Description
Oral activities for new speakers of English
EAL teacher Helen McKessar along with drama specialist Susan Battye have teamed up to develop this two-book photocopiable series called Reading Dialogues. Their collaboration comes from the knowledge that many students who are learning English find speaking aloud in front of others extremely difficult. The series provides opportunities for students to tackle this sometimes fraught area in a structured and meaningful way.
Each book in the Reading Dialogues series contains a series of ‘dialogues’ or short plays which are intended to be read aloud in small groups, and then discussed. The dialogues are tailored to different language levels in both books and are interesting, challenging and above all, fun.
Each dialogue starts with a series of pre-reading activities which will prepare students for the vocabulary ahead. Dialogues are followed by a range of post-reading activities which can be used to check comprehension, practise vocabulary in other language mediums, recognise the importance of colloquialisms and idioms in spoken English, and make points about the formal structure of the language.
Book A Topics:
- Let’s Go Camping
- Pitching the Tent
- Fun at Camp
- Making New Friends
- At Tama’s for Tea
Book B Topics:
- Helping Out
- Putting on the Pressure
- Fun Can Hurt
- Trent’s Surprise
- The Excuse
- The Driving Test
Age Suitability:
- Book A: 10-13+ (57 pages)
- Book B: 10-13+ (47 pages)
About the Authors:
Susan Battye served as Head of Drama at a city high school. She received a British Council Fellowship to complete her M.A. in Drama in Education in the UK. She is a published playwright, writer of school resources for theatre in education, dramaturg and theatre producer.
Helen McKessar served as Dean of International Students at a city high school. After graduating from university she taught in primary schools and then moved to secondary teaching. She is a specialist in teaching English to speakers of other languages.