Classroom techniques - "Say it"

Goal  

• to practise language recently met in reading 

Features  

• ākonga arrangement– individual performance in a group (the focus is on individual performance rather than communicating information) 
• information distribution – all ākonga have the same information 
• ākonga arrangement– meaning 
• language modes – speaking and reading 

Materials  

See Materials that come with this resource to download:

• Kōrerotia mai! (.doc) 
• Te Hā o te Marama (.doc) 

Procedure 

1. Write a worksheet with grid of small tasks based on a reading, with letter and number references. For example: 

2. Ākonga read the text. 

3. In groups, ākonga take turns doing the tasks in the grid. They use the worksheet to ask others to perform a task by giving box coordinates, for example, one student says “C1”. The next student in the group performs the task in box C1, and then names another box for the next student. 

Kaiako considerations  

Put a range of tasks in the boxes of the grid, from simple factual questions to more analytical questions and those asking the reader’s opinion. Questions can also focus on the meaning of specific words. 

Different ‘Say it!’ worksheets for the same text can be targeted to groups of learners at different levels within the class. 

Variations  

• Use ‘Say it!’ after a listening task. 
• Show the grid to the whole class on a projector or write it on the board. Conduct the activity with the whole class. (This can train ākonga to later use the grid independently in groups.) 
• This can be a kind of mini role-play if each box in the grid asks ākonga to speak in the role of a character in the text. 
• Use ‘Say it!’ as a stand-alone activity (without using a text) to introduce ākonga to very simple role play. The grid tasks can be, for example: “Pretend that this is your first day at a new school. Say your name and where you come from.” or “You have just got home from school. Tell your father what you did at school. Tell him about your new friends.” (Nation, 1988, p. 22) 

Classroom examples  

Level 3 – myths and legends, for example, the legend ‘Māui goes fishing’. Find a version of this story in Māori that is suitable for your learners and their level of proficiency. Prepare a grid similar to this one, with items that match the text you use. 

Benefits of this technique    

‘Say it!’ tasks:  

• give ākonga support in their speaking in the low-stress environment of a small group 
• help ākonga learning of the language in the text by requiring them to use the words in their own sentences. 

Evaluation of the task  

• Was there a good range of questions in the grid? 
• Could the ākonga answer the questions? 
• Did ākonga answer the questions in their own words, rather than reading directly from the text? 

References  

Nation, I. S. P. (1988). Communication Activities. English Language Institute Occasional Publication No. 13. (p. 22) 

Nation, I. S. P. (1995). Teaching Listening and Speaking. English Language Institute Occasional Publication No. 14. (pp. 134–145) 

Nation, I. S. P. (2000). Creating, Adapting and Using Language Teaching Techniques. English Language Institute Occasional Publication No. 20. (pp. 21–22) 

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