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untitled BACK in September, as Germany struggled to cope with the politics and logistics of the greatest influx of refugees in modern history, France decided to put on a show of European solidarity. French bureaucrats, armed with Arabic translators and loudspeakers, chartered three coaches and set off for the German city of Munich. The idea was to fill the vehicles with refugees and drive them over the Rhine to France, thus easing Germany’s load. The pattern was a familiar one. The refugee exodus finds France on Europe’s sidelines again. Up to a point, the eclipse of France over refugees is the product of geography and history. It would be wrong to suggest that the French have quietly agreed to be Europe’s bit-players. The sound of silence Ever since the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, France has tied itself to Germany on a simple understanding: that whatever divergences of interests or policy the pair had, they would find a way to co-operate.
Agree or disagree (and why?) Scaffolding discussions for quiet students Some of my new classes this term have students who either whisper, speak in L1 or stay completely silent during speaking activities (even at int/upper int level). Part of this reluctance to speak seems to stem from having no knowledge or strong opinions about the topics being discussed, or not having enough time to think about an answer before a more confident student dominates the conversation. This activity was designed for quiet and shy students by helping them start from expressing a single opinion to engaging fully in a debate. This activity includes two sets of worksheets for Intermediate and Upper-intermediate classes which can be downloaded here as a powerpoint file or as a PDF. The following plan is based on an intermediate level class of 10 to 12 students. Stage 1 – Agree or disagree The students are given a handout with 12 statements. In this example the statements are all in the passive to revise the grammar from the previous lesson.
Conversation Starters World The Business English Experience | A forum for presenting and exchanging experiences, ideas and lessons for business English 56 Creative Ways to Get to Know Your Class | OLE Community I recently attended the Building Learning Communities conference in Boston where I collaborated on a list of the top ideas to get to know your class with 5 other outstanding educators, including Catlin Tucker, the author of a fantastic blended learning and technology blog that you should definitely check out. Below is the list of ideas for getting to know your class that we started during the NoTosh crowdsourcing workshop and that I continued with the OLE team. I want to hear your creative ideas for how you get to know your students each year. Help us get to 100 and post your ideas in the comments. I’ll add to the list along the way. The Process If you want to try a crowdsourcing activity like this one, simply share a Google Doc with your peers and come up with as many ideas around a topic within 10 minutes as possible. The List: 56 Ways to Get to Know Your Class Tagged With: back to school, classroom activities, Classroom Management, collaboration, icebreakers, teaching
How to teach conversational lessons Hello, there. This post was written to share my favourite resources aimed at conversational lessons – both online and face-to-face. I hope you find it useful. The first minutes of the lesson are meant to arouse your students’ interest. In order to maintain your students’ interests, attempt to pick topics or situations that appeal to their age and if possible interests. After a topic is selected it is important to ensure that your student(s) do not write down their ideas. At this stage the teacher should monitor the student’s production, taking into account the content and form. At this stage focus on the content and probe your student’s comprehension and new language discovery. Give feedback – It is crucial to provide feedback that is oriented to the student’s goals. Give the opportunity for your student to do the speaking task again or do a similar task. And the sub-skills? Ready-made speaking lesson plans 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Speaking lesson ideas 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Like this:
Accept Yourself as You Are, Even When Others Don’t “What other people think of me is none of my business.” ~Wayne Dyer “You’re too quiet.” This comment and others like it have plagued me almost all my life. As a child and teenager, I allowed these remarks to hurt me deeply. When I did, the response was often, “Wow! This would make me just want to crawl back into my shell and hide. The older I got, the angrier I became. If only it were that simple, I thought. At 17, I thought I’d found the perfect solution: alcohol. When I was drunk, everyone seemed to like me. Another strategy was to attach myself to a more outgoing friend. Although I didn’t do it consciously, wherever I went I would make friends with someone much louder than me. Sometimes I just tried faking it. When I was 24, I began teaching English as a Foreign Language, and a month into my first contract in Japan, I was told my students found me difficult to talk to. It seemed that I was doomed. Or maybe not. What really matters is: do you think you need to change? And you know what?
