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One of the two classes we observed today was rather disappointing. The level was hardly an A2, the Ss looked uninterested and kept looking at their phones, the teacher didn't seem to have prepared the lesson and tried to improvise but did not manage to engage students.
On the other hand, the other class had a real A2 level, the dynamics worked out fine, with a variety of activities intertwined with games (e.g. guessing games, miming, prompts for conversation, etc) that kept the ss' attention.

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The ss are perfectly placed in B2. Hardly any pronunciation mistakes.

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Nice warm up speaking practice

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Great, fun intro with acrostic (AND with a hidden agenda!)

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Very good, not far behind our C1s!

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We loved Destini's 'word of the day' intro. Today's word: ANECDOCHE https://www.dictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/post/42961208848/anecdoche

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"Creates beautiful new words that we need but do not yet have."

- John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars

The Book - NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!

It's finally here. 12 years in the making, 300 pages, 70% new material, including longer video-like definitions, otherworldly illustrations, and some thoughts on language and the meaning of life.

Pre-order your copy here (click links on the right): https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Dictionary-of-Obscure-Sorrows/John-Koenig/9781501153648

Coming November 16, 2021 from Simon & Schuster.

The Author

John Koenig is a video maker, graphic designer, and voiceover artist from Minnesota, who lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughter. His work has been acclaimed by New York Magazine, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, and the guys from Radiolab.

Feel free to write me directly and describe an emotion you need a word for:

▸ Email the author at obscuresorrows@gmail.com

▸ Visit the Facebook page

▸ Follow on Twitter

▸ Ask on Tumblr

The YouTube Series

Written, edited, coined and narrated by John Koenig.

Inquiries

Copyright © John Koenig 2009-2021. For permissions, inquiries and media requests:

▸ Email the author at obscuresorrows@gmail.com.

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n. a conversation in which everyone is talking but nobody is listening, simply overlaying disconnected words like a game of Scrabble, with each player borrowing bits of other anecdotes as a way to...

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No error correction on the go (not for repeated errors either —> *an advice, *advices)

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https://forvo.com/

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The teachers correct errors very occasionally, only detalis such as the 3rd person -s, the pronunciation of past of regular verbs or some dependent prepositions.
On the other hand, the Ss are not afraid to correct each others, and are happy to get corrected.

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Lovely, relaxed atmosphere thanks to classroom layout (and to the teachers, of course!!)

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Galway, the importance of vegetables, movies and cinemas, food and cooking, studying English effectively, the best features of my city, the importance of friendship, dealing with crime, psychology, following the news, money is the root of all evil, the world of politics, sleep health, mechanics & machines, the best animals, the older the wiser?, how to travel, Watch this series, the law, changing fashions, physical activity and sports, the cost of living, great books, history.

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Galway, the importance of vegetables, movies and cinemas, food and cooking, studying English effectively, the best features of my city.

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Different nationalities: definitely a plus

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https://youglish.com/

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When words sound different in isolation vs. in a sentence, look up the pronunciation first in a dictionary, then use https://youglish.com

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Very interesting, fun, light-hearted conversation about sundry, unconnected topics (2 minutes each changing partners every time)

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We are curious about the teachers refraining from correcting some pervasive fossilised errors, e.g. 'it's important to recycle and *don't waste water' or 'give *advices'.

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5 Levels - Can everything be explained to everyone in terms they can understand? In 5 Levels, an expert scientist explains a high-level subject in five different layers of complexity- first to a child, then a teenager, then an undergrad majoring in the same subject, a grad student and, finally, a colleague.

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Cell phones + QRs normalized in class

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The spacious desks allow room for coffees, water etc. This gives lessons a relaxed atmosphere, resembling a meeting of friends.

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A fun competition (writing in one minute as many words as possible beginning with one given letter)

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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in spite of, even though, although, sending emails, so as not to, to (reason), so that, so as to, in order to, would seem to, to the best of my knowledge, imply, indicate, would appear to, it is likely that, scarcely, no sooner, under no circumstances, not until, in no way.

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in spite of, even though, although, sending emails, so as not to, to (reason), so that, so as to, in order to, would seem to, to the best of my knowledge.

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Ss level way higher than in my C1 classes. 8 students in class—> very nice number

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- Techniques for teaching absolute beginners from different countries

- Games for advanced learners (hidden agenda!)

- Materials for meaningful mediation

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Even vocabulary and grammar exercises are used as a springboard for talking.

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Obviously it works well, because all the students seem to have a proper C1 level.

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Thank you Simon, we look great in the pic!

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Thank you Simon, we look great in the pic!

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The students have textbooks, yet they're given photocopies to keep them from writing on the books (the Ss have the option of buying or 'borrowing' them from the school)

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The U-shaped position of students encourages participation.

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Again, small classes (8 students in each one) and lots of room for Ss to lay their bottles of water,coffee etc. U-shaped layout, no individual chairs with armrests - much better for interaction.

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We've learnt very imaginative uses of playing cards, e.g. giving different meaning to different suits, to different colours or different numbers
It's also a good idea for beginners to allow them to take one step for every word they add to a sentence.

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Some of the classrooms seem to lack useful digital resources (digital book / interactive screen / overhead projector)

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Listening activities are used as an excuse to provide Ss with cultural references and expand vocabulary.

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Lovely online tools! https://wordwall.net/

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Wordwall - Create better lessons quicker

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Need a fresh teaching resource that fits your class and teaching style? Create a customized pack of interactive and printable activities in just one minute.

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No exam-format listening exercises

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Who can create the most interesting/weird/poetic... sentence in one minute using at least 15 words (including one given random word or short phrase)?

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For showing us around and for this photo a passer-by kindly took.

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Simon gave us an example of how jigsaw reading can be a springboard for speaking -and mediating!

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A student is made to ask others questions and has to guess from their answers the hidden clue written by the teacher behind his/her back. Examples: All the answers must begin with an 's' / they must stray form the point.

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Creating limericks and other poems (also changing the lyrics of existing songs) can be a way to improve pronunciation and intonation.

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Ss work in two teams. They have to find sentences posted outside the classroom and rush back to dictate them to their team from memory.

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Another exciting activity to get students to produce language in a creative way! Pingu might be a starting point. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pingu

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Ss have to talk consistently about one given topic for a minute following these rules: no repetition, no hesitation, no gaps, no 'um's, 'er's, 'uh's etc.
When a student breaks any of the rules another student should challenge him/her and continue until the minute is over.

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Matching beginnings and punchlines may very well be a quite challenging practice for high level students.

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It's up to each student to choose where to sit depending on whether their main goal is correctness or fluency. The teacher will treat them accordingly.

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A great tool to improve reading aloud at different speeds. Simply copy and paste any text and select the speed you want. https://cueprompter.com/

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For your time, your patience, your kindness, your humour and your help!!!