Here are some great class “hooks” from English Central:
http://community.eflclassroom.com/profiles/blogs/every-book-has-its-cover
There’s also a great piece on 50 pieces of best practice for teachers:
Here are some great class “hooks” from English Central:
http://community.eflclassroom.com/profiles/blogs/every-book-has-its-cover
There’s also a great piece on 50 pieces of best practice for teachers:
Check out Duncan Elder’s great ESL blog:
Loads of great lesson plans for a range of levels.
Check out this other great ESL blog:
This is a conversation activity in which students discuss human achievements and the Mars One colonisation project. Either split the class into small groups (3-4) or for smaller groups have a class discussion. You can download the handout here.
Introduction
Mars One
Mars One is a privately funded project which intends to establish a human colony on Mars by 2025. They plan to send an unmanned spacecraft to the planet in 2018 followed by equipment and supplies over the following 6 years. They are currently accepting applications to be part of the first 4-man crew that will take off in 2024 on a one-way 7 month trip to the red planet. Once the colony is established 4 people will be sent every 2 years.
Put your students in groups of 3 and ask them the following question:
What would you do with €100,000?
Give them 2 minutes to share their ideas, then have them report each other’s answers to the class. (each person reports someone else from their group’s answer)
Did anyone give it to charity?
Give out the following handout:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!452&authkey=!AB2H6x3IinOC6wE
In their groups students discuss the problem and then present their ideas to the class.
As a wrap up ask the students which suggestions they thought were the best, see if they can come to an agreement as a class on how to give the money away.
Task:
A long lost aunt that you didn’t know you had has recently passed away. In her will she left your group €100,000 with a note saying it should be given away to “make the world a better place.” Decide in your groups who you are going to give it to.
Making Suggestions
I think we should……………….
I reckon we ought to…………………
Why don’t we………………………..
How about / what about + gerund………………………….
Agreeing / Disagreeing
Agreeing | Disagreeing | Ending an argument: |
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Here is another fantastic activity from Adam Simpson’s blog. Using interactive youtube videos in the classroom to practice a range of structures.
This is a fun lesson plan for A2+ students. It can be adapted for different levels.
Here are the handouts you will need:
Discussion questions:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!431&authkey=!AAlHxxKilDRy890
Role cards:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!430&authkey=!AMxbkbpkHybUhS8
Part 1 – discussion
Start by telling students to get there mobiles out. Encourage each student to talk about their phone. When they got it, what they use it for, if they like it or not.
You can either go through the following conversation questions as a class or split the class into groups of 2 or 3.
Phones
What phone have you got?
How many different things can your phone do?
Do you know how to use all of the functions on your phone?
How often do you speak on the phone?
When do you switch off your phone?
When do you think phones should be switched off?
What annoys you about mobile phones?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of mobiles?
At what age should a child have a mobile?
What effect do you think they have had on society?
Have you ever spoken in English on the phone? Where? Why? How was it?
Have students report back their opinions and ideas to the class. Focus especially on the last question. Encourage students to share their experiences of speaking English on the phone.
Part 2 – phone role plays
Put students in pairs and tell them to swap phone numbers with their partners in English.
Assign letters A/B to to the students.
Tell all As to imagine that they have just arrived in the UK, they have moved to the country to live in and work. They are looking for a flat / house. They have seen an advert on the internet for accommodation, they are going to call the landlord / lady to ask for information.
Tell all Bs that they are landlords/ladies, they are expecting calls from potential tenants. Give all Bs one of the role cards from the handout.
Tell A’s that they will need a pen and paper. They have to call B and take down the following information:
On the board go over the following:
Now send the landlords / ladies out of the classroom. Encourage the tenants (As) to think of some extra questions to ask about the house.
Tenants call landlords / ladies and take details.
When they have finished ask Bs to come back in and check the details for spelling the winning pair is the one who made the least mistakes. Now rotate the role cards to the left and As and Bs swap roles and repeat.
