Ministry of public education of the republic of uzbekistan

Activity 2 Topic-based description

Objective: to introduce speaking strategy: note taking
Time: 15 min.
Materials: Handout 2


Procedure:

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  Ask the whole class whether it is easy to answer all questions accurately without preparation. Distribute Handout 2 and ask them first to read the topics from the first column. Ask them to brainstorm the ideas they want to use in their answers and write them in the other three columns.
  
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  Then put teachers in groups of 4 and invite them to take turns and speak during 1 minute about one of the topics using their notes.
  

Handout 2

Topic	Who or What	Descriptive adjectives	Other facts
Describe a sporting event you attended recently.	Basketball championship	challenging game, shooting team, rowdy crowds, amateur players	It was at school., teams from other schools also participated, lasted two days, winning team was awarded an LCD projector, etc.
Describe someone you respect deeply.
Describe an interesting neighbor you have had.
Describe a memorable birthday celebration.
Describe your childhood home.
Briefly tell about a movie you saw recently.

Activity 3English Conversation Topics Practice
Objective: to give participants opportunity to practice interview strategies as staying on topic, speaking to a point
Time: 30 min.
Materials: Handout 3, Handout 4


Procedure:

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  Say that usually in Speaking tests (e.g. Davlat test markazi test, IELTS, TOEFL ) people do not have an opportunity to write all their answers thoroughly and then to answer. They are asked many questions, especially in Speaking test parts 1 and 3 and they should answer the questions without preparation. Say that even when people have a good English level, during the exam they may speak about something completely different just so they can talk for longer.
  
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  Distribute handout 3. Ask teachers to look at the three examples and in each example to decide which answer they think is the best.
  

Handout 3
The examiner: How many people are there in your family?
Test taker A: There are four. We live in a large house in the north of my country. It gets very cold there in the winter but it is really nice during the summer months. I try to go back there often.
Test taker B: There are four. My brother and my parents.
Test taker C:There are four. There's myself of course. Then there's my younger brother, he's fifteen years old. And I have my mother and father who are both in their late 70s. I have two grand parents as well, but they don't live with us.