
3 Monitor students and give feedback
It's important for studeni?to feel that their efforts
fare being monitored by the teacher. Realistically, it's
probably only possible for a teacher to monitor and
_give feedback to one or two pairs of students during
‘each Anecdote activity. I's therefore vital that the
teacher adopts a strict rota system, and makes sure that
‘everyone in the class is monitored over the course of
4 term. Constructive feedback helps students improve
their delivery
4 Provide a ‘model anecdote’
T's always useful for the students to hear a model
"Anecdote at some stage during the Anecdote task
cycle. The most obvious model is you, the teacher.
Alternatively, you might ask a teaching colleague
for friend to talkto the students. For every Anecdote
‘activity in New Inside Out Pre-intermediate there's a
‘mode! listening on the CD with an accompanying task
‘in the student's book.
5 Repeat the same anecdote with a new
partner at regular intervals
Consider going bic to Anecdotes and repeating them
infater dase Let the students know tht youre BON
todo his Ths wil eanurethem tat youre doing
item purpose, but more inporaty wil mean at
they be more motivated fo dese some tine and
though to preparation When you repent the ask, mi
theclassothateach student work witha new pane,
ie one who has not previously heard the Anecdote,
In our experience, most students are happy to listen
to their partner’s Anecdotes. I, however, any of your
students are reluctant listeners, you might think about
giving them some sort of ‘listening task’. Here are three
examples:
+ Ask the listener to tick the prompt questions that
the ‘Anecdote teller’ answers while telling the
Anecdote
+ Ask the listener to time the ‘Anecdote teller’
In Teaching Collocations (page 91) Michael Lewis
suggests reducing the time allowed to deliver the
Anecdote each time i's repeated: for example, in the
first instance the student has five minutes; for the
second telling they have four minutes; and the third
three minutes.
+ Ask the listener to take brief notes about the
Anecdote and write them up as a summary
for homework. Then give the summary to the
“Anecdote teller’ to check,
‘The pedagogic value of getting students to retell
Anecdotes ~ repeat a ‘big chunk’ of spoken discourse
~ cannot be over-stated. Repeating complex tasks
reflects real interactions. We all have our set pieces:
jokes, stories, and we tend to refine and improve
them as we retell them. Many students will appreciate
the opportunity to do the same thing in their second
language. Research by Martin Bygate among others has
shown that given this opportunity students become
more adventurous and at the same time more precise in
the language they use.
You can also use the Aneedates to test oral proficiency
and thereby add a speaking component to accompany
the tests in the Teacher's Book,Key concepts in New Inside Out
The following excerpts are from An A-Z of ELT by Scott
Thornbury (Macmillan Books for Teachers, 2006). They give
clear authoritive definitions and explanations of some of
the most important concepts in New Inside Out.
Contents
‘+ classroom interaction
+ collocation
+ communicative activity
+ context .
+ drill a
+ dynamics: group, classroom
+ fluency
+ focus on form
+ function
+ grammar teaching
+ learning-centred instruction, tearning-centredness
«+ learning style
« listening
+ motivation
+ noticing
+ personalization
+ practice
+ pronunciation teaching
+ reading
+ speaking
+ task
+ vocabulary teaching
= writing
Note: SLA = Second Language Acquisition
Scot Thornbury
classroom interaction METHODOLOGY
Cassroom interaction isthe general term for what
goes on betiveen the: people in the classroom,
Particularly when it involves language. In traditional
Enstooms, most interaction is initiated by the
teacher and leames either respond individually, or
in unison. Teacher-centred interaction ofthis kind
is associated with fsmisive teaching, such a8 8
lecture or presentation, where the teacher tis
the content of the lesson tothe Teamers. In order
to increase the amount of student involvement
and interaction, teacher-leamer interaction is often
combined with pairwork and groupwork, where
Tearners interact among. themselves in palrs oF
small groups. Other Kinds of interaction include
ringing milling, Pairwork and groupwork are
sociated with a more leamencented approsch
Rather than pasively receiving the lesson content,
the learners ae actively engaged in sing language
ani ascovering things for themselves, The value of
pairwork and groupwork has been reinforced by the
elit that interaction facilitates language learning.
