Anthony Anthony

A demo class on Functional Language
Elementary level

Description

This lesson focuses on the functional language of making and responding to phone calls in everyday situations. Learners will explore common expressions such as Can I speak to…?, Hold on a moment, I got your message, and Can I call you back? through a short text and guided practice. The lesson develops students’ ability to communicate politely and appropriately on the phone, emphasizing meaning, form, pronunciation, and use. Controlled and freer practice activities allow learners to apply the target language in realistic contexts, culminating in role‑plays that simulate authentic phone conversations.

Materials

Main Aims

  • To introduce and provide practice of functional language to have a conversation on the phone

Subsidiary Aims

  • To improve pronunciation and intonation when making polite requests.
  • To reinforce vocabulary related to communication and phone calls.

Procedure

Lead - in (3-5 minutes) • To activate students’ prior knowledge and personal experiences with phone communication, generate interest in the topic, and introduce key vocabulary related to phone calls. This stage sets the context for the lesson and prepares learners to engage with the target functional language (making and responding to phone calls politely).

Greet Ss. Display the first slide on G-slides. Ask students 3 questions to make them talk about their phone habits. Nominate one of the learners and ask the first question. Then, send them to BOR to share their experiences with a partner. Encourage them to take short notes with some keywords (E.g: texting is faster, calls are more personal). Bring the class back. Highlight common ideas and differences. Use this moment to activate / elicit vocabulary. (text, voicemail, mobile, free, answer, call) Questions: How often do you make phone calls? Do you prefer texting or calling? Why? When was the last time you made a phone call in English?

Presentation through text (5-7 minutes) • To introduce the target language through a short, meaningful text and develop learners’ ability to identify the main idea (gist) before analyzing details.

Display the G-form document containing the conversation with TL. Tell learners that they will read it individually. Give 2 minutes to do so, students should not focus on details at this point. After that, nominate 1 or 2 students and ask ''What's the conversation about?'' and ''What's the purpose of the call?'' Learners read the text again, but this time carefully for intensive reading. Give instructions. Explain they will have to answer multiple - choice questions that check for specific information like time, place, etc. Give them 3 minutes for this task. ICQ's Do you need to read for details or just the main idea? → Details Will you have 2 or 3 minutes for this activity? → 3 minutes Learners then compare their answers in pairs to justify their choices, followed by open‑class feedback to confirm the correct options. Finally, the teacher highlights functional expressions from the dialogue (e.g., Can I speak to…?, Speaking, Can I call you back?) to reinforce the target language in context.

Language Clarification (Meaning) (2-4 minutes) • To help students identify and understand the communicative functions of phrases used in phone conversations.

Display the dialogue on a G-document. Then ask guiding questions about each function. Students respond by saying the phrase from the dialogue that matches the function. The teacher confirms and highlights the phrase in the document. Functions to Elicit: What phrase does Sofia use to start the call politely? → “Hello, can I speak to Daniel, please?” What is she doing when she says ‘Hold on’? → Wait a moment How does Daniel show he likes Sofia’s idea? → Yes, that sounds good' How does Daniel show that he’s the right person? → Yeah, that’s me. Does ‘One more thing’ mean the conversation is finished or that there’s something else to say? → that there's something else to say Does “meet up” mean to see someone or to talk on the phone? → To see someone in person Does “call back” mean she will call the same person again or a different person? → The same person

Language Clarification (Form & Pronunciation ) (3-7 minutes) • To highlight how the target phrases are constructed (e.g., verb tense, auxiliary verbs, contractions, word order).

Write the formula for phone phrases on the G- document: Request → Can I + verb + object Suggestion → How about + we + verb + complement Offer → Do you want me to + verb + object Elicit examples from the dialogue (Can I speak to Daniel?, Should we meet at the café?). Students complete the interactive Wordwall exercise to match phrases with their correct function (request, response, suggestion, offer). Monitor and assist as needed. fter each round, pause to highlight: Word order (e.g., Can I speak to…?) Contractions (That’s me = That is me) Stress and rhythm (CAN I speak to…, CALL you back, SEE you soon).

Controlled Practice (7-10 minutes) • To consolidate students’ understanding of phone conversation phrases through guided gap‑fill practice using a digital form.

Tell students they will complete a short online activity to practise the phrases they learned. Share the Google Form link and check that everyone can access it on their devices. Give clear instructions: “Read each mini conversation and fill in the gaps with the correct phrase or word.” ICQs: Do you write full sentences or just fill in the missing words? → Just fill in the missing words. Do you work alone or with a partner? → Alone.

Freer Practice (10-12 minutes) • To provide students with the opportunity to use phone conversation phrases in realistic, communicative contexts, developing fluency, confidence, and accuracy in both form and pronunciation.

Role‑Play Rotation Tell students they will now practise the phone phrases in real‑life situations. Divide them into pairs in breakout rooms. Explain that each pair will receive a short scenario such as calling to confirm a meeting, rescheduling an appointment, or asking for help with a project. Each student takes turns being the Caller and the Receiver. Encourage them to use at least three target phrases from the lesson (e.g., Can I speak to…, How about we…, Do you want me to…). Monitor the breakout rooms, noting examples of good language use and common errors. After 5–6 minutes, rotate pairs or change scenarios so students interact with new partners. Bring everyone back to the main room and conduct Open Class Feedback (OCFB) and Delayed Error Correction (DEC). Highlight effective use of the target phrases, correct pronunciation or form issues, and praise natural communication.

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