English as a foreign language at primary level: the search for content. Chapter 8 - Ray Tongue (1997)

-->

TEACHING ENGLISH TO CHILDREN: edited by Brumfit, Moon and Tongue,Longman (1997).

Chapter 8: English as a foreign language at primary level: the search for content by Ray Tongue.

Group Work

a) Read the article and answer the following questions.

1. Which is the main topic of the article? And which is the author’s opinion about it?
2. Explain why the author uses these subtitles:

v “You can’t speak speaking” and

v “Siu Leng is younger than her mother”.

3. Make a chart with the main similarities between the traditional and the structural approaches.
4. How do these approaches affect motivation?
5. What is said about content and form?
6. What does TENOR mean?
7. Describe the four approaches that the author suggests.
8. Analyse the examples given on pages 112 and 113. Try to give some others.
9. Why do children “fail to learn how to mean in English”? (page 114)
10. Discuss: do you think that what happens in Hong Kong can also be applied to our country?
11. Think about your own experience. How were you taught English?
12. Share your ideas with the group.