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A llitter pick is a practical community engagement activity that combines environmental volunteering with language learning, teamwork, and community pride.

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A nice way to plug into British values, as the BBC celebrates its centenary, there is lots of info about its past and present. BBC local radio has lots of local community links and BBC World Service may be a station that ESOL learners have listened to, or whose family have listened to over the decades.

Courtesy of Anne!

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100 years of Our BBC

Find out more about the BBC, part of all our lives for 100 years, keeping us informed, educated and entertained. Explore our programme anniversaries covering key series made by the BBC, dip in to the early years of the BBC Oral History Collection, and explore highlights from the Look out for our updates on BBC themed exhibitions, and additions to our trail of heritage blue plaques. The website contains excerpts from BBC programmes and services at various moments in time. The material should be viewed in this context and with the understanding that it reflects the attitudes and standards of its own era - not those of today. BBC History 100 Voices collaboration between the BBC and University of Sussex.

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100 years of Our BBC Find out more about the BBC, part of all our lives for 100 years, keeping us informed, educated and entertained. Explore our programme anniversaries covering key series made by the BBC, dip in to the early years of the BBC Oral History Collection, and explore highlights from the Look out for our updates on BBC themed exhibitions, and additions to our trail of heritage blue plaques.

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Organise a visit from the UK Parliament Outreach team to speak to your ESOL groups about the role of Parliament, voting, contacting your MP and much more. Here is a list of contacts per region/nation. Speakers are trained in ESOL awareness and resources have been adapted to suit this audience.
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/parliament-government-and-politics/parliament/parliamentary-outreach/

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List of the team per region_nation - UK Parliament 25

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Link to virtual tours here: https://www.royal.uk/virtual-tours-buckingham-palace

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The Courtauld

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Our ESOL programme uses artworks from The Courtauld Collection as a catalyst for language learning. ESOL l earners taking part in our Speaking About Art projects enjoy a wide range of lively, collaborative activities which encourage the develop ment of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills .

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British Museum, virtual tours & ESOL programme contact 

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British Museum, virtual tours & ESOL programme contact 

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Contact: Jo-Anne Sunderland Bowe.
Email: jsunderland@britishmusuem.org
or: esol@britishmuseum.org

Virtual Tour: https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/how-explore-british-museum-home

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Tours and workshops led by experienced language teachers and materials, designed to meet appropriate language needs.

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ESOL and Museums - links to more museums and their ESOL resources.

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ESOL and Museums - links to more museums and their ESOL resources.

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Use a local museum, gallery, tourist centre or historical building as a topic for your classes.

https://www.britishmuseum.org/learn/adult-learning/esol

http://www.heritec.com/museums-and-esol.html

https://www.bristolmuseums.org.uk/communities-young-people/esol-and-community-learning/

http://www.vam.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/178610/ESOL_Teachers.pdf

https://www.npg.org.uk/assets/media/Projects/esol/esol_preactivities.pdf

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/picture-this_esol_and_photography_toolkit.pdf

https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/communities/migrants-and-refugees/english-esol-classes-london/esol-plus-arts-hub#acc-i-66220 (Check 'Other creative projects'

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This link takes you to sample learning activities from Museum Wales. Use these resources as templates and adapt to your museum of choice.

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English resources to be used at St Fagans National Museum of History by ESOL learners. The resources are aimed at different levels of English learners and focus on different buildings around the museum. The resources were created as a result of a joint project between St Fagans National Museum of History and Cardiff and the Vale College. The project was funded as part of the HLF (Heritage Lottery Fund) redeveopment of St Fagans.

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ESOL (English as a Second or Other Language) Resources

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English resources to be used at St Fagans National Museum of History by ESOL learners. The resources are aimed at different levels of English learners and focus on different buildings around the museum. The resources were created as a result of a joint project between St Fagans National Museum of History and Cardiff and the Vale College.

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Virtual Tours of Buckingham Palace  & Windsor Castle- Resources

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Virtual Tours of Buckingham Palace  & Windsor Castle- Resources

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Courtesy of ISL Collective and ODILS.

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virtual tour of the tower of london virtual reality

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virtual tour of the tower of london in virtual reality

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Virtually explore Virtual tour of the Tower of London in a fully immersive 360-degree experience.

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Take a virtual tour inside Westminster Abbey.

Click below to view treasures including the Shrine of St Edward the Confessor, the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, the High Altar and the Coronation Chair in unprecedented detail.

If you are unable to bring your students to visit the Abbey in person, you can still access our highly skilled team of Learning Officers through our Virtual classrooms.

Tour created by Striking Places.

At different times of the day, or in different seasons, the light falling in the Abbey will light up something that you have walked past a million times and never seen before.

Vanessa, Head of Conservation

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Take a virtual tour inside Westminster Abbey. View treasures including the Grave of the Unknown Warrior, the High Altar and the Coronation Chair in detail.

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The Natural History Museum virtual tours

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The Natural History Museum virtual tours

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Virtual Museum: 12 ways to explore from home

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Delve into the Museum from home with a virtual self-guided tour, an interactive experience about blue whales and audio guides narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

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Overview and History"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." - Samuel JohnsonDo you know all the verses to the children's song, "London Bridge is falling down"? They will take you through the history of London so let's have a look, shall we?First we need a bridge, in order for it to fall down. The Romans were nice enough to build the first one, probably using a combination of floating platforms and walkways. During Roman times the River Thames was much wider and shallower than it is today, so you could get away with mud hopping. As London has grown it has continually reclaimed the riverbank and funneled the river into a tighter channel, causing no small floods in the lower-laying areas.Now, London Bridge first fell down and became a song when the English were fighting Viking invaders from Denmark. The English won by pulling down the Danish garrison and the bridge along with it. Whoops! Wood and clay will wash away, wash away, wash away. Well.. that's part of the story. In 1014 more Viking invaders decided the bridge was in the way of their tall ships, so they tied ropes to it and rowed at full speed to help the bridge wash away.Verse Three: "Build it up with bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar, bricks and mortar." The first stone construction began in 1176 and took thirty years to finish. This one lasted six centuries, but it still caught on fire and nearly collapsed a few times. This was the famous long-standing bridge bearing not only a church and houses, but also the heads of traitors preserved in tar and mounted on stakes. Of course, a multi-colored thread of zany events came to pass in the seven-century lifespan of the stone London Bridge -- witch burnings, boating collisions and drownings, the Plague -- it's all part of becoming the world's largest city, a rich title which London achieved in the nineteenth century. Oops! "Bricks and mortar will not stay, will not stay, will not stay." Build it up with iron and steel. The then-decrepit and chokingly narrow stone bridge was rebuilt by John Rennie in the 1830's. Legend has it that the British custom of driving on the left-hand side of the road was an early attempt to solve the congestion on the bridge.If you can believe what comes next, Rennie's bridge was SOLD to an American investor who carted it off to Arizona. That was 1968. The current London Bridge was dedicated in 1973. Its concrete and steel construction was financed by the sale of Rennie's stone bridge. Hmm... was this sale an elaborate financier's gambit, or just clever adaptation of existing circumstances? Getting ThereHeathrow Airport is the main one, although there are eight airports in the greater London area. Heathrow is the world's busiest airport in terms of international flights.Other main airports are Gatwick and Stansted, all have good transportation links into central London, choose rail or bus.TransportationWith the oldest and best underground system in the world, you can literally get anywhere quickly, the 'tubes' do get a little overcrowded, so why not see the sites above the ground and take a bus or river boat.Like Hong Kong, London uses the Oyster card system to let you pay electronically for all sorts of things, especially moving your body from place to place. Fares go for about two pounds per ride for the underground and £1 for the bus. Travel cards have a cool price cap on the bulk ticket purchases, so you can ride more without being charged more, after a certain point.Consider avoiding the much loved 'black cabs' for long journeys, as it can be an expensive way to sit in traffic. Traffic can get busy in central London, but is improving alot since the introduction of the now very famous 'congestion charge'.People and CultureThe British invented marmalade to protect their mighty navy from scurvy, and they drink a lot of tea ! "Thank you very much and have a lovely evening".Well, those are the stereotypes. British culture can have the reputation of being stuffy and repressively polite, but the warmth and volume of pub life more than make up for it. The people in general are hilarious, sarcastic and quick-witted. They love their pints, their fish and chips and their football. Like other megalopoliptic international and throbbing cities, London is tricky to congeal into a sliceable pat that one might conceivably be able to spread on one's toast. You'll simply have to come here and see it for yourself.Things to do & RecommendationsFirst off, read some Shakespeare so you understand why you need to go to the Globe Theatre. Think about the double and triple meanings built into the text; this will give you a foundation in the British sense of humor you're walking into.With that under your belt, walk on into The London Dungeons. When you're finished looking at these cages for people, you can look at some cages for animals at the London Zoo!Science lovers can teleport right over to the Natural History Museum and laugh at the dinosaurs, who couldn't tele-anything.The British museums are some of the best in the world, possibly even the best, owing to the Empire's history of world exploration. The National Gallery houses some of the greatest Western painting anywhere.London is basically jam-packed full of history, food, music, theatre, art, banks and people to boggle your brains. I would try to describe it to you, but...But Samuel Johnson already said it best.Text by Steve Smith.

