Learning task 1
Introduction
It is presumed that mainstreamed ESOL students have at least the first 2000 words of English and should be well on the way to working at the 3000 word level.
Paul Nation's vocabulary lists are widely used in New Zealand schools. These lists are based on General Service list.
With the few adaptations made, the majority of mainstreamed ESOL students, even those who have previously seen little television of this genre, should be able to enjoy this unit. The amount of new vocabulary is the main barrier and methods of dealing with the large number of new vocabulary items are outlined. Categories of new words:
- Words relating to drama that need to be learned and remembered to complete the requirements of the unit.
- Words relating to drama, the meanings of which can be glossed for reference during the unit.
- General words which occur in the teaching texts of the unit. Where these words are within the first 3000 words of English (and therefore should be learned by students at this level), they are marked with an asterix. Those less commonly used words are to be explained at the time but need not be learnt. Note: There is a limit to the number of new vocabulary items that it is practical to learn when there is a great deal of other new material to absorb. Remember students learning in their second language have a far smaller number of known words to relate new vocabulary to.
Because of the large amount of new material in this unit some of the texts have been simplified to reduce the number of new vocabulary items the students are faced with.
A book ring with attached small cards is suggested for each ESOL student as a method of vocabulary learning.
Teachers will use their knowledge of individual students to assess how much of the new vocabulary they can comfortably learn. Don't forget the glossary provided with this unit. Learning 10 new words a day is reasonable.
The five teaching notes summarised below contain background information on a particular aspect of television drama. They link to activities specific to the topic that can be given to students.
Throughout each of these sections you will also find references to behind the scenes and the glossary.
- Writing explores the concept of story and examines the four elements a writer may consider when writing for television. These are genre, theme, setting, and script. The related activities cover these areas.
- Character building explores character and role. There are links to information about the characters in Being Eve and the actors who play them, and to interviews with the lead actors. The activities contain ideas based on character-building work.
- Production explores the production side of the programme. Find out about the roles of some of the show's production team, and read interviews with one of the writers and the producer. The activities contain questions about the production team and a related drama activity.
- Technical elements explores the technical aspects of the show and provides explanations of the camera shots and special effects used in the programme. The activities follow these technical aspects with practical tasks based around creating storyboards.
- Audience explores writing reviews and being an analytical audience. There are activities for writing reviews.
Published on: 09 Jan 2018
