In typical English sentences, we may use several grammar structures at the same time. One example of a grammatical form used in conjunction with other forms is modal verbs. Modal verbs are often used to give advice or opinions. For example:

We should go to a restaurant.

However, this advice is too simple and direct. When advice is given in English, the expectation is that a reason is also provided. One grammatical structure that is often used to explain advice is an adverb clause of reason. For example:

We should go to a restaurant because we are all hungry.

When combined, these two grammatical structures can allow students to give advice and explain their reason for that advice.

In this activity, students will practice both modal verbs of advice and adverb clauses of reason. It can be difficult for students to think of advice and reasons for that advice without a clear context. In this week’s Teacher’s Corner our context is a space mission gone wrong. Students will give advice and reasons to help their team members who have been stranded on the Moon. The activity below is a modified version of a United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) teambuilding exercise.

In this activity, students are part of a space mission travelling to a science base on the Moon. During their descent to the surface of the Moon, their spacecraft crashes 80km from the Moon base. Now they must examine their supplies and decide which materials they will need to survive the 80km journey to the moon base.

The exercise was designed to test the ability of astronauts to think creatively and work together as a team. Each item in the worksheet below has a primary use but can be used in other ways as well. Encourage your students to think creatively about all of the items. For a list of suggestion on ways the items can be used, see Appendix B.

Upper intermediate and above

• Speaking (primary focus)
• Writing (secondary focus)

Students will use modal verbs and adverb clauses of reason to discuss what survival tools they will need to survive on the moon.

• Teacher: whiteboard or chalkboard; markers or chalk; tape
• Students: pencils or pens, writing paper

• Print enough Stranded on the Moon worksheets for each student in class. Print one copy each of the images in Appendix A to place on the wall or chalkboard.

Warm Up

• Place on the board the two pictures in Appendix A
• Ask students some questions to elicit the vocabulary: Astronaut, Moon
• What do you call a person who works in space? (Astronaut)
• Is this astronaut on Earth? (No)
• Where is the astronaut? (the Moon)
• Next, write on the board: An astronaut should be _____
• Ask the students what characteristics an astronaut needs. List the characteristics the students name on the board.
• An astronaut should be _____.
• Brave
• Strong
• Smart
• Once students have listed some characteristics, ask them why astronauts should have these characteristics. Tell them to form pairs or small groups and think of reasons why astronauts should have the characteristics the class listed.
• While the pairs/small groups brainstorm ideas finish the An astronaut should be ____ sentence from above with so/because _____.
• After the pairs/small groups have generated ideas, have them share ideas with the class. Write the ideas on the board. For example:
• An astronaut should be brave because they will be far from home.
• An astronaut should be smart, so they can solve problems.
• After the pairs/small groups have presented their ideas, tell them that today they are going to be astronauts! Tell them the goal of today’s activity is to see if they can be great astronauts!

Moon Mission: A Crash Landing

• Have students combine their pairs/small groups to form larger teams of 4-5 students. Tell the students that in this activity they will be astronaut teammates.  With their teammates they are travelling to the Moon.
• Explain to the students that two days ago they left Earth to travel to a research base on the Moon. As they began to land on the Moon, they lost control of the spacecraft and crashed 80km from the Moon base. Now they must use items from their crashed spacecraft to help them reach the Moon base.
• Next, give each student a copy of the Stranded on the Moon worksheet. Tell the students that first they should work alone to complete the worksheet. Remind them that good astronauts should be able to work independently, so no talking for now!
• On the worksheet are fifteen items. Students should list these items in order of importance from 1-15. One being most important and fifteen being least important. Also they should provide a reason for the rank they assign each item.
• Note: this part of the activity could take some time, if more time is needed this could be assigned as homework and the activity continued in the next class.
• For Moon facts and suggestions on how items could be used, see Appendix B.
• Encourage the students to use the grammar structures practiced in the warm up when they list the reason for each item’s rank.
• For example: We should take the oxygen tanks, so we have air to breathe.
• For items students think are unimportant, encourage them to use the negative form. For example: We should not take matches because there is no air on the Moon to make fire.
• Once students have finished their list and reasons, have them share their ideas with their team.
• Tell the team that they now must make a final team list. However, the team may only take the items listed in the top ten. They must leave five items at the crashed spacecraft. Students should use the grammar forms practiced in class to argue for the items they consider to be the most important.
• Once each team has finalized their list, have them report to Mission Control (you!) on the items they plan to take and why.
• Finally, have each team share their final list and reasons. If time permits have the whole class come together and make one final class list.

