Classroom Interaction

                           In the above picture, we see a teacher as she supervises and interact with a student as she works on a problem.This kind of interaction is called teacher-student interaction.

                                  In this picture the students are working together to complete a particular task. This kind of interaction is called student-student interaction. It is hardly found in the classes in Shillong.But it is time for the traditional system of interaction to change. The teacher must only supervise the students work and let them work on their own. This kind of interaction will enhance the students' ability to work with one another and rely on each other for the completion  of a particular task.

This picture shows a group of students who are working individually for their own group. The students work independently to complete a particular task and contribute their individual work to the group.The teacher is not seen anywhere near the group. Probably s/he must be supervising other groups to let the group work on their own.

When one looks back at how classroom interaction was carried out, one would find that the traditional way of interaction in which the teacher is the active participant whike the students are the passive listeners. The students are hardly given the opportunity to take part in classroom interaction.This will lead to poor development of not only the students' social skills but their listening and speaking skills as well. No doubt the other skills like reading and writing are developed but there is a need to help the students gain a certain level of competency in the use of the other skills. Hence listening and speaking have been ignored by the teachers as  the much needed student-student interaction for purposeful communication has been found to be missing in the classroom. 

              Classroom interaction aims at language learning by giving more emphasis on the experiences of the students.Therefore classroom interaction should be learner-centred. The students should be supervised in such a way that their experiences will become valuable resources for language learning. In this way, the students will be motivated and their independence to use the target language will help them gain  self-confidence as the anxiety level of learning a new language is reduced. Moreover, this will also help in creating good learning environment which will shed away  the students' shyness and adapt to the new environment .

                Therefore, it is time that the teachers realize the need to help the students interact with each other for purposeful  communication. If the students are allowed to work on their own under the supervision of their teacher ,there will undoubtedly be an improvement in the way the students interact with each other in the target language both inside and outside the classroom which will help them become communicatively competent which is, after all, the goal of language learning.

            

Materials for the Integration of Skills

HOW MUCH LAND DOES A MAN REQUIRE?

Leo Tolstoy

                                                      

                                                Starter    

  

                                Do you have brothers and sister?

                                Do you often argue with them? 

                                What do you argue about?

Students can write the answers on a piece of paper and share their answers with their shoulder partner.

An elder sister came from the town to visit a younger one.  The elder one was married to a tradesman and the younger to a peasant. As the two drank tea and talked, the elder sister began to boast and make much of her life in town—how she lived and went about in ease and comfort, dressed her children well, had nice things to eat and drink, and went skating, walking and to the theatre.

The younger sister was vexed at this and retorted by running down the life of a tradesman’s wife and exalting her own in the country.

“For my part, I would never care to exchange my life for yours. I grant you that ours is an uneventful existence; yet you, with all your fine living, must either do a very large trade or be ruined. You may be rich today but tomorrow you may find yourself in the street. We have a better way in the country. The peasant may never be rich but he will always have enough.”

“Enough!” retorted the elder sister. “Enough with nothing but your wretched pigs and cows! Enough with no fine dresses or company? Why, however hard your man may work, you have to live in mud and die there—and your children after you.”

“Oh, no,” replied the younger. “Though we may live in hardship, the land at least is our own and we have no need to bow and scrape before anyone. But you in town you may live in comfort today and find yourselves ruined tomorrow.”

 COMPREHENSION

Students will discuss in groups answers to the following questions:

1.     An elder sister ___ the town came ___visit a younger one. The elder was married ___a tradesman and the younger ___a peasant.

2.     I would never care ___exchange my life ___ yours.

3.     We have a better way ___the country.

Q 1. Why did the elder sister come to the country?

Q 2. What made the younger sister angry?

Q 3. What did the younger sister tell the elder sister?

Q 4. How did the elder sister react?

Q5.What would you have said to your brother or sister at home if s/he had blamed you for breaking the window pane ?

VOCABULARY

Meaning:

Vexed at: very angry at someone

Retorted by: to answer back angrily

Life of: the way of living

Examples:

My mother was vexed at me because I did not finish the housework.

The angry passenger retorted by pointing out the actual bus fare to the driver.

The old woman led a life of suffering and misery.

The students will make three sentences from each phrase.

GRAMMAR

May and might: permission

Asking for permission:

May and might are used to ask permission. They are more formal than can and would. Might is very polite and formal, and is not common.

Examples of may

May I put the TV on?

May I leave the room?

May I go and see my friend?

May I borrow your book?

Examples of might

I wonder if I might have a little more butter.

I was thinking if I might join you for the trip.

I wonder if I could take a look at your book.

Use may or might

1.______I go to the library?

2. I wonder if I _______ have a word with you.

3.______I share my sandwich with you?

4. I wonder if I _____come by your house this afternoon.

5._______ I speak with you for a minute?

Giving and refusing permission

May is used to give permission. May not is used to refuse permission and to forbid.

May I put the TV on? , ‘Yes, of course you may’.

                                     ‘ No, you may not’.

Writing

Look at the picture and write a story in one or two paragraphs.

Key words:

 ball      bat    run-out   my turn   fight   quarrel

Students will work in groups. Only one student will read the story to represent the whole group. Students will review their work by reading to the whole group. Changes will be made before the story is read to the whole class.

Listening and Speaking

Students will have to perform two activities.

Dialogue: Students will work in groups. The students in each group will work in pairs and write down a dialogue between a teacher and a student by using may  when giving and refusing permission. The students will use the dialogue in conversation with each other. They will shift their roles until they know have comprehended how may is used when giving and refusing permission.



 Debate


Students will work in groups to discuss on what they think of the two sisters. They will take sides with any of the two sisters and argue why they feel so strongly about her views.