An example of Task-Based Learning for
Intermediate Learners (5.-6.kl.)
– Robbery in the Sweet Shop
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Sweet Shop 1 – Pre-Task Phase:
A few hints…
The Characters:
• A shopkeeper
• Her two children
• A young man
• An eight-year-old boy
• The police
The Props
(things used in the story):
• A balaclava
• A packet of Smarties
• A plastic bag
• A gun
The Setting:
A corner shop in
Ashton-under-Lyme,
Manchester, England.
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The props:
Balaclava
Plastic bag
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Sweet Shop 1 – Pre-Task Phase:
Some phrases from the story:
• A young man came in to buy a newspaper.
• He pointed a gun at her and told her to fill up
the bag.
• I pretended to reach for some money.
• They are taking the case very seriously, like all
cases which involve a firearm, fake or not.
In your groups: Try to guess what happened in the
story. Who do you think is the robber?
One person from each group tells the rest of the
class who they think did it and why.
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Sweet Shop 2 – Core Activity:
Read the text
Eight-year-old tries to rob sweet shop.
Manchester police are looking for an eight-year-old boy who attempted to hold up a sweet
shop last night in the suburb of Ashton-under-Lyme.
The boy, who was wearing a balaclava, went into the corner shop and bought a packet of
Smarties for 25p. As the shopkeeper gave him his change a young man came in to buy a
newspaper. The boy waited until the man had gone then threw a plastic bag at the
shopkeeper. At the same time he pointed a gun at her and told her to fill up the bag.
“I’m not sure whether he wanted me to fill it with sweets or with money,” said the
shopkeeper, who did not want to give her name. “I didn’t know if the gun was real or not, but
it certainly looked more real than the guns my little boy plays with. I was quite frightened
because I had my children with me. I pretended to reach for some money, but I pressed the
alarm instead. When it went off he turned and ran out of the shop.”
She described the boy as 1.2 metres tall, and dressed in jeans and a dark coat. The police are
asking the public to help. They say they are taking the case very seriously, like all cases which
involve a firearm, fake or not.
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Sweet Shop 3 – Follow-up/Focus on form
• This is a list of verbs from the text:
went, ran, gave, came, looked, pointed, dressed, told, wanted, said,
was, had, pretended, pressed, turned, threw, described, bought,
say, waited.
• Find the words in the text and underline them.
• Are there any verbs that are spelt in similar ways?
Hint: Try looking at the verb endings & organize the verbs into two
groups.
Two patterns:
1. Verbs end with –ed
2. Verbs that do NOT end with –ed.
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Sweet Shop 3 – Follow-up/Focus on form
went, gave, came, told, said, was, had, threw,
ran, bought
• How many words on the list have to do with
coming or going? How many have to do with
saying something?
pretended, looked, pointed, dressed, wanted,
pressed, turned, described, waited
• How many words of the list have to do with
moving the body?
• Discuss with your partner and see if you agree.
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Sweet Shop 3 – Follow-up/Focus on form
1. went, gave, came, told, said, was, had, threw, ran,
bought
1. pretended, looked, pointed, dressed, wanted,
pressed, turned, described, waited
• Write two sentences using a verb from each list.
• Read the sentence aloud to your partner but leave
out the verb. See if they can guess which verb is
missing.
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Good websites:
• supersimplelearning.com
• bbc.co.uk/children
• bbc.co.uk/cbeebies.com
• education-world.com
• enchantedlearning.com
• teachingenglish.org.uk
• britishcouncil.org/learnenglish
• iatefl-ylsig.org
• http://esl-kids.com/
Good photographs that can be used to create tasks around (mellemtrin)
• http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/10-intriguingphotographs-to-teach-close-reading-and-visual-thinking-skills/?_r=0
• Jane og Dave Willis’ website:
• http://www.willis-elt.co.uk/index.html
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Referencer
fra reviewet
• Batstone (1996). Noticing. ELT journal, 50, s. 274
• Carless, David (2002) Implementing task-based learning with young
learners ELT Journal vol. 56, 4.
• Carter, R. Language awareness. ELT journal, 57, s. 64-65. Link:
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/57/1/64.full.pdf+html
• Cullen, Richard (2008) Teaching grammar as a liberating force. ELT
Journal Volume 62, 3
• Daryai-Hansen, P., Gregersen, A.,S., Søgaard, K. (2014). Tidligere
sprogstart: begrundelser og praksisanbefalinger. Sprogforum 58,
Begyndersprog, s. 19-25.
• Haastrup, K (2004): Focus-on-form med afsæt i nordamerikansk
forskning. Sprogforum 30. Sproglig opmærksomhed s. 6-14.
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Referencer
fra reviewet
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Haastrup, K (2004): Focus-on-form med afsæt i nordamerikansk forskning.
Sprogforum 30. Sproglig opmærksomhed s. 6-14.
Laufer, B. (2006). Comparing Focus on Form and Focus on FormS in Second
Language Vocabulary Learning. The Canadian Modern Language Review/
La Revue Canadienne des langues vivantes, 63, s. 149-166
Laursen, H. og Holm, L. (2010). Sproglig bevidsthed og sproglig
opmærksomhed (s. 96-111) i Dansk som andetsprog: pædagogiske og
didaktiske perspektiver. Kbh. Dansklærerforeningen
Lund, K. (1999). Sprogforum 14, Er kommunikativ undervisning
kommunikativ? s. 26-33 og Sprogforum 49-50, s. 43-52
Moore, D. (2014). Sproglig opmærksomhed. Sprogforum 58, s. 41-4
Pedersen, M. (2001). Task Force—Et bud på kommunikativ
sprogundervisning. Sprogforum 20, 7: 7-19.
Stenius-Stehr, L. (2009/11). Tilegnelse og testning af ordforråd i Gregersen,
A. S. (red.). Sprogfag i forandring – pædagogik og praksis.
Samfundslitteratur.
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