Optional Expansion Activity:

• Conditionals are another grammatical structure that pairs well with this activity. Students can present their ideas in grammatically complex ways: We should take rope, so we can tie things. If we tie the parachute with rope, we can make bags to carry items.

• This activity can be extended into a writing activity that can be done in class or as homework. Have students, alone or in teams, create a writing journal that begins with the following sentence:

With our items prepared, our team began the 80km trip to the Moon base.

Have the students describe their journey to the Moon base and how they used each item to survive!

Encourage your students to learn more by having them visit the following websites:

Apollo Archives
This website contains a collection of photographs from the NASA lunar missions.

Moon Base Alpha
In this game by NASA, players work to fix damaged equipment at a lunar research station.

Adjective clauses function in a sentence the same way as adjectives. They explain or modify nouns or indefinite pronouns such as someone and everyone. Unlike adjectives, however, adjective clauses come after the noun or pronoun they describe. A typical adjective clause has a relative pronoun such as who/whom/which/that + subject and verb. For example:

Cell phones, which are more like computers than phones, are an important part of daily life.

Adjective clauses are used when using an adjective creates an awkward sentence structure. For example:

I am a chocolate-loving person is an awkward sentence structure. Therefore, we use an adjective clause to make the sentence easier to understand. For example: I am a person who loves chocolate.

Adjective clauses are not used when one adjective can be used to effectively express an idea. For example:

She is an intelligent person. Not She is a person who is intelligent.

Many textbook exercises have students combine sentences using adjective clauses. In this week’s Teacher’s Corner we’ll use a different approach by having the students deconstruct adjective clauses into two separate sentences. This approach gives students the opportunity to understand the relationship between two simple sentences and how they come together through the use of adjective clauses.

This week we’ll practice adjective clauses by learning about Grace Hopper, who was one of the world’s first computer scientists. Her early work on computers led to the development of the first computer programming language and helped create much of the software we use today.

 

Intermediate and above

 

• Reading, writing (primary focus)
• Speaking (secondary focus)

 

Students practice deconstructing sentences with adjective clauses

 

• Teacher: whiteboard or chalkboard; markers or chalk
• Students: pencils or pens, writing paper

 

• Print enough My Hero: Grace Hopper readings for each student in class.
• Print enough Adjective Clauses – Sentence Deconstruction worksheets for each student in class
• Print out a copy of the Adjective Clauses – Sentence Deconstruction Answer Key

 

Warm Up

1.     Begin the activity by asking the class: What is one item you cannot live without?

• Have the students call out their answers and write them down on the board.

2.     If no students answer “cell phone” (unlikely!), elicit the idea from the students.

3.     Next ask the students: Why can’t you live without your cell phone?

• Tell the students to write down all the ways they use their cell phone.

4.     Once students have made a list of all the ways they use a cell phone,

• On the board write: I can’t live without my cell phone, which I use to _____.

5.     Have students add their ideas to the sentence to create adjective clauses. Once they have created sentences, have the students form pairs/small groups and share their idea with their partner(s).

6.     After the pairs/small groups have shared their ideas, encourage them to share their ideas with the class to see which students have the most creative or unique ideas.

 

Reading Practice: Adjective Clauses

1.     Begin this part of the activity by asking the students: Do you have a hero?

• Elicit answers from the students about their heroes

2.     Tell the students that today they will learn about a woman who is a hero to many people. She helped to develop the technology that is used in computers and cell phones. Without her ideas, we would not have the technology we have today.

