What was produced during the workshops?
On the first morning of the workshops, participants discussed the essential ingredients needed for a good lesson. Thai Nguyen participants produced the following checklist:

"What makes a good lesson?"

• Clear and careful planning
• Revision of previous lessons
• Interesting topics and activities - there should be some fun!
• Lessons should be challenging (but not impossible) for students
• Use of pair work and group work
• Opportunities for student practice - both writing and speaking
• 30% presentation time, 70% practice time
• Chance for personalisation of activities
• Good, supportive atmosphere
• Teacher gives students feedback on their English
• Follow up with relevant homework

Sharing experiences Exchanging ideas Finding solutions
The checklists produced in this initial activity were then used to assess a number of different lessons.

Here is an activity from a 'student-centred' lesson which was demonstrated in Thai Nguyen, Binh Dinh, Yen Bai and Ho Chi Minh City. This activity can be used as a controlled practice activity for 'used to' (this grammar point appears in Tieng Anh 11, Lesson 14). It can also be adapted to virtually any other grammar point!!

Example passage:
10 years ago, I was a student at Oxford University where I studied Law. I used to get up early every day. I always worked very hard. I didn't use to go out drinking with my friends. In the evenings, I used to stay in my room and read Law reports. I never used to watch TV. I was an excellent student!

Tell students you are going to tell them about yourself 10 years ago. Dictate some sentences with facts about yourself containing 'used to' and 'didn't use to'. Some facts should be true, some false. Ask students to write down as you dictate, then ask them to check the grammar and spelling with a partner. When they have done this, tell them some facts in the passage were true and some false. Put students in pairs to discuss which facts were True and which False.
Feedback in open class.

Ask students to write their own True/ False passages.
Students exchange their passage and guess what is true and what is false.
(alternatively, give this task for homework and then check at the start of the next lesson.)

In nearly all of the workshops a video of a 'live' lesson from Hue* was shown. The lesson for teaching wh-questions with 'why' and 'what for', based on English 10, Unit 3 is particularly interesting because it shows how to use pair work and group work to maximise student participation in the lesson. It also shows how easily some textbook materials can be adapted and exploited. Here is the plan for the controlled practice stage. Why not try teaching this lesson with your own class?

*This video lesson is part of a series of 4 lessons prepared and filmed by Thua Thien Hue Department of Education and Training with support from VTTN's small projects fund. A very big thank you to all the Hue teachers who participated in this project and particularly to Ms.Nguyet whose lesson is reproduced here.
THANK YOU.

***STOP PRESS***
A copy of the video and lesson plans will be arriving in your school very soon.

STAGE 2, CONTROLLED PRACTICE: (14 min.)
1. Run through the vocabulary

Cue 1
- (to) cycle
- (to) go to the post office
- (to) learn English
- (to) go to the cinema

Cue 2
- (to) keep fit
- (to) post some letters
- (to) talk to foreigners
- (to) relax

2. Model and drill all the first cues based on pictures
(T 2 / 2 Chorally / 3 Individually)

3. Model and drill all the second cues
(T 2 / 2 Chorally / 3 Individually)

4. Teacher <--> whole class
(T asks, the whole class answer)
(The whole class ask, teacher answers)

5. Open pairs: (One cue / one student)

6. Closed pairs:
- Teacher divides the class into pairs, then puts the pictures on the blackboard. While Ss are doing their pair work, T goes around the classroom as a monitor taking notes some common mistakes for delayed / indirect correction.
- Teacher asks Ss to look at the target item again and asks: "Who can ask the question in another way?"
Student: => Why do people come here?
=> WH - question with Why is also used to ask for purposes

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