The Reading / Listening - Online Lessons - Level 6

A regulatory body in the UK that looks after student affairs has warned universities to be honest about online lessons. The Office for Students issued a request to higher education providers not to make promises that lessons from September will be in-person or face-to-face. Currently, thousands of institutions worldwide are delivering lessons online because of the coronavirus pandemic. The quality of these lessons quite often depends on the proficiency of teachers to successfully exploit video conferencing platforms to replicate a classroom experience. The body said: "Tailored support needs to be put in place." Cambridge University has announced all of its lessons will be online until the summer of 2021.

The Office for Students chief executive, Nicola Dandridge, warned universities and colleges to be "as clear as they can" when informing students of what kind of teaching situation they will receive. She said: "None of us knows exactly what is going to be happening in the autumn. What we don't want to see is promises that it's all going to be back to usual with an on-campus experience, when that is not the case." She added: "The point here is absolute clarity to students so they know what they are getting in advance to accepting [university] offers." She said that, "every reasonable effort" should be made to ensure that students, "receive good outcomes and that the quality of their teaching is robust".

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Online Lessons - Level 4  or  Online Lessons - Level 5

Sources
  • https://thepienews.com/news/dont-promise-in-person-teaching-uk-he-providers-warned/
  • https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education&link_location=live-reporting-story
  • https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/be-honest-to-new-students-about-closed-campuses-universities-warned-gztqnzqn2


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. ONLINE LESSONS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about online lessons. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       regulatory body / universities / online lessons / face-to-face / worldwide / summer /
       executive / clear / autumn / promises / experience / clarity / reasonable / quality
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. CLASSROOM: Students A strongly believe the classroom is a better place to learn than online; Students B strongly believe online is better.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. ONLINE CLASSES: What are the good and bad things about online classes? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

Good Things

Bad Things

Technology

 

 

Homework

 

 

Classmates

 

 

Teacher

 

 

Time

 

 

Classmates

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. STUDENT: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "student". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. LEARNING: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to learn online at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • English
  • cookery
  • car mechanics
  • coding
  • customer service
  • gardening
  • yoga
  • art

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. regulatory a. Make full use of and derive benefit from a resource.
      2. affairs b. Matters of importance to someone or people.
      3. issued c. An organisation or business that makers available something for use.
      4. provider d. Serving or intended to control something to keep it in good order.
      5. pandemic e. Made or adapted for a particular purpose or person.
      6. exploit f. Formally sent out or made known.
      7. tailored g. Of a disease that is in many places over a whole country or the world.

    Paragraph 2

      8. executive h. The quality of being certain or definite.
      9. exactly i. The grounds and buildings of a university or college.
      10. campus j. The way a thing turns out; a consequence.
      11. clarity k. A person with senior managerial responsibility in a business organization.
      12. reasonable l. Without error or mistake (used to emphasize the accuracy of something).
      13. outcomes m. Of a process, system, organization, etc. able to survive or overcome very difficult conditions.
      14. robust n. Based on good sense.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. A teachers' union has warned universities to be honest.     T / F
  2. A regulatory body told universities not to make promises they can't keep. T / F
  3. Lesson quality varies because of teacher-proficiency in technology.     T / F
  4. Cambridge University will start face-to-face lessons this September.     T / F
  5. A chief executive stressed to colleges that clarity was important.     T / F
  6. The executive said we all know what will happen in the autumn.     T / F
  7. The article said many students are refusing university offers.     T / F
  8. A chief executive said teaching quality should be robust.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. body
  2. issued
  3. depends on
  4. exploit
  5. replicate
  6. warned
  7. informing
  8. absolute
  9. in advance
  10. outcomes
  1. total
  2. make the most of
  3. results
  4. sent out
  5. cautioned
  6. copy
  7. rests on
  8. beforehand
  9. telling
  10. organisation

