Speaking Lesson Plan

A Matter of Stress

Background Information

Age Level: Adolescent
Proficiency Level: Intermediate
In the days leading up to this lesson, the students have been telling stories in class dealing with the different Holidays. Each student was assigned a holiday and they prepared a report which was given in class. All of the major U.S. holidays have been discussed by the students. Throughout the year, and especially during these presentations it has been evident that the students struggle with word stress. They have a hard time both using stress correctly and understanding what is meant when they hear words stressed.

Materials:

Students, equipped with paper and writing instrument.
Chalkboard, chalk, erasure.
Tape containing two pre-recorded Halloween stories, prepared in advance by the teacher.
Tape player.

Objectives:

Students will be able to recognize the importance of word stress.
Students will be able to understand what is meant when as listeners they hear word stress.
Students will be able use word stress to convey meaning and place emphasis.

Teaching/Learning Activity:

Warm-up:

As a warm-up, students will hear the first pre-recorded Halloween story and be asked to determine what is wrong with the presentation. (All through the first story, the wrong words will be stressed, i.e., prepositions will be stressed rather than content words. The mistaken stress will cause the story to be confusing and difficult to understand). After a brief discussion, students will hear the second story, which is actually the same story, only this time it is told with the appropriate word and phrase stress. Students will notice not only how much easier it is to understand, but also how the element of stress adds a feeling to the story.

Introduction:

From the stories they just heard, students will point out that a great story can be ruined and communication impeded if we don’t use word stress correctly, even if all other elements are perfect. They will also discuss how communication can be enhanced through the correct use of word stress.

Presentation:

The students will see the following sentence written on the board:

John left his red coat on the second floor of the new library

The students will hear the sentence read to them two times, each time with a different word being stressed. They will determine how the emphasis is changed with the different stress placement. For example:

John left his red coat on the second floor of the new library
or John left his red coat on the second floor of the new library

The students will then determine what other words from this sentence could be stressed, and how the emphasis would change with each choice.

Practice:

Students will be asked to write a sentence in which several different words could be stressed. Once they have a sentence written, they will be paired-up with another student.
Each student will in turn read their sentence, stressing a word or phrase. The listener will determine what word or phrase was stressed and what meaning was conveyed. This will continue until each student has read their sentence several times, stressing a different part each time.

Evaluation:

The teacher will circulate among each of the pairs, monitoring their progress and answering their questions. The activity may be adjusted if necessary.

Application:

Students will be asked to listen closely to their roommates during the next 24-hour period and write down at least one occurrence of word stress. They will bring what they write down to class tomorrow and share it with the rest of the class.