I love the little and unexpected detours that one sometimes takes from the planned lesson that we have in our notebook or/and in mind. I also love the feeling of being totally prepared and very much looking forward to steering off the path and embrace a golden opportunity to: a. bring on a useful expressionContinueContinue reading “teaching language chunks”
Category Archives: Speaking
conversation cards
This time I would like to share with you what I call a “vocabulary activation routine”. For starters, it activates vocabulary, as it is meant to revise vocabulary already seen in class in a spaced manner. Also, this isn’t simply “an activity”. It is a routine which is established to provide language practice and activationContinueContinue reading “conversation cards”
past simple for beginners ( a matter of common sense)
At which point in a Beginner or even Elementary course do you introduce and teach the past simple? Here’s a guide. It has always bugged me that Beginner textbooks do not introduce the past simple until half way through the book. So it sadly transpires that students will not start using the past simple tenseContinueContinue reading “past simple for beginners ( a matter of common sense)”
summer series: three speaking activities
It’s time for another summer series. This time I will be focusing on speaking and here is a selection of three blog posts that have drawn a little bit of attention over the last couple of years. Click on the links for the full posts. In speaking: from specific to general I argue how muchContinueContinue reading “summer series: three speaking activities”
find someone who (with a twist)
We are all familiar with “Find someone who…” speaking activity. Traditionally the teacher provides a series of tasks -written/displayed on the board or on printed handouts- for the students to mill around and ask each other in order to exchange personal information. The aim might be to practice a given grammatical structure, such as theContinueContinue reading “find someone who (with a twist)”
museum of failure
What do you think the featured image above is? What do you think this gadget was used for? Do you like the design? How old might it be? Do you think it was a failure or a flop back then? Display the image on a screen or else print a handful of copies with theContinueContinue reading “museum of failure”
Keep It Simple Activities 