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. A regulatory
  2. higher education
  3. be in-person or
  4. depends on the proficiency
  5. announced all of its lessons
  6. be as clear
  7. it's all going to be back
  8. absolute
  9. know what they are getting in
  10. students receive good
  1. outcomes
  2. will be online
  3. of teachers
  4. as they can
  5. to usual
  6. body
  7. advance
  8. providers
  9. clarity
  10. face-to-face

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
pandemic
request
announced
proficiency
person
affairs
replicate
place

A regulatory body in the UK that looks after student (1) ____________ has warned universities to be honest about online lessons. The Office for Students issued a (2) ____________ to higher education providers not to make promises that lessons from September will be in-(3) ____________ or face-to-face. Currently, thousands of institutions worldwide are delivering lessons online because of the coronavirus (4) ____________. The quality of these lessons quite often depends on the (5) ____________ of teachers to successfully exploit video conferencing platforms to (6) ____________ a classroom experience. The body said: "Tailored support needs to be put in (7) ____________." Cambridge University has (8) ____________ all of its lessons will be online until the summer of 2021.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
advance
executive
affairs
informing
ensure
clear
promises
case

The Office for Students chief (9) ____________, Nicola Dandridge, warned universities and colleges to be "as (10) ____________ as they can" when (11) ____________ students of what kind of teaching situation they will receive. She said: "None of us knows exactly what is going to be happening in the autumn. What we don't want to see is (12) ____________ that it's all going to be back to usual with an on-campus experience, when that is not the (13) ____________." She added: "The point here is absolute clarity to students so they know what they are getting in (14) ____________ to accepting [university] offers." She said that, "every reasonable effort" should be made to (15) ____________ that students, "receive good outcomes and that the quality of their teaching is (16) ____________ ".

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  A regulatory body in the UK that looks ______
     a.  after student affair
     b.  after student a fairs
     c.  after student all fairs
     d.  after student affairs
2) issued a request to higher education providers not ______
     a.  to make promise
     b.  to make promissory
     c.  to make promises
     d.  to make premises
3)  that lessons from September will be in-person ______
     a.  or face-to-head
     b.  or face-to-face
     c.  or face-to-skull
     d.  or face-to-boat race
4)  The quality of these lessons quite often depends on the ______
     a.  proficient see of teachers
     b.  prof fishery of teachers
     c.  pro fishery of teachers
     d.  proficiency of teachers
5)  The body said: "Tailored support needs to be ______."
     a.  put in place
     b.  put in plaice
     c.  put in placed
     d.  put imp place

6)  warned universities and colleges to be "as clear as they can" when ______
     a.  inform in students
     b.  informing students
     c.  inform Ming students
     d.  info mine students
7)  None of us knows exactly what is going to be happening ______
     a.  in the autumnal
     b.  in the ore tum
     c.  in the awesome
     d.  in the autumn
8)  it's all going to be back to usual with an on-campus experience, when that is ______
     a.  not a case
     b.  not the case
     c.  not your case
     d.  not then case
9)  The point here is absolute clarity to students so they know what they are ______
     a.  get tin on advance
     b.  get thing in advance
     c.  getting in advance
     d.  get tin in advance
10)  ensure that students receive good outcomes and that the quality of their ______"
     a.  teaching is robe bust
     b.  teaching is row bust
     c.  teaching is roe bust
     d.  teaching is robust

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A regulatory body in the UK that looks (1) ___________________ has warned universities to be honest about online lessons. The Office for Students issued a request to higher education providers not to (2) ___________________ lessons from September will be in-person or face-to-face. Currently, thousands of institutions (3) ___________________ lessons online because of the coronavirus pandemic. The quality of these lessons quite often depends on (4) ___________________ teachers to successfully exploit video conferencing platforms to (5) ___________________ experience. The body said: "Tailored support needs to be put in place." Cambridge University has (6) ___________________ its lessons will be online until the summer of 2021.