How to Teach an English Conversation Class Conversation courses are usually taken by students who want to use and improve their speaking (and listening) skills. Their needs are different from students who take ordinary textbook-based classes. Run more often in non-English speaking countries, these classes cater to EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students, who have little contact with English in their day to day life. There is no right way to teach such classes, there is no textbook to guide lessons and no structure to follow. My experience: I have taught English conversation classes in Japan and Germany, and at times found them exceptionally challenging to prepare for and teach. Why take a conversation course? Students have many reasons to sign up for a class. When a teacher knows why students are attending, they can tailor lessons to meet students' needs. My students in Japan and Germany had four main reasons for joining an English conversation class. English for travel: English in the workplace: English for further study: Comments
What Annoying Situations Teach Us About Ourselves “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to a better understanding of ourselves.” ~Carl Jung He was shorter than me with a mustache, and he was positioning himself in front of me, but just off to the side of the line. I sneaked a look at his boarding pass and it read B53. I checked in exactly 24 hours before the flight, specifically so I could be in the A group. Not only was he butting, he wasn’t even an A. He smiled at me. I was flying home to Oakland from Denver, and on the ride over something similar had happened. On that flight, it wasn’t clear who was a butter and who wasn’t, so I didn’t say anything. Here was the choice again, and a lousy choice it was, say nothing and feel like a chump, or say something and feel like an uptight agro-jerk. I went for choice B. “Excuse me sir, what number do you have?” I started to waiver and began explaining, “I, ah, just want to see where I should….” The line moved forward. I felt embarrassed. Notice you are triggered.
Conversation Classes In this lesson C2 students will develop their understanding of idiomatic expressions that often come up in the Cambridge C2 Proficiency exam. They will encounter the expressions in a text about a bank heist gone wrong. Download the student handout below: Credit to: for the planning a bank robbery activity. You may also wish to use this quizizz game for spaced repetition of the target language. Procedure Students start by discussing common tropes of heist movies. Students then answer the detail questions: How had they planned for the robbery? Language Focus Students now focus on the expressions in bold. Students now flip the paper over and look at version 2 of the same text. Set the key word transformations testing the expressions for homework. Plan a heist Put students in small groups and have them plan a bank heist using the prompts on pages 2 and 3, which are adapted from Text Version 1 The Heist
10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies Ten of the most influential social psychology experiments explain why we sometimes do dumb or irrational things. “I have been primarily interested in how and why ordinary people do unusual things, things that seem alien to their natures.Why do good people sometimes act evil?Why do smart people sometimes do dumb or irrational things?” Like famous social psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo (author of The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil), I’m also obsessed with why we do dumb or irrational things. The answer quite often is because of other people — something social psychologists have comprehensively shown. Each of the 10 brilliant social psychology experiments below tells a unique, insightful story relevant to all our lives, every day. Click the link in each social psychology experiment to get the full description and explanation of each phenomenon. 1. The halo effect is a finding from a famous social psychology experiment. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Discussion topics for English language learners Prepare for Discussion 28 topics-- for the Higher Intermediate & Advanced levels----START 01 Alternative Beliefs 02 Animal Welfare 03 The Arts 04 Crime & Punishment 05 Cultural Differences 06 Economics 07 Education 08 Environment 09 Fashion 10 Food 11 Health 12 Holidays 13 Language Learning 14 Male & Female Roles 15 Marriage 16 The Media 17 Political Systems 18 Religion 19 Rich & Poor World 20 Science & Technology 21 Society 22 Sport 23 Tradition 24 Transport 25 Travel 26 Violence 27 Work 28 Youth & Old Age -----© Ted Power Glossary of Ten Discussion Techniques - detailed index List of the 28 Topics for Discussion [ This list of the 28 topics can be printed out for learners' or teachers' reference ] -- Higher Intermediate vocabulary and discussion - topics 1 to 10: 1. -- Higher Intermediate vocabulary and discussion - topics 11 to 20: 11. -- Higher Intermediate vocabulary and discussion - topics 21 to 28: 21. Return to the TOP of this page
Ice Breakers (Icebreakers) from ResidentAssistant.com GamesRA Contributor2014-09-18T09:47:09+00:00 Whether you need an activity for a staff meeting or a teambuilder for your floor, this section of the site provides you with ideas and instructions to help energize groups and bring people together! Do you have a favorite icebreaker or teambuilder? Please share it today! Ice Blocking Posted by: RA Contributor Category: Ice Breakers, Program Ideas, Reviewed, Social/Community Building, Team Builders Submitted by Name: Michael School: University of Idaho Description: This program is a way for you just to get a bunch of residents together at the beginning of the year… Continue reading » Brainteasers Posted by: RA Contributor Category: Ice Breakers, Passive Programs, Problem Solving Activities, Reviewed Brainteasers I went online and pulled out 15 riddles, some easy, some nearly impossible. Continue reading » Last Minute Date Ideas Posted by: RA Contributor Category: Ice Breakers Continue reading » Purity test Continue reading » Tag Team Chariot Racing