These are some slides with sentences from high intermediate ESL students’ papers that I use as part of a grammar game. I do it a few times as a semester to review and allow more relaxed practice. I put students in pairs or groups, and usually allow them to use books and notes. The sentence appears on a slide, and then students work together to find and decide how to correct any mistakes. They write […]
Category: Advanced
Spelling Word Bingo
In some classes I like to include spelling words, and have a spelling bee at the end of the semester. I choose words from the most common lists (everyday for beg-int classes, and academic for int-adv classes) or based on key words from class texts. One way to help students review vocabulary in a new way is to have bingo. I have them fill out the blank cards with words from their lists and then […]
Listening Log
I adapted a listening log that students can complete for homework. I recommend modifying the video you want students to view and the questions. The rubric is helpful for all logs (may want to adjust the based on your class point value). >>>Listening Log Example<<< Dglenn
How-To Presentations
Every semester for intermediate and advanced (listening/speaking or Integrated skills) classes I have the students create a powerpoint and present on how to do something. I created my example and plan to post a student example or two here on the website. I usually have students work on timing, volume, transitions, and presenting. This would be the second or third presentation of the class (I like to start with an introduction). >>>Glenn’s Example Presentation<<< […]
Genre Based Writing
At the CATESOL conference, there was a new technique for teaching writing that has spread to classrooms. Sometimes I feel like language teaching trends can be a lot like fashion or diet trends. Once one style is popular, just wait a decade until the opposite (bell- bottoms versus skinny jeans or low fat versus Keto) comes into play. Since I started teaching, about a decade ago, I’ve been vigorously implementing techniques for my students to […]
Comparatives and Superlatives
This is a great lesson plan as a prelude to a compare/contrast project. I like teaching superlatives and comparatives because they are a somewhat “simple” grammar concept for students to grasp onto. There are only a few “exceptions” to the rule – like fun! I teach how to use fun as a comparative and tell students that if they listen, they will hear native speakers use funner all the time and this is their opportunity […]
Hachiko Waits, exercises for the novel
Hachiko Waits exercises for the novelHachiko Waits is one of my favorite novels to use with ESL students. It’s a lovely story, based on a real story about a professor and his dog Hachiko. Hachiko was so famous that there is a statue of him in Japan that many people visit. These are my set of exercises, questions for discussion, vocabulary work, etc that go along with the 10 chapters. I used to use it […]
Song “Yes, We Can Can as sung by Maria Muldaur
This song was a tribute to Obama sung by Maria Muldaur, with Bonnie Raitt, and the Women’s Voices for Peace Choir at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. It is the perfect follow up for a unit about the Civil Rights movement. It has lots of photos of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. You could just have the students see how many civil rights leaders, presidents and famous people they recognize. The visuals are […]
Word Family Framework – Vocabulary
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/word-family-framework What is the Word Family Framework (WFF)? The WFF is a searchable resource for teachers and learners of English that consists of over 22,000 vocabulary items arranged according to six levels aligned to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).. Start using the Word Family Framework What can the WFF be used for? The WFF can be used by institutions, teachers and learners to construct target vocabularies for individual learning, syllabus and lesson […]
Smart Phones and You – Research Results
This unit/module focuses on the negative effects that smart phones are playing in our life in terms of memory and our attention via an article entitled “How Smartphones Hijack Our Minds,” by Nicholas Carr, October 6, 2017. The article is rather lengthy so best to do this towards the end of the semester than at the beginning. With that in mind, the unit/module focuses on teaching students how to relay research results in a […]