Reading Dialogues: Book A

Oral Activities for New Speakers of English

 
ESOL teacher, Helen McKessar, and drama specialist, Susan Battye, have teamed up to develop Reading Dialogues: Books A and B. Their collaboration comes from the knowledge that many students who are learning English find speaking aloud in front of others extremely difficult. The two photocopiable books in Reading Dialogues provide opportunities for students to tackle this sometimes fraught area in a structured and meaningful way.

Each book contains a series of ‘dialogues’ or short plays which are intended to be read aloud in small groups, and then discussed. The dialogues are tailored to different language levels in both books and are interesting, challenging and, above all, fun.

Each dialogue starts with a series of pre-reading activities which will prepare students for the vocabulary ahead. Dialogues are followed by a range of post-reading activities which can be used to check comprehension, practise vocabulary in other language mediums, recognise the importance of colloquialisms and idioms in spoken English, and make points about the formal structure of the language.

 Book A activities include:

• Let’s Go Camping
• Pitching the Tent
• Fun at Camp
• Making New Friends
• At Tama’s for Tea

About the authors:

Susan Battye is Head of Drama at a city high school. In 1993 she received a British Council Fellowship to complete her M.A. in Drama in Education in the UK. She is a published playwright, writer of school resources for theatre in education, dramaturg and theatre producer.

Helen McKessar is Dean of International Students at a city high school. After graduating from university she taught in primary schools and then moved to secondary teaching. She is now a specialist in teaching English to speakers of other languages.

[CODE: UF-0210; Pages: 56]

[Authors: Susan Battye & Helen McKesser; Age Suitability: 10-13+]