Games to Teach English Grammar While using games to teach English grammar is not the only way - there are many other excellent ESL grammar activities - it is a fun and interesting way to motivate your students. ESL grammar games, when focussed, can provide a lot of grammar practice in a way that doesn't seem like work. The following ESL games are for children, adults or both. I have written information on the level and ages a game is suitable for in the descriptions of the games. Games to Teach English - Conditionals Conditional Circle is a good ESL grammar activity for practicing conditional sentences. If you are teaching the second conditional, you could ask the first student, "What would you do if you saw a snake in the park?" Games to Teach English - Yes/No Questions & Answers - Simple Present There are so many games to teach English grammar which practice yes/no questions and answers. The 20 questions TEFL game is a classic of English teaching, and is explained in the article Top 10 TEFL Games What's in my bag?
50 Essential Resources for ESL Students Learning a new language is always daunting, especially when that language is as full of weird rules and contradictions as English. Even native speakers sometimes have trouble mastering the nuances of tense and grammar. Fortunately, if English is not your first language, there are a variety of ESL resources online to help you master the English language. From speaking to writing, these tools will help you get a handle on English and give direction to your education and career. Don't let the size of the task deter you from getting it done. Use these resources to become fluent in no time. Grammar and Usage Use these sites to boost your grammar skills, from verb tenses to noun placement. Purdue Online Writing Lab: The OWL offers a comprehensive repository of practice sheets and linguistic primers for learners at all levels.Dave's ESL Cafe: ESL teacher Dave Sperling's in-depth site provides numerous lessons about sentence structure, word use, and more. Spelling and Pronunciation Podcasts
TEFL Teaching beginners Teaching beginners is one of the most interesting and ongoing training as a teacher will keep on discovering other techniques in order to capture the understanding of the beginner, rather to make the beginner understand. The term ?beginner? The absolute beginner- these are students who don? *The verb ? *Possessive pronouns ? * subject and verb inversion in the question form. It would be much better to the students if I began lesson with, Hi, I am-------- and then gesture to the student to repeat a similar phrase. The false beginner-these are students who have been exposed to English before but are only able to produce a bit of simple structures. *Some learners will really know more than they admit, with the passing of time might become bored with some of the basics. *Some learners might be false beginners because of inherent learning problems. In such cases give more advanced learners more difficult tasks. The young beginner- these are students who lack motivation in that they haven? 1. 2.
The Seven Best Short Animated Films for the Language Classroom - Kieran Donaghy Animated films are ones in which individual drawings, paintings, or illustrations are photographed frame by frame. Traditionally animated films have been associated with children, however, nowadays they are designed to appeal to everyone. With the increased ease of creating animations, there has been a huge rise in the number of animated films being produced, and the vast majority of these are short animations. Many of these short animated films can be exploited in the language classroom as they are short enough to be used in a single session, offer a complete narrative in a short space of time, have a unique capacity of grabbing and holding students’ attention, and deal with contemporary subjects and issues, such as bullying, racism, sexism, homelessness, and human rights, which are relevant to students’ lives. Here are my seven favourite animated short films for the language classroom. Paperman Paperman is an Oscar-nominated short film by John Kahrs which went viral. Head Over Heels
patrick's Site 20 Strategies for Motivating Reluctant Learners | MindShift | KQED News Kathy Perez has decades of experience as a classroom educator, with training in special education and teaching English language learners. She also has a dynamic style. Sitting through her workshop presentation was like being a student in her classroom. She presents on how to make the classroom engaging and motivating to all students, even the most reluctant learners, while modeling for her audience exactly how she would do it. The experience is a bit jarring because it’s so different from the lectures that dominate big education conferences, but it’s also refreshing and way more fun. Perez says when students are engaged, predicting answers, talking with one another and sharing with the class in ways that follow safe routines and practices, they not only achieve more but they also act out less. “If we don’t have their attention, what’s the point?” She’s a big proponent of brain breaks and getting kids moving around frequently during the day. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. NED’s GREAT EIGHT 9.
Lesson plans for teachers of English as a Foreign Language Upper secondary adult Gill Johnson, Hastings, UK Comfort Food and drinks Level: elementary and upwards Cultural aim: to establish what foods ( drinks) are personally and culturally central. Preparation: be ready to talk about your "comfort foods, foods that give you a sense of Ok-ness, ease and "at homeness". Choose some from before and some now. In class: 1. Note: this can be a powerful exercise with people who are currently away from their own home cuisine. Looking Through Windows Level: Pre-Intermediate upwards Time: 40-60mins Preparation: Have ready a variety of pictures of different kinds of housing. In class: 1. Old lessons for a new culture? Level: Upper Intermediate. Time: 45mins Aim: To compare/contrast lessons learned from a significant elder (a teacher, family member etc) in mother culture with way of life in the target culture Preparation: You may want to have a story of your own to share. "In our mosque we had a very kind and wise teacher. 6) In plenary, elicit their comments.
7 Easy ESL Visual Aids to Teach Anything Effectively A picture is worth a thousand words. Nowhere is this truer than in the ESL classroom. Suppose after a verb game or during some reading comprehension exercise, one of your curious students wants to know the difference between “He danced at the party” and “He was dancing at the party.” What will you do? You could probably give a really clear explanation about how one sentence states what happened at a specific place or time, and the other gives background information to establish a scene in the past. And then maybe you’d give a couple more examples prior to showing how the two very similar tenses—past perfect and past perfect continuous—do in fact differ. Or, you could draw a picture of two timelines, one representing each sentence, and have the students describe them. Which would be more effective? The Benefits of Using Visual Aids in the ESL Classroom Visual aids, like those two timelines, are so perfect for the ESL classroom. Helps students understand and remember concepts more easily 1. 2. 3.
Free Kids Song MP3 Download, It's a Dog, Animal song, cat, bird, fish! Lesson: Introduce the animals using either flashcards, stuffed animals, or pictures. At first I think it is best to say the words slowly, then a bit faster in a steady rhythm, and have the kids repeat. If they are really young students, don’t worry if they do not repeat the words at first. For older or more experienced students you can introduce the whole phrase, “It’s a dog”. Next, ask the students, “What sound does a dog make?” Game: Try a simple matching game. Song: There are two ways I generally sing the song with the students: 1. Students love to sing the “bop, bop” part. Follow up: Other questions you can begin to ask: “What’s this? Phonics: I think it is a good idea to teach children phonics whenever possible.
Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2015 We’re delighted to announce the winners of our 9th annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Competition! It’s exciting to see such an array of excellent blogs for writers. Make sure you visit all the ten blogs to get to know the new top crop of writing blogs. How were the winners selected? Initial qualification: A site must have been nominated more than once by multiple individuals. Goins, Writer The blogger behind this blog is Jeff Goins. Positive Writer Bryan Hutchinson has created a dynamic blog with a positive vibe and has built a substantial readership in a relatively short time. Tara Lazar: Writing for Kids Children’s fiction author Tara Lazar has turned her blog into a lively resource for picture book writers. Helping Writers Become Authors Katie Weiland’s blog is a great place for fiction writers. The Write Practice Created by Joe Bunting, the Write Practice is the place to go if you want to kick-start your writing practice. Live Write Thrive Terrible Minds The Write Life Jennifer Blanchard