Tag Archives: speaking

Teaching about Animals with the Help of ChatGPT

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There has been a lot of talk recently about the benefits and drawbacks of using ChatGPT in the classroom. To be honest, from the teachers’ perspective and in my opinion, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. In fact, I can only see advantages. It is true that it is not going to help you engage your students; after all, it is only text, but what is undeniable is the fact that it is a great time saver for teachers.  For me, ChatGPT is like Aladdin’s Genie of the Lamp, but granting unlimited wishes. You just wish for something, ask it nicely, and there it is. Ready to be used. You may not always be satisfied with what he initially offers you, but no worries, just ask again and be more specific about what you want.

In this lesson about animals, and in all the activities below, I have used ChatGPT.  As I said, a real time-saver. You just need to add your teacher’s magic!

  • Topic: Animals
  • Level B2 upwards
  • Skills: vocabulary, speaking and mediation.
Activity 1: Introducing Animals. Playing with ChatGPT.

Fun activity. I asked students to pair up and asked them to come up with a list of 10  farm

animals. To make things exciting, I set a timer for one minute only! Once the minute was up, I had them swap their lists with another pair.

And then, I brought in ChatGPT to join the fun and asked it to generate a similar list of farm animals. The students got a point for every animal they had that was also on ChatGPT’s list!

We wrote any new vocabulary on the board and repeated the same activity, but this time with wild animals.

Prompts in ChatGPT:

  • write a list of 10 farm animals  
  • write a list of 10 wild animals 
Activity 2. Guessing the animal.

I decided to play a fun guessing game with the help of ChatGPT. I picked an animal and then asked ChatGPT to give me three clues about the animal, starting with the most difficult clue and ending with the easiest clue. I asked ChatGPT not to use the name of the animal in the clues.

Prompt: Can you provide me with three clues that describe a rhinoceros, in descending order of difficulty, for someone to guess the animal without mentioning the word ‘rhinoceros’?”

I asked students to play in groups of 4, name a spokesperson, and gave each group a hotel bell.I then explained that I was going to read a series of clues for an animal, starting with the most difficult one (worth 3 points). After I read each clue, the groups had a brief moment to confer amongst themselves. If they thought they knew the answer, their spokesperson could press the bell. During the activity, I made sure to emphasize that only the first team to press the bell was allowed to give an answer for each clue. This added an element of competitiveness and encouraged the students to be quick on their feet.  If they guessed correctly, they scored 3 points for their team. However, if their guess was incorrect, they would not be allowed to press their bell for the next clue (worth 2 points), even if they knew the answer. The last clue, which was the easiest one, was worth only 1 point. It was a really fun way to challenge the students’ knowledge and teamwork skills!

Note: you might not agree with the level of difficulty ChatGPT gives for each clue. Feel free to change the order. For example: For the word rhinoceros, this is the order provided by the chatbot. I read it in a different order.

  1. This animal has a thick, tough skin that helps protect it from predators. (2 points)
  2. It is known for its large, pointy horn on its nose. ( 1 point)
  3. This animal is a herbivore and can be found in both Africa and Asia. (3 points)
Activity 3. Speaking : ChatGPT questions in a Speed chatting Activity

I asked ChatGPT to provide me with 10 thought-provoking questions about animals. I then asked my students to discuss these questions with a different partner each time I posed a new one (speedchatting style)

Prompt: provide me with 10 thought-provoking questions about animals.

These are the questions ChatGPT provided. I used only 5 of them.

  1. Do animals have emotions like humans do? How can we tell?
  2. Is it ethical to keep animals in captivity for human entertainment? Why or why not?
  3. How do animals communicate with each other? Can humans learn from their communication methods?
  4. What are the consequences of humans encroaching on animal habitats?
  5. Should we use animals for scientific research? Are there ethical boundaries to be considered?
  6. How has human intervention affected the evolution of certain animal species?
  7. Is it possible for animals to exhibit intelligence or problem-solving skills on par with humans? If so, which animals are capable of this?
  8. How have animals been used in art, literature, and mythology throughout history? What significance do they hold?
  9. Should humans be held accountable for the extinction of certain animal species?
  10. How can we improve animal welfare in farming and agriculture?

Activity 4. Interlinguistics Mediation Task.

Yes. Yay!  It can also help you here. In my region, in mediation tasks,  the input is in Spanish and students use English to do the activity, in most cases either summarizing or explaining the main points in the text.  Given that ChatGPT works in Spanish too, why not give it a go?

Yes. Yay!  It can also help you here! So, in my neck of the woods, when students do mediation tasks, they typically get input in Spanish but have to complete the activity in English. Usually, this involves either summarizing or explaining the main points in the text. Given that ChatGPT works in Spanish too, why not give it a go?

First, I asked ChatGPT to generate the text in Spanish, printed it and ten, gave the task to my students. Then, and again using ChatGPT, I modelled the activity. These are the prompts I have used.

