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!
Sharifian - Ten Conversation Lessons with Stories, Vocabulary Practice, Questions and Activities The Internet TESL Journal Farzad Sharifianf.sharifian [at] cowan.edu.auEdith Cowan University (Western Australia) Suggestions for Using the Lessons The Story Depending on the main objective(s) of the course, the teacher may choose to read the story aloud asking the students not to look at it or ask the students to read the story to themselves silently and as quickly as possible. Vocabulary Practice The teacher may ask the students to answer the vocabulary questions as soon as they are through with the story. Questions for Discussion The questions posed under this section are meant to stimulate spontaneous speech and class discussion. Activities Here the teacher may ask students to pair up and tell each other the story in their own words and he himself may act as a co-communicator or a counselor. Miscellany A variety of statements such as proverbs and quotes can be found under this section. Lesson 1 - A Soldier's Lie Mark the best choice.' Why did the soldier tell the officer a lie? A Saying
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
How to Teach English Pronunciation Skills Teaching English pronunciation is a challenging task with different objectives at each level. This guide on how to teach pronunciation provides a short overview of the main issues to be addressed at each level, as well as pointing to resources on the site, such as lesson plans and activities, that you can use in class to help your students improve their English pronunciation skills. Following each level are a few suggestions for level appropriate activities. Finally, the best way to help students improve their pronunciation skills is to encourage them to speak English as much as they possibly can. Introduce the idea that even when doing homework students should be reading aloud. Learning to pronounce English well takes muscle coordination, and that means practice - not just mental activity! Beginning Level English Learners Key Points: Syllable Stress - students need to understand that multisyllabic words require syllable stress. Discussion: Beginning Level Pronunciation Activities
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.
Planboard - Free Lesson Planner for Teachers – Apps no Google Play Plan lessons on the go in an easy-to-use editor with curriculum standards and attachments. Planboard organizes your lessons, subjects, and semesters in a beautiful timetable that is with you everywhere. Join over 250,000 teachers around the world who are already using Planboard to cut down their classroom prep time and spend more time with students! FEATURES• 100% free for Teachers! SUPPORTThe Chalk Team can be reached anytime by email at support@chalk.com, or during the day by live chat to assist you with getting the most out of Planboard. Planeje lições em movimento em um editor fácil de usar com padrões e anexos de currículo. Junte-se a mais de 250.000 professores em todo o mundo que já estão usando o Planboard para reduzir o tempo de preparação da sala de aula e passar mais tempo com os alunos! RECURSOS & # 8226; 100% gratuito para professores!
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?
Pronunciation: 3 Principles On How To Make Your Spoken English Sound More Natural – A Guest Post I recently had the privilege and honour of being interviewed by my fellow English Language trainer, Elena Mutonono on her recent webinar “Accent Training for Business People“. For those of you who didn’t sign up for the webinar, here’s the recording. In that webinar we discussed the benefits of accent training for non-native business people and how accent training improves communication. I asked Elena, a pronunciation expert, to write a guest post for me to share her three tips on how you can make your spoken English sound more natural. Elena Mutonono I remember a few years ago I went to a beauty salon in New Orleans and was served by a nice lady from Brazil. The intonation and the word stress sounded to me as though I was watching a Brazilian soap opera without translation where one good sister loses the love of her life, and the other one steals him. What was worse is I felt ashamed that I couldn’t talk to this lady. “Hi, my name is Elena Mutonono, and I’m an accent coach. But how?
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.