Topics 1
Using Letters to tell stories
Suggest exploring this activity with one class per term. This letter-writing activity may be carried out as part of a lesson as follows:
Activity: A Letter from Me
Class: Beginning EFL learners
Materials: Copies of a letter found in an EFL textbook, a small box, paper, and envelopes
Time required: One to two weeks, depending on class size
A. Before the lesson:
1. Write a letter to each learner of your chosen class. Use simple language in
which you introduce yourself. Try to use neat handwriting. Address each letter personally by using “Dear (learner’s name).” If you think this will take
too much time, you can photocopy this letter and then add your learners’
names. There is no need to worry about authenticity loss due to photocopying.
You wrote the letter yourself to get to know your students, and it will produce an authentic response anyway.
2. In the letter, tell them who you are, where you come from, where you studied, some information about your family, and your likes and dislikes as regards music, films, food, sports, and hobbies. You may attach a picture of yourself.
3. Put each letter in an envelope. Write your name in the upper left-hand corner and the addressee’s name in the centre of the envelope. Take the letters to the class in a small box, which you may decorate by making it look as if it is from the post office.
B. During the lesson:
1. In pairs, ask students to think about the use of letters in the modern world.
What are letters for? Who writes letters? Why do some people prefer letters over emails or vice versa?
2. Hand out copies of the letter taken from a textbook. Read the letter aloud.
Then, ask learners to read it silently. Nominate some learners to read it
aloud to practise pronunciation.
3. Ask some comprehension questions. You can invite learners to come to the board to write your questions and their answers.
4. Lead students to notice the structure of the letter. Where is the date? Who
writes the letter? Who is it for? How many paragraphs are there? What is
each paragraph about?
5. Now, help students become aware of language use. What verbs does the writer use? What pronouns? What linkers does the writer use? Are there any words or phrases the students do not understand?
6. Announce that you have received letters addressed to your learners. You
can either ask them to come to the box and find theirs, or “deliver” each letter.
7. For homework, ask students to reply to your letter. When they are happy with their reply, they can drop it in the box you leave in the classroom.
C. After the lesson:
Depending on your learners’ confidence, once you collect their letters, you can read them aloud in class. You can turn this follow-up activity into a game by reading a letter and asking the class to guess who the author is.
