This webinar, "To Correct or Not Correct? Ideas for Subtle Correction During Speaking Tasks," presents techniques designed to correct students’ grammar without interrupting the free flow of speech or the lesson. These techniques work with all levels and in a variety of settings. Participants will have an opportunity to consider when these techniques would be effective versus when other forms of traditional correction may be more helpful. The techniques presented can be added to teaching practices immediately, and teachers may realize they’ve already been using some of them.

Intermediate to Advanced

Reading, speaking (primary focus); writing (secondary focus)         

During this activity students will

• Practice using gerunds and infinitives within the context of a reading activity
• Practice speaking skills by discussing the world of video games

• Teacher: whiteboard or chalkboard, markers or chalk, a timing device
• Students: pencils or pens, notebooks or writing paper, recording devices (optional)

1. Read through all the materials carefully.
2. Print out enough copies of the “Professional Gamer” reading in Appendix 1 for each student in the class.
3. Read over the “Professional Gamer” Answer Key in Appendix 2 before class. Check the reading for vocabulary that may be unfamiliar to students.

1.     Begin this activity by asking the students if they play video games.

a.     Ask them what kinds of video games they play and what they enjoy about video games.

2.     Next, on the board write the word E-Sports. Ask the students if anyone knows what this word means. If any of the students knows the term, have them explain what e-sports means to the class.

a.     Note: E-Sports is defined as a multiplayer video game played competitively by professional gamers and watched by fans.

3.     Inform the students that today the class will learn about video games and e-sports through a reading activity.

4.     Distribute a copy of the reading activity in Appendix 1 to each student in class.

5.     Have the students skim the reading for any unfamiliar vocabulary terms, and provide them time to ask about any new vocabulary words.

6.     Next, have the students read the paragraphs. For each paragraph, students should decide if a gerund or an infinitive is the correct form of the verb.

7.     Give the students time to complete the reading and to fill in the gerund and infinitive blanks.

8.     Once the students are finished, have them form pairs or small groups and review their answers together. If a pair has different answers for a blank, encourage them to discuss and decide which answer is the correct one.

a.     Note: For additional reading and speaking practice, have the students read the paragraphs aloud, taking turns at each new paragraph, while they review their answers.

9.     After the pairs have checked their answers, review the answers as an entire class to double-check the answers.

Appendix 1: Professional Gamer

Directions: Read the story below on the life of a professional video game player. Then fill in the blanks with either a gerund or an infinitive form of the verb.

Many young people enjoy ______________ (play) video games. For most players, video games are a fun hobby _______________ (enjoy) with friends. However, some video gamers have made their hobby into a career! Two ways video games are becoming a profession are through competitive sports or by live-streaming video games over the Internet.

Video gaming as a professional sport, or e-sport, is the fastest growing sporting event in the world. Millions of people around the world like _______________ (watch) teams compete in tournaments, with first place prizes in these tournaments as high as $10 million. Due to this popularity, organizers of the Olympics are considering including e-sports in future Olympic games. In the United States, universities have begun _______________ (offer) scholarships to students _______________ (play) video games on a university team, the same as baseball, soccer, or basketball athletes. Competing as a professional video gamer is difficult. The best players in the world need _______________ (practice) up to 50 hours a week, and many players retire, or stop playing, around the age of 25, when they are considered too old to stay competitive.

Other video gamers have turned their hobby into a career as “streamers,” and many former professional gamers switch from competition to streaming video games. A streamer’s job is _______________ (play) video games online and broadcast the gameplay on his or her channel for others _______________ (watch). _______________ (watch) a streamer can be a great way _______________ (learn) about a new game or meet others who enjoy _______________ (play) the same game.

It may seem easy to broadcast yourself ______________ (play) games on the internet, but the life of a streamer can be difficult. Many streamers need _______________ (broadcast) up to eight hours a day _______________ (keep) people _______________ (watch) their channel. To keep people watching, the streamer must play a video game while _______________ (entertain) the audience watching. A streamer earns money through advertisements, so the more people who watch, the more money a streamer can earn from his or her channel.

With hard work and lots of practice, players can turn their love of video games into an exciting career as a professional athlete or as an entertaining streamer.

Appendix 2: Professional Gamer Reading Answer Key

Many young people enjoy playing video games. For most players, video games are a fun hobby to enjoy with friends. However, some video gamers have made their hobby into a career! Two ways video games are becoming a profession are through competitive sport or by live-streaming video games over the Internet.

Video gaming as a professional sport, or e-sports, is the fastest growing sporting event in the world. Millions of people around the world like to watch teams compete in tournaments, with first place prizes in these tournaments as high as $10 million. Due to this popularity, organizers of the Olympics are considering including e-sports in future Olympic games. In the United States, universities have begun to offer scholarships to students to play video games on a university team, the same as baseball, soccer, or basketball athletes. Competing as a professional video gamer is difficult. The best players in the world need to practice up to 50 hours a week, and many players retire, or stop playing, around the age of 25, when they are considered too old to stay competitive.

