List of contents

Here’s a list of all the resources on this blog in case it comes in handy. I’ll keep it at the top of the blog and will be updating it every time a new post is published!

1. Grammar and vocabulary
2. Listening
3. Pronunciation
4. Reading
5. Speaking
6. Teaching strategies
7. Writing

1. GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

– Habits and routines: a flip book

– Making the right choices: “Lean On Me”

– Greg is grateful for those great green Greek grapes

– From “pakkeleg” to “ordleg” (or how a Danish tradition became an effective English language game)

– Reported speech and creative writing: fifty ways

– There are places I remember

– Paper, scissors, new words

– Rewriting established texts: the day they got creative

– Pathways to accuracy: “Somewhere Only We Know”

– Talking about the environment: “Big Yellow Taxi”

– The Alphabet Game

– Don’t get me wrong!

– Film dubbing: a flexible integrated skills task

– “Your Song”

– Anagrams and meaning: “The Longest Time”

– Dominoes

– Puzzling it out: “Everybody’s Changing”

– Conditional sentences: “Count On Me”

– Mad Libs and Songs

– For the joy of home: a vocabulary-building activity
– “Think About Things”: referencing and comprehension

– Are you a robot?

– Music Borders: some lesson ideas

– Come rain or shine

– The history of Bluetooth

– “Dream A Little Dream Of Me”

– Endless stories

– Greetings from 1980!

– “’Twas the Night before Christmas”

– Relative clauses

– If I hadn’t…

2. LISTENING

– Parties, story maps, and all that jazz
– Reconstructing a story from questions: “Tom’s Diner”

– Listening for detail: “Kilkelly, Ireland”

– Misunderstandings

– The football pitch

– The rotating house

– Chicago’s best ice cream

– Roller coasters

– Am I invisible?

– Food waste

– Life in the year 2100

– The seed vault

– Dancing Teens

3. PRONUNCIATION

– Working on connected speech: The Fresh Prince
– “-ed” endings

4. READING

– “The Lost Thing”

– Double-entry journals: a flexible reading comprehension tool

– “All Summer in a Day”

– 10 Halloween songs

– “Oranges”

– “Annabel Lee”

– “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

– Critical thinking and language skills: “There Was Once”

– “Seven In…”

– Two-sentence stories

– Extensive reading and learner autonomy: 10 websites

– A book report

– 15 post-reading activities

– One-pagers: “The House on Mango Street”

– “The Great Gatsby”

– “To Space and Back”

– “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas”

– “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” alphabet book

– The climber

– “Romeo and Juliet”: a post-reading mini-project

– “Killing Me Softly”

– “You’re Aging Well”

5. SPEAKING

– The Burning House

– Communication strategies

– Team-building and collaboration: up for a challenge?

– Guess what’s being advertised

– Film dubbing: a flexible integrated skills task

– Online generators to practise speaking and writing

– Roll & explain!

– Two online tools to practise speaking and listening with emoji

– Describing windows around the world

– Once Upon A Picture

– Libraries and bookshops around the world: a video project

– Hitting the headlines

– Inside a painting

– A helmet has always been a good idea

– Roller coasters: a follow-up project

– Oral presentations

6. TEACHING STRATEGIES

– Three content-based teaching strategies

– Bringing closure to a lesson

– Cooperative learning and the language classroom

– Avoid randomness: three other ways of grouping students

– Question charts

– Holding students accountable

– Developing learner autonomy: a homework choice board

– End product ideas for language projects or tasks

– Graphic organisers

– Voices Magazine: “Ways to use song lyrics to improve comprehension”

7. WRITING

– Punctuation matters

– World Refugee Day

– Daily routines: writing a report

– 6 simple web-based applications for short writing tasks

– I’m going back

– Description, down to a fine art

– Writing a paragraph: “The Marvelous Toy”

– “On The Same Page”: a video-based lesson

– Simultaneous writing and peer correction

– School excuses: a creative writing lesson

– Finish the picture

– Narrative beginnings

– Transforming everyday objects: two lesson examples

– “Bookshelves”

– Story cubes: ideas and resources

– A fashionable Halloween

– Wonders of Street View: some activity ideas

8. OTHER

– 5 activities for the first days of school

– The blog anniversary

– 16 short films and videos that work well with teenagers

– (The Good), the Bad and the Funky: a trip down memory lane

“You’re Aging Well”

The challenges of ageing, and the societal pressures that come along with it, shape the lyrics of “You’re Aging Well” by Dar Williams (1993), encouraging the listeners to embrace their own unique journey as they age.

