Learning to write for-and-against essay. Pros and cons of studying abroad. Level – upper –intermediate. Grade: 11

Type of the lesson: developing skills. Writing. Speaking.

Objectives:

• to refresh the vocabulary on the topic
• to revise types of essays
• to develop key competences

Materials and equipment: class-board and leaflets with a sample essay.

The Procedure:                          

1. Presenting the plan of the lesson

T: Good morning, children! Today we are to revise all we know about for-and-against essay. Sooner or later you have to take an exam to get your certificate and enter some university. First, let us revise the types of essays you know. Who wants to give me the words to be written on the class-board?

2. Warm-up. Refreshing the vocabulary. Speech practice

S1: As far as I know, we have recently written a letter of complaint.

T: Right you are! What else?

S2: An email to your friend asking for advice.

T: That’s right! What else?

S3: An article to a scientific magazine about ecological problems of our neighbourhood.

T: Good. Who wants to add something?

S4: A review on the movie you have recently seen.

T: Perfect! Is that all? If it is so, let’s go on.

3. Consolidating the knowledge about types of essays. Brainstorm. Discussion

S5: For-and-against essay and opinion essay. They seem to be the same to me. I am interested to know if that is true.

T: I knew you would ask me. They seem to be alike, but not in every detail. Can you tell me what you know about the structure of these two types of writing? How many parts does a for-and-against essay consist of ?

S1: That’s easy: a for-and-against essay consists of four parts.

T: I would agree, but not completely. A for-and-against essay consists of three parts, but usually the second part has two paragraphs. What are they?

S2:If I am not mistaken, a for-and-against essay consists of an introduction, a main body and, of course, conclusion.

T: Well. What will you write in the introduction?

S3: Usually, you present the given topic without giving your opinion.

T: That’s right! And here lies the main difference between a  for-and-against essay and an opinion essay. The latter states the author’s clear opinion in the first paragraph.

S3: Can I go on? Well, the main part contains the points ‘for’ and ‘against’ some thesis, and the conclusion can give the author’s opinion or give a balanced consideration on the given problem.

T: Right! And what does the second paragraph contain: for- or against-supporting ideas?

S4: Usually you enumerate positive arguments. You give arguments in favour of the stated topic.

T: Perfect!   Can you give the example of set phrases used in such piece of writing?

4. Revising the vocabulary. Linkers.

S1: Sure. To present the arguments ‘for’, you can start like this: ‘To begin with’, ‘Firstly’, ‘Without a doubt’.

T: Well. What can we use to add points or enumerate the arguments?

S2: Secondly, in addition to that, what is more, furthermore, moreover.

T: What can we use to introduce contrasting ideas?

S4: The simplest way to contrast ideas is ‘but’ or ‘however’. But if you wish to write an excellent essay, you’d rather use ‘on the other hand’, ‘another disadvantage’ or ‘another argument against’.

5. Reading for finding specific information

T: I see, that you have learnt the structure of a for-and-against essay quite well. There is nothing to add. But would you be so kind as to find the words called ‘linkers’ in the given model? (You can see it in your leaflets).

The Pro’s and Con’s of educating children at home

Nowadays lots of parents choose to educate their children at home. That sounds reasonable, taking into consideration the threat of catching COVID on the way to school or at the school itself. Children with some medical restrictions cannot attend school in person, therefore for them distance learning is the only way to get an education. In addition to that, gifted children also prefer staying at home at studying at their own pace.

This way or that, educating at home has some advantages. First, they can learn at a time suitable for them and choose the speed of mastering the subjects. Moreover, it is easier for them to concentrate. Next, shy students are not afraid of smarter students teasing or bullying them. What is more, under the circumstances of the pandemics, the students are unlikely to fall ill staying at home.

On the other hand, distance learning has some drawbacks. For one thing, junior students suffer from lack of socializing. Consequently, they cannot make friends with the other children. Therefore, they do not get social skills they will need in their future life. What makes things worth, children become less motivated in their studies, as they have nobody to compete with. Finally, the state of health worsens as the children have to sit in front of their computers long hours and they exercise less , compared to learning in real classroom.

All things considered, I firmly believe children should go to real school. Getting an education is not only knowledge acquired, but also learning how to socialize with the peers. I think they can do that only in real communication in school environment.

<Ss study the model>

S1: I have found the following linkers: moreover, what is more, for one thing, consequently, on the other hand, therefore, what makes things worth ,finally, all things considered.

