This year I am presenting these three-hour workshops (time can be adjusted to your needs). Click here to contact me.
What’s in a song
Using songs in the classroom should be more than a time filler or merely a way to check students’ listening skills or word recognition. On a deeper level, songs can be a catalyst for effective, memorable and meaningful language practice as they bring language alive and they provide a harmonious atmosphere in the classroom. In this workshop you will experience:
• Working with songs and the four language skills
• Integrating technology in song activities
• Creating games with songs
• Using songs in topic-based lessons
• Practicing language chunks with songs
Developing effective listening and speaking skills
Listening comprehension is a stressful situation for many learners, as stressful as driving in the fog. Asking our students what they see ahead will not be any good if they fail to make out anything or they just see very little. Playing a recording a second time will obviously help. It’s a bit like driving the car in reverse to move forward again to get a second chance to see some of what was missed, as learners will be on the lookout this time. However, this may not be helpful for future drives in the fog.
A more sensible approach would be to try to equip them with some tools that might light the way. This means studying the different processes involved in listening, adopting an approach that caters for decoding/ interpreting oral messages but mostly focusing on decoding the stream of sounds that will ultimately lead to general understanding. By analyzing these processes and providing adequate listening material and adequate types of tasks, we can obtain useful information that will reveal what the major obstacles for the students are. This will also help us devise and provide remedial work.
Keeping it simple. Zero or Minimal Preparation Activities for Busy Teachers
A taster of what this site is about plus some theoretical underpinnings.
Making vocabulary memorable digitally
In this workshop you will experience a collection of teaching ideas and techniques to provide plenty of vocabulary practice in the classroom. You will also be equipped with some strategies to learn and practice vocabulary outside the classroom to transfer to your students.
- the lexical approach
- why it is important to learn words in chunks
- making the most of your textbook in creative ways
- Technology tools that can boost vocabulary learning and practice
- how to recycle vocabulary
Keep It Simple Activities 