A SOME THE ANY AN When you teach the concept of countability in English, students have to learn to use the words A, SOME, THE, ANY, AN in front of the nouns correctly. To decide correctly, students have to take several mental steps.In this process I explain the mental process and I offer your students a chance to practise it in several games. ADVERT: In this post you will find a simple infographic, which explains the thinking process. Moreover, there are three brand new games in which students can practise the grammar. A SOME THE ANY AN – infographic To decide correctly which word should be used in front of the given noun, students should ask the following questions in this order: If the students have already spoken about the thing, then we have to use the article THE. If the noun is not in plural or uncountable, then A or AN is used. The process might seem a bit complicated when you read the text, but my students found it very easy when they could use the infographic. A SOME THE ANY AN – games Shooting Game
When do children learn to tell lies? Narrator: Who can resist an unmanned chocolate cake? Boy 1: Shall we lick the top? Boy 2: Yummy scrummy! Boy 3: (laughs) Narrator: But how best to cover your tracks? Boy 1: Someone mysterious sneaked in when we were … Male adult: Someone mysterious sneaked in? Boy 4: Yeah! Female psychologist: (laughs) Lying is a really important developmental skill. Boy 1: A thief came in and took that. Boy 2: They flew down, ate it and then flew back! Male adult: So, an elephant and a giant bird came and smudged the cake? Boy 3: Yeah! Narrator: To test the children's lying skills at different ages, we left them alone with a rigged gumball machine and told them not to touch it. Elie: I want a sweet now. Girl 1: Are you going to turn it? Zoe: No! Elie: Do you want to turn it? (Zoe turns the wheel) Male psychologist: Whoa! Female psychologist: Oh no! Girl 1: Do not turn it any more! Girl 2: I just keep doing it by accident! Female psychologist: Lying is a very subtle skill. Female adult: What happened?! Boy 1: Yeah!
How to Teach English Conversation - ESL Speaking Many foreign ESL teachers abroad, especially in places like South Korea, teach predominantly English conversation classes. Some teachers (and students too!) have the perception that teaching English conversation involves just “talking” to the students. Free-talking does have a role in helping students learn English, but it shouldn’t be the only thing we do in our English conversation classes. If you’re looking to level-up your ESL teaching game, you’ve come to the right place! I have plenty of tips, lesson plans, and activity ideas for how to teach English conversation the better way. English Conversation Activity Ideas Try out these games and activities that are guaranteed to get your students talking. Partner Conversation Starters/Role-Plays: An excellent way to get even low-level students started with English conversation. Teach Someone How to Do Something: Perfect for the “hobby” unit that seems to be in just about every single ESL textbook. English Conversation Starters Related
Present continuous questions Present continuous tense is one of the most popular tenses among students. It is easy to form and its usage is crystal clear (at least at the beginning). However, when it comes to forming questions, students often fail. In this post, there is a video to teach the question word, an infographic, several interactive exercises and logical worksheets. Present continuous YES/NO questions In the first part, it is important to teach the formation of the YES/NO questions in the present continuous tense. Present continuous tense – short answers Display the following infographic. Demonstrate how the infographic works. Question words – video and infographic Before you start teaching questions with the question words, teach the question words first. Once the students know the basic question words, it is time to practise them. Present continuous questions Now teach students how to form questions starting with WH… words in the present continuous tense. Present continuous questions – more exercises
10 Easy ESL/EFL Activities with No Preparation - Teacher's Pit Stop Level: B2 and above Setup: Arrange the desks and chairs so that your students sit in a circle (either around the combined tables or an empty space).Explain that you’re going to play the game of Mafia where some of them will be apart of a secret Mafia group that kills the others. The goal of the game is for Mafia to get rid of all the regular members, or townsfolk, and for the townsfolk to discover and exile Mafia members. Note: For this game to work best the Narrator or God should act flamboyantly, creating backstories for characters and really imaginative ways in which characters die. Not necessary but students get super engaged then. The characters: Mafia: assassinate 1 person per turn. The ratio should be 1:3 so if there are 12 students, 4 will be Mafia. Doctor: heals one person per night (may heal themselves) Detective: asks the Narrator whether someone is Mafia or not. First round is character picking. The procedure (this will repeat every turn): This is when the discussion should begin.
10 ways to teach English through music | ETpedia In this post, Magdalena Dygała gives ten ideas on using music and songs in the language classroom. Magda works at the Kazimierz Pulaski University of Technology and Humanities in Radom, Poland and is also a teacher of English at the ZSO 7 Secondary School. At the end of this post, there’s also a link to a YouTube video of Magda using songs with her students. Music can play a very significant role in a foreign language classroom. 1. Start with a survey to find out students’ favourite types of music. 2. You can use music as a nice lead-in to the lesson. 3. You can use music to affect your students’ mood. 4. Prior to listening to the song, you can show some pictures connected with the song and make students guess the name of the band or the title of the song. 5. Songs can also serve as a springboard for discussing a particular grammar point. 6. Music can also serve as a powerful tool in teaching new vocabulary. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Learn English Parts of Speech - Explanations, Examples and Exercises There are eight different English parts of speech, but before we continue any further... Click Here for Step-by-Step Rules, Stories and Exercises to Practice All English Tenses What is a Part of Speech? A part of speech is a group of words that are used in a certain way. In other words, all words in the English language are divided into eight different categories. The English parts of speech are: Nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. Click here to learn the different parts of a sentence. Same Word – Several Parts of Speech In the English language many words are used in more than one way. For example, in the sentence "I would like a drink" the word "drink" is a noun. Click here for video grammar lessons (including the Parts of Speech Made Simple Videos) Nouns Click here for the complete illustrated page on English nouns. A noun is a word that names a person, a place or a thing. Example sentences: People like to go to the beach. Abstract Nouns
Growth Mindset Posters to Bring More Positivity to Your Classroom It’s easy to promote positive thinking and a can-do attitude in your classroom with these growth mindset posters. Each poster has an awesome message, reminding your students that mistakes are OK and hard work pays off. These posters are perfect for your school hallways or classroom. Get the full set of six posters right here. I can learn from my mistakes. We all make mistakes, and we can always be reminded that they are a learning opportunity. I can do hard things. Yes you can! First attempt in learning. You have to start somewhere. Mistakes are expected & respected. Remind your students that you want them to make mistakes. It’s not failure because I haven’t given up yet. Keep reminding your students that every attempt is worthwhile. I can’t do it…YET. The message of yet is one that resonates with so many of us. Get Your Growth Mindset Posters!