Some would go as fara to say that I is all that is
requ
The potential for classroom interaction is obviously
constrained by such factors as the numberof students,
the size of the room, the furniture, and the purpose
‘or type of activity: Not all activities lend themselves
to pairwork or groupwork. Some activities, such
as reading, are best done as individual work. On the
other hand, listening activities (such as listening to
fan audio recording, orto the teacher) favour a whole
class format, as do grammar presentations. The whole
class is also an appropriate form of organization
when reviewing the results of an activity, as, for
‘example, when spokespersons from each group are.
reporting on the results of a discussion or survey.
‘The success of any classroom interaction will also.
depend on the extent to which the learners know
what they are meant to be doing and why, which
in turn depends on how clearly and efficiently the
interaction has been set up. Pair- and groupwork can
bbe a complete waste of time if learners are neither
properly prepared for it, nor sure of its purpose or
outcome.
Finally, the success of pairs and groupwork will
depend on the kind of group dynamics that have been
established. Do the students know one another? Are
they happy working together? Do they mind workingwithout constant teacher supervision? Establishing a
productive classroom dynamic may involve making
ecisionsas to who works with whom. Itmay also mean
deliberately staging the introduction of different kinds
of interactions, starting off with the more controlled,
teacher-led interactions before, over time, allowing
learners to work in pairs and finally in groups.
collocation VOCABULARY
IF two words coloat, they frequently occur together.
‘The relation between the words may be grammatical,
fas when certain verbs collocate with particular
prepositions, such as depend on, account for, abstain
rom, or when a verb like male, take, odo, collocates
With a noun, as in make an arrangement, take adsuntage,
do the shopping. The collocation may also be lexical,
as when two content words regularly co-occur, as in
1 broad hint narrow escape (but not wide hint or "a
tight scape). The strength of the collocation can vary: a
bron stret ora narrow path are weak collocation, since
both elements can co-occur with lots of other words:
1 broad rider, a busy street, ete. Broad hint and narrow
scape are stronger: Stronger still are combinations
Where one element rarely occurs without the other,
as in moot point, slim pickings and scot free. Strongest
of all are those where both elements never or rarely
‘occur without the other, such as dire strats and spick
‘an span. These have acquired the frozen status of fixed
expressions
Unsurprisingly, learners lack intuitions as to which
words go with which, and this accounts for many
fervors, such as You enn completely enjoy it (instead of
thoroughly), On Saturday we made shopping (instead
of went), and We went the incorrect tay (fr wrong).
Using texts to highlight particular collocations, and
teaching new words in association with their most
frequent collocations are two ways of approaching the
problem. Nowadays lamers’ dictionaries, such asthe
Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners,
also include useful collocational information,
‘communicative activity METHODOLOGY
‘A communicative activity is one in which real
‘communication occurs, Communicative activities
belong to that generation of classroom activities
that emerged in response to the need for a more
‘communicative approach in the teaching of second
languages. (In their more evolved form as tasks,
communicative activities are central to task-based
earning). They attempt to import into a practice
activity the key features of ‘real-life’ communication.
“These are
‘+ purposefulness: speakers are motivated by a
‘communicative goal (such as getting information,
making a request, giving instructions) and not
simply by the need to display the correct use of
language for its own sake
‘+ reciprocity to achieve a purpose, speakers need to
interact, and there is as much need to listen as to
speak
+ negotiation: following from the above, they may
need to check and repair the communication in
order to be understood by each other
‘+ unpredictability: neither the process, nor the
‘outcome, nor the language used in the exchange,
is entirely predictable
+ heterogeneity: patticipants. can use any
communicative means at their disposal; in other
words, they are not restricted to the use of a pre-
specified grammar item.
And, in the case of spoken language in particular
‘+ synchronicity: the exchange takes place jn real
time
The best known communicative activity is the
information gap activity. Flere theinformationnecessary
to.complete the task is either in the possession of just
(one of the participants, or distributed among them.