Afterwards students feed back to class. Was it difficult? Which bits were most difficult? etc.
Here are the role cards:
Mr Smith
Address: 13 Waterloo road, Exeter, Devon EX2 9DT Tel:07816395666 Email: ssmith@gmail.com House information: Small flat sharing with two other people. Small bedroom with a single bed. Price: €400 a month bills included House rules: No pets, no smoking, no parties. |
Mrs. Davis
Address: 17 Park view, Swansea, Wales, SW1 4FG Tel: 07655423152 Email: j.davis@yahoo.co.uk House Information: Large private apartment next to the park. 2 bedrooms with double beds. Price: €700 a month bills not included House rules: No pets, no students, |
Miss Johnson
Address: 15 winterbrook park, Bradford, Yorkshire, YO4 4RC Tel: 01566 344987 Email:juicyjohnson@gmail.com House information: 1 bedroom flat on the 8th floor. No furniture included. Price: €500 a month bills not included House rules: Maximum 2 people living in flat, no smoking, pets allowed. |
Mr. Brown
Address: 16 Clinton avenue, Exeter, Devon EX1 5GG Tel: 01392 211345 Email: brownbear222@gmail.com House information: Large bedroom in shared student house. Sharing with 3 19 year old students. Price: €250 a month bills included. House rules: There are no rules!!! |
Mrs. Folkstone
Address: 1 Green avenue, Newcastle, NW3 9RG Tel: 01298 600999 Email: folky.2002@outlook.com House information: Small room in a family home. Sharing with a family of four. Price: €500 a month bills and meals included. Rules: No parties, no partners sleeping in the house, no pets, no noise after 9pm. |
Here is a link to a list of great English podcasts for higher level students:
http://www.onlinetefltraining.com/25-bbc-podcasts-for-advanced-english-learners/
Just a quick note…
Before you use these materials… We’ve created a new podcast aimed at B2+ level English students and teachers alike. You can listen for free at our SoundCloud page below. You can download teacher’s notes to accompany them from our Facebook page or from this blog. All comments and feedback welcome! Give us a like and a share 😉
https://www.facebook.com/2tspodcast/
This is a worksheet to practice typical phrases and expressions that come up in key word transformations in both CAE and CPE. They are also very useful for writings.
Students rewrite the sentences using the word given in capitals.
Download the worksheet from here:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!388&authkey=!AAlKmGNu1itRsP0
Here’s a link to a quizlet flashcard set that can be used for preteaching or revision:
http://quizlet.com/16987300/cae-use-of-english-practice-part-5-flash-cards/
Key:
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![]() (INTERESTED) Petra asked her friend whether……………………………………..to see the new play. |
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![]() (INTENTION) Pat has …………………………………………………….. on holiday this year. |
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![]() POINT Sven ……………………………………………… the police when the burglar stopped trying to open the window and ran away. |
This is a series of lesson plans for proficiency level students based around stories from “The Oxford Book of English Short Stories” edited by A. S. Byatt. Set the story as homework the week before, encourage students to bring any vocabulary questions to class.
The Waterfall tells the story of a repressed reverend’s daughter trying to cope with the emotions and sentiments of life and love. These feelings are symbolised by the waterfall in her garden which is being renovated. The breaking of the damn and the water surging down the waterfall could symbolise the release of all her bottled up affections and feelings towards her husband and the jovial Mr. Phillips who has been staying with the family.
Download this lesson plan here:
https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=79CFF252BEEA0A7D!383&authkey=!AJRdYjvoRf1OhyM
Vocabulary
First copy to the board or project the vocabulary table in the attachment above, students must try to match the new vocab to the definition.
Key: 1 – g, 2 – d, 3 – a, 4 – b, 5 – j, 6 – e, 7 – f, 8 – I, 9 – h, 10 – c.
Once they have matched the vocab give them 5 minutes to find the vocabulary in the text, make it a race, the first team to find all 10 wins.
Then discuss the following discussion questions:
Discussion Questions: