GRADE 11A: Communication Discussion texts

About this unit

This unit is designed to guide your planning and teaching of English lessons. It provides a link between the standards for English and your lesson plans. The teaching and learning activities in this unit should help you to plan the content, pace and level of difficulty of lessons. You should adapt the ideas in the unit to meet the needs of your class. You can also supplement the ideas with appropriate activities from your schools textbooks and other resources. In this unit, students discuss different means of communication and the difficulties for teenagers in communicating with parents and older family members. They explore differences between oral and written communications and discuss the effects of changes in communication on business.

UNIT 11A.11 9 hours

Resources
The main resources needed for this unit are: reading text about communicating with teenagers; a letter from a problem page in a teenage magazine about communication difficulties; worksheets 10F.1a and 10F.1c from the sample English lesson plans or another discussion text of approximately 1200 words on the topic of communications technology; 34 letters of varying degrees of formality and purpose.

Expectations
By the end of the unit, most students will: apply understanding of word parts, relationships, and context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words, to extend, and generate new vocabulary; understand and respond to narratives and discussions in monologues or dialogues with two or more participants; actively participate in informal and more formal discussions; use interactive and language repair strategies to maintain and develop conversations of up to 15 minutes; give advice and make recommendations; read independently and intensively, texts of up to 1500 words, and extensively from graded readers in the text range identified for Grade 11 Advanced; understand the purposes, organisation and typical language features of discussion texts; compare texts, identifying purpose and levels of formality; plan and compose formal discussion essays of up to 350 words weighing arguments for and against an idea or issue. Students who progress further will: compose discussion essays using: organisational features typical of a discussion text to balance and weigh arguments and formal written English typical of the styles used in discussions and debates. Students who make slower progress will: compose a discussion essay with a clear introduction, arguments for and against the issue and a conclusion that sums up.

Key structures and functions

Giving advice: You should show respect for your sons or daughters point of view. Pay careful attention to what your teenager is saying. Keep quiet to give him or her a chance to talk and not rush in with your opinion. Expressing obligation: If you want your son or daughter to listen, you have to make sure you're willing to do the same.

Vocabulary
Communication methods: to text someone, to hold a video conference, to email, to convey a message, etc. Communicating with teenagers: compromise, negotiate, show respect, pay attention, etc.

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Standards for the unit

9 hours
3 hours Communicating with teenagers 3 hours Written versus verbal communication 2 hours Changes in communication 1 hour Extensive reading 10A.4.8 Speak with increasing fluency: stay on the topic and maintain relevance; cooperatively develop the topic; show independence by eliciting more from the interlocutor; negotiate meaning and keep talking; take longer turns; begin to process and express more complex ideas. 11A.6.2 11A.6.3 Read extensively from appropriately levelled texts, in a variety of genres in the text range identified for Grade 11 Advanced. Recognise a wide range of features of formal written English through reading a variety of genres. Note particularly: purpose and intended audience; language features use of discourse markers for explicit logical organisation, frequent use of modal verbs to express possibility, condition, and to stress the distance of the speaker; wider use of passive voice and indirect forms. 12A.6.3 11A.2.1

Unit 11A.11
CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards
11A.1.1 Recognise, understand and use approximately 4000 words for listening, speaking, reading and writing, extending and consolidating the active vocabulary words from Grades K9. 12A.1.4

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

Consolidate understanding of affixes and word roots. Extend ability to recognise, investigate, and spell root words with a wider range of affixes; generate new words and guess the meaning of unknown words from affixes, to extend vocabulary and support spelling:

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

Recognise and use words and phrases from other languages that have been adopted into the English language. Recognise and investigate ways in which English acquires neologisms.

12A.1.5

11A.3.1 11A.4.5

Understand and respond to narratives, anecdotes, stories, plays and films. Speak fluently: stay on the topic and maintain relevance; cooperatively develop the topic; show independence by eliciting more from the interlocutor; negotiate meaning, and keep talking; take longer turns and allow others to develop their longer turns; process and express more complex ideas; talk at length without hesitation and not too slowly.

Identify and interpret a wide range of features of formal written English through reading a variety of genres.

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9 hours
11A.7.6

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

Respond to, evaluate and criticise persuasive texts, referring to the texts for evidence. 11A.7.7

CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards

Read a variety of discussion, debate and argument texts which discuss and balance arguments from differing viewpoints: give a reasoned and critical opinion of the text in terms of both content and style and validity recognising the structure and organisation of the text, the typical language features; respond to, evaluate and criticise a range of discussion texts, commenting on the presentation of the arguments and weighing of evidence, views, bias and point of view, the validity of the conclusions drawn in relation to the internal coherence and objectivity of the arguments, the use of language to infer, imply, objectify, persuade etc.; present, justify and defend a short oral evaluation to others using notes made from reading and drawing on the evidence from the text(s). 11A.7.8 Read a variety of functional texts noting the text organisation and degrees of formality used and relating this to the purpose and intended audiences. Consolidate and extend techniques from Grade 9 for retelling ideas in ways that make sense as written texts through: orientating the audience; sequencing information, chronologically, logically, in order of importance, relevance; using complete sentences; using appropriate and expressive dialogue language or reported speech; using appropriate tenses and connectives (e.g. for narrating or instructing). 12A.7.9 12A.7.7

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

Respond to a variety of discussion, debate and argument texts which discuss and balance arguments from differing viewpoints

Read and evaluate a variety of functional texts noting the degrees of formality used and relating this to the purpose and intended audiences.

