Maybe many of you already know it but Edward and I are trying to complete stories to go along with the phrase lessons. I think we have about 35 of 100 stories written including some alternative stories. They make the lesson much easier and more fun for the students. First you get the students to match up the Japanese cards to the English, then have them find the places in the story that you write on the whiteboard while they match the cards. Then you have them find the places in the story that are missing the words and have them take turns guessing where to add the phrases to the story and which phrases to add. You write them up above the insertion points in red color and at the end, you can ask them questions about the story to get them to use the phrases or even have them ask each other such questions. It is a great method! Here is an example for Phrases 81 to 85.
81-85 (shut up, call off, fix up, cut short, be tired of)
The division manager came into the meeting room and somehow politely told everyone to. Then he said he had to the meeting and that he would also have to the next day’s sales conference because we needed to work together to the business relationship with a major customer who have said that they our constant delays to make their deliveries on time.
By the way, the meaning of “fix up” as it is used here is to repair and not to “attach” as the Japanese card shows so be sure to teach this other meaning. Also, “shut up” is used to mean stop talking or be quiet instead of to “shut up” something somewhere. It is good to teach both meanings. I also used “cut short” to mean KIRI AGERU instead of KIRI TSUMERU as the card said. It is best to have a Japanese-English dictionary handy (a paper one or electronic one) as some of the Japanese meanings may not be the most commonly used meanings of the English words. Your students will point this out to you if they have trouble inserting the words into the sentences. You also find sometimes that the “width or breadth” of usage of the English phrase does not match that of the Japanese so there are some situations where the Japanese word is used while a different phrase would be used in English and vice versa. This is a great exercise for your students and for you as it gives the students a chance to learn something new while having something to talk about. Oh, I almost forgot, you will be learning more Japanese too which is a great side-benefit.
Try it out! I think you will like it.
Al, SSE Okamoto
Hey Al,
that was a cool story. I want to ask about the nature of it… I know you have to fit the verbs in but after that it looks like a giant run on sentence. Tell me what I am missing here. I would like to use this story, too, and use it to the best, in the way you designed it.
-Les
Les,
Thanks for pointing out that it was a “run on” sentence. I corrected it above by making it into two sentences. Part of the problem was that I mistyped it and repeated some words when I typed it the first time. I think it is OK now.
Also, pay close attention to the potentially different meanings of the English phrases from the Japanese definitions on the cards. Sometimes the Japanese is not a perfect match and it expresses a meaning that is not the most commonly used one. It is good to teach all the meanings you can using examples of each in English.
I think you will have a lot of fun with this. As I said before, so far Edward and I have finished about 35 of the 100 so we could use some help to finish up the rest. Let me know and I will send you an MS Word file of the list. Also, let me know if you have any questions how to do the lesson or you can ask Edward. I think he took Gideon’s idea and expanded on it first and then explained it to me. Anyway, it is a great way to teach the phrases.
Thanks,
Al, SSE Okamoto
Les,
Check out https://www.sse-franchise.com/soapbox/200707/06/smiths-school-of-enlgish-curriculum-phrase-cards-my-take/ to see Gideon’s original method. Simple technique, highly efficient for getting students to understand the new phrases.
I do it a little differently than Al however- I get them to look at the story and find the 5 spots where the 5 phrasal verbs are missing from. Next I ask them to guess the verb, then give them the japanese cards and have them put them in their correct places. Again, ask them to guess. If they guess correctly, I give them that card. After trying to guess, I finally give them the English cards to match up. By the time they actually see the new English phrase, they already know its meaning! It’s almost like a reverse introduction method.
Good luck!
Edward
To Edward and Less,
As Edward said he uses it a little differently from me but in general we both get great results. I like asking the students questions after they fill in the missing phrases to get them to repeat the sentences using the phrases. They have to change the “I” in the sentences to “you” when they do this but this is also great practice. Then you can also have each student ask the others the same questions, again giving them a chance to practice the phrases. I think I have 36 of 100 sets written up as mini stories now. I will keep it up as it is great for the students. Also, you should have the students prepare at least one sentence using each phrase as homework for the next lesson. Enjoy!
Al