Language Residents

an archive of lesson plans

Tag: Introduction

DE F19 INT Introduction

December 13, 2019 /

Language Resident Name: Tilman Viëtor

Day and Date: Wednesday, 09/04/19

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed: Introduction (personal & organizational)

Goal of the class: The students and I get to know each other; they understand what the class will be like. Also, they get to talk about themselves, practice asking questions and describing the past.

How did you structure the class?

  1. Introducing myself (in German), with a stick figure representing myself and answers to questions about myself around it. The students guess the questions to the answers.
  2. Organizational introduction (class agreement, attendance sheet, syllabus (task for second lesson: look over the syllabus, think about what topics may interest you)
  3. Students do the self-introduction like I did in step 1
  4. What did you do this summer?

In pairs: One person explains, the other person draws a picture of the holidays. Afterwards, the person who drew shows the picture to the other pair and explains their partner’s holidays using the picture.

  • Speeddating: Students pair up, and they get 5 Minutes to find 4 things they have in common. Then they switch partners and repeat.

Difficult decisions: I ask “either or” questions and the students position themselves on one or the other side of the room, according to their opinion. Then they explain their decisions.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

White Board, pens

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Everything went well

RU F19 Int/Adv: The First Impression

December 13, 2019 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name:

MARIA GLUKHOVA

Day and Date:

Thursday, 09/04/2019

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Russian, Advanced/Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed:

The first impression vs. after we get to know each other better

Goal of the class:

Keep getting to know each other

How did you structure the class?

[5 min]: Greetings, announcements, general questions.

[5 min]: Focused Freewriting. A teacher writes a famous Russian proverb on a blackboard: «Встречают по одёжке, а провожают по уму». After we make sure that every word is clear, the students should write down everything that comes to their minds related to that proverb. They keep writing for 3-4 minutes.

[10-15 min]: Discussion. A volunteer reads what they have written, and a teacher facilitates the following discussion (in my group no one knew this proverb and they came up with different interesting interpretations).

[15 min]: “Back to back” (credits to F. Klippel, “Keep Talking”). While the [Russian] music is playing, everybody walks around the room observing other people’s clothes, hairstyle, etc. As soon as the music stops, each student pairs up with the person standing nearest and they stand back to back. Each of the students makes statements about the other’s appearance («я думаю, на тебе синие джинсы», etc.). – Repeat a couple of times.

[15-20 min]: Everyone gets a paper with an empty square in a middle. They should draw themselves in that square / [write their name if the drawing doesn’t seem to work out well]. They exchange papers in pairs. The task is to ask each other questions and discover and write down 5+ facts about a person that might not be obvious at a first sight («Я думалa, что ты любишь смотреть фильмы ужасов, а оказалось, что мелодрамы» etc.). The last task is to tell these facts about another person to the whole group.

[5 min]: Reflection time. How do they understand the proverb now? What have they learned from their classmates?    

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Whiteboard, pen

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The students loved the class! I think everything went well.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would keep it as it is because it reflects on both parts of the proverb (meeting by the clothes + getting to know each other’s minds). I think it is a good option for the first or second meeting. 

DE S19 INT Introduction/First class

May 10, 2019 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name:

IVAN LUCIC

Day and Date:

Wednesday, 23/01/2018

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

German, Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed:

Introduction, get to know each other

Goal of the class:

Get to know each other, set the goals for the semester, create a good atmosphere among the students

How did you structure the class?

Activity 1 (5 min): Mini presentation about the class and myself. I told the students that this was going to be “their” class as they would choose the topics we would discuss in the class (see activity 5).

Activity 2 (15 min): Ice-breaker. I handed four pieces of paper to each student and told them to write their name, hometown, major/minor and one hobby on every piece. Then I collected the pieces and mixed them. Afterwards, I handed them out again and told them to take a guess to whom it belongs. Therefore, the students were walking around the classroom and interviewing each other. When they found the person to whom the piece of paper belonged to, they gave it back to them. Finally, each student introduced himself to the class.

Activity 3 (10 min): Another ice-breaker. We played “bingo”. In this game, the students would have a work sheet with different boxes. In those, they would find an attribute, like “has a tattoo”. The students then had to go around the classroom and find a person that fits this criterium and fill in the box with the name of the person.

Activity 4 (10 min): Another ice-breaker. The students would get together in pairs of two. One of them would be the interviewer and the other one the interviewee. The interviewer would have 5 minutes and, in this time, try to get to know the other person as well as possible. The person would be able to ask any kind of question. The interviewer would write everything down. After 5 minutes they would change roles. After 5 minutes, everyone would present their results to the big group.

Activity 5 (5 min): We brainstormed the goals for the semester and also the topics the students want to discuss in class. We agreed that I would create a semester plan (with the topics) for the next time which we would discuss then.

Activity 6 (10 min): I handed out the conversation agreements. I made sure that the agreement made sense to everyone. Additionally, I added what I expected from the conversation class (rules, set of behavior, etc.). In the end, everyone signed the agreement. You can do this in English if the proficiency is not that good to do it in German.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Whiteboard and marker

Paper

Attendance sheets

Class agreements

Pens

Powerpoint presentation

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The students were pretty proficient in German so we were able to talk more than the tasks I requested. I felt that we created a good atmosphere for the first class and that the students were genuinely interested. Also, I felt that the students were highly motivated and genuinely wanted to participate in the class.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would keep it as it is.

