English for refugees - Recipe dictation and cooking together

This lesson plan is based on a idea from Teaching Adults Second Language Learners by McKay and Tom

Aim - To help refugees use cooking vocabulary, write recipes

Materials - Cooking equipment and ingredients, access to a kitchen, photocopies (see below)

Level - Elementary/intermediate.

1 - Ask students what verbs/words we use to talk about cooking. write some on the board and mime them to ensure understanding. Otherwise ask students to use smart phones for translation.

2 - Elicit words and write them on the board, use mime to ensure understanding.


3 - Hand out this photocopy from Englishwsheets.com

4 - Students copy down any words they didn't know, check comprehension.

5 - In pairs, student mime words from the photocopy and the other s have to guess them.

6 - Now explain that you are going to give them a recipe (or write it on the board) and that they have to copy them into their notebooks but some words and/or numbers will be missing. (Just choose numbers for beginner students).

7 - Read the recipe aloud and have students fill in the missing gaps.

8 - When you have finished reading have students take turns in completing the dictation on the board or in groups of 3-4

9 - Now get students to use this as a template for their own recipes, encourage them to use their smart phones to find ingredients and names of cooking equipment

10 Tell students that next lesson we will be cooking together in Oikopolis's kitchen, ask students to say who would like to cook something simple for the class, e;g salads, dips etc that take less than an hour to make. Take students on a tour of the kitchen to check that it has all the equipment they need.,

English for refugees - Describing homes - finding accomodation

  PART ONE

Aim - To help refugees with some grasp of English describe and find accommodation Greek city of Thessaloniki

Materials - Photographs of different kinds of housing  either from magazines or via  via smart phone.

Level - Elementary/intermediate.

1 - Ask students to think of their dream/perfect home. You may need a photograph to help get your message across and then describe the place and say why you want to live in this place.

2 - Now elicit suitable vocabulary for describing a home;

Type - e.g. flat/house/villa etc

Size - e.g in  square meters or number of rooms/bedrooms

Location e.g in the centre/suburbs/countryside

Amenities e.g.garden/swimming pool/utilities room/garage etc

3 - Write these on the board elicit further terms from the students.

4 - Now students look for a suitable dream home on their smart phones or simply describe it to the person next to them. Students then ask each other why they want to live in this place.

5 - Now draw a floor plan of your own or one you have found on the internet. Label the rooms and facilities, check comprehension.

6 - Students then draw their own present home/previous residence floor plan or for their dream home.

7 - Students then describe their plan.

e,g, It is/was

       It has/had

       I like/liked etc

PART TWO

Aim - To help refugees with some grasp of English describe and find accommodation Greek city of Thessaloniki

Materials - Photographs of different kinds of housing  either from magazines or via  via smart phone and a map of the city..

Level - Elementary/intermediate

1 - In the next lesson recap the language used to describe homes (see part one)

TYPE

SIZE

LOCATION

AMENITIES

2 - Now divide the students into two groups landlords/landladies and tenants - explain terms.

3 - Now in their groups students think of questions the landlords/landladies and tenants would ask.

Landlords/landladies

e'g How long do you want to stay?

     Do you have pets?

     How many people are there in your family?

     How will you pay the rent?- cash/credit card/direct debit?

     etc.

Tenants

e.g Where is the apartment?

      How big is it?

      How many bedrooms does it have?

      How much is the rent?

      Howe much is the deposit? 

      etc.

4 - Write these and any others on the board so students can see them during the following exercises.

5 - Give out landlords/landladies and tenants role play cards (cut into strips)

6 - Work on vocabulary issues and either assign roles at random or ask student to choose their own roles. 

7 - Students write down/copy suitable questions and practice them in pairs.

8 - Now students stand up and the landlords/landladies go to one corner of the room and tenants to the other. Explain that the tenants are looking for accommodation and the landlords/landladies have properties in and around Thessaloniki. Remind students that in Greece prices are often are negotiable so they can haggle/negotiate things such as cost of rent.

You may also need to pin up a large  map of the city to help students understand where the properties are located

9 - Student try to find suitable property/tenant. Encourage students to try more than one option.

