The aim of this brief reading activity is for students to identify and correct misheard lyrics in popular songs. It is a fun activity for both older and younger students which tests their reading comprehension and memory, and also encourages creativity. It is a great way to either start or finish the class.
Used to speaking activity: life before smartphones
The aim of this activity is for students to practice using used to to describe their lives before they had smartphones. The idea came from seeing this photo collection by Eric Pickersgill and reading this article in The Guardian. Continue Reading …
Speaking prompts for advanced students: photos
How far would a conversation class go if the only discussion prompt was a single photo? No topic, no questions, no pre-determined outcome. Just the picture. Does it even make sense? This post describes how I decided to find answers to these questions.
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Classes with young learners
I’ve always considered myself a flexible person, able to adapt and roll with the punches. Still, when my school asked me to teach weekly 90-minute classes to a 12-year-old (whose level of English was unspecified before our first lesson) I got a bit nervous. Actually, I got very nervous. Preparing and teaching my first class made me re-examine everything I thought I knew about dealing with so-called young learners. Continue Reading …
Country themed emojis speaking activity
The aim of this speaking activity is to discuss notions that students find representative of their countries. It is suitable for intermediate and more advanced students and complements such topics as national stereotypes, culture, and cultural differences. It was inspired by this article about Finland releasing a Christmas calendar that “is all about Finnish feelings represented in a set of emojis.” Continue Reading …
Our lives without … speaking activity
This speaking activity encourages students to imagine their lives without something considered quite vital nowadays and describe the new reality. It is a fun activity for levels intermediate and higher, teenagers and adults alike. It offers the opportunity for students to collaborate, exchange ideas, and practice such grammar points as modal verbs or second conditional.
Effective FCE Use of English: word formation
The aim of this activity is to let students use the words in context before they apply the familiar principles of word formation. This activity fosters the understanding of both the meaning and the form of words students are required to use in the exam and prevents mindless guessing and relying on false friends. I use it to help students with Use of English, Part 3. Continue Reading …
Overcoming my teaching rut
Finding some teaching methods, approaches or activities which we can refer to as tried and tested gives a great sense of comfort. It lowers the preparation time and boosts our confidence. Isn’t it convenient to have a nice, little routine that guarantees a successful lesson? Isn’t it also dangerously easy to miss the difference between our positive teaching habits and being stuck in a rut? Continue Reading …
Speed Discussions speaking activity
Speaking activities often rely on pairing students up with the same speaking partner. This might result in boring, predictable, and demotivating speaking practice. In order to mix things up and expose students to a variety of speaking partners, I propose a speaking activity which I called Speed Discussions as its format resembles Speed Dating. Speed Discussions is a very dynamic activity and guarantees plenty of student talking time. It is a great idea for larger groups but might also be adapted for smaller classes.
Online games for advanced students
The Internet is full of fun and eye-catching games for younger learners or even low-level adults. What I have been struggling with, was finding suitable online activities for more advanced students that would not be more of the same exam practice or grammar fill-in exercises. Feeling my students would appreciate (and deserved!) some language fun, I started looking for online games and activities I could use in the classroom. Continue Reading …
