Learning about Language教学设计第二课时

USING LANGUAGE

Listening and writing

The purpose of this exercise is to encourage students to listen and then use what they have heard to help them fill in a chart about computers．It is an important exercise because it links skills together and uses them to produce a useful piece of writing．

Make sure the students look at the chart before they listen to the tape．This is to sharpen their attention and listen for the answers．This will also help them get the gist of the text．When filling in the chart, the students will have to use their own experience as well as information from the listening text．

LISTENING TEXT LI MING: What are you doing Dave? DAVE: I'm reading about information technology．

LM: You mean things like computers? In my opinion they're so boring to read about．They're only good to use．

D: But they're just one kind of IT．

LM: Really? So what else is part of IT? D: We've had IT for a long time．Books, radios and TVs are also kinds of IT．

LM: Oh．I never thought of that before．Books are a wonderful way for us to get information．

D: Yeah, I believe that too．They are cheap and easy to take with you but sometimes the information is out of date．

LM: I agree．The world is changing so fast．But in my opinion listening to sports on the radio is better than anything else．Sometimes I also listen to English programmes on the radio．But they speak so fast and sometimes it's difficult to understand everything．

D: Yes．I also listen to English on the radio but it's easier to follow on TV because you can also see what is going on．Sometimes it is more interesting to watch sports on TV than just listen to them on the radio．

LM: I disagree because you get such a lot of information on the technical aspects of a game on the radio．You don't get that on TV．But I still think that the computer is the best kind of IT．You can watch a film on it, write to friends, get information, and find out what is going on in the world．

D: I know, but it is also the most expensive and it is too big to carry with you everywhere．Also the Internet has nobody to check whether that information you find there is correct．So you have to be careful．

LM: Well, I suppose all kinds of IT have both disadvantages and advantages．

Suggested answers: Type of IT

Advantages

TV Web Radio Book Disadvantages

You can both listen and watch．

You cannot write to friends．

You can find information．

You can listen to English．

You can get information．

It is very expensive．

You cannot watch a film．

Sometimes it is out of date．

Speaking and writing

The purpose of this exercise is to discuss together and then decide which kind of computer you would like to buy for your school．Think about what the school needs as well as what you like．

Let the students do the exercise in pairs and share their ideas with others．Finally they should write the report．Remember to say which computer you have chosen and give a reason．You should also say why you did not choose the other computers．

Sample dialogue:

A: Look at this computer．It has been given a smaller monitor．

B: That's good because we can then have more computers in the school．Does it have the Internet as well? A: You can have it fitted but it is not included in the price．Now look at this one．Both a small monitor and a flat screen have been included．It can be joined to the Internet straight away and it has been given a large hard disc capacity．That's good of course．

B: Do you think we should buy laptop computers for our school? They are more useful because they can be moved from room to room．The school would not need to provide a special room for computers．They are also smaller and can be stored away more easily．But they have proved to be much more expensive than a personal computer．

A: Yes, that is why the principal told me we could not buy them．He would not be able to afford enough for the school so we had better look at the personal computers．This one is very fast and uses discs which can store more information．Also it is neither too large nor too expensive．Let's see what it's made of．Why it's perfect! It's been made from recycled materials so our headmaster will be

very pleased．He will have killed two birds with one stone! The school will have new computers and have saved the earth's materials as well．

B: Let's choose this one, OK? A: I think it is a good decision．

Sample report:

We looked at many different computers．The one we have chosen is the PEP personal computer．One of the main reasons is that it is suitable for schools．We found that it has been built with a smaller monitor and a flat screen．We think these things will save space so that the school can find room for more computers．This computer also has been fitted with an improved disc．The students will be able to put more information on one disc．This computer is also good because it has been made from recycled materials．Both my partner and I suggest the school should buy this computer．

Reading and speaking

This is a speaking activity about designing an android．The purpose of the activity is not the design but the quality of the discussion．So try to make sure each pair makes a contribution to the finished design．Then let them discuss their ideas with another pair．Perhaps that will give each pair some more ideas for their android．Finally let students share their ideas with the class．

Sample dialogue:

S1: What kind of robot have you decided to make? S2: I've decided that we should have a homework android．It could do all our work after class and leave us more time to do football．

S1: OK．But what do you think it should look like?

S2: In my opinion, it should have four arms to carry the books, a large head to remember all the lessons and a printer to write out the answers．What do you think? S1: Well, that sounds sensible．Perhaps it could also put all the exercises into specially marked boxes for each subject so we could find them quickly．What about putting that in its stomach area? S2: Do you want it to be a man or a woman? You can choose．

S1: I've decided it should be a girl．

S2: What's your reason? S1: Girls are so hard-working．

S2: Sounds good to me! Let's draw it now!

Writing

The purpose of this piece of writing is to develop empathy in the students．They have to imagine they are androids looking after a family with one child．They need to imagine what problems and delights this android might have to deal with．Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is a very important way of understanding how other people feel．This is a very useful exercise．

Sample writing:

Hello everybody, my name is Liu Yan．I am a 321 model android．I work for the Li family and I look after their library．My job is to store all the books that they borrow from their school or friends in my brain．Of course my brain is as large as a mountain so work like that is no trouble to me．I really eat books just like people eat food．

The Lis have a child who needs me to remember all his school textbooks so I can do his homework for him．He just gives me the information on the subject, what has to be done and the page numbers and I get on with it while he enjoys himself with his friends．Sometimes I don't think it is right to do his homework for him — it's somewhat cheating. However, his parents are very concerned at the pressure of work in school these days．The child has too much homework to do. They like him to go to the key school but they also want him to be able to have hobbies, learn to swim and keep fit! Poor child!

Mr. and Mrs Li work very hard too．Mr. Li is an architect and designs great tall apartment blocks．Mrs Li is a doctor and has to look after many patients．I remember all the plans for Mr. Li's projects and can tell Mrs Li which drugs are the best to give any particular patient．Mrs Li no longer has to read all those medical journals because I can do it for her．She and Mr. Li can have some time together to enjoy life too．

So they consider me the most important person in the family after themselves．I am always introduced to their friends and play with visiting children．I am the perfect family academic aid and, although I was not cheap to buy, Mr. Li says I was worth every yuan!

READING TASK

The purpose of this reading passage is to encourage students to think about how robots might develop in the future．It introduces students to Hua Fei, a high flying robot expert of the 22nd century．His story forms the basis for related tasks in speaking and writing．

Suggested answers to Exercise 1:

RECORD CARD

HUA FEI

Ability Performance Olympics

Prize won

Performance Olympics

Reason for failure

Treatment in in 78th excellent style and movements; Olympic standard

wonderful turns, dives, circles and dances

silver medal for high flying exercises

79th began very well but failed through no fault of his own

parachute failed to open．

two new legs and a new head

Answer key for Exercise 2:

This year I ha(d) the honour to be chosen again．I wante(d) to meet robots from other countries and explore ideas about our sport．However, my programmer fell ill the wee(k) before we were going to leave．It was very painful for her and I fel(t) very frightened．I no longer fel(t) so confident(t) that I would(d) win．