3.     Next, pass out the My Hero: Grace Hopper Reading Activity. Give the students several minutes to read the information.

• If time permits, have students take turns reading the information out loud to the class.

4.     Once students have finished reading, check their comprehension by asking:

• What computer did Grace Hopper help program? – (Mark I)
• What is the name of the computer programming language she created? – (COBOL)
• Do people still remember her? – (Yes, each year there is a conference celebrating her work)

5.     Have students read through the information again. This time have them underline each example of an adjective clause they can find.

• Once finished, have them check their answers with a partner or review as a class.

6.     Next, give each student a copy of the Adjective Clauses: Sentence Deconstructing worksheet.

7.     Have the students read each sentence and form two smaller sentences.

• Once the students have finished, review the answers as a class.

8.     Finally, have the students use the adjective clauses from the worksheet as examples to write their own descriptive sentences about someone they consider to be their hero.

9.     Once the students have completed their sentences, have students take turns reading their sentences out loud with the subject missing.

• One student should read his/her sentences while the rest of the class guesses his/her hero.

i.     For example: He is a famous football star who played for Real Madrid and LA Galaxy. – (Who is David Beckham?)

• The first student to guess correctly now reads his/her sentences aloud to the class.

Encourage students to visit the following websites and learn to code:

https://code.org/

https://csedweek.org/

 

 

Directions: Read the information below about the work of Grace Hopper. Grace was a computer scientist who created the first computer programming language. Circle or underline the adjective clauses in the paragraphs.

Technology is a part of everyday life. We use computers to do many things to make life easier and faster. Even our cell phones are a type of computer that we can use to call friends, write messages, and play games. Have you ever thought about the origins of computers? There were many early researchers who helped create the first computers, but one of the most interesting people was Grace Hopper.

Grace Hopper was a university professor who quit her job to join the Navy during World War II. She joined the Navy to serve her country by helping to develop new technology. She joined the Navy during an interesting time when computers were beginning to be built.

Grace joined a team which built one of the first computers. She was responsible for programming this computer called the Mark I. She understood how complicated it was to program a computer which required lots of math at the time. She invented a programming language that made it easier for people to program computers. Her programming language was called COBOL. Thanks to her early work, computers became easier to use. In only a few decades, computers moved from big machines the size of rooms to smaller devices that could be used by individuals. These personal computers, which were programmed using Grace Hopper’s ideas, became a part of everyday life.

Grace Hopper is my hero because she played an important role in the development of technology we use every day. Some people may think that computers and math are only for boys, but they are wrong! Grace Hopper is proof that anyone can excel in math and science. Each year, the Computer Science Education Week is held around December 9^th, which is Grace’s birthday. Her work is also celebrated every year at the Grace Hopper Celebration. This conference, which celebrates the work of women in science, is attended by people from all over the world. Each year they discuss new ideas and technology that carries on the work started by Grace Hopper.

 

The following sentences are from the reading My Hero: Grace Hopper. Change each of the sentences into two separate smaller sentences by making the adjective clause a separate sentence.

1. There were many early researchers who helped create the first computers.

________________________________________________________________________________

2. Grace Hopper was a university professor, who quit her job to join the Navy during World War II.

________________________________________________________________________________

3. She joined the Navy during an interesting time when computers were beginning to be built.

________________________________________________________________________________

4. Grace joined a team which built one of the first computers.

________________________________________________________________________________

5. She understood how complicated it was to program a computer which required lots of math at the time.

________________________________________________________________________________

6. She invented a programming language that made it easier for people to program computers.

________________________________________________________________________________

7. These personal computers, which were programmed using Grace Hopper’s ideas, became a part of everyday life.

________________________________________________________________________________

8. This conference, which celebrates the work of women in science, is attended by people from all over the world.

________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

The following sentences are from the reading My Hero: Grace Hopper. Change each of the sentences into two separate smaller sentences by making the adjective clause a separate sentence.

1. There were many people who helped create the first computers.

There were many people. They helped create the first computers.

