Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Leisure Life

A Task-based Unit Plan

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

TCSOL 2014-2015 Group 4 Final Project

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Table of Contents
Table of Contents.ii
Introduction...1
Task 1 TV Programs....3
Rationale...3
Task Descriptions....4
Task 2 Movies.......8
Rationale.......9
Task Descriptions......10
Task 3 Weekend Activities....13
Rationale.....13
Task Descriptions......14

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Introduction
It is needless to say that work and study do not characterize a person. In the modern society,
talking about ones leisure activities and learning to seek information about them are inevitable
aspects in ones daily life. With that in mind, we adapt a Chinese lesson unit on leisure life by
creating tasks that not only expose our students to authentic, meaningful target language (TL)
input but also require them to produce the TL under authentic settings. We are convinced that
such an approach may narrow the distance between real-life situations and the classroom
learning experiences, and thus engage students in language acquisition more naturally and
effectively.
Target students are advanced second language speakers of Chinese. The lesson unit includes
3 tasks, each highlighting a different topic. The first task is pedagogic as it highlights similar
thinking processes students experience in their real life. The second task is more challenging and
more authentic than the previous one. It brings real-life context into the classroom and generates
a lot of negotiation. The first two tasks prepare students with the words and structures needed in
the final task. The final task combines both authentic input and student output. It is also the most
complex, because it not only has cognitive demands but also engages students in all language
skills. Each task includes several steps, starting from priming, preparation and ending with the
target task. Additionally, the first two tasks includes focused language form practice in the end so

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

that students will be able to fully comprehend and learn to use focused sentence structures
required in the original version of the lesson materials. Detailed rationale for each task will be
presented before the task descriptions respectively.
In terms of the division of work, Yijun Zhong is responsible for the first task, Keren Liu the
second, and Guohong Xu the third. We work individually and come up with tasks first, and
afterwards improve them based on other group members suggestion. For the in-class
presentation, Yijun Zhong will lead the overview of the group project while Keren Liu will give
a 10-minute microteaching of one segment of her task.

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Task 1 TV Programs
Rationale

This task highlights the discussion of TV programs and comprises 4 stages: #1 Listing and
classifying. This is a simple priming stage that leads students to the topic. Students need to think
of one TV program they like and provide one reason. Afterwards they classify the programs
under teachers guidance, which exposes them to useful vocabulary to be used in the next stage.
#2 I have never watched It is in fact the modified version of a real game frequently played
among young people. During this stage students will be able to use the vocabulary they have
been exposed to during priming. This stage also prepares students for the next target task,
because by now they will have been exposed to some input flood about TV programs. #3 Any
good program? This is the target task around which the previous stages have been built. Though
it is pedagogic, it simulates real-life situations by exposing students to authentic input, that is,
TV program schedules directly retrieved from the official website of a Chinese TV station
(CCTV). As students have been introduced to the topic and relevant vocabulary in the previous
stages, they will not have much trouble comprehending the program schedules. Further, this task
is bidirectional, so it generates a lot of peer interaction and learning opportunities.

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Task Descriptions
Materials: PPT; sheets of TV program schedules
Objectives: 1) Students will be familiar with TV program-related vocabulary;
2) Students learn to use sentence structures (V.) and V.+;
3) Students learn to seek information they need from TV program lists.
Procedures:
#1 Priming: Listing & Classifying
1) Students are given time to come up with one TV program they like and provide one reason.
2) The teacher calls on students for answers. Meanwhile, the teacher lists the TV programs
students have named on board.
3) The teacher leads students to classify the programs into several types, such as , ,
, , and so on. The teacher can first ask students to put similar
programs together and afterwards provide labels.
#2 Facilitating task: I have never watched
1) Students move around and form a circle (if the class is too big, they can form two circles).
2) Explain the rules:
a. Students put their hands up, showing ten fingers.
b. The first student begins by making a statement that start with . For
example, The Big Bang Theory. Hearing the statement, any student who has
watched what the first student has not must lose a finger (put it down).
c. Students take turns to make statements. The student who has lost all ten fingers before
anyone else loses the game and cannot continue. The student that survives in the end will
be rewarded.
3) The students play the game. The teacher can join them and offer help.
#3 Target task: Any good program?

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

1) Students are divided into pairs. Each student will receive a TV program schedule (retrieved
from CCTV official website). Students in the same pair will receive different schedules.
Students are given time to read the schedules first.
Table 1. TV Program Schedule A

Table 2. TV Program Schedule B

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

2) Working in pairs, students compare their schedules. They can ask each other questions such
as ? or ? The teacher can use the structure
in the example questions, but students are not required to use it in completing
the task.
3) After the group work, each student is required to report one difference to the whole class.

#4 Focus on form
1) Students make sentences according to the picture on the PPT slides, using the structure
(V.)
For example,

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

2) The teacher starts by asking one student questions, such as,

The student nominated answers the questions, and after that randomly picks another student
and asks different questions, using the same structure V.+.

