The Language Teacher
October 2002
A Quiz to Develop Student Awareness of English
Samuel P-H Sheu
University of Warwick, England
QUICK GUIDE
Key Words: Speaking, reading, collaboration, negotiation, presentation
Learner English Level: All levels
Learner Maturity Level: Junior high and above
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Activity Time: 30 minutes or more
Materials: Copies of the handout below, an OHP transparency of the handout below (optional).
Many students at the secondary level view English purely as an exam subject and are unaware of how English is used around the world or could be useful in their daily lives. This activity is designed to raise student awareness of English as an international language, promote student participation and collaboration, and provide a situation for communication, negotiation, and expression.
Preparation
Before the lesson, cover the figures marked with a small rectangle on the text in Appendix 1 with stickers/blanks, then photocopy the text. Alternatively, if an OHP is available make a transparency of the text and use the OHP throughout the activity.
Procedure
Step 1: Divide the students into groups of five or less. This ensures that every student has at least one chance to present his/her group's answer in the quiz activity.
Step 2: Ask students to think about how English is used internationally. Give each group one copy of the handout and ask them to work together to guess what the number is for each covered answer.
Step 3: Explain that in this game, a correct answer gets three points, any answer within 10% gets 2 points, and any answer within 20% gets 1 point. The group who finishes with the most points is the winner.
Step 4: After 10 minutes, invite the groups one by one to report their figures and write them down in the spaces 1 to 6 on the handout/OHP. A student from each group can then share the reason for their answer with the whole class so everyone has a chance to speak. Finally, give the students the answers and discuss them.
Step 5: At the end of the task, tally the points for each group and announce the winners. Small prizes can be awarded to the members of the winning group if desired.
Conclusion
This activity involves communication, collaboration, negotiation, and expression. Additionally, it helps the students move from passive learning (waiting to be taught) to active learning (being responsible for their own learning). Another important feature is that this activity promotes student awareness of the worldwide use of English, and as a result, their perceptions of learning English can change from English-as-a-school-subject to English-as-a-daily-tool. This quiz activity can also be adapted to other practice other skills such as listening.
Appendix 1
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