2. Grace Hopper was a university professor, who quit her job to join the Navy during World War II.

Grace Hopper was a university professor. She quit her job to join the Navy during World War II.

3. She joined the Navy during an interesting time when computers were beginning to be built.

She joined the Navy during an interesting time. During this time, computers were beginning to be built.

4. Grace joined a team which built one of the first computers.

Grace joined a team. The team built one of the first computers.

5. She understood how complicated it was to program a computer which required lots of math at the time.

She understood how complicated it was to program a computer. Programming a computer required lots of math at the time.

6. She invented a programming language that made it easier for people to program computers.

She invented a programming language. The programming language made it easier for people to program computers.

7. These personal computers, which were programmed using Grace Hopper’s ideas, became a part of everyday life.

These personal computers became a part of everyday life. They were programmed using Grace Hopper’s ideas.

8. This conference, which celebrates the work of women in science, is attended by people from all over the world.

The conference is attended by people from all over the world. It celebrates the work of women in science.

Level: Beginner and Upper Beginner

Time required: 30–45 minutes

Goals: To use vocabulary about family members; to practice using basic pronouns and comparative and superlative adjectives; to write sentences about and talk about family members

Materials: Chalk and blackboard, or markers and whiteboard or poster paper; pencils and paper; glue or tape; family photos or sketches (each student brings one to class)

Overview: This activity can build community and relationships in the classroom, especially at the beginning of a school year or semester. Students will use family photos in writing and speaking exercises to practice using family vocabulary, numbers, basic pronouns, and comparative and superlative adjectives. Students should be familiar with these concepts before they do this activity. Ideally, students will bring in printed photos of their families, but photos on mobile devices or drawings of families could be used. Each student will list family members or label them in a photo or drawing, write basic sentences about each person, and tell others about the family members. The activity can be adapted for different proficiency levels, even within the same class.  

 

Preparation:

1. About a week before you plan to begin the activity, tell students that they will need to bring in a photograph of their family by a specific date—the date you will begin the activity. Telling students about this activity at least one week in advance gives them time to find a photo or take one if they need to. Bringing in your own family photo, posting it on the board, and reminding students about the upcoming activity each day will help.

Ideally, photos would be printed so that students can mount them on paper. If students have no photograph, have them draw a picture of their family. If students have pictures on a mobile device, they should make a sketch of a family photo, recreating it with stick figures. They can show the real photo during the activity when they tell their classmates about their family.

2. Gather one piece of large paper per student, glue or tape, pencils, chalk or markers, and your own family photo.
3. Glue or tape your family photo to the center of a piece of paper, leaving space surrounding the picture for your writing.
4. Review vocabulary related to family members, the numbers 1 to100, and pronouns to be sure students understand the concepts needed for the activity. If your students are ready, you can also review comparative adjectives (in this activity, older and younger) and superlative adjectives (oldest and youngest).

 

Procedures:

1. Tell students they will use their family photographs and vocabulary to write and talk about their own families. Ask them to help you generate a list of family members and relatives, and write their suggestions on the board or chart paper. Family members on the list could include the following:

mother

father

sister

brother

aunt

uncle

cousin

niece

nephew

grandmother

grandfather

great grandmother

great grandfather

sister-in-law

brother-in-law

2. Display your own family photo, mounted on the center of a sheet of paper. Tell students to imagine they are shopping with someone from their family, perhaps a sibling or parent, and they meet a classmate at the market or store. What would they say to introduce their family member to the classmate? You may want to ask, “How do you introduce your family member to your friend? What do you say to your friend?”
3. Depending on your students’ responses, you may need to explain that when people talk about their family, they can use the sentence frame “This is my ______  __[name]__” to tell about their relationship to someone and to give that person’s name. Examples are “This is my cousin Judy” or “This is my brother Marcello.” Write this sentence frame on the board near the list of family members if you think students will need to refer to it.    
4. Using your family photo, the sentence frame “This is my _______  __[name]__,” and the list of family members the class has created, label each of your family members in the space surrounding the photo. You may want to draw a line to each of the people pictured and leave enough space to add a few short sentences about them. If your class is large, you might want to recreate your photo on the board so that all students can see what you are doing. Draw a large, quick sketch of the photo, even using stick figures, to help the class understand what you are doing as you model the activity for them.  

