Hello there,
I am asked regularly about a good grammar reference book and the one I have been using for years is Michael Swan's Practical English Usage. Here is a link to it below on Amazon.
If you cannot afford the book below in a million years then there are dictionary sites on line that are free and that can give some guidance. I frequently use dictionary.com, it has advertising that you have to scroll past and ignore, but it's free and easy to use. That will at least give you parts of speech and examples, though it's not a complete grammar guide.
Friday, 6 January 2012
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
English play for children on You Tube
Using English skits and role-plays it really is easy to make your ESL teaching effective and fun.
Don't take my word for it but check out this video from Irina in Russia, using one of my skits with her pupils.
Just see the enthusiasm in the children learning English. They are motivated, well-behaved, becoming more fluent in English and having fun. It's so easy to do it when you know how:
Watch it now because I don't know how long the video will be up (it's not mine)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksrKhX46i9s&context=C30f19feADOEgsToPDskI49jvqg-EWYfMsqecr3I42
P.S. I made a comment at the You Tube page that "Oh my God" is strong language and we should avoid using that phrase as it can insulting to Christians. Therefore it's best to use phrases like "oh my goodness, oh no, oh dear" to set a good example to our prodigies and avoid causing offence.
Don't take my word for it but check out this video from Irina in Russia, using one of my skits with her pupils.
Just see the enthusiasm in the children learning English. They are motivated, well-behaved, becoming more fluent in English and having fun. It's so easy to do it when you know how:
Watch it now because I don't know how long the video will be up (it's not mine)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksrKhX46i9s&context=C30f19feADOEgsToPDskI49jvqg-EWYfMsqecr3I42
P.S. I made a comment at the You Tube page that "Oh my God" is strong language and we should avoid using that phrase as it can insulting to Christians. Therefore it's best to use phrases like "oh my goodness, oh no, oh dear" to set a good example to our prodigies and avoid causing offence.
Monday, 26 December 2011
English plays and skits on Kindle
Hi there,
These plays and skits for young children learning English are now available on Kindle for MUCH cheaper than on my website. You can't print them out because it's a Kindle book, but it's a cheap way to get the English plays and do fun roleplays with your groups.
These plays and skits for young children learning English are now available on Kindle for MUCH cheaper than on my website. You can't print them out because it's a Kindle book, but it's a cheap way to get the English plays and do fun roleplays with your groups.
Sunday, 28 August 2011
ESL posters
Hello there dear readers,
A teacher just asked me where to buy ESL posters for vocabulary in the primary classroom. Save your money! It's much more fun and effective to make your own ESL poster with the children as the term or year progresses.
Children may draw the required vocabulary items or search them out in magazines, cut them out and stick onto your posters - no paper? Use the sides of old cardboard boxes! I'm anti always buying things, especially plastic when it's more creative to recycle. Buying a poster and sticking it on the wall is PASSIVE, while making one as a collective task is interactive, engaging and as a consequence kids (or adults) will remember words better.
More ideas for ESL posters:
1. Have one for each letter of the alphabet, perhaps combining the letters X, Y and Z as vocabulary words are rarer for those. As new vocabulary comes up in class children seek out or draw the items and add them to the relevant sheet
2. Use the vocabulary posters in games - plenty of my primary ESL games describe how to make use of ESL posters in any kind of classroom setting from small groups to large classes.
3. Adding a picture to a vocabulary poster could be a reward for good behaviour or work.
4. Who said posters have to be square or rectangular? Make them in the shape of the letter, giant size and stick the words all around the letters but not in the holes.
If you have other ideas for do it yourself ESL posters your comments are extremely welcome and appreciated. I'll publish pictures of good ones if you would like that.
All the best
Shelley
A teacher just asked me where to buy ESL posters for vocabulary in the primary classroom. Save your money! It's much more fun and effective to make your own ESL poster with the children as the term or year progresses.
Children may draw the required vocabulary items or search them out in magazines, cut them out and stick onto your posters - no paper? Use the sides of old cardboard boxes! I'm anti always buying things, especially plastic when it's more creative to recycle. Buying a poster and sticking it on the wall is PASSIVE, while making one as a collective task is interactive, engaging and as a consequence kids (or adults) will remember words better.
More ideas for ESL posters:
1. Have one for each letter of the alphabet, perhaps combining the letters X, Y and Z as vocabulary words are rarer for those. As new vocabulary comes up in class children seek out or draw the items and add them to the relevant sheet
2. Use the vocabulary posters in games - plenty of my primary ESL games describe how to make use of ESL posters in any kind of classroom setting from small groups to large classes.
