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An interview is a conversation between two or more people (the interviewer and the interviewee) where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee. Interviews can be divided into two rough types, interviews of assessment and interviews for information.
INTERVIEWS • We watch, read and listen to interviews every day. For the advertising industry and market research institutes, interviews are a necessity. • The success of an interview depends both on the skill of the interviewer, on her ability to ask the right kinds of questions, to insist and interpret, and on the willingness to talk on the part of the person being interviewed. • In the foreign language classroom interviews are useful not only because they force students to listen carefully but also because they are so versatile in their subject matter. • As soon as beginner know the first structures for questions, interviewing can begin. If everyone interviews his neighbours all students are practising the foreign language at the same time. • The teacher can choose the topic he/she wishes. • Before he/she uses an interview in the class, he/she has to be sure that the students can use the necessary questions and answers structures. A few sample sentences on the board may be a help for the less able. • Students should make some notes on the questions they are going to ask and the answers they get.
GUESSING GAMES • The popularity of guessing games can be explained by their structure. Both chance and skill (in the asking questions) play a part in finding the solution. • The outcome of the game tends to be uncertain until the last moment, and so it is full of suspense. • In these games one person knows something that another one wants to find out. • Guessing games are true communicative situations and as such are very important for foreign language learning. • They are usually liked by students of all ages because they combine language practice with fun and excitement. • Before the teacher tries out a new guessing game with the class, she/he has to be sure that the players know all the words and structures necessary for the game. • Another consideration is the organization of the game, in order to guarantee that as many students as possible are actively participating most of the time.
WHAT IS A RIDDLE ? It can be defined as a puzzling question, statement or description, especially one intended to test the cleverness of those wishing to solve it.
Although each riddle contains all of the information required for solution, the information is typically presented in such a way as to mislead. As a result, solving a riddle may require looking at things in a different light. So it is necessary to understand a play on words or a metaphoric relationship. In any case, thought, with an emphasis on creativity, is typically required. Although the ability to access information (i.e. recall facts) is needed to properly understand a riddle, the thought process and its development are imperative to its solution.
There are many different types of riddles and numerous ways of categorizing them. • True riddles are riddles in which something is described accurately, yet in an obscure way, as to deceive. As previously indicated, all the facts required to solve the riddle are presented, but not necessarily in an obvious way. Two of the best true riddles are the following: As long as I eat, I live, But when I drink, I die. White as snow and snow it isn't, Green as grass and grass it isn't, Red as blood and blood it isn't, Black as tar and tar it isn't.
Rhyming riddles make use of a catchy, often rhythmic, rhyme to deceptively describe something that is commonly known. The following is a sample of rhyming riddle: I come out of the blue to say “hello” back to you!
Associative riddles come in many forms, but typically make use of words that either have multiple meanings (e.g. wind) or homonyms, words that sound the same (e.g. bear and bare). Here is a good example that also makes use of rhyme. A tree in the sand or part of your hand • Metaphoric Riddles make use of metaphors. A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a literal phrase is used as an analogy. These riddles have been used throughout history across cultures to both illustrate ideas and pose problems. In both cases, a keen sense of intellect is required to understand the true meaning of what was presented. Probably the most famous metaphoric riddle is the riddle of the Sphinx: What has one voice, Goes on four legs in the morning Two in the afternoon and Three in the evening
Joke Riddles are typically short, fast and humorous (at least to children). There are numerous books containing only joke riddles. Unfortunately, they are often difficult to solve, yet require very little problem solving ability. An example of joke riddle is the following Why did the chicken cross the road?
WHAT IS A DISCUSSION ? Discussion means talking about something with other people in order to reach some kind of decision.
We can sort our discussions into different types, even if the distinctions seem slightly arbitrary. We can say, generally, that discussions are either task-oriented or group-oriented. In task-oriented discussions, the group is faced with a problem to be solved, a task to be achieved, an issue to be faced or a subject to be learned.
It can be directive or non-directive. In a directive discussion, the leader takes a very strong role in moving the group toward a goal, overcoming obstacles and disagreements, keeping to a schedule, coming to a "right conclusion." In a non-directive discussion, he or she facilitates a group to approach the issue more independently and arrive at its own conclusions. In a group-oriented discussion, the group is largely concerned with itself and its own dynamic, in contrast to the discussion of a specific theme.
Discussion games can be based on serious questions as well as for playing with ideas and language, but the main intention of the exercises related to discussion is to get the students to talk and to stimulate their interest and imagination. • They make students think about their values and priorities, others help them to learn something about themselves and also play with words. Nearly all of them play demand that everyone will get a turn. • Discussion activities have a common feature: students have to give reasons for their views. • Teachers can use them to improve the atmosphere in the class and to help the students to cooperate better with each other. • Many of the discussion games may lead to oral or written follow-up activities.
