Page:Adapting and Writing Language Lessons.pdf/393

CHAPTER 7 2. Students ask questions in the target language, in order to clarify the meaning of new words. It is important at this stage that they not try to go further with their questions into interesting matters that may be related to the text but which are not included in it.

3. The instructor warns the class that after repeating the text once more, he will ask the questions. It is essential at this stage that he try to choose his questions in such a way that students will give the right answer on the first try.

The first questions may suggest alternative answers, so that the student can reply by simply repeating part of what he has just heard: Q. ? A. . As the student answers the questions, he is reproducing parts of the original text.

4. Students take turns in telling things that they remember from the text. They are still reproducing parts of the text, but now the parts may be longer, and there is no question from the teacher to suggest form or content.

5. Students try to retell the entire original in their own words, until one of them can do it with no mistakes. Then they try to tell it in the length of time that the instructor used, still without mistakes. With a small class, (six to eight students) the first five steps of this procedure are normally completed in about 20 minutes. Because virtually all of the time is spent either in repeating the text or in asking questions about it, the time needed for these