A joke can be an excellent icebreaker.

 

Motivation is paramount when we want to succeed at teaching. And humour is an excellent resource to get students involved. We can use jokes to start teaching our lessons.

In this case, I share this ladybugs interaction as trigger to introduce the Present Perfect tense. At the same time, we can enhance the development of our students’ thinking skills.

Let’s start by asking them “What has happened?”

Students will approach the use of the Present Perfect tense experientially, in real interaction. They will have to observe the image and analyse the context. Maybe

they don’t know the meaning of “Bless you”. If they ask, explain the meaning or ask them to look it up either in their paper dictionaries or in online dictionaries.

Write the question on the blackboard and highlight HAS HAPPENED (you can underline or circle the words, or you can write them in block letters).

Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss the context. Allow their use of dictionaries. Give them some minutes to interact and start a sharing session. Let them say their options with isolated words, using the infinitive verbs, or even in Spanish, according to the students’ level.

While they state their ideas, write the correct version of them on the blackboard:

The bug

HAS SAID ‘bless you’ HAS GREETED HAS SNEEZED HAS LOST her spots. Etc.

 

Then, ask them to discuss in pairs or small groups and decide which option best describes the context.

Now you have various examples to start introducing the structure of the Present Perfect Tense.

You can ask students to explain why you use the Present Perfect Tense in this context, helping them to infer that it is a past event whose result is present. Again, students will be developing their thinking skills while they discover the use of the new tense.

Now, you can go on teaching the lesson you have planned.

Hope it helps!

Mother Earth's Day

 

Yesterday the world celebrated Earth’s Day.

The fact that the whole world agreed on celebrating such a date means that it is really important that we all become aware of the need to look after our planet.

Teachers should discuss with their students ways to heal the world and to keep ecology balance.

A project work on the topic could get students involved in doing research to find out the necessary information to start an awareness raising campaigns at school and in their communities. This kind of problem-solving situation will make learning meaningful and significant to the students. This, in turn, will make everything they learn memorable and will help students to develop individual and social responsibility.

The picture is just one possible trigger to brainstorm ideas as a warm-up activity.

Hope you put these ideas in action and enjoy the experience.

FREE COUPON FOR ONLINE LESSON ON CONDITIONALS

 I'm happy to announce that I've been granted the possibility to give three 100% discount coupons to access my lesson UNDERSTANDING CONDITIONALS. 

The first three persons to comment below this post will get a coupon each.

Hope you win!

How we can use art to enhance learning.

 

This is a WW I Memorial placed in Vácrátót, Hungary. It is a masterpiece because it symbolises the consequence WW I had on Hungarian families. It evokes human loss and sacrifice strikingly well. The war took parents away from families. The families have a big whole which is impossible to cover. All the members of the family feel the absence of the beloved one. The names of the soldiers who died at war are written at the bottom of the piece of art.

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We could use this WWI memorial to help students to develop their critical and creative thinking. Even though it is quite simple, its meaning is really heartbreaking. This image could be used to help students to develop self-awareness, if they reflect upon the feelings the monument and its meaning arises in them. They can also develop awareness of others, if they try to explain why the sculptor designed such a piece of art or how families feel at the sight of such an artwork.

A)     We could ask questions such as:

·         What can you see in the photo?

·         Why do you think this piece of art has been created?

·         Can you explain what the memorial represents?

·         What’s missing in the piece of art? Why do you think it’s missing?

·         How do you feel at the sight of such an artwork?

·         How would you define the image?

·         Have you ever seen something similar anywhere?

 

B)      We could also ask students to work individually first, writing 5 words that come to their minds when they see the memorial.

Then, they could form groups of 4 and each of them should explain why they have thought of the words in their lists.

This activity would encourage students to interact and, since they would be stating their point about personal feelings, they would focus on getting their message across rather than on grammatical accuracy. Nevertheless, the fact that they have to speak their minds in front of their classmates, would enhance their effort to be communicatively efficient.

 

C)      Another task could be to ask students to write a piece of news or a diary entry (depending on the level of proficiency of students in the group) to introduce the photo of the memorial.

INTEGRATING SYNTAX, LEXIS, PHONOLOGY AND CULTURE

Reinforcing the idea that syntax, lexis, phonology and culture are always integrated. I add this classroom task in which students can learn about British accents while they develop listening comprehension skills.
The speaker has a very clear accent which could serve as a model to be imitated.
Hope you enjoy the task.