Discussion activities can be carried out through ranking exercises in which students have to put a certain number of items from a given list into an order of importance or preference. This rearranging phase is usually followed by a period of discussion, when students explain or defend their choices in pairs or small groups. The underlying situations, problems, or questions are taken from widely different contexts. Although personal values and prejudices play a relatively minor part, common sense and general knowledge of the world are of greater importance. Ranking exercises practise interactive language, for instance agreeing, comparing, contradicting, disagreeing and giving reasons. It is recommended that a time limit should be fixed for the first step.
JOKES A joke is a short story or ironic depiction of a situation communicated with the intent of being humorous. Jokes are typically for the entertainment of friends and onlookers. The desired response is generally laughter; when this does not happen the joke is said to have "fallen flat". The rules of jokes are mainly precision, synthesis and rhythm.
TYPES OF JOKES Jokes are classified according to the different subjects they deal with. Here we are going to speak about five different categories of jokes: political jokes, mathematical jokes, ethnic jokes, religious jokes and dirty jokes.
Political jokes are a sort of satire. They generally concern politicians and heads of state, but may also cover the absurdities of a country’s political situation. A little boy goes to his dad and asks, "What is politics?" Dad says, "Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I'm the breadwinner of the family, so let's call me capitalism. Your Mom, she's the administrator of the money, so we'll call her the Government. We're here to take care of your needs, so we'll call you the people. The nanny, we'll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we'll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense." So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dadhad said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper.
So the little boy goes to his parents' room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny's room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, "Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.“ The father says, "Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about." The little boy replies, "Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep poor."
Mathematical jokes are a form of in-joke, generally designed to be understood only by insiders. A Mathematician, a Biologist and a Physicist are sitting in a street cafe watching people going in and coming out of the house on the other side of the street. First they see two people going into the house. Time passes. After a while they notice three persons coming out of the house. The Physicist: "The measurement wasn't accurate". The Biologists conclusion: "They have reproduced". The Mathematician: "If now, exactly 1 person enters the house then it will be empty again." Q: What does the zero say to the eight? A: Nice belt! George W. Bush visits Algeria. As part of his program, he delivers a speech to the Algerian people: "You know, I regret that I have to give this speech in English. I would very much prefer to talk to you in your own language. But unfortunately, I was never good at algebra..."
Ethnic jokes exploit ethnic stereotypes. They are often racist and frequently considered offensive. • Why is Steve Wonder always smiling? Because he doesn't know he's black. • Why doesn't Poland have a hockey team? They all drown during spring training . • Why don’t Mexicans have Olympic teams? Because the ones who can run, jump, or swim are already here. • Why do Italians grow moustaches? So they can look like their grandmothers.
Religious jokes are based on stereotypes associated with people of religion, letters and addresses to God. CHRISTMAS TREE Not long ago and far away, Santa was getting ready for his annual trip... but there were problems everywhere.Four of his elves were sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones so Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule.Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her mom was coming to visit. This stressed Santa even more. When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out, heaven knows where. More Stress. Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the boards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys. So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of coffee and a shot of whiskey. When he went to the cupboard, he found the elves had hidden the liquor and there was nothing to drink.
In his frustration, he dropped the coffee pot and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the he kitchen floor.He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw it was made from.Just then the doorbell rang and Santa cussed on his way to the door. He opened the door and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said: "Where would you like to put this tree Santa?"And that my friends, is how the little angel came to be on top of the Christmas tree.
Confession. A woman takes a lover home during the day, while her husband is at work. Unbeknownst to her, her 9 year old son was hiding in the closet. Her husband comes home unexpectedly, so she puts the lover in the closet with the little boy.The little boy says, "Dark in here."The man says, "Yes it is."Boy- "I have a baseball."Man- "That's nice."Boy- "Want to buy it?"Man- "No, thanks."Boy- "My dad's outside."Man- "OK, how much?"Boy- "$250."In the next few weeks, it happens again that the boy and the mom's lover are in the closet together.
Boy- "Dark in here."Man- "Yes, it is."Boy- "I have a baseball glove."The lover, remembering the last time, asks the boy, "How much?"Boy- "$750."Man- "Fine." A few days later, the father says to the boy, "Grab your glove. Let's go outside and toss the baseball back and forth."The boy says, "I can't. I sold them."The father asks, "How much did you sell them for?"The son says "$1,000."The father says, "That's terrible to overcharge your friends like that. That is way more than those two things cost. I'm going to take you to church and make you confess."They go to church and the father makes the little boy sit in the confession booth and he closes the door.The boy says, "Dark in here."The priest says, "Don't start that sh*t again."
Dirty jokes are based on taboo, often sexual, content or vocabulary.
THANKS FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE!!!!! • Rocío Anguita Mena • Mª Dolores Barragán Sánchez • Mª Ángeles Castillo Sánchez