Tag Archives: C1

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.

Spice Up Your Writing Lessons with the Noun Roulette

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Let’s talk about writing today! If you’re searching for a writing activity that is engaging, effective, promotes collaborative work, and takes only about 20 minutes to complete, then look no further! I have a simple yet effective activity that can help you achieve all these goals.

As an educator, I am always looking for new ways to help my students improve their writing skills. That’s why I’m excited to share an activity that I’ve created which has proven to be both effective and engaging for students. In this case, it’s been used in a C1 level class, but it can easily be used with any level.  In this blog post, I’ll be explaining the details of this activity and providing examples of how it has helped my students write more advanced texts. If you’re looking for a fun and creative way to help your students improve their writing, then keep reading!

This activity consists of two parts, with the first part being designed specifically for C1 students, or possibly strong B2 students. If you teach lower levels, you’ll need to create your own slides for Part 1 of the activity, but you can still use Part 2 and 3 in this post.

Part 1: The theory

I have created this brief presentation to target some specific points to help them write more advanced sentences. We have focused on 5 key points, including reduced relative sentences, order of the adjectives and using a noun as a compound adjective.

In the last slide, you will find the Noun Roulette Randomizer. Yay!

Improving writing de cristina.cabal

Part 2:  The Noun Roulette Randomizer

Time to recycle spare photocopies!  Cut them into strips of paper large enough to write a long sentence on.

  • Ask students to pair up and give each pair 3 or 4 strips of paper.
  • Display the noun roulette and explain that it will randomly select a noun. For example: collection.
  • Click here to see the roulette in action. To create your own, click here and type your own words. Easy-peasy!!

  • In their pairs, they will have about 2 minutes to come up with their best sentence by incorporating some of the points worked with in the first part of this activity. They must include the noun “collection”.
  • In the meantime, I’ve written the word ‘collection’ on a post-it note and posted it on a visible part of our classroom wall.
  • Once they have finished writing their “advanced” sentence, we will put them up on the wall, surrounding the noun. You can use Sellotape or Blue-tack for this.
  • Select a new noun with the roulette and do it all over again. I have done this 3 or 4 times.
What is your role as a teacher?  Yes, you need to be working, too. Once they have placed their sentences on the walls, correct their mistakes.
Part 3:  Voting
Once the sentences have been written and mistakes have been corrected, instruct students to stand up in pairs and read all the sentences surrounding the nouns. They will now need to vote for the sentence they think is the best in terms of showing a more advanced level, regardless of the mistakes they might have made. To mark the sentence they like best, they will just have to put a tick on the strip of paper containing the sentence, as you can see in the picture.
This has two aims:
1. To help students identify their own and their peers’ mistakes, which is a valuable learning experience.
2. By voting on the best sentence, students come to understand their own ability to distinguish between writing that meets the C1 level and writing that falls short.

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

Relationships: A Multi-Skill Lesson Plan for C1 Students

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I find it really hard to stick to the textbook every time the lesson is about Relationships. With any other lessons, about any other topics, it might be easier to be content with following the dictates of the textbook. But I think Relationships, and all sorts of ideas spring up. Not all of them are good, to be honest. But these, I have tried and tested in class. They work.

This lesson is divided into two chunks:

  1. The first part is dedicated to revising, reinforcing, and introducing new vocabulary.
  2. The second part is dedicated to honing students’ listening and speaking skills using different visual inputs: images, audio, video, and cards.

VOCABULARY

GUESSING THE TOPIC WITH A FRIENDLIER VERSION OF THE GAME HANGMAN

Students will need to guess what topic we will cover in class next, But…. There are rules to follow:

  • The class is divided into 2 teams. Each team names a spokesperson.
  • Let’s say Team 1 starts. Now, to get the chance to say a letter to solve the puzzle, they’ll have to answer a content review question.  For example: “what preposition collocates with the verb “depend”?”. After a quick discussion with the members of their group, the spokesperson will give an answer. If correct, they can suggest a letter. Whether it is a correct or incorrect guess, the turn will pass to Team B, who will get another content review question and the chance to guess a letter if the answer to the review question is correct.
  • Important: Teams can’t try to solve the puzzle until half the letters have been guessed(i.e. if the word has 14 letters, 7 must have been guessed) and only the Team playing will have this chance.
  • If they guess and fail, their turn will be skipped.