Prompt:Write a text in Spanish of about 200 words about why animals should and should not be used in circuses. Use four paragraphs. In the first paragraph, write an introduction, in the second paragraph write reasons for, in the third paragraph reasons against and in the 4 th paragraph write a conclusion.

Prompt: Summarize the following text in English in about 100 words in an organized way. (copy and paste the  text generated from the previous task)

All this would have normally taken me a long time to write, and this is where ChatGPT can really help you save time. And time is gold, isn’t it? But remember, ChatGPT does not teach, it is your own magic that engages students.

It was not Rocket Science but it was a Smashing Success: Conflict and Resolution

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It is not very often that I feel depleted of energy. I try to prepare my classes in such a way that they do not only engage students, but also me. I really need this spark in my lessons to keep me motivated. But some Mondays ago, I was just not feeling it and the way the lesson was laid out in the textbook was not helping either. It was mind-numbingly boring, and I was so tired that I could think of nothing to engage me or my students. But thankfully, my colleagues Paula and Alba were there to save the day, and they rushed to help with some ideas.  Want to know what came out?

First Step. Always. Revision.

We were working with these useful phrases to use in arguments.  So, first and foremost, revision. This is key.

These are some of the sentences we studied:

Using “point”

  • What’s the point you are trying to make?
  • That proves my point
  • You are missing the point
  • I take your point.
  • Please, get to the point.
  • There is no point crying over spilt milk
  • You’ve made your point

Some other useful phrases:

  • You are twisting my words
  • That’s not what I meant at all
  • We’ve got our wires crossed
  • We should clear the air
  • That came out all wrong
  • We are going round in circles
  • Can we just agree to disagree?
  • There is no need to raise your voice
Second step:Paper
I gave my students a small piece of paper and asked them to write one of the sentences above on the slip of paper, encouraging them to use their best handwriting, as this sentence was meant to be read and used by other students working with them.
To hold the pieces of paper, I gave them these tiny blue holders I bought here.  (I love props, what can I say? Does the activity work without them? Sure thing!)
Third Step: More Paper.
I asked students to form groups of four and provided four scraps of paper, each with a word written on it – two with “AGREE” and two with “DISAGREE”. The scraps of paper were placed in the middle of the table, face down. Remember: before displaying the statement, they should be face down on the table.
Fourth Step: Controversial statements.
I did a very quick search on the Internet looking for controversial statements.  Two minutes before the class started, I opened a presentation template of Canva ( I tend to always use the same) and pasted the statements.

controversial statements de cristina.cabal

Now, we are ready to start. Let’s recap.

  • Students have chosen a sentence  (step 1) and put it on display for the other students to use.
  • Additionally, on the table, there are  4 scraps of paper which, at this stage, are placed face down on the table.
Fifth Step: Speaking and Choosing a Role
  • Display the first controversial statement and ask students to choose a random scrap of paper containing  the words AGREE or DISAGREE.  Give them a minute to prepare their arguments defending their point of view regarding the statement. You might hear some ohhh, ahhh and some grumbling if they got the opposite of what they think. Just smile!!!
  • Encourage students to discuss the statement and try to incorporate some of the sentences they see displayed by their classmates in the group conversation.

Sixth Step: Change Partners
  • After 10-12 minutes of discussion, ask the students to change partners and move to different tables, bringing the sentences they have chosen with them. Display a new controversial statement and once again ask the students to randomly choose a scrap of paper with either “AGREE” or “DISAGREE”.

Note: I only had one student who is a devout Catholic and, in this case and depending on the statement being discussed,  I allowed this student to choose the slip containing either “AGREE” or “DISAGREE” that aligned with his beliefs.

Double the fun: Travelling and Tourism Speaking Board with Two Decks of Cards

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One might think that after 31 years teaching, I wouldn’t need to spend time preparing for classes. After accumulating so much content over the years, it would seem logical to just retrieve what I need from my files. However, for some reason, that’s not how it works for me. As a result, I find myself once again in the process of creating content, this time on the subject of travelling.

This post revolves around the topic of Travelling and Tourism and considering what I have written above, I have come up with this brilliant 🙄 idea.   Use a board from Canva and replace specific questions with numbers, making it applicable to any topic. Alongside this, we can create cards that include the relevant questions and reference their corresponding numbers. What do you think?

Hold on, Cristina! Did you read the title of the post? It says “Two decks of cards”. So, we have one deck for questions, but what about the other one? I haven’t forgotten! The other deck contains useful phrases to help students express themselves more effectively. 😆

What do we need?
  • Print the board multiple times. Print as many copies as groups of students. What works best for me is groups of 3 students. Get the PDF here

board game Template de cristina.cabal

  • Cards with the conversation questions. One deck per group. PDF here

travelling conversation cards de cristina.cabal

    • Reusable cards with useful phrases. One deck per group. PDF here.
     
Ready to play?

    Create groups of 3–4 students and give each group a board game, the two decks of cards, counters and a die. Students decide who starts the game. Student A throws the die and places his/her counter on the corresponding square, which contains a number. On the deck of cards with the conversation questions, he/she finds the card that matches the number of his/her square, reads it aloud and then takes a card from the Useful Language deck. These cards are placed face down on the table.  The student will need to talk for at least two minutes, trying to use the expression on the card. Then, it is student B’s turn.

