Manual Inglês Jogos

ENGLISH Issue 58
September
2008
Tprofessional
EACHING
The Leading Practical Magazine For English Language Teachers Worldwide
Dealing with diversity

Paola Vettorel and Alan Maley
I think, therefore I learn

Tessa Woodward
In private
Alan Marsh
Poised for learning

Carla Wilson
• practical methodology
• fresh ideas & innovations
• classroom resources
vk.
com/
engl
ishl
ibr
ary• new technology
• teacher development
• tips & techniques
• photocopiable materials
• competitions & reviews
w w w . e t p r o f e s s i o n a l . c o m
Contents MAIN FEATURE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
DEALING WITH DIVERSITY 4 GETTING INVOLVED 52

In an interview with Alan Maley, Paola Vettorel Sandee Thompson praises professional
discusses varieties of English development and suggests paths to pursue it
FEATURES TECHNOLOGY
DIFFERENTIATION 1 8 BLENDED LEARNING 58

Doug Evans advocates focusing on flexibility Blanka Frydrychová Klimová finds magic
when dealing with mixed-ability classes in a mix of old and new
RESUSCITATING READING 12 WEBWATCHER 61

Rosalind Southward finds it rewarding to Russell Stannard suggests sites to teach
teach reading skills to exam students vocabulary to children
LET US PLAY 17
Glenda Demes da Cruz celebrates the REGULAR FEATURES
possibilities offered by the board
ACTIVITY CORNER: 37
I GOT IT OFF THE TV 34 TWO ‘SPEED PAIRING’ ACTIVITIES
Annette Margolis adapts television shows Jon Marks
to make classroom activities
PREPARING TO TEACH ... 40
I THINK, THEREFORE I LEARN 1 35 Can
Tessa Woodward ponders the need for teachers John Potts
and learners to think about thinking
EYE ON THE CLASSROOM: 50
IMAGES 10 46 FOCUSED OBSERVATION
Jamie Keddie makes good use of a digital camera John Hughes
DANGER: ASSIMILATION! 49 THE TEACHER’S BEST FRIEND 63

Christie Murphy points out the perils of being Rose Senior
a bilingual teacher
IT WORKS IN PRACTICE 42
TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS REVIEWS 44

KEEPING THEM INTERESTED 22 SCRAPBOOK 56
Lucia Maffione looks for motivating ways
to teach vocabulary
COMPETITIONS 41, 64
POISED FOR LEARNING 24
Carla Wilson uses yoga to help her students
relax and concentrate INTERNATIONAL SUBSCRIPTION FORM 14
BUSINESS ENGLISH PROFESSIONAL
IN PRIVATE 27
Alan Marsh offers tips and techniques for
teaching one-to-one
Includes materials designed to photocopy
• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 1

Editorial
T
he board, as Glenda Demes da Cruz explains, for speed dating in a classroom activity. But Blanka
was invented in the 19th century by a young Klimová, while incorporating the new, insists on the
maths teacher with an uncontrollable urge to value of the old. The resulting ‘blended learning’
write on his classroom walls. It is certainly one of the exemplifies the absorbent nature of our profession –
oldest pieces of equipment that survives to the present its ability to incorporate new ideas and technology
day in classrooms all over the world, whether in its without entirely discarding the old ones.
old-style manifestation as a chalk-covered blackboard
This is also true of the English language itself. The
or as a modern interactive whiteboard, putting the
possibility of new varieties of English, the notion of
endless possibilities of a computer at the teacher’s
English as an International Language or English as a
fingertips. Hailed by Rose Senior in her regular column
Lingua Franca are hotly debated around the world, and
as the teacher’s best friend, the board, perhaps more
yet, as Alan Maley points out in conversation with
than any other item, shows us that there is room for
Paola Vettorel, tolerance of infinite variety in language
the survival of the old and trusted alongside the new
should not mean abandonment of old standards.
and exciting.
The same could be said of many things in the world of

ELT. New ideas come and go, or come and stay,
finding a place alongside old ideas and techniques.
Russell Stannard surfs the internet to find material for
his classes, Annette Margolis finds inspiration on the Helena Gomm
television, Jamie Keddie takes digital photos of his
[email protected]
students and Jon Marks mirrors the modern fashion
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Pages 19–20, 30–31, 37–39, 40–41, 50–51, 55 and 56– 57 include materials which are designed to photocopy. All other rights are reserved and
no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
2 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

M A I N F E AT U R E multi-media and electronic
communication, getting an education
outside school is now a far easier task
Dealing
than it once was.
I must make it clear that I do not
subscribe to the notion that ELF 1 is a
variety of English. What I do believe is
that we are all faced with a multitude of
unpredictable contexts in which English is
being used internationally. This will
include all manner of combinations of
with
human subjects: nativised users (such as
Indian, Nigerian or Malaysian speakers),
non-native-speaker users from the
‘expanding circle’ 2, and native speakers
from any of the many varieties in use.
Any of these users may encounter any
others. It is the way they handle the
interaction which is of primary concern
(the process), which is crucial to the
diversity
success or otherwise of the encounter,
rather than some hypothetical new ELF
variety (a product).
Paola Vettorel Despite growing

research interest, there is still resistance
to the acceptance of ELF, developing
particularly in ‘expanding circle’
countries. Intelligibility in
communication among non-native
Paola Vettorel speakers seems to be governed more by
This interview followed the GlobEng a focus on mutual communication
International Conference on Global rather than adherence to ‘standard
interviews Alan Maley English, held at the University of English’ norms.
Verona, Italy, in February 2008.
on varieties of English.
Alan Maley Before I address the
questions below, I would like to make a We are all faced
few things clear.
All these questions circle around the
with a multitude
major issue of how teachers in their day- of unpredictable
to-day work can deal simultaneously with
teaching a standard variety of English to contexts in which
satisfy curricular and examination
requirements within an educational English is being used
bureaucracy, while also preparing their
students in some measure for the
internationally
bewildering variety of English usage they
will certainly encounter in the outside
world. There is no simple answer to that AM Here I would interject that such
question, no magic formula! I would be interactions are not confined to non-
fooling myself as well as you if I native speakers. Native speakers, whether
suggested that things were otherwise. they are communicating with fellow
One key issue is the limited amount native speakers or with anyone else, are
of exposure to English which students also focusing on mutual comprehension,
receive in classrooms. I shall suggest that rather than on a standard norm.
we need to expand the opportunities and
incentives for students to encounter and PV As you pointed out during the
engage with English outside the conference, ELF seems to be more a
classroom. That is, after all, where most context of use than a concept in itself –
of us learn what is useful to us in the real or maybe a plurality of contexts of use
world. Given the massive expansion of where diversities and similarities

interweave to allow communication some instruction in repair and
through a multifaceted medium. accommodation strategies (‘Could you
This should first of all promote an say that again, please?’, ‘Do you mean We also have the
attitude of tolerance: tolerance for the ...?’, ‘No, what I meant was …’ , etc, and
different varieties of English which have in paraphrasing utterances) would be
responsibility for
developed and are developing around highly valuable and not that difficult to trying to develop a
the world, thus moving away from the introduce.
concept of one best, standard variety, sense of appropriacy
but also tolerance in terms of PV Promoting tolerance would, in the
communication for those aspects which first place, mean fostering teachers’, and through our
are still considered as ‘linguistic sins’ for therefore also students’, awareness of
learners, despite the fact that they are, the fact that it is Englishes in the plural
classroom teaching
according to Barbara Seidlhofer and we should be talking about – so in a
Jennifer Jenkins, developing as way starting to spread the news that the
characteristics of ELF. models of reference cannot any longer manage. To acknowledge the ubiquity of
be only British or American. However, variability flies in the face of all their
AM I dispute the idea that those aspects there still seems to be little evidence of previous experience. This is why I would
are somehow becoming characteristic of this in the ELT world, due in part to the in no way disparage the efforts of
an ELF variety. However, this does not often anglocentric vision portrayed in teachers to acquire a standard variety. In
mean that we should not develop teacher training and classroom fact, we should continue to encourage it.
tolerance for a wide range of English materials. A step in this direction would But at the same time, teachers need to
usage: whether we are referring to be to include in these materials models acknowledge the infinite variation in the
geographical, social or generational of the language spoken by competent language they are teaching.
differences. In fact, we have no option but non-native speakers. Particularly with
to exercise tolerance because variety is a adult learners, listening materials which PV Students already encounter different
fact of life in a globalised world. include non-native models often prove varieties of English outside the
much more intelligible to learners, thus classroom (in videogames, songs, MTV,
PV This would, in the first place, mean providing also a degree of reassurance the web, YouTube, etc). ELF is often
exposing learners to different varieties that learning is possible. already a reality for them – probably
of English, which are already being Do you think taking steps in this much more so for them than for older
introduced in teaching materials, albeit direction could lead to an increased generations, including teachers. For
slowly, but also valuing and developing tolerance for diversity, and promotion them, as Herbert Puchta puts it, often
the communication strategies and of communication skills and strategies ‘sitting in a class is like being in the car
accommodation skills which play such in ELF? with your parents on a long road trip
an important part in effective without your CD-player’. Should we
communication. How do you see this not take this into account, exploiting
possible in terms of teaching? How do the experiences learners as users already
we reconcile integrating these things with We have no have of the English language by:
the need to have a model to refer to?
option but to ● raising their consciousness of
different usages (where ELF is one of
AM As I pointed out at the outset, exercise tolerance the choices on offer)?
teachers are faced with an impossible
task. They are expected to square the because variety is ● using their local, community and pop
circle. With limited time, institutional culture as a starting point to develop
constraints of syllabus and examinations, a fact of life in a cultural and intercultural awareness?
they are additionally expected to raise
awareness of the reality of the variability
globalised world AM As I mentioned at the outset,
which their students will face, if ever they students will learn far more outside the
have to use English internationally. The classroom than in it. It is inevitable that
best they can do, in my opinion, is to AM I am sure it would. One thing that they will do so anyway. Through popular
make students aware that, although they stands in the way of this, however, are the songs, rap, email and the rest, they will
are learning a ‘standard’ variety of vested interests and ingrained opinions of acquire aspects of English we have no
English, they will inevitably meet many both institutions and some of their older way of teaching in the classroom. They
other varieties in the outside world. In and more traditional servants: the are already primed and motivated to do
practical terms, this may mean exposing teachers themselves. There is a big job of this. Our role is to encourage, rather than
them to some of these varieties in re-education to be done among teachers. to discourage it. But we also have the
comprehension mode, making it clear This is a major teacher development responsibility for trying to develop a
that they are not learning to produce such issue. We should never lose sight of the sense of appropriacy through our
varieties. It may also mean introducing fact that teachers have invested heavily in classroom teaching. Anything goes, but
some strategies for dealing with terms of time, effort and self-esteem in not all the time and in every situation.
situations where comprehension is not acquiring a variety of English which is as We have to try to help them navigate the
immediately transparent. For example, close to a standard variety as they can troubled waters of convention.

Dealing
using such texts in the European which can be accessed independently by
situation, where they would open up students through extensive reading, the
horizons for students previously internet, film and exposure to the range
with
conditioned to think of English literature of accents now common on international
as consisting of the traditional canon, and news channels. There is no way we can
their use in their countries of origin, to teach diversity, the students need some
diversity
give a sense of pride and identity to basis from which they can confidently
students from those countries. During the reach out to it. But we can teach how to
conference, I mentioned a small-scale deal with diversity, through developing a
creative-writing project I am involved tolerance for difference and a positive
PV Fostering attitudes of tolerance with, which is designed precisely to foster attitude to accommodation. And that will
needs to be considered not only in this kind of identity and confidence. Since be the key to survival in the world outside
strictly linguistic terms, but also as 2003, a small group of teacher-writers the classroom. ETp
regards cultural materials. We need to from some ten Asian countries have met
raise awareness, in both teachers and in a different Asian country once a year
1 English as a lingua franca (ELF) The use
students, of the existence of a larger to write poems and stories in English of English as a medium of communication
world. At times even the inclusion of designed to be used with students in Asia. by speakers for whom it is not a first
Australia and New Zealand in lessons The books (seven volumes in all) have language.
on culture still seems to be regarded as been published by Pearson Malaysia. This 2 Expanding circle A reference to Braj
exotic. As you pointed out, it is true is just one way to foster a personal voice Kachru’s model which divided English
for expressing local cultural identities speakers into three circles, an inner circle
that teachers teach what they know, but (speakers from traditional anglophone
this may result at times in a focus on a through the medium of English. Teacher countries such as the UK, the USA,
rather monolithic version of English development projects of this kind should Ireland, New Zealand, etc), an outer circle
which conforms to a traditional view, certainly be encouraged. (speakers from countries where English is
not the official language but is important
rather than on what is actually
for historical reasons and plays a part in
happening in the use of ELF. PV Students’ pop cultures, their
the nation’s institutions, such as India,
Would you agree? experiences of the language outside Nigeria, Malaysia) and an expanding circle
school, could be a starting point, as a (speakers in those countries where English
means of inclusion and of learning, plays no historical or official role but where
using and experiencing the language in it is widely used as a foreign language or
We can choose to connection with its actual use. Could
lingua franca, such as Japan, China,
Russia, etc).
ELF play a major role in fostering and
embrace or to developing different visions of culture
stigmatise variety, and expression of identities? Jenkins, J The Phonology of English as
an International Language OUP 2000
but we cannot deny AM I believe that English is increasingly Seidlhofer, B A Concept of International
being used as one among several modes English and Related Issues: From ‘Real
its existence of self-expression. In a global society English’ to ‘Realistic English’? Council of
Europe Language Policy Division 2003
characterised by hybridity, we must
expect a variety of hybrid forms of self-
AM I do indeed agree with you. One way expression. We can choose to embrace or Paola Vettorel has taught
English to students of
of doing this is to focus on texts written to stigmatise such variety, but we cannot different ages, from
in English from non-metropolitan regions. deny its existence. nursery and primary
school to secondary
Whether in Europe, Africa, Latin Having said that, the classroom is not school and adults. She
America or Asia, there is now such a the ideal location for developing desirable has taught Italian as L2
at Verona University
wonderful and exuberant literature in kinds of attitude and action in relation to Language Centre and is
English that we would be foolish not to variation in English. The time allocated now a researcher in the
English Studies
tap into it. Books (and the films they give to English classes is not adequate even to Department at the same
rise to) such as ‘Brick Lane’, and earlier acquire a standard variety of English, let university. She is also a
works, such as Samuel Seldon’s ‘Lonely alone to unpack fully the reality of
[email protected]
Londoners’, highlight the immigrant variation in the outside world. And
condition, as do novels such as Timothy teachers are under pressure to deliver Alan Maley has been
involved with ELT for
Mo’s ‘Sour Sweet’ (also a film). Poets results in the form of examination over 40 years, most of
such as Benjamin Zephanaiah and John grades, which militate against the kind of them in ten overseas
Agard often write about the language as flexibility we would ideally like to see. countries, including
China, India, Singapore
well as the condition of immigrant Given these constraints, the role of and Thailand. He has
communities. In countries where there is English language teachers in institutional published widely and is
series editor of the
already a flourishing literature in English settings (state schools and universities) Oxford Resource Books
– India, Malaysia, Singapore, West should be to teach something close to a for Teachers.
Africa, the Philippines – it would be standard variety. At the same time, they
madness not to use this resource. Perhaps, should do everything they can to draw
though, we need to distinguish between attention to the real diversity ‘out there’, [email protected]

IN THE CLASSROOM
Differentiation 1
Doug Evans looks at ways of meeting the needs of a wide variety of students.
I know you can get it. We just have to What are the principles? usually consistently effective, regardless
find out how. of whether it is sought at the start or
Although it varies widely in scope and the end of a school year. This approach
depth of possibilities, there are three
E
LT teachers typically are provides students with a certain amount
accustomed to being creative fundamental building blocks to effective of empowerment and the teacher with a
and flexible in their approaches differentiation: Assessment, Task deeper understanding of the students.
to teaching. Owing to the worthiness and Frequent student Ongoing assessment typically comes
strikingly broad range of students interaction. at one or more times during the course
encountered, a hallmark of ELT teaching of a unit of teaching and is designed
is willingness by teachers to adapt their Assessment primarily to help the teacher determine
lessons to the specific needs of their ever- the effectiveness of the instruction. It
A well-differentiated class will be
changing student compositions. As a may be used to help determine students’
assessed before, during and after a unit
result, when introduced to the concept of grades, but this is not its main purpose.
of teaching. Pre-assessing gives teachers
differentiation in the educational context, This assessment may come in the form
the necessary information to group
ELT teachers often find immediate of a quiz, self-reflection, direct
students effectively and to gauge the
common ground and discover that it questioning or some other task. The
necessity of altering class targets and
already matches their teaching teacher then uses this information to
goals. When teachers start a new unit,
sensibilities. Moreover, teachers will often decide if there is a need to adapt or
they know exactly where they want the
see that they are already structuring adjust the activities for the class or for
minimum level of the students to be by
lessons and facilitating outcomes that individual students.
the end of the unit, but before beginning
directly match the precepts of what is Assessment at the end of a unit of
the first lesson, they give them a mini-
considered effective differentiation. teaching is not just a way of measuring
assessment to determine the level of
However, to some, differentiation can understanding. It can also be a means
mastery the students already have of the
seem to be just another educational to enhance understanding. If the results
topic and targeted outcomes. This
buzzword that has no real value in and of of an assessment at the end of a unit
assessment might include a range of
itself. It is for this reason that this article, show that certain students have not
tasks, from simple vocabulary
divided into two parts, will answer sufficiently mastered the information, a
identification (What is this a picture
questions about the principles of what teacher proficient in differentiation will
of? ), through sentence unmixing (don’t
constitutes effective differentiation and use the results of the assessment to
I know I if should the steak order or
then provide practical differentiation provide additional learning
chicken the), to the generation of
strategies for the ELT teacher. opportunities for the areas still in need
sophisticated language structures (The
truth is that I have (been) here only once). of improvement, particularly if those
What is differentiation? Once the teacher has assembled and areas are critical to subsequent
analysed the data gathered, different information.
Differentiation is an ongoing process
designed in a specific way to provide tasks can be assigned and starting
points for the various levels in the class Task worthiness
students of differing subject
backgrounds, topic interests and skill determined as needed. This assessment Teachers may encounter students who
levels with a variety of starting points, might contain questions to gauge consistently perform either below or
ending points, classroom tasks and student interest in the topic and in above average in the target skills. Being
testing options. The intention is for options that the teacher might be required to perform at an average level
these options to provide students with considering for the upcoming unit. is not advantageous to either of these
the most attuned and relevant That, combined with some inquiries types of students, and may, in fact,
classroom environment possible. In into the students’ preferred learning damage their motivation to strive to
other words, within a class of differing styles, is often enough to tip the scales perform at their best. If a student can
abilities, motivations and background of students who are ‘on the fence’ about quickly understand and solve certain
knowledge of the target topic or a particular unit or even an entire maths problems with very little effort,
outcome, a teacher who differentiates subject. The better a teacher knows a then there is little reason to require this
skilfully can work with several different group of students, the less necessary student to continue to do a pageful of
groups in a way that is relevant, these two question types become. problems of this sort. It becomes a
engaging and approachable. However, this kind of student input is menial task or ‘busy work’ – in other

