-
"Eight effective Narrow reading techniques The eight techniques described below, are Narrow reading tasks that I carry out in my lessons, day in day out and my students enjoy. Obviously, they are contextualised in the topic-at-hand. 1.Spot the differences – This is a narrow reading activity which typically involves 3 to 6 texts (the more the better) of around 100 words that are completely identical apart from a few key details. The task is for the students to spot such details in each text which are different from all the other five texts. So if text A in line 3 reads ‘she is tall’ all the other texts will read at the same line ‘she is short’ or ‘she is average height’. Obviously, you can make it into a competition under time constraints with the right group. The rationale for the activity is to trick the students into reading the same texts three to six times over (thereby recycling the same lexis, patterns and grammar) whilst giving them a task which requires them to pay attention to the slightest detail in order to find the differences. As a follow-up you can do a ‘Spot the differences’ Listening task in which you will re-use the same texts (changing the target details of course) and will read out to them. Since the focus will be on modelling you will be reading the text at modelling, not near-native speed. Same rationale: getting them to listen to the same text and patterns over and over again. Figure 2 – ‘Spot the differences’ (French example) 2.Bad translation -‘Bad translation’ is another very effective Narrow Reading technique I use a lot. It consists of a set of very similar texts (typical 3 or 4) and their respective translations. The task is for the students to spot four or five mistakes the teacher deliberately made in the translation to lay emphasis on certain vocabulary or structures. This forces the students to really process the Target language texts in great detail and learn vocabulary incidentally as they do so. By doing this task, you are again tricking the students in re-reading the same sort of text, patterns and vocabulary several times over but with the added benefits of the L1 translation,which may result in some learning of new vocabulary in the process. The same texts can be recycled as follow-up by placing gaps in the Target Language text or in the translations. The same technique can also be turned into a Listening activity in which the students are provided with the translation and listen to the teacher as he reads the Target Language text. 3.Summaries – In this activity, the students are once again given 3 to 6 texts on the same topic, not identical but very similar in structure and language content. You summarise each text in 40-50 words in the L1 or L2 , depending on the students’ level. The task is for the students to find which summary matches which text. To make the task more challenging, you may want to add an extra summary or two, as distractors. 4.Picture – select an image from the internet or the textbook in use, which refers to the topic-at-hand or to specific grammar structures or patterns you want to recycle. Then create three or more narrow reading texts which describe the picture in detail. Make sure, though, that only one text and one text only is a 100% accurate description of the picture, whilst the others have one or two details in excess which do not match the picture. The task is for the students to identify the only text that matches the picture in every single detail. This task kills two birds with one stone in that not only it does enhance the students’ vocabulary and reading skills but can also be used to prepare MFL GCSE students for the oral photocard task by modelling useful language and approaches to that task. 5.Questions – This narrow reading technique requires a bit more work. I created it in order to focus my students not only on the content of the target texts, but also on understanding L2 questions. After creating 3 to 6 texts that are very similar in content and structure, write a set of ten or more questions in the target language, making sure that each text contains the answer to all of the questions you created but one. The students’ task is to find the one question that does not apply to each specific text (i.e. there is no answer to that question in the text) 6.Overgeneralizations – This is kind of reminiscent of ‘Spot the differences’. After creating the texts you will write ten or more statements in the target language about them which are true of all the texts except for one (e.g. ‘All the people in the texts play a sport). The students’ task is to find for each of the statements the one text it does not apply to. The statement could be in English or in the L2. 7.List – Create as many narrow reading texts as you can on the same topic. Then display a long list of details in the L1 or L2 taken from the various texts and display it on the board. The task is for the students to match the information on the list to the text it comes from. 8.The most / The least – After creating the text, you will write a number of gapped sentences such as: the most positive person is…; the sportiest person is … the biggest house is…, the person who visited most places is… . Students are tasked with filling the gaps. This technique has the added benefit of drilling in superlatives, a structure that KS3 students of French find quite difficult to acquire."
English stuff, Kiwi stuff, Colombian stuff, lot´s of stuff
Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Daily bread 07/31/2018
Monday, July 30, 2018
Daily bread 07/30/2018
-
How food — yes, food — can be a tool for social change |
- tagged along
- He saw firsthand
- in his own backyard
- vocational kitchen training
- business incubation
- well-being
- was born into poverty
- marginalized people
- surplus ingredients
- the Slow Food movement
- a grassroots protest against
- for the greater good
- hubs
-
Sunday, July 29, 2018
Daily bread 07/29/2018
-
New Plastic-Eating Substance May Help Fight Against Pollution
- to break down
- was patented
- an industrially viable process
- can be sustainably recycled
-
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Daily bread 07/28/2018
-
Quiz: What’s your creative type? |
-
- Do you consider yourself a Creative person?Take this Quiz to help you achieve your full creative potential AND improve your English "Kill 2 birds with 1 stone" - https://ideas.ted.com/quiz-whats-your-creative-type/#Listen to, #Watch, #Read, #Speak and #Learn "A little bit of #English...EVERY DAY!"
