Assignment 1

Skills Assignment: Designing a Receptive Skills Lesson

When planning a receptive skill lesson, it must be in a linear and logical sequence,
but it should also allow the teacher to use his/her own creativity (Scrivener, 2011)
The receptive skill that I have selected for this lesson is reading and the level of
students are upper-intermediate. The text that I will be using is a newspaper article.
It is important to use authentic text so that the students can ‘reflect real-life uses’ of
the same text (Scrivener, 2011). The main aim of this lesson is for students to
practice reading for details in the context of a newspaper article. The sub-aim is for
students to practice writing for fluency in the context of a newspaper article.

1. Lead-in/context

The lead-in is the first and most important stage of the lesson plan. It will help to set
the interest and motivation as well as create a connection to the text (Scrivener,
2011) I will start the lesson by showing a picture (Appendix 1) to the class and ask
them to predict what is going on in the picture. Getting the students to predict will
make them better and more engaged readers (Harmer, 1998) If the students are
facing some challenges, I will give them ‘hints’ like, ‘Where is this boy at?’ ‘What is
he holding in his hands?’ and ‘What do you think happened?’ I will ask the students
to discuss their answers with a partner, then I will elicit some answers from the
students. I will write their answers on the board.

2. Vocabulary

Most students complain that they don’t enjoy reading because the words are too
difficult for them (Scrivener, 2011) The text that I have selected is suitable for the
student’s proficiency level. However, there are some lexis that they might find
challenging to understand. Therefore, I will inform them that they will be
encountering some words in this text that they might not be familiar with. I will follow
the MFP (meaning, form and pronunciation) method. The first lexis that I will teach is
‘century,’ I will start by asking, ‘What is the word we use to describe 100 years?’ If the
students are having trouble guessing the word. I will give them the first alphabet of
the word. When the student guesses it correctly, I compliment the student and
proceed to ask them to identify the form, ‘Is it a noun, verb or an adjective? Then I
will model the pronunciation of the word and ask them to repeat saying the word
after me. Next, I will ask them ‘How many syllables does this word have?’ ‘Where is
the stress?’ I will write the word on the board and mark the stress for each lexis I
teach the students. (Refer Appendix 2 for the vocabulary list and teaching method)

3. Gist

To get the students started with the reading task, I will inform them that they will be
reading a true story that was published in a newspaper (Appendix 3). They will need
to read in a fast pace, I will set an appropriate time limit (2 minutes). After that, I will
ask them to relate the text to the lead-in activity, where they need to check if any of
their predictions were right. As for the gist activity, I have selected ordering the
events based on the reading text. Students will turn over their text and discuss in a
small group (2-3 students) the sequence of events in the right order (Appendix 4)
After they have completed their task, they will discuss their answers with their peers
and I will give my feedback and answers (Appendix 4a). Reading for gist involves
skimming skills which give the students a general idea of the text, it improves their
reading comprehension and prepares them for a deeper reading task (Harmer,1998)

4. Details

Reading for details allows students “to concentrate on the minutiae of what they are
reading” (Harmer, 1998) One of the suggested detail reading task by Scrivener is a
to focus on more intensive comprehensive reading. For that purpose, the task that I
have planned is a true or false activity (Appendix 5) Students will complete this task
in pairs and after the completion of this task, they will share their answers with the
whole class. I will provide feedback and give them the correct answers (Appendix
5a)

5. Personalisation

The post-activity is usually under-planned by teachers. It is important to do an

appropriate follow-up work as students have spent a lot of time in the reading tasks
and they might have some kinds of comments, ideas or questions (Scrivener, 2011)
It is also important to have a personalised post-activity as it will make learning
relevant, tie-up any loose end and review what has been learned (Scrivener, 2011)
Therefore, I have selected a freer, less-controlled writing task. As reading is a
receptive skill, I have selected writing as a productive skill for students to produce a
written response to demonstrate their understanding of the lesson taught (Appendix
6). Students will get some time to work on this task. I will go around to check on their
work and provide help when needed. After they have completed their written piece,
they will read it to their friends and get some peer-feedback. I will conclude the
lesson by giving my final feedback.
Bibliography

1. Harmer, J. (1998) How to teach English: An introduction to the practice of

English language teaching. Harlow: Longman.
2. Scrivener, J. (2011) Learning teaching 3rd edition student's book pack.
Oxford: Macmillan Education.
3. Person (2011) Letter finds a reader 24 years after being thrown overboard,
The Age. The Age. Available at: https://www.theage.com.au/world/letter-finds-
a-reader-24-years-after-being-thrown-overboard-20110330-1cg5c.html
(Accessed: March 20, 2023).
4. English dictionary, translations & thesaurus (no date) Cambridge Dictionary.
Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ (Accessed: March 20, 2023).
Appendix 1