5. Tell students that they can give more information about their family by talking about each person’s age and that they can do so by using the sentence frame “He/She is _____ years old.” You can write this on the board as well if it will help your students. Model adding this sentence to tell more about each of the family members in your photo.
6. Hand out the paper, glue or tape, and pencils to students. Give them time to mount their photos or drawings, label each family member, and write each person’s age. While the class is working, circulate throughout the room to assist students as needed. You may want to tell students with very large families to label a limited number of family members for this activity if time becomes an issue.
7. Explain to students that they can also add comparisons about the ages of their family members. Choose two of your family members and tell the class their ages. For example, you might say, “My sister Fatima is 27 years old, and my cousin Maryan is 16 years old.” Then you could ask, “How can I compare the ages of Fatima and Maryan?” or other questions that will prompt students to use the comparative adjectives older and younger.
8. Model adding sentences with comparative adjectives about age to your family photo, writing “He/She is older than _______” or “He/She is younger than ______.” For example, where you have labeled your sister “Fatima” and given her age, you can add, “She is older than Maryan,” or with Maryan’s information you can write, “She is younger than Fatima.” If your students need the support, you can write the sentence frames on the board as well.
9. Give students time to add comparative sentences about the ages of their family members on the paper around their family photos or sketches.  
10. Find the oldest member of your family (without actually telling students that person is the oldest). Explain that the person has been alive for more years than anyone else in the family and ask, “How could I use the word old to tell that this person has been alive the longest?” or “How can I compare the age of this person to the age of everyone else in my family?” You are trying to elicit the word oldest from your students. You can add the sentence “He/She is the oldest person in my family” to your family photo.  
11. Repeat the process in Step 10 for the youngest person in your photo, explaining that the person has been alive for fewer years than anyone else in your family; try to elicit the word youngest from your students. Then, add the sentence “He/She is the youngest person in my family” to your family photo. You can write this sentence frame on the board if you think your students will need to refer to it to complete their own writing.
12. Tell students that they will introduce their family to a group of classmates, and they will listen to learn about other students’ families. Model the introductions by using your own family photograph and saying, “This is my family” before sharing more information about each member. For example, you can use your photograph and the sentences you have written and say, “This is my mother, Marisol. She is 59 years old. She is younger than my Uncle Frederico.” You can also remind students to display their mounted photos, mobile phones, or papers where others can see them, not facing away from the audience. Help them remember to speak to the group and not down to their papers. 
13. Give students time to practice their introductions before they get into small groups to share information about their families. You might say something like, “I am going to give everyone five minutes to practice what you will share with your group. You can use your writing to help you remember what to say. Practice speaking clearly and loudly so that others in the group can hear you. Remember to be sure others can see your photo while you are speaking.”
14. Divide the class into groups of three or four students. You can use any method to group the students, but keeping the groups small will keep students on task and engaged in the activity.
15. Explain the task. You can say, “You will show your photo to your group and talk about the people in your family. When you talk, speak loudly and clearly because many people in the room will be speaking at the same time. Make sure everyone in your group has time to share, and make sure that you listen when others speak.” If your class needs specific instructions, you may want to suggest a strategy for deciding the order of presentations within the group, such as by alphabetical order of the group members’ names, by family size (smallest to largest), or by birthday month.
16. Tell the students to start sharing in their groups. While they are sharing information about their families, you can move around the room and listen to their introductions. Pay special attention to what students are doing well and to common mistakes you notice. You might want to write these down on a notepad so that you can provide feedback at the end of the activity. If you want to, you can mix up the groups and repeat this activity multiple times. This will give students a chance to discuss their families with more of their classmates and to get more practice using and listening to the language structures.
17. Once your class has finished sharing, you can post students’ family photos or sketches in the classroom to give everyone a chance to continue learning about each other’s families. 