10 Students then explain how they made their choice to the class.

11 - If time permits students swap roles.

In the next lesson students can repeat the exercise using their real life details in order to recap.

English for refugees - Giving directions

Aim - To help refugees with some grasp of English give and understand directions as well as talk about locations in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Materials - A map of the city either on paper or via Google Maps via smart phone.

Level - Elementary/intermediate.

Before the lesson begins, choose a nearby shop/cafe/office that the students are likely to know or have seen.

1 - Ask the students if they know the shop/cafe/office you have chosen. 

2 - Now ask them where it is and how I can get there.

3 - Write these phrases on the board Turn, left, turn right, go straight on, stop

4 - Explain to the students they are going to play a game and that they need to get into teams of 2-4 people each. In each group one person is going to be blindfolded (students can use hats/scarves/hooded coats etc and the other students will be giving them directions in order to reach a particular point in the classroom. You may need to demonstrate this yourself and get students to give you directions,

5 - Stand in the corner of the classroom and students in another corner. Now their fellow team members shout out directions so they can reach you. 

6 - Play the game 2-3 more teams with different team members blindfolded.

7 - Now ask students to once again elicit language used to give directions. Use mime and example as well as drawings ti explain them.

e,g It's on the left/right/next to/near/opposite/behind/in front of/on the corner/at the supermarket/cross/go past etc.

8 - Students write down how to get to their bus stop from the building or how to get to a supermarket/shop etc from their home.

9 - Now students explain to each other the directions they've written (if they can without looking at their notes).

10 Hand out a map of the city or ask students to look it up on Google Maps on their phones and write some nearby landmarks on the board.

Aristotelous Square/Kamara/ The sea front etc.

11 - Together students give each other directions of how to reach there.

English for refugees - lesson plan for numbers and dates.

This plan is designed to help students revise numbers in English with the purpose of talking about dates and for other uses such as shopping and other financial exchanges. This part of a course I am devising and teaching here in Thessaloniki for refugees and migrants. The different parts can be used in any order and the aim is to provide English language skills and knowledge that will of immediate and practical use rather than a broader based academic course.

Aims

Revise use of numbers 1 to 100 in English as the prelude to talking about dates.

Materials

The photocopy below

Level 

Elementary/intermediate

Numbers 1-100

1 - Hand out the photocopy and go through any pronunciation issues. (you could  ask students to write down the words as well or set this for homework).

2 - Ask students to stand up and form a circle. Explain to students that we'll play a game. You start and the person next to you will say the next number 1,2,3 and so on. If the person makes a mistake they are out of the game and leaves the circle. Start over with the next person in the circle and continue until there is a single winner. If you have a large group you may have to divide the class into smaller groups to ensure the game is over quickly.

3 - Get students to play the game in 2-3s.

4 - Students sit back down and write on a piece of paper (in numbers and words (e.g 44 - forty four) numbers that are important to them.

They can be their age, the number of their home, How many kids they have etc.

5 - In 2-3s ask or guess why their partner's numbers are important.

Days and dates

1 - Explain to students they are going to talk about days and dates. Elicit the names of the days of the week and write them on the board. (you could also ask students to write the Arabic/Farsi on the board)

2 - Ask them what today it is today, will it be tomorrow and what it was yesterday.

3 - Ask some students what is their favourite day of the week? Students then ask each other.

4 - Play game where students take turns in pairs saying the days, when one makes a mistake, they start again.

5 - Introduce months, elicit names of the months of the year, write them on board. Go through any pronunciation difficulties.

6 - Play circle game again in pairs with names.

7 - Ask which months they like the best and why. E,g June because school finishes for summer.

8 - Explain how to say dates. I'd recommend the US system for ease of comprehension and use.

E,g November 7 rather than 7th of November.

9 - Now students ask each other when there birthday falls. and the other person writes in down in full.

10 - Ask students about important dates in their own country/Greece or other places they know. E.g Independence day, religious holidays, New Years's Day etc.

11 - Now explain how to say years in English i.e nineteen sixty, not say One thousand nine hundred and sixty as they do in Greek, for example).