words, the task is not worthy of the ● Have different plans of action with for hearing students lost in the larger
student and is just set to keep them varying levels of sophistication ready group.
occupied. A well-differentiated class for students to use and choose from ● Re-teach those who are struggling.
might have this student doing more when encountering a potentially ● Extend learning for those who
sophisticated tasks of a similar type. difficult situation. already know the content.
Similarly, it serves no purpose in the
For advanced learners Use multiple presentation/teaching
eyes of the students to be asked to
● Be conscious that students might find modes
perform tasks that are too difficult for
some tasks unchallenging and thus ● Move out of your comfort zone.
them. They know they can’t complete
boring. Design sophisticated lessons ● Plan with the intent of varying your
these tasks well, if at all, which can lead
specifically to combat this potential approach.
to doubts about their own worthiness as
boredom. ● Allow for differentiated participation
students and as people. Instead,
● Be sure that tasks are relevant and based on a student’s skill level.
effective differentiation gives the
engaging.
students tasks that are appropriate for Scaffold reading success
● Develop lessons that push the
their background, interests and skills, ● Pre-teach essential vocabulary, for
students to just beyond their comfort
while still meeting targets and example by posting it on the wall and
level.
outcomes. referring to it as the unit progresses.
● Encourage student choice in setting
● Verbalise the critical thinking process.
advanced goals and criteria.
Frequent student interaction ● Use context cues, captions, tables,
● Provide advanced materials on a class
Teachers who differentiate effectively personal connections, educated
topic or theme.
guesses, etc.
earmark substantial time in their ● Exempt students from practising pre-
lessons for both teacher–student and ● Highlight texts. This can be done
mastered skills.
individually or in small groups and
student–student interaction. By ● Provide learning opportunities with
frequently interacting with the students, assists students who struggle to cope
less concrete outcomes.
a teacher can more effectively monitor with whole chapters. Mark critical
student progress and scaffold skills and text points.
outcomes. The teacher rotates from A typical differentiated ● List internet sites on the same topic
student to student, pair to pair, group class but at different reading and
to group, depending on need. Just as complexity levels. Find sites in the
Teachers starting out in differentiation languages of the students in the class.
critical is student–student interaction. can be confused as to whether they are
This provides valuable time for inter- ● Read aloud to the students, putting
doing it ‘right’. As in most areas of them in groups with similar needs.
student support, communication and education, there is no one correct way,
practice. Students should have frequent This can help with sounding out or
but a typical way of working might be making sense of a text.
interaction with a variety of other as follows:
students for a variety of purposes. Differentiate homework
Pre-assess students at the outset ● This helps avoid ‘busy work’ for those
of the year who have already mastered the
Meeting students’ needs ● Determine and understand students’ content.
Teachers can find it challenging to work interests, preferred ways of learning ● It can be an opportunity to work
with both struggling and advanced and their fundamental skills. backwards to master missing skills or
learners, particularly when they are in ● Use quick comprehension, spelling content.
the same class. Teachers who and writing checks.
differentiate skilfully keep the following Encourage students to learn and
Identify underlying concepts express mastery in varied ways
ideas and strategies in mind in order to
● Determine what all the students are ● Allow for student choice.
help prevent these challenges from
expected to understand.
becoming too involved and costly in
● Clarify the difference between
terms of time and energy.
concepts and the contents needed to
Differentiation-specific
For struggling learners develop those concepts. assessment
● Be conscious that they might be Assessment in differentiated classes may
Pre-assess at the start of each unit
anxious about the given task, and take the traditional forms found in
of teaching
give extra attention to relieve quizzes and end-of-unit tests, but
● Evaluate what the students know and
potential anxiety which may interfere additionally there will be critical
understand, and their abilities.
with classroom progress. ongoing assessments throughout a unit
● Take into account learning styles and
● Look for and note the positives. of teaching. Here are four samples of
multiple intelligences.
● Be sure that tasks are relevant and assessments. The first two (A and B)
● Use this information to adapt lesson
engaging. could be done at the start of the year.
outcomes.
● Develop strategies for helping C could be presented at the start of the
students tackle higher-order tasks, Meet with small groups within the year or at the beginning of a unit. The
such as breaking the assignment into class last sample, D, uses fast, low-cost
smaller parts or using visual aids as ● Make small teacher-led groups a markers to help students and teachers
needed. matter of routine as this can be good evaluate student progress within a unit.

Differentiation 1

A About me With homework, I prefer for the teacher to tell me
what to do and how to do it. T/F
What interests me:
1 With homework, I prefer to have flexibility to do
2 what I want. T/F
3 I usually finish assignments ahead of the deadline. T/F
In my free time I like to __________________________________ . I learn better by doing. T/F

I learn better by listening. T/F
At school, I prefer to study:
by myself. I learn better by sitting. T/F
with a partner. I learn better by moving. T/F
in a small group.
in a big group. B Foreign cultures
I learn best when _______________________________________ . These are the English-speaking countries we will be studying
in the first semester. Which country are you most interested in
It’s hard to learn when __________________________________ . or which sounds the most interesting?
My favourite subject is __________________________________ . USA UK Australia New Zealand Canada
My best subject is ______________________________________ .

C Phrasal verbs
I would describe myself as a ____________________________ , 1 Which of the following is a phrasal verb?
_______________________ and _____________________ person. a) find out b) look before you leap c) have been going
My favourite school memory is __________________________ . 2 Where is the best place to put it in the following sentence?
I can’t ___ figure ___ out ____.
The best teacher I ever had was good because
3 Which of the following phrasal verbs are inseparable?
_______________________________________________________ .
a) add up b) get around c) burn down
It is important for my teachers to know that I
4 Correct the following sentence:
_______________________________________________________ .
She started to catch on the science lesson.
I study best when it is quiet. T/F 5 Fill in the blank with the best word from the list.
I am able to focus on my work when The boy fell _______ the stairs.
others are being loud. T/F a) away b) next c) down
I like to work at a table or desk. T/F
I like to work in my bedroom. T/F D Check yourself!
I try hard at school for myself. T/F point by point
What’s the difference between a haiku and a limerick?
I try hard at school for my parents. T/F
daily
I complete my homework as well as I can. T/F
Three things the class learnt today ...
Sometimes I do not finish homework because: One question I still have is ...
a) it is boring. d) it is too easy. by concept
b) I get frustrated. e) I don’t like the subject. Why do we need to have good eye contact when giving a
c) I don’t like the teacher. speech?
Costa, A Activating & Engaging Habits of

Doug Evans is an
English as an
Mind ACSD 2000 Additional Language
In the second part of this article, I will Tomlinson, C ‘Differentiating instruction – teacher and
discuss how not to confuse department head of
why bother?’ Middle Ground 9(1) 2005 Student Support
differentiation with accommodation, Tomlinson, C How to Differentiate Services at ACS
and provide examples as to how one Hillingdon International
Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms
School in London. He
might creatively structure certain ACSD 2001 has been a teacher in
differentiated tasks and outcomes. ETp Cummings, C Managing to Teach the USA, Japan,
Poland, Russia and
Teaching Inc 1996 South Korea.
Eaton, V ‘Differentiated Instruction’
www.quasar.ualberta.ca 1996 [email protected]

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Resuscitating
reading
A
Rosalind Southward dmittedly, the Cambridge challenging than anything they are
ESOL FCE reading paper is likely to have encountered previously.
wonders if we neglect to an exam which students By equipping students with better
cannot study for outright. reading skills at FCE level, we can
teach reading skills in exam There are no definitive vocabulary lists to provide them with a better bridge to
learn, no grammar structures which we CAE. At the same time, we are also
classes. can say will definitely appear. It seems helping them to develop vital techniques
there is nothing concrete that we can tell which can be utilised when reading in
FCE students to study. However, should their first language.
this mean that we ignore this paper
completely in favour of spending time on How to teach reading?
the more challenging use of English or
writing papers? I am increasingly inclined My students read too slowly … They treat
to say no, and feel that there is a wealth me like a walking dictionary ... Have you
of techniques and skills which we can ever thought these things in the middle
finely tune to help students maximise of a reading lesson? Preparation for the
their potential in the reading exam. reading exam stretches far beyond
Although this article focuses on the forcing students to do time-controlled
FCE exam, the ideas I suggest will be reading exercises in class. Effective use
equally relevant to students at lower of the 60 minutes students have in
levels. A greater focus on skills work from which to do the exam is, of course,
the beginning of a student’s learning vitally important. Yet as teachers, we
career provides the foundations which need to teach the techniques which will
will facilitate their progress later on. enable our students to achieve this,
using interesting yet pertinent materials,
which, as we all know, can’t always be
Why bother with found in the set coursebook.
reading skills?
Many students in Europe want or need An authentic
to pass the FCE exam in order to reading lesson
increase their education or employment
opportunities in the future. Similarly, I am a big fan of authentic text. It is
FCE is a stepping stone to higher-level real, relevant and gives students the
exams such as CAE or Proficiency. It is confidence boost of knowing that they
clear that there is a vast difference in the have read and understood something
linguistic challenges presented at FCE that a native speaker might actually read,
and CAE, and in my experience, even too. So, how can we take an average
strong students initially struggle with newspaper or magazine article and make
the CAE reading paper. The sheer it into something we might find in the
amount of text that they are faced with FCE exam? Here are some ideas for a
is a daunting prospect, added to the fact reading lesson that attempted to make
that the level is academically more the most of an authentic text.

students’ first language. It may be the
I love Paris in the springtime ...
easier option, but there are two things Expressing ideas
The first point is to choose a topic which we really need to be doing: firstly,
will generate interest or opinion. I took helping students decide which unknown and opinions on
an article from a British newspaper on a vocabulary actually interferes with their
notorious blonde, Paris Hilton. When understanding of the text in terms of
abstract topics mirrors
asked, most people admit to either hating being able to complete the task they are what students are
or loving Paris, with a plethora of given, and secondly, helping them then
reasons supporting their viewpoint. Last use the context to determine possible expected to do in
year, when I worked in Asia, some of meaning. Students often forget that it is the final part of the
my students thought I looked like Paris. not necessary to know the exact
(I am blonde and Western – of course I translation of a word, merely that they speaking exam
look like Paris!) So I started my lesson only need to understand its contextual
by getting my Spanish students to guess significance. Throughout my reading
which celebrity they had thought I word-formation exercise found in the use
lessons, I encourage my students to make
resembled. My personal anecdote made of English paper. I then broadened the
these important considerations, and
them laugh and immediately generated topics introduced in the article and asked
help them to use their language
opinions and comments about Paris’s life. the students to discuss their views in
knowledge, alongside the context they
Before the lesson, I took the article small groups. Expressing ideas and
are dealing with, to find their own
and blanked out a number of sentences, opinions on abstract topics mirrors
answers. Questions from the teacher,
which I then typed onto a separate what students are expected to do in the
such as What part of speech is it? Is the
worksheet with one extra ‘red herring’ final part of the speaking exam. In a
meaning negative or positive? and How
sentence thrown in for good measure. subsequent lesson, I gave the students a
do you know?, help students achieve this.
In very little time I had created an copy of the full, original article on Paris
‘authentic’ part two FCE reading exercise Hilton and asked them to blank out
(in the exam, students have to match How and why? twelve words and write them down on a
sentences removed from a text with gaps separate sheet of paper. They then
Having aired our initial thoughts on the
and there is always one sentence that they exchanged texts with a partner and tried
article, I then gave my students the task
don’t use). The article itself discussed the to complete the open-cloze exercise
to complete. Part two of the FCE reading
notion that our obsession with celebrities their partner had made for them.
paper can be challenging if students have
such as Paris Hilton represents a decline Having already spent a lesson working
not been made aware of the best ways
in Western society. Gossiping about with the text in a different way, students
of approaching it. So many students
celebrities has become a means by which were really able to focus on language
jump in head first: they try to match the
we can connect with others in a fast- analysis: an essential skill for part two
sentences to the gaps without considering
moving society where family ties and of the use of English paper.
why a particular sentence fits into a
close relations are becoming obsolete. particular place. I normally elicit from
my students how they are going to go

about doing an exam exercise, and how
What does this word mean? Teaching in Asia meant that I spent a
they will know if they have done it
large amount of time teaching young
As a result of its sociological viewpoint, correctly. When they discuss part two of
children how to read. No one would
the article presented my students with the reading paper, it is amazing how
contest that learning to read a different
some challenging vocabulary. After the many never consider using the vital
written script is a difficult challenge.
first skim-read, I asked them to turn clues provided by grammatical and
Maybe it is time we reviewed the
over their papers and discuss what they lexical links, such as pronouns or verb
challenge of reading and showing
remembered with a partner. I was tenses, and how few recognise the need
extensive comprehension of three, non-
immediately faced with vocabulary to check for the logical sequence of
related texts in 60 minutes. Gaining a
queries. As teachers, we have two options: ideas. The ‘red herring’ sentence often
high score in reading at FCE is no mean
be a walking translator/dictionary or plays on our tendency to interpret a text
feat, and perhaps teaching students to
steer students towards developing the in a particular way, basing answers on
achieve this could be more enjoyable
skills of guessing unknown language. The our interpretation and not on what is
and worthwhile than you think. ETp
former is useful only in monolingual stated in the text.
classes where the teacher speaks the
After completing her
CELTA in 2001, Rosalind
Multi-tasking Southward spent six
Students often Even once we have used a text for a
years teaching in
Barcelona, Spain, and a
reading exercise, we are still left with a year in Thailand. She
forget that it is not has also worked as a
multitude of valuable extension activities freelance writer, and is
necessary to know we can do. After discussing selected items currently teaching at the
British Council in Kuala
of vocabulary with my class, I then had
the exact translation them examine specific words and
Lumpur, Malaysia.
of a word manipulate them into a different part of

[email protected]
speech – incredibly useful practice for the

IN THE CLASSROOM
Let us play
Glenda Demes da
A
ccording to Jeannine Dobbs, second half of the nineteenth century,
the first teacher to write on and it has remained popular ever since.
Cruz uses board games the walls of his classroom The invention of the blackboard
was Reverend Samuel Read was the first example of technology
to keep her students from Hall (1795–1877), a dedicated maths influencing education and it set off a
teacher in Maine, USA, who started the revolution. Since Hall’s time, there have
getting bored. development of visual tools for learning been numerous developments in the
by recognising that something visual presentation of information, from
performing the function of a board was the simple handout to the slide projector,
missing from his classroom, even before the overhead projector, the video
the board itself was invented. projector and the interactive whiteboard.
In 1816, Hall started writing on a The importance of using the board
piece of black paper mounted on the in the classroom may be questioned, but
wall. Some time later, this black paper never its effectiveness. Teachers need the
was replaced by a black wallboard made board to make the students’ learning
of plaster. This new teaching aid became easier. But what makes the board so
very popular among teachers around the useful, so indispensable?
The invention
of the blackboard
was the first example
of technology
influencing education
and it set off a
revolution
A visual resource
Visual aids are very important in the
classroom. The use of the board is
beneficial to students whose learning is
motivated by visual stimuli, and it also
helps students focus on what is being
presented, and to understand and
remember what they hear.
When we draw or write on the
board, we can go on to explain what we
have drawn or written. The information
is given gradually, and this gives the
Phillip Burrows
students time to question any points

they don’t understand.
The board can be used with various

Let us play A resource for students
We can also allow our students to write
on the board. When we do this, we
provide an opportunity for them to
A resource for play
Using the board to play games in the
classroom facilitates group interaction
and enhances learning. The activities
objectives, such as to display messages practise and develop their critical suggested on pages 19 and 20 are
the students need to remember, to thinking skills as they can then compare usually quite challenging, and since the
present new information, to review their work with that of their peers. language which the students produce
information which has previously been Allowing students to write on the board during the game is unpredictable, the
given, and to record what teachers and has many advantages: teacher can steer the students to some
students have said. extent, but cannot entirely manipulate
● A different atmosphere is created.
the result. These games have always
A resource for teachers Writing in groups on the board allows
worked well with my classes.
students to interact not only with the
Classes can be greatly enhanced with While playing language games,
others in their group, but also with
the help of the board and some students can be exposed to the target
the class as a whole. In group
creativity on the part of the teacher. structures. However, because this is
activities where the students remain
The board and the teacher’s creativity done in the context of a game, they
seated at their desks, interaction with
can – and should – be used in tandem relax and forget that they are being
other groups within the class is rare.
to make classes dynamic and watched. They often become so
motivating. There are various ways of ● Students are no longer able to conceal involved in the game that they stop
doing this. Here are some suggestions: their participation in groupwork, feeling anxious about their mistakes.
since evidence of their participation is To be effective in the language
● Before the class starts, or in the first on public display. classroom, games need to be those
five minutes, write on the board some which will allow the students to use the
provocative or polemic sentences, target language frequently and with
riddles, tongue twisters or jumbled
sentences using language you want
Students become flexibility.
the students to learn, etc. This gives so involved in the

those who arrive early something to
do, as well as potentially getting them game that they stop There are many different ways to use
to start to focus on the target feeling anxious about the board in the classroom, and many
language. reasons why teachers choose to do so.
their mistakes Motivation is one of these reasons and
● Draw pictures or abstract shapes on
the board. You can then ask the is an important one. The use of the
students to talk about them. ● Communication cannot be board to play language acquisition
monopolised by one student, as games helps students relax and learn
● Write up words, questions or without pressure. While they are
written discourse does not allow for
statements and ask the students to absorbed in a game, students forget that
this in the way that oral discourse
discuss them or write about them. they are in the classroom; they feel as if
sometimes does.
● Use the board to write up, clarify, they are different people, living in that
● The ability of the teacher to monitor moment and interacting with others.
illustrate, emphasise, organise,
the class is enhanced. The teacher can We all use the board to teach. Why
practise and list any information
observe what one student is writing not make it even more useful than it
given in class.
on the board at the same time as already is? ETp
● Record key words or a brief outline walking around the students who are
of the language presentation you are working at their desks. Dobbs, J Using the Board in the
going to make. Language Classroom CUP 2001
● Some students are less sensitive to
● Write up examples of sentences using criticism when they use the board. Klippel, F Keep Talking: Communicative
vocabulary which you have taught Fluency Activities for Language Teachers
This is because their participation is
CUP 1996
previously. voluntary and last-minute. Planned
written work demands time and
● Draw pictures to illustrate grammar Glenda Demes da Cruz
preparation and may cause them to has been an EFL
points.
ask too much of themselves. teacher and teacher
trainer for 14 years. She
● Summarise the most important
● It is a good option for those students is a professor at UECE
concepts introduced in a lesson. (a state university in
who feel safer writing a foreign Ceará, Brazil). She holds
● Write up a guide to the activities to language than speaking it. a degree in Letras and a
Master’s Degree in
be done in the following lesson. Applied Linguistics from
● Some students who don’t like to ask the same university.
● Keep a record of the students’ for help, or have difficulties in
participation (their answers and expressing themselves, will like the
comments) on the board, using their idea of having their peers and teacher
[email protected]
own words. see their mistakes and offer to help.

