Creative & Task Reading Activity:

Advice Column

This is actually 2 separate activities for two different lessons that can be connected. Ultimately, the second activity is a Task Reading activity, wherein the students must read the text and answer multiple-choice questions. Advice Columns are always fun to read, so the students should enjoy the activity.

You can use the AET’s name as the Advice Columnist. An example of the Task-Reading activity is:

Dear Matthew. . .

I have a very nice boyfriend called Kazu. I like him very much. He wants to marry me. Kazu is very kind to me. Isao is my old boyfriend. I like him more than Kazu, but Isao treated me badly. He left me for another girl. Last week I saw him for the first time. He wants to be my boyfriend again. What should I do? -Yumi

I have a new job. I am paid a lot of money. I work very hard, but have no time for my family. Last week I saw my old boss. He wants me to return to my old job. All my friends work there, and the job is more enjoyable. The pay is not very good. I don’t know what to do. Help me Matthew! Please! -Hiroko

Choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D)

1. Who is very kind to Yumi?

A: Nobody is kind to Yumi.

B: Another girl is kind to Yumi.

C: Isao is kind to Yumi.

D: Kazu is kind to Yumi.

2. Yumi does not know what to do because . . .

A: Isao is her boyfriend.

B: She likes Kazu more than Isao.

C: She likes Isao more than Kazu.

D: Isao does not want to see her again.

3. Hiroko is sad because . . .

A: She does not see her family.

B: She has no job.

C: She has no money.

D: Her old boss is horrible.

4. Where are Hiroko’s friends?

A: At her new job.

B: At her old job.

C: At both jobs.

D: At neither job.

5. Find words in the text which mean: Superior, go back, fun.

You could even allow the students to write their own suggestions for how Yumi and/or Hiroko should handle their problems.

Now that you’ve seen the second activity, we can look at a possible activity to lead into that. In a previous class, you can have the students themselves come up with the problems to be used. In groups, you can have the students come up with a persona and problems facing him or her. Have the students write a letter to an advice columnist (preferably your AET, or your AET’s name). Thus it becomes a creative thinking and writing activity.

After you have collected the letters written by the students, you can select 2 or 3 of the best, and use them for the subsequent class. You may want to polish up the letters yourself, or you may want to leave them as the students wrote them. Then come up with several comprehension questions.

Note: The original idea for this activity, as well as the sample letters and questions were compiled for the 1997 edition of Communicative English: A Practical Guide.