Pronunciation of the regular verbs for beginning and intermediate students is always challenging. I created this kinesthetic lesson to provide students a challenging problem solving activity which is easy to correct. I begin with putting the heading of “t”, “d”, and “id” on the whiteboard, and then ask them to tell me which is the final sound as I pronounce a number of different verbs. They tell me. After we have quite a list under […]
Tag: Pronunciation
Icebreaker Song “I’m Glad to Meet You”
This is one of my all time favorite ways to break the ice with new students, especially at lower levels. I picked this up from an old ESL songbook years ago, but can’t recall the name. The song is to the very familiar tune “La Cucaracha”! Even if singing isn’t your forte, just starting the first line, everyone will immediately join in. If you have a lot of Mexican students, have them sing the real […]
Telling the Time
In my low-beginner listening class students learn how to recognize numbers in different contexts. One of the contexts is time. In addition to the practice provided by the textbook (“Skillful Listening & Speaking”), I use a map of world times zones to practice telling the time. << https://www.worldtimezone.com/ >> It is a world map which shows current times in major cities. I simply zoom and scroll around the map while asking the class to tell […]
Forming Adjectives
As part of my low beginner listening course I teach adjectives derived from nouns with the -y suffix. In addition to the material provided by “Skillful Listening & Speaking”, I made a list of such adjectives to expand the vocabulary and also review the alphabet and spelling (which is never a bad idea with beginner students). I spell the original noun; students write it down. Student read the noun and then say the corresponding adjective. […]
Teaching Diphthongs
This is the last class on American English vowels. Previously, we covered all vowels. Below are a few simple steps I take to introduce diphthongs to my students: Explain the meaning of the word “diphthong”. Present the list of words with the five diphthongs. Students listen and repeat after me. Students read the words out loud as I walk around the classroom, listen and correct them if necessary. Diphthongs are not the most difficult sounds […]