Teaching goals

Train their listening and speaking abilities.

Teaching important and difficult points

Help the students to talk about position, space and direction and illustrate ways that listeners indicate that they are listening to the speaker.

Teaching methods

Pair work and group work, discussion and cooperation

Teaching aids

A recorder, a computer, and a blackboard

Teaching procedures

Step1 Listening

1.       The first time the students listen to the tape they are expected to listen for the gist only. Read Ex1 on page 6 with students so that they know what to listen for and play the recording right through without stopping.

4 Geographic areas of California

   2 Where George’s tour started

   3 California not as George expected

   1 Where George is now

   5 Californian people

2.       Read the postcard on page 6 with students and ask them to recall the missing information. Then play the tape right through while students listen for the missing details. Play it twice if necessary and then check answers by playing the tape again and stopping when the missing details are given.

   Dear Sam,

I’m here in Joshua Tree National Park, in the___southeastern_

   part of California. Have been traveling around the state of

__california___ for three weeks now. Very different from what

I have seen in ___American movies____ . Not everyone is ___rich__

and not everyone lives near the __beach_____. First traveled

southeast through rich farmland then to the central part.

They grow everything here including __cotton, nuts, vegetables_____

   and fruit. Cattle too. Then traveled further ____southeast______ into

mountains and ____desert_____.Californians are very friendly,

and they are from many different ___races_____ and cultures.

   Every culture has its own ____music__, ___festivals_____, food and art.

Most interesting. Wish you were here. Give my love to Paula.

George