In this reading comprehension lesson (B2 and above), the students first read and listen to each part of the song (A, B and C), complete the signs and speech bubbles with lines from the lyrics, answer the comprehension questions for each section, and finally discuss the questions that are open to interpretation.

You’re_Aging_Well.pdfDownload

KEY:
A – “You never can win”, “Watch your back”, “Where’s your husband?” / “This is your year”, “It always starts here”

B – “Don’t hold us back, we’re the story you tell” / “We’re so glad that you finally made it here,
You thought nobody cared, but we did, we could tell”
C – “With the things you know now, that only time could tell”

As a follow-up task, have the students write a letter to their future self, sharing their aspirations, fears, and advice. In my case, teenagers are typically more focused on the present and future aspects of their lives, such as school, friendships, personal development, and future goals, and ageing isn’t a primary concern for them. They can, however, reflect on other related worries such as the pressure to conform to societal expectations, body image issues, or uncertainty about their own future:

1. INTRODUCTION: Start your letter by addressing your future self. For example, you can write “Dear Future Me” or “To My Older Self.” Then, share how you feel right now about getting older. Are you excited, nervous, or curious? Explain why you feel this way.

2. ASPIRATIONS: In this part, share your dreams, goals, and hopes for the future. Be specific and describe what you want to achieve or experience as you grow older.

Example: One thing I really want to do is travel to different countries and learn about different cultures. I hope to see famous places like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Great Wall of China. I also dream of becoming a successful artist and showing my artwork in galleries.

3. FEARS AND CONCERNS: This section is for discussing any worries or fears you have about ageing. Think about how you can overcome these worries.

Example: I’m worried about losing contact with my childhood friends as we go our separate ways. But I think if we make an effort to stay in touch and talk to each other, we can keep our friendship strong, even if we’re far away from each other.

4. ADVICE AND ENCOURAGEMENT: Give yourself supportive and practical advice based on what you know and have experienced so far.

Example: I think it’s important to be around positive and supportive people who encourage you to grow and improve.

5. CONCLUSION.

Wouldn’t it be cool if a few of them kept their letters and revisited them in the future?

“Killing Me Softly”

This lesson idea is based on the song “Killing Me Softly” (1971), by Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel.

The students are first introduced to the content of the song, rewritten as a recipe. They first read the recipe, look for 7 synonyms in the text, and choose 5 words that summarise it.

ANSWER KEY: 2. a. unique; b. captivated; c. gather; d. moved; e. evoke; f. strum; g. talented

Using words from the recipe, the students fill in the gaps in 4. If the students find more than one option, encourage them to write them down and explain why they would be possible answers.

Then have the students listen to the first part of the song and check their answers, confirming or discarding any answers they have chosen.

ANSWER KEY: 4. 1. style; 2. listen; 3. young; 4. pain; 5. fingers; 6. life; 7. words; 8. life; 9. words

The students read the rest of the song and fill in the blanks with words from the guitar (there are three words they won’t need!)

ANSWER KEY: 5. 1. flushed; 2. crowd; 3. letters; 4. prayed; 5. finish; 6. right; 7. despair; 8. through; 9. on; 10. clear

Finally, the students choose one of these short writing tasks:

Killing_Me_Softly.pdfDownload

Enjoy!

Oral presentations

I’ve written the following planning sheets to help my students think of ways in which they can start and close their oral presentations in class, and how to keep their audience engaged while delivering them.

