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4.Stimulating more interaction
All the above given examples are based on activities from real text books, but in each case it is added a further step or two to stimulate additional meaning-focused language use.
In 1 and 3 learners are asked to give reasons for or justify their decision
In 2, 5 and 6 they do the tasks individually then explain to their partner how they did them
In 3, 4 and 5 they are asked to prepare to explain how they did the task or tell their story to another pair or to the whole class.
5.Comparing: finding similarities and differences
Comparison tasks can be based on two quite similar texts or pictures (a classic example is ‘Spot the Differences’) or places or events etc that learners have experience of. Learners can also compare their own work with that of another learner or another pair or group.
Examples:
Compare your list of possible 20th century icons with your partner’s list. Did you have any people in common? Tell each other why you chose them. How many reasons did you both think of? Finally, combine your two lists, but keep it to five people.
Tell your picture story to another pair and listen to theirs. Compare stories – make a list of the main similarities and differences.
The researcher has noticed that many of these tasks carry on the same themes as in previous tasks. It is possible to build up ‘a set of tasks’ on the same theme, each one arising out of the previous one. This is an excellent way to build learner’s confidence – once they are familiar with the basic vocabulary for the topic, they can then do a range of activities recycling the topic language and using it for different purposes in a set of tasks.
6.Problem-solving
Text-books often contain activities based on common problems – pollution, relationships, noisy neighbours and so on. But sometimes problem-solving tasks are over too quickly – learners agree on the first solution that comes to mind, using minimal language, e.g. ‘Noisy neighbours? OK – so call police’. The instructions for the town centre traffic problem in the example below incorporate six or seven ways of generating richer interaction.
Examples:
Think of a town centre where there is too much traffic. In twos, think of three alternative solutions to this problem. List the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative. Then decide which alternative would be the cheapest one, the most innovative one, the most environmentally friendly one. Report your decisions to another pair / group / the class, and discuss with them which solution would be the best one to put forward to the local government.
A friend invites you to a party on an evening when you want to stay at home and watch the last episode of a television serial. Thank the friend and refuse politely.
You want your mother to increase your pocket money. She is resistant to the idea. Try to make her change her mind.
Role play can be carried out by two candidates with the tester as an observer. For some rules this may be more natural but, as pointed above the performance of one candidate may be affected by that of the other.
Work with three other learners. You are on a ship that is sinking. You have to swim to a nearby island. You have a waterproof container, but can only carry 20 kilos of items in it. Decide which of the following items you will take. (Remember, you can’t take more than 20 kilos with you.)
1. Waterproof sheets of fabric (3 kilos each.)
2. Notebook computer (3.5 kilos)
3. Rope (6 kilos)
4. Fire lighting kits (500 grams each)
5. Portable CD player and CDs (4 kilos.)
6. Short-wave radio (12 kilos)
7. Medical kit (2 kilos.)
8. Bottles of water (1.5 kilos each)
9. Packets of sugar, flour, rice, powdered milk, coffee, tea. (Each packet weighs 500 grams)
10. Cans of food (500 grams each)
11. Box of novels and magazines (3 kilos)
12. Axe (8 kilos)
More complex tasks like comparing and problem solving sometimes involve processes found in simpler tasks, like listing. The task above – problem-solving - involves listing and quite a lot of comparing and evaluating.
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