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Inside St Paul's Cathedral 360 Panorama | 360Cities

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Overview and History"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." - Samuel JohnsonDo you know all the verses to the children's song, "London Bridge is falling down"?

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Explore a 360° view of our world-famous auditorium.

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Step inside the Globe Theatre

Everyone, no matter where they are in the world, can now walk around Shakespeare's Globe with our virtual tour and 360 iOS app.

Use this page or download the app to tour the Globe Theatre from the comfort of your own home. Our interactive 360 degrees virtual tour uses photos, videos and audible wonder to guide you along the way.

This online digital tour is free. We ask that you consider a donation to us in return, as a charity currently relying on your support more than ever before. Thank you.
DONATE

Using your mouse or your finger if you are on a mobile or tablet tap the box that says "VIEW 360".

Then click and hold or tap and drag the screen to look around the interior of the Globe Theatre.

Tap on the circles and explore the images, videos and sounds that are located around the Globe Theatre.

Tap out when you are done and keep tapping away to find discover more!

Have fun and keep on discovering!

Packed with interesting facts, videos and photos, our free app allows anyone in the world to explore a virtual version of the world's most iconic theatre.

Move around the virtual theatre, zoom in and out and reveal the theatre's oak frame. Venture through the oak doors and head inside, where you can explore the theatre as stunning 360 degree images. Locations include an actor's-eye view from the stage, backstage in the tiring-house, the musicians' gallery and standing in the Yard.

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Walk around the Globe Theatre at Shakespeare's Globe with our online virtual tour and 360 iOS app.

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LIVE! See the skies above Stonehenge

The Skyscape website has been created by English Heritage to enable people around the world to experience the skies above the iconic stone circle, to learn about movements of the sun, moon and planets and to see the solar alignment at Stonehenge

Aside from the technical and informational aspects of Skyscape it's also our hope that you'll enjoy it from a more human perspective. We've created a webpage which offers a small escape, a pleasant place to visit, to which you can return frequently, even within a single day, and connect with the land, the stones and the skies above.

GO TO SKYSCAPE

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Take an interactive tour of Stonehenge with our incredible 360 degree view from inside the monument.

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Experience a taste of the Eden Project from wherever you are in the world. Enjoy unseen perspectives from live 360° camera streams in the Rainforest and Mediterranean Biomes and explore aerial views and 360° photos around our global gardens.

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Virtual tours | Visiting | National Gallery, London

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Wherever you are in the world, take a tour of the National Gallery.

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Take a virtual tour of the Giant's Causeway

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Discover the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland on a virtual tour with the National Trust.

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Here are Quicktime® VR's of some of the many historic sights in Britain which you can visit on our personal tours. The Beatles' Abbey Road, Leeds Castle, Gloucester Cathedral, Stonehenge, the Tower of London, Oxford and many more

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Here are Quicktime® VR's of some of the many historic sights in Britain which you can visit on our personal tours. The Beatles' Abbey Road, Leeds Castle, Gloucester Cathedral, Stonehenge, the Tower of London, Oxford and many more

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https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/twinkl-partnerships/uk-parliament-partnerships

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Twinkl resources - what is Palriament lesson pack

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Video - 'How BBC Television first went live'

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Video - 'How BBC Television first went live'

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This video is more suitable for L1/2 and some vocab will need pre-teaching.

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How BBC television first went live - BBC News

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Video - 'The BBC is something that belongs to all of us #ThisIsOurBBC'. 

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Video - 'The BBC is something that belongs to all of us #ThisIsOurBBC'. 

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Publicity trailer leading to the BBC's centenary.

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The BBC is something that belongs to all of us. #ThisIsOurBBC

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The project aimed to interweave language learning with arts-based activities between April 2020 and March 2021.

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COMPASS was an ESOL plus arts project designed and delivered in partnership with Groundwork London and Counterpoints Arts. The project aimed to interweave language learning with arts-based activities and ran between April 2020 and March 2021.

COMPASS engaged with 70 English learners and 12 volunteers. Participants joined remotely from across London. Throughout the project art was embedded into the English classes and provided participants with the opportunity and time to express themselves differently.

A set of ESOL plus arts sessions were designed by Dima Karout a visual artist and educator with international experience. Dima delivered these sessions in partnership with Groundwork London's English Tutors, Caroline Chapman and Tracy Faron who also delivered a series of related ESOL classes drawing out themes from the arts sessions.

A video summary of the project and a downloadable toolkit can be found below.

We are delighted to share a sample of some of the incredible artwork created by our participants. The art pieces are grouped here according to the session theme.

Bridges

Participants discussed iconic bridges in London and countries of origin, exploration of the concept of friendships, building communities, bridges and connections between people.

Fingerprints

During this theme, participants were asked to read text on topics that included the Fire of London and 'Walls' and our relation to cities. All chose a word from the text to speak about exploring ideas and their imagination.

Objects/Borders

Participants shared ideas about cross-border, friendships and meaningful objects that have survived many borders and relate them to a happy moment.

Branches

During this theme, participants were invited to read texts on the Greenwich Observatory, Hyde Park, the Serpentine Galleries and 'Branches'. All produced artwork inspired by the conversations and their experiences with nature and their ideas of growing and replanting their roots.

