Teacher: Staci Lyn Sharp
Class: Linguistics 577
Date of Explanation: October 14th, 1997
Proficiency Level: High Beginning
Age Level: Adults
Linguistic/Ethnic Composition: Mostly Hispanic

The following lesson plan was developed for a beginning adult ESL class of approximately 16 students. It assumes a class period of three hours, but can be accomplished in a few shorter class periods if necessary.

Recognizing that the class is mostly made up of housewives and new immigrants, it does not concentrate on formal register, but rather emphasizes the everyday speech patterns of Americans. Thus, this lesson plan assumes that the students are at a beginning level (with relatively higher listening skills, but lower speaking skills) and the survival skills of everyday communication is the main goal of the class.

The lesson plan concentrates on the coping structures of ìwant to...," ìneed to...," and ìhave to...." It includes teaching the form, meaning, and pragmatics of these target structures. Practice in both recognition and production has been included in the lesson plan, with activities in each of the main skill areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Since, it is the opinion of this teacher that skill areas are rarely isolated in day-to-day life, teaching listening is usually only a part of a language lesson. Therefore, for this assignment, a listening sublesson was created within a main lesson.

ìwant to" / ìneed to" / ìhave to" Expressing needs, wants, and obligations

Objective: Students will be able to understand and express daily needs, wants, and obligations.

(5) WELCOME:

(10) LESSON WARM-UP: Review portions of the previous lesson (ìMaking an Appointment") to use as a foundation for this lesson.

Clock Review Activity* -- Questions and Answers

(5) INTRODUCTION:

• Introduce Task
• Suggest Grammar Form Needed to Perform the Task
• State Intended Results

EXPLAIN MEANING: desire vs. intense desire or light obligation vs. intense obligation

INTRODUCE VOCABULARY*: ACTIONS (Worksheet & Blackboard)

(90) PRACTICE:

• Class Practice - teacher-controlled
• Sight Recognition - Dialogue Sheet,* Dialogue
• Written Production - Dialogue Sheet,* Questions - Worksheet,* Individual Practice
• Aural Recognition - Listening Exercise

SUBLESSON: LISTENING

Objective: Students will be able to pick out the phrases "want to," "need to," and "have to" in spoken speech, enabling them to focus in on desires, needs, and obligations that are orally expressed.

Materials: the following worksheet & the recorded dialogue (on tape)

LISTENING PASSAGE:
Want to... Need to... Have to ...

Conversation between two mothers over the telephone.

PASSAGE:

(Telephone rings.)
Sally: Hello.
Robyn: Hi, Sally. It's Robyn.
Sally: Hi! How are ya?
Robyn: Oh, good. A few of us are taking our children to the park today -- just to get out. Do you and your children wanna come with us?
Sally: Oh, we wannu, but we can't. I have to take the kids to the doctor after school. And afterwards, we need to run some errands and then go shopping. I'm sorry. Maybe another day.
Robyn: Un-kay. I'll give you a call.
Sally: Hey, sounds good. Thanks. B-bye.
Robyn: Bye.

QUESTIONS:

What does Robyn ask Sally?

Does Sally want to go to the park with her kids?
o yes
o no

What does Sally have (need) to do today? (three things)

(0) WARM-UP:
Main lesson serves as a warm-up to the listening activity.

(4) INTRODUCTION:

• listening activity
• suggest importance of listening proficiency (use questions...)

(1) PRESENTATION:

• telephone conversation between two mothers, Sally and Robyn

(20) PRACTICE AND EVALUATION:
Pre-listening:
- What do you expect to hear?
Listening 1 (Complete):
Listen to the entire dialogue.
Evaluate Group Listening:
- What did you hear that you expected to hear?
- What parts were easy or hard to understand? Why?
Pre-listening 2:
Introduce questions.
Listening 2 (Complete):
Listen to the entire dialogue.
Evaluate Individual Listening:
Students answer questions on their own.
Listening 3 (Sectioned) & Evaluation:
Listen to dialogue in sections, answering the questions individually and then as a group.
Listening 4 (Complete):
Point out what students have learned.

(0) APPLICATION:
Internal Application:
The "Oral Production" and "Planning" activities in the main lesson includes listening in a less-controlled environment.

True Application:
The Application in the main lesson (a telephone conversation focused on the students' goals for the class) includes listening.

Contingency Plan: If the tape doesn't work, I will read the dialogue to the students.

Self Evaluation: Strengths: I encorporated listening into a larger lesson plan, rather than teaching listening in isolation. Though I recognize that sometimes this can be effective, I am leery of a curriculum that consistently isolates the main skill areas. Weaknesses: Originally I did not include a final complete listening. When I realized this during "my explain," I quickly returned home and added one. Final listenings give the students an opportunity to evaluate what they have learned on tehir own, plus they also often act as confidence boosters. I am disappointed in myself that I forgot this important part of a listening lesson.

** Do/Does Induction - prompted by teacher questions Oral Production - Worksheet,* "Pair Practice" (Fluid Pairs)

(20) EVALUATION:
SUGGEST PRAGMATICS: Planning Activity*

(0) APPLICATION:
HOMEWORK: Free Talk Activity on the telephone tonight and report next class.

Topic: Sharing and Discussing Goals for the Class
On Board: "(I/We/__?__) (want/need/have) to learn (verbs/how to.....)"

* Other lesson materials not submitted with this lesson plan, but available to those who are interested.