In order to achieve the goal of the task, therefore,
the learners have to share the information that they
have. For example, ina desrite-and-draw activity, one
student has a picture which is hidden from his or
her partner. The task is for that student to describe
the picture so that the partner can accurately draw
it. Ina spot-te-liference task, both students of a pair
have pictures (or texts) that are the same apart from
some minor details. The goal is to identify these
differences. In a jigsaw activity, each member of a
group has different information. One might have a
bus timetable, another a map, and another a list of
hotels. They have to share this information in order
to plan a weekend break together.
Information gap activities have been criticized on
the grounds that they lack authenticity. Nor are
information gap activities always as productive as
‘ight be wished: unsupervised, leamers may resort
to communication strategies in orcer to simplify the
task. Amore exploitable information gap, arguably, is
the one that exists between the learners themselves,
Je, what they don't know ~ but might like to know
= about one another (-+ personalization).
context LINGUISTICS,
‘Thecontext ofa language tem isits adjacent language
items. In the absence of context, itis often impossible
to assign exact meaning to an item. A sentence like
Bon takes the bus to work, for example, could have
past, present, or future reference, depending on the
context:
I know this chap called Ben. One day Ben
takes the bus to work, and just as
Most days Ben takes the bus to work, but
sometimes he rides his bike
If Ben takes the bus to work tomorrow, he'll be
late, because there's a strike
Likewise, a sentence like You use it like this is
‘meaningless in the absence of a context. By the
same token, a word or sentence in one context can
have a very different meaning in another. The sign
NO BICYCLES in a public park means something
different to NO BICYCLES outside a bicycle rental
shop. It is sometimes necessary to distinguishbetween different kinds of context. On the one
hhand, there is the context of the accompanying
text, sometimes called the co-fext. The co-text of
this sentence, for example, includes the sentences
that precede and follow it, as well as the paragraph
of which it forms a part. It isthe co-text that offers
clues as to the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary in
a text The situational context (also context of situation,
‘context of use), om the other hand, is the physical and
temporal setting in which an instance of language use
‘occurs. The typical context for the spoken question
Are you being served? is in a shop, for example.
Both co-text and context influence the production
and interpretation of language. Discourse analysis
studies the relationship between language and co-
text, including the way that sentences or utterances
are connected. Pragmatics studies the relationship
between language and its contexts of use, including
the way meaning can be inferred by reference to
context factors. :
Various theories have been proposed in order to
account forthe ways that language choices are
determined by contextual factors. One of the best
known of these is Michael Halliday’s systemic
functional linguistics. Halliday distinguishes three
variables in any context that systematically impact
‘on language choices and which, together, determine
a texts register:
‘+ the field: what the language is being used to talk
about, and for what purposes
‘the fenor: the participants in the language event,
and their relationship
‘+ the mode: how language is being used in the
‘exchange, eg is it written or spoken?
For example, this short text shows the influence of
all theve factors
Do u faney film either 2nite or 2more? Call
The field is ‘making arrangements about leisure
activities’, hence the use of words like film, 2nite
(Gonigl), 2moro (tomorrow). The tenor is one of
familiarity and equality (accounting for the informal
fancy and the imperative: call me); and the mode is
that of a written text message, which explains its
brevity its use of abbreviated forms (u, 2nite) and
the absence of salutations. A change in any of these
contextual factors is likely to have a significant effect
con the text.
Language learners, it is argued, need to know how
these contextual fctorscorrelate with language choices
inorder to produce language that is appropriate tothe
context, One way of doing this is to ask them to make
changes to a text (Such as the fext message above)
that take into account adjustments to the field, tenor,
or mode,
drill merHopoLocy
‘A drill is repetitive oral practice of a language
item, whether a sound, a word, a phrase or a
sentence structure. Drills that ae targeted at sentence
structures are sometimes called pattern practice drills
Drills follow a prompt-response sequence, where
the prompt usually comes from the teacher, and
the students respond, either in chorus (a choral dri)
or individually. An imitation drill simply involves
repeating the prompt, a in:
‘Teacher They have been watching TV.
Student They have been watching TY.
A substitution drill requires the students to substitute
‘one element ofthe pattern with the prompt, making,
any necessary adjustments
They have been watching TY,
They have been watching FV.
‘Teacher
Student
‘Teacher She
Student She has been watching TV.