Watch the video and:

A.-  Give it a title. Justify your choice. 

       Remember that the title is the shortest summary a text might have.

B.-Answer the following questions:

1.       What does the speaker mean by “RP”?

2.       Why does he mention “stereotypes” in relation to this accent?

3.       What other accents does he mention?

4.       Which accent does he speak?

5.       Is he a native speaker? Justify.

6.       Does he think non-native speakers should learn how to speak RP? Why?

7.       What does he suggest nonnative speakers should do to learn how to speak English?

Here I include the key.
Don't cheat! Read it after having tried answering on your own.

Thanksgiving Day Lesson

Today, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the USA. The date is not fixed. It has always been celebrated on a Thursday in November.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the celebration to be held on the final Thursday in November. This rule was followed until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the fourth Thursday was to replace the fifth, and last one, as celebration day. This change was meant to extend the shopping season before Christmas and thus help to bring the country out of The Great Depression. In December 1941, the fourth Thursday in November was fixed as Thanksgiving date.

But what is Thanksgiving Day? It’s an annual national holiday in which people celebrate the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Even though its origin is religious, nowadays it is celebrated as a secular holiday.

Families in the USA meet for the traditional dinner and socialize and enjoy each other’s company.

This is a great time to be thankful for who and what we have in our lives.

The following is a song associated with he holiday celebration. Why?

Now you can work on the worksheet.

http://www.mediafire.com/view/n0p9c4ipv2cc7gn/I%2527ve_got_plenty_to_be_thankful_for.png/file

Generation Z-Listening comprehension task

Here I add material for a listening comprehension task.
Hope you enjoy working with this topic with your groups.

TASK

LISTENING TEXT

ACCESS TO THE SOUND TRACK

https://soundcloud.com/user-459547644/genz-recording-2

Bet You Didn't Know: Halloween | History

It is interesting to know about the history of this celebration. And, more important, to understand the real meaning it has today for people all over the world.
I think it might be great to use this clarifying video to speak about how the concept of Halloween developed in the different countries where the language we teach is spoken.
Learning language implies becoming aware of cultural matters.
Hope you enjoy the video.

These tasks were prepared based on the video
Hope you enjoy them.
The keys are also attached to this entry.

Bet you didn't know about Halloween.pdf

Bet you didn't know about Halloween. Key.pdf

DISCOVER THE LIE

As promissed, I'm including a new classroom activity which can give food for thought.
I'm sure you can improve it and use it to motivate your students.
Hope it helps!

Discover the lie.

Organise students in groups of four or five. Give each student a card to fill in with personal information. (The kind of information will vary according to students’ level of proficiency). 

They will prepare a speech introducing themselves as the character they have constructed in their cards. They will include a piece of information which is not true and the other members of the group will have to discover which the lie is. Each member is allowed to ask one yes / no question to check their perceptions. The student who guesses will be the next to introduce his / her character.

You can give students some examples like:

I’m Martin. I’m 14 years old. I came alone to Canada 10 years ago. I’m a student at high school. I love skiing and playing video games. I’m filling in this form because I would like to participate in the W & T Programme.

Obviously, it is impossible for a 4-year-old boy to travel alone to another country. So the second piece of information is the lie.

I attach a template you can use with your students. In this case, there is an extra demand. Students have to add an image that represents them. This is a good opportunity to help them to develop creative thinking. They will have to decide which image is suitable and then, give reasons in front of their peers. They will express emotions. This will give the chance to work on issues such as stating individual points clearly, respecting others’ choices, and developing empathy.

The fact that students will be working on the basis of a character they will create will help them to avoid face-threatening situations. All issues can be addressed without spotting any special student.

Chain stories

Chain stories are an excellent way of improving pronunciation.

The teacher gives students cards with two or three words which are pronounced with sounds they need to practise. Each student will receive a different sound. The first student will have to start the story including the words in his / her card (eg.: Abby – beautiful – snob). The student who discovers which the sound in focus is has to continue telling the story using the words he / she has been given. The story goes on until students give it an end or until students get stuck and cannot continue with it.

