Freshman Oral English

Unit 1: Socializing on Campus

Class CEFR Level: A2-B1
Week 1, Lesson 1
Spring Semester 2016
Instructor: Sulamith M. Hfer

Intro, Admin &

Review
Icebreaker: Your Holiday (10 min.)

Materials

Tell students to take a small piece of paper and write something they did during
their holiday. E.g. I traveled to Beijing. Collect papers, redistribute them, then
have students find the original author of the paper they picked by asking
appropriate questions. Demonstrate a short conversation:

PPT

Syllabus (class set)

Class profile

Student ID cards
Textbook

Example
A. Did you travel to Beijing?
B. Yes, I did. | No, I didnt.

Preparations

Remind them: Use the conventions of small talk; be polite; dont shout Who
went to Beijing?; dont show others your paper (ask a question)

Before Class write on the board:

Administration (20 min.)

Seating arrangements
Repeat Classroom Expectations
Office Hours: encourage students to take advantage of meeting with you.
Office Hours based on appointments (make sure to give them your contact
information again)
Syllabus
Hand out the syllabus and discuss all the aspects of the syllabus.
Class Roster (if available)
Check class roster for discrepancies.
Absences: very important to understand unexcused/excused
Assessments: 3 Assessments this semester; they will not be able to prepare
them ahead of time but will have to perform them on the same day;
encourage them to stay on top of things (functions, idioms, sounds)
Students want to get good grades they need to earn them!
You will start correcting their mistakes more. Its not because you want
them to loose face, but because only by correcting will they learn from their
mistakes. They should not be afraid to make mistakes!
English partners (see below)
Monitors: meet with them during the break for the class profiles

ILOs

Homework

Contact information

Goals
To review formerly taught functions
and sounds and introduce course
goals

Intended Learning
Outcomes (ILOs)
TSWBAT

know the proceedings and

expectations for this semester
(syllabus)
recall all major functions
and sounds covered during
the fall semester.
use inquiries and responses
to talk about their winter
holiday.

English Partners (5 min.)

Classroom Expectations

Explain that they will have to meet at least four times a week to speak in
English, you can talk about anything you want (or about a given topic
sometimes) but you must speak in English. Take notes about your conversation
in your notebook. If any of the following information is missing, then you will

Intro, Admin & Review

Things to keep in mind in class

1. Be prepared: Always have
class materials (textbooks, pen,

lose points. Points will be taken from your daily score. For every 15 mins you
are missing, you will lose a point for the day. Notebooks will be checked for
conversations sporadically throughout the semester, so make sure keep your
notes uptodate.
The journal should look like this:
Date
26/2/11

Start
Time
11:03

End
Time
11:26

Total
Time
23
min.

notebook) !
2. Be the best you can be: Be on
time; be focused, take notes,
participate !
3. Be respectful: Listen while
others speak; no disruptive
behavior !
4. Be honest: Do your own work
and !dont copy from others !
5. Speak English only !
6. Use your cell phone only for
class !
7. Be active: W ork hard; work
with !the other students !
8. Be caring: encourage others;
be !kind; dont make fun of
other !students !
9. Be clean: Don't throw garbage
or !food on the floor; no
spitting !

We talked about
We talked about what we did during the
break and what our goals are for this
semester.

Idiom: Long time no see (5 min.)

Meaning:
People havent seen each other in a long time. Grammatically wrong sentence,
but still very commonly used.
Oh hey! Long time no see. How are you doing?
If time allows, repeat the ice-breaker activity. This time, every time they talk to
someone new they have to use the idiom during the introduction part.

Things to keep in mind outside

of class
1. Office hours: Visit your foreign
teacher as often as you can
2. Get to know foreigners!
3. Speak English often: Practice
with friends, roommates &
classmates
4. Review: Check your notes,
textbook materials & website
5. Watch English movies without
English subtitles!
6. Do your own work dont
copy from others
7. Read English books
8. Do your homework
9. Practice what you learn in class

Break
Talk to Monitors (class profile)
Prepare the board: Sounds

Review (20 min.)

Review everything that was covered last semester.

o Topics
o Idioms
o Pronunciation
o Functions
o Grammar

Explain that you expect your students to know these aspects and be able to use
them in this upcoming semester.