10A.8.1

Consolidate and extend techniques from Grade 9 for retelling ideas in ways that make sense as written texts.

11A.8.1

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9 hours
11A.9.1

SUPPORTING STANDARDS including Grade 10A standards

Independently compose texts of at least 20 sentences in a coherent structure using: connected paragraphs, as appropriate to the text; varied sentence structure, and choice of words and phrases for precision and effect; cohesion markers, such as lexical repetition, reference, ellipsis and substitution and use of pronouns for reference and cohesion. 11A.9.5

CORE STANDARDS Grade 11A standards

Compose essays, drawing on work in another curriculum subject or an issue of topical interest, using: organisational features typical of a discussion text to balance and weigh arguments an introduction which states issues, the arguments in favour and against plus supporting evidence or examples, alternatively, a point-by-point argument and counter-argument, a conclusion which summarises and weighs the arguments, draws a conclusion or makes a recommendation; formal written English typical of the styles used in discussions and debates the present simple, predominantly for generalisation and nonspecificity, the use of general terms and zero articles, discourse markers for explicit logical organisation, complete sentences rather than elliptical forms, frequent use of modal verbs to express possibility, condition; politeness, use of passive voice for impersonal and general effects and to emphasise the topic for attention, reported rather than direct speech, exemplification and extension, text which moves from the general to the specific. 12A.9.5

EXTENSION STANDARDS including Grade 12A standards

Extend ability to write essays drawing on work in another curriculum subject or an issue of topical interest, in the form of a discussion text, with balanced arguments and a conclusion based on evidence and reasons, and using features of formal written language.

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Activities
Objectives
3 hours Communicating with teenagers Students are able to: independently and intensively, read texts up to 1200 words long; use ought for obligation and negative of need and have to to express absence of obligation; read a variety of letters and emails noting the degrees of formality used and relating this to the purpose and intended audiences; independently compose texts of at least 15 sentences in a coherent structure using three or more connected and coherent paragraphs, varied sentence structure, and choice of words and phrases for precision and effect.

Unit 11A.11
Possible teaching activities
Set a time limit in which students, working in groups, brainstorm ways of communicating and list their ideas on a poster. When time is up, groups take turns to present their lists. Discuss each means of communication in turn, explaining its uses, importance or advantages, for example: E-mail is much faster than ordinary mail. Video conferencing removes the need to travel to meetings. Body language is important because you could be giving out messages without being aware of it. In groups, students discuss common difficulties teenagers experience in communicating with parents and older family members. They develop general advice for parents on how to improve communications with teenagers, making notes on a poster and then reporting to the whole class. Students read a text written for parents to give advice about communicating with teenagers. They skim the text to see if any of the problems they discussed and the advice they prepared are mentioned. They complete comprehension tasks and examine the use of language. They read the text again and identify organisational features. Students discuss the roots of key words (e.g. communicate). Highlight the use of idiomatic expressions in the text. Students evaluate the advice given, discuss which advice is most/least useful, etc. Students read a letter from a problem page of a teenage magazine about a communication problem with their parents. They discuss the style of the letter noting the degree of formality used and relate this to the purpose and intended audience. In groups, students discuss the problem, give advice and make recommendations, using ought to, should, shouldnt, need to, etc. Individually, students draft a reply to the letter. Letters about communication problems can be found in many teenage magazines. A useful text about communicating with teenagers can be found on the BBC website at: www.bbc.co.uk/parenting/your_kids/ teen_communicating.shtml

Notes
Ideas should include obvious ways of communicating (e.g. speech in a face-toface situation, writing a letter); use of technology (e.g. mobile phones, email, video conferencing); examples of nonverbal communication (e.g. sign language, body language, expression through art).

School resources
This column is blank for schools to note their own resources (e.g. textbooks, worksheets).

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Objectives
3 hours Written versus verbal communication Students are able to: read a variety of letters and emails noting the degrees of formality used and relating this to the purpose and intended audiences; understand and respond to narratives; recognise a wide range of features of formal written English through reading a variety of genres.

