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Date Posted: 11:33:43 07/23/03 Wed
Author: Maria Juliana de Souza
Subject: Task #12

12th TASK:
According to Littlewood (1981:39), functional communication activities place learners in a situation where they need to use language for a well-defined communicative purpose.
Examine one textbook and choose a good communicative activity. Describe it and then classify that activity according to the types presented by Littlewood.

We Both
Getting know each other; use of both and neither.
Procedure: In pairs, students ask each other questions in order to find as many things as they can that they have in common. They are not allowed to use ideas that are immediately apparent through looking at each other, for example, ‘We are both tall’. They must discover them through talking. After two or three minutes, invite pairs to tell the class some of their results. Sentences will tend to be of the form: ‘We both…’ or ‘neither of us…’

Note: the grammar of sentences using we both… is a little tricky. Normally the two words go together:

We both play the piano
But if there is an auxiliary verb like is or can, the word both is normally after it and before the main verb.
We can both play the piano
The phrase neither of us should be followed by a singular verb, except in very informal style.

Comments on Activity

According to Littlewood (1981), this activity emphasizes functional aspect of communication. In this case learners will exchange information, with whatever language they have at their disposal. The main purpose of this activity is that learners should use the language they know in order to get meaning across as effectively as possible. On the other hand, this activity takes on account social meaning as well as the functional meaning. The competent speaker choose language which is not only functionally effective, but is also appropriate to the social situation is in. In this situation, students will share and process information, they will need to explore their repertoire in order to express ideas for which they have not been specifically prepared. They will be facing disagreement and negotiation.
In my opinion this activity is very good for basic or low intermediate students, specially teenagers.
Reference: Littlewood, W. Communicative Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981. p. 16 to 42 (Xerox).
Ur, P. Wright, A. Five-Minute Activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. p. 90.

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