-
Thursday, July 26, 2018
Daily bread 07/26/2018
-
Different American Accents - DreamreaderDreamreader
- agree on
- The first syllable
- a unique dialect
- The final “r” on words is usually dropped
- is not any better or worse than
- a combination of
-
-
Online news personalised to your English language level - KnowbleReader
-
- This is a great tool that helps you to find reading texts that match your level and interests and generates interactive activities to help embed learning and develop your vocabulary and pronunciation. I highly recommend it.
-
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Daily bread 07/25/2018
-
Planning a move to New Zealand? Here’s everything you need to know
-
- A massive earthquake will likely strike Japan again soon – here’s how they’re preparing
- a hotbed of
- Sitting atop
- triggered a
- comes to pass
- the ubiquity of
- dark humour,
- the disquieting threat that they pose
- shape Japan’s national psyche
- Laced with
- orderliness
- can be mitigated
-
Thursday, July 19, 2018
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Daily bread 07/17/2018
-
"Which New Zealander was the first person to climb Mount Everest?"
-
Colombia's coffee is in danger. These scientists are fighting to save it.
- Cenicafe, dubbed the NASA of coffee
- family-run farms
- evolutionary and economic arms race
- is ground zero for
- across the world.
- The stakes are high
- wipe out the crops
- rely on coffee for
- is largely detached from
- threatens the viability of
- Perched atop a
- the hub for
- to fend off
- threaten the livelihood of
- incorporate that knowledge into
- plots of land
- The work is crucial
- is the other way round,
- wiped out the entire industry
- causes large losses
- and so on
- by translating hard science into practical advice.
- On the flip-side
-
Monday, July 16, 2018
Daily bread 07/16/2018
-
A history of "ghosting" now that people are disappearing from their jobs — Quartz at Work
- People are now “ghosting” at work, so we looked into the word’s long history
- take for granted
- a nascent trend in
- be aghast to learn of
- People are “ghosting” employers
- vividly remember
- millennial parlance for
- vanishing from a relationship without warning or explanation.
- It has been common practice in
- it typically refers to
- making brunch plans for the weekend
- deeply felt emotions
- one half of the duo
- Come Friday, however
- fits-and-starts style communication
- hovering
- pored over words
- popular slang
- be obliged to
- that predates
- traced back centuries, to
- As a side note,
- to give up the ghost
- snubbing candidates after interviews
- the world has flipped
- enduring a potentially awkward conversation with
- opening anecdote
- became obsessively worried about
- in the wilds of online dating
- a lesson about hubris.
-
-
Learn your stress triggers and avoid a meltdown at work | Stuff.co.nz
- Learn your stress triggers and avoid a meltdown at work
- how much we might love our jobs
- no matter how controlled and even-tempered we might normally be
- to tip us over the edge
- a string of problems
- stamping of feet
- a full-on meltdown
- careful management of your trigger
- its best avoided ahead of time
- to keep your sanity in check
- you can revert to when you need them
- keep solutions in mind that
- Remind yourself not to be
- let go of the things you can't control.
- a fast track to a meltdown
- talk about your work stressors constructively
- nonstop ranting and complaining
- lowers the tone of
- adequate sleep
- deal better with the curve balls thrown your way
- catch up with friends
- annual leave
- spend time in your garden
- book regular time off to reset and recharge
- head it off at the pass
- a meltdown is imminent
- last-minute avoidance tactics
- breathe faster and shallower
- a vicious cycle
- long, slow, deep breaths
- Get away from
- Shaking can relieve tension and anxiety
-
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Daily bread 07/14/2018
-
ESL Lesson Plan on Gun Violence - Breaking News English Lesson
- to cut ties with
- could be a watershed for
-
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Daily bread 07/12/2018
-
How cooking for yourself can free you from the grip of salt, sugar and fat | Aeon Videos
- How cooking for yourself can free you from the grip of salt, sugar and fat
- What predicted most about a healthy diet?How do Corporations prepare food, and why?they press our buttonswash, peel, slice, frySpecial occasion foods become everyday foods when we let Corporations cook for us.Eat anything you want - just cook it yourself.
