In Lesson Makeover 1 I used ChatGPT to create additional lesson materials based on the content and objectives from a double-page spread of a coursebook lesson, focusing on section 2A. Now, I will move on section 2B to develop more resources to foster greater motivation and engagement in the language classroom.
The sample coursebook material comes from Solutions 3rd Edition Pre-Intermediate, OUP. You can download a free sample of unit 2 from the publisher’s site HERE. Section 2A centered around vocabulary to describe landscapes. Section 2B introduces students to the past continuous tense. Activity 1 features a short reading passage with this instruction: “Read the opening paragraph of a story. Why does the narrator notice the tall man?” The 100-word short passage is rich in examples of the past continuous tense, describing different simultaneous actions taking place at a train station as observed by the narrator. It concludes with a question, leaving readers intrigued and eager to know more.
There are eight additional activities in this section. I will focus solely on the first one to show how Gen.AI can create tailor-made materials for our needs. From there, it’s up to us to apply our teaching experience, talent and creativity to craft memorable moments in our lessons.
So this is my first prompt: This is the opening paragraph of a story. Generate two alternative versions, each with five distinct differences from the original. The texts should include lots of examples of the past continuous, just like the original. Here is the paragraph: [pasted passage here].
Alternative 1
With my suitcase in my hand, I stepped off the train and onto the noisy platform. It was 8.00 in the evening. Passengers were rushing to catch their connections. A teenage boy and an elderly man were sitting near the timetable screen. The boy was scrolling on his phone, but the man wasn’t paying attention to him. A street musician was playing a violin softly, while a small group of people were clapping along. All around, people were arguing with taxi drivers, pulling luggage, or searching for directions. Near the ticket counter, a woman in a bright yellow coat was standing motionless. Why was she holding an umbrella on such a clear night? And why was she staring at me so intently?
Alternative 2
With my jacket slung over my arm, I stepped off the train onto the dimly lit platform. It was 6.45 in the evening. Commuters were hurrying past me. A couple with a large dog were sitting on the edge of a planter. The man was feeding the dog pieces of bread, but the woman wasn’t watching him. Nearby, a boy was drawing shapes on the ground with a stick while his father was talking on the phone. All around, people were checking train schedules, dragging suitcases, or chatting excitedly. Near the vending machines, a teenager with bright pink hair was standing as still as a statue. Why was she wearing sunglasses at night? And why was she grinning as if she knew something I didn’t?
The generated texts are slightly above the language level, particularly so the second one. Personally, I wouldn’t make any changes to them. Given their brevity, we could easily help students with any vocabulary queries. Now, what kinds of tasks could we develop? We could:
– Create fill in the gaps exercises by removing the –ing forms of the past continuous tenses and providing them below each of the passages in any given order. We could copy and paste those passages to a Word document and do it manually or ask ChatGPT to do this for us and copy and paste from there.
– Print copies of the passages. Have students work in pairs, giving the Alternative 1 passage to student A and Alternative 2 passage to student B. Allow students some time to read and ask any questions to fully understand their passages. Then, students take turns reading their passages, stopping right before the ‘–ing’ form of a past continuous verb and miming it for their partner to guess. If this proves too challenging –since some of these verbs in the past continuous form are above the language level- students can instead select 5 or 6 past continuous examples from their passages and mime those.
– Copy and paste the passages into a presentation tool, such as Powerpoint, or into IWB presentation software. Gradually erase past continuous forms for students to retell the story. They can do this in pairs first and then volunteer to read extracts aloud, retrieving the missing past continuous forms.
Now I am curious to see how ChatGPT could expand on the original story from the book unit. Prompt: This is the opening paragraph of a story. Continue the story in approximately 150 words. Remember that this is intended for Pre-Intermediate English students and originates from a coursebook series, so the language should be suitably simplified. The story should include a significant number of past continuous tense examples, as this is the primary focus of the lesson. The story should be exciting and engaging for language learners. Here is the paragraph: [pasted passage here].
I looked around nervously. People were walking past, but no one seemed to notice the tall man. He was still standing there, watching me. My heart was beating fast as I started moving towards the exit. While I was walking, I kept glancing back, but he wasn’t following me. Or was he?
I turned a corner and saw a small café. People were sitting inside, drinking coffee and talking. I decided to go in and wait for a while. As I was ordering a tea, I saw him again—he was standing outside, looking through the window.
My hands were shaking as I picked up my cup. What did he want? I tried to stay calm, but my mind was racing. Suddenly, my phone buzzed. I looked at the screen, and a message appeared: “Don’t trust him. Meet me outside the station.” Who had sent it? And what was going on?
I would actually like an alternative, so I prompted ChatGPT to generate one.
I froze for a moment, unsure what to do. The tall man was still looking at me, but now he was smiling. Why was he smiling? People around me were laughing, talking, and rushing past, but I couldn’t focus on anything else.
I started walking slowly towards the exit, pretending I didn’t see him. As I was passing a group of travelers, I noticed he was following me. My heart was pounding, and I was trying not to panic.
Just then, a loud announcement echoed through the station. People were stopping and listening, but I kept moving. I was looking for somewhere to hide. Nearby, a luggage trolley was sitting next to a café. I ducked behind it and waited.
The man was searching the platform now, turning his head from side to side. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. A message flashed on the screen: “Find the red door. Hurry!”
These passages are, once again, slightly above the language level, but this is a minor issue as they are quite short, and any difficulties can be easily clarified.
I would be printing handouts of both passages for the students to read and discuss which alternative they find more exciting and why. After some discussion, students would choose one and expand the story in writing while making an effort to effectively use the past continuous.
Quite obviously, we wouldn’t have time for all of these activities in addition to the tasks already included in the unit section. However, it’s always beneficial to have a variety of options to choose from based on our students´ needs and interests, or on what we think will work best in our teaching context.
AI in ELT 