TESOL End of the term assignment

Resubmission(Q2 & Q3)

1. Create one lesson on “your favourite festival” incorporating the four skills and a
grammar component.

Name of the Topic:

Your favourite festival

Time Duration:
90-120 minutes

Objective:
To practice proper reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. To identify and correctly use festival
related vocabulary. To focus on the vocabulary, grammar, sentence construction of the learners.
To achieve accuracy and fluency of the language, and new word used in the context.
Students will practise speaking skills for fluency. Students will understand a text about Diwali
and answer questions to demonstrate comprehension. It is expected that the students will
be able to achieve the objectives with an accuracy level of 70-75%.

Age:
Teenagers (Age : 13- 16 years)

Warmer: Time :(5-7 minutes)

Asking the questions “What’s your favourite festival?”, “What do you do at [festival]? and answering
with “My favourite festival is ...” and “I [verb] at [festival]”. Write the following words on the board:
food – festival – parties. Ask students to talk about what they associate with these words. The
teacher divides the class into groups of five.  She tries to ensure that each group has a balance of
children belonging to different states and different religions if possible. She asks them to select any
one festival that they celebrate and discuss the following questions around it:

a.      When is the festival celebrated?

b.      Why do you celebrate this festival?
c.      What do you do on that day?
d.      Which special dish is prepared on that day?
e.      What clothes do you wear on that day?

Give students some time to talk about their associations and then ask for feedback, writing any new
vocabulary on the board.

Context setting or Pre-speaking :

The teacher shows the picture depicting Diwali. She takes the help of the following questions or
similar ones, to initiate a conversation around Diwali. 
  What   is happening in the picture?
 Why do you think the girls are making “rangoli” on the floor?
 When do you create a rangoli?
 Have you made a similar rangoli on the floor or seen someone making it at home?
 Do you know what is used to create a rangoli?
 Why do you think there are lamps around the rangoli in the picture?
 When do we celebrate Diwali?

Looking at the picture the students may give following answers to the questions asked:

Rangoli is made at the entrance of the house during Diwali

It is a welcoming gesture not just for the guests but also for Goddess Lakshmi
It is the festival of lights
Diwali is celebrated during the Hindu lunisolar month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-
November).
Rangoli is made from colours, flowers, chalk powder and even natural items like turmeric etc.

Actual content or While-speaking activity :

Write the following words on the board: food – festival – parties. Ask students to talk about what
they associate with these words. Give students some time to talk about their associations and then
ask for feedback, writing any new vocabulary on the board.
Students will read a short text about Diwali and then complete a series of comprehension tasks.
Students will then work to recreate the text using prompts and then retell the legend of Diwali to
their classmates. Finally, students will have an opportunity to make notes about a festival of their
choice and tell the class about it.

Reading Skill:

Deepavali or Diwali is an Indian festival of lights. ‘Deepa’ means lamp or light and ‘Vali’ means string
or row, and Deepavali means rows of lights. It celebrates the victory of good over the evil. Diwali
falls on the day of ‘Amavasyaa’ or no moon day, usually in the month of October or November. The
date of celebrating Diwali is based on the movement of the moon and falls on different date every
year. For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most important festivals of the year and is celebrated in
families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. It is one of the biggest festivals
of India. Diwali celebrates the return of Lord Rama, along with Sita and Lakshmana, from his 14-year-
long exile after defeating the demon-king Ravana. In the joyous celebration of the return of their
king, the people of Ayodhya illuminated the kingdom with earthen diyas and by bursting
firecrackers. Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps called diyas filled with oil to signify the
triumph of good over evil. Lighting a lamp represents the destruction of all negative forces such as
violence, anger, greed and injustice with knowledge. People decorate their home with beautiful
diyas and make rangoli patterns in the courtyard and in front of the gate. They put flowers and
mango leaves on their doors and windows. Firecrackers are burst in order to drive away evil spirits.
During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes, share sweets and snacks with family members
and friends. Diwali is a five day festival starting from Dhanteras. On Dhanteras people buy jewellery
or utensils. The second day is called Naraka Chaturdashi. It marks the death of the demon king
“Narakasura”. It is also called Chhoti Diwali or Small Diwali. According to an interesting saying it is
believed that those who do not bathe on this day go to the hell. The third day of Diwali is the main
day of the celebrations. People worship Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi on this day and offer
prayers to bless them with wealth and prosperity. Lord Ganesha, the foremost of all Hindu Gods
represents good luck and Lakshmi is the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. On this day puja or
prayer is done by installing the idols of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi. All the members of the
family chant the mantras, offer auspicious items like flowers, sweet dishes, silver or gold coins and
light diyas in front of the deities and seek their blessings. The fourth day of Diwali is devoted to
Govardhan Puja. Lord Shri Krishna once performed the Govardhan Puja to protect people from
heavy rains. Since then it became a tradition to worship Govardhan Parvat (Mountain). The fifth day
is called Bhai Dooj. On this day, sisters pray for their brothers to have long and happy lives by
performing the Tika ceremony, and brothers give gifts to their sisters.

1. What does Deepavali mean?

2. In which months does Diwali fall?
3. In how many countries Diwali is an official holiday?
4. How do people celebrate Diwali?
5. What is Bhai Dooj?

