Today we are going to use Claude for live brainstorming in class to generate subtopics from a general topic provided for a speaking exam. Next we will focus on gathering some useful vocabulary and expressions to use in the exam.
So let’s pretend that we have been working in class on the general topic of food at a B2 level of English. To cap off this work, we are going to ask our students to be engaged in a speaking exam simulation for the following task:
“Talk about why more people are choosing to become vegetarian nowadays.”
To put things in context, I am an English teacher at an Escuela Oficial de Idiomas in Spain. Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas offer standardized tests that include a speaking component. Candidates have 5 minutes of preparation time before the speaking exam, which includes a monologue and a dialogue or interaction. During this time they can review the materials and plan their responses based on the tasks provided. They may also be allowed to take notes, which they can refer to during the exam. At B2 level the monologue section lasts about three minutes.
So I would tell my students to work in pairs or groups of three for about three minutes to come up with a list of subtopics for the speaking topic. For example, they might write down “health related reasons” or “ethical reasons.”
Meanwhile, as the students are on task, I type this into Claude (and hide from view): I have been given this assignment: “Talk about why more people are choosing to become vegetarian nowadays”. Can you give me a list of 8 different subtopics on this general topic for me to refer to in my speech? Can you present them as bullet points?
And this is Claude’s answer:
Here’s a list of 8 subtopics related to the increasing trend of vegetarianism:
- Health benefits associated with vegetarian diets
- Environmental impact of meat consumption vs. plant-based diets
- Ethical concerns regarding animal welfare in the food industry
- Availability and variety of vegetarian options in restaurants and grocery stores
- Influence of social media and celebrities on dietary choices
- Economic factors affecting the choice to become vegetarian
- Cultural shifts in attitudes towards meat consumption
- Technological advancements in plant-based meat alternatives
When their allotted time is up, display what’s on the screen so that they can compare it with their notes. Did they think of anything that isn’t on the board? Is there anything on the board that no one thought of? Is there a bullet point on the board that most or all of them thought of? Bullet point number 3 is likely to have sprung to mind during the brainstorming process.
So the next step is to give the students five minutes to prepare their monologues by selecting 3-4 subtopics to elaborate on. They need to outline their speeches and think of recently practiced bits of language that are relevant to their speech. Before that, we can interact with Claude one last time by typing: “Can you give me 10 language chunks that are relevant for talking about ‘ethical concerns regarding animal welfare in the food industry’? The chunks should consist of adjective + noun or verb + noun phrase.”
Certainly. Here are 10 language chunks relevant to discussing “ethical concerns regarding animal welfare in the food industry,” composed of adjective + noun or verb + noun phrase combinations:
- Humane treatment Example: Ensuring humane treatment of animals should be a priority in food production.
- Ethical sourcing Example: Many consumers are now demanding ethical sourcing of animal products.
- Sustainable practices Example: Implementing sustainable practices can improve animal welfare and environmental impact.
- Intensive farming Example: Intensive farming methods often raise significant animal welfare concerns.
- Raise awareness Example: We need to raise awareness about the conditions in which farm animals are kept.
- Improve conditions Example: Food companies must take steps to improve conditions for livestock.
- Compassionate choices Example: Making compassionate choices as consumers can influence industry practices.
- Cruel confinement Example: Many activists argue against the cruel confinement of animals in small spaces.
- Implement standards Example: It’s crucial to implement standards that ensure the well-being of farm animals.
- Address concerns Example: The food industry needs to address concerns about animal welfare more seriously.
Now we can draw attention to some of the relevant chunks and encourage students to use them later on.
Give the students five minutes to prepare their speeches. Arrange them into pairs (A and B). As deliver the speech while Bs listen. Then, As must pair up with a different B, and this time Bs deliver their speeches while As listen.
We may assign homework as a follow-up and invite our students to search for more useful vocabulary using the last prompt for some of the remaining subtopics on the Gen. AI tool of their choice, then make a voice recording for the task.
AI in ELT 