Archive for March, 2010
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The human board game
Board games can be a great way to revise and informally test different aspects of taught language. The ‘human board game’ can be used with adults, young adults and younger learners, and it particularly appeals to kinaesthetic learners. It is essentially a fun, fresh and physical angle on an old more…
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Making a mini test
Your term is probably drawing to a close and you may be considering designing a language test if you do not have a ready-made one, or prefer to have one tailored to your learners. This could be (in part) a discrete item test which tests specific linguistic items such as more…
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Questioning ‘givens’: those pesky concept questions
Teachers use concept questions to check students have understood language items, whether grammatical, eg: She’s going to visit her mother. (Question: Did she decide before? Answer: Yes) or lexical (Question: Do you feel excited before an exam? Answer: No.) Learning teachers are often trained to construct these Yes / No more…
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Lesson plan 48: The International Space Station
This pre-intermediate eLesson is about the International Space Station, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.more…
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Reading aloud: when is it a good idea?
Students often enjoy reading aloud, if this technique is used with caution. It can neatly round off a text-based lesson and can also focus students on pronunciation and phrasing. It may also be a useful diagnostic tool: a speaker’s intonation, stress, pausing and rhythm often reveal how much of the more…
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Lesson plan 47: Mark Twain
This elementary elesson is about the American author Mark Twain, whose autobiography has been published on the centenary of his death.more…
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Repetition and memorisation: ‘I went to market …’
Repetition and memorisation may carry negative connotations of teacher-dominated classrooms but there is no doubt that they can play a healthy part in a language learner’s diet. Memory is, after all, a crucial part of language learning. There is a classic repetition activity, essentially a disguised drill, which is versatile, more…
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Lesson plan 46: Sites to see and save
This pre-intermediate eLesson looks at the recent collapse of an ancient building in Pompeii and then goes on to look at different ways in which endanger historical sites around the world are endangered.more…
