Lesson script
2nd educational stage, English
Content area:
Multiculturalism in foreign language lessonsDetailed requirements:
Student (1.9) uses a very basic pool of language measures (vocabulary, grammar, writing and speaking), enabling the achievement of other general requirements concerning the following topics: culture (holidays and festivals).Topic
: FestivalsDuration
: 45 minutesDetailed goals regarding the range of information
Student:
Knows some festivals celebrated in European countries;
Knows the basic facts about Europe Day;
Knows how to describe and explain Polish festivals.
Detailed goals regarding the range of skills
Student:
Can take notes from a presentation;
Can answer true/false questions using information from a presentation;
Can listen out for specific information;
Enhances memory;
Develops listening comprehension;
Develops communication skills.
Detailed goals regarding attitudes
Student:
Recognises the multitude of cultures in Europe;
Learns to respect different cultural traditions;
Develops European identity;
Develops willingness to explore other cultures and traditions.
Methods
Brainstorming; presentation; note taking; listening for specific information; discussion; whole class, groupwork, pairwork, individual work.
Forms and venue
Forms: individual, pairwork, groupwork, whole class.
Classes are to be held in the classroom.
Materials and teaching aids
Presentation; true/false task for each student (for stage 2.2.); recording; task for each student (for stage 2.3.); computer and multimedia projector; board.
Multimedia resources
Presentation: Festivals in Europe
Audio recording: Europe Day
Online dictionary
Lesson plan/procedure
1 Warm-up
Interaction forms: small groups, whole class Duration: 5 minutes
Teacher asks students to brainstorm for any festivals they know, in Poland or other countries.
He/She explains the broader meaning of the term “festival” in English (i.e. not only a musical event, but also a holiday, ritual or other celebration). Students share ideas in small groups, then teacher elicits answers in open class. He/She puts the most interesting ideas on the board.
2 Main stage
2.1. Introduction of the target language – presentation (note taking) Interaction forms: individual, whole class
Duration: 8 minutes
Teacher tells students that they will see a presentation about festivals in six European countries. Students’ task is to note down (i) the names of the festivals presented, (ii) the names of the relevant countries, and (iii) when the festivals are celebrated.
Students work individually, then answers are checked with the whole class.
2.2. Target language practice – presentation (true/false) Interaction forms: individual, pairs, whole class
Duration: 10 minutes
Teacher distributes true/false task (below) to every student. Students are asked to read through the statements and see if they can answer any of them. Teacher shows the presentation again for students to complete and check their answers. They can compare their answers in pairs before they are checked with the whole class. The teacher explains the correct answers, supporting them with the relevant slides, if necessary.
Finally, students are asked which of the presented festivals they would like to attend most, and why.
Decide if the following sentences are true or false, and tick the appropriate column.
True False 1. People wear masks during the Carnival of Venice and something
grey on St. Patrick’s Day.
2. Parades are a major part of the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day and Bloemencorso.
3. The Carnival of Venice and Oktoberfest last more than one day.
4. The dates of the Carnival of Venice and St. Patrick’s Day are linked to Christian holidays.
5. Queen's Official Birthday and Bloemencorso fall in spring.
6. La Tomatina and Oktoberfest are never celebrated at the weekend.
7. St. Patrick’s Day is the only festival held exactly on the same date every year.
Answers: 1 false (they wear something green), 2 true, 3 true, 4 true (Carnival of Venice is linked to Lent), 5 false (Queen's Official Birthday falls in summer; her actual birthday falls in spring), 6 false (Oktoberfest ends on Sunday), 7 true (the other five are moveable and fall on different dates on different years)
2.3. Target language extension – recording (listening for specific information) Interaction forms: individual, whole class
Duration: 10 minutes
Teacher distributes the task (see below) to all students. He/She explains that they will hear a recording about Europe Day. Students’ task is to fill in the gaps with information from the recording. The pieces of information are one or two words long.
The recording is played twice. Students work individually. After the first listening they can compare answers in pairs. Then, the teacher elicits answers from the class. He/She writes
“Schuman” on the board to ensure the correct spelling.
Fill in the missing pieces of information (one or two words).
Europe Day falls on 1____________ . This date was chosen, because it is the anniversary of the 2_______________________ , which first proposed a 3_______________ of European countries.
Europe Day is also called 4_______________________ .
In Poland, Europe Day is celebrated with the 5_______________________ . In addition, you can learn and play in the 6_______________________ .
EU stands for 7_______________________ . Its official colours are 8___________ and
9___________ .
Answers: 1 May 9, 2 Schuman Declaration, 3 community, 4 Schuman Day, 5 Schuman Parade, 6 European Village, 7 European Union, 8 blue/yellow, 9 yellow/blue
2.4. Consolidation of the target language – personalization Interaction forms: small groups, whole class
Duration: 10 minutes
Teacher tells students to discuss and choose which of the festivals celebrated in Poland (e.g.
Christmas, Easter or even St. Valentine’s Day) they like best. Each group should state the main facts about that festival (what it celebrates, when it is held, etc.).
Students work in small groups. Then, the ideas are presented in open class.
3 Closing stage
Interaction forms: whole class Duration: 2 minutes
As a homework, the teacher asks students to prepare a more detailed description of a Polish festival. The description should be prepared for a person representing a completely different culture (who does not know anything about Polish customs and traditions).
Additional information
Teacher advises students that the www.scholaris.pl website offers a computer application in the form of a multimedia dictionary presenting correct pronunciation together with
translations of words and phrases learned during the lesson.
