Active Language online staffroom

Warming Up

Well, we’re looking forward to the start of the new term here and those all-important first classes. It´s a great opportunity to find out more about your learners, their interests and backgrounds and also to share some information about yourself – it builds trust. I don’t know about you, but I still get nervous about facing a new group for the first time!

Here’s a link with some great ideas for the first day:

First Day Activities with a Focus

Wondering how to a tackle planning a lesson for that all-important first day with a new class? Claire Egmore and Kathryn Davies, former teachers and now editors at Cambridge University Press, are here to help with their top tips on planning a successful first lesson. 

Also, if you check out the First Day Activities category on the right, you’ll find more top tips and tasks.

No Comments »

First lessons

It’s amazing what you can find when you rifle through old documents on your computer!  I found some notes on a First Lessons session from many moons ago and also a checklist to help you think about what’s important in those first classes.

 

No Comments »

Back to Class Special – Macmillan

Ceri posted a link to three great webinars to help us get ready for the start of term.  Each is about 45 minutes long, so you can skip ahead to the one you’re most interested in, or watch all three!

First up, Sam McCarter shares some tips for exam success; next Fiona Mauchline looks at motivating teenagers to use their imagination and finally Carol Read has some advice on working with young learners.

No Comments »

Catchy phrases

From The Mindful Teacher BlogSimon P shared these catchy phrases which can be used to grab learners’ attention and get them back on track.

No Comments »

Nomination Cards

There was an interesting post on using nomination cards for discussions and then I expanded on it on my own blog to think about how they could be used to help us cope with dominant learners throughout the lesson.

No Comments »

Teaching large classes

Here are some ideas for activities which work with large classes – may be of use to those of you teaching in San Felipe or La Salle.

Image credit: ELT pics, Carol Van Hook

Image credit: ELT pics, Carol Van Hook

No Comments »

On-the-spot or “hot” correction

In Dani’s session on errors a while back, we looked at some of the techniques which teachers can use when doing on-the-spot correction:

  • Ask for repetition – though perhaps an issue with this one is whether it indicates an error has been made
  • Repeat/Echo up to the error
  • Echo the error with a questioning intonation or stressing the error
  • Ask a question
  • Ask “or” questions
  • Verbal gap fill
  • Finger modelling, in which you illustrate the sentence using fingers and waggle the finger where the error occurs
  • Use gestures
  • Use expressions – however, if you look confused could this be interpreted as the content being confusing?
  • Use the board
No Comments »

TEFL del Sur

A few years ago, Morgan recorded one of TEFL del Sur’s mini-conferences.  If anyone would like to listen to the recordings, check them out:

Gameshow Games

Guided Visualisations

Last-Minute Lessons

No Comments »

The 5-second Rule


Simon P shared this video from the Cult of Pedagogy with an easy tip for dealing with talkative classes.

 

No Comments »

12 tips for managing VYLs

Simon P shared an article with 12 tips for managing VYLs – with thoughts on preparation, routines and using your voice.

It’s worth checking out other articles on the blog, which is filled with ideas on lessons with our youngest learners and some advice on dealing with some of the challenges.

No Comments »

Skip to toolbar