Page 243 - Beyond Methods

Integrating language skills 231
be discussed in class in order to arrive at a consensus list of topics they would like to address.
The following microstrategies, as well as exploratory projects, show how channels of communication such as newspapers, radio, TV, and the Internet can be effectively used for the purpose of inte- grating language skills.
Microstrategy 10.1: A Matter of Money and Motherhood
10.1.0 A regular column feature that appears in newspapers or news magazines in many parts of the world is the advice column. Readers who participate in these columns generally describe a personal experi- ence or a social situation and seek advice from experts in the relevant field of activity. These columns can be a good source for generating meaningful discussion in class, since everybody will have an opinion on most of the personal and social issues raised by readers. Most of these are syndicated columns, that is, the same columns appear in sev- eral newspapers. It is fairly easy to use newspaper columns to design a classroom activity involving all four language skills and at different levels of linguistic and communicative challenge. Here’s one way of doing it; you may wish to modify some parts of the microstrategy to suit your learning and teaching situation.
10.1.1 Select a short piece from an advice column that you believe will interest your learners. Make sure the issue raised lends itself to dif- ferent interpretations and solutions based on different beliefs and ex- pectations. The following sample text is taken from an advice column, titled “Miss Manners,” that appeared in the San Jose Mercury News.
Dear Miss Manners: While we were expecting our fourth son, my mother offered to come and assist with our family during his birth, using a plane ticket she already had. We were glad to have her here to help with transportation, meal preparation, etc. Because of un- foreseen circumstances, she ended up staying for 13 days. During her stay, she made many trips to the grocery store: some I re- quested, some she did on her own. Whenever she purchased some- thing for our family, I told her I would pay her back.
Upon departure, she presented me with a total of over $400! I wrote her a check. Later, I looked at the receipts she had left. She charged us for all the food she ate, numerous magazines and cook- books she purchased for herself, special soap she wanted instead of the brand we use, and gifts for the dog ($10 for the dog bones) and the children! In addition, she bought many expensive items (large bags of macadamia nuts and almonds, brand-name grocery items