If students cannot complete the story during the game, they will join in groups to work collaboratively to finish it. This time the teacher will give them a specific number of words they will have to use. Then, each group will choose a reader to share their story with the class.

The team who write the most creative story will choose the topic for the following writing session. The class will vote to decide who wins.

Comments: While students prepare, say and identify the sounds they are supposed to be practicing, they improve their receptive and productive skills, and the good pronunciation of the sounds in focus will get entrenched.

When students work collaboratively, they learn to share and respect opinions, and accept decision agreed upon by the group even when they might have chosen another option. At the same time, group cohesion will be enhanced since students will be working together trying to achieve a common aim. 

Let’s ask questions

Once more, I’ve chosen a photo of mine to be sure students don’t know where it was taken or what it is all about.

I had the experience of having chosen a photo from the net and it was a picture from a well-known film I hadn’t seen. My lesson failed to surprise my students!

Outline: Students will revise how to ask questions.

Focus: Questions using tenses students are well acquainted with.

Level: A1 and above.

Steps:

*Show students the photo and ask them to observe it.

*Ask students to form groups of 3-4 and list all the questions they can think of.

*Have students read the questions. They have to cross out the ones that repeat. The group who keeps questions in their list, wins.

*Ask students how many of those questions can be answered with absolute certainty, how many can be answered with certainty if another question is answered first (have students ask that question), and which answers would be just the result of their creativity.

*Encourage students to write a description of the photograph including all their inferences. According to the students’ level, they will be using a variety of phrases expressing their point of view.

Comments:

Students will practise how to ask questions. Since they will work in groups, students will work on peer teaching / correction. They might even have fun.

When students analyse which questions can be answered with absolute certainty and which ones can’t, they will become aware of the difference between facts and inferences. This is a skill which is really helpful when we have to analyse pieces of news or other circumstances in our daily life.

Working in groups, students will have to discuss their different points of view when making inferences. This will help them to develop empathy and respect towards other people’s opinions. They will become aware of the fact that we don’t need to agree with others in order to respect their stance. At the same time, they will become aware of the fact that nobody “owns” the truth.

Collaborative Writing

This activity is based on a photograph I took so that students do not know where it was taken or who are the people in the picture. This enhances their creative thinking.

Focus: Present Simple and Present Progressive. Expressions of deduction: I think… / Maybe… /This person might be…

Level: Pre-Intermediate to advanced

Steps:

*Show the students the image (display on the screen) and help them notice the people who appear in the scene. Ask different students to describe where each person is (eg: at the bar, on the balcony, in the street). What they are doing

*Students work in group and choose one of the persons in the photo and think about him/her for a couple of minutes.

*Write some questions on the board so that students can practise different tenses:

Ex: What’s my name? Where am I (city, country, etc. not the exact place in the scene so as not to be discovered)? How am I feeling now? Why am I here? What am I doing at the moment?, etc.

*Students discuss the answers to the questions and write them down while the teacher monitors their writing.

*Students complete the narration. One member from each group reads the text and the members of the other groups have to guess who is the person describing the scene.

Comments:

Since students have to agree on whose stance they are going to take, and also on many of the other answers to the questions presented by the teacher, they will be developing their communication skills. They will have to listen to each other actively. This means they will have to understand what others say, respect their points of view and put forward their own point of view trying to persuade others of the value of their own perspective. This also helps them develop linguistic skills.

When students have to guess the person chosen by other groups, they will have to think critically to make associations between the details and the image source of the description.

Hope you enjoy doing this activity in your classrooms.

EMOTION POEMS

Emotion poems are another way of practising vocabulary in an enjoyable way.
Based on a template, students have to write about their feelings.
The level is not an impediment to do this activity. Poems can be written in very simple language. Students of all levels can have a try.
Here I share with you the template:

EMOTION is COLOUR
It sounds like SOUND
It tastes like TASTE
It smells like ODOUR
EMOTION feels like DESCRIBE THE FEELING

Here I add two examples written by my students:

Joy is red, blue and white,
it sounds like laughter,
it tastes like salty tears,
it smells like sweat and earth,
Joy feels like pride.

Fear is midnight blue
It sounds like a loud, high scream
It tastes like sour and cold vinegar
It smells like the memory of an old perfume
Fear feels like escaping from the inescapable.

Now you have the recipe, add some creativity and become a poet yourself.
Hope it helps.