Oral_Presentation_Planning_Sheets.pdfDownload

I’ve also put the ideas for the different stages together into one file for easier reference:

Oral_Presentations.pdfDownload

I hope you find it useful!

(The Good), the Bad, and the Funky: a trip down memory lane

I’ve been spending the past few weeks browsing through textbooks, as we’re planning to replace some of them for the upcoming school year in my department. However, every time I open a new one, I’m immediately transported back to my own experience as an EFL student during my childhood and teenage years. And this has been making my job rather miserable…

“First Things First” is indeed a sound, straightforward and rather assertive title for the first textbook in your life as a student of English as a foreign language. That was probably in the late 70s or early 80s. Unfortunately, the language school I was attending decided to change it after a couple of months, so I basically remember nothing about my first experience with a textbook. First times are not always special.

“Look, Listen and Learn 1” looked like a cut above “First Things First”, but despite the promising verbs and all the action in the title, you were in fact considered a rather passive agent all throughout. “Look!” “LISTEN!” To be fair, there was a little bit of action and the book kept us busy by having us count how many chocolates, sweets, lollipops and biscuits Sandy and Sue had, or how much jam, milk or butter there was in their fridge (or how little there was left.) I always felt a bit sorry for these kids’ diet, but I do remember ending the lessons feeling hungry and rushing home to explore our fridge! The oral production was limited to learning dialogues between Sue and Sandy by heart, and performing them in front of the class. Why did those chocolates in the jar disappear so quickly day after day, Sue? And what were you doing with all the flour, Sandy? Why were “flour” and “flower” pronounced the same way, anyway?

At the same time, in primary school we started working with one of the funkiest textbooks ever: “Step In”. I’m pretty sure we did several levels, and I think it was only targeted to a Spanish audience. I only remember one of the books, all of which revolved around dialogues between four main characters: Hank Solo, Paul McCartney, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. “Are you Olivia Newton-John?” “No, I’m not. My name’s Paul McCartney”.

Perhaps they were trying to convey post-postmodernist messages we were not getting at that time. Production here was again mainly oral and at least there was some role playing – as long as you were fine with being one of those four characters (and didn’t think much about the world outside the book, ha!) Amusing and certainly very 80s.

High-tech “Follow Me 1” came with VHS tapes, which was the coolest thing the method had to offer. Watching the teacher insert the tape into the video player and press the play button every day was an act of technological innovation with truly mesmerising consequences. I only recall that, plus people wearing suits and dresses (Francis Matthews being the head of the clan), and the same group of people wearing all kinds of cheesy costumes and singing bizarre songs about virtually anything you can think of. (Yes, you can make a song with the lyrics “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10” or “I have got one flower. I have got two flowers”.)

Who does not remember Arthur and Mary from “Starting Out” and “Getting On”? The most clichéd story ever (remember I’d already been introduced to advanced deconstruction with McCartney and the gang, so I guess I already knew better!), it also featured Bruce (the guy Mary loved) and Sheila (Mary’s bestie, in love with Arthur, and a little bit overweight, of course.) But it was heavy-smoker landlady Mrs Harrison that was the true spirit of the series. Apart from smoking cigarettes while doing the washing-up or buying at the supermarket, she was a role model to follow amid the mediocre characters around her. I always thought she was a woman Francis Matthews would have liked to meet, and she’d have definitely kept Sue and Sandy under control. She would have even been the perfect female partner for Olivia Newton-John among all those guys! I also learnt that feeding the metre was one of the worst things you could do if you lived in the UK, and I found inserting coins inside your home to get central heating the most exotic thing ever (and yes, I reread that page several times.) I’ve always looked at my coins in a different way after that.

After “Getting On” and “Follow Me 2” (which was a step back – I mean, if you’re getting on, why do you need to go back to following anyone?), “Headway Upper-Intermediate” at least promised to keep us walking towards some fascinating, much sought-after arcadia (there was no CEFR, so goals were rather vague, and no obsession with getting certified). However, I was probably in my mid-teens, and the articles were more adult-oriented, so I really missed Olivia, John, Mrs. Harrison, and all the jam and lemonade that Sandy and Sue gulped down on a daily basis. Even if I never got to play the role of Hank Solo making popcorn at a school party.