12 Write down a timeline on the board with important dates from your own life.


-----------+---------+---------+---------+------------+----------+----------

             1960       1975      1986    1999           2010        2016

13 - Ask students to guess or ask directly what happened on those dates.

14 - Students write down their own timelines and then mix up the groups and people ask others they don't usually work with to talk about their timeline.

15 - Optional activity. Ask students to write a short personal biography based around the date mentioned for homework.

English For Refugees

After so many months of silence I have decided to start writing here again. After the refugee camp in Idomeni in northern Greece was shut down and the people moved to more permanent settlements throughout the country.Our group, The Refugee Solidarity Movement, Thessaloniki, wound down and I decided that I needed a break from this. In addition it seemed clear that other groups were taking over so our group's efforts were less needed.

However,  I have managed to get back into the game and as with so many things that happen in Greece, it's as much to to with chance and serendipity as it is with any plan I may or may not have had in mind. Whilst visiting the Oikopolis Social Centre on an entirely unrelated matter, I found out that they were about to start new language lessons with refugees but one of their volunteer teachers was soon to Leave Greece to start a new life in France. So that is how I found myself in front of a class of refugees from Syria once again teaching English along with another Patricia, another volunteer teacher.

The situation was and still remains somewhat chaotic with people of different ages (11 till 50) and different levels of competency in English (complete beginners to those with the fundamentals sorted) in the same group. In addition we are in the social area of the centre which is like teaching on the hard shoulder of a motorway.

This is gradually being sorted out, Patricia has decided to form a group of complete beginners while I work with those who have intermediate skills. We are never sure how many students will turn up as new students turn up, others change class and others still drift away looking for something else.

With such uncertainty I have decided  to not use a course book both due to the cost and the fact that students are coming and going all the time. Instead I have been inspired by Teaching Adult Second Language Learners by Heather McCay and Tom Abigail. Designed for teaching practical, every day English to those arriving in an English speaking country, I have adapted some of the activities for my students so they can communicate with NGOs, the authorities, etc in English.

My approach is based on utilising students experience and expertise and giving them language skills that can be used instantly, rather than to be filed for later. I eschew technology as much as possible, not because I am against its use in lessons but from experience that so much time is used explaining it, and setting it up that time for other things is wasted. I hope this will change in the future as my students grow more confident with their English. Most have smart phones and we have internet access but this cannot always be relied on.

Also I have come to realise that the occasional photocopy, copious use of the white board and role play/mime are not only more easy to implement but take far less time setting up.

Topics covered so far

Introducing ourselves
Talking about family and background
Numbers, especially dates
Jobs
Interviews (asking and answering questions)
Parts of the body

When I have time I will be uploading detailed lesson plans.

Videoing your story books - EFL/ESL exercise for young learners

Lately, I have been doing more and more work with younger learners and thankfully, the material that is available is much more interesting and effective than the dull EFL/ESL books that older learners have to suffer. On the other hand, I still like doing my own stuff using new technologies when possible.

This week I helped my students film a story book using free software and the kind of electronic equipment that is becoming common place, at least here in Greece, the result was two hours full of learning opportunities which ere fully exploited by my two nine year old students.

Lesson plan

1 Give students a book to read at home. In this case I handed out My Daddy by Curtis Jobling which the students enjoyed very much, even if it did include some vocabulary which was beyond their level. More and more such books have any accompanying CD the story read aloud, that would be the ideal choice.

2 Next lesson get students to tell you what they liked about the story and read out some of their favourite parts.

3 Now explain that they are going to make a film using the story from the book. If time is short or the books too long then choose just one part. The students need to think about what kinds of props they are going to need and what parts of the book to they need help with in terms of understanding and pronunciation.

4 To make they film students need one of the following; digital camera, video camera, mobile phone with audio or video recording capability or a webcam.

5 The students then decide in groups who is going to play which roles, who is going to operate the camera etc.

6 Students rehearse their performances and then record them when they feel ready. Since the books probably has lots of vocabulary allow them to have the book where they can see it.

7 Students video their performances and encourage them to redo anything they are not happy with.

8 Put the footage on a computer. Windows Movie Maker (click here to see a video tutorial on how to use it) is a good program to create a short clip and it comes as standard with every copy of Windows. If there is an open source/freeware program that does the same kind of thing for Apple or Linux then please let me know.

