New Year's Eve in Thessaloniki, Greece

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.,

Greeks from northern town of Kastoria celebrating traditional customs with food, drink and dance

VIDEO: Clashes between riot police and anarchists in Greek port city of Thessaloniki.

December 6 marks the 8th anniversary of the killing of a 15 year old Greek teenager, Alexis Grigoropoulos in central Athens district of Exarchia. Within hours violent protests swept the country and for weeks afterwards Greece saw clashes between demonstrators and riot police.

Every year the events is commemorated, often violently.

Video taken in Thessaloniki on 6 December 2016.

English for refugees - word games for the revision of vocabulary

Last time we played this game to lighten the mood and revise some of the vocabulary areas we have covered recently.

1 - Divide the board into a grid, On one axis write the categories you wish to cover, I also included easier categories such as cities and names in order to help the less advanced students.

2 Divide the class into teams - The size will depend on how much English your students know, with elementary/beginner students, use bigger teams.

3 - Ask students to shout out some (5-10) letters of the alphabet.

4 - Write them in the grid and go through some examples.

Letter           Name           City               Part of the body       Something in the home

F                  Fay               Florence        Face                         Freezer  

5 - Set a suitable time limit (2-10 minutes) - encourage students to use their notes from previous classes and their smart phones.

6 - The winning time is the one who complete the grid or has the most correct entries when the time limit is up.

7 - Elicit answers from the whole class, write them on the board,
                       

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.

Anniversary of the police killing of a Greek teenager in 2008 turns violent - Thessaloniki, Greece

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.

Unhappy with the way the world is going? Angry at what you see around you? Well, learn how to...

English for Refugees - addresses and locations

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

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

Level - Elementary/intermediate

I - Revise how to say addresses in English, use some well known example, for example the building in which the lessons are taking place. In Greece addresses are usually given thus;

Egnatia 34  - Name of the street then number
Kalamaria  - District
Thessaloniki - City or town
54333 - Post or zip code

Often the floor of the apartment is given as most people live and work in apartment blocks.

You may need to teach

0 - ground floor
1 - first floor
2 - second floor etc.

2 - Now read out an address and ask students to write it down. Repeat as many times as necessary until people have it written, Optional activity - ask students to find out the address on Google Maps.

3 - Now students dictate addresses that they know to each other (be warned many newcomers may not know any, including their own address). Alternatively. they give their own address back at home but the y not want to do this for obvious reasons.

 Another possibility is this address

Brothers Menexopoulos Dried Fruit and Nuts store (it has herbs, spices, dried fruits and nuts, grains and black tea at very good prices)

Katounis 49
the centre

4 - Revise or teach points of the compass


5 = Draw or hang a map of the city and ask students to say where they are now in the city.

e.g In the centre, in west Thessaloniki etc.

6 Now ask students to say which area they live in and its location in or near the city (if they live in camps). You may have to help if students are hazy about the location of their neighbourhood,

7 Teach or elicit other useful phrases used to describe the location of a place,

e.g next/close to, near, behind, in front of, between, above and below (useful in Thessaloniki when talking about roads).

8 Now ask students to describe the location of the building where the lesson is taking place. or the shop mentioned earlier

9 Students now describe the location of their accommodation.

10 Ask students to describe buildings/ locations that are useful for them

e.g local supermarket/police station/doctor's office etc.


A useful mobile phone app is the one by the local public transport company OASTH  which gives information on local bus routes in Thessaloniki area.

Do the math - Alt+Right=Nazi

Refugees Welcome, Golden Dawn Scum Are Not - this design is free to download and use.

The day after  a meeting held by seniors members of Greece' neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party on the island of Chios, the Souda refugee camp was attacked by right wing extremists who throw firebombs boulders down upon the tents were refugees are housed. The meeting was also attended by MPs with Belgium's far right Vlaams Belang party.

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.

"At the third stroke it will be 1936 precisely."

JOBS AND INTERVIEWS - PART TWO

This is part of a series of lesson plans for teaching basic English to refugees with elementary to intermediate English language skills. The plans are in twos, each pair focusing on a particular thematic point, rather than an area of grammar, function or vocabulary. 