Before I was scared and didn't have confidence as it was all new to me, I didn't speak English and couldn't speak to other people face to face. Before I was shaking when I had to speak to people, but because of your help, it's excellent. You help to make people more confident, now I speak with the doctor, now I can speak for 10 minutes on the phone. You help people.

Nadia | Participant

Toolkit:

A toolkit has been produced which shares reflections, practical tips and lessons learnt from the project. This is available to download here:
Click here to download the toolkit (PDF)
COMPASS worked with Groundwork London's CIRCLE and IMPACT integration projects.

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COMPASS was an ESOL plus arts project designed and delivered in partnership with Groundwork London and Counterpoints Arts. The project aimed to interweave language learning with arts-based activities and ran between April 2020 and March 2021. COMPASS engaged with 70 English learners and 12 volunteers. Participants joined remotely from across London.

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Article showcasing that lessons based around works of art have many benefits for both the teacher and the students.

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As the saying goes, 'Art is all around us'. In its many forms it presents fantastic opportunities for discussion, focused language work and skills-based activities. However, this bottomless cultural resource is largely underused by many language teachers. In this article I will describe its place in the classroom by exploring the following areas and discussing some practical ideas

Potential problems and solutions
Why use art?
Lessons based around works of art have many benefits for both the teacher and the students.

1. Responding to art can be very stimulating and can lead onto a great variety of activities. In its simplest form this might be describing a painting, but with a little creativity all sorts of things are possible. For example, the well-known 'grammar auction' activity can be redesigned as an art auction, where the students have to say a sentence about the piece of art - anything they like - and then the rest of the students bid according to how accurate they feel the sentence is.

2. Using art provides a useful change of pace. While many teachers use visual images to introduce a topic or language item, actually asking the students to engage with and respond to the piece of art can encourage students to become involved on quite a different level.

3. Incorporating art into the class or syllabus can take the students out of the classroom and encourage them to use their language skills in the real world. A visit to an art exhibition or an assignment that involves research on the internet can generate all sorts of language.

4. Thinking about or even creating art can be very motivating. It can take the emphasis off of accuracy and put it onto fluency and the ability to clearly express thoughts and ideas. This is great for students whose progress in speaking is hindered by a fear of making mistakes.

5. Responding to art has the potential to develop students' creative and critical thinking skills. Students as low as pre-intermediate level will be able to read a short biography of an artist and discuss how their art depicts different aspects of their lives.

These are just some of the reasons why art can be successfully used in the language classroom. Now let's have a look at some of the common problem areas and try to identify some solutions for these.
Potential problems and solutions
Problem: As we all know, art is very subjective and therefore we may be faced with students who are reluctant to engage with the chosen examples of art.

Solution: Encourage students to either choose which works of art are explored, or alternatively ensure that a variety of styles are represented. Choosing art that has some relevance to the students is always a good idea, either from its subject matter or the background of the artist.

Problem: Students (and teachers!) may not perceive some art-related activities to be useful for language learning.

Solution: As this is our primary goal, it is therefore very important to structure activities carefully so that there is a clear outcome and learning point. For example, a simple discussion about the meaning behind a piece of modern art can be combined with input on functional language for giving opinions and agreeing and disagreeing. Meanwhile, other activities can be language-led. For example, using a piece of art to generate wh- questions which are then given to another pair of students to answer. Considering structure will also help to control the direction of discussion/lessons based around responding to art. This can otherwise sometimes be difficult.
Three ways of using art 1. Looking at art
There are lots of different activities that involve students looking at and responding to pieces of art. For example:

A ranking discussion where students choose a famous work of art for the school to hang in its lobby or voting for the winner from the Turner Prize shortlist

Ask the students to choose a character from a painting or sculpture and write a mini-biography or story about that character

Compare two pieces of art with similar subjects, practising comparative language and adjectives

Ask the students to look at the website of a famous gallery (see some links below) and write a quiz about the works of art to swap with the other students to answer

Write questions to ask an artist or a character in a painting. Then role play the interview in pairs, followed by writing up a news article about the interview (using reported speech).
2. Sharing art

Ask the students to identify and bring in a copy of a piece of art by an artist from their country. Make a gallery in the classroom and ask the students to decide on a title for each piece of work in groups.

Ask the students to bring in a photograph they have taken and ask the other students to write a short story about the events leading up to the moment the photograph was taken (practising past tenses) and/or what happened after the photograph was taken. Then check whether their guess was right with the owner.

Get the students to bring in a piece of art that represents their childhood and ask the other students to form sentences about what they 'used to do' and/or write questions to ask the owner who brought it in
3. Creating art

Put the students into groups and ask them to create a piece of art using a variety of easily found materials - plastic bags, string, tissues, cardboard boxes - whatever you have to hand! Get them to title their piece of work and judge them according to originality, teamwork and use of materials

Do a visualisation exercise where you get the students to imagine painting the most beautiful picture they have ever seen. Then ask them to describe the picture to a partner who tries to draw it

Get the students to record vocabulary by writing the letters in a way that depicts the meaning of a word - this works best with adjectives. For example, 'happy' can be written in the form of a smile.

To get feedback on a course, ask the students to draw a picture in groups to represent how they felt about the course and then describe/explain it to you and the other students.
Conclusion
As I hope I have demonstrated in this article, art definitely has a place in the language classroom and can be used in many different ways. It is a great resource for discussions as well as practising a variety of language. Activities incorporating art are motivating for students, provide an often welcome change of pace and can stimulate and develop creative and critical thinking skills.

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As the saying goes, 'Art is all around us'. In its many forms it presents fantastic opportunities for discussion, focused language work and skills-based activities. However, this bottomless cultural resource is largely underused by many language teachers.

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https://www.eslbase.com/teaching/using-art-esl-classroom

https://www.linguahouse.com/en-GB/esl-lesson-plans/topic/art

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/genevaloeck/esol-in-the-art-room/

https://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/curricula/esl3/

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Does art have a place in language learning? I believe it does. Children are naturally creative. They respond to visual images and have most active imaginations. Isn't creating images what art is all about? Art can assist a teacher with many aspects of teaching English.

You don't have to be an artist. If you have artistic talents, then you likely already know the value art can have in the language classroom. If not, here are some ideas for you.

Teaching colors

Use art when you are teaching the names of colors:

Primary: White, Black, Red, Blue, Yellow

Secondary: Green, Pink, Orange, Brown, Purple, Gray

What about sky blue, teal, magenta, lilac, scarlet, azure, chartreuse, burgundy, crimson, apple green, lemon or canary yellow, burnt orange, dusty pink, forest green, battleship gray, chocolate brown, mahogany, tan, ivory, off-white, etc.

A color wheel can help you to demonstrate these. Pick up some car brochures from local dealers and see how they describe the colors of their vehicles. These can augment a lesson on using more descriptive adjectives. In one lesson, I first show my class a black and white illustration of a typical office situation with several people engaged in various routines. The students describe what people are doing. Then, I show the students a color version and have them elaborate on their description. Color makes a big difference.

Teaching shapes and tools

You can use art to teach shapes and simple tools artists use (including tools students use every day such as pencils, pens, erasers, rulers, etc.)