 

Variations

1. Students could be paired and be responsible for introducing their partner and presenting facts about his or her family to the class. This will build community and help students learn more about each other. Depending on what information you have students include, the following sentence frames could be provided as support if needed:

• This is [partner’s name].
• He/She has ______ brothers and ______ sisters.
• He/She has ______ cousins/aunts/uncles.
• The oldest person in his/her family is ______. He/She is ______ years old.
• The youngest person in his/her family is ______. He/She is ______ years old.

2.     As part of the presentation, you could also challenge each set of partners to make comparisons between their families by using language such as “My sister is older than his/her brother” or “My father is younger than his/her father.”

3.      If you prefer not to have students present to the class, you can still ask partners to compare their families. Instead of sharing the information orally, partners could write comparative sentences and submit them as an assignment.

 

Extensions

1. Many vocabulary terms and language structures can be practiced with this activity. If your class is learning about hobbies, students can write and talk about the things their family members like to do by using the sentence frame “He/She likes to _____” and adding verbs such as read, paint, dance, play, sew, and garden. Students could also include something they like to do with each of their family members by saying, “I like to ______ with my ______” (for example, “I like to draw pictures with my cousin”). If the class is learning about describing physical characteristics, students could add information about their family members’ heights, eye color, and hair color by saying, “He/She is _______ (tall/short). He/She has ______ (brown/green/blue) eyes and ______ (black/brown/blond) hair.” If students are learning about personality traits, they could add a description of each family member, saying, “He/She is ______” and using words like funny, caring, helpful, and stubborn.
2. Students could interview one of their family members and then provide an in-depth profile of that person. The class could generate the interview questions, or you could use the suggested questions below. If students do not have a family member who speaks English, they can ask the questions in their native language and then use the information to develop the profile in English. Questions could include the following:

• When is your birthday?
• Where were you born?
• What are your favorite foods?
• What do you enjoy doing as a hobby?
• Did you go to a university? If yes, what did you study?
• Where do you work? What do you do?
• What do you think is one of the best qualities of our family?

After students have interviewed someone, you can have them write a paragraph about their family member and/or present a summary of their interview to the class or a small group. To help students with their writing or the presentation, you might want to use these sentence frames:

This is my ______. His/Her name is ______. His/Her birthday is ______, and he/she was born in ______. He/She likes to eat ________. His/Her hobby is ______. He/She works at ________ and is a/an ______. He/She went to  ______ University and studied ______. He/She thinks our family is ________.

 

Scaffolding

1. Though this activity is designed for beginners, it can be adapted to meet the needs of students at different proficiency levels within a classroom or across different classes. More advanced students could be given flexibility in the writing portion if you simply provide them with a list of what they need to include such as name, family relationship (to the student), age, and comparison to others’ ages in the family. Students could also give information about family members’ hobbies, occupations, educational background, likes, and dislikes.
2. The speaking portion of this activity can be more formalized by having students practice their presentation with a peer until they no longer have to rely on their own written statements. The idea is not to get students to memorize the presentation, but rather to give them a chance to practice the language structures before they try to produce them on their own. Then, students can present their photos to a small group and independently produce the targeted language structures to tell about their families. If you feel this may be too challenging for your students, you might ask them to choose only two or three family members to talk about.

 

BIODATA:

This activity was written by Amy Hanna, who has taught ESL to students in primary school, university, and adult education classrooms, trained teachers in TESL methods, and developed materials for English language programs in the United States and abroad.

The lack of oral language in the classroom, combined with our students’ lack of confidence speaking with native English speakers, encouraged us to develop a simple technique to increase speaking in the classroom. This original technique, “Beat the Clock,” encourages students to speak in English and increase their oral proficiency at the same time.