JOBS AND INTERVIEWS - PART TWO

For part one click here.

AIM - This is designed to introduce the names of various jobs and occupations, vocabulary associated with them and works on practicing for job interviews.

MATERIALS - Photocopies of a  job interview dialogue, small pieces of paper with names of jobs written on them, sellotape.

LEVEL - Elementary/intermediate


LESSON PLAN

1 - Remind students that you asked them to find out some details of their dream/perfect job in the previous lesson. 

Ask them to write this on a piece of paper (you may need to give them time to look up the name of this job on their smart phones). Ask them not to share this information with anyone else yet.

2 - Ask them to think of the perfect job for you the teacher (if you were not a teacher) and if possible explain why.

3 - Write the names of the jobs on the board and ask the students to say who they thought chose which job (and why, if possible).

4 - Ask some students to explain what is the perfect job for them, this is quite difficult so get the more confident students to do this to the whole class or get others to say why to each other or in small groups..

5 - Now explain to students they are going to do a job interview. Ask if anyone has done one, what was the job they wanted and what questions people usually ask in a job interview.

6 - Write down the questions on the board.

e.g Where did you study?

       Do you speak foreign languages?

       Do you have experience?

With the help of the students solve any language difficulties.

7 Hand out the photocopy of the job interview. You may have to adapt this to your own particular teaching situation. Also putting on their phones as a PDF file is an option, if photocopies are unavailable and wi-fi is,

8 - Ask students to read through this and find any words/phrases/ideas they are not familiar with. Encourage students to use Google Translate on their smart phones to help, if this is an option where you teach.

9 - Ask one of the quicker/more confident students to help you with the dialogue, if they wish to. Ask them to choose a role and read through it together to the side and deal with any pronunciation issues.

10 - Read aloud the dialogue for the class. Deal with any pronunciation issues.

11 - Ask students to do the interview together in pairs. Students then swap roles.

12 - If time permits, students use this dialogue to write their own version with their dream/perfect job. Otherwise set it for the next lesson.

JOBS AND INTERVIEWS - PART ONE

This is part of a series of lesson plans for teaching basic English to refugees with elementary to intermediate English language skills. The plans are in twos, each pair focusing on a particular thematic point, rather than an area of grammar, function or vocabulary. This choice reflects the fact that the language chosen is for practical (hopefully immediate) use and also that my teaching situation is still fluid, not to say chaotic which means a more involved syllabus attempting to cover all bases is simply not an option at the moment.

JOBS AND INTERVIEWS - PART ONE

AIM - This is designed to introduce the names of various jobs and occupations, vocabulary associated with them and works on practicing for job interviews.

MATERIALS - Photocopies of a  job interview dialogue, small pieces of paper with names of jobs written on them, sellotape.

LEVEL - Elementary/intermediate


LESSON PLAN

1 - Write on the board

       What do you do? 
       What do you do for a living?

Explain what these phrases means, remember to include occupations such as student, mother, housewife etc. Give personal examples of jobs you do/have done.

2 Go around the class and ask each student what they do.and write their answers on the board.. Remember that many students will not be working so might be better to ask them what they did for a living in their home country. Encourage students to describe their jobs in English, if possible and also encourage the use of mime as much as possible.

3 - Elicit the names of other jobs Write their answers in English on the board and ask students to translate them into their own language(s). If possible ask a student to write the word in their own language on the board as well. It's important that you encourage students to use Google Translate (be warned the service has limited success with some languages/dialects) on their smart phones, if that is at all possible.

4 - Pick a job from the list on the board and mime it, The students guess which job you are referring to,

5 - Get students to work in pairs/small groups and each person then chooses a job from the list on the board and mimes it. The others try to guess the job then swap roles.

6 - Now explain that the students are going to play a game. The teacher asks  a person to sellotape a job to their forehead and ask the others questions to find out what the job is (but they can't say the name of the job) The teacher then asks the students questions to find out the job.

7 - Write/ask students to write down useful words/phrases/questions they will need to play this game. Put these on the board.