Vocabulary building

A book with different styles of paintings makes a great vocabulary building reference tool. Every painting can be a topic for discussion. Even just reading the various descriptions in the book can be a worthwhile language activity.

I had a two-CD set of 'Great Museums of the World'. You could use your computer mouse to navigate through each museum on the screen, enter different rooms and zoom in on a specific painting - even a section of the painting - which would prompt a pop-up description of what the artist had done. Aside from its artistic merit, what a great teaching tool! Unfortunately, it remained at a former school. I must look for it again.

Drawing programs such as Paint, Corel Draw, ZBrush, Smart Draw, ArtRage and Twisted Brush can be useful if you have artistically inclined learners. Pick a program and open the tutorial section. Students can greatly improve their vocabulary as they learn to use the program. There is a whole world of digital art and digital artists who use these programs to create images for cartoons, animated films and book covers. Creatures that you see in films were more often than not created on a computer. There are special digital art magazines (quite pricey!) and regular art magazines (not so pricey). Any one of these should start our creative and artistic ESL juices flowing. Check out the magazine section of a major bookseller in your area. I have used one of these in an English Conversation class to talk about the images in the magazine.

Speaking practice

If, like me, you are teaching in a different culture, students can be invited to bring in a piece of art and 'show and tell'. This is a wonderful speaking opportunity. Think of possible related research and writing assignments you could apply as well. Local artists? Local museums or art galleries? Exhibitions? Art schools? Painting clubs? Any of these may have someone who would be willing to come in to talk to your class about what they do - maybe even put on a short demonstration.

Writing practice

Finally, students can use their artistic talents to illustrate their writing efforts - essays, short stories, descriptions of homes, friends, family, vacation, and other such typical ESL topics. I have had students make Japanese scroll stories where they have six or so panels on which to write and illustrate a short story. They then tape the panels together to form a scroll, tying the finished product with a ribbon. In the next class, students untie their scrolls and read their stories to the class.

Art can add another dimension to teaching English and is another way you can take advantage of local resources to support your efforts. Through the Internet, you have the whole artistic world at your beck and call.

If you use art in your class, I'd be interested in hearing from you.

Written by Robert WF Taylor
If you would like a copy of Robert's e-book "Introduction to Teaching Overseas", e-mail rwftaylor@gmail.com. Dr Robert Taylor has been teaching English in Thailand for close to ten years. He also teaches the e-learning TESOL course for Sunbridge Institute of English. www.teachesl.org

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Using Art in the ESL Classroom - Eslbase.com

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Does art have a place in language learning? I believe it does. Children are naturally creative. They respond to visual images and have most active imaginations. Isn't creating images what art is all about? Art can assist a teacher with many aspects of teaching English. You don't have to be an artist.

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8 Fun Ways to Use Google Maps for Content Based ESL Instruction

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8 Fun Ways to Use Google Maps for Content Based ESL Instruction

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Courtesy of Elena!

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Maps are intriguing documents.

Google Maps takes this to a whole other level.

You can get lost staring at Google Maps, exploring new places from a bird's eye or first-person view.

Each time you play with Google Maps you're learning about something new: a city, a border, a river's winding path.

But can these colors, shapes and lines help teach English to our ESL students?

Of course!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

8 Fun Ways to Use Google Maps for Content Based ESL Instruction

Why Teach ESL Students with Google Maps?

With Google Maps we can make map work not only about reading but also about creating language. So, why do you want this lesson to be learned through maps in your classroom?

It's more fun. Learning academic English requires a certain amount of repetitive tasks, but doing the same activities with maps adds variety.

You can educate about geography, culture and history. It's no secret that many people are unfamiliar with these aspects of their own home countries, let alone foreign countries. Learning language through these subjects will teach them not only English skills, but also relevant information about the world that will be useful in their future studies and interactions. If you teach younger students, you may want to also consider checking out the "Early Explorers" subscription from Little Passports. It includes monthly, geography-themed packages for educational adventures.

You create authentic contexts for writing and research. Writing practice sentences with only a grammatical purpose can feel meaningless. Giving students particular contexts to demonstrate their knowledge can be highly motivating and can engage a broader range of developing English skills.

You can make real texts approachable. ESL-oriented texts are fantastic for beginners, but students should be exposed to texts that they'll encounter outside of the ESL classroom.

You can make reading, writing and research more interactive. Maps connect us to the world at large. Students can feel that these activities are actually part of a dialogue with their peers and the community around them.

You can inspire curiosity about the world outside of their home country. This curiosity will motivate students to actually want to have conversations in English, read about different cultures and so on. Curiosity also generally leads to critical thinking and questioning.

You can make writing and reading practice more eco-friendly through paperless assignments. Why not save a few trees if we can do the same amount of practice?

You can provoke empathy and compassion. I hope I'm not the only teacher who is in this profession to make the world a better place. As teachers, we can provide a context for students to think more deeply and openly about people in other parts of the world - or even in their own country.

You can provide an opportunity for students to share their ideas with each other and the world. Many teachers have found that giving students a place to publish their final copies of something raises the quality of student work as well as their sense of accomplishment. Let's raise their self-esteem and make them feel empowered with their English.

You can appeal to the diverse types of intelligence your students possess. These activities allow students who might not normally have success in language study to shine in their particular skill area, such as spatial understanding or geographic knowledge.

You can familiarize students with emerging technology. Students who are proficient in technology will be better prepared for most international job markets and universities.

Google Map Basics for the Technologically Challenged

Creating maps through Google Maps is an excellent way for students to practice English, and the process can be mastered by following a few basic steps. You don't have to be a tech wizard to learn to navigate this tool!

I generally have students create their own accounts and maps, but students or classes could also create a group account and share a password.

Here is what your students should do. Why not try it first yourself and see just how easy it is?
Learning English with Google Maps in 9 Steps
Step 1: Create a Google account (if you do not already have one).

Step 2: Sign into your Google account.

Step 3: Go to the Google Maps page and click on the map search bar. A window will drop down that says "My Maps." Click on "Create."

Step 4: Click on "Untitled Map" to type in a name and description.

Step 5: Search places in the map search bar. When you find what you're looking for, click on the icon that looks like a balloon to add a marker. Put your cursor over the location and click to add the marker.

Step 6: A screen will appear where you can title the marker, add a description and links. By clicking on the camera icon you can add videos or photos.

Step 7: Be sure to save changes.

Step 8: Continue to search and add locations. There are also tools that can be used to draw lines and measure distances. Add different layers if your map becomes too cluttered.

Step 9: Make the map public or send the link to your teacher. You can keep adding to your map as an ongoing project.

8 Classroom Activity Ideas Using Google Maps

These are just a few ideas of how you might adopt Google Maps into your classroom, and all of them can be adjusted to suit your class size, ability and interests. Most activities can be done individually, in pairs or as a group. If you have access to computers at your school it could be classwork. If not, assign some of these things as homework or long-term projects.
Newspaper Maps
Reading the newspaper is a common activity, but students often do not have enough background information about the context to fully comprehend the article. To develop a deeper understanding of the topic they've read about, students can create maps about the news articles they read.

These maps can include summaries as well as other information about the place: relevant history, demographics, famous food, photos of nature, music clips or anything the students find helpful or interesting. Advanced students can compare two articles on the same topic and answer questions related to tone and inference to prepare for the TOEFL Reading section.

