Language Resident Name: Aleksandra Bystrova
Date: 09/01/2022
Class theme/topics discussed: Introduction – Origin and Hometown
Goal of the class:
- Get to know each other
- Learn about each other’s origin and hometown
- Introduce new vocabulary (Cities, Transportation)
- Create arguments and debate on a given topic
How did you structure the class?
- Warm-up. CATEGORIES. (5 mins)
Teacher writes categories on the board. Students brainstorm in groups and write vocabulary on the board. Write vocabulary connected to cities. Everything that you can think of in the board. 3 Categories: Тип поселения, Виды транспорта, Места досуга в городе, Государственные учреждения - Activity 1. My hometown: Speaking cards. (10 min)
Work in pairs. Ask questions to fill information about a home city of your partner. Name, Type, Population, Transportation, Center, Likes, Dislikes. - Activity 2. Present information about your partner’s city to others (10 min)
Students show their partner’s city in the google maps and say what their partner like/dislike about their city. - Activity 3. Debate— FOR/AGAINST (15 min)
Controversial Russian saying: Где родился, там и пригодился. Where you were born, there you come in handy. Students are divided in three teams: “for”, “against” and judges. They have time to discuss their arguments and then they start the debate. Judges evaluate the quality of the arguments and determine a winner. - Wrap-up. A typical citizen of your city. Типичный житель вашего города (20 min)
Students are divided in pairs. They choose one of their home cities. Together they draw a picture of that citizen and then present it to others, describing a picture.
What worked well in this class? What did not work?
It was one of my favorite classes so far. I divided them in pairs for the first activity to brainstorm on vocabulary. They took time to prepare a list of words. I also appreciated their energy when they were working in pairs, discussing their hometowns, and presenting them to others. The discussion on controversial topic was successful, students came up with a list of arguments trying to persuade each other. I was afraid that they might argue in a negative way, but since they were not defending their own opinion, it went well. The only difficult part was to involve not active speakers in this activity. That’s how last minute I came up with an idea of the judges. I figured not participating speakers and allowed them to be listeners who later decided on a winner. Last activity, where students had to draw a picture, was very funny and it’s a nice way to wrap up and go over descriptions.
How could this class be improved/ modified?
In a debate activity, I might have tried switching active speakers and not active, so that active speakers could be listeners (judges), and quiet students could have a space to talk more. It could have been interesting.