Dancing Teens

1. Ask the students to think of any films from the 1980s featuring teenagers dancing. Elicit a few titles.

2. Tell them that they are going to watch a video which explains why dancing in films was popular in the 1980s. The video is available on the BBC website and on BBC’s Facebook page (it’s a public post, so you don’t have to log in.) You can also find it on Twitter here.

3. Explain that for each time period (early 80s, mid 80s and late 80s) they will first have to answer one or two questions, they will look for a series of synonyms, and finally they will be writing the film titles mentioned in the video.

Dancing_Teens.pdfDownload

4. Play till 2:39, corresponding to the early 80s. Allow some time to answer the different sections. Play again.

5. Repeat the same procedure for the mid 80s (from 2:40 to 3:54) and late 80s (from 3:55 to 5:08).

6. Check the answers with the whole group.
VOCABULARY: Early 80s: 1. polished, 2. supported, 3. fad, 4. tanked, 5. mirrored, 6. blend or mash-up; Mid 80s: 1. ruled, 2. archetypal, 3. grown-up, 4. taking over, 5. defiance, 6. deemed; Late 80s: 1. diluted, 2. standstill, 3. heralding.

7. Have the students complete a summary using words from the vocabulary section (the synonyms they had found in the video) in the correct form.

You may also want to provide the words and have the students use the correct form:

Dancing_Teens.pdfDownload

KEY: 1. archetypal, 2. defiance, 3. backed, 4. ruled, 5. heralded, 6. blended, 7. fad, 8. had tanked, 9. were diluted, 10. standstill

8. Go over the film title sections and discuss any movies the students may have watched. Assign each film to pairs of students, and ask them to do some research about them. Provide the following as a guide:

– Film title:

– Genre:

– Release year:

– Director:

– Lead actors/actresses:

– Dance styles featured:

– Soundtrack:

– Plot summary:

– Notable Quotes (if any):

– Fun facts:

– Sample clips:

– Sources Used:

9. Have the students share their findings!

Roller coasters: a follow-up project

As a follow-up task to this listening activity on how roller coasters are designed, this time I asked the students to:
– design a roller coaster within the school premises
– provide both a front view and a site sketch plan
– think of its use(s) and analyse its impact
– be ready to defend the project and share it in a formal presentation!

The main reason for choosing a highly improbable type of project was to throw in some creativity that would spark discussion among students and allow them to experiment in different ways.

My students are studying some basic physics, so before starting their work in teams of four, I encouraged them to take their knowledge into account, together with the information in the video we had worked on. The most scientifically inclined students did bring in plenty of information and discussion related to actual physics. There was even some interesting emergent language such as “centripetal force”, “kinetic energy”, “potential energy”, “acceleration” or “inertia”, used all over during the project. (They, of course, sometimes had to rely on conveniently placed pulley systems and state-of-the-art braking systems to be able to explain how it worked.)

Some teams went as far as to include details, such as the type of cars on the roller coaster or how it would look from the inside.

Once they had finished their sketch designs, I asked one of the language assistants I work with, who has a major in marketing, to introduce the students to the world of marketing. He went over the 5 Cs (company, customers, competitors, collaborators and climate) and the 4 Ps (product, price, promotion and place), and even explained the mechanics of elevator pitches. This helped them to plan their presentations, taking some new concepts and ideas into account.

In the end, each team prepared short presentations to sell their project. One student introduced the project, while two others explained the design and how the roller coaster worked, including the physics behind it. Finally, one student closed the presentation by trying to persuade us that their project should be carried out in our school.

Overall, the project allowed the students to experiment with critical thinking, problem-solving, cooperative work and presentation skills, all while exploring their creativity.

