Introducing… Evridiki Dakos

wpid-Screenshot_2013-04-15-10-15-24.jpg

An introduction to another of the speakers at the ISTEK ELT Conference:

“In the lead up to the ISTEK Schools 3rd International ELT Conference, we’ll be introducing some of the presenters on the blog. Next up is Evridiki Dakos…

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Evridiki Dakos, the author of the Course Books Sparkle Grade 1, Sparkle Grade 2 and Sparkle Grade 3 is a graduate from Marmara University and has been teaching English for 22 years at Private Zografyon Greek High School while she has been teaching young and very young learners for the last decade. She has been awarded a CELTA certificate by University of Cambridge. She is a certified Pre-school Teacher by the Turkish Ministry of Education, Montessori Teacher Assistant, freelance Teacher Trainer, ELT speaker and Workshop Leader, ELT Blogger, University of Cambridge ESOL Exam Coach and Oral Examiner for YLE and KET/PET…”  (Read more).

Armstrong and Miller, RAF Pilots

This activity is one of those I described in my post ‘How to … exploit video in class’.

The objective is to get the students to produce a possible alternative script for this video clip. Play the video with the sound turned off, and ask the students to describe the situation which they see. If necessary play the video twice. Ask them where the men are, what their job is, and why the film is in black and white. Fill in cultural details as you consider necessary.

In pairs, the students should discuss what the men might be talking about, and what they have just heard on the radio. After sharing this in class, the students work in their pairs to write a possible dialogue which fits in with the changes of speaker on the video as closely as possible. Be prepared to play the video several times while they work so that they can check how well their script synchronises with the film.

Once the students have prepared and rehearsed their scripts, they perform them in time with the film in turn. I usually give them two attempts at this. It can be a nice touch to record them as they speak, then play back the recording in time with the film, so they can see how their words fit more clearly.

When all of the pairs have performed their scripts, the class watches the original version of the video with sound.