Let us play
1 The alphabet game 2 Football English
Aims: to raise students’ awareness of what they already know; to Aim: to practise reading
recycle vocabulary Level: any
Level: any Materials: You will need a button to represent a football and some
1 Put the students into numbered groups. sticky tape to attach it to the board.
2 Draw the following grid on the board and write the alphabet (with 1 Choose a text for the students to read. This could be one from
the students’ help) down the side: the lesson you are about to do or an entirely new one. Prepare
about 20 questions on the text.
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 2 Ask the students to read the text and give them about 10 to 15
A minutes to do this.
B 3 When the time is up, draw the following football pitch on the
C board and divide the class into two teams. Allow them to choose
their own team names and ask them to appoint a team captain.
D
E
…
3 Tell each group to think of one word beginning with each letter of
the alphabet. Set a time limit of two to three minutes for this.
4 When the time is up, call out a letter and ask each group to say
which word they chose. Write their words in the correct place in the
grid.
5 Award points as follows. If one team chose a word that no other 4 Toss a coin and ask the team captains to call heads or tails to
group chose, they get two points. Teams who chose a word that see who starts. Place the ball in the centre of the pitch and decide
was also chosen by one or more of the other teams get one point. which team is playing in which direction.
If, for example, Group 1 chose apple for letter A, Group 2 chose 5 Ask the first team a question about the text. If the answer is
and, Group 3 chose apple and Group 4 chose ace, Groups 2 and 4 correct, the ball moves one line towards the opposing team’s goal.
get two points and Groups 1 and 3 get one point each. The same team then has another turn and the ball only passes into
6 Continue in this way through the alphabet. the other team’s possession if they get the answer wrong.
Variation: The rules may vary, depending on the level of the group. 6 Whenever a team scores a goal, the opposing team gets to start
For example, the students may be asked to come up with words again from the centre. The aim is to score as many goals as
over five letters long; they can be asked to write words on a theme, possible (20 questions should produce at least three or four goals).
such as things that can be found at the beach, in the bathroom, 7 You are the referee. You can give out yellow/red cards to teams
and so on. who speak their mother tongue or are too rowdy. Two yellow cards
You may or may not decide to tell the students in advance of (or one red card) gives the opposing team a penalty: they only have
the criteria for awarding points. to answer one question in order to score a goal.
3 What’s the word? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Aim: to recycle the target language (good for A Good morning. Can I help you?
small texts and dialogues) B Yes, I am looking for a pair of trainers
Level: any
C for my boyfriend.
1 Before the lesson, choose a short text or D What size does he take?
dialogue (similar to one the students have
E He is a size forty.
already studied) and write it into a chart, one
F Well, these ones here are on sale.
word per space, as shown here.
G How much are they?
2 In class, draw the empty chart on the board
H Thirty-nine ninety nine.
and write a title which will give the students a
clue to its content, eg In a shop. I That is cheap! I will take them.
J OK. How would you like to pay?
3 Put the students into teams, and ask them to
guess the words contained in the chart, scoring K In cash.
points for each word guessed. For example, in L That is thirty-nine ninety nine, please.
the chart here, if one team guesses I, they will M Here you are
get three points as this word occurs three times N Thank you. Here are your trainers and your receipt.
in the text. When a word has been guessed
O Thanks. Bye.
correctly, write all instances of it in the chart in
the correct places. P Goodbye.


Let us play
4 Boardwork puzzle Across
Aims: to practise speaking, listening and writing; to encourage 3 A sea creature with a soft oval body and eight tentacles (=
cooperation long arm-like parts).
Level: intermediate/advanced 5 A large greyish green lizard of tropical America.
1 Draw the following puzzle on the board. Note: This one has an 8 A large animal with a long neck, that lives in the desert and
animal theme, but you can create your own puzzles at has one or two humps (= large raised areas of flesh) on its
www.crosswordpuzzlegames.com. back.
9 A bird with a flat face, large eyes and strong, curved nails,
1 2 3 4 which hunts small mammals at night.
12 A large, hard-skinned reptile that lives in and near rivers and
5
lakes in the hot, wet parts of America and China. It has a long
6 nose that is slightly wider and shorter than that of a crocodile.
7 8 Down
9 1 A small, brown European bird known especially for the
beautiful song of the male bird which is usually heard during
the night.
2 A very small insect which lives under the ground in large and
highly-organised social groups.
10 11 4 A large wild animal of the cat family with yellowish orange fur
with black lines, which lives in parts of Asia.
12
6 A small rodent, larger than a mouse, which has a long tail and
is considered to be harmful.
7 A sea mammal that is large, smooth and grey, with a long
pointed mouth.
10 A young sheep, or the flesh of a young sheep eaten as meat.
11 An animal that lives in hot countries, has a long tail and
climbs trees.
2 Divide the class into groups. (The number of groups, as well as 5 When the puzzle has been completed, announce the team that is
the number of students in each group, will depend on the size of the in the lead, but tell the students that the game is not over yet. (Note:
class, but the fewer the better.) it is important not to tell them in advance that there is a second part
3 Tell the class that you will call out a number and say its direction to the game or they will try to do both parts at once.)
on the puzzle (across or down). Then, you will read out the definition 6 For the final part of the competition, tell the students to use the
of the word that fits that place in the puzzle. (The clues for the initials of all the words in the puzzle to form a short definition of a
example puzzle are given here.) word (if they need help, tell them it is a two-word definition). The
4 Ask the groups to discuss a possible word to match the definition team that first finds the word corresponding to the definition gets
and to raise their hands when they think they know the answer. If two extra points.
the word is correct, one of the team members writes the word on (Answers: 1 nightingale, 2 ant, 3 octopus, 4 tiger, 5 iguana, 6 rat,
the board. Each correct word is worth one point. With advanced 7 dolphin, 8 camel, 9 owl, 10 lamb, 11 monkey, 12 alligator.
classes, you can make it a rule that if certain target language is not The letters of the words in the puzzle form the clue ‘animal doctor’
used during the discussion, the team will not get the point. so the final word is vet.)
5 Calefabenadle what?
Aims: to practise reading and writing; to review vocabulary 2 Ask the students to identify the invented words and rewrite the
Level: intermediate/advanced paragraph, substituting words that fit the text.
1 Write a paragraph on the board, changing some of the original Answer:
words for words that do not exist. For example:
I can’t tolerate men any longer! They always disappoint me. Every time
I can’t trymplist men any longer! They always briscol me. Every time I I start dating someone, I get hurt. My relationships do not last very
start popling someone, I get hurt. My repertemenst do not last very long. long. After a month the prince turns into a frog. When a date is
After a month, the prince turns into a frog. When a date is arranged, he arranged, he always arrives later than he should and every time I try to
always himbleds later than he should and every time I try to have a have a talk with him, I have to think twice about what to say, because I
colfes with him, I have to think twice about what to say, because I don’t don’t want to hurt his feelings. What feelings? Well, I guess all I can do
want to hurt his grapertugers. What grapertugers? Well, I guess all I can is wait for a prince that doesn’t turn into a frog. The question is: do they
do is flait for a prince that doesn’t turn into a frog. The question is: do really exist?
they really exist?

TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS
Keeping them
interested
Lucia Maffione considers how to motivate children
when teaching vocabulary.
I
n his book on teaching vocabulary, the learning of words’. One technique categorisation, where students have to
Scott Thornbury quotes Wilga that might achieve this involvement is categorise a list of new words which
Rivers, a leading authority on second elicitation. the teacher has just introduced and
language learning, who wrote some A standard elicitation procedure is explained. These categories might be
years ago: ‘Vocabulary cannot be taught. It for the teacher to present the meaning Friendly/Unfriendly or I like/I dislike.
can be presented, explained, included in all of a word (eg by showing a flashcard) Afterwards, the students compare their
kinds of activities, and experienced in all and to ask the learners to supply the own answers with those of a partner
manner of associations ... but ultimately it form. For example: to see if they agree. In so doing, they
is learned by the individual. As language T: (showing a picture of a skyscraper) express their own points of view, and,
teachers, we must arouse interest in words What’s this? at the same time, practise the new
and a certain excitement in personal words. As Gough points out, it is
development in this area ...’ S: Building? important that students do not agree
This certainly does not mean that the T: Not exactly. all the time so that they have
teacher is redundant. On the contrary, S: Skyscraper? something to talk about.
the teacher should play a pivotal role in T: Good.
motivating young learners during their
This activity maximises speaking
Peer teaching
vocabulary acquisition because only
opportunities and involves the learners, Another motivating activity is peer
motivation will sustain them as they carry
keeping them alert and attentive. teaching, in which students teach
out this complex learning process with
vocabulary items to each other. The
its long-term goals. By complex learning
teacher might, for example, divide the
process, I mean the understanding of Personalisation class into small groups and give each
new words and the ability to store
Another important way to involve and student a piece of paper with a newly-
them and afterwards to retrieve and
motivate learners is to make them encountered word written on it,
use them in appropriate situations.
personalise new lexical items. together with a definition from a
Motivating young learners to enrich
Personalisation is the process of using monolingual dictionary. Each person has
their own vocabulary is undoubtedly a
new words in a context that is real for to make the other members of the
challenging task for teachers.
the learner. According to Scott group guess their word without actually
Consequently, some simple directions
Thornbury, even unmotivated learners saying it. Techniques and strategies they
about how to make vocabulary
will remember words if they have been might employ include using synonyms,
activities motivating may be helpful.
set tasks that require them to make antonyms, mime, drawing, comparison,
decisions about them. The teacher can etc. Students generally enjoy this
Elicitation use tasks that ask students to think activity because guessing words is
As Scott Thornbury points out, ‘young about their personal response to motivating and to succeed they have to
learners need to be actively involved in words. One such activity is subjective communicate with each other.

Fun
Phillip Burrows
A further feature to consider is the
importance of fun.
The learning experience should
involve as much fun (or at least
enjoyment and satisfaction) as possible.
Students (and many teachers) often think
that to be effective, learning tasks have to
be boring. In fact, the opposite is the case
because it has been shown that a relaxed
atmosphere may facilitate the learning
process. The simplest way to provide fun
vocabulary activities is to play games in
the classroom. Here is an example of a
very nice game, useful both for practising
vocabulary and encouraging students to
produce language.
Hot seat
First, the class is divided into two teams.
The students sit facing the board. An
empty chair – one for each team – is
put at the front, facing the team Different contexts students’ motivation. Moreover, through
this activity students are encouraged to
members. These chairs are the ‘hot Another important way to motivate
seats’. One member from each team has focus on the use of the language rather
students in vocabulary activities is to than on the language itself.
to come to the front and sit in the chair introduce and use words within
so that they are facing their team-mates
and have their backs to the board. The
different contexts.
Lexical competence doesn’t consist
teacher has a list of vocabulary items simply of remembering a set of Elicitation, personalisation, peer
that students will use in this game. The vocabulary items. It involves mastering teaching, games and roleplays are just
teacher writes the first word from the the use of them in appropriate some strategies to motivate the
list clearly on the board. The aim of the contexts. learners when you are using vocabulary
game is for the teams to describe that When learning new words, students teaching activities. Whilst these
word using synonyms, antonyms, need to recognise how and where they techniques cannot force the students to
definition, mime, etc to the student who can be used. This goal may be achieved learn new words, they can at least
is in the hot seat. When students are in through roleplays. Here is an example. ensure the learners’ willing participation
the hot seat, they cannot see the word in the learning process. ETp
on the board and must listen to their Door to door salesman
team-mates and try to guess the word This is a pairwork activity. In each pair, Carter, R and McCarthy, M Vocabulary and
from the clues they are given. The first one student plays at being a Language Teaching Longman 1988
hot-seat student to say the word wins a salesperson who tries to sell objects to Gough, C ‘Actually activating vocabulary’
Modern English Teacher 4(2) 1995
point for their team. Then a new the other student, who pretends to be
Hyuyen and Thi Thu Nga ‘Learning
member of each team sits in their a potential client. To make this activity vocabulary through games’ Asian EFL Journal
team’s hot seat.The teacher then work, it will be necessary to pre-teach (online) www.teflgames/com/why.html
writes the next word on the board. some expressions which will enable the Thornbury, S How to Teach Vocabulary
students to accomplish the task. For Pearson 2002
This activity is motivating because it
requires both mental and physical example: (for the client) I don’t need it, I
Lucia Maffione qualified
involvement from the students. The am busy, I can’t afford it ... (for the as a teacher at the
importance of physical activity is often salesperson) It could improve your life, University of Pisa in May
2007. She is currently
overlooked in language teaching, and it you can try it, you can have a refund ... teaching English
is beneficial in encouraging students to The essential thing about roleplays is language, literature and
ESP in several high
be both mentally and physically active, that they provide a memorable way to schools in Barletta, Italy.
rather than just sitting passively. This is use new words or expressions. In this
also a very student-centred activity respect, they are helpful both for learners
because the teacher acts only as a trying to memorise new words and for
[email protected]
facilitator. teachers who want to maintain their

used with children under about the age
Poised for
of 12. This is because their bones are
still relatively soft, and there is a
perceived danger of damaging bone
formation through excessive twisting of
limbs, and so on. While these same
asana are thought to be perfectly safe
for children by many other yoga
experts, I chose not to use them with
learning
my students. Instead, I opted for
breathing activities, relaxation activities,
visualisation activities and asana that are
universally thought to be safe for young
children. This also has the advantage
that they are activities that teachers can
do without any formal yoga training.
Carla Wilson suggests you use yoga Successful

I have been using yoga over a period of
to promote relaxation and concentration. several months in my weekly classes. The
students have shown an improvement
in concentration and in confidence. The
H
aving practised yoga for
several years and taught it to most noticeable difference has been in
adults since I qualified as a students who were particularly lacking
yoga teacher in 2006, I have in concentration ability and confidence
seen the many positive effects it has, previously. Moreover, in some cases, an
such as increased concentration and unanticipated benefit of the yoga has
focus, and reduced stress and anxiety. been that it is something that weaker
It became evident to me that these students can do just as well as, if not
benefits would be very useful in a better than, the students who are usually
children’s language classroom and so I stronger. This was the case with the Palm
decided to incorporate some very tree balance and Visualisation exercises.
simple yoga techniques in my lessons
with children. Yoga for you
Here are the yoga exercises I use in my
Suitable lessons and which you might like to try.
Students’ ability to learn a language can I usually use one or two per lesson,
be hampered if they are anxious, upset interspersed through the main language-
or self-conscious. Yoga can help alleviate learning activities. Breathing exercises
these problems through its promotion should be conducted so that the students
them so that they were suitable for never get short of breath. Breathing
of relaxation, concentration and self-
students with low-level English. As my should always be through the nose.
esteem. However, most research in this
students have only one hour a week of
field has been done with students using
English study, I felt it was important to 1 Letter breathing
their native language rather than in an
maximise the use of English in that time
EFL or ESL setting. This is probably A letter or word is slowly written on
and so I chose the latter option. For
because these settings pose a the board, either by the teacher or by a
the same reason, I wanted all the yoga
communication problem – many yoga student. The students breathe in as
activities in my classes to have an English
techniques, particularly guided upward strokes are written and breathe
component as well as a yoga component.
meditation, require good language out as downward strokes are written.
comprehension skills. (Horizontal strokes such as the cross
The students with whom I wanted to Safe of a t can be accompanied by holding of
use yoga didn’t have the language skills Some yoga experts, including the the breath.) This is a particularly good
necessary for many yoga activities. My teachers at the ashram where I trained exercise to do with words that can’t be
choice, then, was between conducting to teach yoga, recommend that many read phonetically, such as what. It will
the activities in Japanese or adapting asana (yoga postures) should not be help students become familiar with the

pattern or shape of such words. This relax, and the students breathe out
Phillip Burrows
exercise is also useful when students while relaxing the named body part.
are first learning the alphabet. It This exercise promotes concentration
encourages them to focus on their and relaxation.
breathing, which improves
concentration and promotes relaxation. 7 Visualisation
The teacher or a student says a series of
2 Stomach breathing colour and noun combinations (eg pink
Students sit, stand or lie with their hands cat, green house, etc) while the students
resting on their stomachs. The teacher mentally visualise the objects. The words
or a student gives instructions to should be said quickly enough that
breathe in and out. Students try to make students don’t get bored, but slowly
their stomach grow big as they breathe enough so they have time to visualise
in and grow small as they breathe out. each one. Prepare a list of about ten
Instructions can be ‘Big. Small’ or ‘Fat. (more or less depending on age and
Thin’ or ‘Breathe in. Breathe out’. (Don’t ability). The activity can end here or
use just ‘In. Out’ as the breathing is students can then try to recall what they
opposite to the movement of the visualised either orally, in writing or as a
stomach and this may cause confusion, picture. Students can also take the role
ie as we breathe in our stomach moves Alternatively, it can be done without any of describing. For more advanced
out and vice versa. Breathing in and out kind of scoring element. If students students, other information can be
from our stomach promotes full lung lose their balance, they simply try again, added, such as actions (The pink cat is
capacity breathing, which gets more and the whole class counts to 50 or eating,The green horse is jumping, etc).
oxygen into the blood. This helps to re- 100. Variations are to use a song or Visualisation helps improve
energise students, as well as providing backward counting. This asana improves concentration and encourages a direct
the benefits of focusing on breathing concentration. Physical and mental link between the English word and the
mentioned above. balance are strongly connected, and any concept it represents, making translation
improvement to physical balance will to the student’s first language less likely.
3 Stretching and crouching probably give a corresponding
Students breathe in as they stretch tall improvement in mental balance. 8 Extra-sensory perception
with hands in the air and crouch down Several pictures, words or sentences
as they breathe out. The teacher or a 5 Chanting are put on display. One student secretly
student gives instructions such as ‘Tall. Several flashcards are put where chooses one of the pictures, words or
Short’, ‘High. Low’, ‘Big. Small’, ‘Tree. everyone can see them. The students sentences, and then tries to send
Stone’, ‘Giraffe. Mouse’. Stretching and take turns to say the word or phrase messages telepathically to the other
crouching promotes circulation, which associated with each card in order students about which one he or she
energises students. Focusing on around the class until all the cards have has chosen. Students should close their
breathing has the benefits mentioned been used. The teacher times the eyes to help them avoid feeling silly.
above. process. The students then repeat the After several seconds, ask for a show of
exercise and try to do it in a faster hands to see how many students
4 Palm tree balance time. This activity imitates the use of received the telepathic message. This
Students stand with their arms above chanting in yoga, but with the use of activity helps students to concentrate,
their heads, palms together and balance normal English rather than special and promotes intuitive thinking. It is
on their toes. This is a yoga asana that is sacred words. All the students must also a good activity to calm down an
safe for children of any age to practise keep very focused so that when their over-excited class. ETp
as it stretches all the muscles and turn comes round they are ready. All
Carla Wilson has been
bones in one upward direction. This other thoughts are wiped from their teaching English since
can be done as a competitive game minds as they concentrate on the cards 1998, mainly in Japan.
She is director of
with students seeing who can balance and what their classmates are saying. children’s courses at
David English House in
for the longest while the teacher, one Hiroshima, and also
student or all the students count. It can 6 Body parts teaches at Hiroshima
University’s elementary
also be done as a cooperative game The teacher or a student names a body school.
where points are awarded for how many part and the students breathe in while
students are left standing after a given tensing that part. The teacher or a
[email protected]
time, again with someone counting. student then gives the instruction to