The Office for Students chief executive, Nicola Dandridge, warned universities and colleges to be "(7) ___________________ they can" when informing students of what kind of teaching situation they will receive. She said: "None of (8) ___________________ what is going to be happening in the autumn. What we don't want to (9) ___________________ that it's all going to be back to usual with an on-campus experience, when that is not the case." She added: "The point here (10) ___________________ to students so they know what they are getting in advance to accepting [university] offers." She said that, "(11) ___________________" should be made to ensure that students, "(12) ___________________ and that the quality of their teaching is robust".

Comprehension questions

  1. What is the name of the regulatory body mentioned in the article?
  2. How many institutions did the article say was delivering online lessons?
  3. What did the article say teachers must exploit?
  4. What kind of support did a chief executive say needed to be in place?
  5. Until when will Cambridge University teach online lessons?
  6. Who is Nicola Dandridge?
  7. What did Ms Dandridge say we don't want to see?
  8. What did Ms Dandridge say the point was?
  9. What did Ms Dandridge say students should receive?
  10. What did Ms Dandridge say the quality of teaching must be?

Multiple choice quiz

1)  What is the name of the regulatory body mentioned in the article?
a) Student Action
b) Office for Students
c) College Teachers Union
d) Education Now
2)  How many institutions did the article say was delivering online lessons?
a) gazillions
b) millions
c) tens of thousands
d) thousands
3) What did the article say teachers must exploit?
a) video conferencing platforms
b) their experience
c) empty classrooms
d) new technology
4) What kind of support did a chief executive say needed to be in place?
a) financial support
b) full support
c) tailored support
d) great support
5) Until when will Cambridge University teach online lessons?
a) later this year
b) the summer of 2021
c) well into 2022
d) when there is a vaccine

6) Who is Nicola Dandridge?
a) Office for Students chief executive
b) a student
c) a professor
d) an online lessons writer
7) What did Ms Dandridge say we don't want to see?
a) zero grades
b) homework
c) promises
d) students
8) What did Ms Dandridge say the point was?
a) absolute clarity
b) zero
c) no point
d) successful students
9) What did Ms Dandridge say students should receive?
a) good outcomes
b) a grade A
c) advice
d) a webcam and mic

10) What did Ms Dandridge say the quality of teaching must be?
a) innovative
b) better
c) top quality
d) robust

Role play

Role  A – English
You think English is the best thing to learn online. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the most difficult of these to learn online (and why): yoga, gardening or art.

Role  B – Yoga
You think yoga is the best thing to learn online. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the most difficult of these to learn online (and why): English, gardening or art.

Role  C – Gardening
You think gardening is the best thing to learn online. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the most difficult of these to learn online (and why): yoga, English or art.

Role  D – Art
You think art is the best thing to learn online. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the most difficult of these to learn online (and why): yoga, gardening or English.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'online'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'lesson'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • affairs
    • request
    • face
    • because
    • exploit
    • all
    • warned
    • kind
    • usual
    • case
    • offers
    • quality

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Online Lessons

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'online'?
    3. What do you think of online lessons?
    4. What are the good things about online lessons?
    5. Why might online lessons be better than face-to-face lessons?
    6. Should all lessons be online?
    7. What do you think of learning English online?
    8. What are students worrying about during this pandemic?
    9. How good do you think teachers are at using technology?
    10. What do you think of Cambridge University's decision?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'lessons'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What are the bad things about online lessons?
    5. Where do you learn best?
    6. What do you hope will happen in the autumn?
    7. What experiences have you had of online lessons?
    8. What would you really like to learn online?
    9. How 'robust' do you think online teaching is?
    10. What questions would you like to ask an online teacher?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    A regulatory (1) ____ in the UK that looks after student affairs has warned universities to be honest about online lessons. The Office for Students (2) ____ a request to higher education providers not to make promises that lessons from September will be in-person or face-to-(3) ____. Currently, thousands of institutions worldwide are delivering lessons online because of the coronavirus pandemic. The quality of these lessons quite often depends (4) ____ the proficiency of teachers to successfully exploit video conferencing platforms to (5) ____ a classroom experience. The body said: "Tailored support needs to be put in (6) ____." Cambridge University has announced all of its lessons will be online until the summer of 2021.

