MATT FOLEY HALLOWEEN I

DOUGLAS W. CANFIELD

Purdue University Calumet Hammond, IN

UNIVERSITY ESL COURSES

SUBJECTS

Main Subject ESL III

Secondary Subject ESL II

Other ESL Korea

OVERVIEW

Students will review a sequence for a Midwestern group introduction and review the use of

prepositions of place. In class, the teacher will “live model” the group introduction and give

students the opportunity to do the same. (students will be required to produce a sound file of

an introduction with Audacity and post it to WebCT Vista) Then, the students will be view

the introduction of Matt Foley to a group of Halloween pranksters and discuss the possible

basis for the comedy. Finally students will practice with an auditory discrimination exercise

of the Foley introduction, answer sequence/category questions for the same skit, and take a

quiz on prepositions of place.

TIME FRAME

One session (for the benefit of PP 104, one session includes class time and the pre- and

post-activities that precede and follow class time).

OBJECTIVES

In this lesson, students will:

• Identify the different parts and sequence of a group introduction.

• Demonstrate the ability to introduce themselves to a group in a socioculturally

appropriate manner.

• Be able to differentiate between the uses of the prepositions “in”, “at” and “on”.

• Begin to explore Saturday Night Live as a source of popular comedy and popular culture.

MATERIALS

• Computer lab (with Multimedia capable computers and Internet access)

A configuration of at least fifteen Pentium III 600 MHz or faster with color monitor, printer

and ISDN is preferred. The International Media Center is equipped with nineteen

networked Pentium III 1.0 GHz student computers with T1 Internet access and two printers.

Student access in other labs or from home must match these specifications, or they should

be encouraged to use the IMC.

• FLL Studio (with Multimedia capable computer and Internet access)

The FLL Studio is the course classroom, and should be configured to run the Pentium IV

2.2 GHz faculty computer with T1 Internet access and the accompanying projector and

surround-sound audio.

• Student Software Used in this Lesson

Flash Player (to access the clip), Microsoft® Internet Explorer (to access WebCT Vista), WebCT

Vista (to access the LOM).

• Instuctor Software Used in this Lesson

Hot Potatoes (to produce quizzes and exercises), Macromedia Flash (to compress the video

for HTML embedding), Macromedia Dreamweaver (to prepare the “reading text” portions of

the HotPot pages.

Procedure

The students will be asked to do the first two steps of the Matt Foley worksheet at

http://wizard.hprtec.org/builder/worksheet.php3?ID=70647, including reviewing a sequence

for a Midwestern group introduction and the use of prepositions of place. In class, the

teacher will enter, give a group introduction, and have students practice it on each other.

After this practice, students will be given the opportunity to introduce themselves to the

class. Questions will inevitably arise about the nature of these introductions, which will

seem way too personal for many. At this juncture, discuss how Midwesterners crave

connection. The information given in the introduction will enable them to ask questions

about who you know so that they can find a connection to you. Where you work, your age /

marital status, and where you live will permit them to discuss who lives or works close to you

and who you might know in common. Re-do the exercise, with the goal of having as many

students as possible find a connection with someone else in the class. At this point, remind

them that they will be required to produce a sound file of an introduction with Audacity and

post it to WebCT Vista.

Now, view the introduction of Matt Foley to a group of Halloween pranksters and discuss the

possible basis for the comedy. Is the comedy all physical, or are there linguistic elements of

the comedy? What are they? What commentary is being made about motivational

speakers? Let the conversation follow a natural course.

Finally, have students finish the Matt Foley worksheet at

http://wizard.hprtec.org/builder/worksheet.php3?ID=70647, including practicing with an

auditory discrimination exercise of the Foley introduction, matching information in the skit

to categories of the introduction that students might find on an official request for

information, and taking a quiz on prepositions of place.

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Standards for Foreign

Language Learning

• Standard 1.2 Written and Spoken Communication

o Students gain an understanding of the spoken language on the topic of introductions.

• Standard 1.3 Group Communication

o Students present themselves to the class.

• Standard 2.1 Practices of Culture

o Students demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between Midwestern

perspectives on connectedness and practices in group introductions in the Midwest.

• Standard 2.2 Products of Culture

o Students are exposed to Saturday Night Live to begin an understanding of the

relationship between SNL and perspectives of American culture.

• Standard 3.2 Interdisciplinary Viewpoints

o Student introductions are a bridge to the business world and the importance of

connections and networking in the American business world.

• Standard 4.1 Linguistic Comparisons

o Students compare and contrast vocabulary in L1 and L2 in the context of introductions,

and see the function of high-frequency prepositions in L2.

• Standard 4.2 Cultural Comparisons

o Students compare and contrast introduction styles in L1 and L2.

• Standard 5.1 School and Community

o Students use the introduction in the classroom, online, and in the community.

• Standard 5.2 Life-long Learning

o Students develop skills in appreciating American popular comedy and culture.