GAME: THE 15 SECONDS CROSSWORD GAME TO REVISE VOCABULARY
    • Divide the class into 2 teams.
    • Team A chooses a representative who chooses a number from the crossword puzzle, reads the description, and has 15 seconds to guess the answer with the help of their team.
    • If they guess the answer, they can continue playing until
    1. they can’t guess the word,
    2. they run out of time (remember 15 seconds) or
    3. they guess three answers in a row.

    If this happens, it is Team B’s turn.

    • The winner is the team that solves the last clue.

    In this case, the terms in the crossword were related to the “relationships”
    NOTE: (click on the top right-hand corner to enlarge the crossword)

INTRODUCING NEW VOCABULARY: PEER TEACHING AND PARTNER DISCUSSION.

More Vocabulary here. Give students some individual time to read through the vocabulary, underlining any new terms.

  • Building on the belief that ” to teach is to learn twice” (Whitman, 1998), ask students to get into groups of 4 and help each other with any vocabulary they haven’t been able to guess on their own.
  • Whole class: ask students in Group 1 which vocabulary items are still unfamiliar to them. Ask the other groups in the class to volunteer an explanation if they know. If nobody in the class knows, clarify the meaning. Continue in the same fashion with all the groups until all the vocabulary has been clarified.
  •   Work on pronunciation and then test students by giving a definition and asking them to quickly give you the term.

SPEAKING and LISTENING

MARRIAGE

SPEAKING.

Display this picture and ask students to comment on this picture. Ask:

Who do you feel more sorry for? The bride, the groom, or the mother-in-law?

 LISTENING. Why bother with marriage? Watch from 0:00- 0:34

Play the beginning of the video (0:00- 0:34) In pairs or small groups, comment on the following:

  1. What is the speaker’s view on marriage? Do you agree with his view?
  2. Are there more benefits or drawbacks to getting married in your country nowadays?
  3. What is the right age to get married in your country? And to have children?

FAMILIES: LISTENING and SPEAKING
    • Write NUCLEAR FAMILY on the board and ask students to explain what type of family a nuclear family is and what other different family types they know. Write them on the board. Ideally, they will come up with stepfamilies (also called blended families), cohabitation, extended family, lone parenting, DINKS (I know, unlikely!) and some others.
    • Time for listening.  First Listening: Play the audio once and ask students to jot down the different types of families that are mentioned (stepfamilies. Cohabitation, DINKS, lone parenting and people living alone). Write them on the board. You will probably need to add People living alone.  Second Listening: Note-taking. Form groups of 4 students and assign a different kind of family to each of them. Ask them to take notes, as their final task would be to retell the information they hear about their assigned family structure. NOTE: I have assigned cohabitation and DINKS to the same person.
    • Follow-up: ask students in their groups to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of each type of family structure

Transcript here

Types of Families de cristina.cabal

PARENTS AND THEIR OFFSPRING: SPEAKING AND LISTENING

1. LYING. Play this video where children confess the biggest lie they have told their mums, in front of their mums. Ask students to confess theirs.

2. OVERPROTECTING PARENTS.

Ask these questions

  • What is considered overprotective parenting?
  • What can overparenting do to a child?

FAMILY TRACKING APPS. Display with the OHP this article from the BBC about family tracking apps and ask them to read the first 3 paragraphs. Ask students to talk about the advantages and drawbacks for both parents and children.

SPEAKING CARDS: FINDING THE MATCHING PAIR.

Put students into groups of 3 or 4. Give each group a set of cards and ask them to place them face upon the table.  Student A begins by taking the beginning of the question (in blue) and finding the matching pair (in orange).

Student A has two minutes to express his/her opinion. Then, it is Student B’s turn.

PDF here

Relationships. Conversation questions de cristina.cabal

I know, a long lesson. But, you know, it’s better to have too much than too little.