Beat the Clock is a simple technique. The only material needed is a timer. The technique can be used with English language learners at every age and ability level, and teachers decide the length of time for the activity. We have successfully used this technique with both large (up to 15 students) and small (five students) groups. When deciding upon a large- or small-group application of this technique, consider the following: (1) the desired number of talking turns per student, (2) the comfort level of students, (3) the students’ knowledge of the topic, and (4) student personalities.

The technique was developed to address low levels of oral English by challenging our students to orally summarize the lesson on their own. The first minute of student talk was a little awkward, and the flow of conversation was somewhat choppy, but students were able to talk among themselves in English for five minutes. As a class, we named the technique “Beat the Clock,” and we now use it often.

Beat the Clock—An Oral Language Challenge

The procedure for carrying out the technique is as follows:

1. Lead a prompt, which may review or expand upon the main themes in the lesson.
2. Set a timer to a desired amount of time (start with fewer minutes and increase).
3. Review the rules.
4. Start the timer when students begin speaking, stopping it early only if they break the rules.
5. Record the number of minutes that students were able to speak. Increase time expectation each time you use the technique. For example, if you set the expectation at two minutes the first time, and students meet that goal, set the timer for three minutes the next time.

When you are ready to use the technique, you can begin by giving students a prompt relevant to the content they have been studying, or you might ask them, “What are the main takeaways from today’s lesson?” After they have suggested a few ideas, you can continue: “I will set the timer to two minutes. Everyone must participate in the conversation. I will not interrupt you unless you break the rules. Remember, you must continue the discussion for two minutes.”

Optional: If students “beat the clock” and are able to speak for the allocated amount of time, they may receive a reward. If the students are not able to speak for the entire time or break the rules, they do not receive a reward and may have to start over.

Beat the Clock rules

1. All students must participate equally (the teacher keeps track of participation by marking a point on the board or on a piece of paper every time a student speaks).
2. The teacher is not allowed to correct students.
3. The teacher is allowed to interrupt only if the rules have been broken.
4. Students must stay on topic.
5. Conversation can start with a student asking questions, but the aim of the activity is for students to engage in a natural group discussion about a topic.

Helpful hints to share with students

• Instead of answering questions with yes or no, explain your answer.
• Try to build on the idea discussed by the person before you so the conversation progresses naturally.
• Keep track of who is participating and engage people who are not participating equally. Discuss areas of the topic that you want to know more about, that you don’t understand, or that you think are interesting.
• Use personal stories and examples if they are on topic.
• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
• Enjoy yourself! 

Using the technique: It takes time

This technique is extremely beneficial over time, but be aware that the first time you use it in the classroom can prove challenging. The technique takes students out of their comfort zones. At first, conversation might not have a natural flow, and students might forget vocabulary words or get nervous because of the pressure of the clock.

Benefits of the technique

In the months since we started using this technique with our students, we have noticed many changes in the classroom. We have observed our students gaining confidence and participating in more natural and authentic conversations. This technique has encouraged some of our most shy students to express themselves and, in turn, helped them acclimate to their environment. Moreover, students are excited when they reach another minute and keep track of the Beat the Clock minutes with enthusiasm. We have even observed students taking notes during class on ideas they might want to include in their conversation. We have begun using Beat the Clock every Friday so that students expect it and look forward to it.

When participating in the Beat the Clock technique, students can speak openly and do not have to worry about being corrected, which has come as an added bonus. This, in and of itself, is a welcome opportunity in any language classroom and helps build confidence for oral language, without fear of embarrassment.

Additionally, this technique has served as an excellent informal assessment of oral language and a means of checking for understanding. It has helped develop relationships in the classroom and increased oral language and speaking skills. As time progresses, we find ourselves evolving with the technique and creating a more authentic learning environment to support oral language skills.

 

BIODATA:

Alexis Cullerton, PhD, was a 2014–2015 English Language Fellow in Ecuador with the State Department. She is a longtime educator and literacy researcher of diverse populations. www.alexiscullerton.com

Inés Torres de Muñoz holds an MA in Evaluation and TEFL and is the founder and Academic Director of the Centro Ecuatoriano Norteamericano: Global Quality English in Loja, Ecuador.