    The Office for Students chief executive, Nicola Dandridge, warned universities and colleges to be "as (7) ____ as they can" when informing students of what kind of teaching situation they will receive. She said: "None of us knows (8) ____ what is going to be happening in the autumn. What we don't want to see is promises that it's all going to be back to usual with an on-(9) ____ experience, when that is not the case." She added: "The point here is absolute clarity to students so they know what they are getting (10) ____ advance to accepting [university] offers." She said that, "every (11) ____ effort" should be made to ensure that students, "receive good outcomes and that the quality of their teaching is (12) ____".

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     bodice     (b)     body     (c)     boding     (d)     bodily    
    2. (a)     plastered     (b)     issued     (c)     taped     (d)     adhered    
    3. (a)     facet     (b)     faucet     (c)     farce     (d)     face    
    4. (a)     in     (b)     on     (c)     by     (d)     at    
    5. (a)     complicate     (b)     duplicate     (c)     triplicate     (d)     replicate    
    6. (a)     situation     (b)     location     (c)     place     (d)     there    
    7. (a)     clear     (b)     opaque     (c)     misty     (d)     blurred    
    8. (a)     exacted     (b)     exact     (c)     exactly     (d)     extant    
    9. (a)     campsite     (b)     camping     (c)     camper     (d)     campus    
    10. (a)     in     (b)     of     (c)     at     (d)     by    
    11. (a)     reasonable     (b)     reasoning     (c)     reasons     (d)     reason    
    12. (a)     robust     (b)     affect     (c)     qualities     (d)     desperate

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. A oeglraurty body in the UK
    2. Students issued a reutesq
    3. thousands of iiittntusnso
    4. because of the coronavirus ienapcmd
    5. depends on the epocyrcnifi of teachers
    6. nnceaonud all of its lessons will be online

    Paragraph 2

    1. The Office for Students chief icxtuveee
    2. gnfinmior students of what kind
    3. an ou-scmnpa experience
    4. absolute itrycal
    5. every reslnaaboe effort
    6. the quality of their teaching is otburs

    Put the text back together

    (...)  promises that lessons from September will be in-person or face-to-face. Currently, thousands
    (...)  about online lessons. The Office for Students issued a request to higher education providers not to make
    (  1  ) A regulatory body in the UK that looks after student affairs has warned universities to be honest
    (...)  video conferencing platforms to replicate a classroom experience. The body said: "Tailored support needs to be put in
    (...)  getting in advance to accepting [university] offers." She said that, "every reasonable effort" should be
    (...)  receive. She said: "None of us knows exactly what is going to be happening in the autumn. What we don't
    (...)  pandemic. The quality of these lessons quite often depends on the proficiency of teachers to successfully exploit
    (...)  experience, when that is not the case." She added: "The point here is absolute clarity to students so they know what they are
    (...)  made to ensure that students, "receive good outcomes and that the quality of their teaching is robust".
    (...)  clear as they can" when informing students of what kind of teaching situation they will
    (...)  want to see is promises that it's all going to be back to usual with an on-campus
    (...)  place." Cambridge University has announced all of its lessons will be online until the summer of 2021.
    (...)  of institutions worldwide are delivering lessons online because of the coronavirus
    (...)  The Office for Students chief executive, Nicola Dandridge, warned universities and colleges to be "as