Actividades de presentación para el primer día de clase El primer día de clase es un momento muy especial. A mí siempre me gusta empezar con una actividad de presentación para que se conozcan y nos conozcan, y después tantear el terreno, ver sus expectativas sobre el curso y qué y cómo les gustaría aprender. Una buena forma de averiguar esto es a través de post-its de diferentes colores (uno para sus expectativas, otro para cómo desearían aprender, otro sobre sus gustos…) En esta entrada vais a encontrar una serie de actividades de presentación variadas para todo tipo de alumnos y de niveles. Se habilita un lugar en el aula por donde los estudiantes puedan pasear. El profesor pone música (no demasiado alta) y les pide que se muevan por el aula según las instrucciones que vaya dando el profesor: mostrándose alegres, cantando, con una maleta que pesa mucho, como un/a modelo, a cámara lenta, como un flamenco (el ave), como una persona con mucha autoestima, etc. El profesor coloca a los alumnos en círculo. ¿Cuál es vuestra propuesta favorita?
7 grammar myths you learned in school Grammar can be tough. There are a lot of rules to follow, and a lot to wrap your head around. Some of the rules we learn in school, though, aren’t exactly accurate. Here are some common grammar myths: 1. Most of us learned in school that ending a sentence with a preposition was a mistake. Clearly, there are instances where attempting to avoid ending a sentence in a preposition results in a statement that is either over-formal or simply poor English. In her myth-busting post on the issue, Catherine Soanes identifies four typical situations in which it is more natural to end a sentence with a preposition. passive structures (she enjoys being fussed over)relative clauses (they must be convinced of the commitment that they are taking on)infinitive structures (Tom had no-one to play with)questions beginning with who, where, what, etc. Read the entire post. 2. Another common grammar myth is the rule about starting sentences with conjunctions. 3. I couldn’t not help him. 4. 5. 6. 7.
13 Fun Classroom Activities Using Technology | English Teaching 101 Times have changed. Gone were the days when teachers deliver the same old lectures day after day. Now, everyone expects teachers to integrate engaging, educational and fun classroom activities using technology. The good thing is that the Internet is loaded with tools that can enable teachers to bring a sense of fun and engagement to their lessons. Here are some ideas for leveraging technology to kick those lessons up a notch! 1. Let your students create their very own personalized stories using a variety of colorful and vibrant Illustrations that ignite creativity. In these websites (which are especially great for students who are not good at drawing), students write and illustrate a story using the wide assortment of backgrounds by simply dragging and dropping a series of images onto the page. With a classroom account, teachers can create assignments, and review and comment on submitted stories. 2. Challenge your students to create their own quiz using Kahoot! 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Didáctica juegos geografía Consecuencias geográficas Objetivo El objetivo de este juego es generar un conjunto de circunstancias estructuradas, en este casoun perfil de suelo, y a continuación, explicar el conjunto aplicando los conocimientos sobreprocesos. Instrucciones •Conviene empezar con un debate donde toda la clase repase sus conocimientos sobre perfi-les del suelo (u otro tema elegido), para asegurarse de que todos cuentan con el vocabularioapropiado y conocen los procesos con los que se va a trabajar. Figura 2 se muestra un ejem-plo de perfil y su explicación. Variantes Este juego puede adaptarse fácilmente para desarrollar distintas habilidades, aumentando oreduciendo el apoyo que presta el profesor. Desafío El objetivo de este juego es que los alumnos generen preguntas a partir de unas palabras clave,desafiando a otros grupos a responderlas. •Consolida la noción de que los suelos no se forman al azar.
Three fun grammar activities to encourage teamwork Looking for some new grammar games for the classroom? Mike Astbury, latest winner of the British Council's TeachingEnglish blog award for his post on pronunciation, shares three of his favourite activities. Games and fun activities are a regular feature of my lessons. I use them with both younger learners and adults, because they motivate students, make the target language memorable, and promote collaboration and communicative learning. The following activities practise the structure ‘to be able to’, and were designed for a pre-intermediate class of mixed ability. 1. This activity is designed for the practice and production stages of a lesson. The aim here is to make the grammar structure memorable by providing a personalised context. (Something I’m able to do well) __________________________ football quite well. Elicit from students the full sentence, ‘I’m able to play football quite well’, and then ask for some more suggestions of things they think you’re able to do. 2. 1. 3.
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