Activity 16: Relationships and Age

Introduction

In this activity, students will write a dialogue between an older and a younger person in pairs. Drawing on vocabulary heard in a song, students will write and then perform the dialogue to illustrate age differences with regard to the content of the talk in the dialogue and the language used.

Procedure

• 1. Inform students they will be writing a dialogue together in pairs.
• 2. As a warm-up and to provide students with a working vocabulary play them a song about age (differences) and ask them to write down some of the keywords they hear. The song should preferably be one they are not familiar with and be above their listening proficiency level.

Students will have to listen carefully to the lyrics. You can check the appropriateness of lyrics by accessing numerous webpages on the internet (search ‘song lyrics’). The Beatles’ song ‘When I’m sixty-four’ is a good, safe example, but you can find others if you search ‘songs about age differences’. Your choice will need to be sensitive to the age and cultural backgrounds of students in your class.

• 3. Give instructions for writing the dialogue collaboratively in pairs: (a) an older and a younger person having a conversation, (b) about 10 to 15 lines, (c) the content should exhibit the age difference, and (d) the language should reveal the age difference.
• 4. In pairs, students write the dialogue, giving them about 20 to
• 30 minutes. They should write a draft, revise and edit it, and then produce the final version.
• 5. Ask pairs to role play their dialogue for another pair of students.

Repeat until each pair has performed the dialogue a number of times to different pairs. (If the class is small, pairs could each take a turn to role play the dialogue in front of the whole class.)

• 6. Ask for a few volunteer pairs to role play their dialogue in front of the whole class.
• 7. After each of these dialogues is performed discuss the age differences reflected in the content and language in the dialogue. What does

the content and language say about the relationship between the speakers? Is there respect, submissiveness, power play, impoliteness, humor? How does the language signify the identities of the speakers?

8. Display the dialogues on a board in the classroom and invite students to walk around and read them.

Teacher Reflection

For each of the following statements, answer YES or No and give a reason for your answer:

1. When I started my first teaching job, I was concerned about my age.

YES/NO:_________________________________________

2. The age gap between me and my students has never been an issue for me.

YES/NO:_______________________________________

3. I feel awkward when my students comment about my age.

YES/NO:_______________________________________

4. I am comfortable being my age working in this institution.

YES/NO:_______________________________________

5. The language I use in the classroom usually reflects my age.

YES/NO:_______________________________________