    CREDITS

  • Original board designed by @mrkucukyilmaz
  • Useful phrases from intercambiodeidiomas

A Speaking Board Game about Work with some Props

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A digital or analogue board game? Which do you fancy? For me, variety is key. So I tend to alternate between both types of exercises to keep things interesting. In this post, you will find both versions. Cheers to diversity!  But just so that you know, I am going to focus more on the analogue version where I can use props.

Who doesn’t love props? Using props in the classroom can be an effective tool for teaching. Props can help to engage students and bring an element of fun and creativity to a lesson. And right in the middle of winter ,when days are short and dark, I feel the need to add some extra spark to my lessons. Don’t you?

Board games have been around for a long, long time but, have you tried to design one? It is not easy. I have tried and failed. They looked awful. This time I have not wasted any time, and used Genial.ly’s Monopoly board game, which I have adapted to suit my content.

 

First, I made an online version (reusable in case you want to change something), which turned out great, but I decided to go old–school and print out the board, get a huge foam dice, and use some coloured counters. Not surprisingly, rolling a big red foam dice and having students use little markers to claim their spots really made a difference. 

Here’s the downloadable version if I have managed to persuade you to use the printed version of the board game.

TEACHER-GUIDED: HOW TO PLAY
  • Arrange students into groups of 3–4 students and give each group a board.
  • Each player in the group must choose a colour: blue, green, yellow, or red.  They will then receive a token to mark their position and 10 coloured counters (preferably, the same colour as their token) to indicate the questions they have answered correctly throughout the game. 
  • Each player should take their token and place it on the starting square. Write down the starting order of the students on the board, like this: blue first, then green, then yellow, and lastly red. To start playing, the teacher rolls the huge die and Blues move their token to the corresponding square.
  • If Blues can talk about the question non-stop for 2 minutes, they earn the right to place one of their blue counters on that square. That square is now officially theirs!
  • If another player lands on a square that is already occupied by a coloured counter, they will have to answer the question, but they will not claim the square.
  • Special squares: squares with icons contain penalties, such as “The player pays light taxes: loses 2 of his coloured counters.” (you can read the penalties in the digital version)
  • The player with the most coloured counters on the board, once all squares are occupied, will win the game.

I hope you enjoy the game!

Flowers by Miley Cyrus in my Class

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I can’t. I couldn’t resist the temptation of using this song in class. I know you have heard it everywhere, as it has become a global hit in just a few days. And as it turns out, it is also in my English class.

How can I incorporate the song into my lesson plan in a way that goes beyond just a fill-in-the-blank exercise?  Easy. We are going to do an activity that combines some of my favourite ingredients:

  • A touch of technology
  • A game-like speaking activity
  • Singing? if not singing, lip-syncing.

STEP 1. Before the game: working on form
  • Show students the lyrics with the gaps and ask them to predict the lexical category or part of speech that could fit each of the 10 gaps in the song: is it a noun, an adjective, a preposition or maybe an article? Allow a couple of minutes for this task. You might want to show an example.

For example, I wrote a letter___ my mother (students will most likely agree, they’ll need   a preposition to fill in this gap)

STEP 2:  Defining and Guessing

  • Hide the gapped text. To begin the activity, the text will be hidden from the students’ view.
  • Students will work in pairs. Student A will face the board. Student B will face away and write on his/her notebook numbers 1 -10 (there are 10 gaps/words to be guessed)
  • Tell students you’ll write the missing words on the board in random order, but each of the words will be identified with a number.
  • Write the first of the missing words in the cloze on the board, and ask student A to define the word, or give a synonym or antonym for student B to guess and write down. For example, if the word on the board is “1. wrote”, Student A might say, “number 1 is a verb in the past, and you use a pen or a pencil to do it”. If Student B guesses the word, he will write in his notebook, next to number 1 wrote. If he cannot guess the word in the allotted time, he will write 1-___.
  • Tell students you’ll write a new word every 30 seconds.
  • Continue in the same way until you have written all the missing words on the board. Remember that the words should be written in random order.

STEP 3:  Fill-in the Gaps Race.

  • Once they have all the words, Students A and B will work together to complete the gapped test.
  • Place a bell on your table. The first pair to complete the task ( i.e. putting the words in the right order to complete the lyrics of the song) rushes to the teacher’s desk. The teacher checks that the exercise is correct and if it is, they ring the bell on your table (well, if you have a bell to ring). From that moment, the rest of the class will have one minute to finish the exercise.

STEP 3:  Singing or lip-syncing

Yes. If some students need a pit of persuading, tell them it is a very good exercise to improve pronunciation.

STEP 4: Conversation questions. We talk a bit now.

  • Can you describe a time when you experienced a heartbreak?
  • How did you cope with the feelings of heartbreak?
  • Have you ever helped a friend through a heartbreak? How did you support them?