-
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Daily bread 07/10/2018
-
The roots of writing lie in hopes and dreams, not in accounting | Aeon Essays
- first and foremost
- track people, land and economic production
- large sedentary populations
- to be coopted by
- the oft-told narrative
- to up-end their story
- pristine
- rations food
- levies taxes
- crude functionalist conclusion that
- the evidence suggests otherwise
- pivoting to
- an unabashed partisan of
- a diehard literate
- barely watch
- marks me as a philistine
- a dimmer future for
- hopes pinned on
- to throw some gravel at
- unshackle ourselves
- gunpowder
- life-prolonging substances
- composed of
- that makes things go boom.
- overtly political function
-
Monday, July 9, 2018
Daily bread 07/09/2018
-
Intercultural Competence - DreamreaderDreamreader
- Intercultural Competence
- out of your depth
- culture shock
- quickly adapt to
- talk to the locals with ease
- to interact well with
- the spread of globalization
- may end up embarrassing themselves
- unintentionally offending their customers
- marketing blunder
- a Chinese slogan
- the subtle differences in the exact meaning of
- is also vital for
- vast distances
- in order to successfully achieve a common goal
- needs to be sensitive towards
- handle direct criticism
- taking the initiative
- find it challenging to
- It takes a patient and skilled person to do this job.
- tend to promote
- to be open-minded towards
-
-
Cultural Diffusion - DreamreaderDreamreader
- Cultural Diffusion
- have long been interested in
- Anthropologists
- from one place to another
- can be classified into
- contagious
- hierarchical
- spread from one person to another
- tend to
- hold similar cultural values
- due to their close proximity to each other
- Despite having different
- consume similar media
- one country conquers another
- against their will
- adopt it as part of his regular diet
-
-
- shiny metal
- have always been interested in
- buried underground
- is dug up
- 20 times heavier than
- be beaten
- mold it
-
-
Vitamins - DreamreaderDreamreader
- assists with making
- Luckily for us,
- are commonly found
- annual global revenue
- to avoid overdoing
- consult with
-
Saturday, July 7, 2018
Friday, July 6, 2018
Daily bread 07/06/2018
-
The Animated History of Pixar - DreamreaderDreamreader
- animation studio
- hit movies
- to show off
- was in deep trouble
- a huge success
- From that point,
- computer graphics professionals
- older styles of
- are tied together
- a sticker of
-
Wednesday, July 4, 2018
Daily bread 07/04/2018
-
How many words do you need to speak a language? - BBC News
- How many words do you need to speak a language?
- to retain more than
- give me a shortcut
- To work out how
- to be able to
- obsolete words
- somebody beat us to it
- count up
- multiply the total by
- the latter
- doesn't have anything to do with
- a realistic goal
- it seems unlikely that
- be able to understand
- light at the end of the tunnel
-
-
Sonic doom: how noise pollution kills thousands each year | Life and style | The Guardian
- dire effects
- hortly after
-
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Daily bread 07/03/2018
-
Will Colombia vanquish England? - The Bogotá Post
-
- DEFINITIONS:English expat - an English person living in another countryare set to take on... - going to playknockout round - last 16 teams in the world cupmouthwatering encounter - an exciting gamesailing past - easily beat...to attain pole position - to get first positionan encounter against… - a game againstlost thrice and drawn twice - lose 3 times, draw two timeskicked Colombia out - cause Colombia to leave chances are high that the same fate awaits - it’s very possible the same thing will happenrunning riot 3-0 against… play really well and easily win by 3 goals against...England eviscerating - very, very easily beat...turn up with the same mindset - start the game, with the same attitudeanticipating an exciting game nonetheless - expect a great game, howevertheir passion for the game is unparalleled - noone can equal their passionhoping that the stars align - hope we are luckyCalf concerns continue to plague… - is troubled by a lower leg injuryan epic game - a wonderful gameslick set-pieces - excellent free kicks and cornersquaking in their boots - frightened, afraid, scaredgolden child Juan Fernando Quintero - promising young playerturned their minds towards… - think about......to deal to first - to play against first
- Will Colombia vanquish England?
- English expat
- knockout round
- are set to take on
- sailing past
- mouthwatering encounter
- to attain pole position
- an encounter against
- lost thrice and drawn twice
- kicked Colombia out
- chances are high that the same fate awaits
- England eviscerating
- running riot 3-0 against
- turn up with the same mindset
- anticipating an exciting game nonetheless
- their passion for the game is unparalleled
- hoping that the stars align
- Calf concerns continue to plague
- an epic game
- slick set-pieces
- quaking in their boots
- golden child Juan Fernando Quintero
- turned their minds towards
- to deal to first
-
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)