9 Of course a good part of the lesson will involve teaching students how to use the program , however, if Windows is in English this is another great learning opportunity and once the learners figure it out you won't have to do it again.

10 Students then present their videos and if possible post them onto a class blog or website.

As you can imagine there is a good deal that can go wrong with such a complicated exercise in a large class but I feel that it is worth the effort as it allows for an enormous amount of real life language use. In addition the fact that student listen to themselves speaking English is a great way to allow them correct any problems they have with their speaking skills.

Making an EFL/ESL video

I thought I'd share some teaching ideas that I have tried with you. They have worked for me but they may need to be amended to fit in with your learning situation.

Lesson plan

1 Ask you students if they have heard of any weird, strange or odd stories in the media.



2 Now explain to them that they will watch BBC's Odd Box broadcast which has 10 unusual stories every week. Put them in groups of two - four and show them the clip (about 4-5 minutes long), first without sound and ask them to guess what they story might be about.

3 Students then discuss their guesses and write a sentence for each.

4 Show the sequence again, this time with sound.

5 Student work together as groups then as a class in order to come up with a definitive answer.

6 Now tell learners that they will make their own version of Odd Box using stories and video on the internet.

First phase - Finding stories.

A useful starting places include the BBC's Also in the News page, Yahoo's Odd News, Reuter's Oddly Enough etc.

Second Phase -Finding footage.

Ask students to choose five stories that would be interesting for a Greek TV audience. Next stage involves finding video that goes with the story on Youtube or Google Video.

Third phase - Editing video

In order to use download and edit the videos I would recommend Real Player (which allows you to download and convert videos) and Windows Movie Maker (which comes as standards with every copy of Windows) to edit the videos and add titles and voice over. Both programs are free and relatively easy to use, though the more you familiarise yourself with them the more comfortable you'll feel when teaching.

The students then work in groups so as to edit a two minute video with their own voiceover. Alternatively, student add their own video presentation segments which can be recorded with mobile/cell phones, vieo camera or a digital camera.

Fourth phase - Presenting the video

We screen the videos and decide which one would be best for a class blog/web page etc.


Of course such exercises have all kinds of potential pit falls which may ruin the lesson but I feel that the learning payoff involved is worth the risk. How long can we go on using 19th century technology to promote medieval learning paradigms?

Learning through doing

I thought I'd share this with you as I'm deeply impressed by the effort my student put into creating this poster and by the quality of the final result. In a way it represents everything we do in our lessons as I have come to the realisation that for many language learners the years following the intermediate stage are spent treading water, endlessly repeating lessons already learnt with less and less effect.

Instead of employing what their students already know teachers insist on treating them like automatons who must be spoon feed yet more grammar, vocabulary etc. The result is dissatisfaction, active rebellion and an enormous waste of creative energy which could be used more productively.

I have been moving away from this failed model to something which combines learning in its widest sense and the realisation that languages are such complex systems that simply using a rule based method of teaching is a recipe for disaster. If languages were just about learning a list of rules and words we'd have dumped our keyboards and have been chatting away to our PC years ago.

The poster you see is the latest in a series of projects I have set my student and have involved photography, videography, design and advanced writing skills. No mean feat for anyone, least of all a bright but easily distracted 14 year old. Instead of teaching English as English we have been using the language simply as a means of communicating in order to achieve other goals. The results have been fabulous as we have had the chance to engage our interests, passions and intellects so as to produce something special.

One of the reasons I decided to give up teaching in language schools was the absolute lack of faith in creativity, the assumption that that utilising anything other than our analytical skills was an utter waste of time. I watched class after class of students struggle with material which was insipid, narrow and ultimately ineffective before I finally realised that the whole thing didn't work for many, if not most of those I was teaching.

The poster was made using GIMP an open source version of Photoshop which can be downloaded from here. It can used on Windows, Mac and Linux.

For more ideas and practical suggestions check out my Wikispace - EFL/ESL and web 2.0.

