A thank you e-mail
Pre Intermediate level
Materials
Main Aims
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By the end of the lesson, students will have practiced writing a short thank-you email, using formal or informal register, in the context of thanking someone for a gift.
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide clarification of functional language in the context of a formal or informal thank you email
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To provide reading practice for gist and to enable students to identify the structure and layout of a thank you email in the context of thanking someone for a gift
Procedure (39-43 minutes)
- T greets students and welcomes them. - T sets the context of the lesson by talking about a gift he received recently (use realia), some visual support will be presented on the TV. "So guys, 2 weeks ago it was my birthday, and one of my friends gave me a really nice surprise... an English book! I loved it because it had so many activities and it is very useful for me as an English teacher! After that, I wanted to thank him properly, so I sent her a short email to say thank you for the gift." - T displays 2 questions on the screen for students to discuss in pairs. What's the best gift you've ever received? Do you usually send an email to say thank you, or do you prefer to say it in person? - T says "That's a nice gift I received recently, now I want to know about you. Here you have 2 questions for you to discuss in pairs for about 2 minutes" - T models the task with student's help. "Let's make an example, Mafer, can you ask me the first question?" - T ask some ICQs to check understanding of the task. "Do you have to write something? or simply speak?" (simply speak) "How much time do we have? 2 minutes or 5 minutes?" (2 minutes) - After the 2 minutes, T conducts OCFB by acknowledging some and asking some learners to share their ideas. - Transition: "So... let's have a look to some emails of people saying thank you"
Gist: 2-3 mins - T shows the first handout in his chest and says "Here you have two emails, A and B, I want you to read the TWO emails VERY QUICKLY and answer the question you have below" - T asks some ICQs to check understanding of the task "Do we have to read only one email or the two emails?" (The 2 emails) "Do I have to read quickly or slowly?" (Quickly/Very quickly) - T says "Great! You'll work individually and you only have 1 minute to do this!" - After the 1 minute, T will conduct OCFB. Layout: 4-5 mins - Transition: "Good job guys! Now it's time for us to analyze the structure of the emails" - T gives instructions on the next task: "Here you have some numbers in the emails, can you see them? Great! I want you to match those numbers with the parts of the email, let's do the first one together!" (demo the task by eliciting one answer, and include the already done example on the handout) - T asks some ICQs: "Do I have to write random numbers? Or the ones that matches?" (the ones that matches) "Do you have to analyze only one email or the two emails?" (the two emails) - T says "Great, you have 2-3 minutes to do work on that individually" - After the 2 minutes, ss will check their answers in pairs for about 1 minute and T will conduct OCFB afterwards. - T asks some CCQs: "So... is the structure of the 2 emails different or is it the same?" (The same) "Which one should I send to my boss?" (A) "Which one should I send to my best friend?" (B) - Transition: "Good job, everyone! Now let's check some useful expressions from the emails!"
- T shows the second handout in his chest and gives instructions. "We are going to work individually on part A and B. In part A you have to choose whether the expression is formal or informal. (Demo the task) In part B you have 3 multiple choice questions, I want you ream them and choose the correct answer, A, B, or C" - T asks some ICQs to check understanding "Are we just working on part A, or on Part A and B?" (A and B) "In part A, do I have to write something? or just choose if it is formal or informal?" (Decide if it is formal or informal) "In part B, do you have to write something? Or just choose the correct answer?" (Just choose the correct answer) - T says "Great! You'll work individually for around 3-4 minutes" - After the 3-4 minutes, ss will check their answers with their peers for about 1 minute. Then T will conduct OCFB by checking the answers and asking some CCQs" - After the guided discovery task, T will clarify MFA on the board by asking CCQs. - Transition: "Nice! Now let's write our own email!"
- T shows the third and fourth handout in his chest and gives instructions by drawing learners attention to the models and layout. "You’ve received two gifts: one from a close person and one from someone you respect a lot. Choose one person and write a thank-you email using the structure and expressions we learned." - T asks some ICQs: "Are we sending 2 emails or 1 email?" (1 email) "Can I choose which one?" (Yes) "If I want to reply to Mr. Martinez, should I write a formal or informal email?" (Formal) "If I want to reply to my best friend, should I write a formal or informal email?" (Informal) - T emphasizes to guide on the models given, model A for formal emails and model B for informal emails. - T says "Great, you have around 10 minutes to write your email individually" - If remaining time, I will give learners the chance to review and improve their writing for about 1-2 minutes. - Transition "Good job guys! You all did a great job, now it's time for us to share our email"
- T puts learners into pairs (there might be a group of 3, though) by numbering them. - T shows the email handout and the checklist in his chest and gives instructions. "In your pairs, you're going to read each other's email, and I want you to use this checklist" (Demo the task by projecting a model on the TV and working on the checklist with learners) - T asks ICQs: "Are you just reading? or reading and using the checklist?" (Reading and using the checklist) - T says "Great, let's read the emails and use the checklist, you have around 3 minutes" - After 3 minutes, ask them to give each other's emails back with their checklist. - T will conduct OCFB mainly on content by acknowledging their emails and asking follow-up questions, touch briefly on language and promote self reflection.
