Giáo án Language

Ss recognise the two diphthongs by ear and get interested in the topic of life stories.

T says four words one by one: age, brave, wrote, hero. Ss write A on the mini whiteboard for the vowel sound /eɪ/ or O for the vowel sound /əʊ/. Then T asks: 'Who is a person you admire? Why do you admire them?' Ss answer in pairs in English.

Ss identify the sounds: /eɪ/ in age and brave; /əʊ/ in wrote and hero. Ss state one person they admire and one reason, for example: 'I admire my grandmother because she is very determined.'

Ss pronounce the diphthongs /eɪ/ and /əʊ/ with one smooth glide inside one syllable.

T models the words age /eɪdʒ/, brave /breɪv/, wrote /roʊt/, hero /ˈhɪroʊ/. T explains that each diphthong is one syllable with one glide, not two separate vowels. T notes that /əʊ/ is commonly pronounced /oʊ/ in American English and both are valid. Then Ss read the sentence: 'The brave hero wrote a page about hope.' Ss first read slowly, then at a natural pace.

Ss pronounce age, brave, wrote, hero with a single glide. Ss read the sentence clearly and smoothly. Ss write in their notebooks: 'Each diphthong = one syllable, one glide. /əʊ/ can be /oʊ/ in American English.'

Ss explain when to use the past simple and the past continuous in a life story and choose the tense by meaning.

T presents the grammar. Past simple: completed events in a life story. Past continuous: an action in progress at a time, or a background action. Example: 'While the team was testing the design, the director called.' Two simultaneous background actions can both be continuous, for example: 'While Lan was reading, Nam was taking notes.' T stresses that when and while do not decide the tense automatically; the meaning decides. Ss then do Worksheet No. 1 in pairs.

Ss complete Worksheet No. 1. Expected answers: Part A: 1 – completed event (C); 2 – background (B); 3 – completed event (C); 4 – background (B). Ss write the rule in their notebooks: 'Past simple = completed events in order. Past continuous = action in progress or background. Choose by meaning.'

Ss recognise and use six topic words from the unit.

Ss match each word with its Vietnamese meaning: achievement (thành tựu), biography (tiểu sử), determination (sự quyết tâm), career (sự nghiệp), admire (ngưỡng mộ), collaboration (sự cộng tác). Then Ss draw a mini mind map with 'Life story' in the centre and the six words as branches, adding one example word for each.

Matching key: achievement – thành tựu; biography – tiểu sử; determination – sự quyết tâm; career – sự nghiệp; admire – ngưỡng mộ; collaboration – sự cộng tác. Ss complete a mind map with six branches. Example branch: 'admire – I admire people with great determination.'

Ss apply the grammar rule to choose the correct verb form in short sentences.

Ss do Exercises 1–8 of the Language section individually: choose the correct option A, B, C or D. Then Ss check with a partner and explain their choice by meaning.

Answer key: 1 A (began, a dated completed event); 2 A (was editing, the background action); 3 D (was drawing, a past-time action in progress); 4 D (joined, a sequence of main events); 5 B (was taking, two simultaneous background actions); 6 A (rang, a completed interruption); 7 A (He opened the exhibition in 1955.); 8 A (were rehearsing, plural they takes were + -ing).

Ss read the practice sentence aloud accurately and evaluate their partner's diphthongs.

Ss read the sentence 'The brave hero wrote a page about hope.' aloud twice: first slowly, then at a natural pace. Ss explain the sound focus of the unit: the diphthongs /eɪ/ and /əʊ/. In pairs, one S reads and the partner rates the reading on a 10-point scale: target focus on the diphthongs (4 points); clear pronunciation of all sounds and clear meaning (3 points); rhythm and intonation suitable for the sentence (2 points); self-correction and confidence (1 point).

Ss read the sentence twice with clear diphthongs. Partner scoring sheet: diphthong focus 4 points (3 points if one or two words are unclear); pronunciation and meaning 3 points; rhythm and intonation 2 points (1 point if it sounds mechanical); self-correction and confidence 1 point. Ss write one strength and one point to improve.

Ss use the past simple, the past continuous, and the topic words to write a short life story of a person they admire.

Ss interview a partner with three questions: 'Who do you admire? What was their biggest achievement? What was happening in their life when they started their career?' Then Ss write a paragraph of 60–80 words about the person. The paragraph must include: at least one past continuous sentence, one sentence with while, one achievement, one personal evaluation (written as an opinion), and a source for any historical date.

A paragraph of 60–80 words. Example sentence: 'While she was working as a teacher, she wrote her first biography.' Example evaluation: 'I think her determination is the most inspiring part of her career.' The paragraph uses at least one topic word and gives a source for each date.