Where is the chocolate man? Places.
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Commercials are great for teaching English. Not just for teaching media awareness but for specific language study. They are the perfect “engager” and way to start off and focus a lesson on a central point/topic. Commercials are short and powerful and trendy. The perfect media to use to [...]
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WHY? Games are fun and motivational. They increase student talk time (production).
Visuals add context to the language learning. They are quick and [...]
One of my previous blog posts spoofed the 7 “marvellous” sins of great teachers. Now, I’d like to unspoof and great real and talk about “new” English teachers.
I just spent 2 days interviewing 29 new teachers each day! Wow, talk about a treadmill….. The teachers besides answering questions had to go through a "demo" lesson [...]
Recently, I came across two lesson activity ideas online. On the surface both seem like good activities however one they contrasted nicely with each other and highlight the difference I see between USING and MANIPULATING language.
First the activities.
MANIPULATING Language : Cut up letters of the alphabet and put into an envelope. Maybe 5 sets of [...]
I’ve been thinking recently about how good teachers foster “noticing” in their students. Good teachers somehow get students to notice the “deeper” stuff about language – the nuance and information that just isn’t on the surface and easily translatable or apparent.
This really can’t be done directly. One might think so and I’ll respect that opinion [...]
It isn’t easy to get students speaking sometimes. But it is well worth it! It is truly the road towards a fluent, confident speaker of English.
I remember when first confronted with a “silent” class. They were really passive and not willing to speak. After lots of trial and error I finally came into class gagged! [...]
Listening! Activities galore for your classroom!
Listening is a very overlooked skill in our classrooms. It is as vital (or even more so!) in the beginning as speaking and we should treat it so. But too often, it is the poor cousin. No more! Here are the major listening activities grouped by type. I’ve provided a [...]
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One thing I’ve become convinced of as a teacher, is the fact that WE can be our own worst enemy. Meaning, somehow our own experiences, our 1,000s of hours in the classroom observing teachers, have conditioned us to “be teachers” and that this gets in the way of the success of our language [...]
I’ve been engrossed of late with how I might use voice recognition technology in the language classroom. I might test drive it this semester — I’ll walk around the classroom “wired” and as I speak, all the students will see it come up in script on the screen.
This really isn’t intended for the very fluent [...]
I use commmericals a lot in my classes. For many reasons;
1. A clear, concise message. Great as context for language learning.
2. They are short!
3. They are hip. Cultural translatable and current.
4. Easy to spin off into other areas of learning. Great for engagement.
5. Wonderful for teaching media literacy, critical thinking!
There are sooooo many [...]