Mini Lesson: Meeting & Greeting (10 min)

Topics

Introduce the Inquiries and Responses people can use when meeting after a
long break.
Inquiries
How have you been?
How are you (doing)?
How are things (going)?
Hows it going?
Hows everything?
Hows life?
Hows business?

1. Self-Introduction, Meeting
People
2. Getting to Know You
3. Hanging Out
4. Invitations
5. Making an Appointment
6. Meet the Family
7. A Happy ChildhoodLost in the
City
8. Bad Traffic
9. Houses & Homes
10. Household Chores

Responses
Just great.
Fine, thank you.
Ok, I guess.
Cant complain.
How about you?
Same here.
So-so.
Not too bad.
Not too good, Im afraid.
Absolutely awful/terrible/dreadful.

Point out the difference between meet and see.

Intro, Admin & Review

11. Christmas

Partner Activity: Your Winter Holiday (5 min.)

Provide a short sample dialog which contains a conversation about the

winter break.

Idioms
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

A. Hi , nice to see you again. Long time no see!

B. How have you been?
A. Great! I went to watch a movie in ZZ. That was my favorite thing about the
break. How about you? How is everything?
B. Not too bad. I stayed with my grandparents most of the time, but one time I
went to Shanghai for a couple of days! That was the best!

Speak the same language

As easy as pie
You name it
The icing on the cake
The apple doesnt fall far from
the tree

6. Childs play
7. No way!
8. Off the beaten track
9. Lend a hand
10. Sing someones praises

Have students work with their partners and read the dialog.
Then they should talk about their own winter holiday using the pattern
from the sample dialog.

Mingling Activity: Small Talk Winter Holiday (10 min.)

Pronunciation

Students will get up and mingle to talk about their winter holiday using the
function of inquiries and responses.
Give an example of how to incorporate those functions into their
conversation:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Introduce different questions that will help them talk about the winter break:
1. What was the best thing that happened to you during the break?
2. What was the most exciting thing you did?
3. What was your favorite activity during the break?
4. Do you think the break was too long/short explain?
5. Which people did you meet during the break? (Did I tell you, I met over
the break?)
6. Which places did you go to during the break?
7. Which is your favorite memory from this last break?
8. Tell me something interesting that happened to you during the break.
9. What did you do on the day of the Lantern Festival?
10. What food did you have during Spring Festival? (favorite dish)
11. Discuss your opinions about your winter holiday. Do you think your
holiday was a good holiday? Why or why not? When students discuss the
various questions, they should be ready to explain their reasoning (support
their opinion).

5. //

(p. 21)

6. // (p. 52)
7. // (p. 60)
8. Pronunciation Definitions
9. Word endings (p. 26)
10. Word stress in numbers (p.
13)
11. Syllables
12. Word stress in 2-syllable
words
13. Stress in multi-syllable words
14. Stress in phrases

Functions

Whenever they change partners, they should walk through the same
patterns of inquiries and responses. They may use the handout first, but
after a few times, should do it without.

1. Introductions
2. Introduce your friend, small
talk, appropriate topics
3. Expressing likes, dislikes &
indifference
4. Extending, accepting, refusing
an invitation
5. Making an appointment (on
the phone)
6. Asking about family
7. Asking sensitive questions
8. Asking for locations
9. Describing locations
10. Asking for directions

Useful websites:
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/communication-lessongreeting.php
http://www.talkenglish.com/lessonpractice.aspx?ALID=550

Intro, Admin & Review

/f/ (p. 2)
/v/ (p. 2, 7)
/w/ (p.7)
/i/ (p. 21)

11. Giving directions

12. Making polite requests

Grammar
1. Comparatives & Superlatives
2. Simple Past Tense
3. Countable & uncountable
nouns
4. Prepositions

Review:

Inquiries & Responses

(Meeting & Greeting)

Preview
Unit 6A: The Bald Guy
Pronunciation: Contractions
Function: Describing people

Homework
Interview your English partner about
their winter holiday. Use Inquiries &
Responses. Take notes in your
notebook.

Intro, Admin & Review