B USINESS E NGLISH professional
In private
Alan Marsh explores the world of one-to-one lessons.
S
ome teachers love them, some business and general English one-to-one get through to the person, rather than
hate them: one-to-one lessons, learners, although there are, of course, the student/client/executive/learner. Here
121, private lessons, individual differences. are some thought-provoking aphorisms
lessons – they go by different from Mark Powell, an internationally
names, but they all come down to the Setting the tone renowned teacher trainer who has
same thing: you’re alone with a learner, written several successful business
and usually you’re their only teacher. One of the advantages of 121 lessons is English courses:
Sometimes the learner may also be that you’re dealing with an individual
learner and not a class. This means you 1 We don’t teach business ... we
taking part in a group course, and may
can do all sorts of things you can’t do teach people who do business.
have opted for an extension. Their
reasons for doing so are various, but in a group. These include: 2 Nobody is ‘just a business person’
usually it’s because they want to focus ● giving the learner maximum attention … and yet everybody does
on a specific area, or they want – including listening to them talk business.
individual attention, or both. about anything that interests them; 3 Knowing a lot about people will
I’ve often been asked to write down
● focusing on the learner’s particular give you … what you really need –
some tips and advice for teachers who
strengths and weaknesses; rapport.
feel unsure about teaching one-to-one,
and perhaps to run a workshop. I’ve ● developing a rapport that can be 4 Get to the person first ... and leave
been to several workshops myself, and closer than is normally possible. the job for later.
although they often provide useful
I think the last of these points is 5 ‘Executive’ is a role … not an
insights and some practical techniques,
particularly important. It’s so easy to identity.
they have the problem that all learners
are different, with different lose sight of the person because we’re
Having said that, first of all you need to
personalities, learning styles, strengths focused on the role. A useful thing to
establish some sort of face validity. That
and weaknesses, practical needs and remember here is that we don’t teach
is to say, you need to set the tone and
language learning experiences. As a English; we teach people. It’s the same
establish that the lessons are
result, 121 workshops (including my when it comes to English for Specific
professional and based on the learner’s
own) tend to gloss over the topic and Purposes (ESP). We teach people. What
real and perceived needs (these are not
end up being somewhat unsatisfactory. kind of people? People who need to use
always the same). So carry out some
So I decided to sit down and think English for professional purposes. So
kind of professional needs analysis,
about what I actually do with my one- first and foremost, I think, it’s important
such as the one on page 28. There are
to-one learners. to break down the barriers and try to
plenty of these in coursebooks, but
often the simpler, more direct and
● What are the principles I (sometimes
shorter they are, the better. I like to give
unconsciously) adopt? You need to set these needs analysis questions out and
● What techniques and activities do I the tone and establish ask my learner to think about the
use over and over again? answers to them.
that the lessons are After that, the learner talks, using
● What risks do I take?
professional and the questions as a framework. As they
For the purposes of this article, I’ll be talk, it’s important to leave silences. If
looking at levels pre-intermediate based on the they pause, don’t jump in, but give them
(around B1 on the Council of Europe a chance to formulate what they want to
scale) and above, as following a
learner’s real and say, to search for the word they need, to
coursebook will often suffice for lower perceived needs think. Don’t be afraid of silence. It can
levels. I will also group together both be very productive. By leaving silences,


In private A ten-point analysis
1 What do you do for a living? What is your job? What do you do, exactly?
you are allowing your learner space and
time. Often teachers feel they need to 2 Do you use English in your job? Will you use English in your job in the future?
jump in because a silence can embarrass Do you need English for anything else, for example travelling?
a learner, and they want to help out.
But if you give them space and time, 3 If you use English (now or in the future), do you/will you use it …
they will usually come up with
something themselves. So leave some ● on the phone?
silence first (say three to five seconds), ● to write (emails, reports, messages)?
then offer a prompt if necessary.
● face-to-face?
As they speak, ask any follow-up
questions, eg So what do you want to do ● with native speakers?
most? What are you strongest/weakest ● with non-native speakers?
in? How do you feel about (grammar)?
Are you good at it? Is it a priority for 4 How have you learnt English in the past? When? How long?
you? Can you use it well when you’re
speaking? Do you feel you need more
5 Think about your spoken English. Where would you put yourself on this line?
words and expressions (vocabulary)? How
—————————————————————————————————————————
do you feel about your pronunciation? Is 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
it good enough for you? Do you want to Beginner I can keep Expert
practise it? Do you understand when a conversation going
people speak quickly? Can you speak What about your ability to understand natural spoken English? Where would
quickly, or do you find yourself searching you put that on the line?
for words?
Regarding the question about spare
6 Think about your ability to read and understand authentic English
time interests, here’s something a
(newspapers, articles, emails, reports, etc). Where would you put yourself
colleague in Malta told me:
on this line?
‘I also discovered that it’s very
—————————————————————————————————————————
important to find out what the student 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
enjoys talking about. I had a Japanese Beginner I can understand Expert
lady who was mad about football so I newspaper/internet articles
found this e-lesson from Macmillan What about your written English (formal and informal letters, messages,
about Ronaldinho and she really enjoyed emails, etc)? Where would you put that on the line?
it and said it was a good change from the
usual stuff women tend to talk about, like
7 How do you feel about English? Do you like it, or not? Is it easy or difficult
fashion, family, etc.’
for you?
Getting personal 8 What do you expect from this course? What do you want to be able to do
To be able to work on the learner’s needs, by the end of the course? What is most important for you?
you need to get them to provide data.
When it comes to speaking, they need to 9 What are your spare time interests and hobbies?
speak. And most people like talking
about things that are relevant to them: 10 Is there anything else you want to tell me?
their experiences, their hopes, beliefs,
families, jobs, cultures, their favourite
food, music, holiday experiences, etc. Here is an original task, which will 3 You both put your instructions
But many may be reluctant to – unless enable you to do this. This is how it aside, look at your ME-diagram
you give them a way in. And one works: and try to remember why you have
effective way of doing that is by first of 1 written what you have. If you don’t
Each of you has a ME-diagram
all talking about these things yourself. remember, go back to the
(see page 31). You take the A
So be prepared to talk about your own instructions.
instructions and your learner takes
life, family, hopes, etc. Once you’ve 4
the B instructions (see page 30). Exchange ME-diagrams.
opened the door and invited the learner
in, the chances are that they’ll walk on 2 You each fill in information on the 5 Ask your learner: Why have you
through and feel comfortable talking ME-diagram, following your written […] for number [4]? Your
about their own lives. individual instructions. learner tells you. As they do so, ask

back-channelling questions to get English Vocabulary in Use, for manager, a politician, a factory
them to expand, clarify and example. Get the student to do an manager. Prepare interview questions
explain, eg Why was that exactly? exercise first. If they don’t do it well, and go along to the meeting. Do
Really? That’s interesting ... can you teach or elicit the rules and uses. Then feedback together afterwards.
tell me a bit more about that?, etc. get them to do the exercise again.
Remember to leave pauses, silences Make sure you do those exercises ● Have a variety of tasks so that
for your learner to fill. where they have to personalise the boredom doesn’t set in and the pace is
new knowledge by extending it to right.
6 Then your learner chooses a
their own lives and experiences ● If a learner needs to do something in
number on your ME-diagram and
(usually the last exercise). Don’t be English in real life, prepare and
asks you: Why have you written
afraid to extend these conversations practise it in the lessons (a
[…]? Explain, describe, expand
by asking lots of questions. presentation, speech, report, showing
and give lots of information. The
aim is to share your experience(s), ● Recycle vocabulary. For example, set people around the company, etc).
and also to show your learner that up a vocabulary box where you put ● If learners are going to be asked
that is what is expected of them. each new important item of questions in English (eg for a job
7 Every 15 minutes or so, stop and vocabulary (including lexical chunks) interview, or for showing visitors
give some feedback on language on a slip of paper which goes into the around, or as part of an oral exam in
used (again, this gives the chat box. The next day, pick out some English), get them to think of as
more face validity). Comment on items randomly, give the definitions many questions as possible which
language used well; show errors and ask the learner to say the words. they might be asked. Help them put
(grammar, pronunciation, Remember, most learners need to these into English. Prepare answers
vocabulary, phrasing) and ask your encounter a vocabulary item at least and rehearse them (and record them
learner to see if they can correct seven times before they’ve learnt it! if possible for feedback).
them; introduce better, more ● Keep getting focused feedback. ● Rehearse real-life tasks, record them
idiomatic ways of saying what your Instead of asking Is everything OK? and do feedback.
learner wanted to say. To do all ask What would you like to do more of
this, keep brief notes while your or less of? ● Recycle language and repeat tasks.
learner explains their ME-diagram,
but do it discreetly so that it doesn’t ● Sometimes record your learner. Give ● Use a coursebook as a framework,
stem the flow. them the cassette player and ask them but use your own materials, too.
to stop the cassette whenever they
● Ask if your learner wants homework.
Twenty tips want feedback (they ask you if
If they do, give it regularly and give
something is right, or if there’s
● By all means revise and extend feedback on it promptly.
another way of saying things, etc).
grammar, but remember that learners Try not to correct them while they’re And finally, last but not least:
want to use language (grammar and talking. Play back the cassette
vocabulary) to talk about the things afterwards, and you or your learner ● Listen. Show you’re interested (use
that are important to them, eg their can stop it whenever you want to eye contact, back-channelling and
lives, experiences, jobs, families, focus on a particular utterance. body language).
holidays, hopes, hobbies, etc. Don’t
let grammatical accuracy be the ● Change the environment now and ● Keep up that rapport which you have
yardstick for everything. again, if the learner is willing – go to so carefully established. ETp
a museum, a café or a garden. But
● Allow plenty of time for fluency take your materials with you so that Redman, S English Vocabulary in Use:
activities. Look at speaking fluency the lesson goes on. (Check that your Pre-intermediate and intermediate CUP
books, such as Discussions A–Z. Director of Studies knows and 2005
Chatting in English gives most learners approves.) Wallwork, A Discussions A–Z CUP 1997
a sense of achievement – they may
never have been able to do this before. ● Take regular, short breaks – both of
Alan Marsh is based in
you! One-to-one is tiring! Malta and has been an
● Learners often ‘know’ a lot of basic ELT teacher for 30
grammar, but often have difficulty in ● Stand up and move around – again, years. He is a freelance
teacher and teacher
using it in real-life communication. So both of you. This can be done in trainer on Cambridge
focus on real-life communication – roleplays or if the learner comes to CELTA and DELTA
courses and also works
but don’t forget to work on the the board to explain things to you. with secondary school
supporting systems (lexis, grammar, and adult education
phonology and discourse). ● If you are teaching in a country teachers on Comenius
courses.
where English is spoken, try to set up
● Learners often have limited vocabulary. a meeting with someone local in the
Extend it. Look at the excellent series same line of business, eg a bank [email protected]

Tell me about yourself (A)

Look at the questions below. Think about your answers. If you can’t remember, go back and look at the original
Write short answers in the numbered spaces on the questions. Exchange ‘ME-diagrams’ with your student.
‘ME-diagram’. When you’ve finished, look at all your Ask why they have written what they have. Try to find out
answers and see if you can remember what they refer to. as much as you can about your student as a person.
A
Write the following pieces of information about yourself on the ‘ME-diagram’:
1 The name of a city or country that you have visited in your job.
2 Three of the most important things you have to do in your job.
3 The biggest challenge your company or institution faces in the future.
4 The three most essential qualities of a person who does your job well.
5 Three things that you would like to improve in your job performance.
6 The name of a book or article that you have read which has really influenced you in your work.
7 Three things that would irritate you in a colleague.
8 What you are most looking forward to in your job in the weeks or months ahead.
9 The year when you were happiest up to now in your professional life.
10 A personal achievement in your work that you are especially proud of.
Tell me about yourself (B)

Look at the questions below. Think about your answers. If you can’t remember, go back and look at the original
Write short answers in the numbered spaces on the question. Exchange ‘ME-diagrams’ with your teacher. Ask
‘ME-diagram’. When you’ve finished, look at all your why they have written what they have. Try to find out as
answers and see if you can remember what they refer to. much as you can about your teacher as a person.
B
Write the following pieces of information about yourself on the ‘ME-diagram’:
1 The name of a person you really admire in your field, or anyone else you really admire because of the work they
have done.
2 The name of a person you enjoy or have enjoyed working with.
3 The three most important qualities of a person in your line of work.
4 The name of a country which you consider is good for business for your company’s product, or which has
contributed a lot to your field.
5 What you are most looking forward to in the next few weeks (or months) in your job.
6 Three things you would like to know about your teacher’s job.
7 The most challenging or difficult aspect of your job.
8 Three things you really like about your job.
9 Three ambitions you have in your job.
10 What job you would like to do if you didn’t have your present job.

ME-diagram
1 ..................................................................
2 ..................................................................
3 ..................................................................
4 ..................................................................
1 Identify a time when you have

felt ‘different’ or noticed
something different when with a
person of another culture.
5 ..................................................................
6 ..................................................................
7 ..................................................................
8 ..................................................................
9 ..................................................................
10 ..................................................................

IN THE CLASSROOM
I got it off the TV

The Shopping Channel
This might be thought as the sister
programme to the one above. Bring in,
or encourage your students to bring in,
some truly naff jewellery, knickknacks
Annette Margolis goes square-eyed in her pursuit of lesson ideas. and unwanted Christmas presents that
are normally kept hidden from human
M
y students and I enjoy a good answer a question posed by the other view. Encourage your students (working
game of ‘Things we don’t do’. speaker with another question. A in pairs) to ‘sex them up’ in order to re-
This usually starts off with my possible model might be a typical gift them to other students. After they
admission that I don’t watch TV. (Not conversation between a mother and her have tried it once, show them an extract
all Italian television is poor quality, but grown-up offspring or even between of how the professionals from the
listening to the radio is less angst- lovers, one of whom is jealous: shopping channel do it. This provides
inducing and gives me the opportunity A: How are you? excellent practice in adjective order, as
for limited multi-tasking.) The result is a B: Why do you want to know? in a delightful, miniature, hand-painted,
game of questions (see below) in which A: Why don’t you want to tell me? wooden fairy house.
a student will ask ‘Why don’t you watch B: Do you think I don’t love you?
TV?’, followed hot on the heels by my Word Coining
‘And why do you watch it?’ Blind Date Speed Dating Ashley Harrold, a poet in my
In fact it is not strictly true that I In this quick-change version, pairs of hometown of Reading in the UK
don’t watch TV. During holidays in the students think up three important (www.afharrold.co.uk), alerted me to his
UK, visiting my mobility-challenged questions for the partner of their dreams. presence on a radio show (as opposed
mum, and those with my sister in rural Potential partners sit in two concentric to a TV show), where he and his fellow
France, there is little to do except watch rings and ask their questions to the bards took turns to invent new words
TV. And so, like other dedicated person facing them. One ring moves and definitions by blending, suffixing
colleagues before me, I have profited round one place after, say, five minutes. and compounding. If you have an
from this enforced viewing to come up In classes where one sex predominates, I inventive class, you might like to try it
with new teaching input. Many of the persuade same-sex groups to ask their with them.
questions to either a girl or boy as
ideas described below are from quiz
shows. No plagiarism is intended but I appropriate. The latter can say who they
am unable to put a name to them all. felt asked the best questions. I’m sure some enterprising,
My students tell me that when they go mathematically-minded English teacher
The Fake Phone-In out to a bar, they use questions/messages
Students have to think up a list of has managed to adapt the internationally-
on post-it notes to pass to someone who franchised TV show Deal or no Deal –
famous people they would like to speak takes their fancy. So presumably this
to on a TV phone-in programme. They perhaps for practice in using modals of
predominantly spoken activity can be probability. I haven’t as yet, although I do
then invent questions to ask the changed into a written one!
personalities. One lucky (?) student is use some activities similar to those in
chosen to come to the front of the class QI Think of a Number, even if somewhat
as the star (in the state school where I I think the idea of the TV show QI (Quite sparingly as not all my learners love
teach, in which classes are mixed ability, Interesting), in which the winning answer mathematics. Also, mathematics, even on
I might choose someone whose English to a question is the most interesting one an exploratory basis, has a tendency to
is either better than the average or is and not the boring albeit correct one, limit the number of correct responses.
confident in manipulating the little might be applied more extensively in If anyone out there can help me put
language they have) and another as the order to liven up classroom talk. a name to those programme titles I’ve
presenter, who fields calls of the type: forgotten, I’d love to hear from them, as
Patently Obvious I would from any game-show addicts
‘We’ve got Giovanni on the phone
This programme had a short run on the who have succeeded in the knotty
from Modena. He’d like to ask ...’
BBC in the seventies. Basically, opposing problem of transforming them into
And, of course, as it’s a phone-in,
teams of scientists had to guess the presentable lesson ideas. ETp
the questioner has to hold a phone to
function of some pretty strange-looking
their ear as they’re speaking and
objects. I use this when I am clearing out Annette Margolis
everyone else has to listen. teaches learners of all
stuff from underneath the sink and can ages in the Latina area
Questions, Questions bring to class some of those odd objects of Italy. She is now an
assistant tutor/trainer
I got this idea from David Crystal, who that tend to lurk under sinks, together for the Cambridge
described it at a conference, rather than with any broken bits and bobs whose CELTYL.
from the TV, but it is based on an idea function has been all but forgotten.
from the TV show Whose Line is it Teams of students present their new
Anyway? uses to their classmates and with any
Students either plan or improvise a remaining enthusiasm can also design
their own advert to sell them. [email protected]
dialogue in which each speaker must

