第13章综合技能
TASK 1
Think of the language skills that might be ud in the following situations. Tick the appropriate columns. Then add four more situations and tick the skills that might be involved. Can you think of a one-skill situation, a two-skill situation, a three-skill situation and a four-skill situation?
Key: When discussing a magazine article with a friend, it is obvious that you will need speaking and listening skills. You may also need to refer back to the article to clarify some points or look for some evidence from the article, which will involve some reading as well.
Attending a lecture will involve listening and note taking. You may also want to ask some questions during or after the lecture. Therefore, three skills are involved —listening, writing, and speaking.
Riding a bicycle on your own, you will need to read road signs or a map which involves reading. If you get lost, you may want to ask for information, which will involve speaking and listening.
Ordering a meal in a restaurant obviously requires the reading of the menu first. Then ordering food will involve speaking and listening.
TASK 2
Let us consider a teaching situation in a nior high school. You are to teach a lesson on the theme of advertiment of a product in a newspaper or a magazine. Think about how you can do it. In what ways can you design your activities to integrate some of the skills naturally? Work in pairs and discuss your ideas. Then join another pair to share your ideas.
Key: Ask students to read the advertiment; choosing the best advertiment and giving reasons in
groups; designing an advertiment of a given product; demonstrating their ads; appreciating classic advertiment.
TASK 3
Look at the following passage and design:
a) a reading comprehension exerci in the form of a dialogue;
b) a communicative activity bad on the dialogue.
Silent Wheels
Mr. and Mrs. Li’s new car is very special. It does not have a petrol engine. Instead it has an electric engine.
“We were worried about pollution,”said Mrs. Li. “Our car is cleaner and quiet er than other cars on the road.”
However, their car was not cheap to buy. It cost double the price of a normal family car. There are other problems. Twice a week, the Lis have to recharge the battery, which takes a long time.
“Another good thing about electric cars is their working life,”said Mr. Li. “They last much longer than c ars with petrol engines.”
The Lis’ car is made of a very light, but strong material called fib er-glass. The car has four doors and can hold five pasngers. It can travel at 100 kilometres per hour.
“It’s a good car for people who live in Beijing,” said Mrs. Li. “We don’t need to travel long distances.”
Key: Groupwork: ask the comprehension questions in the form of a realistic dialogue.
Design an interview according to the passage: one student act as the interviewer and the other as Mr. and Mrs. Li. The interviewer asks them questions about their car such as the price, advantages and disadvantages.
TASK 4
Here’s an out line of a quence of activities. Working as a group, u the outline as the guide for designing suitable contents for the first two activities. Then share your ideas with other groups.
1) Students listen to an interview between a radio reporter and a famous singer.
2) Students read a magazine article describing a famous film star.
3) Speaking: students make up and act out an interview between the radio reporter and the famous film star.
4) Speaking: students interview each other.
5) Writing: students write a magazine article about their partner.
Key: In activity 1, students can work in groups to write a report of the interview, the group leader should give a report afterwards, which need skills of listening, speaking and writing
In activity 2, students can work in pairs for an interview, one being the reporter and the other the film star.
TASK 5
Look at the text below. What are the features of its organisation, layout, style and register?
33 Whitefield Road
Lancaster
England
25th January Dear Liu Ping,
Than ks for your letter. It was good to hear from you. I’m glad you are enjoying your new school.
We had a very nice Christmas. All my family had Christmas dinner at home. My parents gave me a new dress. I got some lovely prents from my friends as well.
I saw on television that Spring Festival is coming soon. What are you going to do then? Plea write and tell me.
Best wishes,
Carman
Key: As a friendly letter, the main text is organized so that it moves from a greeting to the writer’s news, followed by a req uest for information and then closure. The layout has the writer’s address in the top right comer, with the date below; then the letter opens on the left hand side with “”. The main body of the letter is then organid in paragraphs. At the foot, either on the left or right hand side, there is a valedictory (e.g. Yours sincerely or Best wishes) above the writer’s signature.
The style is informal and personal. The informality is shown in the register, the u of short form (Thanks) and contraction (I’m), of Best wishes as valedictory, and of Carman instead of the writer’s full name—there is no printed form of the name under the signature either.
TASK 6
In groups, discuss the implications of integrating the four skills for your work as teachers. What do you e as the main benefits and the main limitations of this approach? Write your answers in the box.
Key: The role of a focus on individual language elements, such as vocabulary and grammar, should not be over- looked, as they can play an important role in helping students to understand the English language system and in enlarging their range of language production. Integration is also demanding of teachers in terms of finding or designing suitable materials, particularly when it is necessary to take into account the differing rates of progress of students in mastering the individual skills.