I usually do this as an ongoing reading activity, and my students add new entries each week with requirements appropriate for their levels. They can feel a real sense of accomplishment at the end of the term, looking back on all the things they've read and learned. With time, they realize reading is not just what is on the page but also the knowledge we actively accumulate.
Dream Vacation Maps
Even advanced ESL students often struggle to construct logical and grammatically correct sentences, particularly when they're working with more complex structures. One entertaining way to practice sentences is to have students make dream vacation maps describing their perfect trip around the world or a road trip around a country. This activity fosters the relationship between grammar and imagination which, in my opinion, is what makes a good student transform into an awesome student.

With beginners I often give basic sentence stems, but you can fine-tune this to assess and perfect any grammar you're working with in class. I've even accomplished this with my most grammarless classes using phrases like, "I want to _______" and "I'd like to ___________." As with most writing assignments, I give students a clear rubric. I sometimes even include unique challenges, like spelling out an English word with the countries/cities they visit, figuring out how to travel with a certain amount of money or how to give back to a community they visit.
Listening Log Maps
Many teachers require listening logs. Not only does this waste lot of paper, it also doesn't encourage much interaction. Instead, students can make ongoing listening maps in which they find the setting of the news or film and write summaries there.

I have them write reflection questions for each entry along with the summary and link. They then select questions that interest them from other students' maps to write short responses or have small group discussions, making the listening practice more interactive and meaningful.
Street View Descriptions
Street view can create an excellent stimulus for students to practice descriptive writing because it gives students a frozen moment in time instead of a picture-perfect postcard.

I often have them choose three places anywhere in the world that they've never been to but are interested in learning about. Doing this activity after students have already learned about similes, metaphors and sensory details will give them some rich descriptive tools to work with and make them feel more confident. This activity can also function really well as a class project and can encourage students to research a variety of intriguing places stretching around the globe.
Literary Analysis Maps
Reading a novel as a non-native speaker can be very overwhelming and many students, understandably, give up.

One way to add life to the text is to have them map out the characters' actions or the author's life, or both. Students could research the history that is relevant to the novel, marking particular historical events that relate to that period of time. Making maps will help them to remember and understand events, motivations, messages and settings.

This activity is also an excellent way to introduce MLA citation in a way that's more approachable than a full literary analysis essay, but can certainly be a stepping stone towards writing one.
Interactive Encyclopedia Maps
You don't have to look to far-off destinations. Instead, students can make an online encyclopedia about their local area. They can make audio tours, record short films, take photos, record local music or festivals or anything they feel is important about the place they live.

My students have collectively made an encyclopedia about the city they live in by visiting different places to take pictures and do research. Not only is it more exciting for the students to write paragraphs, it also encourages them to learn more about their own culture and history.
Speech Maps
While using PowerPoint for presentations tends to be the norm, you can mix things up a bit by having students do a speech or presentation about a place which includes information they've got on their map. This works well for presentations on a country, history, food, music, literature, culture, anthropology, politics or, well, just about anything.

The best part is that learners can have a look at the key points the night before the presentation for their homework and prepare questions or learn unfamiliar vocabulary.
Peer Editing Maps
All of the above assignments will need some refining, and for this I use focused peer editing because it's a fantastic way for them to learn how to correct mistakes in their own compositions and improve their scores on the TOEFL Structure section. With Google Maps you do not have to worry about wasting paper, and students can even do it as homework. I don't know about you, but I never feel that I have enough time in my writing classes to get everything done.

I email students a rubric when they receive the writing assignment, clearly outlining what they'll be graded on, and they post their writing on Google maps. When they peer edit, they use the same rubric to respond. They asses their fellow student's work and email their suggestions to both me and the peer. The students respond to the feedback they received and finalize their entry before I read and grade it.

I hope those ideas can get you started and that your students enjoy your tech-savvy, cutting-edge lesson style.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere.Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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8 Fun Ways to Use Google Maps for Content Based ESL Instruction

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Maps are intriguing documents. Google Maps takes this to a whole other level. You can get lost staring at Google Maps, exploring new places from a bird's eye or first-person view. Each time you play with Google Maps you're learning about something new: a city, a border, a river's winding path.

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Courtesy of Elena!

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A fun way to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) students is through food! There are many different ways to teach food, from written and spoken texts to real-life settings. It's not easy being a teacher, and coming up with creative and new ways to teach is a constant challenge. These ideas should help you get started with ways to incorporate food-related materials on teaching English.

Here are 7 ways to teach English through food-related materials.

1. Watch Cooking Shows
Watching cooking shows are fun and entertaining but also are educational. Students learn not only how to cook but also how to talk about it. Learn special English terminology in context and add audio and visual for a powerful, engaging learning experience.
Have students listen carefully to cooking show hosts for food vocabulary and cooking terms by using worksheets. A worksheet could have two lists of vocabulary, one with adjectives like silver dollar and ripe and one with nouns like pancakes and blackberries. Students then connect the vocabulary correctly, silver dollar pancakes and ripe blackberries. Students will be able to pick up the words better while listening.

How-to-cook cooking show hosts tend to talk at a slower pace and more clearly. They often describe their actions while doing them, such as "Let's get the mixer going" or "I'm going to grab my spatula."
Our picks

Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa

Ree Drummond's The Pioneer Woman

Giada's Giada Entertains

Demaris Phillip's Southern at Heart

Two more ESL classroom activities using cooking shows include role play and mock cooking competitions.

Role-play Have students role-play cooking in front of the class or in groups. Use props or actual food to make the activity more fun. Sharing food and talking about it always create a community and make a relaxed environment conducive to learning.

Cooking Competitions Does your class like competitions? Turn how-to cook demonstrations into competitions. Have mystery baskets with 4 unknown ingredients that the students must use and cook with. If there are no kitchen facilities on-site, have students use the ingredients and cook a dish at home, and then bring to class to share, taste-test, and decide the best tasting dish. Students apply what they've been watching on tv and practice their new vocabulary. Plus they'll be better cooks!

2. Eat at a restaurant
Arrange for your class to eat at a restaurant. As preparation, teach students phrases to use at the restaurant:

What's the specialty for the day?

How is the steak cooked?

We'd like another order of onion blossoms.

Check, please.

Before or at the restaurant, have students study the menu and circle new words. Talk about the words as you wait for the meal. Once the food arrives, have the students describe to one another their dish using the new vocabulary.
Bonus: Turn your dining into a cultural experience. Eat at a local pizzeria, such as this one in Peachtree City, GA, or this one in Gainesville, FL. Pizza is always a favorite.
Have students preview the menu on the website before hand to start learning the vocabulary (and deciding what they want to order!)

-> If your class can't go to a restaurant, simulate one by setting up a mock restaurant in the classroom. Have students design menus and role play being customers and waiters.

3. Attend food events or festivals
Have your class attend local fresh markets or a food festival to learn English while sampling new foods. Attend dinners, seminars, and tasting booths to learn food vocabulary. Visit with winemakers, chefs, cooking stars, and passionate fans while enjoying the many events. Students will have fun, learn new vocabulary, and develop their confidence in using English to talk about food.