IN THE CLASSROOM
I think, therefore I learn 1

In the first of a new series, Tessa Woodward shares her thoughts
on the need to encourage thinking for both teachers and learners.
‘I’ll be more enthusiastic about are queasily sorting out a hail of asks a tricky question, not like ‘Can we go
encouraging thinking outside the box information in a storm of change or now?’, but more like ‘Is a “mandate” the
when there’s evidence of any thinking studiously manipulating new language, same as a “manifesto”?’, some teachers
going on inside it.’ we need to stay calm and focused so may feel that the student is trying to catch
Terry Pratchett that we can deal with it all and keep a them out. However, if we reset our mental
sense of humour. We all, students and compass, moving it away from the point
A
s language teachers, we think
hard about our lessons. Students, teachers, need to keep our wits about us. labelled ‘Giving my lesson’ and towards
too, do a lot of thinking when So let’s check that we are allowing this the lodestar of ‘Genuine curiosity’, we
trying to understand and use a new thinking to happen in our classes. can learn how our student is attempting
language. So it may sound odd to suggest to make sense of the lesson. So, as we
A thinking classroom
that we start teaching thinking or that ourselves become curious and observe
There is a belief now that thinking can be
some of our classroom routines actually and listen to our students carefully, being
encouraged through overt instruction in
stop it dead. I’ll explain! Let’s start by open about our own ignorance and
how to do it. This instruction, plus plenty
looking at two different kinds of thinking. showing the sources we use to check
of practice, it is believed, leads to an
things out, we model behaviour that is
1 Practical thinking in everyday life improvement in student performance,
valuable in a learning environment.
These days, in many settings, we and our intelligence and achievement of tasks. But
students receive masses of information before we get to the specifics on overt Let’s think about it
and ideas from many different sources. instruction, there is much that a teacher Maybe, if I look at the list above of
Along with newspapers, books, radio can do to set the tone for mental exercise. recommended behaviours for encouraging
and TV, we’ve now got emails and text Being warm and encouraging, thinking, I can be tempted to think, ‘Oh!
messages, podcasts and internet chat having high expectations of students, I believe I already do all those!’ But if I
lines bombarding us with messages. We giving students the freedom to express am honest, I’m not absolutely sure that I
have to sort all these out somehow, opinions, to explore and take risks are hear all student contributions, let alone
analyse them, recognise assumptions, all mentioned in the research literature. acknowledge them all properly. If I really
evaluate arguments, make decisions and want to find out my patterns, I need to
Teacher behaviours
judge consequences. In this era of swift invite a couple of colleagues in to check
When searching for advice on how to
technological change, moving this for me or record myself on audio
achieve the kind of classroom climate
populations, short-term employment and then analyse the tape afterwards.
that stimulates thinking, I came across a
and family break-up, we have to plan,
adapt and solve problems.
list of recommended teacher behaviours,
which I have adapted below. We can:
2 Thinking in language classes ● set/negotiate ground rules well in In my next article I’ll look at how
Within language learning, we and our advance; teacher questions, wait-time and follow-
students also need to perform mental ● provide well-planned, non-threatening up questions can encourage or can close
exercises such as: identifying, defining activities; down thinking! ETp
and analysing pieces of language, ● show respect for each student and
Paley, V ‘On listening to what children say’
scanning for patterns, working out rules, accept individual differences; Harvard Educational Review 56(2) 1986
devising mnemonics, memorising, ● be flexible and positive;
Thacker, J in Gough, D ‘Thinking about
coming up with creative alternatives ● show that we are thinking, too; thinking’ USA National Association of
when meeting gaps in our knowledge, ● acknowledge every response; Elementary School Principals 1991
recognising categories, evaluating the ● allow students to be active participants;
credibility of sources, being aware of ● create success-oriented experiences Tessa Woodward is a
that are doable at least part of the teacher and teacher
feedback and reacting to it, diagnosing trainer at Hilderstone
problems, being sensitive to context, time by each student; College, Broadstairs,
predicting what comes next and ● vary our methods. UK. She also edits The
Teacher Trainer for
evaluating our own and other people’s (Based on Thacker, in Gough 1991) Pilgrims, UK. She is a
work. We also have to deal cognitively past president of IATEFL.
Student questions Her latest book is
with all the tasks and materials of a Headstrong, published
From the list above, we can see that by TW Publications,
lively communicative classroom.
encouraging students to be active and which is reviewed on
page 44.
Whichever of these two kinds of acknowledging every response are both
[email protected]
thinking we’re involved in, whether we important. Sometimes, when a student

Activity
corner
Jon Marks offers two photocopiable,
thematically-linked communication
activities with an element of
innovation.
Two ‘speed pairing’ activities

If speed dating isn’t something you’ve suggestions you receive – lion tamer or instead ask everybody to think up an
heard of, it works like this: half a group of actor will make for a more interesting imaginary identity. This could be
people who are seeking a partner sit at activity than cleaner or shop assistant. something linked to a coursebook unit you
tables, while the other half circulate, sitting have been using. For example, if the unit is
2 Divide the class in half and tell one half
for just a few minutes at each table and about music, each student could pretend
they are interviewers and the other half
exchanging personal information. The idea to be a famous musician or singer,
candidates for the chosen job. Give the
is that it’s a quick and efficient way to find imagining that person’s personal
interviewers a moment or two to think of
someone who shares your interests and circumstances and likes and dislikes if
the questions they are going to ask the
whom you might like to date. The two these are not already known.
candidates for the job. Meanwhile, the
‘speed pairing’ activities here are loosely
candidates think up an imaginary identity 2 Give each student a copy of the
based on this format – although without
for themselves. This should be someone handout on page 39. Sections 7, 8 and 9
the dating element, of course. The first is
who has suitable qualifications and have to be completed by the students with
based on the idea of job interviews; the
experience for the job. Avoid rushing this their own ideas (food, music, TV, weather,
second involves the exchange of personal
phase – check that everybody is ready book, clothes, etc). This could either be
information to find similarities and
before continuing. done by brainstorming suggestions and
differences.
everybody writing in the same thing, or by
While each activity is in progress, 3 Each candidate chooses an interviewer
each student privately writing in their own
monitor the language being generated. and sits down to be interviewed. They
ideas.
Afterwards conduct a feedback session. roleplay the interview, and the interviewers
What language problems did the students make notes on their handouts. Assist any 3 Organise the class into random pairs –
find they had? What errors did they make? pairs who are having trouble getting preferably people who don’t usually sit
How could they have expressed started. together. The pairs then have
themselves better? conversations in order to find out in which
4 When the interview is complete, the
Both activities could also be done areas their experiences and tastes are
candidates stand and find another
without photocopies. You could instead similar. As in a real-life conversation, there
interviewer to repeat the process. There is
put the grids given here on the board for is no clear cue as to who should start and
space on the handout for up to seven
students to copy into their notebooks (in how the conversation should progress. As
interviews, but I would suggest that in
the second activity, writing ‘S/D’ rather you monitor, assist any pairs who are
most cases three to five will be about
than ‘similar/different’ 30 times!). faltering.
right.
4 When the conversations have run their
5 To finish, each interviewer finds the
1 Job interviews course, repeat with two further pairings.
person they thought most suitable, and
Level: Pre-intermediate and above Approaching such an open and loosely-
offers them the job.
structured activity may have been quite
Time: A minimum of 20 minutes 6 If you wish, begin the whole process challenging. Repeating it will give students
Preparation: Make a copy of the handout again with a new job, and with the former the chance to improve on their first
on page 38 for each student (there are two candidates becoming interviewers and attempt and gain confidence. At the end,
given on the page to reduce photocopying). vice versa. each student can tot up the scores to find
You may like to reorganise your classroom which of the people they spoke to is the
furniture so that interviewers and 2 Similar or different? most similar to themselves.
interviewees can sit facing each other – for
Level: Intermediate and above
example, by having two facing rows of Jon Marks is an ELT writer
Time: A minimum of 20 minutes and editor, based in Italy.
chairs. (However, if this isn’t practical, the Recent publications include
students can just sit next to each other.) Preparation: Make a copy of the handout the Puzzle Time series and
IELTS Resource Pack (both
on page 39 for each student. DELTA Publishing) and three
Method
titles in A & C Black’s Check
1 Brainstorm various types of job with the Method Your English Vocabulary
class. Which jobs are difficult to get? What 1 One way to use this is as a ‘getting-to- series. He is currently
developing teenager courses
qualifications/experience are needed? know-you’ type of activity. However, if that for China, and also draws
Which jobs would the class most like to might generate unwelcome contrasts in the Langwich Scool cartoon
in ETp.
do? What would they really not like to do? social or financial status, or if the students
[email protected]
Choose a colourful job from the know each other well already, you could


Job interviews
Job ........................................................................................................
Name Qualifications Experience Suitability
Job interviews
Job ........................................................................................................
Name Qualifications Experience Suitability

Similar or different?
Name: ...................................................... ...................................................... ......................................................
1 Family: similar / different similar / different similar / different
2 Job: similar / different similar / different similar / different
3 Residence: similar / different similar / different similar / different
4 Leisure interests: similar / different similar / different similar / different
5 Favourite type of
similar / different similar / different similar / different
holiday:
6 Favourite type of film: similar / different similar / different similar / different
7 Favourite type of
................................................:
8 Favourite type of
................................................:
9 Least favourite type of

................................................:
10 Hopes for the future: similar / different similar / different similar / different
TOTAL SIMILAR: _____ / 10 _____ / 10 _____ / 10

D E S I G N E D T O P H O T O C O P Y
PREPARING TO TEACH ...

Can
John Potts displays his potential.
Ai I can see clearly now the rain has gone. Ci Smoking can damage your health.
(Johnny Nash)
Cii My iPod can hold 40,000 songs.
Aii I can’t dance, I can’t sing. (Genesis)
Di If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad. (Sheryl Crow)
Bi You can leave your hat on. (Joe Cocker)
Dii It can’t be raining if they’re still playing on Centre Court.
Bii You can’t have my heart. (Joe Cocker)
Diii It can’t have been a good party if everyone left early
Biii Baby, can I hold you? (Tracy Chapman)
MEANING FORM PRONUNCIATION

Ai refers to physical ability All ten sentences contain a form of can, which is a In rapid fluent speech, can is often
to do something. modal auxiliary verb. pronounced quite weakly. The negated
form can’t is pronounced kG*nt in
Aii refers to an acquired or Like most modals, can is followed by the infinitive
British English and kænt in American
learnt ability (or not, in this without to. There is no third person s in the affirmative.
English.
case!).
Aii, Bii, Di, Dii and Diii use the contracted form
In Bi the speaker allows can’t. The full form is written as one word: cannot.
someone to do something. CONCEPT QUESTIONS
Dii shows how modals can take on present
In Bii the speaker refuses Aii I can’t dance, I can’t sing.
progressive meanings by adding be + present participle.
to let someone do Am I able to dance or sing? (No.)
Diii shows how modals can take on past meanings by Why not? (Perhaps you never
something.
adding have + past participle. learnt how to.)
In Biii the speaker asks to Is it possible to learn? (Yes –
be allowed to do something. everyone has the potential!)
FUNCTION
Ci says that smoking is
Modals are frequently associated with functions, and Cii My iPod can hold 40,000
inherently dangerous – it’s
any modal may express a number of different functions. songs.
potentially dangerous.
Can has four main functions: What is the maximum number of
Cii refers to the inherent songs on an iPod? (40,000.)
capacity of my iPod – its Ai and Aii express ability (whether physical or an Do I have 40,000 on mine? (We
potential capability. acquired skill). don’t know – perhaps it isn’t full
In Di the speaker assumes Bi, Bii and Biii express, refuse or request permission. yet.)
that, from what she knows, it But it has the capacity for
Ci and Cii express inherent capacity or potential.
isn’t so bad. 40,000? (Yes.)
Di, Dii and Diii express assumptions and
In Dii the speaker assumes Dii It can’t be raining if they’re
deductions.
that it isn’t raining, based on still playing on Centre Court.
the evidence. Do we think it’s raining? (No, we
USE don’t.)
In Diii the speaker assumes
Ai, Aii, Ci and Cii are used widely in both formal and How do we know? (Because
that it wasn’t a good party,
informal contexts. they’re still playing on Centre
based on the evidence.
Court.)
The basic concept of can is Bi, Bii and Biii are often felt to be informal and Are we 100 per cent sure it’s not
‘potentiality’ – this spoken, and some speakers prefer to employ could or raining? (No, not 100 per cent.)
encompasses notions such may when expressing permission. So how sure are we? (99.99 per
as potential ability, possibility Di, Dii and Diii tend to be found in more informal cent!)
and inherent capacity. These and spoken contexts; in more formal registers, verbs Why? (Because it’s logical –
in turn are often expressed such as assume, presume, deduce, conclude, etc may when it rains they stop playing,
functionally – see Function. be used instead. so …)

D E S I G N E D T O P H O T O C O P Y
PREPARING TO TEACH ... Can
SITUATIONS
I can, I can’t Prepare a questionnaire for your Can I? cards Make sets of cards (or simply a worksheet)
learners to do in small groups. Include questions with visual and/or word prompts, eg a cigarette, a car, a
about languages, musical talents, skills such as parking sign, a dictionary, a pen, a camera, etc (use
driving or riding, technical skills, unusual skills, Microsoft Clip Art as a source for the visuals). The
etc. Then each group member presents someone students work in pairs and take turns to use a prompt
from the group and says what they can do. card to ask for permission to do something (eg Can I
smoke here? Can I borrow your pen? etc). Provide some John Potts is a teacher
Variation 1: This can also be done as a ‘Find and teacher trainer based
exponents for the reply (eg Yes, of course you can. No, in Zürich, Switzerland.
some things in common’ activity. He has written and
I’m afraid you can’t. Yes, you can, but only if you …).
co-written several adult
Variation 2: It can also be done as a ‘Find coursebooks, and is a
someone who can …’ walk-around activity. Carrier bag clues (Note: this activity practises both Joint Chief Assessor for
the Cambridge/RSA
can’t/can’t have and must/must have when making CELTA scheme.
Living here Ask the class to prepare some deductions and assumptions – you’ll need some items of [email protected]
guidelines for visitors to their town or country, realia.) Take to class a carrier bag containing objects
including things that one can or can’t do – eg you which reveal something about the owner (eg a cigarette
can buy bus tickets at a shop or kiosk, but you lighter, several chocolate bar wrappers, an unused tram
can’t buy them on the bus. or bus ticket, a dated receipt, a comb, a lipstick, a
boarding card stub, a French–English dictionary, a city
Dos and don’ts You can combine practising street plan, a photo of a young man/woman, a phone
can/can’t with must/have to/mustn’t and make a card, etc). Students take an object from the bag one at a
list of dos and don’ts – either for a town or time and make deductions about the owner – for both
country, as above, or as school rules, etc. the present and the past.
COMPETITION RESULTS
6 20 4 24 17 15 3 22 3 19 23 15 Congratulations to all those Hiltrud Hartmüller, Ludwigshafen, Germany
K E Y S T H O R O U G H readers who successfully Karolina Kaminska, Burton-on-Trent, UK
18 3 24 3 12 11 12
N O S O A P A completed our Prize Crossword Jeevan Sagar, Pithora, India
20 7 19 12 17 3 22 17 3 9 20 21 28. We apologise for the fact Francesca Ferri, San Michele all’Adige, Italy
E Q U A T O R T O W E L that the wrong number was
20 18 13 22 13 12 14 Magdalena Horajko, Reading, UK
E N I R I A F printed in one of the squares
Melissa Martin, Stuttgart, Germany
16 13 23 13 17 3 16 3 19 22 24 of the quotation. The winners,
D I G I T O D O U R S who will each receive a copy Noemi Strohmeier, Basel, Switzerland
20 8 22 16 19
of the Macmillan English Sandy Willcox, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
E C R D U Susan Ruston, Wokingham, UK
20 12 22 17 15 4 22 12 13 24 13 18 Dictionary for Advanced
E A R T H Y R A I S I N Learners, are: Fiona Maclean, Veyrier, Switzerland
11 12 24 22 8
P A S R C 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
3 26 10 20 8 17 22 12 16 13 3 M Z O Y V K Q C W J P A I
O B J E C T R A D I O 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
26 26 18 19 13 20 19 F H D T N U E L R G S X B
B B N U I E U
9 3 22 16 24 21 13 6 20 18 12 17 19
20 25 13 24 17 16 20 5 20 21 3 11
E X I S T D E V E L O P W O R D S , L I K E N A T U
22 20 15 12 21 14 22 20 5 20 12 21
12 17 20 13 20 17 21
A T E I E T L R E , H A L F R E V E A L
12 18 16 15 12 21 14 8 3 18 8 20 12 21
1 19 24 15 22 3 3 1 23 12 2 20
M U S H R O O M G A Z E A N D H A L F C O N C E A L
17 15 20 24 3 19 21 9 13 17 15 13 18
T H E S O U L W I T H I N
Tennyson, In Memoriam
Visit the
ETp website!
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www.etprofessional.com
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IT WORKS IN PRACTICE More tested lessons, suggestions, tips and techniques which
have all worked for ETp readers. Try them out for yourself –
and then send us your own contribution.
All the contributors to It Works in Practice in this issue of ETp
will receive copies of Destinations Grammar & Vocabulary,
levels B1, B2 and C1 and C2, by Malcolm Mann and Steve
Taylore-Knowles, published by Macmillan. These books were
reviewed in Issue 57 of ETp. Macmillan have kindly agreed to
be sponsors of It Works in Practice for this year.
Teaching Las Vegas style

Using dice with common classroom activities can turn Ask the students to roll the dice and think of a word
monotonous drilling into lively, giggling sessions that whizz with the corresponding number of syllables (4, 5 and 6
by faster than you can say ‘double six’. The element of can be made to be secondary representations of 1, 2
uncertainty jolts the students out of the stupor often and 3).
induced by the anticipation of repetitive tasks. Handling
dice is also a bonus for your tactile learners. The final Make two lists of words. The students roll the dice
advantage, which will have you leaping for joy, is that it twice to choose a word from each list and then make a
requires virtually no extra planning, and after a few tries you sentence using both words. The lists can include
can instantly introduce them at any time. My dice are a combinations of things such as weather and days of the
permanent part of my teaching bag and I use them at least a week, verbs and places, clothes and countries. As long
couple of times a week. Normal six-sided dice can liven up as they are grammatically correct, nonsensical
drilling, grammar formations and many other activities. sentences (eg I wear shorts in Siberia) simply add to
However, if you get addicted (as I have done), you can the entertainment. A particularly good use for this is
purchase a range of special dice, with ten, 12 or 20 sides, to practise the third person s, with one list of pronouns
and instead of numbers, parts of speech, modal verbs or and the other of verbs which they must adjust or not as
even the entire alphabet! But let’s start with the simple, appropriate.
traditional dice. The advantage of ten- and twenty-sided dice is that
they allow the above exercises to encompass more
For pronunciation, simply write a list of six items for
items. There is also the obvious advantage of being
drilling next to the numbers 1 to 6 on the board. Put
able to drill numbers instantly. To begin with, the
the students into pairs and give each pair a die. They
students simply roll the ten-sided die and say the
take turns to roll it and say aloud the corresponding
number it lands on. Then they can progress on to the
word. The edge-of-seat attitude which replaces the
twenty-sided die, and finally, by giving them two ten-
seen-it-all-before yawning has to be seen to be
sided dice and having one represent ‘tens’, all the
believed. The items can either be individual words, or
numbers up to 100 can be drilled.
useful phrases and sentences.
The word and letter dice mentioned above have more
This can be expanded into other areas very easily by
obvious uses, but more limited scope. The modals and
making the six items on the list prompts – for example,
parts of speech dice can again be used, alone or in
each number could correspond to a different question
conjunction, as prompts for practising making
word, and the student has to make up a question using
grammatical sentences, and the alphabet dice can be
that word. Alternatively, the number could represent a
used for drilling the alphabet, or saying words starting
question which the student must answer, or a
with a particular letter.
grammatical structure which they must use in a
sentence. The options you can apply this to are Kat Brenke
limitless! Reading, UK
Make a long list of words; students roll the dice to pick

words from the list and then make a story with the
chosen words.
42 • Issue 58 Sepember 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

Cow story Listening for punctuation
This is an entertaining jigsaw-reading activity involving two versions This activity raises students’ awareness of the
of the same story. The example below is adapted from Stranger than importance of punctuation as well as being great
Fiction by Phil Healy and Rick Glanville, published by Penguin. After I fun to do. It shows how non-verbal signals in
did this activity, my class were well motivated to read the book. spoken language can be reflected in punctuation.
Students listen to a passage and punctuate it
1 Divide the class into two groups, A and B. Give all the A students according to how it is read.
a copy of Story 1 and the B students Story 2 and ask them to read
their stories and look at the instructions below them. 1 Write the following on the board:
cough, er, um, pause = comma
2 Have all the As pair up with a B. They take turns asking one long pause = full stop
question each until they have solved the mystery of the cow. laughter, sigh = exclamation mark
decrease/increase volume = open/close brackets
STORY 1
rise in intonation = question mark
Once there was a TV news reader. He had a very fast, open car. He was
driving to work very quickly. Suddenly something fell into the back of 2 Give a copy of the following text to each of the
the car. He jumped. What was it? He stopped the car to look. There in students and ask them to listen as you read it and
the back seat was a big, dead cow. He looked at his watch. It was 8.30 add punctuation according to the instructions on
am. He was a famous TV person. He did not want people to see him with the board. Don’t forget to remind the students
a dead cow in the back seat. He tried to move the cow. The cow was too that all new sentences need to begin with a capital
heavy. He needed help so he kept going. He stopped to get something letter.
to drink. The people in the shop asked him why he had a dead cow in his Students’ version
back seat. He said he did not know. He said it came from the sky. The While I was at school I played tennis I wasn’t very
people thought he was telling a story for TV. Then someone laughed. good at tennis one day I lost a game 6-0 6-0 6-0 no
TV news reader one was watching fortunately so what was my
You meet a farmer while you are having a drink. Ask him: favourite sport table tennis I think anyway sport was
1 Where have you come from? not my strong point but I loved drawing I spent many
2 What is your work? happy hours sitting in the art room with my pad and
3 What car do you drive? pencil just drawing what fun I had there
4 Have you had a good journey?
3 Read the text aloud as follows:
5 What happened on your journey?
6 What time did it happen? Teacher’s version
While I was at school (pause) I played tennis (long
STORY 2 pause) I wasn’t very good at tennis (laugh) one day I
Once there was a farmer travelling from the country lost a game 6-0 6-0 6-0 (decrease volume) no one
to the town. He was in a truck. He was going very fast. was watching fortunately (increase volume) (long
Suddenly there were a lot of cows in the road. He tried to go pause) so what was my favourite sport (intonation
round them. He was going too fast and the cows were in the way. rises) table tennis (er) I think (long pause) anyway
He was driving on a bridge over a big road. There they all were, the (cough) sport was not my strong point (er) but I
cows, the man and his truck, on a bridge. The man hit one of the cows. loved drawing (long pause) I spent many happy
The cow fell off the bridge. It fell down to the road underneath. The hours sitting in the art room with my pad and pencil
driver got a fright. He stopped. He looked over the bridge. He could not (um) just drawing (long pause) what fun I had there
see the cow. He looked over the other side. There was no cow. Where (sigh)
could such a big cow go? He did not know. He looked at his watch. It
Solution
was 8.30 am. He went on and stopped in the next town to get a drink.
While I was at school, I played tennis. I wasn’t very
There was a man from a TV station having a drink as well. He had a very
good at tennis! One day I lost a game 6-0 6-0 6-0
strange story to tell. The man heard the story and he laughed.
(no one was watching fortunately). So what was my
Farmer favourite sport? Table tennis, I think. Anyway, sport
You meet a TV news reader while you are having a drink. Ask him: was not my strong point, but I loved drawing. I spent
1 Where have you come from? many happy hours sitting in the art room with my
2 What is your work? pad and pencil, just drawing. What fun I had there!
© iStockphoto.com / Heiko Potthoff
3 What car do you drive?

4 After checking answers, as a follow-up, get the
4 Have you had a good journey?
5 What happened on your journey? students to read their final versions aloud, using
6 What time did it happen? the same methods to indicate the punctuation.
Sandy Willcox Simon Mumford
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Izmir, Turkey

Reviews
Self-study materials need to be very
Headstrong
clear and easy to follow and the structure
by Tessa Woodward
and layout of this book are impressive.
Tessa Woodward Publications
Beginning sensibly with a self-
2006
assessment sheet so students can
0-9547621-1-8
establish where they are at present and
Headstrong is a delightful and where they hope to be, the book
approachable book which progresses in clear logical steps from
examines different ways of preparation for making a phone call,
thinking and recommends that we through the basic practicalities of getting
take a step back and actually think through, to the actual phone call itself.
about our thinking, identifying the Where the book scores highly for me is in
different types of thinking that we the little extras: students are not just
employ and then making ourselves taught how to be polite on the phone,
mentally fitter by consciously they are given techniques for managing
practising these methods and trying the atmosphere, including presenting
out alternative ones. This will give us negative information in a ‘good news
a deeper understanding of ourselves sandwich’; they are not just taught what
and also of others, helping us to see to say when making small talk, they are
why people react to situations and shown how to find opportunities for
experiences as they do. making small talk by listening to and
In this book, thinking is divided into picking up on what other people say.
various frameworks: some are taken ‘Top tips’ and ‘Test yourself’ boxes
from everyday life, such as the listing are scattered throughout the ten
and categorisation that most of us modules. The tips are helpful and well
thought-out and the tests give students a
engage in, some from the fields of Fifty Ways to Improve
chance to check their progress as they
psychology, Neuro-Linguistic your Telephoning and
work through the material. Module
Programming, drama, Buddhism and Teleconferencing Skills
education. Tessa Woodward describes summaries at the end of each one draw
by Ken Taylor
each framework and exemplifies it clearly, the most important points together as a
Summertown Publishing 2008
often with personal stories. She final reminder.
978-1-905992-065
demonstrates how to spot a particular The final module is a language
type of thinking at work and identifies the This self-help manual for business people summary, which brings together all the
effects that it has or is likely to have on tackles head-on the new dimension to
ourselves, the situation we are in, and on telephone calls which has been brought
other people around us. She also about both by the development of
suggests practical ways in which we sophisticated digital telephony
might want to use each framework to technologies and the pressure not to
improve our lives, solve a particular travel unnecessarily for environmental
problem or enrich our experience at work reasons. Students now not only require
or at home. skills for dealing with one-to-one
At the end of most of the 11 chapters telephone calls, but also need to learn
is a section with ideas on how English techniques for being involved in
language teachers can use the teleconferencing.
frameworks productively with their This book covers both types of
students. Teachers who want to reach call. It teaches and practises basic
their students by finding ways of telephoning techniques but also
approaching them that complement the includes three modules on the
students’ own thinking styles will find this specific requirements of
useful. The book will be good, too, for teleconference calls. Here it goes
teachers with an interest in how people into the technicalities of making
think, and who want to expand their teleconference calls, as well as the
students’ thinking repertoire or challenge protocol and ‘rules’, together with
them to try out different ways of thinking tips on acting as the chair of the
and working. discussion or just getting your
Martin Richardson voice heard as one of several
London, UK participants.

Reviews ENGLISH
most useful phrases and expressions teachers and students working towards
Tprofessional
EACHING
which have been introduced in the book. international exams value good
These are clearly categorised by function. vocabulary development material and this This is your magazine.
This section provides a very useful is very good material indeed. We want to hear from you!
reference, almost a language bank, which Many of the books in the series are
students can refer to quickly when they by Rawdon Wyatt, who has a proven
need a particular expression for a
particular occasion.
track-record for producing great
worksheets and photocopiable materials.

The book comes with an audio CD The instructions are clear and the IT WORKS IN PRACTICE
attached to the inside back cover and the activities, including exercises, puzzles, Do you have ideas you’d like to share
tapescripts are all printed at the back. quizzes and word games, are motivating
with colleagues around the world?
Tim Smith and easy to use.
Tips, techniques and activities;
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia A lot of thought has gone into these
simple or sophisticated; well-tried
books so that they target not only the
or innovative; something that has
vocabulary areas which are likely to
worked well for you? All published
appear in the exams, but also the
specific focus of the vocabulary contributions receive a prize!
testing that occurs in the exam Write to us or email:
questions. So where exam questions [email protected]
frequently test words
with similar
meanings, there are
plenty of practice
TALKBACK!
exercises that show Do you have something to say about
such words in an article in the current issue of ETp?
context and help This is your magazine and we would
students really like to hear from you.
differentiate Write to us or email:
between them.
Check Your Vocabulary for ...
Where an exam [email protected]
by Rawdon Wyatt, Tessie Dalton and
has a focus on
David Porter
Macmillan 2008
PET 978-0-230-03359-7
topic-based
vocabulary, there are sections Writing for ETp
which broaden the students’ range of Would you like to write for ETp? We are
FCE 978-0-230-03363-4
vocabulary within those fields. always interested in new writers and
IELTS 978-0-230-03360-3
These books may not be all that fresh ideas. For guidelines and advice,
TOEIC 978-0-230-03362-7
students need to pass these various write to us or email:
TOEFL 978-0-230-03361-0
exams, but students who have done the
Academic English [email protected]
amount of vocabulary work
978-0-230-03364-1
contained within them will
There are six volumes in this
series, each geared towards a
certainly have the edge
over those who have not.
Visit the
different international exam. Louisa Judge ETp website!
They are designed for either Toulouse, France The ETp website is packed with practical
self-study or classroom use tips, advice, resources, information and
and each aims to bring the selected articles. You can submit tips
students’ vocabulary level or articles, renew your subscription
up to that required by the or simply browse the features.
particular exam it targets.
The claim on the front www.etprofessional.com
cover of each book: All you need to
pass your exams! is, perhaps, a little ENGLISH TEACHING professional
exaggerated. Most of these exams Keyways Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100,
require rather more than a sound Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 8HD, UK
grounding in vocabulary, but there is no Fax: +44 (0)1243 576456
doubt that this series will prove Email: [email protected]
invaluable as a step along the way. Both

R E S O U R C E S Later in the lesson, when your new
students are engaged in an activity, you
can discreetly scroll through the
Images
photographs in your digital camera and
memorise their names.
Your students will want to see their
pictures, so prepare a slideshow for the
next day, and use the images to teach,
practise or drill language such as:
● Julio looks very serious.
● Elke is smiling.
● Elke is grinning.
● Pilar looks like she is trying to keep a
10
straight face.
● Pilar looks as if she is trying not to
laugh.
Idea 2: What were we wearing?

Take a group photograph of your class
and before the next lesson prepare a
number of statements – some true and
some false – which describe what
individuals were wearing. For example:
Jamie Keddie’s classes go digital. ● Safa was wearing a T-shirt that said:
‘I am the boss’.
● Daniela and Graziella were both
P
hotography has been thrust intentions. That way, at least, everyone
wearing white blouses.
into a new phase of its history. will have the opportunity to make
● Teresa was wearing a waistcoat.
The development of digital themselves look good on the day should
● Marta was wearing her hair tied back.
cameras and camera phones, as they want to. Alternatively, focus in on
● Toni was wearing a light grey suit.
well as online photo sharing sites, image the extroverts who will do anything for a
● Lourdes was wearing a T-shirt that had
manipulation software and other laugh and shy away from those who may
little hearts on it.
applications, has resulted in our taking feel self-conscious. Use your discretion.
and sharing more pictures than ever If you intend to photograph young The next day, dictate the sentences to
before. In the news media, we see an learners, you must get permission from your students, ask them to decide
increasing number of images that have their parents first. whether they are true or false and then
come from ordinary people, and last show them the previous day’s photograph
year the mayor of New York City even Idea 1: Remembering students’ to let them check their answers.
announced a programme in which names
members of the public will be able to For classes of good-humoured students, Idea 3: Snap the board
send mobile phone images of crimes in creating mug shots is an effective way of Digital cameras are ideal for documenting
progress directly to the emergency learning new names at the beginning of the language that arises in the
services. any new course. Start off by showing them classroom and gets written up on a non-
Inevitably, photographic devices find a real police booking photograph (there interactive whiteboard. Simply write the
their way into the classroom. At their are thousands at www.mugshots.com) date in a corner of the board and take a
worst, they can be disruptive and cause and then asking individuals to write picture at the end of the class for your
privacy concerns. But at their best, they their names clearly on pieces of paper records.
can be a valuable classroom resource. In before posing for the camera. Photographs of the whiteboard can
this article, which is the last in the
series, we will look at a few ideas for
ways in which they can be used with our
language learners.
Privacy
Of course, if you intend to photograph
your students, it is absolutely essential to
consider their privacy. Most people are
unenthusiastic about having a camera
thrust into their face, especially if it is
first thing on a Monday morning. If
possible, give prior warning of your

Idea 4: Scared students
For this activity, which practises
adjectives of emotion ending in -ing and
-ed, I started by writing the following
on the board:
● Your pet hate
● A time when you felt very tired or
exhausted
● The most boring job in the world
(What do you think it would be?)
● Your phobias
● What do you do to relax?
● A confusing aspect of the English
language
● An embarrassing incident that you
remember (When you are
embarrassed, your face goes red.)
● The most disappointing/over-rated/
predictable film you have ever seen
Before getting students to share their
ideas in pairs, I told them about some of
mine. For example, my pet hate is people
who block the escalator on the Barcelona
metro. The most boring job in the world
has to be the one that Mr Bucket had in
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory –
screwing tops onto tubes of toothpaste.
Once everyone had discussed their
ideas, they were encouraged to share
them with the rest of the class.
Following these exchanges, the students
were invited to select one of eight
banners to describe how they felt/would
feel in the situations considered
(annoyed, tired/exhausted, bored,
frightened, relaxed, confused,
also be used to revise and recap language Later that evening, I emailed the
embarrassed and disappointed).
at later dates. For example, I used the photograph of the whiteboard to each of
The students were then
following display to represent nine my students. Their homework task was
photographed holding the appropriate
things that a group of Italian learners to send me back an email containing
banner and acting out the emotion.
on a summer course in England said the nine sentences written out in full.
Finally, I sent the images to my
they would have to get used to if they Note: During the speaking activity, I
students on a pdf file and asked them to
lived in Britain. had not let any of the students take
send me their original ideas and
If I lived in England I would notes or write down the target language.
experiences (pet hates, etc). ETp
have to get used to:
Thanks to Maria Grazia (annoyed), Roberto
… driving on the left. (tired and exhausted), Daniela (bored),
… spicy food. Graziella (relaxed), Marta (confused), Gloria
… carrying an (embarrassed), Teresa (disappointed), Elena
(bored), Delia (frightened), Monica
umbrella everywhere. (embarrassed), Santina (disappointed), and
… having two showers Rossella (frightened).
a day because there
are no bidets. Jamie Keddie is a
Barcelona-based
… having dinner at teacher and teacher
half past six. trainer. He blogs at
jamiekeddie.com and
… being polite all the also runs teflclips.com,
time. a site dedicated to the
possibilities of YouTube
… the rain. in language teaching.
… big coffees.
… using an adaptor
for electrical
[email protected]
appliances.

L A N G U A G E
Danger: Assimilation!
Christie Murphy warns of the hazards of living amongst non-native speakers.
I
n a field rife with acronyms (TEFL, Deceptive disadvantages shortcut to move us through the
TESOL, TEAL, PPP, ARC, TBL, situation quickly, rather than
NST, NNST, etc) I would like to However, the disadvantages include explain an English idiom. No one
suggest another: ABNST – Assimilated assimilating the inter-language of those wants to ‘play the teacher’ always
Bilingual Native Speaker Teacher. learners and using some of it ourselves and everywhere.
Ania, my colleague at a language – which deceives learners as to the real
school in Poland, teaches her own nature of English. This probably 4 Home language becomes
children English at home. She recently happens much more outside than inside generalised. Many ABNSTs live
told me, with some embarrassment, that the classroom, but we can never shed with native speakers of their new
her six year old had been correcting his our role of being English language language, and over time create their
pre-school English teacher’s accent. ‘In models, no matter where we are. own dictionary of blended lexical
English they don’t roll their Rs, you Why do conscientious teachers fall items. Sometimes this is a form of
know,’ he mentioned to her helpfully. into these patterns of errors? I can normal language play, but others
And he reported to his mother that the think of five reasons. hearing it won’t know that.
teacher had promptly ‘cleaned up’ her
pronunciation. 1 We hear the same inter-language 5 To make things easier. Like the pre-
I had a moment of native-speaker errors so many millions of times school teacher, I just want to make
arrogance: What was the teacher that they begin to sound normal. it easier for my listeners.
thinking? Why would anyone model the Once I heard myself tell a friend Subconsciously I decide, ‘So many
wrong pronunciation if they knew better? quite naturally, ‘I said him that …’ things are difficult for them; I’ll be
But Ania had a different take on the and was then struck dumb with kind and go more than half-way in
situation: The teacher probably thought shock. But with other, less striking creating understanding.’
the children would find it easier to errors I’ve hardly caught myself,
understand an accent closer to their own. and I know other ABNSTs are the
same.

