Kevin McCaughey’s article “Practical Tips for Increasing Listening Practice Time ” in English Teaching Forum (Vol. 53, No.1, 2015) points out that students often don’t get much listening time in what teachers think are listening-focused activities. He offers tips on managing classroom listening activities where teachers can “see it” happen. This lesson uses a healthy eating theme to bring two of McCaughey’s tips to your class.
One of McCaughey’s tips, “See it,” requires students to respond physically to questions. Teachers use commands (hold up the red card for “yes” and the green card for “no;” stand up, wave your arms, and so forth for yes/no and other questions types). The allows teachers to see which students understand the questions. A second tip, “students do during,” requires active responses during the activity. for which this lesson uses a gap-fill exercise.
Use the worksheet tasks to promote listening. You may use the “see it” method by posing yes/no or How often do you… questions for the first three tasks, while the fourth task lets students “do it” by filling in the gap text while listening.
Objective: SWBAT respond to questions posed during the lesson to show they understand the lesson’s food vocabulary and frequency adverbs.
Time: one hour
Materials: We are What We Eat worksheet (docx) Download this resource ; small paper squares in two colors (optional for yes/no questions)
Presentation
Use realia or images to teach or activate background knowledge of the lesson’s food vocabulary and frequency adverbs. Next, tell students that they will answer questions about healthy food and their eating habits during four tasks. Teachers should give the response format at the beginning of each task, so as not to confuse the class.
Production
The first two tasks, “Healthy or unhealthy?” and “What do you think,” are easy to do using the command “raise your green paper slip if you think the food mentioned is healthy and the red slip if it is not” for the first and “raise the green slip if you agree with the statement and the red slip if you disagree” for the second. You can tally results on the board for later discussion.
We are What We Eat
Task 1: Healthy or unhealthy?
- sandwiches
- cheese
- vegetable and fruit salads
- pizza
- fish and fried potatoes
- stewed vegetables
- a Big Mac
- coffee
- sweets and cakes
- oatmeal
- pasta
- chicken
- milk and yogurt
Task 2: What do you think about: salt, sugar, butter, oil?
- I think salt is healthy/unhealthy.
- I think sugar is useful because it makes food tasty.
- I think we need butter to cook many foods.
- I prefer roasted or baked, not fried, meats and fish.
- I like salty food.
- I think olive oil is better for us than butter.
For the next task, “your personal diet,” ask students to respond to the question “How often do you..” followed by each item on the list. They will answer physically, i. e., by following the command on the board that matches the frequency adverb that signifies their response. Write a table on the board that has two lines. The frequency adverbs always, often, sometimes, and never are on the top line; underneath each adverb, write a command that the student should do to respond accordingly. See the example below:
| always (every day) | often (twice a week) | sometimes (once a week) | never |
| Stand up | Hold notebook in the air | Hold up one hand | Put your hands over your eyes |
Task four uses the “doing it” while listening tip, incorporating a gap-fill text to test comprehension. Students will fill in the gaps as your read the text.
Task 4: Is your diet healthy? If yes, great! If not, think about it!
| bacon | butter | fish | fruit | meat | salads | wine |
“Eat the Mediterranean way!” (adapted from the New English File)
Doctors say that the traditional diet in Mediterranean countries like Greece and Italy is very healthy. Why is it good for you? In these countries, people eat a lot of ________ , vegetables, and _______. They prefer to cook or eat bread, pasta, and rice with olive oil instead of_________. They don’t eat a lot of red _________ or ______; they prefer______. Often they drink a glass of red ______ with the meal. This diet is very good for your heart and people in these countries live a long life. So sit down with your family for lunch or dinner. Don’t eat too fast; relax, and enjoy your food!
Teach Like A PCV 