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

INT-23.01.2019Download
Bingo-sheet-copyDownload

CN F16 ADV Name

December 9, 2016 /

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name:

Ting Cao

Day and Date:

09/13/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Chinese, Advanced 

Class theme/topics discussed:

Name

Goal of the class:

In this class, students will explain meanings of their English and Chinese names, and learn some customs about how to give names in China.  

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up activity:

Ask students to write their English and Chinese names on the white board and explain meanings to other students.

2. Tendency of names

a. Students introduce some common English names in the U.S.

b. Teacher introduces tendency of Chinese names in China.

3. Strange English names:

a. Ask students: Some foreigners have strange English names. Have you heard some? What are they?

b. Show students some pictures of Chinese celebrities, ask students to give them English names and explain why.

c. Watch a video from a Chinese TV program, and the video is about how people get English names in Taiwan.

4. Activity

Now many American stars are popular in China and their fans even gave them Chinese nicknames. In this game, students will get a handout with some stars’ English names and Chinese nicknames on it. Students work in pairs and find out the right nicknames for all the stars. At the end teacher tells the right answer and meanings of those nicknames.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

PowerPoint, handout and a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYZdRgkWgR4&list=WL

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Class was successful. Though the warm up activity, students learn about meanings of their classmates’ name. They also liked the last game.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

No

  If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

 

美国明星的中文外号：

Scarlett Johansson     寡姐

Tom Hiddleston          抖森

Orlando Bloom           开花

Chris Hemsworth        锤哥

Katy Perry             水果姐

Taylor Swift           霉霉

Ryan Gosling           高司令

Justin Timberlake   贾老板

Bruno Mars             火星哥

Kanye West             坎爷

ES SP16 INT/ADV: Introductory Class

May 6, 2016 /

Language Resident Name:

Joaquin Garcia 

Day and Date:

01/20/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Advance Class

Class theme/topics discussed: 

Advance Class

Goal of the class:

Students get to know each other

How did you structure the class?

Activity 1 (15min): Students fill in three different pieces of papers: name, hometown and studies. All the pieces of paper are mixed and then students pick up three of them randomly. Students must find their original papers asking the others’ names, hometowns and studies and exchange the papers once the find them. Afterwards, each of them read in front of the class the written information.

Activity 2 (20min): Students are put in pairs. Each partner has to say three characteristics of their personality and a reason that support or prove this characteristic (E.g. “I’m adventurous because I love traveling”). After a while, they have to introduce their partner. Some characteristics are written in the whiteboard by the teacher in order to give some original ideas.

Activity 3 (15min): After a brief moment of thinking, students say three statements about themselves. One of them must be not true. The rest of the class has to guess which it is.

Activity 5 (10min): The teacher explains the rules and the conversation class agreement

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

None.

What worked well in this class? What did not work? How could this class be improved/ modified?

It is a very good class for the first weeks. Fun and motivating and the ice-breakers work really well.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

ES SP16 INT/ADV: Games

May 6, 2016 /

Language Resident Name:

Joaquin Garcia

Day and Date:

04/26/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Advanced Class

Class theme/topics discussed:  

Games

How did you structure the class?

Activity 1 (): Heads-up. Reminding the upcoming events.

Activity 1 (15min): Scattergories: There are different fields: food, animals, clothes, professions, parts of the human body… I say one letter and the students have 1 to 1:30 minutes to think a word for each field that starts with that letter. Afterwards, we check the words and those we are repeated don’t give points. The student with more points at the end wins.

Activity 2 (15min): Connecting pairs. Students are put in pairs or groups. Then, each group receives a pair of words and they have to write as many connections as possible in one minute. Then, the groups switch the pair of objects. When all the groups have gone through all the words, we count how many connections have been found and the group with the highest number shares loudly their result. Pairs:

  • elephant, nail varnish
  • wedding, ant
  • snowflake, coin
  • religious fanatics, matchbox
  • number 25, criminal
  • a (named) singer and a ladybird
  • silkworm, axe
  • love, rubbish dump
  • pen, new-born baby
  • Garden of Eden, bar of soap

 

Activity 3 (15min): Combining elements into a story. In the same groups, students have to create a story which contains all the given items. Then we share the story loudly.

  • paper, afraid, foot, slow, seventy-five, quickly
  • lion, telephone, happily, green, dance, milk
  • the President, river, key, apple, smile, angrily, how are you?
  • actor, grandfather, eye, snake, move, go away, hard
  • electric, ski, oily, dramatically, Robin Hood, hippopotamus
  • squeeze, crocodile, explosion, vegetarian, pure, violin
  • shoot, ventriloquist, potato, guilty, slippery, anxious
  • jungle, telephone, bride, renew, microbe, religiously
  • egg-shaped, model, atmosphere, lawfully, caricature, congratulate
  • fossil, suburb, incoherent, whip, obstruction, polygamous

Activity 4 (15min): Odd man out. As in apples to apples, students but one must argue with of the words of the group does not belong in it. Then, the student who didn’t argue must choose their favorite.

  • apple, orange, mango, banana, grape, peach
  • India, China, France, Uganda, USA, New Guinea
  • finger, blood, heart, eye, muscle, tongue
  • sock, coat, dress, underpants, scarf, jeans,
  • Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks, Cinderella
  • tree, bush, flower, weed, plant, grass
  • trumpet, drums, violin, flute, harp, piano
  • river, waterfall, lake, sea, marsh, puddle
  • quiet, angry, graceful, shy, modest, quick
  • peace, joy, harmony, beauty, delicacy, grace
  • horse, cat, mouse, camel, lion, cow

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

None.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Scattergories always works, they like it a lot. The rest of the games are good too, specially if you have very imaginative students.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

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