Summary
This B2 lesson examines how online vernacular, including terms like meme and acronyms like LOL, has significantly altered how we communicate. Students will learn key vocabulary such as mutate, linguistic accommodation, and nuance, watch a video on the topic, and practice using the passive voice to describe the origins and evolution of these linguistic phenomena. Activities encourage reflection on personal online habits and the broader societal impact of these changes.
Activities
Students begin by reflecting on their own use of internet slang and acronyms, considering its pros and cons, and how their online writing style differs from formal communication.
Learners will deduce the meaning of vocabulary like meme, mutate, and creative workaround from contextual sentences, enhancing their understanding of digital communication terms.
Students watch a video about the evolution of memes and internet slang, answering comprehension questions about concepts like linguistic accommodation and the origins of slang.
Students practice functional language for explaining origins (e.g., "was coined by," "evolved from") and reinforce their understanding of the passive voice by rewriting sentences. They will complete a gap-fill paragraph using key vocabulary and engage in a creative exercise by describing a meme they would create to represent a common feeling or situation.
Vocabulary focus
The lesson highlights vocabulary essential for discussing digital communication and language change. Key terms include meme, mutate, extinct, linguistic accommodation, homogenized, nuance, and creative workaround. Students engage with these terms through context-based guessing, matching exercises, and a gap-fill activity, solidifying their understanding and use in discussions about language evolution.
Grammar focus
The primary grammar focus is the passive voice, emphasizing its use when discussing the history or creation of ideas where the agent is unknown or less important (e.g., "The term 'meme' was coined...").
Students practice by transforming active sentences into the passive. Additionally, functional language for explaining origins and evolution (e.g., "traces its roots to," "took on a life of its own") is introduced and practiced.
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