Humanising Language Teaching
Year 2; Issue 3; May 2000
Parallels
by John Morgan,
from Recipes for Tired Teachers, edited by Chris Sion,
Addison Wesley, 1985
| Level: | intermediate |
| Time: | 30-40 minutes |
| Language Function : | sharing and summarising information |
| Before class: | Copy the parallel sentences below so you have enough for all the members of your class. Cut one copy into strips with one sentence on each strip. |
In Class:
- Deal the eighteen sentences out among the group. If you have fewer than eighteen students it does not matter if some receive more than one strip. If you have a couple more than eighteen, let two students share one piece of information. Larger classes should be divided into two or even three
groups.
- Ask the students to keep their strips secret from the others. Their task is to memorise the
information (not the actual sentences) on the strips. They should not learn the material "parrot
fashion". Do not allow writing. Explain the vocabulary as necessary. Collect the strips so that you
can use them again.
- Ask the students to move about and share the information they have. Give minimal instructions.
Allow enough time for the information to be shared thoroughly but do not let it go on to the point
where students become bored.
- Ask the class to return to their seats. Their task is to write a summary of the information they have
gathered. They may work individually or in pairs.
- When they have finished, the students should compare notes with other pairs or individuals. Next, working as one group with a "secretary", they should produce a final version on the board. Then you give out copies of the original text for comparison.
| John F. Kennedy was murdered on a Friday. | Abraham Lincoln was murdered on a Friday. |
| John F. Kennedy was shot in the head by Lee Harvey Oswald | Abraham Lincoln was shot in the head by John Wilkes Booth. |
| After the death of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, the Vice-President, became President of the U.S.A. | After the death of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, the Vice-President, became President of the U.S.A |
| John Wilkes Booth was born in 1839. | Lee Harvey Oswald was born in 1939. |
| Booth shot Lincoln in a theatre and then ran into a shop. | Oswald shot Kennedy from shop and then ran into a theatre. |
| John F. Kennedy had a secretary called Lincoln. | Abraham Lincoln had a secretary called Kennedy. |
| Andrew Johnson was born in 1808. | Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908. |
| Abraham Lincoln's wife was a brunette who spoke fluent French: she was 24 when she married Lincoln. | John F. Kennedy's wife was a brunette who spoke fluent French: she was 24 when she married Kennedy. |
| John F. Kennedy's father, Joseph, was Ambassador to London. | Abraham Lincoln's son, Robert, was Ambassador to London. |
