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Activity 4:

Forum discussion

A FORUM DISCUSSION is a planned conversation in a group, where you can share your views with the rest of the group.

Remember to have the following in place:

A Chairman: S(he) introduces the topic ;introduces the team;keeps the conversation flowing;asks some questions;asks a speaker to say something.Also gives his/her view.Sums up at the end.

B Two pupils on either side of the chairmanThe outer two pupils half face the audience and half face the group.The inner two pupils face the audience but also the group.The Chairperson sits in the middle

C The idea is to see whether everybody in the group takes part in the conversation

D The aim is to tackle the subject as widely as possible.

E You may disagree with someone but do it politely, yet firmly.

F Try to move the conversation along with a remark like,“ There is something else we haven’t thought about . . .”“ To change the subject, what about . ..”“ Another aspect to consider is . ..”

G There should be some indication when time is up.3 minutes is a good period to choose for each team.

  • When team 1 is talking, Team 2 can get their topic and go out to prepare briefly.
  • Then when Team 2 is talking, Team 3 goes out, and so on.

The educator will suggest some topics. Hold a forum discussion and enjoy conversing with others, questioning, enquiring and chatting naturally.

TIP: Take some paper and a pencil with you when you go out to discuss your topic briefly.

And now, for something completely different!

Activity 5:

A science fiction story with a moral!

Science fiction is really strange, yet we can recognise the peculiar characters and the strange places and the funny times too, because we are used to many pictures and films dealing with outer space.

  • Add some more book titles that you know about or have had recommended: (Speak to your librarian)

The NEXT STORY deals with two men who come from different zones.

They both deal with communication (talking to each other), in totally different ways.

  • You are asked to decide which method you prefer.

Remember, the teacher will help you with certain words you might not understand.

  • AND when you have read the story there are certain questions to answer . . .

You are still dealing with communication and relationships and should see if you can feel the relationship between these two men and whether you can grasp why they might have difficulty in communicating.

THE COMMUNICATION GAP

The flight in space had been quick and the capture of the alien had been easy.

But now Chief-Engineer Bruce sat with a problem: He had captured a foreign being and as he was on his own, the interrogation would not be easy to handle.

He was used to travelling through space by himself, doing his rounds of broken-down satellites. He enjoyed finding out why some satellites were faulty, then fixing them and seeing them whirl off into space again, happily on orbit, as scheduled.

Bruce turned to his captive, who was speaking into a mouthpiece. The language the alien used was strange. Stilted somehow. But Bruce understood it. He realized that the alien only used important words and left out most smaller words. Spoken with a definite inflection, the meaning of the words was clear.

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Source:  OpenStax, English home language grade 8. OpenStax CNX. Sep 11, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11041/1.1
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