Edpuzzle on the App Store
Once upon a time I was riding a bike on my way home. It’s a long ride and my legs were getting tired so I stopped for a break at the side of the road. The forest besides me was gorgeous and so I sat down by a tree and downloaded an app my teacher needed us to use called Edpuzzle. Once on the app I joined his class and went to our first video, 7 minutes long!
Have something done
Take a look at these two sentences. What is the difference in meaning between them? 'I cut my hair.' 'I have my hair cut.' 'I cut my hair' means that I do it myself.'I have my hair cut means someone cuts my hair for me (in this case it's probably a hairdresser). We use have something done to mean another person does a service for us. The grammar for this is pretty simple: Have + object + past participle Let's take a look at a few more examples: 'We didn't want to cook so we had a pizza delivered.'' We can also use 'get' instead of 'had' and the meaning stays the same. 'We didn't want to cook so we got a pizza delivered.' future 'I had my watch fixed' tells us about the past. 'Going to' tells us about a future plan that has already been made. We use 'will' for something that has just been decided: I've just noticed how dirty my suit is. questions Imagine that you like your friend's new haircut; you could ask her: 'Where did you have / get your hair cut?' 'Where can I have / get my hair cut?'
101 Conversation Starters
(Also see How to Start a Conversation) Ice Breakers Where did you grow up? Childhood Questions What was your favorite children's book? School/Work Topics Where did (do) you go to school? Relationship Questions What is the first think you notice about a guy or girl? Sports Conversation Starters Who is your favorite athlete? Vacation Questions Where was the last place you went on vacation? Food/Drink Topics What is your favorite drink? Entertainment Topics Who is your favorite actor? Personal Questions Who do you look up to? Misc. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Icebreaker: Show me a picture of…
Image credit: Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio Thanks to Nicky Hockly at The Consultants-e for the inspiration for this lesson plan. It’s an icebreaking lesson in which students can use their mobiles (shock horror) for intermediate levels and up. Introduction In a new class students are always keen to learn a bit about their new teacher and if you’re willing to share and personalise your classes the students will reciprocate with you and each other. Intermediate levels: He/she/it could/might/may be his girlfriend (possibility) He/she/it must be his brother (almost certain) He/she/it can’t be his sister (impossible) Higher levels: I’d say that… I’d hazard a guess that… I bet you €X that’s his brother. I (don’t) reckon that… I’m absolutely certain that… There’s no doubt in my mind that… There’s a good/strong/slim chance that… I could be wrong but I think… Drill sentence stress and intonation. Step 2: Pair work
Motivating speaking activities
At this age, the learners aren't motivated by new language, they're motivated by an activity. It can be very difficult to get them to speak if they really don't see the point. You can approach this by focussing on the following. The function of the language and using an authentic or near authentic task (e.g. get them to sit back-to-back to practise speaking on the telephone).A motivating task, which uses the language you want them to practise (e.g. students write questions on small squares of paper using the target language, then form the papers into a board game to be played using dice and counters). Here are some possible examples, which apply to one or a combination of the above. A popular, well-known type of activity is the information gap. Making an arrangement: Each group has a diary, with appointments already filled in. Here are some examples of other activities I use with my younger learners:
ESL worksheet - Conditional dominoes II
Intermediate B1-B2 20 - 30 mins Groups of 3-4 Worksheet description Dominoes matching activity for first, second and third conditionals. For other conditional structures, see Conditional dominoes II Advanced Instructions Cut up the cards as indicated. Students then try to complete the two sentences on the first card. *Note: They should not have all the cards face up on the table at the start of the game as this is far more difficult to do and not every student will be focused on every match. Download conditional dominoes ii (.doc)
Conversation Questions for the ESL/EFL Classroom
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Icebreakers that Rock
We’re coming up fast on the beginning of another school year. That means a new batch of students to get to know, students who need to be made comfortable in your classroom, and who need to get to know each other. It’s essential to start building relationships with your students right from the start. And how to accomplish this? I planned to create a nice big post with dozens of icebreaker ideas you could choose from. They require students to take massive social risks with people they barely know. So I have scrapped my plan to curate good icebreakers from the Internet. In my own classrooms, with middle school, high school, and college students, I have played all three of these games with great success. Each of these will likely sound familiar to you, although the names may not be exactly what you’ve known them as. Blobs and Lines Here are some sample prompts you can use for this game: Concentric Circles Do you play any sports? This or That Sample questions for This or That:
