Here is a quick and effective technique to share with your students who are getting ready for the writing part of their exams. I have been using it with my Cambridge Advanced students who struggle with using in practice all the grammar they have crammed. Used regularly, this technique substantially boosts the students’ confidence and speeds up the planning process before they begin to write. Continue Reading …
Lesson Plans
Effective communication lesson plan
I created this lesson plan with my C1/C2 students in mind. It deals with the topic of effective communication and helps practicing reading, speaking, and collaboration. It might also be used when discussing narrative tenses. You will need 90 minutes to complete this lesson.
Cambridge Advanced reading hack: part 6
In this post, I am sharing an activity which helps students deal better with the Reading and Use of English part 6 (cross-text multiple matching) tasks in the Cambridge Advanced exam.
Climate change lesson plan
This is a lesson I have recently tried with my C1 teenage group. It is based around the climate change solutions quiz by CNN. The activities include vocabulary brainstorming, mini group discussion and ranking, and a possible writing extension. You will need around 90 minutes for this class.
Conditional structures fun activities
What types of exercises can help your students wrap their heads around more complex conditional structures they often encounter when preparing to exams (B2 and C1)? Keep reading to find out.
Word formation activities: -ence and – ance suffixes
In this post, I am sharing two activities which help practice forming nouns ending in -ence and -ance suffixes. They are suitable for levels B2 and higher especially for exam course (Cambridge First and Advanced).
Idiomatic expressions revision games
This year I am teaching a C1 course to a group of teens. Our coursebook is packed with idiomatic expressions (and phrasal verbs!) which pose a considerable challenge for my students who are very fluent and fairly accurate yet shy away from any figurative language. Here are 3 ideas for revision games I have been using to help them consolidate their knowledge of various idioms.
Test-teach-test with Quizlet Live
Here is an activity I tried a couple of times with my teenage students. I decided to combine the test-teach-test approach with a fairly new feature of Quizlet which is Quizlet live. My students played a vital role in shaping this activity and so did my friend, Łukasz Knap who helped work out the technical kinks.
Rotating discussion stations with a twist
This speaking activity is perfect for bigger groups and serves as both speaking practice and revision. The version below was designed with C1 students in mind but you can adapt it to any level and topic.
Throwaway culture lesson plan
This lesson plan focuses on the issue of combating throwaway culture by giving tax breaks to people who decide to repair their broken possessions instead of throwing them out. It is based on an actual initiative of the Swedish government and is based on the article published by The Guardian and the video issued by World Economic Forum. I would recommend it for B2/C1 students, especially adults. The lesson takes around an hour to complete and it comes with a worksheet for the students and an answer key for the teacher. Continue Reading …
