26 Fresh ESL Conversation Starters to Get Students Talking! | Jennifer Teacher 10 Oct I love teaching conversation in the ESL classroom. Part of it must be that because the students able to “converse” in English are better able to demonstrate their personalities, preferences, thoughts… and therefore, I get to know them better. Often it is simply hilarious to see the range of answers students feel free to share in a comfortable environment. If you’re a conversation teacher in an English as a Second Language classroom, there may be times when you feel as though you want fresh ideas, a change in routine or some way to remain slightly unpredictable so your students remain curious as to what tricks you have up your sleeves. Always remember to keep in mind your students’ unique personalities and language learning journey, and never underestimate how engaged they can become with the right activity! Here is a list of 26 fresh ESL Conversation Starters to move your class! Enjoy! Like this: Like Loading... Tags: conversation, Lesson Planning, speaking
45 ways to avoid using the word 'very' Writers Write is your one-stop resource for writers. Use these 45 ways to avoid using the word ‘very’ to improve your writing. Good writers avoid peppering their writing with qualifiers like ‘very’ and ‘really’. They are known as padding or filler words and generally add little to your writing. According to Collins Dictionary: ‘Padding is unnecessary words or information used to make a piece of writing or a speech longer. Adding modifiers, qualifiers, and unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, weakens your writing. This post gives you 45 ways to avoid using the padding word ‘very’. Three Telling Quotes About ‘Very’ “Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. If you enjoyed this, you will love: Top Tip: If you want to learn how to write a book, sign up for our online course. by Amanda Patterson © Amanda Patterson
Words that have literally changed meaning through the years When it comes to expressing ourselves, the world has been getting it wrong for hundreds of years... literally. The word “literally” means “in a literal way or sense” but, to the fury of language purists, many people now use it simply to stress a point. Football pundit Jamie Redknapp once told us Wayne Rooney was playing so well he was “literally on fire”, while Deputy PM Nick Clegg said low-rate taxpayers were “literally living in a different galaxy”. But our misuse has become so common the Oxford English Dictionary has altered its definition to say it can be “used for emphasis rather than being actually true, such as, ‘We were literally killing ourselves laughing’.” Senior OED editor Fiona McPherson said: “Our job is to describe the language people are using. "Words have changed their meaning ever since the first word was uttered. "Meat used to mean all food, but now its sense has narrowed.” So which other words have we got wrong for so long they are now right?
TED Talk Lesson Plans – Tim's Free English Lesson Plans Image credit: ted.com Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio This is a lesson plan for C1+ students on the topic of bad habits based around a TED talk by Judson Brewer and an article from Yahoo Health. You can find the TED talk, students’ handout, reading text and teacher’s notes below: TED Bad habits sts copy – Students handout TED bad habits teachers notes Common Bad Habits – Reading Text TED – Breaking Bad Habits – Teacher’s Notes Step 1: Expressions with habit What do you think these expressions mean? He’s been smoking since he was 15 years old and he just can’t kick the habit. When my grandad retired he didn’t stop getting up at 6am and putting a suit on. I could never go backpacking I’m too much of a creature of habit, I can’t stand changes to my routine. I’ve always written my essays at the last minute and I normally get good marks. Kick the habit = give up/quit a bad habit Old habits die hard = it’s difficult to stop a habit you’ve been doing for a long time Why break the habit of a lifetime?
Lesson Plans Digger - Free English Lesson Plans and Teaching Tips Understand what you read 6 Apps For Learning Languages, Ranked By How You Like To Study | Bustle Almost 1 in 5 Americans speak a language other than English at home — but the thirst for a second, or third, language is still a huge one. And why not? Being bilingual will help your career and be awesome for your neurons: learning a new language, according to a 2014 study, is "built-in exercise" for the brain, keeping it active and improving mental function. (Plus, you can look utterly smug and sophisticated on your foreign vacations.) We're living in a golden age of free language learning apps on the go. The best approach? Here are six of the best language-learning apps, all free, divided by what kind of person should snap 'em up. 1. Duolingo is one of the most popular language-learning apps in the world, for good reason. It's brilliant for people with half-remembered bits of high school language. 2. Anki is the app version of the flash cards you used for vocabulary tests, except with essentially limitless card decks — over 80 million, according to the app itself. 3. 4. 5. 6.