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Going back to school: some ideas for your first lesson(s)

It's September, the time when many are heading back to school (in the Northern Hemisphere). I thought it would be a good time to share some lexical (and lexico-grammatical) activities to start the year.

Alliterative introductions

Students introduce each other using an adjective that alliterates with their name. Suitable for Pre-Intermediate (A2/B1) and up.

1. Introduce yourself using an adjective that starts with the same sound as (=alliterates with) your first name. There are several ways of doing (depending on the level):

Hi. I'm lexical Leo
Hi. I'mLeo and I'm lazy
Hi. My name isLeo and people call me Lovely Leo

2. Put students in pairs and ask them to come up with adjectives that alliterate with their names. Monitor and help with difficult letters, for example, M or V (e.g. ) - I've found THIS table which might be of help

3. Students introduce their partner to the class using the adjective and one of the above patterns. With higher levels you can ask students to justify the chosen adjective.

With lower-level classes and large classes you might end up with a lot of new adjectives which you would need to clarify. Bear in mind that presenting new words in semantic sets (i.e. semantically related words belonging to the same part of speech) has been shown to impede learning - see this POST

See THIS song activity focusing on alliterations

Sentences in a box

Students use sentence heads to make statements about themselves; suitable for Pre-Intermediate (B1) and up

Preparation

Prepare slips of paper with (some of) the following sentence starters (sentence heads). There should be a bit more papers than the number of students.

One thing I've always wanted to try is...
I was really surprised when...
I used to...
...really frightens me
I could easily... if I had do
I don't know the first thing about...
I don't much care for...
I've always wanted to...
I think English is...
One thing I'm afraid of is...
I wouldn't mind... It normally takes me...
What I don't like about ____ is...
I wish I could...
If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's...

1. Put all the papers in a box (e.g. shoe box). Circulate around the room with the box and ask students to take one strip of paper each.

2. Students complete the sentences so that they are true for them, fold them and put them back in the box.

3. Place the box in the centre of the room. Ask students to take a strip of paper out of the box and find out who the statement written on it belongs to. If, by chance, students pick out their own sentence, collect the papers from them (and a couple of other students) and redistribute by shuffling the papers in the box. To find out who has written the statement, students should mingle and talk to each other. They are not allowed to show each other the papers.

Encourage students to ask follow-up questions and, at the end, when the students have returned to their seats, ask some of them to report on what they've learned about their classmates.

I think I first saw this activity in a resource pack accompanying one the coursebooks in the Reward series (Heinemann/Macmillan)

Four square introductions

Students combine basic words and grammar to make sentences about themselves - suitable for beginners (A1) of any age

Preparation

Prepare a half A4 page (A5) sheet with four circles - see Example below. Make enough copies for each student in class. Alternatively, draw the circles on the board and ask students to copy.

1. Make sure students know the meaning of the verbs in the circles. Introduce yourself using the four circles to provide a model for students.

2. If students can write, ask them to write ONE sentence in the circle. If they can't, they should make a sentence orally. Monitor and help students by feeding in the vocabulary they may lack.

3. Allow some time for practising introducing each other in pairs; then call on each student and ask them to read out / say their sentences.

Now encourage them to write / think of two more sentences for each circle, for example:

I am tall / 38 years old
I live in a flat / with my parents
I have a car / two sisters
I like sushi / summer

Encourage students to incorporate as many words as they know.

From the upcoming book Lexical Grammar (CUP)

I know what you did last summer

This is basically a Find Someone Who (FSW) activity suitable for students who already know each other (i.e. they were in the same class last year) - with a "twist" at the end.

Preparation

Prepare a handout with (some of) the following statements:

What did your classmates do over the summer?
Find someone who...

1. tried to get in shape

2. pursued his/her favourite hobby

3. binge-watched her/his favourite TV show

4. went for a bike ride

5. lost weight

6. went to the beach and basked in the sun

7. got rid of the clutter in the house

8. cleaned up his/her email inbox

9. threw a party

10. got injured

11. took a cooking/photography/art class (insert one that fits if you know your students' interests)

12. came down with a virus

13. moved house

14. just took it easy

1. Distribute the handout. Clarify the meaning of 'difficult' lexical items, if necessary.

2. Students mingle asking and answering each others' questions.

3. Conduct whole class feedback by asking students to report back to class what they found out about their classmates.

4. Ask students to turn over the FSW handout and distribute a sheet with the same questions with the verbs blanked out. Alternatively, this can be displayed on the board/screen.