-> If your class can't do these types of activities, then invite guest food experts, such as chefs, farmers, or food specialty entrepreneurs, to talk to the class. They will enjoy sharing their passion and students will learn a lot of insight from people in the food business.

4. Study menus
Menus are rich in adjectives and highly specific vocabulary. Collect menus, with your students' help! Collect a variety: fast-food (Subway), fast-casual (Panera's), sit-down (PF Chang's), family-owned (local restaurant), franchise (Olive Garden), cheap (food truck), expensive (steak restaurant), etc.
Cheaper restaurants have menus that use shorter and simpler words, making them a good start on building basic food vocabulary: decaf, sides, delicious. Expensive restaurants tend to have more complex language with clauses, multiple adjectives, and long, fancy words: decaffeinated, accompaniments, hand-crafted. Compare for instance two different menus from The Cheesecake Factory and then from The Capital Grille.

Compare with other menus, such as this upscale four-dish dinner from The Capital Grille, a fine steakhouse:

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE with bright curried apples
BONE-IN KONA CRUSTED DRY-AGED NY STRIP WITH SHALLOT BUTTER our acclaimed coffee-rubbed, boldly flavored NY strip
CREAMED SPINACH blended with a béchamel sauce for extra creaminess
WARM FUJI APPLE CROSTATA with vanilla ice cream

Point out that certain adjectives make food more appetizing and descriptive, like fire roasted salsa, omelets with fresh eggs, a steaming bowl of chunky chili.

Bonus: Read linguist Dan Jurafsky's chapter on "How to read a menu" from his book The Language of Food.

5. Order takeout
No doubt, talking on the phone in a foreign language is difficult. You don't get to see the facial expressions to see if you're being understood nor do you get the cues to understand what is being said to you. But, it gets easier with practice.
Have students role play ordering food on the phone. This makes a great follow-up activity after the menu lesson above since you can use the same menus. Have students write out a script with their order. Specify that they order at least a drink, appetizer, main, sides, dessert, and one modification. Here's a script for ordering restaurant menus with the phone. Have students order from easier menus to start with, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches, for instance, where basic ingredients are given and then customized.
Slim 1: Ham + Provolone + Bacon + Avocado

6. Listen to food radio and podcasts
Radio and podcasts are ways for students to keep immersed in English beyond the classroom. Students can listen to English all day on their headphones as they ride the bus, go for a walk, drive to class, wait in line at the coffee shop, etc. There are lots of podcasts and radio shows to listen to that are food-related.
Our picks:

7. Read Cookbooks
Cookbooks are a fun and familiar text, making it a great ESL resource. Recipes look similar across languages and are divided into manageable sections. Note the title, headnote (initial description), list of ingredients, and directions, each given in small paragraphs, and side notes with tips, facts, or variations.
Cookbooks are not as intimidating as news and are more timeless in topic and language. Plus, appetizing food photos support the text and make it more appealing to read. The visual will help students remember the vocabulary and visualize the dish. Photos will help students remember what "roasted chicken and caramelized lemons" means, and help them imagine the recipe directions develop into a dish.

Bring into class a variety of cookbooks, both American and ethnic cuisine, celebrity and non-celebrity. Free recipe cards from the grocery store will work great too. Compare the different language, foods, images, design layout, etc. Ask students what recipes catch their eye and why/why not.

Bonus - Discussion prompts can be to think about the future of print cookbooks with online recipes being so ubiquitous.

Cookbook Assignment- Have students write their own cookbooks for a final project. Some might even turn their cookbooks into Christmas gifts or as safe-keeping family recipes. Here is a resource for you on preparing for the lesson on how to write a cookbook.

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Teach English Through Food | K and K Matwick

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A fun way to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) students is through food! There are many different ways to teach food, from written and spoken texts to real-life settings. It's not easy being a teacher, and coming up with creative and new ways to teach is a constant challenge.

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Making British Biscuits - video & lesson

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Making British Biscuits - video & lesson

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This lesson is about making British shortbread biscuits. It provides learners with practice of listening to a recipe and of talking and writing about a traditional recipe from their countries.

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Making British biscuits | ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES

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This lesson develops learners’ vocabulary of food items and focuses on words beginning with ‘b’ and ‘p’. Learners have many opportunities to learn the vocabulary, practice their pronunciation and spell the words.

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This lesson develops learners' vocabulary of food items and focuses on words beginning with 'b' and 'p'. Learners have many opportunities to learn the vocabulary, practise their pronunciation and spell the words.

Web links for this resource:

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This lesson develops learners' vocabulary of food items and focuses on words beginning with 'b' and 'p'. Learners have many opportunities to learn the vocabulary, practise their pronunciation and spell the words. Web links for this resource:

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English & Cooking worksheets - ISL Collective

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English & Cooking worksheets - ISL Collective

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185 Cooking English ESL worksheets pdf & doc

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A selection of English ESL cooking printables

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When we first opened our doors in 1759, we proudly declared ourselves a place for 'all studious and curious persons'. It's a mission we're still dedicated to - even if you can't visit us in person yet. With that in mind, we'd like to share the many ways in which you can explore our galleries and the collection online.

So, here are 11 ways for you to stay curious, keep learning, and experience over two million years of human history - all without stepping out your front door.

1. Virtual Museum tours with Google Street View

Did you know that the Museum is the world's largest indoor space on Google Street View? You can go on a virtual visit to more than 60 galleries - perfect for creating your own bespoke tour around your favourites. See highlights like the Rosetta Stone in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery or discover gems like the beautiful textiles in the Sainsbury African Galleries.

The Rosetta Stone on Google Street View

As well as allowing you to plan your own route through our labyrinthine galleries, Google Street View has the advantage of letting you see the collection when the Museum is blissfully quiet.
Drop into the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery
2. Keep exploring with virtual galleries

We also offer virtual galleries on our own website. You can explore our extensive Prints and Drawings collection to see Old Masters such as Dürer and Michelangelo or see new and exciting contemporary pieces. Dive into the incredible Oceania collection and uncover a vast array of objects from Australia, New Guinea and the many islands dotted across the South Pacific Ocean.
Step into the galleries here
3. Go behind the scenes with the Museum Podcast

If you'd prefer some company on your journey around the Museum, try downloading the British Museum Podcast. You'll join presenters Sushma Jansari and Hugo Chapman as they take you on a journey behind the scenes at the Museum - meeting scientists, curators, authors and artists along the way.

Hugo and Sushma's recent adventures include learning about mysterious 'mummy goo', learning about the perils of poison arrows in the collection and going on a trip to the Museum's own X-ray lab.

The British Museum Podcast is free, and available wherever you get your podcasts.

4. Liven up home learning with our digital resources

Whether you're searching for a little inspiration or more in-depth resources, we're here to help. The Museum has a broad range of free learning resources available on our website, covering ages 3-16+. Excite inquisitive minds as you teach them how Egyptian mummies were made, or learn about what the Romans ate and drank - then try out a recipe for honeyed bread together.

Our resources cover a wide range of curriculum links, including History, Art and Design and RE and we offer materials on diverse topics such as Sutton Hoo, Egypt, Rome, prehistoric Britain and the Vikings.
Explore the full range of online resources
5. Immerse yourself with audio tours

To get expert insights into the collection, listen to Museum curators introduce the galleries - each snippet offers a tantalising overview to whet your appetite. Available on Apple Music and YouTube Music, our world-leading curators have recorded introductions to 64 galleries so you can go on an adventure taking in anything from Assyrian lion hunts to Chinese jade. The tracks have also been translated into Korean, Chinese, Italian and Spanish.

Our Desire, Love, Identity audio tour explores LGBTQ histories in the collection. Narrated by renowned actor Simon Russell Beale and star of Killing Eve Fiona Shaw, the tour draws out previously hidden stories of same-sex love and desire from the collection. You'll hear about the 2,000-year-old Warren Cup - referred to as the 'holy grail of homosexuality' - as well as lesser-known objects such as a Maori treasure box carved with startling sexual imagery.

Subscribers to Apple Music can access the audio tours for a small fee. You can access them for free on YouTube Music.

6. Get geeky on YouTube

Our YouTube channel is home to our much-loved Curator's corner series, interviews with scientists and conservators and much, much more. Fancy learning how to write cuneiform then kicking back and watching an ancient rock gong being played? This is the place for you. You'll find recipes, how-to videos and more potential pub quiz knowledge than you can shake a stick at.

If you'd like to take a deeper dive into a specific topic, check out our playlists covering subjects such as manga, Troy, and our science and conservation work.
Start watching here
7. See more on Google Arts & Culture

Discover more than 7,000 objects on our home-away-from-home - Google's online hub of content from museums and archives around the world. As well as collection information and images, our Google Arts & Culture pages also feature online exhibits such as Egypt: faith after the pharaohs and Street Views of sites in Central and South America. Plus, download the Google Arts & Culture app to see more special features, and see art in your own home via AR.
Find us here on Google Arts & Culture
While you're there, check out the interactive experience The Museum of the World. A mind-boggling visualisation of how two million years of human cultures and histories are interconnected, this interactive timeline is illustrated with objects from the British Museum collection.

8. Eight million objects at your fingertips

The collection is available to everyone on Collection online. You can search for objects and images using keywords, or try filtering by place, artist or material if you're feeling more expert. You may find this handy guide useful for navigating the site.
Browse Collection online
Alternatively, you can browse through broader themes and collection histories on our main site. Explore all the weird and wonderful creatures in the collection through our animals page. Or look through the collection by region - we've created easy-to-navigate pages on China, Africa, Egypt and the Americas.
Explore the collection
9. Bury your nose in the blog

If you have ambitions to read more and binge-watch less, head right here to the Museum blog. Find your footing in the ancient world with Who was Achilles? Or get lost in amazing Museum stories, like our recent piece about the beautiful and surreal constituent parts of dust in the Museum. The blog is updated regularly and includes pieces from both guest and Museum voices.
Browse the blog
10. Attend an event

Choose from talks, performances and much more when you browse our bustling programme of online events. Whether it's a virtual Late for one of our exhibitions or a study course to help you pick up that language you've been meaning to learn, there are plenty of ways to keep your cultural calendar filled.

11. Stay in touch

Make sure to subscribe to our emails and follow us on social media so you can keep exploring history, humanity and the British Museum itself and be the first to hear about our latest news.

Take care out there. We look forward to welcoming you back through the Museum doors soon.

Use #MuseumFromHome to join in with people across the globe who are sharing art, culture and history from their homes.
Subscribe to our emails (including bespoke offers for schools and families). The Museum needs your support now more than ever to continue sharing the collection with the world. Donate today.

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How to explore the British Museum from home

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When we first opened our doors in 1759, we proudly declared ourselves a place for 'all studious and curious persons'. It's a mission we're still dedicated to - even if you can't visit us in person yet. With that in mind, we'd like to share the many ways in which you can explore our galleries and the collection online.

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'Picture This!', an ESOL and photography project.

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'Picture This!', an ESOL and photography project.

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Eltons Award winner 2022!!!
Includes case studies and a Toolkit (attached). Link to read more about this project here: Picture This!, an ESOL and photography project.

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Learn English With Pictures' - ESOL Courses

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Learn English With Pictures' - ESOL Courses

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Here are some further ideas for enrichment tours and visits to classes.

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Here are some further ideas for enrichment tours and visits to classes.

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- Visits to your local library - in the case of large libraries,  find out if they give group tours.
- Visits to local tourist attractions - local castles, cathedrals or historic sites often do group tours.
- Visits to the Houses of Parliament. Can be arranged online, or via your local MP's office.
- National Trust tours.

- Speakers from your local police force - there are often community engagement officers that can come to speak to your group. Great to fit in with British Values or those applying for Citizenship later on.
- Speakers from the Passport Office - If you live in a city or a large town that has a passport office, they may be prepared to come to speak to you about completing a passport application and associated processes. Great for learners applying for Citizenship.
- Invite your local Mayor! Invite them to a certificate presenting ceremony or just get them along to talk about their work.

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Get your learners to create their own Podcasts!

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Get your learners to create their own Podcasts!

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by Chris Speck 20,925 views

Making films with smartphones is easy and fun. Here are five simple ways to exploit this pocket technology in your English classes.

1. Conduct a Simple Interview

You could use this as part of an interview lesson or to practise speaking exams. Dictate or give students a series of interview questions and have them practise with each other until they are happy with their answers. Now put students in groups of three and ask one student to film the other two doing the interview. Keep the interviews short so they are easy to make and watch.

Watch a selection of the videos as a class. You could ask students to comment on the pronunciation, vocabulary used, grammatical accuracy as well as the quality of the answers. Make the most of your feedback positive to motivate students.

2. Teach a Grammar Lesson

Put students into pairs and explain that they are going to make a short video to explain a grammar point. There are lots of teachers who do this already on YouTube and you might like to show one of their films as an introduction.

Allow students to choose one of the following grammar points, depending on their level you might like to choose easier or harder topics.

Have students work together and discuss how they would present the grammar point to the rest of the class. Set a time limit for their film, say five minutes. Students don't have to use a whiteboard to film their explanation; they could angle their smartphone camera and video their hands writing on a piece of paper.

Watch some of the films as a class and have a class vote to choose the best. You might like to upload some of these to the school network or YouTube.

3. Give a Simple Tour

Give students a list of institutions or places around your area; this could you your school or college, a park, a library, a shopping centre, a museum, even a street or a house. Explain that in groups of three, students are going to make a short video tour of this place. Remember to make sure that the students use English as the target language when discussing anything.

Before you allow student the time to go and make the film, make sure you discuss what is expected. Set a time limit for the film, say 5 minutes. Explain that all members of the group should say something on camera. Also, make students note down the following questions, by answering some of these they will have quite a lot to say about their place. If needed, they can use the internet to find out any of the information.

What's the name?

Who made it?

Why was it made?

When was it made?

What can you do there?

What exciting features does it have?

Why should people visit?

What could make this place better?

Make students plan what they are going to do together before they do any filming. This could be a ten minute session in the classroom before they leave.

Students might need some editing time when they have finished but explain that isn't really necessary, you're not looking for a perfect film, just some good English.

You could watch a selection of the films in class after all the students finish or in the next session. Again, you could comment on the linguistic content of the tours or get students to score and choose their favourite.