3. Adding a picture to a vocabulary poster could be a reward for good behaviour or work.
4. Who said posters have to be square or rectangular? Make them in the shape of the letter, giant size and stick the words all around the letters but not in the holes.
If you have other ideas for do it yourself ESL posters your comments are extremely welcome and appreciated. I'll publish pictures of good ones if you would like that.
All the best
Shelley
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Teaching English through Poetry
Dear Readers,
Here is a poem by Abdul Hafeez, from his book of Urdu poetry, published in Pakistan.
For such a short poem so many questions arise and could be discussed in small groups. Thank you Abdul for this concise, elegant and thoughtful poem and for allowing it to appear on this blog.
One sees the man at the gallows giving up his life to remain integrous. Who would really do that today? It happened often in Europe during the religious wars. What historic events do your students know of when this happened?
How truthful are people today? Many of our politicians lie to us routinely, but what about you, how truthful are you?
Then the quiet admission of great pain, but kept private. This is not Hello magazine my dears where people spread their innards out over glossy pages. This personal poem has dignity.
I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I do and share it with your students to help increase their appreciation of literature, while improving their English discussion skills.
If I were Looking glass
By Abdul Hafeez
Never ever in my life,
Would I lie for expediency
Even before the king, even at the gallows,
Only and only truth I’d speak,
If I were Looking glass,
But for being human,
I’m born to be shattered ceaselessly, dear.
Sometimes by shock,
Sometimes by fatal pangs of separation,
If I were Looking glass,
Surely I'd be crashed into tiny pieces by
ruthless stone.
But only once it happened – just once in my
life.
If I were Looking glass.
Here is a poem by Abdul Hafeez, from his book of Urdu poetry, published in Pakistan.
For such a short poem so many questions arise and could be discussed in small groups. Thank you Abdul for this concise, elegant and thoughtful poem and for allowing it to appear on this blog.
One sees the man at the gallows giving up his life to remain integrous. Who would really do that today? It happened often in Europe during the religious wars. What historic events do your students know of when this happened?
How truthful are people today? Many of our politicians lie to us routinely, but what about you, how truthful are you?
Then the quiet admission of great pain, but kept private. This is not Hello magazine my dears where people spread their innards out over glossy pages. This personal poem has dignity.
I hope you enjoy this poem as much as I do and share it with your students to help increase their appreciation of literature, while improving their English discussion skills.
If I were Looking glass
By Abdul Hafeez
Never ever in my life,
Would I lie for expediency
Even before the king, even at the gallows,
Only and only truth I’d speak,
If I were Looking glass,
But for being human,
I’m born to be shattered ceaselessly, dear.
Sometimes by shock,
Sometimes by fatal pangs of separation,
If I were Looking glass,
Surely I'd be crashed into tiny pieces by
ruthless stone.
But only once it happened – just once in my
life.
If I were Looking glass.
Sunday, 3 April 2011
English only ESL when you don't speak the local language
Hello there,
Not being able to speak the local language can be a blessing in disguise for an ESL teacher because you are forced to use English all the time in class.
On arriving at my local school in Nepal I found that even some of the English teachers had trouble understanding me, never mind the pupils! This was because of their own low level of English and also the fact that my English accent was unfamiliar to them, so used to a "Nepali-English" accent were they. Therefore chatting away to your class is not an option in this type of situation. You will most likely alienate and discourage your pupils if you hit them with a wall of incomprehensible talking.
So if you cannot speak the local lingo, how do explain things to the children, such as a grammatical concept or how to play an English language game?
The answer I found was to limit what I said to single commands and short sentences, which I repeated often combined with gestures and demonstrations. The children soon understood what to do or what was being communicated.
For example a simple and fun game is one I call Hot Potato. Here children pass objects around the class while repeating a set phrase or v. short dialogue for speaking practice. Suddenly the teacher says "stop!" and those holding the objects have to do a forfeit, answer a question or name some vocabulary.
In order to explain this game to the children there was no possibility of using words, which would not be understood. In addition the children were so used to sitting repeating things that any kind of active participation in the class was totally alien to them.
To explain the game I took a pencil case and put it in a child's hand. I took his arm and pulled it towards another student, repeating "pass" over and over. Simultaneously I took the other student's arm and pulled it towards the pencil case, until the child took the pencil case. I then repeated that process again with the next child in line so the children physically saw the pencil case being passed along, and they understood.
