IHWO Lesson Plan Competition

2013
Author: Adi Rajan
School: NA
Lesson Title: Speaking in Tongues
Lesson Type: Grammar
Level: IH Level 3 Pre- Intermediate, CEF A2
Lesson Aims
Main aim:
To present and practise the form and use of comparative and
superlative adjectives in the context of international languages.

Subsidiary aims:
To provide practice with reading an infographic for gist and specific
information.
To develop students oral fluency in the context of international
languages.

Materials:
Speaking in Tongues handout (6 pages)
Onscreen countdown timer (can be downloaded from triptico.co.uk)
A slide with the hello word cloud provided in the appendix.
SS need to download and install Google Translate on their
phones/tablets before the lesson.
Noisemaker

Adi Rajan, Speaking in Tongues 2013

Printable PDF of the infographic:

Speaking in tongues
infographic.pdf

Adi Rajan, Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre-Intermediate
Speaking in Tongues
Lesson Plan Procedure:

Adi Rajan, Speaking in Tongues 2013

Display a slide that has a word cloud with hello in different

languages.
Pre-Intermediate

IH 60 lessons
To introduce
Speaking
in Tongues
Ask SS to work in pairs to identify the languages in the word
the topic of
Warmer

the lesson.

cloud.
SS discuss in pairs.

To personalise
the topic.

Feedback on guesses as a class.

WC

Slide containing
Hello Word cloud

P
2 mins
WC
3 mins

How many of you can speak any of these languages? Do you

know anyone else family members or friends who can speak
these languages?
Explain that using Google Translate, you can understand words in
other languages even if you cant speak them. Although,
sometimes the tool produces funny results.

WC

Divide the SS into groups of 3 or 4. Ensure that each group has at

least one smartphone with the Google Translate app.

G3

Tell SS that they will need to work as a group to find out

translations for a single word youll give them in as many
languages as possible using Google Translate. However, theyll
need to do this in just 60 seconds.
Signpost the handout with the 60 second language challenge and
ask groups to make a note of the language and the translation.
Display an onscreen countdown timer after setting it to 1 minute.

Mobile quest

To give SS an
opportunity
explore the
lessons
context using
their own
digital
devices.

Distribute handout. Ensure that all groups are ready and have
their Google Translate apps up and running.
Announce that the word SS will need to find translations for is
Sixty. Start the timer.
Adi Rajan, Speaking in Tongues 2013

When time runs out, give a 60 second extension if required.

Give SS some time to complete the table in their handouts and
then ask groups to count the number of languages they were able
to translate sixty into.

5 min

HO Ex 1
SS will need to
use the Google
Translate app on
their phones or
tablets for this
activity.

IH 60 lessons Pre-Intermediate
Speaking in Tongues

Adi Rajan, Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre-Intermediate
Speaking in Tongues

Hello Word Cloud

Adi Rajan, Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre Intermediate

Speaking in Tongues

Ex. 1 60 second language challenge

Language

How do they say _______?

Adi Rajan Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre Intermediate

Speaking in Tongues

Ex. 2 Differences
1.

How many letters does this word have

in each language?

2.

How many consonants?

3.

How many vowels?

4.

In which languages were these words

easy to say? Which ones were
difficult?

Adi Rajan Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre Intermediate

Speaking in Tongues

Ex. 3 Comparatives and Superlatives

Adjective

1 syllable

2 syllables
ending
with y
2 syllables
ending
with er,
le &
ow
2 or more
syllables

Comparative: Superlative:
comparing 2 comparing 3
things
or more
things

Short

Prettier

Narrowest

The most
intelligent

Irregular

Adi Rajan Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre Intermediate

Speaking in Tongues

Ex. 4 Learning a new language

Hello! My name is Alex. Im an engineer from
Sydney, Australia. I travel to China often because
most of my clients are Chinese. Its 1_______ (easy)
to travel and work in China if you can speak a little
bit of Chinese.
Chinese is 2____________ (hard) to learn than other
languages but its also 3__________ (interesting).
Chinese words are usually 4__________ (short) than
English words. Chinese grammar is also 5________
(simple) than English grammar. However, the
Chinese writing system is 6_____________ (tough) in
the world. English speakers usually find Chinese
pronunciation 7_______ (tricky) than European
languages because your tongue needs to move in
a very different way.

In todays globalized world, knowing two or more

international languages is 8_____________
(important) skill for any working professional.

Adi Rajan Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre Intermediate

Speaking in Tongues

Adi Rajan Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre Intermediate

Speaking in Tongues

Adi Rajan Speaking in Tongues 2013

IH 60 lessons Pre Intermediate

Speaking in Tongues

Ex. 5 True or false?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Bilingual children are more attentive than

monolingual children.
Bilingual speakers have a bigger
vocabulary.
Papua New Guinea has the largest number
of native languages.
Monolingual people are more creative.
The brains of bilingual speakers start aging
earlier than monolingual speakers.
Bilingual speakers make more money than
people who speak only one language.

Adi Rajan Speaking in Tongues 2013