Possible teaching activities

In small groups, students discuss the differences between verbal and written communication. Draw a table on the board. As students report to the whole class, make notes in the relevant section of the table, for example: Features of spoken language Conveyed by sound Spoken language is not edited it contains many non-fluency features such as false starts, repetitions and hesitations. Two-way activity. Interaction means immediate feedback. Can convey meaning through non-verbal signals, such as gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and through prosodic features of voice, such as volume, speed, stress and intonation. Informal colloquial vocabulary: can include slang, swearing, made-up words and vague language (e.g. kind of, sort of). Not logically structured, frequent change of topic, loosely connected subject matter. Often doesnt use fully formed complete sentences. Features of written language Conveyed by written symbols Planned: drafting takes place to edit out mistakes, repetition, etc. One-way activity, there is no possibility of immediate feedback. Can use graphology (layout, punctuation, fonts and pictures) to convey meaning.

Notes
If students have difficulty identifying features of spoken and written language, fill in some of the cells in the table and have them focus on the blank cells, using the given information for contrast. Alternatively, wait until the listening activity after which they should be able to complete a few more cells with prompting.

School resources

Complex vocabulary used, more formal vocabulary, sometimes technical jargon. More carefully and logically structured. Usually fully formed sentences. Complex and varied sentence structure used.

Students listen to someone recounting an accident to a friend. Students identify details and the features of spoken language listed in the previous activity. They add to the list if possible. Students prepare to write a report of the accident for an insurance claim. They discuss the structure, use of tenses, etc. They draft their letter individually and check for spelling, grammar, etc. Students read 34 different letters. They identify the purpose, intended audience and levels of formality. They infer the relationship between the writer and recipient and complete other comprehension tasks. Prepare 34 letters of varying length and purpose.

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Objectives
2 hours Changes in communication Students are able to: speak fluently, staying on the topic and maintaining relevance; develop a topic cooperatively; show independence by eliciting more from the interlocutor; negotiate meaning and keep talking; understand the purpose and typical organisational features of discussion texts; recognise and understand the use of typical language features of discussion texts; compose short essays, drawing on work in another curriculum subject or an issue of topical interest, using organisational features typical of a discussion text to balance and weigh arguments.

Possible teaching activities

Ask students about the last time they wrote or received a letter. Ask who was it to or from, how they felt when they received it, etc. In pairs, students tell each other about the letter. Encourage them to ask questions to elicit more information and keep the conversation going. Tell students they are going to analyse a discussion text about the advantages and disadvantages of a relatively new form of communication (e.g. mobile phone or email). First, students predict the advantages and disadvantages of the recent technology. Give out copies of the cut-up text. Students sort the cut-up parts into Introduction, Advantages, Disadvantages and Conclusion. While sorting the advantages and disadvantages, students note how many are the same as the ones they predicted. Students use cohesive devices and logical order (e.g. logical division of ideas, comparison and contrast, order of importance) to organise the paragraphs into a text. Take back the cut up versions and give students a copy of the full text. In pairs, students think of a title for the text. They write the title they choose at the top of the text in pencil. They discuss and compare their title with two other pairs. Students complete tasks focusing on text analysis (see OHT 10F1.b in the sample lesson plans) and comprehension (see worksheet 10F.1c in the sample lesson plans). Students express agreement or disagreement with the ideas in the text and give their own opinion. Tell students they are going to write a discussion essay on the effects of advances in ICT on business today. Display two posters on opposite sides of the classroom. Write Advantages on one and Disadvantages on the other. In small groups, students brainstorm the positive and negative effects of ICT. Encourage them to consider practical difficulties as well as long-term implications. Stop the students after 10 minutes or so and invite them to make notes on the posters. Discuss the posters. Encourage students to think of examples of any businesses they know that have brought in new technology to illustrate their points. Discuss the organisation of advantages and disadvantages, for example: Which do they think is the most important argument? Which is the least important? Discuss ideas for the introduction and the conclusion. Individually, students draft a discussion essay.

Notes

School resources

The text in lesson 10F.1 from the sample lesson plans is an excellent text for this activity. However, it is important to check carefully that the students have not already studied this text in Grade 10. Before the lesson, cut up the text as shown in worksheet 10F.1a. Prepare enough sets of cut-up texts for one set between two.

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Objectives
1 hour Extensive reading Students are able to: read extensively from appropriately levelled readers in the text range identified for Grade 11 Advanced;

Possible teaching activities

Students read a chapter from a class reader and discuss how the author communicates characters feelings and emotions.

Notes

School resources

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Assessment
Examples of assessment tasks and questions
Listening Students listen to a text related to communications (e.g. the health risks associated with mobile phones). They demonstrate comprehension by responding to true/false statements or answering multiple-choice questions. Students discuss a case study about communication problems between friends and make suggestions about how to solve the problem. Students read a letter and demonstrate comprehension by responding to true/false statements or answering multiple-choice questions. Students draft a letter for a specific purpose.

Unit 11A.11
Notes
Listening carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade.

School resources

Speaking

Speaking carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Reading carries approximately 20% of the assessment weighting for this grade. Writing carries approximately 30% of the assessment weighting for this grade.

Reading

Writing

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