This was my go-to icebreaker activity this summer when I spent four weeks working with teens aged 14-17. It works best with groups but might also be used during 1-1 lessons with teens and adults. The activity combines a tried and tested “Two truths and a lie” with the concept of any betting game. Keep reading to find out more.
Teacher’s Toolbox
Phrasal verbs revision and consolidation activities
What activities can we use in order to help our students revise and consolidate their knowledge of various phrasal verbs? Keep reading to discover my 5 activity ideas.
Writing your own materials: my 5 biggest lessons
What’re the most valuable lessons I’ve learnt so far about materials writing and how do they inform the way I craft my lessons? If you’re interested in writing your own materials, keep reading to find out.
My 3 favourite vocabulary revision activities for teenagers
Here are my 3 favourite vocabulary revision activities for teens. They work best with groups of at least 4 students. Each activity requires some preparation from the teacher but they all aim at maximising the students’ participation, collaboration, and decision making.
Continue Reading …
Do less to achieve more when teaching exam classes
Why throwing more worksheets at your students and spicing up old activities might not be the most effective way to go when dealing with exam preparation courses? What can you do instead? Keep reading to find out.
5 low & no-prep vocabulary revision ideas
Here are some ideas about revising vocabulary that require little to no preparation. You can use them with any type of lexical items, level of advancement and class size.
Level assessment: 5 alternatives to placement tests
Level assessment is one of the critical stages we go through when starting classes with new students. What are the ways of assessing our students’ language competency? I would like to share 5 alternatives to placement tests. Continue Reading …
Using cartoons: 7 activity ideas and my 5 favourite artists
I love using visuals in my lessons and in this post, I would like to share 7 activity ideas for using cartoons and comic strips with teenage and adult learners. I am also listing my 5 favourite artists to let you know where to look for quality artwork. Continue Reading …
More back to school icebreakers
Today I’d like to share three more activities that have worked great for me as icebreakers for the first class with groups of teenage students. All the games help students get to know each other better and promote discovering what they have in common.
Summer school experience: lessons learned
It has been a week since my amazing experience working for English Country Schools finished and I now have some time to look back and think about the things I learned. You will find this post interesting if you have recently come back from a summer camp yourself or you are considering applying for a job next summer.