Next I took the pencil case back to the start point and used the language I needed practising during the passing process. The children understood right away what they were supposed to do because I had SHOWN them, with no English instructions at all.
Next on my command "pass!" they started passing and repeating of the language, which by the way, for the first time I played this game I kept to a single word. Then I said "stop!" and clapped my hands. The children automatically stopped passing because they had understood that I wanted their attention.
I made the one with the pencil case stand up and do a forfeit. THEN they understood the whole game. At that point I was able to add in several pencil cases right away so that more pupils were involved in passing and repeating the given word or phrase.
For forfeits I made them up on the cuff and one that they particularly loved was to come to the front and do five press ups. As I had about 15 children I had three pencil cases and three of them doing forfeits at the same time to keep things moving. How did I get them to do the press ups? Well I had to demonstrate of course! They were so impressed that a woman could do press ups, obviously this is not done often in a Nepali English lesson!
Other forfeit ideas I used were naming a vocabulary item, miming a profession, pretending to be a chicken and demonstrating a Nepali dance.
It was absolutely great fun and it was all done by demonstrating and by introducing the game in stages, through showing it, rather than trying to explain it.
Other more complicated games can be attempted once you have a rapport with the class and have taught some basic commands. The key is demonstrate and do it in stages.
Have fun!
Shelley
See primary games book or preschool games book for more great ESL game ideas:
Primary games
Preschool games
Not being able to speak the local language can be a blessing in disguise for an ESL teacher because you are forced to use English all the time in class.
On arriving at my local school in Nepal I found that even some of the English teachers had trouble understanding me, never mind the pupils! This was because of their own low level of English and also the fact that my English accent was unfamiliar to them, so used to a "Nepali-English" accent were they. Therefore chatting away to your class is not an option in this type of situation. You will most likely alienate and discourage your pupils if you hit them with a wall of incomprehensible talking.
So if you cannot speak the local lingo, how do explain things to the children, such as a grammatical concept or how to play an English language game?
The answer I found was to limit what I said to single commands and short sentences, which I repeated often combined with gestures and demonstrations. The children soon understood what to do or what was being communicated.
For example a simple and fun game is one I call Hot Potato. Here children pass objects around the class while repeating a set phrase or v. short dialogue for speaking practice. Suddenly the teacher says "stop!" and those holding the objects have to do a forfeit, answer a question or name some vocabulary.
In order to explain this game to the children there was no possibility of using words, which would not be understood. In addition the children were so used to sitting repeating things that any kind of active participation in the class was totally alien to them.
To explain the game I took a pencil case and put it in a child's hand. I took his arm and pulled it towards another student, repeating "pass" over and over. Simultaneously I took the other student's arm and pulled it towards the pencil case, until the child took the pencil case. I then repeated that process again with the next child in line so the children physically saw the pencil case being passed along, and they understood.
Next I took the pencil case back to the start point and used the language I needed practising during the passing process. The children understood right away what they were supposed to do because I had SHOWN them, with no English instructions at all.
Next on my command "pass!" they started passing and repeating of the language, which by the way, for the first time I played this game I kept to a single word. Then I said "stop!" and clapped my hands. The children automatically stopped passing because they had understood that I wanted their attention.
I made the one with the pencil case stand up and do a forfeit. THEN they understood the whole game. At that point I was able to add in several pencil cases right away so that more pupils were involved in passing and repeating the given word or phrase.
For forfeits I made them up on the cuff and one that they particularly loved was to come to the front and do five press ups. As I had about 15 children I had three pencil cases and three of them doing forfeits at the same time to keep things moving. How did I get them to do the press ups? Well I had to demonstrate of course! They were so impressed that a woman could do press ups, obviously this is not done often in a Nepali English lesson!
Other forfeit ideas I used were naming a vocabulary item, miming a profession, pretending to be a chicken and demonstrating a Nepali dance.
It was absolutely great fun and it was all done by demonstrating and by introducing the game in stages, through showing it, rather than trying to explain it.
Other more complicated games can be attempted once you have a rapport with the class and have taught some basic commands. The key is demonstrate and do it in stages.
Have fun!
Shelley
See primary games book or preschool games book for more great ESL game ideas:
Primary games
Preschool games
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
English Teaching Tips and Games: ESL volunteer with no facilities!
English Teaching Tips and Games: ESL volunteer with no facilities!: "Hello there teachers, Volunteering is an increasingly popular thing to do as people think more about contributing to the world rather than ..."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
