Leaders Speak 2 – Teacher\’s Book

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Lesson 14 – Focus on Leisure

Warm up

  1. Ask students what types of magazines they read and why they like them.
  2. Ask if they know of any free magazines or newspapers, and what they think of them?
  3. Ask if they have ever worked on a magazine, for example, a school magazine.
  4. Tell them they are going to listen to people designing a magazine. Play the recording and answer the question.

Listen again and note how people do the following.

1 give opinions 3 agree
2 make suggestions 4 disagree

Play the recording a few times, asking for answers in between.

1 I think. If you ask me, In my opinion 3 I\’m with you on that, You\’re right.
2 Why don\’t we…?, How about…?  4 I\’m not sure, I disagree, I can\’t agree with you.

Main Activity

  1. Tell the class that they are in \’focus groups\’ to design a new \’community lifestyle magazine\’.
    When business people have an idea, they need to know if people will like it. So they ask a focus group of people to discuss it and answer questions about it.
    A community lifestyle magazine is a free magazine. It makes money from the adverts in it. It contains information and articles about how people spend their time.
  2. Put students into groups consisting of six people. Each group will have:
    – a chairperson to control the group and ask questions
    – a secretary to keep notes of their ideas
    Allow groups to choose on their own or you can choose it for them
  3. Look at it quickly and ask students if there is anything that is not clear and think about what they would like in a magazine like this.
CHAIRPERSON
Ask about the five subjects one at a time and ask the group for their ideas.
You can use the suggestions from each subject to help people to think if they need them, but get lots of other ideas from them too. After each subject, ask the secretary to tell the group the list of ideas they had, before they start talking about the next subject.
  1. Who are your readers? Who do you want to read your magazine?
    For example:
    – Think about the age group: teenagers and young people, families, and the whole community of all ages.
    – Is it for men, women, or both?
  2. Hobbies and interests in the home
    Possible suggestions:
    – cooking
    – health
    – TV and radio
    – new books
    – fashion
  3. Facilities and activities in the area
    Possible suggestions:
    – restaurants and cafés
    – sport
    – music
    – cinema
    – theatre
  4. Community issues and news
    Possible suggestions:
    – local politics
    – events
    – environment
    – community projects
    – charities
  5. Other ideas
    What other types of articles and information would it be good to include?
SECRETARY
Make notes about the group\’s ideas on each of the five subjects below.
After the group has finished talking about each subject, use your notes to tell them the list of ideas they had, before they start talking about the next subject. Check that your notes are complete for each subject.
  1. Who are your readers? Who do you want to read your magazine?
    Notes:
  2. Hobbies and interests in the home
    Notes
  3. Facilities and activities in the area
    Notes:
  4. Community issues and news
    Notes:
  5. Other ideas
    Notes:

*you type it in the answer box.
  1. Chairpersons begin asking the group for their ideas, using your sheets for some ideas to start. Use the expressions above.
  2. When you have finished, choose your five best ideas. 7
  3. Secretaries explain the five ideas to the class. Ask the class what they think.

Follow up

The group design the cover of their magazine with headlines, sub-headlines, and captions. They also, design the contents page with outlines of articles and features. They can include drawings or photographs. When finished, put them on the wall or circulate them around the class for comparison and comments.