More astonished superiority on my
part … and then I realised that I do There are regions of the world where
exactly the same thing! I’m one of those 2 We lose the energy to fight deeply blended forms of English are the norm,
teachers who has settled long-term in rooted errors. One example in but it probably isn’t the role of the
one place and acquired a new language Polish-English is to call evening native speaker teacher to lead in their
– in my case, Poland and Polish. My ‘afternoon’. Polish has separate formation. Our students need a solid
occasional use of Polish-English usually words for morning, afternoon and grasp of International English, and
involves lexical or structural errors evening, but the corresponding time trust us for an accurate model.
rather than pronunciation, but they of day connected with each is What to do? We ABNSTs need to
could be misleading for my learners and different from that in English- stay aware of our tendency to be
others with whom I sometimes speak speaking countries. Furthermore, influenced by our L2 and actively resist
English. I often use the 24-hour clock, as it, at least in the company of our
Admittedly, there are huge Poles do in all contexts, when students. Regular immersion visits back
advantages for teachers in really speaking of times of day, rather to our country of origin are a good
knowing the homeland and culture of than am and pm, in order to avoid reality check! ETp
their students, and it is an immeasurable confusion when speaking English
plus to speak their L1. We understand with Poles. Christie Murphy has
been a teacher of
why learners make certain errors, and English in Poland since
it’s easier to help them. Beyond that, 3 We want to avoid social 1989, first in a language
school (including a stint
showing respect for the local culture awkwardness. Recently I invited a as director of studies)
and the language (by learning it) gives a friend to a restaurant for lunch. and now in a theological
teacher credibility and goes a long way college, where she is
We were speaking English, so I said the entire English
toward building trust. The nature of ‘I invite you’, a direct translation of department. She is also
such relationships, in the classroom and a CertTESOL trainer
the Polish way to say ‘My treat’. with International
beyond it, is totally different from what Because the idea of my paying Training Network in
the drive-by ELT teacher can Bournemouth, UK.
could have been slightly
experience. [email protected]
uncomfortable for him, I took this

Eye on the A regular series by John Hughes,
with practical ideas for observing teachers
classroom in the classroom and an observation sheet to

photocopy and use straight away.
2 Focused observation
We often assume that a classroom +++ Learner-centred or
observation should involve watching and teacher-centred?
noting down comments on everything that ++ You can also measure where the focus is at
happens. In fact, an observation is often different stages of the lesson. For example,
more valuable when the focus is on only in the graph below, the high points show
+
one aspect of the lesson. This means that that the lesson was learner-centred with
0 mins 30 mins 60 mins
any feedback you give to the teacher will students working together. The low points
be very precise and much clearer. It also In addition to drawing the trend line show that the lesson was very focused on
means that you can observe for an area along the graph, the observer can also the teacher. The graph also shows us that
that you personally want to develop in make notes about what caused a change the majority of the lesson seems to be
your own teaching. of pace. For example, maybe the pace very teacher-centred. This isn’t necessarily
In this article, we’ll look at a number of quickened when students stood up to do a negative, but most lessons would normally
areas of teaching which you can focus on roleplay or it slowed when they completed a aim to be more student-centred.
individually. There is an observation sheet controlled practice exercise in their books. +++
on page 51 for you to photocopy and use.
Unlike many of the observation sheets which One student
we use for note-taking during classroom Sometimes we want to observe one student ++
observation and reference afterwards, this in particular, so we build a picture of how

one takes the form of a graph, which this individual is working within the whole +
provides a very clear visual representation. class. This is also a useful exercise to
The Y-axis represents the length of the remind us that a class is a group of different
lesson or length of the observation (in this individuals, not a homogenous whole!
Choose a student to monitor, or perhaps
Observing objectively
case, a 60-minute lesson) and the X-axis, as
we will see below, can represent a number the teacher will ask you to concentrate on a You will probably think of more ways to use
of different aspects of classroom teaching. particular student they are concerned about. this approach to observing. For example,
The X-axis on the graph represents the you could also use it to measure the
Pace student’s level of interest, motivation and balance of teacher and student talking time.
Pace is important in any lesson and it is involvement. As you draw the trend line, One important point to note about this
sometimes mistakenly assumed that you can also make notes on the graph to graph, however, is that it is an example of
lessons must always be fast. In fact, many comment on what they were doing that either an observation tool which reports back on
lessons benefit from regular changes of displayed high interest in the lesson or low the lesson rather than one which forces you
pace (especially with younger learners) so interest. Afterwards, in a feedback session, into making judgements about a lesson.
observing for this can be helpful. You can you can discuss what might have raised the There is some level of subjectivity when
monitor the pace of a lesson with the student’s interest at all stages of the lesson. using it and it certainly isn’t 100 per cent
observation sheet on page 51 by using the This activity is even more interesting if there scientific. Nevertheless, it does provide a
X-axis to represent a faster or slower is a group of observers all watching different useful overview of an aspect of teaching. It
pace. The observer draws a line during the students. By gathering the graphs together, offers a useful starting point for discussion
course of the lesson which shows when you create a wider perspective on why after a lesson between teacher and
the pace becomes faster or slower. A some students are responding positively to observer. It can quickly highlight causes of
lesson with regular changes of pace might a lesson and why perhaps some aren’t. difficulties or demonstrate why a lesson
look like this: has been successful. Finally, with different
Authenticity observers in one lesson all focusing on
+++
The graph also allows us to monitor how different aspects of the lesson, a collection
authentic a task is or how real the response of graphs together builds into an accessible
++ of our students is. When you think students perspective of the lesson.
are giving very authentic responses,
John Hughes is a freelance
+ perhaps to classroom discussion, the teacher, trainer and author.
trend line rises. If the exercise seems very He has worked in Austria,
Poland, Italy, Malta and the
controlled or inauthentic then the line drops. UK. He currently lives and
On the other hand, a lesson with few As with pace, you would hope to see works in the USA.
changes of pace or difference in activity plenty of fluctuations, with perhaps more
[email protected]
type might look like this: authenticity towards the end of a lesson.

Focused observation
Focus: ......................................................................
+++
++
• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 •

Length of lesson/observation
51
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
Getting
involved
Sandee Thompson
T
here are many things that we and many people don’t, making
can do as teachers to ‘keep up contacts in the field is one way to
adds up the advantages of with the ELT Joneses’, but for discover what else is out there.
some of us, it all seems either If you are in a senior position in
professional development. too overwhelming, too much work or your place of employment, you can also
unnecessary. So here is a list of reasons set a good example for newer teachers.
why you should and how you can get Life-long learning is the new
involved in your own professional catchphrase for a reason and, since you
development, and also how and where are working in the field of education, it
you can do it. is also good to practise what you preach
to your students.
Why should you
get involved? Learning about new
First of all, professional development is
good for you, as well as for your techniques, methods
students. Learning about new and approaches helps
techniques, methods and approaches
helps you avoid becoming stale and you avoid becoming
ensures that you remain interested in stale and ensures that
your field and that you continue to
learn. If you are interested in what you you remain interested
are teaching, the chances are greater
that your students will also be
in your field
stimulated – or at least curious enough
to see the lesson through to the end!
Secondly, keeping up with what is How and where
new in the field provides you with more
options in the classroom. It is never too
can you do it?
late to find a new technique that Resources for professional development
‘speaks’ to you, and providing variety in come in a variety of shapes, sizes and
lessons means that all of the students price tags. They can be of a short or
are engaged, not just the ones who are long duration and can be directly or
accustomed to your individual style or indirectly related to ELT. You can do
who respond to your personality. them as solitary activities or join others
A third reason to get involved in in your quest for knowledge.
professional development is to advance It can be as simple as joining an
your career, which often means online chat group, searching the web for
monetary gain, a self-confidence boost new materials or articles, becoming a
and new connections. Unless you hope member of a national TESL group or
to keep the same job for your entire life, picking up a journal at the library. It

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
can also be more complex, such as You can take an MA in linguistics,

joining a TESL board, designing a teaching, translation, with a focus on Being aware of
conference workshop or setting up a youth, business or just about anything.
peer observation schedule in your Some teachers, those who seem to current issues and
workplace. Whatever you do, big or know what they want to do in life right methods in the field, as
small, you are contributing to your out of high school, go into the Second
professional development and, possibly, Language Education field for their first well as understanding
are acting as a model for others to degree and then work in the regular
follow. school system. Whatever you do here,
the history of language
and in whichever order you do them, it teaching, is both
So, what specifically is never too late to take one of these
courses: universities worldwide are interesting and
can you do? screaming for students and it is unlikely informative
that you would not be able to find one
Continue your that interests you!
education At the other end of the time-scale, interesting as finding guest speakers for
one-day training opportunities are also conferences. Whatever you are able to
Starting with your individual self, you prevalent in our field. Being trained in do, you can be sure it will be welcome.
can begin with your education. First Aid or Safety in the Workplace is
Certificate courses abound, some good just as important in a language-teaching
and some poor, but all will offer you Keep up with current
institution as being trained as an IELTS
something. These can be done online, examiner or learning to teach a new ELT literature
as distance courses, and as intensive, level. They are also wonderful
month-long courses like the CELTA or Being aware of current issues and
opportunities to learn something new
Trinity certificate. These are the methods in the field, as well as
and to contribute to your school’s
starting-off point and are considered understanding the history of language
corporate plan.
pre-service certificates by many. teaching, is both interesting and
Once you have got your feet wet, the informative and can expand your own
next course of action is to take the Join professional knowledge base. There are so many
Cambridge DELTA (diploma), or the organisations resources available to you: the web
Trinity diploma. Some opt to go the (current university papers, studies and
Masters (MA) route, and still others do Joining a professional organisation is dissertations, e-magazines, chat rooms),
both since they tend to focus on another terrific way to ensure you magazines and journals (ETp, Modern
different aspects of teaching, continue your growth in the field. In English Teacher, ELT Journal, TESOL
methodology and theory. DELTAs and Canada, membership of any provincial Quarterly, TESL Canada Journal ),
MAs come in a variety of options to affiliate group automatically ensures newspapers (EL Gazette) and, of
meet everyone’s needs or preferences. you also become a TESL Canada course, books available through
DELTAs can be done distance, in-house member. In my province, Nova Scotia, publishers aimed specifically at English
or as intensive 8- to 10-week courses. we hold an annual conference each teachers. There is Pearson’s How to
MAs can be done online or on campus autumn and a half-day conference every teach … series, the Oxford and
over two years or four, with a spring. Members are given a discount if Cambridge teachers’ series and a
dissertation or a practicum, or without they present a workshop, and round- multitude of other texts and readers
either! There is something for everyone table discussions of new and up-coming that explore everything from Multiple
out there and they are accessible to issues are also very popular. The USA Intelligences to discourse practices.
anyone who can get to a mail box or and the UK, as well as countries such as Nowadays, being well-read is easy, and
click an icon on their computer screen. Japan, Korea, Brazil and Mexico, all working in a remote location or not
have TESL organisations that promote being affiliated to a school is no longer
learning, fellowship and professional a deterrent or excuse! I ordered 80 per
Most boards standards. cent of the books I required for my MA
Serving on a board or committee from Amazon and had them within two
and conference that you are interested in is a wonderful weeks of ordering them.
way to meet other like-minded people, In Canada, you can also get a
organisers want become actively involved and make university access card that allows you to
‘new blood’, so connections for future job borrow books from universities all
opportunities, as well as to continue across the country, so if your local
don’t be shy about your growth as a professional. Most community does not train English
volunteering in boards and conference organisers want language teachers, you can still have
‘new blood’, so don’t be shy about access to materials delivered to your
some capacity! volunteering in some capacity! It can be door or to your local university or
as mundane as licking envelopes or as college.

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
Getting Participate in
workshops
Give yourself
a break
involved The best way to learn something is to

teach it, or so some people say. In
keeping with this idea, researching,
Finally, the last area to look at when it
comes to professional development
involves ensuring that you are a well-
designing and presenting workshops is rounded person. While there is not
one of the best ways to expand your room in this article to explore this area
Organise
horizons. Start small by doing it for in depth, suffice it to say that a well-
observations your colleagues. Once you discover how rounded, emotionally healthy person is
Another way you can continue your easy it actually is, you can then do it for more apt to contribute to the overall
development as a teacher is to ensure your provincial organisation – it is only atmosphere of a school and a classroom
you continue to receive feedback on a very small step after that to doing a and is more interested in growing
your teaching. Asking students to workshop for a national conference! professionally than someone who is
evaluate your lessons on a regular basis Volunteering to do workshops at the burnt out and in need of a break.
is always a good idea, and so is asking local library or YMCA for people who Taking time away from the classroom
your supervisor or DOS to observe your volunteer to teach in the community is and your students is essential if you are
classes. Even if your DOS does annual always welcome, and so is volunteering going to gain, or keep, a healthy
or bi-annual observations and provides to work with newcomers who would like perspective and continue to be inspired
you with feedback on your teaching, to put a workshop together themselves! by your classes. I am a strong advocate
setting up a peer-observation schedule is of taking short mini-breaks, while some
also a great way to gather new ideas and of my colleagues prefer to take month-
to help your colleagues in their personal
Another way long sojourns away from it all.
growth as well. If you work at a teacher you can continue
training school, you are likely to have
trainees sitting in your class as well. your development
Whatever you do to keep yourself
Asking the trainer for feedback from as a teacher is inspired, continue to do it. It certainly
the trainees is another way to get input
into your teaching. to ensure you can’t hurt you in any way and may even
Keeping tabs on your development inspire others to do the same. And
is also important. Using a checklist like
continue to receive remember, while it is certainly a lot of
the one on page 55 is a way of ensuring feedback on your work to keep abreast of changes in the
you are developing new ideas, trying field, your students will appreciate the
new things and staying on top of what teaching effort and since, after all, they are the
is current in the field. reason we are in the classroom in the
first place, it makes good sense to keep
them inspired. ETp
Get involved in Strive to be the best
mentoring you can be Sandee Thompson is
the Director of Studies,
CELTA tutor and IELTS
At my school we have a mentorship You are in charge of your own destiny. examiner at a private
language school in
programme that helps get everyone Whenever possible, it is helpful to Halifax, Nova Scotia,
involved. Whenever a new or new-to-us demonstrate to your supervisors that Canada. She has taught
teachers in Canada,
teacher begins, a mentor is arranged to you are not afraid of change or Korea, El Salvador and
provide support. This includes challenges. Ask to be given different Vietnam. Her interests
everything from how to write a report, classes to teach and, if possible, do include task-based
learning, learning styles
to where the extra toilet paper is kept. some peer observations to demonstrate and strategies, teacher
Everything that will help them to feel your interest and to gather ideas prior training and classroom-
based research.
comfortable and to assimilate into the to teaching the class. If you generally
[email protected]
team as quickly as possible is included. teach lower levels, try teaching some
Being asked to be a mentor means that exam classes or business classes to see
you have been around long enough to how the other half lives. The difference
know where things are and have in perspective will be very eye-opening Writing for ETp
demonstrated that you care about the as high-stakes exam classes are often Would you like to write for ETp? We are
school and your colleagues. It is filled with students who are always interested in new writers and
considered a privilege and an honour, extrinsically motivated, and that fresh ideas. For guidelines and advice,
and it always interests me to see how difference in dynamic will be another write to us or email:
much confidence the role instils in the opportunity for professional, and [email protected]
person doing it. personal, growth.

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
Personal checklist
In the last 12 months,
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
have I ...
1 taken a related
course?
2 attended a
workshop?
3 attended a
conference?
4 given a
workshop?
5 read any ELT-

related materials?
6 been observed by
my DOS?
7 been observed by
a colleague?
8 been observed by
a trainee?
9 observed someone
teach?
10 volunteered in the
community?
11 taught a different
class?
12 asked for feedback

from my students?
13 read an ELT journal

or magazine?
14 supported a new
teacher?
15 served on an ELT
board or committee?

SCRAPBOOK Gems, titbits, puzzles, foibles, quirks, bits & pieces,
quotations, snippets, odds & ends,
what you will
Ten household truths

Have you ever noticed that the
laws of household physics are
every bit as real as all the othe
r laws in the universe?
Here are a few examples:
1 Children’s eagerness to assist in
any project varies in 6 The potential for
inverse proportion to their ability argument is in direct proportion
to do the work to the
involved. number of TV remote controls divi
ded by the number of
viewers.
2 Leftovers always expand to fill
all available containers 7 The number of
plus one. doors left open varies inversely
with the
outside temperature.
3 A newly-washed window gathers
dirt at double the 8 The capacity of
speed of an unwashed window. any hot water heater is equal to
one and
a half showers.
4 The availability of a ballpoint pen
is inversely 9 What goes up
proportional to how badly it is nee must come down, except for che
ded. wing gum
and kites.
5 The same clutter that will fill a one
-car garage will also 10 Place two chil
fill a two-car garage. dren in a room full of toys and they
will both
want to play with the same toy.
Motel nemesis
Rita Dawson had a serious, but surprisingly One evening at 9 o’clock the phone the woman that it would be no problem
common, telephone problem. But unlike rang. It was someone trying to book a and asked if she would be providing the
most people, she did something about it. room at the motel for the following flowers or whether she would prefer the
A brand-new luxury motel had recently Saturday. ‘No problem,’ said Rita. ‘How motel to take care of them. The mother
opened nearby and had been assigned a many nights would you like to stay?’ said that she would prefer the motel to
telephone number which was very similar A few hours later there was another handle the floral arrangements. Then the
to Rita’s. call. A secretary at an oil company wanted question of valet parking came up. Once
From the moment the motel opened, a suite with two bedrooms for her boss again Rita was helpful. ‘There’s no charge
she was besieged by calls which were not for a week. Emboldened, Rita told her the for valet parking,’ she said breezily, ‘but
for her. Since she had had the same phone Presidential Suite on the 12th floor was we always recommend that the client tips
number for years, she felt that she had a available for £300 a night. The secretary the drivers.’
case for persuading the management of said that she would take it and asked if Within a few months, the motel was a
the motel to change theirs. the motel required a deposit. ‘No, that disaster area. People kept showing up for
However, the management refused, won’t be necessary,’ said Rita. ‘We trust weddings, bar mitzvahs, reunions and
claiming that it would cost too much to you.’ conferences and were all told there were
reprint all the stationery. The phone The next day was a busy one for Rita. no such events.
company wasn’t very helpful, either. Rita In the morning, she booked an electrical Rita had her final revenge when she
was told that a number was a number, appliance manufacturers’ convention for a read in the local paper that the motel
and just because one customer was bank holiday weekend, a college might go bankrupt. Her phone rang, and
getting someone else’s calls 24 hours a graduation party and a reunion of the an executive from a big hotel chain said,
day, the company couldn’t be held Scots Guards veterans from World War II. ‘We’re prepared to offer you £200,000 for
responsible. After her pleas fell on deaf Her biggest challenge came when a the motel.’
ears, Rita decided to take matters into mother called to book the ballroom for her ‘We’ll take it,’ Rita replied, ‘but only if
her own hands. daughter’s wedding in June. Rita assured you change the telephone number.’