    Put the words in the right order

    1. Warned   to   universities   honest   about   online   lessons   .   be
    2. institutions   online  .  Thousands  of  lessons  worldwide  delivering  are
    3. the   often   of   depends   proficiency   Quite   teachers   .   on
    4. place   .   Tailored   to   support   put   in   needs   be
    5. be   online   .   lessons   will   of   Announced   all   its
    6. as   to   can   .   clear   as   Colleges   be   they
    7. to   see   don't   we   is   What   want   promises   .
    8. back   to   be   It's   going   to   usual   .   all
    9. point   here   to   clarity   absolute   is   students   .   The
    10. teaching   their   robust   .   is   Ensure   quality   of   the

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A regulatory body in the UK that looks after student affair / affairs has warned universities to be honest / honesty about online lessons. The Office for Students issued a request to higher / lower education providers not to make promises that lessons from September will be in-person or face-to-face. Currently / Present, thousands of institutions worldwide are delivered / delivering lessons online because of the coronavirus pandemic. The quality of these lessons quite / quit often depends on the proficiency of teachers to successfully exploit video conferencing platforms to triplicate / replicate a classroom experience. The body said: "Manicured / Tailored support needs to be put in / on place." Cambridge University has announced all of its lessons will be online until / since the summer of 2021.

    The Office for Students chief executive, Nicola Dandridge, warned universities and colleges to be "as dear / clear as they can" when informing students of what kindness / kind of teaching situation they will receive. She said: "None / No one of us knows exactly what is going to be happened / happening in the autumn. What we don't want to see is promise / promises that it's all going to be back to usually / usual with an on-campus experience, when that is not the case / box." She added: "The point here is absolute clarity to students so they know what they are getting on / in advance to accepting [university] offers." She said that, "every reasonable / reasoned effort" should be made to ensure that students, "receive good outcomes and that the quality of their teaching is robots / robust".

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    A r_g_l_t_r y b_d y _n t h_ U K t h_t l__ k s _f t_r s t_d_n t _f f__ r s h_s w_r n_d _n_v_r s_t__ s t_ b_ h_n_s t _b__ t _n l_n_ l_s s_n s . T h_ O f f_c_ f_r S t_d_n t s _s s__ d _ r_q__ s t t_ h_g h_r _d_c_t__ n p r_v_d_r s n_t t_ m_k_ p r_m_s_s t h_t l_s s_n s f r_m S_p t_m b_r w_l l b_ _n - p_r s_n _r f_c_- t_- f_c_. C_r r_n t l y , t h__ s_n d s _f _n s t_t_t__ n s w_r l d w_d_ _r_ d_l_v_r_n g l_s s_n s _n l_n_ b_c__ s_ _f t h_ c_r_n_v_r_s p_n d_m_c . T h_ q__ l_t y _f t h_s_ l_s s_n s q__ t_ _f t_n d_p_n d s _n t h_ p r_f_c__ n c y _f t__ c h_r s t_ s_c c_s s f_l l y _x p l__ t v_d__ c_n f_r_n c_n g p l_t f_r m s t_ r_p l_c_t_ _ c l_s s r__ m _x p_r__ n c_. T h_ b_d y s__ d : " T__ l_r_d s_p p_r t n__ d s t_ b_ p_t _n p l_c_. " C_m b r_d g_ U n_v_r s_t y h_s _n n__ n c_d _l l _f _t s l_s s_n s w_l l b_ _n l_n_ _n t_l t h_ s_m m_r _f 2 0 2 1 .

    T h_ O f f_c_ f_r S t_d_n t s c h__ f _x_c_t_v_, N_c_l_ D_n d r_d g_, w_r n_d _n_v_r s_t__ s _n d c_l l_g_s t_ b_ "_s c l__ r _s t h_y c_n " w h_n _n f_r m_n g s t_d_n t s _f w h_t k_n d _f t__ c h_n g s_t__ t__ n t h_y w_l l r_c__ v_. S h_ s__ d : " N_n_ _f _s k n_w s _x_c t l y w h_t _s g__ n g t_ b_ h_p p_n_n g _n t h_ __ t_m n . W h_t w_ d_n ' t w_n t t_ s__ _s p r_m_s_s t h_t _t ' s _l l g__ n g t_ b_ b_c k t_ _s__ l w_t h _n _n - c_m p_s _x p_r__ n c_, w h_n t h_t _s n_t t h_ c_s_. " S h_ _d d_d : " T h_ p__ n t h_r_ _s _b s_l_t_ c l_r_t y t_ s t_d_n t s s_ t h_y k n_w w h_t t h_y _r_ g_t t_n g _n _d v_n c_ t_ _c c_p t_n g [_n_v_r s_t y ] _f f_r s . " S h_ s__ d t h_t , "_v_r y r__ s_n_b l_ _f f_r t " s h__ l d b_ m_d_ t_ _n s_r_ t h_t s t_d_n t s , " r_c__ v_ g__ d __ t c_m_s _n d t h_t t h_ q__ l_t y _f t h__ r t__ c h_n g _s r_b_s t " .

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a regulatory body in the uk that looks after student affairs has warned universities to be honest about online lessons the office for students issued a request to higher education providers not to make promises that lessons from september will be inperson or facetoface currently thousands of institutions worldwide are delivering lessons online because of the coronavirus pandemic the quality of these lessons quite often depends on the proficiency of teachers to successfully exploit video conferencing platforms to replicate a classroom experience the body said tailored support needs to be put in place cambridge university has announced all of its lessons will be online until the summer of 2021

    the office for students chief executive nicola dandridge warned universities and colleges to be as clear as they can when informing students of what kind of teaching situation they will receive she said none of us knows exactly what is going to be happening in the autumn what we dont want to see is promises that its all going to be back to usual with an oncampus experience when that is not the case she added the point here is absolute clarity to students so they know what they are getting in advance to accepting university offers she said that every reasonable effort should be made to ensure that students receive good outcomes and that the quality of their teaching is robust

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    AregulatorybodyintheUKthatlooksafterstudentaffairshaswarneduni
    versitiestobehonestaboutonlinelessons.TheOfficeforStudentsissue
    darequesttohighereducationprovidersnottomakepromisesthatlesso
    nsfromSeptemberwillbein-personorface-to-face.Currently,thousan
    dsofinstitutionsworldwidearedeliveringlessonsonlinebecauseofthec
    oronaviruspandemic.Thequalityoftheselessonsquiteoftendependso
    ntheproficiencyofteacherstosuccessfullyexploitvideoconferencingpl
    atformstoreplicateaclassroomexperience.Thebodysaid:"Tailoredsu
    pportneedstobeputinplace."CambridgeUniversityhasannouncedallo
    fitslessonswillbeonlineuntilthesummerof2021.TheOfficeforStudent
    schiefexecutive,NicolaDandridge,warneduniversitiesandcollegesto
    be"asclearastheycan"wheninformingstudentsofwhatkindofteaching
    situationtheywillreceive.Shesaid:"Noneofusknowsexactlywhatisgoi
    ngtobehappeningintheautumn.Whatwedon'twanttoseeispromisest
    hatit'sallgoingtobebacktousualwithanon-campusexperience,when
    thatisnotthecase."Sheadded:"Thepointhereisabsoluteclaritytostud
    entssotheyknowwhattheyaregettinginadvancetoaccepting[universi
    ty]offers."Shesaidthat,"everyreasonableeffort"shouldbemadetoens
    urethatstudents,"receivegoodoutcomesandthatthequalityoftheirte
    achingisrobust".

    Free writing

    Write about the lesson page for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Online lessons are better than classroom lessons. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. ONLINE LESSONS: Make a poster about online lessons. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. CLASSROOM: Write a magazine article about classroom lessons being replaced by online lessons. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on online lessons. Ask him/her three questions about online lessons. Give him/her three of your ideas. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

    $US 9.99

    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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