skkn tiếng anh 12 APPLICATION OF TEACHING COMPARISON STRUCTURES INTO COMMUNICATIVE METHOD

THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY As a teacher of English, through many years of teaching at Dieu Cai High School, I see that many students have many difficulties in speaking English, includin

APPLICATION OF TEACHING COMPARISON STRUCTURES

INTO COMMUNICATIVE METHOD

I THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

As a teacher of English, through many years of teaching at Dieu Cai High School, I see that many students have many difficulties in speaking English, including students in grade 12 In general, even most of the first-class students they are just good at grammar This puts questions and solutions to me

By finding and studying in documents, combining personal experience and teaching experience from my accompanies, I decided to choose the study named:

Application of teaching comparison structures into communicative method.

First, I chose it for the purpose, that is, it has a high level of practical application A learner not only learns English for his exam - or for any demands his company forces him, besides he learns it for communication, to communicate with foreigners Communication plays an important part in society of human beings Every day people have to use their language to communicate, to get and exchange information, thoughts, feelings…For short, there would not be any society of human beings if communication activity did not happen

Second, another reason is because of the objective demands of education development at present It is now that teaching and learning activities are appreciated mainly by how much knowledge students get from the lectures, students play the most important part in learning It is also easy to apply this method and it makes my lecture more active and successful

Finally, the main reason is that this method is quite interesting and I consider it

as a new method because it has never been applied in my school The students in

my classes were almost interested in it and so was I The atmosphere of the class was more rousing, the class had more volunteers, laughter and Vietnamese was spoken fewer Actually and fortunately I couldn’t use this method frequently because time for each period is limited The thing that teacher forced to teach closely according to the content of the textbook is also a limit to me sometimes Above those are the reasons as well as the impulses made me write this study

II PRACTICAL AND THEORETIC BASIS

1 THEORETIC BASIS

Some of my lesson plans were applied from some methods of the writer Suzanne W.Woodward I redesigned some to be suitable for contents and exercises in English textbooks of grade 10 They mainly include the application

of communicative method Therefore, it is necessary to know what the communicative method is The communicative method emphasizes on the communicative ability of semantics of the message instead of focusing only on the grammatical and phonetic perfection That is appreciated in ability and

capacity for what learner has learned from the lessons as well as the knowledge

on foreign language

We all know that the new thing is often derived from the old one Teaching English with the method above is similar This method is developed owing to the traditional method Even though teaching methods are defined in many ways, in

my opinion, there are three main methods:

1.1 Traditional teaching method:

For this method students listen and write all things which a teacher conveys, try to remember or learn things by heart and then they have to retell the old lessons by “checking old lessons” of the teacher This means that teacher plays a main part during learning and teaching activity It gives students knowledge about grammar but it is difficult for them to speak English then

1.2 Purely communicative method:

This is the method aiming to limit students to speak their native language Through pictures, gestures…, students may understand the content of the lesson they are learning and know ways to carry out activities to penetrate it This method

is used almost by automatic reflect, more suitable for children, so the logic of the content is needed, if not the learning will be interrupted

1.3 Combination of the methods (Combination between purely communicative method and traditional method).

This is also the method creating the name of this study This method is for students in low-level class, as it is not able to apply the purely communicative method or the traditional method It is formed by the combination of the two methods to consolidate and develop students’ continuing learning ability Therefore, I see it is the most appropriate method to apply for all kinds of student, especially for the students in low- level class Students not only acquire knowledge

in traditional ways but also develop speaking ability fluently and creatively, from the introduction of the teacher and teaching aids Sometimes, lively and practical theories should be taught before practicing

I used this method (combination of the methods) to teach my students and I see

it quite better than the application of traditional methods However; in some cases,

if the purely communicative method may not be quite applied, I think the combination of the methods is the most suitable

2 PRACTICAL BASIS

Since old days in many branches, people have used English for communication There were many people unsuccessful in learning English beside those who were successful They spent a lot of time and money learning English but they failed What were the reasons? There were many different causes In my opinion, I think these were mainly because of our ways of teaching and learning Some of our teaching and learning methods were still too old and traditional

So far, teaching for speaking English at general schools has not been applied regularly Traditional ways have still used too much, which some have been out of date Only has Grammar almost taught for getting high marks in examinations Students did not have many chances to talk English to others These were the reasons why students could not develop their speaking Also, it was easy for students to forget what they had just learned.

