Roberto Durán Roberto Durán

CELTA TP7 - Roberto Duran
Upper intermediate level

Description

In this lesson I aim to introduce and provide practice for writing a short formal email, to complain about something. The lesson is oriented around a sample email I wrote myself, about a complaint prompted by a mishandled shipment of textbooks. This is my seventh Teaching Practice lesson for the part-time CELTA course.

Materials

Abc TP7 Jamboard.
Abc Formal email sample.
Abc TP Lesson 7 Slideshow
Abc Shared Google Docs
Abc Peer work checklist

Main Aims

  • To provide process and product writing practice of a formal email in the context of complaining about something.

Subsidiary Aims

  • To provide gist and scan reading practice using a text about complaining to a company in the context of a formal email

Procedure

Lead-in (4-4 minutes) • To engage students in the topic of the lesson (a formal complaint email)

1. With the help of illustrations in the Slideshow, ask learners what do they do when they are dissatisfied with a service or product, and if they have ever written a complaint. 2. Show learners an example of an instant message complaint to a customer service representative, and ask learners if they believe this is an effective way to complain.

Text analysis (reading for gist and detail) (3-3 minutes) • Have learners focus on a general understanding of the text, and have them recognize some of the target language.

1. Give learners 3 minutes to read the sample email I wrote and have them answer the following questions: - What is the main complaint stated in the email? - What is the tone of the email? What kind of language does it use? - Which fixed expressions can you identify in the email?

Open Class Feedback (text analysis) (4-4 minutes) • To check if students have understood the text and for them to confirm and/or justify their answers.

1. Briefly ask some of the learners to share their answers to the questions in the previous task. 2. Try to elicit the following target language, from their answers to the third question: - Unfortunately, I was obligated to offer refunds - To resolve this issue, I would appreciate your cooperation in shipping the books. - I look forward to your reply and a resolution to my problem.

Language clarification (6-6 minutes) • To clarify Meaning, Form and Appropriacy of the target language.

1. Recall the lexical set from the previous task. 2. With the help of Google Jamboard, check Meaning by asking learners to identify in which part of the email would each expression go in, and what function does each expression accomplish in the context of the email. 3. Check the Form in the Jamboard by asking learner which parts of each expression could be changed and how. 4. Check Appropriacy by asking learners if they believe these expressions are formal or informal, and in which other contexts they could use these expressions.

Main writing task (16-18 minutes) • To evaluate the capacity of the learners to apply what they have learned in the lesson to write a complaint email.

1. Have learners write an email sample on a shared Google Doc, based on the following prompt: "Write a formal email, in which you complain to a company about a defective product and ask for a refund." 2. While learners complete the task, observe them and comment on their writings using the comment tool in Google Docs.

Peer feedback (8-8 minutes) • To boost the learner's confidence and encourage peer learning.

1. Put learners in pairs, in Breakout Rooms. 2. Have learners read a classmate's email and fill-out a checklist in which learners can check which goals their partner's writing accomplished. 3. Have learners provide each other feedback, based on the checklist they just filled up.

Delayed Error Correction (3-3 minutes) • To clarify common errors without interrupting the flow of the lesson.

1. Give feedback on the previous task, regarding the learners' language use and ability to talk about the topic. 2. Present 2 or 3 common errors I identified during observation of the class, and introduce them to the class utilizing Google Jamboard. Provide context on the mistakes and present how to correct them.

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