Your dream job - an EFL/ESL lesson plan

This is aimed at intermediate and post intermediate students and is a way to practice discussion, presentation and listening skills. You'll need an access to the internet and a way of recording either audio or video.

Lesson Plan

1 Students form groups of 2 - 4 and give them 2 minutes to write down as many jobs as possible e.g. teacher, doctor etc.

2 The groups with the longest list writes it on the board. Ask other students to add to it.

3 While the students are doing this write down their names on pieces of paper. When they have finished the job exercise hand out the names at random.

4 Students now decide which job from the list on the board would best suit the person whose name is on their piece of paper. The student then tells the other what job they choose and why.

5 Now ask students to write down their own dream job and why it would suit them.

6 Discuss this in pairs/groups.

7 Now explain to students that they are going to watch a video another job and they have to write down as many details about it as possible.

(To find out more details about the job click here)

8 Students compare notes and decide what kind of person would be best for this job.

9 Now explain that in part of the application for the position involves posting a 60 second video on Youtube . See some examples here. Their job is to create their own video. To find out more details about the position get them to study the full job description here.

This can be done with a webcam, video camera or their mobile phone (audio or video). The video can be edited with Windows Movie Maker, which comes as standard with every copy of Windows. Alternatively, they can use their own images or images off the internet to create a video with still images and a voice over. Photostory 3, Windows Movie Maker or Slideshare, and Animoto are some of the programs you could use.

Read more about the person who got the job, Ben Southall.

Using Youtube to teach EFL/ESL

Image from clipartguide.com

Recently I have been using short video clips from the internet in my lessons. Nothing too long, just two to three minutes of real life listening practice which helps students to get used to a variety of speaking styles and subjects. As you can imagine the possibilities are endless as far as teaching opportunities are concerned, but here is one idea that can be applied quickly and with very little preparation.

The videos should be short (60 - 120 seconds), visually varied (not just talking heads) and ideally about subjects the students have knowledge of.

Lesson plan

1 Explain to students that they are going to see a short news story but without sound. Their job is to make guesses about what is happening. If the class is upper intermediate and above the students do this individually, otherwise they work in groups.


2 The individuals/groups work with others to compare their guesses.

3 Now tell them that they are going to be reporters and find out more about the story for their local newspaper. To do so they have to ask five questions with these words;

WHO
WHAT
WHERE
WHEN
WHY

4 Students write down questions, you might want to help out at this point as this is a problem area for many learners.

5 Now play the video again this time with sound and students write down their answers. If the answer wasn't covered then get the students to think of their own.

6 Now explain to the them that they are going to write the headline and first paragraph to the story. You might want to do yourself as an example.

Follow up exercises

- Write the rest of the story.

- Students video an interview with each other pretending to be those involved.

- Find their own stories to show the class next lesson.

- Follow up the story from other sources on the internet.

The internet, like Soylent Green is people

The pieces are gradually falling into place as far as teaching EFL/ESL and the internet are concerned. More and more of my students have access to broadband connections, the price of laptops is falling to a little as 200 - 300 euros for basic models and there is a raft of free applications that we can utilise. As a result I have been able to put into practice lesson plans from a few years ago and see if they actually work in real life learning situations.



A couple of years ago I wrote abut using the opening sequence to the the film Soylent Green as a template for a lesson (click here). This week one of my students created his own version of the opening sequence. Check it out for yourself.

Who speaks for Earth?- An ESL/EFL lesson plan

Inspired by Carl Sagan's seminal 80's TV series, Cosmos and the recent remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Lesson Plan

1 Ask students if they have seen The Day The Earth Stood Still. Divide the class into those who have and have not. Those who have seen the film work together on how to explain the plot of the film in English, those who haven't, write down a list of questions to ask.

2 Form groups of three and four with members from both sides and get them to swap information.

3 Show the trailer for the movie.



4 Now explain that the human race has been called upon to defend itself in some kind of galactic court and that 12 people will be chosen to represent our species. The student's task is to decide how to choose the representatives. Will the selection be based on nationality, education, religious affiliation, random choice ?

5 The groups present the reasons for their choices and then the class decides on a method which everyone can agree on.

6 For homework students work on our case. What can be said in our defence?

Superhero EFL/ESL lesson plan

General Fiery Chrome, originally uploaded by Teacher Dude's BBQ.

