Karin's ESL PartyLand
Ideas
for Using Authentic Texts
with Low-level ESL Classes
Are you sick of using contrived reading texts and dialogues in your low-level classes?
Don't be afraid to bring in authentic reading materials. On top of fostering
practical skills, students get a charge out of talking about something real. Here
are some suggestions:
- Supermarket Ads--There are a lot of possible activities using
supermarket ads. Here's a good follow-up for food vocabulary, recipes, etc:
Bring in multiple copies of supermarket circulars. Put students in groups of
three. Tell each group they are friends planning a dinner party. Each group
has $75 to spend. After planning their party, each group elects one student to
present to the rest of the class. Once all the groups have presented, ask the class
to vote on which dinner party they would most like to attend.
- Delivery Menus--You can pick up delivery menus from many Chinese and
Indian and restaurants. Others might work too. After reviewing menu/food
vocabulary, put students in groups of three or four. The task is for groups to
decide collectively on what they will have for dinner. (You may need to tell your students
that in the United States, it is common to order food for everyone to share; the bill is
usually divided equally.) Give each student a role card. Possible roles could be:
"You're a vegetarian, but you don't like mushrooms or spinach." "You
only have ten dollars to contribute to the meal. You really like spicy food."
"You love shrimp. You will be very unhappy if your group doesn't order
at least one shrimp dish." "You have a sensitive stomach and cannot eat
spicy food." After each group decides they should elect one member of the group
to participate in a telephone role-play in front of the whole class.
- Labels--You can use either food or clothing labels. For clothing
labels, simply bring in around seven different garments and hang these in places around
the room. Review clothing/laundry vocabulary with the class. Then, give each
pair a short worksheet which describes each clothing item (e.g. the plaid Gap shirt, or
the wool sweater) and asks the same set of questions for each item. Some possible
questions could be: " Are you going to put it in the washing machine, wash it by hand
or take it to the dry-cleaners?" "Hot, warm or cold water?" "Are
you going to put it in the dryer, hang it up or dry it flat?" or "Does it need
to be ironed?"
- Simple Comic Strips--White-out the text bubbles. Make multiple
copies of the same strip. Distribute one per pair. Students work together to
fill in the bubbles while you circulate and assist. Once the students are finished,
post their comic strips to allow their classmates to compare with the other versions.
You may then want to give them the original for class discussion.
- (Free) Bar Postcards--If you live in an urban area in an
English-speaking country, you probably know that you can pick up lots of free postcards at
your local bar. These postcards advertise merchandise and services. You could
bring in multiple copies of 5-10 different postcards and have pairs each select a few of
them. Pairs can then answer a series of questions. For example: Describe the
picture. What's being advertised? Where is the place located? Would you
buy this product or service? Why or why not? (If the postcards are similar
enough, you could even have students write up individual descriptions. Then post
these descriptions and have the rest of the class decide which postcard is being
described.)
You could also try using bills, flyers, classifieds, pictures of signs, recipes,
CD inserts or club ads with low-level classes. Just make sure that you
provide enough structure by giving specific tasks. Otherwise, you'll run the risk of
frustrated students staring blankly at an overwhelming array of information.