Speaking Skill:
Cues-

  when the festival is celebrated

 what people do during this festival
 what you like or dislike about it
and explain why this festival is important in your country.
[Talk about the topic for one to two minutes. Take a minute to think about what to say.
Notes can be made for reference]

Model Answer:
The most joyful holiday in the Hindu calendar is Diwali, The Festival of Lights. This is a five-day
festival. It begins just before the New Year in the Hindu lunar calendar. Each day of the festival is
celebrated in a unique way. On day one, families decorate their doorsteps or sidewalks with brightly
colored sand paintings. These patterns are called rangoli art. They are often in the shape of lotus
flowers. Rice paste is used to make tiny footprints in the patterns. Rows of clay lamps are lit around
homes and businesses. These decorations act as an invitation to Lakshmi, a Hindu goddess.

According to the Hindu tradition, Lakshmi brings wealth and good fortune to the homes she visits.
During Diwali it is customary to leave all windows and doors open so that the goddess of prosperity
can enter.The first day is also the time to pray for protection against untimely death.

On day two of Diwali, parents give children new clothes and jewelry. Everyone bathes in oil and
relaxes in preparation for the big day ahead. Day three is the main day of the festival. It is a day
mixed with prayer, sweets, and fireworks. This is India’s New Year’s Eve! It is also the last day of the
financial year. On day four, everyone wears new clothes and jewelry to the temple.

The final day is a celebration of siblings. Brothers and sisters pray for each other and exchange gifts.

Listening Skill:

Intermediate English Listening - Diwali, Festival Of Lights (esolcourses.com)

(This link contains the audio on Diwali and related exercise and questions)

Writing Skill:

Tips to write about Diwali:

1. Research
2. Creating a structure
3. Have a strong introduction
4. Talk about how Diwali is celebrated – customs, rituals
5. Add some points about an eco-friendly Diwali
6. Put in a personal touch about how you and your family celebrate Diwali, your favourite
foods, meeting and playing with your cousins, or perhaps even an interesting incident that
occurred during the festive season.

Sample- 
Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is a nationally-celebrated festival in India. It is traditionally a Hindu
festival, but today, Indians of all religions come together to celebrate this popular festival.
Historically, Diwali was commemorated when Lord Ram came back home to Ayodhya after defeating
the demon king Ravan, and the people of Ayodhya lit rows of lamps for his return. Now, many
households light diyas, lanterns, and lights in their homes. Other Diwali rituals include cleaning the
house, preparing homemade snacks and sweets, drawing colourful rangolis, and buying and wearing
new clothes. Laxmi Pujan is the main day of Diwali, on which families come together to worship the
Goddess Laxmi. After that, family members exchange gifts and wishes, and sit down together for a
home-cooked meal. It is a wonderful time for many households, as Diwali brings love, light, and
unity.
 Recapitulation:
 The light and shine of every Indian festival- the Rangoli is the most loved art by almost
everyone. Encourage students to come up with innovative Rangoli designs. Groups can be
formed to organize a contest. All the groups will then compete with each other to showcase
their spirit of creativity and innovation through their Rangoli. This also calls for a major
student-teacher or student-student bonding session.

 Diyas can showcase the creativity in students when you allow them to shade these in vibrant
hues, using watercolors and paints. Once done, you can light this diyas and proudly
announce to your visitors that your students completed this ‘diya painting’ activity.
Alternatively, you may also conduct a ‘diya lighting’ competition. One who lights the
maximum number of diyas within a pre-set time frame can be declared the winner.

2. Suggest two suitable language learning methods and their benefits in an EFL/ESL
class. Base your answer on research studies, citing relevant examples/evidence.
Also mention the skills/attributes a teacher should possess in order to facilitate an
EFL/ESL class efficiently. (Word limit within 450 to 500 words
Two suitable language learning methods are:-

1. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

2. Task based language learning

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach that aims to achieve communicative rather
than linguistic competence through learner interaction. Students here do most of the talking while
the teacher might keep a check on grammatical errors (e.g., "his shoes is old" can be answered with,
"yes, his shoes ARE old") to give students clues for further conversation. Instructors utilizing the CLT
approach might also include reading, writing and listening, as these skills are also vital to ESLs'
development as English language speakers. For instance, teachers might ask students to watch a
video online (listening), post their opinion about it in the comment section (writing) and describe
others' opinions from the comments section (reading). 

Benefits of CLT approach –

a) Students are actually able to use the skills they’ve learnt to communicate in their target
language. 
b) It enables learners to gain confidence when interacting with other people, which helps them
enjoy using their new found language skills.
c) It increases the students’ engagement and enjoyment of their lessons.

Task based language learning implies that activities and tasks can help the language learner towards
communicating the target language effectively. Language learners work and co-operate with each
other in groups which builds bonds between them. Rather than concentrating on one aspect of a
certain language feature, students rely on previous language, knowledge and experience. It
emphasises on learners to communicate through interaction in the target language, introduces
authentic texts into the classroom. A task need not be elaborate and it need not be the basis for a
lengthy lesson or series of lessons such as filling in an application form, planning a day trip, calling a
help line, etc.

Benefits of task-based approach –

a) It offers a platform for students to display their skills through their efforts and develops
them further.
b) This process enables the students to explore previous and new features of language.
c) It makes the learners’ own personal experiences important contributing factors to the
classroom.

Skills of an ESL teacher:-

Apart from having subject knowledge, a great ESL teacher needs other skills. Successful teachers
know how to interact with other people, creating a positive and exciting learning environment.
Positive energy boosts learning motivation. At a higher level, organization skills help plan the
curriculum. It also helps a teacher plan what will be covered by when.  Organizational skills enable a
teacher to properly organize a classroom, where students have minimal distractions. An activity may
take more or less time than planned. Other times, students will ask questions that were not part of
the lesson plan. This requires a great teacher to be flexible. Creativity in teaching involves
supplementing learning with interesting activities such as matching games, role play, act words out,
etc.