1 Students think of examples of different superheros e.g. Spiderman. The teacher writes them in the board.

2 What special ability does each possess?

3 What special ability would you like to have have and why. Students write that down on a small piece of paper 5cm by 5cm and hand it in.

4 Tape a small piece of paper on each student's forehead. They are allowed to ask the other students any question they like but the answer most be either "yes" or "no".

E.g. Does it make travel you more quickly?
Is the the ability to fly?

Alternatively

The teacher writes the abilities on the board the the students have to guess which person wanted which ability.

5 Tell students to form into groups of two or three and go to The Hero Factory website.

6 Go through the different categories and explain the terms if necessary.

7 Give each group 10 minutes to design their own superhero comic character.

8 Now each group works on giving a small presentation about their hero which includes abilities, background, history, weakness etc. in a a couple of paragraphs.

9 The superhero could be posted on class/personal blogs.

Follow on projects could include;

a - A fictional biography of the character see here for the example of Spiderman on Wiki.

b - A news story involving the character. This could be written in the style of a newspaper article or done as a straight to camera piece.

c - An interview with the hero which could be videoed.

d - Create a comic strip using the Hero.

e- Describe the hero's arch enemy.

EFL/ESL mash ups

No, its not time for us to chow down but rather use existing media and programs to make something new. This could mean using our own videos and photos along with stuff we find on the internet.

So what has this got to do with teaching English? Recently, I have been working with my students on different projects in which they use video as an extension of their writing assignmments. We work on traditional skills such as writing a discursive essay or story telling then use turn these formats into something more visual such as a mini - documentary.

In every such case I've tried to adhere to these rules.

1 - The project has to be connected with some more traditional language learning skill and/or be useful in getting them ready for external exams (e.g. essay writing, interview skills, debating etc).

2 - The technology has to be easy to learn and use.

3 - All programs have to either free and/or open source. Nobody is going to pay me hundreds of euros to buy software.

4 - Personalise the project in order to suit the students' interests and level of competence in English.

My most recent venture has involved using video taking off the internet from sites such as YouTube so that students have footage to use in their projects. This forms background to their narratives which are either recorded using a microphone or done straight - to - camera.

This doesn't require specialised equipment just access to a PC, a microphone and a video camera/webcam or cell phone. The software used was Real Player (which allows you to download videos off the net), Winff which converts .flv video files (that is the format used on sites such as Youtube) to AVI or WMV format (which can be edited). Finally, we used Windows Movie Maker which comes as standard with every copy of Windows.

Taken all togther this sound like an imposing list however the programs are easy to use and I think that an hour ir two is all you need to invest in getting the hang of them. It's time worth investing as the skills you pick up can used endlessly in lessons.

I would love to show you some of my student's work but they choose not to put their videos on the net. For more of my teaching ideas using video, internet etc. click here.

Kicking the essay in the 21st century

I have a student who is a classic example of a brilliant learner who is ill served by traditional teaching methods. A mercurial but easily distracted mind capable of absorbing huge amounts of information but at the same time one which finds it hard to stick to the determinedly linear classroom process.

Of course, we are all bound by the system we are part of and this means that we have to prepare people for exams, teach skills which as essay writing and the like. However, this doesn't mean we don't have some say in the way we do this and I think that the following idea is a good example of how we can twist the demands of the curriculum into a different shape.

Basically, the idea is that we work on our essay writing skills in a more conventional way and then use the essay as the basis for something more meaningful i.e present our ideas and arguments in the form of a video. On the most unimaginative level this could involvs just reading it to camera (yawn, yawn) but I think that using clips from Youtube, pictures off the internet and editing applications such as Windows Movie Maker (if you own a PC you already have it) to turn it into a mini - documentary complete with voice over, quotes and text.

As you can imagine the possibilities are endless. I have already done this with my students and was pleasantly surprised by the imagination and sophistication employed to convey his message. Best of all, the exercise combines the intellectual rigour involved in discursive writing with opportunities for creativity and self - expression.