Can you guess the most common use that teams gave their roller coasters? 😉

“-ed” endings

I needed an activity I’ve always loved to work on the pronunciation of “-ed” endings in regular past verbs but, (1) I couldn’t find it and, (2) I never really knew the source of the activity! So, I decided to write my own version.

The students are given a set of paper strips that belong to three stories:
– Ted’s, whose regular past forms are all pronounced /d/, after voiced sounds (make sure you ask the students to touch their throats to check if there’s any air turbulence going on in their vocal folds as they pronounce the last sound of the verb; if you, like me, work with 30 students in a classroom, I can guarantee it will provide some memorable moments, too!)
– Robert’s, whose story only has regular verbs ending in /t/ (after voiceless sounds, so no air turbulence whatsoever this time, sorry!).
– And finally David’s story, with verbs ending in /ɪd/ (after /d/ or /t/).

-ed_endings.pdfDownload

First, the students place the three names and sort out the strips of paper by looking at the regular verbs in each of them, deciding on their pronunciation, and placing the strips under the correct name. Then, they put the strips in the right order to make a story. If they classify any of them incorrectly, they will have problems as they order the cut-out texts and will need to go back and rethink their previous choices (probably using the context, too, once they start arranging the sentences.)

I’ve also created a digital version with Flippity Manipulatives. Simply click on any of the pictures below and copy the address if you want to email it or use it in your LMS!

If I hadn’t…

Here’s a mini-lesson I’ve planned to revise third conditional clauses with my students. The unit revolves around different types of music.

1. Display the lyrics of Adele’s “Someone Like You” and play the beginning of the song. The fact that some students will be familiar with the song lyrics is in fact an advantage, since we want them to focus first on meaning and then on form to rephrase the lyrics.

2. Ask the students to complete the conditional sentences provided at the end of the first lines. Elicit the structure, or use these sentences to model the activity. Discuss the uses of this type of conditional sentences (to express the past consequence of an unrealistic action or situation in the past, or to express regret about something we wish we could have changed but we couldn’t.)

If_I_Had_Not_1.pdfDownload

3. Have the students work on the next few lines and complete the three sentences provided.

4. You may also want to have the students listen to the rest of the song and write a conditional sentence as a summary using their own words!

If_I_Had_Not_1.pdfDownload

5. The students read a number of choices that Adele has made in her career and then work in pairs to complete the sentences. Do the first one with the whole group to model the procedure.

If_I_Had_Not_2.pdfDownload

SUGGESTED ANSWERS:
1-2. If Adele hadn’t been inspired by the music of Ella James and Ella Fitzgerald, she might not have pursued a career in music.
2-3. If she hadn’t pursued a career in music, she wouldn’t have been discovered by a talent scout.
3-4. If she hadn’t been discovered by a talent scout, she wouldn’t have signed a record deal.
4-5. If she hadn’t signed a record deal, she wouldn’t have released her breakthrough album “19”.
5-6. If she hadn’t released her breakthrough album, she wouldn’t have won her first Grammy.
6-7. If she hadn’t won her first Grammy, she wouldn’t have gained worldwide fame and success.
1-8. But, on the other hand, if she hadn’t been inspired by the music of Ella James and Ella Fitzgerald, she might have had success in a different field or had a different passion.
8-9. If she had been successful in a different field, she might not have been able to share her talent with the world.

6. Ask the students to complete the circles with information about them, starting with a family member, a friend, a classmate, or a hobby/sport, for instance, and then thinking of consequences for having met them or started that hobby or sport. In 8 and 9, they should think of consequences for not having met or lived with those people or started those hobbies/sports.

7. The students write 8 sentences using conditional sentences, following the model in activity 1.

8. The students finally share their texts with the rest of the group!

Voices Magazine: “Ways to use song lyrics to improve comprehension”

I’ve just come across this short post I wrote for British Council’s Voices Magazine a few years ago, and I’ve no idea why I hadn’t shared it on this blog before! Nothing new or particularly innovative, I’m afraid, but if you’re interested in using songs to improve comprehension, you may find a few ideas.

Thanks for reading this blog!

(Click on the picture below to read the article.)