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Humanising Language Teaching
Year 4; Issue 1; January 2002


Teacher Resource Books Preview

Using the Mother Tongue
The Mother Tongue as a Resource in the Foreign Language Classroom
By Sheelagh Deller and Mario Rinvolucri
( Forthcoming with ETp Delta in late 2002 )

( these are Sheelagh exercises ) - Secondary and adult

Letter beginnings and endings

Type of Class : monolingual
multilingual with at least 2 students per language
Teacher : doesn't need to know students' mother tongue
Level : lower intermediate upward
Purpose : letter writing

  • Ask students to bring in about five letters they or their family have received. If possible these should be a mix of personal and business type letters. They should all be in MT
  • Students copy out the beginnings and endings of their letters in MT.
  • Write on the board some typical beginnings and endings for letters in TL.

Example

    Beginnings
      Dear
      My Dear
      Dearest
      Hi
    Endings
      With love from
      Lots of love
      Yours sincerely,
      Yours faithfully
      Yours truly
      Yours
      As ever
      Best wishes

  • Students translate the beginnings and endings of their letters into TL.
  • Students exchange their TL translations in jumbled form and their letters with a partner who speaks the same mother tongue.
  • Students match the translations with the letters.
  • Students check their partner's work.
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