Comparisons 5: Focus your thoughts

Sometimes it is difficult to focus your thoughts and find enough to say in the paired choice response speaking task. In this unit we will practice this.

1. Remember how we looked at the similarities and differences between lions and tigers? Click here to see a comparisons worksheet.
What would you say about lions and tigers?

2. Now click here to see an example of a worksheet filled in by someone who decided to buy a lion for his zoo.
What do you think he will say?
click here to hear what he said.
What were his main points? Were you right? Did you predict what he was going to say?
Click here to see the tapescript.

3. Now click here to see an example of a worksheet filled in by someone who decided to buy a tiger for his zoo.
What do you think he will say?
click here to hear what he said.
What were his main points? Were you right? Did you predict what he was going to say?
Click here to see the tapescript.

4. Task 1: Now think about comparing and contrasting trains and planes.

5. Task 2: Now make a simple outline of their similarities and differences. Make the outline like this -

      Train                       Plane

                 How alike

            __________________

            __________________

            __________________

                How different

                With regard to

_____________  ___________  _____________

_____________  ___________  _____________

_____________  ___________  _____________

 

Summary of similarities and differences

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

Topic Statement

_________________________________________

Because

_________________________________________

 

6. Task 3: Now contact a classmate and compare their outline to yours.
Are there any points you don’t understand in your classmate's outlines? If so, post a question ask them to explain in the trains and planes discussion form .


7. Speaking Task 1
(Speaking tasks 1, 2 and 3 should be done in the same session.)
Contact one of your classmates and make a speech to your partner for 2 minutes comparing trains and planes.
Now listen to your partner’s speech.
Let your partner know if he/she made any mistakes or if there was anything you didn't understand.
Now go through the process again, but this time make the speech only 1 minute long.

8. Speaking Task 2
Now go through the process in part 7 with a new topic.
Now click here to see the topic for this speaking task.
Make a plan for this topic (target speaking time 45 seconds)

9 Give the speech to you partner and then listen to theirs.
Write down the topic statement and main points of your partner’s speech. Were any of them the same as yours?


10. Speaking Task 3
Now go through the process in part 7 with a new topic.
This time you make up the topic for your partner and your partner will make up one for you.


11.
Speaking Task 4
Now go through the process in part 7 with a new topic.
Again you make up the topic for your partner and your partner will make up one for you.

12.Now record yourself on Soft Recorder doing
Speaking Task 3 and Speaking Task 4 and then send me the files. Target speaking time 45 seconds.

13. Now listen to someone doing Speaking Task 2 . What was his topic statement? What were his main points? Were any of them the same as yours?
Click here to hear what he said.
Click here to see the tapescript.