Penny U. Discussions that Work. Task-centred Fluency Practice 21st printing 2000

Textbook in PDF format

Handbooks for Language Teachers.
How can you make a discussion really work? What sort of activities produce genuine and enthusiastic exchanges of ideas? How can you prepare such exercises quickly and easily? These are some of the questions that Discussions that Work sets out to answer. The first part provides some general guidelines on the organisation of successful task-centred activities. The second part consists of some fifty practical examples which have been tried and found effective in the classroom. They range from fairly simple to complex and sophisticated, and can thus be used with a wide range of learners, from elementary to the most advanced, in both secondary and adult education.
Contents
Preface
Part 1: General principles
What is a discussion?
Some factors in a good discussion: topic, group-work, role-play
Giving the discussion a purpose: the task
Organization
Part 2: Practical examples
Introduction
Brainstorming activities
Organizing activities
Compound activities
Bibliography
Index