‘Teacher 1
Student Ihave been watching TV.
etc.
A variable substitution drill is the same, but the
prompts are not restricted to one element of the
pattern:
‘Teacher They have been watching TV.
Student They have been watching TV.
‘Teacher She
Student She has been watching TV.
‘Teacher radio
Student She has been listening to the radio.
Teacher We
Student We have been listening to the radio.
ete
Drills were a defining feature of the audiolingual
method, and were designed to reinforce good
language ‘habits’. The invention of language
laboratories allowed sustained drilling without the
reed for a teacher to supply the prompts. With
the demise of audiolingualism, drilling fell from
favour. However, many teachers ~ even those who
subscribe to a communicative approach ~ fee! the
need for some form of repetition practice of the kind
that drills provide. This may be for the purpose
of developing accuracy, or as a form of fluency
training, ie, in order to develop automaticity.
Hence, communicative drills were developed.
A communicative drill is still essentially repetitive,
‘and focuses on a particular structure or pattern,
but ithas an information gap element builtin. Learners
‘ean perform the drill in pairs, or as a milling activity
(G+ classroom interaction) and they are required
to attend to what they hear as much as what they
say. The milling activity popularly known as Find
someone who ... is one such activity. Students are set
the task of finding other students in the class who,
for example, can ride a horse, can speak French,
can play the guitar, etc. They mill around, asking
questions of the type Cant you ...? until they have
asked all the other students their questions, and then
they report their findings,
dynamics: group, classroom METHODOLOGY
Dynamics are the actions and interactions, both
conscious and unconscious, that take place between
members of a group, whether the whole class orsub-groups. Group dynamics are instrumental in
forging a productive and motivating classroom
environment. They are determined by such factors
as; the composition of the group (including the
age, sex, and relative status of the members, as well
as their different attitudes, beliefs, learning. styles
and abilities); the patterns of relationships between
members of the group, including how well they
know each other, and the roles they each assume,
such as group leader, spokesperson, etc; physical
factors such as the size of the group and the way it
is seated; and the tasks that the group are set, eg
Does the task require everyone to contribute? Does it
{encourage co-operation or competition? Are the goals
of the task clear to the group members?
Ways that the teacher can promote a positive group
(and class) dynamic include
+ ensuring all class or group members can see and
each other's names
eepifig groups from getting too big ~ three to:six
members is optimal
setting ~ or negotiating - clear rules for
groupwork, such as using only the target
language, giving everyone a turn to speak,
allowing individuals to ‘pass’ if they don't want
tosay anything too personal
using “ice-breaking’ activities to encourage
interaction, laughter, and relaxation
‘ensuring that group tasks are purposeful,
interactive, and collaborative
personalizing tasks, ie, setting tasks that involve
the sharing of personal experiences and opinions
defining the roles and responsibilities within
the group, and varying these regularly, eg by
appointing a different spokesperson each time
‘monitoring groupwork in progress, and being
alert to any possible conflicts or tensions between
members, and reconstituting groups, if necessary
discussing the importance of groupwork
with learners, and getting feedback on group
procestes
cy SLA
IF someone is said to be fluent in a language, or to
speak a language fluently it is generally understood
that they are able to speak the language idiomatically
and accurately, without undue pausing, without an
intrusive accent, and in a manner appropriate to the
context. Infact, research into listeners’ perceptions of
fluency suggests that fluency is primarily the ability
to produce and maintain speech in real tine, To do
this, luent speakers are capable of
+ appropriate pausing, ie
© their pauses may be long but are not frequent
© their pauses are usually filled, eg with pause
fillers like erm, you know, sort of
© their pauses occur at meaningful transition
points, eg at the intersections of clauses or
phrases, ather than midway in a phrase
‘+ long runs, ie, there are many syllables and words
between pauses
hear one another, and that they know (and use),
Allof the above factors depend on the speaker having,
4 well-developed grammar, an extensive vocabulary,
and, crucially, a store of memorized chunks. Being
able to draw on this store of chunks means not
having to depend on grammar to construct each
‘utterance from scratch. This allows the speaker to
devote attention to other aspects of the interaction,
such as planning ahead, Speakers also use a number
of ‘tricks’ or production strategies to convey the illusion
of fluency, One such strategy is disguising pauses by
filing them, or by repeating a word or phrase.
