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Using past modals for speculation and deduction

In this post, I am describing activities where students practice using past modal verbs for speculation and deduction. I have been using them with upper-intermediate, advanced, FCE, and CAE students who often struggle with the concept of using modal verbs for something other than expressing ability or obligation.

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5 phrasal verbs revision games for advanced students

Making students even remotely enthusiastic about learning and using phrasal verbs has been one of my biggest challenges as a teacher. These 5 games have proved to be effective as far as consolidating and revising my students’ knowledge of phrasal verbs and encouraging their use. I have been using these games with upper-intermediate and advanced learners, especially those preparing for their FCE and CAE exams.

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An interview with your future self: speaking / writing activity

The aim of this activity is to provide students with a context to revise present, past, and perfect tenses. I planned it with my teenage students in mind and the inspiration came from this article. It might be executed as a speaking or writing activity. Suitable for levels intermediate and higher.

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6 quick games to play at the end of class

With a couple of minutes left until the end of the lesson, your class might descend into chaos: L1 flying, frantic packing, texting, or worse, students actually queuing in front of the door waiting for you to let them out. I am talking about both younger and older students here. In this post, I am presenting 6 quick games that will help you finish on a good note and keep your students engaged until the very end. Continue Reading …

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Elementary speaking activity

The aim of this speaking activity is for the students to learn bigger chunks of language to be able to talk about themselves and/or other people. The activity is based around 5 verbs: be, have, work, go, and like. It is something I came up with for my 1-1 classes with beginner / elementary adult students in order to get to know them better.

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13

Video-based Christmas activities

THE-POST-TITLE-(1)The last class before the Christmas break might be a challenge as even adult students expect it to be light and holiday oriented. This short video issued by WestJet  airlines in 2013 has inspired my Christmas conversation classes with more advanced students. I then came up with different activity ideas for all levels, focusing on speaking and listening.

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Phrasal verbs about food: writing activity

PHRASALVERBSABOUTFOODThis writing activity helps students learn and practice different phrasal verbs about food. It is a perfect fit for classes about nutrition, diets, health, and fitness. It might be used with groups and individual students, levels intermediate and higher.

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15

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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