Other video gamers have turned their hobby into a career as a “streamer,” and many former professional gamers switch from competition to streaming video games. A streamer’s job is to play video games online and broadcast the gameplay on his or her channel for others to watch. Watching a streamer can be a great way to learn about a new game or meet others who enjoy playing the same game.

It may seem easy to broadcast yourself playing games on the internet, but the life of a streamer can be difficult. Many streamers need to broadcast up to eight hours a day to keep people watching their channel. To keep people watching, the streamer must play a video game while entertaining the audience watching. A streamer earns money through advertisements, so the more people who watch, the more money a streamer can earn from his or her channel.

With hard work and lots of practice, players can turn their love of video games into an exciting career as a professional athlete or as an entertaining streamer.

This webinar, "Presenting Ideas through Digital Storytelling in the English Language Classroom," focuses on using digital storytelling techniques as an effective way to promote engagement. Teachers will learn about various forms of digital media and how to use rhetoric successfully in the storytelling process. As a result, teachers and students alike will be able to create digital content that serves both instructional and personal purposes.

Intermediate to Advanced

Language Focus

Reading, speaking (primary focus); writing (secondary focus)         

Goals

During this activity students will

·       Practice using infinitives within the context of discussing jobs

·       Practice speaking skills by discussing interesting jobs and skills needed for those jobs

Materials

• Teacher: whiteboard or chalkboard, markers or chalk, a timing device
• Students: pencils or pens, notebooks or writing paper, recording devices (optional)

Preparation

1. Read through all the materials carefully.
2. Print out copies of the Unique Jobs cards in Appendix 1. Print enough copies so that half of the students have a job title card and half the students have a job description card.
3. Cut out the Unique Jobs cards to make a stack of job title cards and job description cards.

Activity Part One: Job description jumble

In this part of the activity, students will match job descriptions to the job titles. The goal of this portion of the activity is to introduce students to jobs they may not know while practicing reading infinitive verbs.

1.     Begin this activity by dividing the class into two groups: group A and group B.

2.     Give each student in group A one job title card. Give each student in group B one job description card.

3.     Have the students move around the classroom and match the job descriptions to the correct job title card. Once students have matched a job title to a description, they should stand together in a pair.

Note: Since these are unique jobs, many of the job titles may be unfamiliar to the students. That’s OK. The goal of this warm-up activity is to introduce students to some jobs that they may not know exist. Have the class keep making matches until they have them all correct, or as long as time permits.

4.     Once the students have matched the job descriptions to the job titles, have the pairs share their job titles and descriptions with the class. While students share their answers, check their matches for correctness. If there is a mismatch, have the class work together to make a correct match!

Activity Part two: That’s my job

1.     Begin the next part of the lesson by having the students do a Think, Pair, Share:

a.     Ask the students to think about which of the unique jobs from Part 1 is the most interesting to them.

b.     Next, have them share with a partner which job interests them and why. Encourage the students to ask questions about their partner’s answers.

c.     Finally, have the students share their unique jobs with the class.

Note: For advanced classes, have students share their partner’s unique job in order to practice using reported speech.

2.     After the Think, Pair, Share activity, ask the students if they know of any other unique or interesting jobs they would like to do in the future. Have the students continue to work with their partners to brainstorm some jobs they find unique or interesting. These can be real jobs, or students can use their imaginations to create entirely new jobs.

3.     While students are brainstorming, write the following on the board:

like to + (infinitive verb)

A location scout would be an interesting job, because I like to meet new people.

want to + (infinitive verb)

I want to travel around the world, so it would be a great job for me.

need to + (infinitive verb)

If I want to be a location scout, I need to study English and geography.

hope to + (infinitive verb)

When I get a job as a location scout, I hope to travel to New York City.

4.     Using the sentences on the board as an example, have the students write their own sentences about the unique job they find the most interesting.

a.     Note: Students do not need to strictly follow the order of sentences as written on the board. They can mix up sentences and structures to be as creative as they want to be. Encourage students to write additional sentences that provide more details about their job.

5.     To conclude this activity, have the students come to the front of the class and share their sentences.

Optional Activities:

1. Before students share their sentences, have them research their job as homework. Then in the next class, have them present their sentences along with any additional information they learned about the job.

2. Have students draw a recruitment poster for their job. Recruitment posters should be exciting to attract people to a specific job, so encourage students to be creative with their posters.

Appendix 1: Unique Jobs

Directions: Cut out the job and job description cards below. Give half of the students a job title card, and give the remaining students the matching job description cards. Have the students work together to match the job descriptions to the correct job.