Some proponents of the communicative approach
redefined fluency so as to distinguish it from
accuracy. Fluency came to mean ‘communicative
effectiveness’, regardless of formal accuracy or speed
of delivary. Activities that are communicative, such
as information-gap activities, are said to be fluency-
focused. Thsis the case even for activities that produce
short, halting utterances. Separating accuracy and
fluency, and defining the latter as communicative
language use, s misleading, though. There are many
speech events whose communicativeness depends
fon their accuracy. Air traffic contro talk is just one.
Moreover, many learners aspire to being more than
merely communicative.
Classroom activities that target fluency need to
prepare the learner for real-time speech production,
Learning and memorizing lexical chunks, including
useful conversational gambits isone approach. Drills
may help here, as will some types of communicative
activity that involve repetition, Research has also
shown that fluency improves the more times a task
is repeated. Fluency may also benefit from activities
that manage to distract learners’ attention away from
formal accuracy so that they are not tempted to slow
down. (Thishas been called ‘parking their attention’)
Some interactive and competitive language games
have this effect. Drama activities, such as roleplays,
recreate conditions of real-time language use, and
are therefore good for developing fluency. Finally,
learners can achieve greater fluency from learning
a repertoire of communication strategies, ic,
techniques for getting around potential problems
‘caused by a lack of the relevant words or structures.
focus on form sta
When learners focus on form, they direct conscious
attention to some formal feature of the language
input. The feature may be the fact that the past of
has is had, or that enjoy is followed by verb forms
tending in -ing, or that adjectives do not have plural
forms in English. The learners’ attention may be self-
directed, or it may be directed by the teacher or by
another learner. Fither way, it has been argued that a
focus on form is a necessary condition for language
learning. Simply focusing on the meaning of the
input is not enough. Focusing on form is, of course,
rot anew idea: most teaching methods devote a
‘great deal of time to the forms of the language, eg
when new grammar items are presented. But the
teem focus on form captures the fact that this focus
can, theoretically, occur at any stage in classroominstruction. Thus, correction, especially inthe form of
negative feedback, is a kind of focus on form. In fact,
some researchers argue that the most effective form
focus is that which arises incidentally, in the context
‘of communication, as when the teacher quickly
elicits a correction during a classroom discussion,
This incidental approach contrasts with the more
traditional and deliberate approach, where teaching
is based on a syllabus of graded structures (or forms),
and these are pretaught in advance of activities
designed to practise them. This traditional approach
is called ~ by some researchers ~ a focus on forms.
function ticursrics
The function of a language item is its communicative
purpose. Language is more than simply forms and
their associated meanings (ie, usage). It is also
the communicative uses to which these forms and
‘meanings are put. These two sentences, for example,
share the same forms, but function quite differently
lin an email] Thank you for sending me the,
disk
{a notice in 3 taxi] Thankyou for not smoking.
‘The function of the first is expressing thanks, while the
second is mote like a prohibition. Likewise, the same
function can be expressed by differen forms:
{a notice in a taxi] Thank you for not smoking.
[a signin a classroom] No smoking.
Thus, there is no one-to-one match between form
and funetion. Assigning a function to a text or an
utterance usually requires knowledge of the context
in which the text is used. The study of how context
and function are interrelate is called pragmatics.
Communicative functions can be categorized very
broadly and also at increasing levels of detail. The
“big’ functions, or macrofunctions, describe the
Way language is used in very general terms. These
include the use of language for expressiee purposes
(eg poetry), for regulatory purposes (eg, for getting
people to do things), for interpersonal purposes (eg
for socializing), and for representational purposes (eg
to inform). More useful, from the point of view of
designing language syllabuses, are microfunctions
‘These are usually expressed as speech acts, such as
agrecing and disagreeing, reporting, toarning, apologizing,
thanking, greting, et. Such categories form the basis
of functional syllabuses, a development associated
withthe communicative approach, They often appear
fs one strand of a coursebook syllabus. Functions