While the students are engaged in carrying on negotiations as their homework activity, you may fill in the classroom time by having the students read their Journal entries, and doing such language activities as sentence combining, word games or additional readings (should you request additional readings, please contact Margaret Kersten at: mkersten@business.carleton.ca. (Please allow time for mailing).

Activities

1. Sentence combining

   The objective of this exercise is to practice writing longer, complex sentences.

   Activity

   Details

   Answers:

   1. INSPIRE is a system designed at Carleton University in Canada in 1997, to support negotiations on the Web.
   2. For Mary Gray who was selling microwaves, high unit price was of crucial importance, so she made a decision to soften her position on delivery and warranty.
   3. Tom and Jerry, opponents in negotiations, have carefully read the information about their respective companies because they wanted to understand the problems and issues.

   Follow up Exercise:

   Divide students into pairs (or small groups) and ask them to:

   1. Find a complex sentence in any reading that they may have available.

   2. Then, in pairs write down their complex sentence in the form of simple (kernel) sentences. (The students should be using the sentence combining exercise as a model in).

   3. Then, two pairs exchange the sets of simple sentences that they had prepared, and

   4. Then, combine the simple sentences, that they have received, into one complex sentence.

   5. Finally, each pair gives the answer to the "authors" of the exercise to be checked and corrected, if necessary.

   As there is usually more than one correct answer, this exercise provides an excellent opportunity to discuss grammar in a context.





2. Word Game: Perfect Partners

   The purpose of this game is for students to practice the words that they have been using throughout this module.

   Activity

   Details

   How to play it:

   1. Photocopy the Word Game sheet in the Activities section. You will need half the sheet (two times eight words) for each student. (For a class of 24 students you will need 12 copies).
   2. Cut the sheet, along the marked lines, into four cards (each containing 8 words.)
   3. Divide the class into pairs.
   4. Give each student in a pair two sets of words (two cards). For example, one student will get set A and set C and the other student will get set B and set D. Do not allow students to look at the words on the cards that they were handed in until the game starts.
   5. Explain to the students that:
   • they must not show the words on their cards to their partners
   • the purpose of the game is to explain each word on the card to the partner in such a way that he/she can guess it; they can give any clues they want (definitions, synonyms, antonyms, descriptions, etc.)
   • they have only 4 minutes for each card (8 words). If the partner can not guess a word, it makes sense to move to the next word because the time is running
   • if the partner has guessed the word, they should put a check mark next to it
   • the partner with card A starts the game
   • the teacher monitors the time and after 4 minutes announces "Card B!". The partner who has card B explains the words on card B
   • after the next 4 minutes the teacher announces "Card C!", and finally "Card D!"
   • the game is over in 16 minutes.

   Now is the time to count the scores. Each pair counts their guessed words (the total number of successfully guessed words out of 32). While the students are counting their scores the teacher assigns each pair a letter, pair A, B, C, and so on. The teacher writes the letter on the board and next to the letters respective scores provided by the students who by then will have finished counting the words. Finally, the winning pair is announced.





3. Collaborative dictation

   Activity

   Details

   The purpose of this exercise is to practice note-taking, develop collaboration skills and discuss lexical and grammatical features of the text.

   Read the text to the students at a speed that is between regular reading speed and dictating. Students should be taking notes. Warn them that they have to keep on writing even if they cannot cope with the speed of reading.

   When you have finished, the students should work in groups of three or four and try to reconstruct the text to the best of their collective ability. The sentences do not have to be identical to the original but they must be grammatically correct.

   After about 15 minutes, read the text again. This time the students will have an even more difficult task: they will be reading their notes, listening to you and filling in the missing words.

   When you have finished reading, the students should continue working in their groups, making changes, if necessary.

   After about 10 minutes, ask a representative of each group (or only groups that will volunteer) to write their version of the text on the board. The class should indicate which version seems the best and explain why. You may then choose one of the versions and ask the students to correct grammar, spelling, etc. The students will give suggestions and you will make changes on the board (if the changes need to be made).

   At the end you may hand in a copy of the text so that the students can compare their versions with the original.

   This exercise provides an excellent opportunity to discuss grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.

   You may choose to use either only one of the Dictation Texts or both of them.





4. Punctuation

   In this exercise students practice punctuation marks. You may wish to do this exercise in the following way:

   Activity

   Details

   • give each student a copy of the text (with punctuation marks removed, no capital letters) and ask them to add commas, periods, dashes, colons, and semicolons where necessary
   • after 10-15 minutes, have the students work in pairs comparing their answers
   • have an overhead copy of the text (with punctuation marks removed) displayed
   • ask the students for answers and add punctuation marks on the overhead copy, where necessary.

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