Entries from March 2007 ↓

The level 1 team are generating supplementary materials to augment English Firsthand Success. The aim of the materials is to:

• extend textbook activities
• covers language related to a unit, but not in the textbook
• help with speaking task prep

Use them all. Use some of them. Use none of them. - It’s up to you! Look in the header of each document for an explanation of why each activity was created.

Copies of these materials can also be found in the Level 1 binder. Materials that include listening activities are indicated with an “*“. (All files are PDF.)

• Clothes crossword
• Fashion and me *
• Getting it right
• Who is that man
• Why do people

Audio files
Audio files (in MP3 format) for the above activities can be downloaded here:
Unit 2 Supp Mats audio files (.zip archive) 9.2 MB

Another way to access the audio files is to open iTunes on the ‘Level 1′ Macintosh computer in the Part Time teachers’ area, and burn your own audio CD. Additional audio files will be added during the semester, so it will be a good idea to check iTunes on a regular basis.

The level 1 team are generating supplementary materials to augment English Firsthand Success. The aim of the materials is to:

• extend textbook activities
• covers language related to a unit, but not in the textbook
• help with speaking task prep

Use them all. Use some of them. Use none of them. - It’s up to you! Look in the header of each document for an explanation of why each activity was created.

Copies of these materials can also be found in the Level 1 binder. Materials that include listening activities are indicated with an “*“. (All files are PDF.)

• Physical appearance
• Best friend *
• Families vocab. Family tree
• Family members *
• Names *

Audio files
Audio files (in MP3 format) for the above activities can be downloaded here:
Unit 1 Supp Mats audio files (.zip archive) 19.5 MB

Another way to access the audio files is to open iTunes on the ‘Level 1′ Macintosh computer in the Part Time teachers’ area, and burn your own audio CD. Additional audio files will be added during the semester, so it will be a good idea to check iTunes on a regular basis.

Finding the transcripts in the Teachers’ Book, and then having to cut and paste to create a handout, can waste a lot of your valuable time. To speed things up, you can download a Word version of the transcripts for the main listening activities in units 1 - 6 of English Firsthand Success.

Transcripts. Units 1 - 6.

Note: Gapped versions of the transcripts also appear in the back of the Students’ Book.

The Word versions are available here, in the event that you decide to devise more imaginative listening activities.

Finally, the usual plea! If you do devise any activities based on these transcripts, please upload them here to OEKS, or give a copy to a member of the Level 1 coordination team.

A treasure hunt activity to help students familiarize themselves with the book.

Treasure hunt (Word .doc)

Treasure hunt. Answer key (Word .doc)

If you plan to generate your own materials to augment Totally True 1, you may find these documents useful. They relate to units 1 - 9.

Texts: The main reading passage from each unit. (Word .doc)

Vocabulary: Vocabulary list (Text .txt)

If you do create any materials, it would be great if you could upload them to OEKS, or give a copy to someone in the Level 1 coordination team.

Paper copies of the Student Notes and Instructor Notes will be available for everyone at the 2007 ELP Orientation on April 7 from 9:00 to 5:00 in Room A408 on the Machida Campus. The level structure, most of the content, and many of the assessments remain the same. However, there are a few changes. The biggest changes are a new textbook in Level 1 and new double-koma classes.

Level 1 will discontinue English Firsthand 1 in favor of English Firsthand Success. Some teachers may know the older version of English Firsthand Success, but we will be adopting the April 2007 edition. Totally True 1 will continue as the reading textbook. Levels 2 and 3 will keep the same textbooks as in 2006: Let’s Talk 1 and Totally True 3 for Level 2; and Passages 1 for Level 3.

The other big change is an administrative and scheduling change. The four koma of Eigo I will now be divided into Eigo IA (Listening and Speaking: Two back-to-back koma), and Eigo IB (Reading and Writing: Two back-to-back koma) on schedules, on e-Campus, and with kyoumuka. Most of the actual content and curriculum will continue from 2006, but teacher responsibilities and record-keeping will change somewhat. Details can be found in the Instructor notes for each level. These organizational details will also be explained in detail at the orientation, but for those of you who may want to get a headstart, here are the notes.

Download PDF files of all notes for all levels in a single .zip archive. Just double-click the downloaded archive to open it.

The posted materials support Unit 2 of Let’s Talk for the Level 2 Speaking/Listening course. However, they might be useful for any class focusing on describing personal appearance. The material first involves a listening activity. The students hear two people talking about the people in the line-up (which is printed on the materials). The recorded conversation involves one first person asking yes/no questions to the second person to work out who the second person is thinking about. The students simply have to work out who is being thought about. The accompanying CD is available on the Level 2 shelf. After the listening, there is a speaking activity in which the students have to do the same thing with a partner. Hope that description wasn’t too confusing. Feedback welcome.

Guess Who?

The posted materials support Unit 2 of Let’s Talk for the Level 2 Speaking/Listening course. However, they might be useful for any class focusing on describing personal appearance. The materials involve the learners describing their perfect mate, while their class partner draw this perfect specimen. Since the drawing rarely looks like anything like how the first person intended, the activity can be a lot of fun. However, it’s important that the “artist” does not show the “describer” the drawing until the end of the activity. Before getting the students to do the activity, I model what should be done by describing my perfect partner and getting them to do the drawing. Feedback welcome.

The imaginitively titled, Activities Activity supports Unit 3 of Let’s Talk for the Level 2 Speaking/Listening course. However, it might be useful for any class focusing on freetime and hobbies. During the activity, the students have to associate the verbs, “go”, “play”, and “do (some)” with the appropriate activity. Then, there is an opportunity to use this language in a fluency-based activity. Before doing the fluency activity, it is worth carefully modelling the task to ensure that everyone understands what to do. Feedback welcome.
Activities Activity

The posted materials support Unit 2 of Let’s Talk for the Level 2 Speaking/Listening course. However, they might be useful for any class focusing on describing personal appearance. Before class, the teacher has to cut the handout into 2 pieces. Before giving the paper to the students, the learners should be given one minute to try to remember their partner’s clothes and appearance. Then, they should sit “Back to Back”. At this point, give one half of the handout to Person A, and the other half to Person B. The rest is self-explanatory. Feedback welcome.

“Back to Back”