Re-imagining the essay

One of the beauties of using web 2.0 tools is that you can re-invent more traditional learning exercises. A case in point is the discursive essay which most students have to master at some point during their EFL/ESL careers. For most this will be a boring grind which they will struggle with. However, we can sugar the pill be using the possibilities offered by the internet in order to awaken their interest and also get them to practice other language skills.

Basically, the idea is that we after working on the essay we then present it using pictures, video, music etc. in the form of an online presentation. There are a number of free tools that allow students to do this. The most widely available is Windows Movie Maker which comes with every copy of Windows. With it you can add photographs, video, titles, music, and voice over. In essence what you are asking students to do is turn their essay into a documentary. See the video tutorial below.



While this may sound ambitious it does not require much in the way of fancy equipment or technical skills. Video can be provided via a cheap web cam, digital camera or the student's mobile phone. The program is pretty simple to use and teaching students how to use it is a pretty good language learning opportnity in itself.



A simpler version might include just pictures downloaded from the internet - the Life archieve on Google has some great ones or you could used Flickr and a voice over which can be captured via a cheap microphone (mine cost three euros and works just fine). you could also use Movie Maker but Microsoft's Photostory 3 or the internet based application, Voicethread.


Whatever approach you use the emphasis here is on creativity and making what you wrote as interesting as possible. To give your student some ideas of the possibilities show them the Magnum photo agencies collection of photo essays here.

As well as knuckling down to the discipline of putting their thoughts on paper in essay form they get to work on speaking and presentation skills all of which will probably feature in any exam they are likely to take.

Thinking the unthinkable

With most of the material found in EFL/ESL course books the need to reach as wide a global audience as possible and the fear of alienating learners means that most of it is bland to the point of inducing a catatonic trance. This coupled with the fact that most material writers believe that what interests them (bee keeping, provincial English towns, 19th century writers etc) will fire the imagination of teens worldwide means that the books produced to learn English at advanced levels are dull in the extreme.

So here is another idea for getting post intermediate students to wake up in class and actually participate. At first it may seem morbid but the aim is to help students talk about ideas and beliefs that they doesn't usually get to discuss in class.

Lesson plan

1 Write up the following headline on the board.

"13 year-old girl chooses to die"

2 Now ask students to imagine that they are reporters investigating this story and that they have to think of five questions using;

who
what
where
when
why

3 Just go around to help the students with any problems with grammar they may have.

4 The learners then ask and answer the questions. Make sure they understand there are no wrong answers for this part, just their imagination and opinion counts.

5 Now divide the class into two groups.

Group one will watch the video below.



Their job is to write down all the questions the presenter asks. If you don't have access to internet in your classroom you can download videos from YouTube etc using Real Player and play them on a PC, ipod or mobile phone.

6 The other group leaves the room and has ten minutes to find out as much as they can about the story using the headline and Google. If you do not have internet access in the classroom you can print out and photocopy some of the articles below. Tell the students that they have to find out what is happening and take notes as after the ten minutes are they will not have access to the internet or photocopies afterwards.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24639223-401,00.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/nov/11/child-protection-health-hannah-jones

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1084531/I-didnt-want-operations-Girl-13-says-prefer-die-dignity-transplant.html

7 The students then come back in and those who watched the video interview them. Students in the group who were outside can either assume the role of Hannah or her parents. Remind those involved that the most important thing is to communicate the general idea of what is happening rather than getting all the details correct.

8 The interviews could be recorded or videoed using the students mobile phones and them put on a class blog via Youtube.

9 Finally, ask the students to debate whether Hannah and her parents have made the right decision. This could be done in the form of a formal debate or in smaller groups in a less formal manner.

As you can imagine this is a sensitive topic which needs to be handled carefully. As a teacher you are in the best position to judge if this activity is suitable for your learners. On the other hand it does allow students to express their own beliefs in English on a topic which likely to engage them.

Jeremy Kyle's EFL/ESL masterclass - letters of advice

Picture from TV Scoop

I'm sure many of you who teach EFL/ESL have had to do a lesson on writing letters of advice and I'm sure that many of you have come across activities in course books that use newspaper or magazine problem pages. I thought I'd post a web - based twist on the idea that could be used to introduce the idea and provide valuable listening and speaking practice.