Source: The Age, 31/3/11

Appendix 2
Vocabulary list
Vocabulary Teaching method Number Word
of stress
syllables
Elicit- What word do we use to describe 100
years? It starts with ‘c’
Model- Say ‘century’
Drill – Repeat after me ‘century’
Concept checking – How do we use it in a
century (n)
sentence? 3 Ooo
/ˈsen.tʃər.i/
Form- Is it a noun, verb or adjective?
Syllable- How many syllable does this word
have?
Stress- Where is the stress?
Teacher writes the word on the board.
Elicit-Another word for shining. We use it for stars
on something shining under the sun. Starts with
‘g’
Model- Say ‘glittering’
glittering Drill – Repeat after me ‘glittering’.
(adj) Concept checking – Is it a positive or a negative
3 Ooo
/ˈɡlɪt.ər.ɪŋ/ word?
Form- Is it a noun, verb or adjective?
Syllable- How many syllable does this word
have?
Stress- Where is the stress?
Teacher writes the word on the board.
Elicit- What do we do when we change words to a
different language?
Model- Say ‘translate’
Drill – Repeat after me ‘translate’.
translate Concept checking – Can we translate a song and
(v) a movie? 2 oO
/trænzˈleɪt/ Form- Is it a noun, verb or adjective?
Syllable- How many syllable does this word
have?
Stress- Where is the stress?
Teacher writes the word on the board.
thrilled Elicit- You feel extremely happy about something. 1 -
(adj) Starts with the letter ‘t’
/θrɪld/ Model- Say ‘thrilled’
Drill – Repeat after me ‘thrilled’.
Concept checking – Is it a positive or a negative
word?
Form- Is it a noun, verb or adjective?
Syllable- How many syllable does this word
have?
Stress- Where is the stress?
 Teacher writes the word on the board.

Appendix 3
Appendix 4
Discuss in a small group and order these events according to the text.

Daniil was walking with his parents on a beach.

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The boy in the letter, Frank, is now 29. His parents still live at the letter’s address.
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Daniil showed Frank the bottle that had contained the message and the letter.
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Frank gave Daniil his new address to write to and promised to write back.
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A German boy tossed a message in a bottle off a ship in the Baltic Sea.
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Daniil’s father, who knows schoolboy German, translated the letter.
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Frank barely remembered the trip at all; his father actually wrote the letter.
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Frank did not believe that the bottle had actually spent 24 years in the sea.

Appendix 4a
Answer key

1. A German boy tossed a message in a bottle off a ship in the Baltic Sea.
2. Daniil was walking with his parents on a beach.
3. Daniil’s father, who knows schoolboy German, translated the letter.
4. The boy in the letter, Frank, is now 29. His parents still live at the letter’s
address.
5. Frank barely remembered the trip at all; his father actually wrote the letter.
6. Daniil showed Frank the bottle that had contained the message and the letter.
7. Frank did not believe that the bottle had actually spent 24 years in the sea.
8. Frank gave Daniil his new address to write to and promised to write back.

Appendix 5
Work with a partner and write (T) for true statement and (F) for false statements.

1. Daniil was walking by himself on a beach when he saw something glittering in

the sand. ( )
2. Frank was traveling on a plane with his mother when he wrote the letter. ( )
3. Frank believes the bottle had been hidden under the sand where Daniil found
it. ( )
4. Daniil has Frank’s new address and Frank promised to write back. ( )
5. Frank was disappointed that his letter had a positive impact on Daniil. ( )
6. Frank and Daniil have fixed a date to meet in person in the future. ( )

Appendix 5a
 Answer Key
1. Daniil was walking by himself on a beach when he saw something glittering in
the sand. (F)
2. Frank was traveling on a plane with his mother when he wrote the letter. (F)
3. Frank believes the bottle had been hidden under the sand where Daniil found
it. (T)
4. Daniil has Frank’s new address and Frank promised to write back. (T)
5. Frank was disappointed that his letter had a positive impact on Daniil. (F)
6. Frank and Daniil have fixed a date to meet in person in the future. (F)

Appendix 6
Imagine you found the letter written by Frank Uesbeck. Write a reply to him. Read it
to your friend.

Dear Frank,
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Your new friend,

_____________