4. Create an Advertisement

Advertisements are everywhere and student should be familiar with how they work. Explain that students are going to make a short advert for something fairly mundane. Their adverts are only going to be three minutes long and they don't need to tell a story, just sell their product. In groups of three ask students to choose one of the following, readily available products.

Get students to plan their adverts before they make them and keep them simple and short. Watch some of these back in class and feedback on the content.

5. Make a Video for Homework

There are lots of homework tasks that you can ask students to complete with their cameras, you don't have to watch all of them, they are good for students to produce and watch back themselves and then they can consider their own use of language in terms of accuracy, content and pronunciations. Tasks could be:

A tour of my house

A video blog (vlog) of my day/weekend / week

An interview with a member of my family

A speech from an English film I like

How to Share Videos

If you have an interactive whiteboard or a projector, you could use this to display student films. Use either a USB connection to the phone or a program like YouTube or WhatsApp. A quick way of sharing a video is to get a student to send the video to themselves via Facebook's messenger service. They can then log onto their own Facebook account on the class computer and play the video from messenger there.

Remember, you're not teaching students how to make films, these activities are just a springboard to practise more English and do it in a natural and enjoyable way. Encourage students to keep the videos simple and short so they are easy to make and quite quick to watch. They don't have to be perfect!

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Making Films on Smartphone Cameras: 5 Language Lessons Utilizing Smartphones and Film

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by Chris Speck 20,925 views Making films with smartphones is easy and fun. Here are five simple ways to exploit this pocket technology in your English classes. You could use this as part of an interview lesson or to practise speaking exams. Dictate or give students a series of interview questions and have them practise with each other until they are happy with their answers.

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From our breakout room discussions (East of England Forum 02.12.22):

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From our breakout room discussions (East of England Forum 02.12.22):

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- Invite local Fire Service, Charity workers...
- Contact local organisations for free tickets to local places, events.
- In addition we dedicate a Wednesday afternoon purely to enrichment across the entire college. This works great for the students in ESOL as they integrate with other students from other areas. Opening them up to experiences particularly as many have not socialised with English speakers and have often not had a chance to 'play'.
- Art, Science, Sport, Board Games, Book Club, IT, Trip to museums, Cathedral, Beach.
- Macmillan Coffee morning run by learners.
- Trips to local markets.
- Trips to the beach.
- Visiting a town hall where learners can sit in the mayor's chair.
- Hands on cookery class in a college kitchen.
- photography- particularly items that are important to them to create discussion
- Sheffield University created activities relate to local parks.
- have a party in the park, visits to local places of interest, activities (yoga, tai chi, cooking, etc.), invite local community organisations to come in to your organisation, set up stalls, learners walk round and get info, ask questions, etc.

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Heart & Parcel also have a free online project for ESOL learners on writing a blog.

WHEN: FIRST 2 MONDAYS EACH MONTH AT 17:30 (UK TIME) 1st class, Monday 28th November 2022
WHERE: ONLINE
COST: FREE
ESOL LEVEL: ALL welcome
WHAT: Blog writing project | Learn English by sharing and discussing ideas with others to write your own blog.
HOW TO JOIN: please visit and fill out the form >>> https://heartandparcel.org/category/blog/

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Making apple crumble - British council video

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Making apple crumble - British council video

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In the previous step, Margaret mentioned fruit crumble, a traditional British dessert. It's a very simple and very popular pudding. Watch Tina make an apple crumble in the video.

History of apple crumble

Apple crumble was probably invented in the 1940s as an alternative to traditional apple pie. Because of the war, it was harder to get the ingredients for pastry (flour and butter), so instead people made a little 'crumble' from fat and flour and just sprinkled it on top of the stewed fruit.

Ingredients

Tina lists six ingredients for her apple crumble

Tina says that she uses Granny Smiths and Gala apples. Gala are one of the most popular British apples - but you can find out more at the Great British Apples website.

She mentioned two utensils she uses - the peeler, to peel the apples, and the grater, to grate the zest off the lemons.

You'll find the full apple crumble recipe in the next step.

Over to you

Read the transcript above of what Tina says in the video. Is there anything you don't understand or anything you find interesting? Share it in the comments below.

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In the previous step, Margaret mentioned fruit crumble, a traditional British dessert. It's a very simple and very popular pudding. Watch Tina make an apple crumble in the video. History of apple crumble Apple crumble was probably invented in the 1940s as an alternative to traditional apple pie.

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https://esolpodcast.co.uk/

The ESOL Podcast is space for ESOL students’ voices to be heard – sharing stories, discussing issues of the day, raising the concerns of the ESOL Community. ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other languages. UK Migrants participate in ESOL classes all over the country. We invite all ESOL students to listen and contribute to The ESOL Podcast.

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The ESOL Podcast is space for ESOL students' voices to be heard - sharing stories, discussing issues of the day, raising the concerns of the ESOL Community. ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other languages. UK Migrants participate in ESOL classes all over the country. We invite all ESOL students to listen and contribute to The ESOL Podcast.

We are currently looking for ESOL students and teachers to make podcast episodes for series 4 of The ESOL Podcast. If you would like to make an episode please complete this form. The ESOL Podcast - Series 4

The ESOL Podcast began as a collaboration between English For Action and Amy Jowett. We started producing episodes in May 2020, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic, when ESOL classes moved online and the ESOL community embraced digital resources in a new way. Series 3 ended in June 2023 and we hope to start series 4 in academic year 2023-2024. Over the past 3 years we have had episodes from all over the UK.

If you would like to get involved with The ESOL Podcast please contact us at [email protected]

You can like and follow The ESOL Podcast on most popular podcast platforms - including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts and Radio Public.

All episodes are available from our podcast stream tab. You can search episodes by keyword. Teaching resources are attached to episodes, where they are available. Search "resources" to bring up those episodes.

There is also a worksheet that can be used with any episode available here.

If your students are new to podcasts, series 1, episode 24 - "What is The ESOL Podcast?" also has materials for comparing podcast and radio, as well as lesson plans to introduce classes to podcasts and get them thinking about making an episode.

Listen to our latest podcast now:

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The ESOL Podcast - The ESOL Podcast is made by ESOL students and teachers in the UK.

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The ESOL Podcast is space for ESOL students' voices to be heard - sharing stories, discussing issues of the day, raising the concerns of the ESOL Community. ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other languages. UK Migrants participate in ESOL classes all over the country.

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Maz Burhani of the Sandwell consortium of providers loves this activity. His department buys cheap white mugs from Ikea and transfers from Temu. The students then all decorate their own mug with transfer images that represent them.

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Assist with volunteering options locally

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Assist with volunteering options locally

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Invite vocational tutors to ESOL classes to chat about their courses

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Invite vocational tutors to ESOL classes to chat about their courses

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Take learners into vocational workshops to learn about the subjects

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Take learners into vocational workshops to learn about the subjects

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Courtesy of New City College.

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Courtesy of Westminster Adult Education Service

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Outdoor activity using a cardboard vase template to pick flowers and follow-up with activities.

Sustainable version of Nature walk & ‘fill a vase with flowers’ activity.  Instead of picking the flowers and adding to a cardboard template take a photo and add one large vase collage.