Level: A2 Audience: 11th grade teenage students in public schools from Colombia Skill focus: Speaking (while also working on their reading and writing skills) Suggested tool: Vocaroo
🎯 Objective
You will be practicing your speaking skills while also improving your reading comprehension, writing skills, and pronunciation.
How will you do that? By reading a short article about a social issue, writing your own opinion about it, and finally recording your voice, for this you will use Vocaroo to record yourself
🪜 Step 1 – Choose your topic
Select one social issue that you find interesting or relevant. Here are some ideas (but you can bring your own!):
Technology and its impact on our lives: https://www.uagrantham.edu/blog/technology-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9658971/
I provided some articles about these topics to help you get started.
Step 2 – Read and highlight
Read the article carefully and highlight:
The main idea
3–5 key facts or arguments
New vocabulary you didn’t know
Then, look up the meaning of those new words. Try to understand how they are used in context. 💡 This will help you sound more natural and confident when speaking.
Step 3 – Write your short opinion
Now, write a short script (100–120 words) expressing your opinion about the topic. Try to include:
An introduction (what the issue is about)
Your opinion (what you think and why)
A suggestion or solution (what could be done)
A conclusion
💡 Use some of the new vocabulary you found during your reading.
Step 4 – Record your voice
It’s time to speak up! Go to vocaroo.com and record your message. Keep these tips in mind:
Speak slowly and clearly (1–2 minutes total)
Use your natural voice — don’t read too fast
Once you have finished, make a little reflection of this task, let me know:
What new words did you learn?
Did recording your voice help you feel more confident?
What would you like to improve next time?
When done, click “Save & Share” → Copy Link
Paste the link on the Campus Virtual or share it with me through my email: esteban.baker@correounivalle.edu.co
Task done! I really liked your activity. It’s well organized and gives students a nice chance to share their opinions on different topics. I think it’s a great way to practice speaking while also learning new vocabulary and expressing personal ideas.
Thank you Maria, I really appreciate your feedback. I try to implement a more critical thinking approach to these activities, so my students can develop their own opinions.
Done! I really like the fact that you suggest recording because it helps notice your own errors. Also, you encourage students provide their opinions and reflect on them promoting critical thinking. In addition, you explained the purpose of the activity so students know what they are doing and the purpose of it.
Hi Juan, I appreciate your comments. Yes, I tried to be as clear as possible to make the activity easy to understand while also making sure that my students provide their own ideas to the discussions.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSpeak Up! Your Opinion Matters.
ReplyDeleteLevel: A2
Audience: 11th grade teenage students in public schools from Colombia
Skill focus: Speaking (while also working on their reading and writing skills)
Suggested tool: Vocaroo
🎯 Objective
You will be practicing your speaking skills while also improving your reading comprehension, writing skills, and pronunciation.
How will you do that? By reading a short article about a social issue, writing your own opinion about it, and finally recording your voice, for this you will use Vocaroo to record yourself
🪜 Step 1 – Choose your topic
Select one social issue that you find interesting or relevant. Here are some ideas (but you can bring your own!):
Climate change:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/climate-change
Social media:
https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/
Gender equality:
https://www.unesco.org/en/gender-equality/education
Technology and its impact on our lives:
https://www.uagrantham.edu/blog/technology-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9658971/
I provided some articles about these topics to help you get started.
Step 2 – Read and highlight
Read the article carefully and highlight:
The main idea
3–5 key facts or arguments
New vocabulary you didn’t know
Then, look up the meaning of those new words. Try to understand how they are used in context.
💡 This will help you sound more natural and confident when speaking.
Step 3 – Write your short opinion
Now, write a short script (100–120 words) expressing your opinion about the topic.
Try to include:
An introduction (what the issue is about)
Your opinion (what you think and why)
A suggestion or solution (what could be done)
A conclusion
💡 Use some of the new vocabulary you found during your reading.
Step 4 – Record your voice
It’s time to speak up! Go to vocaroo.com and record your message.
Keep these tips in mind:
Speak slowly and clearly (1–2 minutes total)
Use your natural voice — don’t read too fast
Once you have finished, make a little reflection of this task, let me know:
What new words did you learn?
Did recording your voice help you feel more confident?
What would you like to improve next time?
When done, click “Save & Share” → Copy Link
Paste the link on the Campus Virtual or share it with me through my email: esteban.baker@correounivalle.edu.co
🎉🎉🎉 Have fun!!! 🎉🎉🎉
Task done!
ReplyDeleteI really liked your activity. It’s well organized and gives students a nice chance to share their opinions on different topics. I think it’s a great way to practice speaking while also learning new vocabulary and expressing personal ideas.
Thank you Maria, I really appreciate your feedback. I try to implement a more critical thinking approach to these activities, so my students can develop their own opinions.
DeleteDone!
ReplyDeleteI really like the fact that you suggest recording because it helps notice your own errors. Also, you encourage students provide their opinions and reflect on them promoting critical thinking. In addition, you explained the purpose of the activity so students know what they are doing and the purpose of it.
Hi Juan, I appreciate your comments. Yes, I tried to be as clear as possible to make the activity easy to understand while also making sure that my students provide their own ideas to the discussions.
Delete