Posted in Exam Preparation Class, Proficiency

C2 Proficiency: Key Word Transformation Ladder

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is my C2 version of a great activity I’ve seen on some other blogs. It’s a great way of giving exam prep students an engaging way to do some practice for the use of English part 4 task.

  1. Students work in pairs or groups of 4.
  2. Each group gets 5 cards with 5 key word transformations on them.
  3. They place their cards on the table to form a “ladder”
  4. Student A goes first and attempts to complete the bottom “rung”
  5. They flip the card over to check their answer.
  6. If they’re right they go up the ladder one rung and continue until they make a mistake.
  7. When/if they make a mistake they must flip over all the cards and go back to the bottom.
  8. Student B then has a go.
  9. First to reach the top of the ladder wins.
  10. The answer they give must be the exact words on the back of the card; no “más o menos”
  11. They then swap cards and start again.

Download the cards below:

C2-Key-Word-Transformation-Ladder-PRINT-DOUBLE-SIDEDDownload
Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class

C1 Advanced: Key Word Transformation Ladder

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is my version of a great activity I’ve seen on some other blogs. It’s a great way of giving exam prep students an engaging way to do some practice for the use of English part 4 task.

  1. Students work in pairs or groups of 4.
  2. Each group gets 5 cards with 5 key word transformations on them.
  3. They place their cards on the table to form a “ladder”
  4. Student A goes first and attempts to complete the bottom “rung”
  5. They flip the card over to check their answer.
  6. If they’re right they go up the ladder one rung and continue until they make a mistake.
  7. When/if they make a mistake they must flip over all the cards and go back to the bottom.
  8. Student B then has a go.
  9. First to reach the top of the ladder wins.
  10. The answer they give must be the exact words on the back of the card; no “más o menos”
  11. They then swap cards and start again.

Download the cards below:

C1-Key-Word-Transformation-LadderDownload
Posted in Advanced C1, Exam Preparation Class, Grammar Classes

C1 Advanced: Grammar Range Test

Posted on by Tim Warre

A quick, simple worksheet I’ve created for my C1 Advanced class. They’re in their second year of preparation for the exam and I just want to get an idea of their grasp of some of the typical advanced grammar points that come up in the syllabus so that I know where to focus our efforts in the coming weeks.

I’m tying it into chatting about travelling and holidays and getting them to complete an informal letter writing task. I’ve used this old worksheet that I made years ago for the homework task.

It also serves as some exam practice for part 4 of the reading and use of English paper. You could have students complete it in pairs or individually then check the answers in open class. Tell students not to worry too much if any of the structures are unfamiliar as future lessons will look at them in detail where necessary.

Download the worksheet below:

C1-Advanced_-Grammar-Range-Test-1Download
C1-Advanced_-Grammar-Range-Test-1Download
informal-narrative-letter-updateDownload

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first using the word given. You must use between 3 and 6 words, you must not change the word given.

  1. It took us 6 hours to walk up the mountain.

WALKING

When we arrived at the top of the mountain _____________________ 6 hours.

  1. It was the first time I had seen such a beautiful sunset.

BEFORE

Never _____________________ a beautiful sunset.

  1. You mustn’t leave the vehicle while you’re on safari.

CIRCUMSTANCES

Under ______________________ of the vehicle while you’re on safari.

  1. If I went there again, I’d definitely pack warmer clothes.

GO

Were ______________, I’d definitely pack warmer clothes.

  1. The water was so clear that we could see all the fish at the bottom.

CLEAR

So _______________ could see all the fish at the bottom.

  1. I enjoyed going on the roller coasters the most.

WAS

What ____________________ on the roller coasters. 

  1. We had no idea that there were man-eating sharks in the water!

KNOW

Little _____________________ there were man-eating sharks in the water!

  1. I didn’t pack enough warm clothes because I didn’t know the weather would be so cold.

WOULD

Had _____________________ be so cold, I would have packed more warm clothes.

Posted in Atomic Classroom Habits, Teacher Development

Atomic Classroom Habits: Retrieval Placemat

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is hopefully the first in a series of posts that accompany my recent talk, “Atomic Classroom Habits”, that I gave at Innovate ELT. Follow this link to access the slides from my talk.

One of the ideas I talked about was a using a retrieval placemat that students find on their desks when they enter the class. The aim is to stimulate retrieval of content from the previous class. They should work in pairs to answer the various questions on the mat without looking at their notes. The idea is to push them to retrieve the information from their long-term memory.

I got the idea from Kate Jones’s wonderful book “Retrieval Practice”, which you can find by following this link. Most of her retrieval activities are aimed at teachers of other subjects such as history or politics, so I’ve tweaked her idea for the ESL classroom.

You can download the mat by right-clicking on the image in the post, or by following this link. If you want to edit the placemat, I made it using a simple template on Canva. Follow this link to use my version as an editable template.

Simply print out the placemat in nice bright colours and put it on your students’ desks for when they arrive. Alternatively, you could just project it onto the board at the beginning of each class. Let me know how you get on!

