If you missed the first part of this article, start here Previously, I outlined how much I’d been changed as a teacher by the realization that language students would benefit from a lot of the instructional practices of “special” needs teachers. Accommodations and modifications of content, behavior, use of models, explicit teaching of learning strategies, [...]
Posts under ‘Activities’
The Star Festival: Teaching Tanabata in English
Part of the series: EFL Makeovers July 7th is Tanabata, or the Star Festival, in Japan. Legend says that Orihime (a weaver, represented by the star Vega) and Hikoboshi (a cowherd, represented by the star Altair) are allowed to cross the Milky Way to meet each year on the seventh evening of the seventh month [...]
Animal Magic with Young Learners (by Leahn Stanhope)
Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know I was initially very flattered when Barbara asked me to write a guest post, then my happy feeling turned to mild panic. Finally I just decided to write so here we are. This post is dedicated to one of my favourite ‘props’ for the young [...]
A socializing game: Driver’s seat (by Anne Hodgson)
A few weeks ago I was teaching a group of personal and team assistants (PAs) I hadn’t met before how to assist international teams. This group didn’t need to go over critical incidents they’d had with foreign team members. Instead, they said their biggest challenge was making small talk with their visiting American team members. [...]
Siklot: Reinvention of a Traditional Game for EFL Classrooms (by Marco Brazil)
“Flick a card. Flick a card. Start the game, And let’s have fun!”
More Than Five Things to do with LEGO® in the EFL Classroom Part 2 (by Emma Herrod)
If you missed the first half of this article, start here. Home Sweet Home This lesson makes for a fun way of working with language to do with accommodation and living spaces, as the students work together to build a large model house. The model is then referred to throughout subsequent lessons and forms a [...]
More Than Five Things to do with LEGO® in the EFL Classroom Part 1 (by Emma Herrod)
Firstly, I’d like to put this post into some sort of context. In 2002, I landed a dream job (at the time) working at the LEGO Company. The next five years were so much fun and those little coloured bricks became part of my everyday life. Now I feel I need to give the studded [...]
How to Create a Jazz Chant by Carolyn Graham
Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know Last November, Carolyn Graham did a workshop at the JALT National Conference in Shizuoka, Japan, on how to make a Jazz Chant. I taped her workshop, and with her permission am sharing the part of it where she demonstrates her technique. One of the many [...]
Music and Movement for Young English Learners (by Kathleen Kampa and Charles Vilina)
Matt Richelson makes some excellent points about the power of music in the EFL classroom in his recent article, “Teaching Young Learners With Songs.” I use music and movement daily with young learners in the English classroom. Let me add a few more suggestions that can assist you in using these powerful tools to teach [...]
The Foolproof Lesson
Most teachers have a short list of foolproof activities they can build a lesson around in a pinch–and this is one of mine. It’s foolproof because it works for all levels, all ages, and with or without prepared materials. It’s deceptively simple, so beginning students are able to expand their existing language skills and strategies [...]
