How would you use the above image? We share some of the great ideas that teachers from around the world have submitted!
The final image we shared for our monthly Cambridge English Empower competition certainly got you all thinking. One teacher (Carlos Garcia from Spain) came up with the idea of turning up in class wearing a chicken costume of his own; another (Isabel Gonzales Bueno from Argentina) suggested asking students to think about and discuss the various reasons why people might play music in underground stations – for advertising, propaganda, protest, or to make money.
Many of you thought the picture would work well as a prompt for a lesson about music. Francesca Falconi of Italy proposed beginning by asking students what kind of music they listen to on their headphones on their way into class. Then, she’d write some music-related vocabulary on the board, and play her learners a song by the band in the picture, Xylopholks, asking them to imagine (and then describe) what the singer or band look like. After some discussion, Francesca would then show the class the picture of the band, and the students would agree who was the closest in their imaginings.
Following on from this, the class would prepare a role-play activity based on the picture. Working in groups of five, learners would take on the following roles – two would be musicians from the band, another pair would be a couple walking by having a conversation, and one would be a person watching and thinking to himself or herself. The two musicians would have to perform a short song; the couple would speak to each other about the performance, while the person on their own would express his or her own thoughts about it.
To prepare students for this activity, Francesca recommended sharing further relevant vocabulary on the board – adjectives for describing music, such as heavy, upbeat, melancholic, jazzy, funky, or orchestral; expressions such as ‘it has a catchy melody,’ ‘it’s very cheesy’, or ‘it brings back memories’; and terms for expressing likes and dislikes, such as ‘I’m crazy about / fond of / adore,’ or ‘I can’t stand /hate’.
Another interesting idea came from Troy Nahumko of Spain, who proposed beginning by dictating a short dialogue to his students, but with the sentences mixed up into the wrong order…
1. I told you this wouldn’t work.
2. What do you mean?
3. I said that this was a bad idea.
4. We had to do something.
5. We should have done what I suggested.
6. Now that was a bad idea.
7. It was better than this!
8. Just give it a little more time.
Once the students have written down these sentences, Troy suggests asking them to form them into a dialogue, accepting different orders provided that they make sense, and looking particularly at how pronunciation and emphasis of certain words will be affected by their position in the conversation.
After this, students should try to imagine a situation in which they might overhear this conversation, before the teacher shows them the photograph of the Xylopholks band, and further discussion takes place about whose answer was closest.
Troy also suggested a follow-up activity in which students write a short dialogue based on one of three scenarios: the band is approached by either a famous music producer, an animal rights protestor, or a police officer. After students have rehearsed the dialogues, with the teacher observing and correcting where necessary, each group performs theirs in front of the class, which votes for the best, most original, or funniest.
There were so many lively and interesting suggestions for how you’d use this image in class, but these two were my favourites, and it was very difficult to choose between them. Ultimately, though, I chose Francesca as this month’s winner – congratulations, Francesca – though Troy came very close. Francesca will be receiving a selection of professional development titles from Cambridge, and a year’s subscription to Cambridge English Teacher.
Find out more Cambridge English Empower.