8 - Place a piece of paper with the job on each student's forehead and ask them to play . Encourage students to stand up and mingle rather than sit down and rely on the person next to them,

9 - Now choose 3-4 jobs and ask students in groups of 2-4 to think of as many words/phrases as possible connected with the job. Do one as an example.

E,g Teacher - class, lesson, school, mark homework etc

10 Elicit answers from the class.

11 Now ask students individually write down words/phrases about their job/occupation.

12 Students then talk about their own jobs/occupations  with the other members of the group.

FOR NEXT TIME

Ask students to think of the dream/perfect job for them and ask them if possible to look up details of such a job on the internet, for example what qualifications does it need, what does it pay, where can I do this jobs, what do they do in this occupation etc.

FOR PART TWO CLICK HERE.

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.

In Idomeni

"You had to be there. It's a cliche worn smooth by time but it is true that often images and other people's accounts of a situation are often a poor substitute for being on the spot. The same holds true for the Idomeni refugee camp that lies on southern side of the Greek - Macedonian border. At night you have the sense that you are on the set of a movie, a mixture of the bridge scene from Apocalypse Now and any number of zombie movies/series in which survivors huddle together for protection. The acrid smell of burning plastic, constant flow of hooded people, and the powerful spotlights just add to the surreal, post-apocalyptic atmosphere of the place.

Despite the fact that the border has been closed for over a month the mainly Syrian and Iraqi refugees refuse to leave, and hang on to the hope that Macedonia (along with Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria and ultimately Germany will reverse their latest decision to close down the Western Balkan Route that allowed refugees to reach northern Europe. They feel they are the victim of some kind of cruel joke that they are stranded in a field in northern Greece whilst so many others, including many of their own family members were allowed to pass just weeks earlier.

Another factor keeping refugees in Idomeni is uncertainty over destinations being offered by the Greek authorities, many of which have been hastily erected and offer little material advantage over Idomeni, Why move to another unknown camp when all it offers is a tent in a muddy food and awful food? Refugees already have that.

In addition many of these camp are literally in the middle of nowhere, isolated from towns and cities for fear of provoking local residents. As a result there are often a collection of tents in a muddy field with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Plus there is the ever present fear that at any point they may be turned into "closed centres", i.e prison camps where people are held prior to being deported as happened on the Greek islands such as Chios to all those who arrived after 20th March which marked the implementation of the EU's deal with Turkey.

In the video posted here refugees were occupying the railway line which connects Greece and Macedonia in protest over the closed border, however,  in the last few days these protests have escalated and yesterday Macedonia border police and troops used tear gas and rubber bullets to prevent refugees crossing the border, According to Doctors Without Borders who are operating at Idomeni over 300 people were treated for the effects of these weapons, including many children who were hit by plastic/rubber bullets or overcome by tear gas which also reached the main camp, far from the border clashes.

Colors - Open Kitchen / Colors - Ανοιχτή Κουζίνα serve up to 8,000 meals a day at Idomeni, Greece

The Greek aid organisation, Colors - Open Kitchen cooks and serves up to 8,000 meals a day at the Idomeni transit camp on the Greek - FYR Macedonian border.

The camp, originally designed to house 2,000 refugees for a day is now home to 15,000 who have been stranded there for over three weeks.

The group struggles to find money, supplies, vehicles and volunteers on a daily basis yet despite all these difficulties and the miserable conditions at Idomeni they come through every day.

To find out more about who Colors - Open Kitchen are and how you can help check out their Facebook page.

Refugee Voices - interview with a Syrian refugee stranded at Idomeni, Greece

This interview took place on the 2nd March 2016 at the Eidomeni transit camp on the Greek Macedonian border. This man has been stranded in a field, sharing a flimsy tent with the other members of his family for 11 days. Just a few hundred people are allowed to cross the Macedonian border every day whilst approximately 1,000 refugees arrive per day. As a result 11,000 are stuck in  a transit camp designed to hold 1,500 for a day, not the two weeks some have been there.

The Refugee Solidarity Movement of Thessaloniki and Eidomeni goes up to Eidomeni twice a week to serve hot, sweet Syrian style tea. Wherever possible our volunteers help out with other groups.

For more on who we are and what we do check out our Facebook page.