Time Stage Number and Procedure Interaction Aids and

Name Pattern Materials

Stage Aims

5’ Lead-in

To engage learners in T writes on the IWB the word T PowerPoint

the topic of the video ‘Gangster’ Slides
and displays pictures for ss to S-S
see
T asks students to answer the
following questions in pairs:
What’s a gangster?
What does a gangster do?
Can you think of a crime a T
gangster may commit?

T monitors and makes sure

that at least one of the groups
mentions something related to
blackmailing.

5’ Listening to the video T tells ss they are going to T - SS

clip watch a clip about “Nature’s
greatest gangsters”
T elicit what they think the clip IWB
is about - i.e. an animal.
To allow ss to T - SS YouTube
familiarise with T tells ss not to try getting video clip
different varieties of everything but rather try to “QI | Nature's
British accent answer the following question: Biggest
“Who are nature's greatest Gangsters”
To encourage them to gangsters?” T
try decoding the
message T plays the video clip from
beginning to end only once
T should let ss know they will
To provide ss with the understand very little. Perhaps
opportunity to identify only words which is perfectly S-S
the /r/ elision fine.
T
T asks ss to discuss in groups of
three their answer.
T monitors to see if any pair of
 students got the answer right: T - SS
Birds are nature’s greatest
gangster. S-T

T models and contrasts ‘bird’ T - SS

/bɜːd/ and /bɜːrd/
5’ Pre-teach Vocabulary

To teach ss essential
vocabulary for the T tries to elicit ‘brood’ and SS - T IWB
following listening task ‘broody’
How do birds reproduce? They
lay eggs T - SS
To allow ss to notice the What do you call the baby
nature of the /r/ elision birds? A brood
T models the pronunciation for
‘brood’ and ‘broody’ SS - T
T covers Form

T emphasises on the fact that

in brood the /r/ is not elided.

15’ Dictogloss T tells ss they are going to T - SS

listen to an extract of the video
To provide ss with they just saw. Extract of the
bottom-up processing YouTube
practice T tells them they will listen to it SS video clip
three or four times. T asks ss to “QI | Nature's
To provide ss with a write down a list in the centre Biggest
real-life native-native of a piece of paper with all the Gangsters”
interaction words they can identify. S- S

Ss pair-check. SS - T
To encourage ss identify
lexis the know T ask ss to give him the words.
T boards the words taking into
account the original script to T
To allos ss to
space them properly.
reconstruct the SS - T
message from its
T plays the extract again.
constituents
SS - T
 To make sure ss are
actually listening and
not just answering what
the T wants them to

Ss check and add more words as

a whole.

T elicits additional words and SS - T

plays the listening one more
time. This time he points at the
words ss identified as they
appear on the video.
SS
10’ Features of Connected
Speech

To allow ss to notice the

differences within T encourages ss to read the S-S Extract of the
native speakers' speech text in groups focusing on how YouTube
they pronounce it and whether video clip
To monitor whether or it differs from the native “QI | Nature's
not any learner is speakers on the video or not. Biggest
familiar with any of the T Gangsters”
features of connected
speech T monitors ss while they
practice and discuss

To raise ss awareness of
some of the features of
connected speech
native speakers and
proficient users use T - SS
Based on the monitoring T
elicits/explains the following
To provide ss with a aspects of connected speech
model making sure to point them out
in the script and model each
one of them for ss:
Linking
Intrusive /r/
Assimilation
Weak forms T - SS
Geminates
5’ Pronunciation

To modulate the speed T tells ss to listen to him and T - SS IWB

for ss to be able to follow him with their lips as he
repeat and practice reads the script.
T does this first slowly and then
To provide ss with a fast. Extract of the
model of something SS - T YouTube
they want to practice video clip
T asks ss to choose a chunk of “QI | Nature's
To provide ss with a language for him to model in Biggest
final opportunity to order for them to practise Gangsters”
listen and identify what pronunciation
the speakers say SS

T erases some words from the

script written on the IWB and
plays the listening for the last
time.

5’ Reflection

To allow ss to reflect on T asks ss how the felt in the T - SS

the class class overall. T - SS
To encourage ss to T asks ss whether or not they
become more have used this technique in the SS - T
autonomous past.
T and ss reflect on how this can
be copied outside the
classroom.
Planning and Learner Progress
Overall, I believe this lesson was good because the main, as well as the subsidiary aim, was
successfully achieved. By the end of the session, learners were able to understand an
excerpt of a YouTube video clip with native-native interactions using ‘bottom-up’
processing. They were able to identify the /r/ elision, work out word boundaries, and adjust
to two British speakers. Also, when the lesson finished, they were more aware of the
different features of connected speech native people use.

Strengths
 Throughout the lesson, I managed to keep students engaged with the listening
practice. Although it was 7:00 a.m. and that most of them were teenagers, I was able
to retain their attention during all the listening training stages.
 I think I was more judicious on the timing. I decided to provide my learners with the
only piece of language they were not able to identify instead of wasting time trying
to elicit it.
 On a personal level, I also tried not to be repetitive when I was giving instructions. I
focus on my students’ body language and facial gestures to decide whether
repeating one. Besides, I tried not to use metalanguage when explaining the features
of connected speech.

Weaknesses
 Even though I checked the video settings before the lesson, I fail to check the
volume settings. I should have checked the volume to avoid wasting some seconds
and perhaps risking losing the students’ attention.
 I am still not sure about the group interaction stage before erasing some of the
words from the IWB for the final listening repetition. I could have used this time to
listen to the extract more times with fewer words on the IWB, or perhaps no words
at all.
 I still need to be careful with the language I use. I felt the pressure of not making
mistakes and there were some slips.
 The reflection stage could have been more productive if I had given them some set
questions and not one to please the teacher - i.e. “Was this activity good, or bad?”.
Another thing I could have done was to provide them with a questionnaire at the
beginning of the lesson and another at the end to assess their impression.
 Since most of them are teenagers, I also thought the lesson could have been more
student-centred and kinaesthetic by allowing learners to write the words they heard
on the IWB.

Consolidation and Follow-up

The next time I have the chance to work with any of these learners I will:
 Choose another extract of the same video clip and run a dictogloss to decode
another extract of this material
 Ask them if they remember what is one of the main differences in pronunciation
between American and British English
 Test if they can remember what some of the things native people do with words to
save time and energy are
 Discuss if they have implemented the processing used in this lesson at home, and
whether they have found it useful