There is a mix of relatively easy, familiar verb-noun collocations here (e.g. went for a bike ride) and some potentially new ones (which you would have clarified in Step 1 above), such as binge-watch or came down (with) - I'm aiming for B1+/B2- level here. There are also a couple of 'problematic' collocations, such as threw a party or took a (photography) class.

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Do you have a favourite 'back-to-school' activity? Do share in the comments below.
And have a successful school year, in which I promise I'll be updating this blog more often :)

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Going back to school: some ideas for your first lesson(s) It's September, the time when many are heading back to school (in the Northern Hemisphere). I thought it would be a good time to share some lexical (and lexico-grammatical) activities to start the year. Students introduce each other using an adjective that alliterates with their name.

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Створення освiтнього середовища для вивчення англiйсько i мови

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Створення освiтнього середовища для вивчення англiйсько i мови

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A big bundle of speech bubbles with key phrases of classroom language will become a great visual aid for students and a useful resource for teachers.

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Ефективне спiлкування англiйською у великому класi 

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Ефективне спiлкування англiйською у великому класi 

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As ELT teachers we aim to create purposeful communication in the classroom because for many of our students it is their only exposure to the language. Institutions may, for a variety of reasons, try to get as many students into a single classroom as possible, inevitably creating large class sizes. So how do we manage to give students in such a setting the opportunity to really interact orally in the target language (TL)?

How large is large?

Firstly, it is worth considering whether size actually matters:
"the size is relative and a matter of perception that varies from teacher to teacher." (Shamin et al, 2007)
I went from a relatively small class size of 15 in the UK (feeling it was a large class when asked to teach 17/18), to teaching classes of 60-80 in rural Nepal, which felt truly daunting.

In order to do the teacher training required, I needed to experience and understand the difficulties of the teachers to try to help them find solutions. One such solution was to divide the class into units: 10 groups of 6 students were somehow easier to deal with mentally than 60 students. If you are going to break the class down in this way, you do not need to have them all doing the same thing at the same time.

It's not only the what, but the how

Various studies have been carried out over the years on the effects of class size upon learning, but the conclusions are mixed. Interestingly, the disagreement is often over whether the main factor is the class size or methodology.

I would dare to suggest that the key is to adapt our methodology. If we use the same methodology that we would use with 15 students, with 60-80, then we'll forever be fighting to keep all our students attention. The class takes on a controlling environment, for the teacher to be able to get the same message across to everyone at the same time.

When you change the methodology, you also change the role of the teacher. You may need some adjustment. I have found that it takes a lot more preparation, for example, for the different groups to be getting on with their task smoothly. Clear instructions that are written down (either on the board, a slide, or on a worksheet) allows students to double-check should they forget along the way, what it was that they were supposed to focus on. This frees up the teacher because students don't need to keep checking with them, thus allowing some quality time to be spent with each, or a select group of students. The teacher gets regular snapshots of the students' language abilities, as well as being able to add relevant input if required to keep students on the right track. The teacher, therefore, becomes a source of advice/suggestions and needs to think on their feet according to the task/the students in the group/the difficulties.

If the teacher knows their students well and has carefully planned the tasks around them, many of the issues can be anticipated. Which brings me on to a crucial question, how do we get to know our students if there are so many of them? I'll be talking about this and more on encouraging oral interaction in particular in my upcoming webinar "Too many to talk!" on the 13 th and 14 th September! Places are limited to register today, and I'll see you there.

Zarina Subhan is an experienced teacher and teacher trainer. She has taught and delivered teacher training at all levels and in both private and government institutions in over fifteen different countries as well as in the UK. Early on in her career, Zarina specialised in EAP combining her scientific and educational qualifications. From this developed an interest in providing tailor-made materials, which later led to materials writing that was used in health training and governance projects in developing countries. Since 2000 she has been involved in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), materials writing, training trainers and teachers in facilitation techniques and teaching methodology. Zarina is published and has delivered training courses, presentations, spoken at conferences worldwide, and continues to be a freelance consultant teacher educator.

Reference:

Shamin. F., N. Negash, C. Chuku, N. Demewoz (2007) Maximizing learning in large classes: Issues and options. Addis Ababa, British Council.

Categories: Skills, Teenagers, Uncategorized, Young Learners | Tags: Classroom management, Large classes, Professional Development, Speaking Class, Zarina Subhan | Permalink.

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Teach larger classes? Here's how to get them speaking in English!

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As ELT teachers we aim to create purposeful communication in the classroom because for many of our students it is their only exposure to the language. Institutions may, for a variety of reasons, try to get as many students into a single classroom as possible, inevitably creating large class sizes.