I’m sure we can all think of a recent conversational script
which didn’t go according to plan. So often, the dialogues we begin with such
confidence (Hi, I’ve got an appointment
for 10.30 with Linda) hit conversational icebergs when our opening gambits
are met with unexpected replies (Um…no, I don’t have you down for today…Hold on…I
think your appointment was for this time last Thursday!)
Yet so many ELT resources present learners with
straightforward scripts culled from a parallel universe where everything runs
like clockwork and goes according to plan.
We all know that life is rarely like this, so why don’t we work harder
at providing our learners with the language they need at times when things go
wrong?
The ESOL Nexus project has come up with a fantastic resource
which does exactly this. In a lesson called “Wrong Time, Wrong Place” learners
begin by putting together a dialogue between a dentist’s receptionist and a
patient arriving for his/her appointment. Learners practice this dialogue together,
with the teacher providing input on pronunciation and intonation. The teacher
then chooses a confident learner to rehearse the dialogue, but then throws a
spanner in the works of the conversation by informing the patient that s/he is
a week late for their appointment. A stunned silence descends as the learners
try to figure out what they need to say at such a moment.
The teacher helps the learners to formulate what they might
say, dividing their response into two parts: reaction and
action. For example, the learners’ reaction to the above situation might be “Oh dear, I must’ve made a mistake!” or “I feel such a fool!” Their action might
be something like “Could I possibly have
the next available appointment?” The ESOL Nexus resource provides further
situations to practice, covering a range of transactional and interactional
situations.
You can find this lesson with accompanying teacher’s notes
at: http://esol.britishcouncil.org/lesson-plans/wrong-time-wrong-place.
My learners thoroughly enjoyed it, and certainly did not need to be convinced of the
value of learning to deal with the unexpected!