The exercise is aimed at post intermediate learners and preferably over 16 year - olds as the subjects tackled may be considered too sensitive for younger students. Alternatively, you could use the same approach but source more appropriate materials for your teaching situation.

Lesson plan

1 Tell students that they are going to see a short extract from a British TV programme called the Jeremy Kyle Show. As they listen they should think about the following points.

- What kind of TV show is it?

- Is there anything similar in their country?

- Why do people appear on this show?

- What kind of people watch shows like this?

2 Show the video. I choose his particular extract as it has been subtitled making easier for students to understand the regional accents. Show about 1 or 2 minutes just enough for them to get the general idea.



3 Students discuss their answers in groups/pairs then share them with the rest of the class.

4 Divide the class into two groups. One group watches the rest of the video posted above the other waits outside for four minutes. The group writes down as much as they can about what they have heard.

5 The second group comes in and watches the second part of the show and does the same. n the meanwhile the first group leaves the room and compares notes.



6 The class gets together to form pairs with one person form each group. They compare notes on the situation described and discuss the following questions.

- Who is involved?

- What is the problem?

- Who is right?

- What should be done?

7 Discuss the situation as a class.

8 Now explain to the class that they will see the final part of the how in which an expert is asked to comment of what has happened. They should listen and write down.



- What advice does he give?

- Do you agree?

9 Discuss the answers as a class.

If you have time you could also explore with the class the ethics of such shows or the differences between Britain and their own place in handling such situations.

10 Now explain to the class they are going to write an email/letter giving advice to the brother.

11 You could use your course book or perhaps a writing skills one such as Longman's Writing Skills for FCE. For more problem pages check out Problempages.co.uk.

Alternatively, you could get students to write a scripted answer and then get the to record it on video using a webcam or mobile/cell phone. The replies could be posted on their personal blog/portfolios or on a class moodle/blog.

Dracula: the blog

I'm sure we've all seen a Dracula movie, whether it be a cheesy Hammer House of Horror production or something more gory. What I didn't realise till I read Bram Stoker's book was that it is in the form of a series of letters and diary entries. An ur blog, in a sense. So here is a teaching idea about how to use the book in say an EFL/ESL lesson or indeed a English Literature class.

You'll need a copy of the book (download the audio book from here or the Gutenberg e-text from here) and access to an internet connection from which can blog.

The basic idea is that you take part of a chapter and turn into a modern day blog entry. This could include;

-updating the language to something that would sound more natural today.

-changing the context and refrences - e.g. Transylvania becomes .........

- adding more suspense, action etc.

In addition you could also get your students to move away from the written word and do the blog entry as a vlog, short movie clip, podcast etc. None of this requires anything more sophisticated than a microphone, cell/mobile phone with recording capability or a digital camera.

The sound recordings can be edited with Audacity. Podcasts can be posted via hosting services such as Podcast.com. Alternatively, a short film can be created from video clips with Window's Movie Maker (which comes as standard with every copy of Windows) or using photos and Photo Story 3.

Snakes and ladders and young EFL/ESL learners

Snakes and ladders, originally uploaded by deebeeandswivel :D.

Over the last couple of years I have been doing more lessons with younger learners of English. It makes a welcome change from the usual exam obsessed classes I teach. However, it does involve approaching the subject from a completely different angle.

Here is a teaching idea that you might find interesting as it can be used to recycle/revise a whole range of ideas using snakes and ladders. Currently I'm using it to help revise numbers 1 - 100 but that is just the beginning (click here to play online).

1 Some alternatives might include creating questions for each ladder or snake. When you land on a snake or ladder to go up or avoid dropping down you have to answer a question correctly. This could be anything that you have already covered.

E.g. What is this (showing a picture of a pen/chair/notebook etc)

or

Count up to ten.

2 When you throw a six you answer a question. Get it right you double your score. Get it wrong you do not move.

3 Every time you throw you get the chance to double your score if you answer a question correctly.

As you can see the questions can be about anything so the possibilities are endless.

To involve the students more you could get them to write their own questions or vote on the rules they want to play by. In addition younger learners could make their own boards.