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Task 2 Movies
Rationale

There are three sequential steps in this task. #1 serves as a priming stage, in which students
are expected to produce two simple sentences using target language structure /.
Students are given a cinema movie schedule as authentic input. #2 recycles the material in #1 yet
has a higher requirement on students they need to use their mobile phones or laptops to log into
a Chinese movie review website and search for movie information. It simulates the real life
situation where we search for movie information and compare movies before going to the
cinema. #3 leads to heated pair discussion. It is the target task where students need to come up
with reasons to refute their peers and make a decision after discussion. The focus on form
afterwards enables students to practice the structure, which is the language focus of #3. That
being said, students are not required to use this structure because we do not want to impose
particular structure to students.

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Task Descriptions
Materials: PPT; Mobile phones/ Laptops; sheets of movie information
Objectives: 1) Students will be able to use structures / and +clause;
2) Students will be able to give advice or suggestion;
3) Students learn to seek information they need from movie review websites.
Procedures:
#1 Priming: I am interested in
1) Students are given sheets of movie information.
Table 1-5. Movie Information
1. 2
The Smurfs 2
3D
94

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

2.
Silent Witness

116

3.
Dead Sign

88

4.

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

My Lucky Star

108

5.

7
Furious
7

137

2) In pairs, students discuss about which movie they find the most interesting and which one the
least. They can teach each other about unfamiliar words, and the teacher can offer help. They
can use the structure .../.
3) The teacher calls on students for answers.
#2 Facilitating task: I like it because
1) Students are asked to use their mobile phones/laptops to search for more information of the
movie they chose in the previous stage. The teacher walks around to help students with the
website and difficult words.
http://movie.douban.com/
2) Students are given time to come up with two reasons of why they want to see that particular
movie.

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

3) In pairs, students talk their partner into watching their favorite movie. The teacher calls on
students randomly for their reasons or to report their partners reasons.
#3 Target task: Let's watch this!
1) In pairs, students search for information of their partners favorite movie. The teacher walks
around to help students with unfamiliar words.
http://movie.douban.com/
2) Students are given time to come up with two rebuttals to their partners arguments made in
the facilitating task. The teacher can offer example sentences with the structure +V.
Nonetheless students are not required to use the same structure.
3) In pairs, students negotiate on the movie they would watch together.
4) The teacher calls on students from each pair to report their decision and reasons behind it.
#4 Focus on form
1) Students make sentences according to the picture on the PPT slides, using the structure +
clause
For example,
2) Students are given time to come up with one reason for each advice/suggestion they make for
the pictures.
For example,
3) The teacher calls on students randomly for their answers.

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Task 3 Weekend Activities

Rationale

This is a task focusing on the topic of weekend events or activities. There are three stages:
#1 Advertisement reading. This stage leads students to think about the kind of events they are
interested in with authentic input. Additionally, they need to comprehend the advertisements in
order to move onto the next stage. #2 Find your company. This is a facilitating stage where
students have to choose among three types of weekend events based on the advertisements in the
previous stage. It simulates real-life situations where students need to seek relevant information
and make decisions accordingly. Also, this stage generates a lot of output as students are required
to compare their choices and form groups. #3 What should we do? This is the target task, which
engages students in active negotiation on which specific event they will attend as a group. It is
the most challenging, considering that it generates both cognitive and linguistic demands.
Students necessarily need to use structures learnt in the previous tasks, so the task is also quite
focused.

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Task Descriptions
Materials: PPT; advertisement pictures
Objectives: 1) Students will be familiar with vocabulary related with leisure activities;
2) Students will learn to use the structure N.+;
3) Students will be able to read advertisements and seek information from them;
Procedures:
#1 Priming: Ad. reading
1) In pairs, students read the following advertisements. They can teach each other about
unfamiliar vocabulary.
Tables 1-6. Advertisements
1

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

#2 Facilitating task: Find your company

1) Based on the advertisements provided in the previous task, students each think about the type
of events that they are interested in. They have to choose between , and .
2) After students have made up their mind, they can leave their seats and try to find classmates
who have made the same decision. The teacher can provide an example sentence, such as
? However, students are not required to use the exact same structure.
3) Students need to form three large groups in the end, so that those who want to go to watch a
match will gather together. The same applies to the other two types of events.
#3 Target task: What shall we do?
1) Within each group, students need to choose one specific event out of two. During the process
they can use the structures they have learnt in the previous tasks, such as
and so on.
2) After they have reached an agreement, they can choose one secretary to fill out the following
weekend outing plan (see the form on next page).
3) Each group can choose one presenter and give whole class report on the specific event they
as a group will attend. Students are allowed to use the above form as a reference.

Table 7. Weekend Outing Plan

Keren LIU, Guohong XU, Yijun ZHONG

1.

2.

3.

4.