T: By the way, can you define the function of linkers given? Fill in the following table:

Which words (expressions) are used to…

<Ss do the task>.

S2: Can I try?

6. Transformation exercises

T: Can you substitute the words you’ve found for their synonyms from the following list?

• I believe, to begin with, to sum up, of course, another argument against, some people argue, furthermore, in conclusion, to start with, to begin with, thus, so, all in all.

T: You can use other variants as well.

<Ss do the work.>

T: What is the result of your work? Can you present it to the students?

S4:

<Sample>

The Pro’s and Con’s of educating children at home

Nowadays lots of parents choose to educate their children at home. That sounds reasonable, taking into consideration the threat of catching COVID on the way to school or at the school itself. Children with some medical restrictions cannot attend school in person, therefore for them distance learning is the only way to get an education. Moreover, gifted children also prefer staying at home at studying at their own pace.

This way or that, educating at home has some advantages. To begin with, they can learn at a time suitable for them and choose the speed of mastering the subjects. Next, it is easier for them to concentrate What is more, shy students are not afraid of smarter students teasing or bullying. Finally, under the circumstances of the pandemics, the students are unlikely to fall ill staying at home.

But distance learning has some drawbacks. Firstly, junior students suffer from lack of socializing. Thus they cannot make friends with the other children. As a result, they do not get social skills they will need in their future life. What is more, children become less motivated in their studies, as they have nobody to compete with. Furthermore, the state of health worsens as the children have to sit in front of their computers long hours and have less exercise compared to learning in real classroom.

All in all, I firmly believe children should go to real school. Getting an education is not only knowledge acquired, but also learning how to socialize with the peers. I think they can do that only in real communication in school environment.

T: That sounds even better than the model.

7. Brainstorm

T: But what essay are we supposed to write at this lesson? Nowadays, there is a lot of discussion about  learning a foreign  language abroad, staying with a host family. Before starting writing let’s think of any advantages and disadvantages that come to mind. First, pros.

Ss: First and foremost, that’s extremely exciting. I adore travelling and meeting new people.

T: Great! What’s next?

S2: You have a plenty of opportunities to make friends with children from a country with different culture, religion, climate, etc.

S 3: You can visit famous sights, museums, art galleries with your host family. That will not be as expensive as travelling overseas from our own country.

T: I see, that you have found mostly pro’s. What about the drawbacks?

S1: That is quite easy. When far away from my home, I become homesick.

T: OK, what else?

S2: You may experience some problems socializing with people of different culture and religion.

T: Yes, that could be a problem. Anything to add?

S3: You lose a whole school year that can be spent to get ready for your ZNO exams. Besides, you cannot be a gold-medal- winner, as you were not a resident of Ukraine during that last year.

T: That’s right, but with the knowledge you get in another country you may choose to go on with your studies somewhere in Europe or even farther. Your language skills will certainly improve.

S1: Yes, but somebody has to stay and to work here to improve our own economy.

T: These are the words of a patriot and a mature personality. I am proud to have such students. But we have no time to lose. I believe that you will manage with the task easily! So, your examination task, part 4, is the following:

• You have learnt about the opportunity to participate in an exchange programme. Write an essay “For and against of studying abroad within an exchange programme”.

So, write a short essay (150-200) words. Use the appropriate style and linking words.

8. Writing the essay

Sample essay

A lot of students nowadays choose to get education abroad. That is a good chance to study a foreign language and learn about a culture different from yours. But do the benefits of studying in another country overweigh the drawbacks?

Without a doubt, there are a lot of advantages of school exchange programmes. To begin with, students get acquainted with another culture. Staying with a family gives you a good chance to make friends with peers abroad and challenge your communication skills. Moreover, students can improve their knowledge of a foreign language. Next, they can visit new places and see the famous sights of another country. As a result, they will acquire new cultural knowledge. 

On the other hand, there can be certain drawbacks. Firstly, you can get homesick. Next, travelling to a distant country can be quite expensive. Furthermore, making friends with foreigners could be rather challenging because of cultural differences. As a result, the experience may be extremely negative.

All things considered, I strongly believe that studying within a school exchange programme is worth trying after a thorough consideration of all positive and negative aspects of studying abroad and staying with a host family.

9. Giving marks. Feedback. Evaluation.
10. Saying Good-bye.