Posted in Phrase of the Day

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #25: A Bitter Pill to Swallow

Posted on by Tim Warre

Today’s expression is…

“A bitter pill to swallow…”

Introduce it with some examples:

Losing the cup final to a goal in the last minute was a bitter pill to swallow for the Tottenham fans.

The terrible sales figures for the final quarter of the year were a bitter pill to swallow for the company’s directors.

Lead students to the meaning: a difficult fact to accept

Discussion:

Think of some difficult facts you’ve had to accept recently:

  • Your sports team
  • Your school/uni results
  • Something at work
  • Something in your personal life

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Phrase of the Day

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #24: To give a lease of life

Posted on by Tim Warre
Photo by Skyler Ewing: https://www.pexels.com/photo/dog-jumping-in-park-10037973/

Today’s phrase is…

To give a new lease of/on life

Introduce it with some examples:

The successful operation on his bad foot gave my dog a new lease of life.

The council gave the old theatre a new lease of life by converting it into a youth centre for local teenagers.

Lead students to the meaning: “Give a new lease of life” means to revitalize or rejuvenate something or someone, providing a fresh start or renewed energy after a period of decline or stagnation.

Discussion:

  • Can you think of a change that really helped someone you know feel better or discover a new energy?
  • Are there any areas of your city that renovated or rejuvenated recently?
  • Think of an old, run-down building or area in your city. Think of a proposal to transform or rejuvenate it. What would is be used for? How much work would be needed to give it a new lease of life?

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Teacher Training

Atomic Classroom Habits: Conference Slides

Posted on by Tim Warre
Image credit: Oxford House Barcelona

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Innovate ELT conference at Oxford House Barcelona this past weekend. It was great to connect with so many other ELT professionals and see so many inspiring talks.

My talk was entitled “Atomic Classroom Habits” and its aim was to try to adapt the framework for habit formation outlined in James Clear’s Atomic Habits to language learning.

Below you will find a PDF of my slides from the talk. Over the next few days I will be posting more of the materials I mentioned during the session.

Atomic-Classroom-HabitsDownload

As I mentioned during the talk, I feel like I’m only just beginning to explore the potential for applying habit formation techniques to the world of ELT and I’m keen to receive feedback or collaborate with likeminded people. So feel free to get in touch either through the comments or via Linkedin.

Posted in Phrase of the Day

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #23: To give your word

Posted on by Tim Warre
Photo by Tim Samuel: https://www.pexels.com/photo/ethnic-men-shaking-hands-near-taxi-5835362/

Today’s phrase is…

To give one’s word

Here are some examples:

He gave her his word that he wouldn’t tell anyone her secret.

I give you my word that everything I’ve told you is the truth.

Lead students to the meaning: to make a solemn promise.

Discussion:

  • How often do you make promises to your friends?
  • Do you always keep your promises?
  • How good are you at keeping secrets?
  • Which of your friends do you feel you can trust with your secrets?
  • Are you good at telling if someone is lying or being insincere when they make a promise?

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.

Posted in Teacher Training

Innovate ELT 2023 – May 20th & 21st

Posted on by Tim Warre
Image Credit: https://www.facebook.com/innovateELTconference/

Come to Innovate ELT at Oxford House in Barcelona! It’s always one of the best ELT conferences because of the combination of inspiring talks, a beautiful setting and a commitment to fostering a welcoming and supportive atmosphere for networking.

I’ll be giving a talk on Saturday May 20th from 18:30-19:15 entitled “Atomic Classroom Habits”. The aim of the talk is to examine how we can apply theories of habit formation from James Clear’s bestselling book “Atomic Habits” to the ESL classroom.

There are loads of other great talks by a range of inspiring speakers such as Scott Thornbury, Teresa Bestwick, Geoff Jordan and many more!

Follow this link to find out more information about the conference and this one to buy your tickets!

You can also follow Oxford House and the Innovate ELT conference on all the socials. Have a click around to check out lots of videos about the theme of the conference and the various speakers:

InnovateELT Facebook

InnovateELT Instagram

InnovateELT Twitter

Oxford TEFL Facebook

Oxford TEFL Instagram

OxfordTEFL Twitter

Oxford TEFL LinkedIn

Hopefully see you in the beautiful Oxford House garden!

Posted in Phrase of the Day

Proficiency Phrase of the Day #22: All of a sudden…

Posted on by Tim Warre
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-brown-leather-jacket-using-binoculars-3811807/

Today’s phrase is…

All of a sudden

Introduce it with some examples:

All of a sudden, the power went out and we were left in complete darkness.

We were driving along the highway when all of a sudden a deer ran out in front of us.

Lead students to the meaning: suddenly/unexpectedly.

Discussion:

  • Have you ever had a near miss while travelling in a car/bus/other vehicle? What happened?
  • Have you ever been shocked, scared or surprised by a sudden unexpected event? What happened?
  • Are you a fan of horror films? Can you remember any particularly good jump scares?
  • Invent the perfect jump scare from a horror film. The ingredients are: a spooky situation, tension building, a distraction or misdirect, the sudden appearance of something horrifying.

Here’s the Quizlet set of all the previous phrases of the day.