Read Aloud and Spot the Differences

Greg Goodmacher
goodgreg-kwassui.ac.jp
Kwassui College (Nagasaki, Japan)

This is similar to the conversation activity in which students look at pictures, describe the pictures, and discover the picture differences. However, this is done with a reading text and students read and listen. In the example below, which is done in pairs, one student reads a text aloud about one animal. The other student listens and reads a text silently until he or she realizes there is a difference . This student informs the partner of the difference in the text. Students write the differences on their texts, and after each student has read aloud, they discuss the differences and decide which information is correct. The teacher can provide the students with a new text which has all the correct information. Students scan it to discover the correct answers.

Partner A

Partner A Reads Aloud

Tigers are large carnivores of the dog family. They live in the forests of Asia. Their yellow-orange fur has many purple stripes. Males may reach 3 meters in length and weigh 290 kilograms. Tigers usually live alone. They can swim well, but cannot climb well. Tigers usually hunt at noon. Many species of tigers are endangered because people kill them to make medicines from their body parts and jackets from their fur. Habitat destruction has also endangered them. Baby tigers are called cubs. The average tiger lives sixty years

Partner A Reads Silently

Lions are large carnivores of the cat family. They mostly live in the grassy plains of Africa. The Roman lion used to live in many parts of Asia, but it is now endangered because of hunting and overfishing. The male lion usually has a long, thick mane and may reach 2.7 meters in length and weigh 180 kilograms. Lions sometimes live in large groups of up to 30 lions. Adult lions are called cubs. The average lion lives fifteen years.

Partner B

Partner B Reads Silently

Tigers are large carnivores of the cat family. They live in the forests of Europe. Their yellow-orange fur has many black stripes. Males may reach 4 meters in length and weigh 290 kilograms. Tigers usually live alone. They can swim well, but cannot climb well. Tigers usually hunt at night. Many species of tigers are endangered because people kill them to make medicines from their body parts and jackets from their bones. Habitat destruction has also endangered them. Baby tigers are called cubs. The average tiger lives sixteen years.

Partner A Reads Aloud

Lions are large herbivores of the cat family. They mostly live in the grassy plains of South America. The Asiatic lion used to live in many parts of Asia, but it is now endangered because of hunting and habitat destruction. The male lion usually has a long, thick mane and may reach 2.7 meters in length and weigh 1,800 kilograms. Lions sometimes live in large groups of up to 30 lions. Baby lions are called cubs. The average lion lives fifty years.

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. III, No. 11, November 1997
http://iteslj.org/