Nowadays, the demands for learning English are higher and higher In my school many students haven’t spoken English fluently yet They have a lot of difficulties in speaking English while, in near future, students have to get a standard of English skills after graduating from high school, including mainly communicative skills It is a difficult problem for us and not easy to fulfill in a short time

In diplomatic relations, using foreign language to communicate also plays a very important part That is the communication among people, groups of people, nations Every day there are thousands of transactions, business, branches, organizations and companies in the world using English for communication Communication is considered as a bridge to connect people, nations, friendship, development, co-operation, peace… Using of English for communication may be understood in many different ways Learning English is not only for examination but also for many other purposes such as: teaching, studying, translation, jobs… of all the purposes, almost learners first they learn English for speaking fluently Those who can speak fluently a foreign language, this means that they have learned English in right ways

3 PRACTICAL STATES

3.1 Advantages:

The school managing Board always takes care of the development of English subject and supplies facilities, teaching aids to improve its quality English teaching staffs are always interested in teaching career, if someone has any difficulty in teaching they are ready to show their help

The teaching Staffs and the Union of the School are ready to support plans of English Group and cooperate with Group to educate and remind students to learn English Along with launching the movement of the English Olympic examination

on the internet, every year the school often organizes the competition named “The sound of the golden Gong”, including oral tests about English, which creates a very good field for students to learn English

3.2 Disadvantages:

As a school located in a rural and mountainous area, it is poor and still lacks of many things It is not enough classrooms, labs, facilities… for students, parents are poor so they may not take care of their children well as they want Also, many students are not much aware of learning English, even some have many passive thoughts of English because of the objective causes This certainly influences on their enthusiasm for English Many are not interested in learning it and many are

afraid of speaking in front of the crowd They do not also have many chances to communicate with native speakers who are English.

III ORGNIZATION AND PRESENTATION OF THE SOLUTIONS

1 PURPOSES:

Some solutions of the study should be flexibly applied in accordance with the design of the textbook Knowing the ability of my students, I designed the lesson properly, according to the demand of the lesson This study aims for the developing of some communicative skills for students in general schools, especially for students in grade 10, who are not good at this skill very much Ways and stages to teach are the same, but for students who are not good at English, I do not put in my teaching with difficult words or sentences When I want to review any kind of theory, which the purely communicative method may not be used, I will use the combination of the methods to teach so that students can understand better my teaching before practicing This keeps them unembarrassed, and my teaching is therefore more fluent

2 SOLUTIONS:

As mentioned above, teacher should choose one of the methods for each time to teach according to the purpose, the content, or the demand of the lesson, to find out ways to design properly suitable for students’ ability and knowledge

Below I am going to present a teaching lesson designed from the textbook,

LANGUAGE FOCUS part (Grammar and vocabulary), page 176, English 10 This

lesson may be divided into two following stages:

Stage 1

- Provides some examples so that students elicit comparative structures from them (Review old lesson, because students already learnt them before) At this stage, the traditional method is mainly used first

COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES

1 Comparatives:

Ex 1: I am taller than Mai

Ex 2: She is more beautiful than her sister

2 Superlatives:

Ex 3: I am the oldest in my family

Ex 4: He is the most intelligent boy in the class

- Give the hints so that students elicit the structures of the comparative from the examples, underlines the letters which show the form of the comparative, subjects S1, S2… Similar to the structures elicited from the examples, teacher asks students to provide more examples

* Structures:

Comparatives:

S1 + to be + short adjective_er + than + S2 (Ex 1)

S1 + to be + more + long adjective + than + S2 (Ex 2)

Superlatives:

S 1 + to be + the + short adjective_est (Ex 3)

S + to be + the + most + long adjective (Ex 4)

- Use a small table designed properly, listing 4 special cases (a, b, c, d) by giving some words to demonstrate

funniereasierhappier

noblernewercleverernarrower

betterworsefarther/furthermore

less

the biggestthe wettestthe hottest

the funniestthe easiestthe happiest

the noblestthe newestthe cleverestthe narrowest

the bestthe worsethe farthest/ the furthestthe most

the least

- Ask students to elicit the rule for each case.

* Rules:

a) Double last letter before adding _er or _ est

b) Two-syllable adjectives ending “_y”, changing “y” into “i” before adding “er”.c) Two-syllable adjectives ending “_le”, “_ow”, “_er”, adding the letter “er” for its comparative form and adding the letter “_est” to its superlative form

d) The irregular case

Stage 2 Communicative activities are merged into exercises (Exercise 1, English 10) This stage is carried out below:

Exercise 1: Write the comparative and superlative forms of the adjectives.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

- Create 2 tables from the original one:

_ _ _ _ _ _ _

Table 2: The position of the adjectives in the table 1 should be different from that of

the ones in the table 2, to avoid students’ copying

_

_ _

_

_

the cheapest the most expensive

_ _ _ _ _ _

- Stick the tables on the blackboard as long as all students can see them clearly.

- Create any puzzle to students or teacher may give them marks by asking some representatives who have good writing to present before the class

- Any group who finishes first or having more right answers than others are winners, and good marks will be given to them, one right answer for one mark

- Exercise 2: Put the words in the correct order to make sentences or

questions (English 10, page 176, 177)

- Deliver to each one card Each card contains one question suggested answering

in the exercise in the textbook The cards are cut from the following handout:

_ please! What kind of plane is the

fastest in the world?

_ please! Which book is more interesting, your book or mine?

_ please! Who bought the most

expensive watch in the shop?

_ please! Which is more difficult, English or German?

_, Minh is the oldest in the class

Now, question?

_ please! I bought the cheapest watch in the shop Now, question?

_ please! Which the weather is

much better, today or yesterday?

- The number of cards should be equal to the number of students in the class So teacher may copy many handouts as possible A student has to ask question to another student whose name is already written in the blank in his or her card

- After each pair finishes their question and answer, teacher may act as a third person to ask more questions like this example below:

Minh: Nga please! Which book is more interesting, your book or my book?

Nga: My book is more interesting than your book (yours).

Teacher: Nam, whose book is more interesting, Nga’s book or Minh’s book?

Nam: Nga’s book is more interesting than Minh’s book.

Here I am going to list some methods having both grammar and communication Depending on purposes, aims, the design of the lesson or students’ knowledge, teacher should decide to review the lesson or reteach it Sometimes

teacher does not need to teach grammar but students can understand the lesson clearly

- Reminds the rules for the comparative, if necessary (Presented)

- Arrange students in pairs, and give each pair two or more pictures to compare (We may want to stick to one topic, such as famous people, or have several types of

pictures.)

- Each pair writes comparisons of the two pictures For example, when we want to

teach 4 adjectives small, big, cheap and expensive, first students will have pictures

and then the stages are carried out as follows:

…

- Provide the structure and then give an example for it:

S1 + to be + short adjective_er + than + S2Ex: Nam is tall Nga is short

Bicycle/ cheap

Car/ expensive

→ Nam is taller than Nga

- The representative will show the picture to the class and then say his/her

sentence:

Student: A cow is smaller than an elephant/ An elephant is bigger than a cow.

- Similarly, in order to compare between a car and a bicycle, teacher gives

examples and provides more comparative structures for long adjective

S1 + to be + more + long adjective + than + S2Ex: A restaurant is luxury A stall is poor

→ A restaurant is more luxury than a stall

- The representative will show the class the car and the bicycle in the picture and say like this:

Student: A bicycle is cheaper than a car/ A car is more luxury than a

bicycle

…

- Teacher asks the class to give their comments (agree or disagree) and gives feedback after that

* Note : If we choose famous people, we can write the names of the people under

the picture for the students, or have them say simply “the man or the car in picture

- Teacher reminds the rules of the comparative, if necessary

- Check and explain new words as well as pronunciation

- Put students into pairs, and give each pair a copy of the worksheet Go over the words on the list and explain any with which the students are unfamiliar

- Call out an adjective or phrase from the list below The students choose two of the words or expression on the worksheet and write a comparison sentence

Continue until all the words on the paper have been matched

Adjectives to use with the worksheet:

easy to use large

Example:

Teacher: “noisy”

Students write or say: “A city is noisier than a country”

- Go over the sentences by having the pairs write them on the blackboard or read them aloud The other students decide if the sentences are logical and

grammatical

WORKSHEET MATCH

Your teacher will give you an adjective Choose two words in this list and write a sentence using the two words and the adjective.

- Put the students in pairs Give each pair a copy of the handout.

- Have the students answer the question in complete sentences Some students will be able to answer without talking to their classmates, but others will require asking their classmates’ questions

Variation: To take less time, have students answer the questions in pairs without

talking to their classmates They can begin the sentences with “we think…” or

“We guess…” Then have the pairs read their answers (Have all pairs give their answers for question 1 before going to the next question.) Determine who has written the correct answer We may want to do this as a competition and assign points for every correct answer

WORKSHEET

Answer the questions about your classmates in complete sentences.

1 Who is wearing the most jewelry today?

Materials: Small cards with an adjective written on one side, paper

Dynamic: Whole class

Procedure:

- Review the rules for superlatives, if necessary Give each student a card and a piece of paper Tell the students to write, on the reverse of their cards, the

superlative form of the adjective on the front

Suggested adjectives (for a lower-level class, we will of course choose easier

modernnicepleasantprettysmall

terrificuniquewonderful

- The students are to imagine that they are rich aristocrats at a party They are to act very formally and give compliments to everyone they meet They are to go up

to other “guests” and show them the word on their card Each “guest” approached (Student B) then compliments the “guest” who approached him or her (Student A), using the correct superlative form of the word he or she is shown

Example:

Student A’s card: beautiful

Student B’s compliment: You are wearing the most beautiful dress in the

room

If student B’s compliment uses the correct form of the superlative, student A signs Student B’s paper If student B’s compliment does not use the superlative correctly, student A does not sign Student B’s paper At the end of the allowed time, the student with the most signatures (that is, the student who used the superlative correctly the most) wills

- We may set a time limit, or tell the students that the first group to find all the forms wins

SUGGESTION: A good way to go over where the hidden forms are is to use an

overhead after the game

WORKSHEET A (lower level)

Find the comparative and superlative forms of the words on the list The forms may be listed up, down, forward, backward, or diagonally.

WORSE

WORST

WORKSHEET B (lower level)

Find the comparative and superlative forms of the words on the list The forms may

be listed up, down, forward, backward, or diagonally.

OF ALLSAMESIMILARTHANWORSEWORST

* WHO’S THE WORST (BEST)?

Materials: Worksheet

Dynamic: Small groups

Procedure:

- Review the rules for the superlative, if necessary

- Divide the class into groups of three or four and give each student a copy of the worksheet (or make one of our own)

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- After they read the story, the students in each group rate the characters in the story from 1 to 4 as to who has the worst character (#4 is the worst) There may be disagreement in the group, so the students should express their reasons for their choices (“Maria is the worst because…”).

- After the group reaches an agreement, a member of each group comes to the board and list the four characters in descending order, #4 - worst to #1- best

- Have the class compare the answers and discuss the differences Each group should be prepared to state why they listed the characters in the order in which they did

WORKSHEET WHO’S THE WORST (BEST)?

Rate the characters from 1 to 4, with 4 being the worst person in the story

Maria, Sachie, Toshie, and Ana shared an apartment near the college that they attended Maria needed to buy a book for her history class, but she didn’t have enough money She had a test in three days, and she needed the book to study Maria knew that Sachie always kept quite a bit of money in an envelope in her desk drawer Maria decided to take enough money from Sachie’s desk to buy the book Maria told herself that she would return the money before Sachie noticed it was missing

The next day, Sachie discovered that some money was missing from her desk None

of her roommates was home, she looked around the department, on Toshie’s bed she found a bag from a clothing store Inside the bag was a new blouse with a sales receipt The price of the blouse was only slightly less than the amount of the missing money Sachie assumed that Toshie had taken her money to buy the new blouse Sachie decided to teach Toshie a lesson, and she poured catsup all over Toshie’s new blouse

When Toshie returned home, she found her ruined blouse When she asked Sachie what had happened, Sachie asked her about the missing money, Toshie told Sachie that she had not taken her money, but Sachie didn’t believe her

Ana returned home, and Toshie told her that Sachie had ruined all her clothes buy putting catsup on them Ana decided that Sachie was a troublemaker and that she didn’t want her living in the apartment anymore Ana decided to call the apartment manager and tell him Sachie was keeping stolen goods at the apartment for her boyfriend so that she would have to move out

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3.3) COMBINATION OF FORMS OF COMPARISON

* COMPARE THEM (THINGS) - COMPARATIVE

Pair 1: Two fast-food restaurants

Pair 2: Two famous people

Pair 3: Two cars

Pair 4: Two animals

Pair 5 : Two grocery stores

Pair 6: Two brands of soda

newnicenoisyoldpretty

quietrichseriousshorttall

tastyuglywisewonderfulyoung

SUGGESTION: In a higher - level class, the pairs can write a paragraph in stead