Snail’s pace g
Ten Zen teachings
contest, the participatin 1 Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead
At a recent snail-racing so tha t
and were painted of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me for the
snails wore numbers past
ognised as they sped path is narrow. In fact, just go away and leave me alone.
they could easily be rec e
ly one snail wore the sam
the finishing post. On il 2 Always remember you’re unique. Just like everyone else.
it finished in. Mike’s sna
number as the position which
or blue, and the snail 3 Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
wasn’t painted yellow , beat the
was painted red
wore number 3, which be at
4 If you think nobody cares whether you’re alive or dead, try
rd. Rachel’s sna il
snail which came in thi snail missing a couple of mortgage payments.
Chris’s snail beat the
Helena’s snail, whereas ,
The snail painted green 5 Before you criticise someone, you should walk a mile in their
which wore number 1. blue
and the snail painted shoes. That way, they’re a mile away and you have their
Chris’s, came second mb er 1.
a’s snail wo re nu shoes.
wore number 4. Helen wh ere , its
ose snail finish ed
Can you work out wh 6 If at first you don’t succeed, bomb disposal is probably not
r it was painted ?
number and the colou the career for you.
1 Helena 4th 7 Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to
yellow 3rd
blue 4 Rachel
Chris 2nd fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
green 2 1st
8
Mike
red 3
Owner Final position If you lend someone £20 and never see that person again, it
Colour Number
was probably well worth it.
Answers
9 Generally speaking, you aren’t learning much when your lips

are moving.
Phillip Burrows
10 Experience is something you don’t get until just after you

need it.
Ridiculous re
It was mealti plies
me during a
flight from th
e UK.
A balancing act ‘Would you lik
seated at the
e dinner?’ th
front.
e flight attendant as
ked a man,
Mike put his winnings from the snail race ‘What are m
y choices?’ he
(£100) into his bank account. He then made six asked.
‘Yes or no,’ sh
e replied.
withdrawals, totalling £100. He kept a record of
these withdrawals, and the balance remaining A woman was
picking throug
in the account, as follows: supermarket, h the frozen tu
but she couldn rkeys at a
’t find one big
Withdrawals Balance remaining Seeing a youn enough for he
g man stacki r family.
£50 £50 ‘Do these turk ng shelves ne
eys get any bi ar by , she asked him,
£25 £25 gger?’
The assistant
£10 £15 replied, ‘No,
madam, they
’re dead.’
£8 £7 A lorry driver
£5 £2 driving along
‘Low Bridge on a busy ro
Ahead’. Befor ad passed a
£2 £0 e he knew it, th sign saying
ahead of him e bridge was
_________ _________ and, sure en right
queue of cars ough, his lorr
behind him st y got stuck un
£100 £99 retched for m de r it. The
Finally, a polic iles.
When he added up the columns, he assumed e car drove up
car, walked ov . The police of
er to the lorr ficer got out
that he must owe £1 to the bank. Was he right? y dr iver, put his ha of his
and said, ‘Got nds on his hi
stuck, huh?’ ps
‘No,’ replied
that the total of the right-hand column is close to £100. the lorry driv
ran out of pe er. ‘I was deliv
column must always equal £100, but it is purely a coincidence
trol.’ ering this brid
each withdrawal. The total of withdrawals in the left-hand ge and I
deposit of £100 should equal the total of the balances left after
Answer There is no reason whatever why Mike’s original

T E C H N O L O G Y
Blended
learning
Blanka Frydrychová
T
he term blended learning has best of both words. Charles Graham
become extremely fashionable and his colleagues cite three main
Klímová’s experience nowadays, particularly in reasons why blended learning should be
corporate and higher education chosen:
shows that melding the settings. But what does it actually mean? ● improved pedagogy;
Blended learning is quite difficult to define
traditional with the since the term is used in diverse ways by ● increased access/flexibility;
different people. Overall, the three most ● increased cost effectiveness.
technological is a way of common meanings are as follows:
1 Pedagogy
the integration of traditional
increasing the quality of learning with web-based online
Blended learning undoubtedly
contributes to the development and
approaches;
teaching and learning. support of more interactive strategies,
2 the combination of media and not only in face-to-face teaching but
tools (eg textbooks) employed in also in distance education. Developing
e-learning environments; activities linked to learning outcomes
3 the combination of a number of places the focus on learner interaction,
teaching and learning approaches rather than content dissemination. In
irrespective of the technology used. addition, distance learning can offer
As Curtis Bonk and Charles Graham more information to students, better
claim, blended learning is part of the and faster feedback and richer
ongoing convergence of two archetypal communication between a tutor and a
learning environments. On the one student with more opportunities for
hand, there is the traditional face-to- both face-to-face and online
face learning environment that has been communication.
around for centuries. On the other
hand, there are new learning Access
environments which have begun to grow Access to learning is one of the key
and expand in exponential ways as new factors influencing the growth of
technologies have increased the distributed (computer-mediated)
possibilities for distance communication learning environments. Students can
and interaction. In this article, I shall access materials at any time and
follow Andrew Littlejohn in perceiving anywhere. Furthermore, they can
blended learning as an integration of proceed at their own pace.
face-to-face teaching and learning Consequently, blended learning can
methods with online approaches. create higher motivation and give
greater stimulation to students.
Why blend? Cost effectiveness

In the literature on blended learning, An increase in cost effectiveness is
the most common reason given for its particularly noticeable in corporate
implementation is that it combines the environments where people are

permanently busy and can hardly ever
afford the time to attend full-time, face- Traditional Distributed
to-face classes. Blended learning enables face-to-face (computer-mediated)
them to start learning after fulfilling learning environment learning environment
their work, family and other social
commitments. Blended learning is also
popular with universities, which are
always looking for quality enhancement Past
and cost savings, and is particularly (largely separate
appropriate to distance learning courses. systems)
Nevertheless, there are some drawbacks

to blended learning. There is no doubt
that it is time-consuming and makes expansion
great demands in terms of creation, due to
preparation and evaluation. The technological
Present
possibility of randomly-occurring innovation
(increasing
problems with technology also needs to
implementation
be taken into consideration.
of blended
systems)
A blended language
course model
blended
A blended learning approach is
learning
particularly suited to language learning,
system
where conventional face-to-face teaching
is sometimes necessary for developing Future
speaking communication skills. For this (majority of
reason it is used for language courses at blended systems)
the Faculty of Informatics and
Management at the University of
Hradec Králové in the Czech Republic.
Students here undertake reading and
writing tasks on their own, which Development of blended learning systems (adapted from Bonk and Graham 2005)
enables the teachers to concentrate more
on listening and speaking activities in
and web communication tools were A blended course on
face-to-face classroom teaching.
introduced for the students. By 2002
E-learning has been an important
online courses were also beginning to be
academic writing
feature of courses at this faculty since A good example of the blended courses
used to support the teaching of full-
1999 and is seen by teachers as a useful on offer at the faculty is an optional
time students. At present, more than 90
tool for improving the quality of their one-semester course on academic
e-courses are being fully exploited in
teaching. It has been found to be both writing. The course is aimed at training
teaching at the faculty, 40 of these in
effective and efficient in delivering the students in the whole process of writing
the teaching of English. Some of the
desired results. In 2001 the and gives advice on how to write
English courses, such as those teaching
administrators of a few selected courses professionally. It teaches the different
written business English, can be taught
for part-time students created a virtual stages of the writing process: envisaging
completely online. However, most of
learning environment for their courses what to write, planning an outline,
them are blended as there is a need for
some tutorial work. At face-to-face drafting passages, writing the whole
tutorials, students have the opportunity text, revising and rewriting it, and
At face-to-face to discuss the problems they encounter finishing it in an appropriate form,
when they are doing various types of together with publishing all or parts of
tutorials, students it. In addition, it focuses on those
tasks and writing assignments. This
have the opportunity to method is particularly suitable for features of academic writing which are
distance students and those involved in different in English and Czech, such as
discuss the problems an inter-university study project. In structure, register and referencing.
they encounter when addition, e-courses are used as reference There are separate sections on grammar
sources for regular classes. Students can structures in written English, lexical
they are doing various go online to read again information that structures and punctuation.
types of tasks and has been given in class, and they can do By employing a blended learning
further online activities to practise what approach, the course tries not only to
writing assignments they have learnt. These online courses address students’ lack of knowledge
are also very useful for revision. about formal writing in English, but

Blended
technologies to improve the quality of
The main motivation teaching and learning at the faculty. While
inevitably there were some problems, these

learning factor for attending
the course was
seem to have been be outweighed by the
advantages. In particular, blended
learning gave the opportunity to provide
also to approach it in a new way. students’ eagerness good quality distance learning, thereby
Students meet their teacher once every increasing students’ chances to be able to
two weeks to discuss and clarify any to improve their participate in university-level education.
mistakes they made in their written
assignments (essays). They then do
English, especially Modern information technologies
offer challenging ways of teaching and
further and more detailed self-study their skills of formal learning languages. The benefits include
online, before rewriting their essays. easy access to study materials, the
In the summer semester of 2007, 12 written English
opportunity to proceed at one’s own
students of management and tourism individual pace, the ability to choose the
attended this course. At the end of the time and place for study, and almost
could do these at any time, could receive
course, they were asked to complete the immediate feedback on writing with
immediate feedback on their work and
following evaluation form, in an attempt e-mail tutorial support. These benefits
see what mistakes they had made, and
to discover whether the integration of are, however, only a partial solution for
the fact that they could print out all the
face-to-face teaching and learning learners who need to develop speaking
materials if they wished. Only two
methods with online approaches was skills. This gap could be filled to some
students mentioned technical problems
successful. extent by using telephone and video
with the system – they found it annoying
when the system did not work. conferencing. Nevertheless, conventional
1 Please comment on the overall The most useful activities according face-to-face training is still necessary to
structure and content of the to the respondents were: writing essays, provide the practice and feedback on
course. discussing common mistakes which performance that can really help to
2 Did you find the online course on appeared in students’ essays, discussing improve speaking skills. As a result,
referencing motivating/not the structure of an academic paper, blended learning would seem to be an
motivating and why? using the online course and translating. ideal solution to a number of problems.
In fact there was no activity that the As Pete Sharma says, ‘on the one hand,
3 List three activities which were the
students considered not worth doing. technology is here to stay. On the other,
most useful to you.
Only two students commented that there the teacher will never be replaced. I
4 Were there any activities you did had been too many tasks in the online believe it is crucial that the teacher
not find useful. If so, why? course, and that not all were useful. remains in control as the person
5 What or who motivated you to As for question 5, the main creating the course programme, meeting
attend the course? motivation factor for attending and the learners, interpreting or assigning
studying the course was students’ the material and honing the course. The
6 Did you welcome the opportunity
eagerness to improve their English, technology should not “lead”’. ETp
to have face-to-face tutorials once
every two weeks or would you especially their skills of formal written
English. The second motivation factor Bonk, C J and Graham, C R Handbook of
prefer to have these every week? Blended Learning: Global Perspectives
was their intention to write an academic
7 Would you recommend the course Pfeiffer Publishing 2005
paper in English. Among the other
to other people? Graham, C R et al ‘Benefits and
factors mentioned were that this course challenges of blended learning
8 Do you have any further was another way of obtaining needed environments’ In Khosrow-Pour, M (Ed)
comments? credits or that a friend recommended Encyclopedia of Information Science and
Thank you. the course to them. Technology I-V Idea Group Inc 2003
Two respondents said they would Littlejohn, A Planning Blended Learning
have liked to have had the face-to-face Activities Routledge-Falmer 2006
In general, all 12 respondents were tutorials every week. However, everybody Sharma, P ‘Future in the balance’ English
satisfied with the overall structure of the else was happy to have them once every Teaching Professional 42 2006
course. They stated that the information two weeks. Overall, the responses to the
given to them during the course had given questions were very positive, and Blanka Frydrychová
Klímová teaches at the
been very useful. Moreover, they thought it is noteworthy that respondents Faculty of Informatics
this subject should be compulsory in the indicated in their answers to question 7 and Management of the
University of Hradec
second year of study when preparing to that they thought the course would be Králové, Czech
write academic papers. useful for all students at the faculty. Republic. Her main field
of interest is teaching
As far as the online element of the business English. In
course was concerned, it was also addition, she runs
courses in the culture
deemed to be quite useful and and history of Great
motivating. Students appreciated its The experiences described above Britain and the USA and
academic writing.
clear structure and the self-study demonstrate both the institution’s and the
[email protected]
exercises. They liked the fact that they teachers’ desire to apply new educational

Webwatcher
Web
Russell Stannard
recommends some great sites where
children can learn vocabulary.
I
n this issue I want to point out some of the best sites on the the site is, unfortunately, not that well laid out. A lot of what you
internet for children. You can use them in class, if you are find on the opening page is presentation material for colours,
lucky enough to have computers for the children to work on. If numbers, etc, but if you click on ‘Children’s games and
not, then they are sites that you can recommend the students to activities’, you will find another page full of activities. Try some of
use outside class. the ‘Play Bingo’ games. I did the clothes one. Someone calls out
an item and you have a limited time to click on it before another
www.ur.se/sprk/engelska/index.php item is read out. The game flows well, it is good for revising
There are several games on this site, but the one I want to vocabulary and there is plenty of content. I like the matching
concentrate on is called ‘Decorate’. It is a really fun activity and games, too. All the words are read out so that the students are
very simple. Basically, you have to help Roger to decorate his continually hearing the pronunciation of the words while
room. Just follow his instructions and click on the correct practising them. I tried some of these games out in French (a
furniture and the right colours and patterns. This is a very well- language I am learning) and I found them pretty useful. You can
designed game. It is easy to play and has clear learning even play the games in pairs, so you are competing with
objectives, yet at the same time it is engaging for students. someone. This can be useful if you are doing them in class.
http://vocabulary.co.il/index_main.php Most of the activities here have a choice of levels, too.
This site has all the standard vocabulary games, such as www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks1bitesize
wordsearches, crosswords and hangman, but there are one or On this site, the content is not really aimed at ELT students, but I
two more which I really like. Try ‘Letter Blocks’. You first click on believe that it would work fine with them. Click on ‘literacy’ and
a letter and then you can click on any of the letters which are then you have a whole host of games to choose from. I have
adjacent to that letter. The idea is to build a word. To tell the never used this material in class but it looks good. I tried out
computer you have created a word you simply double click on ‘Rhyming Words’, where you have to select the word that has
the last letter and it increases your score. Again, this is really the same sound as a word the programme reads out for you. All
simple but very engaging. the games are set in nice contexts and there are different levels
www.eduplace.com/kids/sv/books/content/wordbuilder that you can choose, too. This is well worth looking at.
On this site, you can hear sentences being read out and you
have to spell a missing word (you are given some help). Once To make things easier, I have created a free video that
you have spelled the word, you click on it and you will be told if takes you through the sites I have written about here and
you are correct or incorrect. You then move on to the next points out some of the games that you can play. There are
sentence. This is well designed in terms of interaction–click also some extra sites that I haven’t included in the article,
ratios: it is important that you don’t have to click needlessly on to encourage you to watch the video.
the screen to make things happen which can quite easily be
done automatically by the programme. This site has lots of http://trainingvideos.hscs.wmin.ac.uk/kidsVocab.
useful content. index.html
www.britishcouncil.org/kids-games-fun.htm
The British Council material is superb. They have invested www.spellingcity.com
heavily in the web and there is a lot of fun vocabulary practice Just one last thing. There is a very good site called ‘Spelling
on this site. Try ‘Trolley Dash’ – it is addictive! You are given a list City’. The great thing about this site is that you can enter your
of things you have to buy in the supermarket, and you have to own content. You write in the words you want to practise and it
‘run around’, going to the right sections of the supermarket and makes spelling games out of them. I really like activities where
clicking on the items so that they are added to the shopping you can control the content because this means you can use
trolley. This is enormous fun. You have only one minute to buy them time and time again. This is definitely one to recommend
everything on the list (you can click the list at any time to remind to your students as they can write in words that they continually
yourself what you need). I have happily wasted a few hours of spell wrong and then practise them. I have created a video to
my life playing it and have also used it with my students help you with the this site, too. Go to http://trainingvideos.com/
(including adults). spell/index.html. ETp
Another good game on this site is ‘Clean and Green’. You have
to click on objects and put them into the correct recycling bin. Russell Stannard is a principal lecturer at the
There are many other games here, too. For teaching purposes, University of Westminster, UK, where he teaches
using technology on multimedia and TESOL courses.
you will need to spend a bit of time on the site assessing the He also runs www.teachertrainingvideos.com, a
suitability of the games for your students as the level of the website that trains English teachers to use technology.
activities jumps around a little, but they are all worth looking at.
www.hello-world.com/English/index.php
Keep sending your favourite sites to Russell:
This site has lots of material and you will need a bit of time to
[email protected]
look through it. You can easily miss some of the good things as

In this column Rose Senior explains why certain teaching techniques and
class management strategies are effective, and identifies specific issues that can assist
all language teachers in improving the quality of their teaching.
The teacher’s best friend

W
herever they teach and knowledge during the course of lessons. class until the board is filled with clusters of
whatever their teaching Teachers can remind students of which words branching out from the central word
circumstances, most teachers words go together in terms of similarity of in the form of a mind map. During speaking
have access to a tried-and- structure, form or meaning by bracketing or writing activities, students often require
tested teaching aid located at the front of them together on the board. They can show additional words or phrases with which to
the room: a large blank surface upon which pairs of words that contrast in sound or express thoughts, feelings or opinions. By
they can write or draw pictures during the meaning by placing a forward slash between writing requested linguistic items on the
course of lessons. These large flat surfaces, them (ship/sheep, hard-working/lazy, and board – and leaving them up for the benefit
with their versatility and attention-focusing so on). They can emphasise phonological of others – teachers show that they value
power, are variously known as blackboards aspects of English by dividing words into student input. As a result, lessons become
(together with powdery chalk sticks that syllables with slashes, accenting syllables to more dynamic, with students understanding
leave the hands of every user indicate word stress, or drawing the true purpose of language: to satisfy
coated with dust), whiteboards Even teachers sloping up-and-down arrows above genuine communicative needs.
(together with felt pens that must without artistic sections of sentences to indicate Teachers of classes containing up to, say,
be of the water-soluble variety), or sentence stress. Teachers can 30 students can – provided the classroom
more technologically-advanced skills can draw make a habit of indicating the part allows for easy movement – involve the whole
(but not necessarily more stick figures of speech of new words by placing class in board-writing activities. Scribes can
effective) interactive whiteboards. a code in brackets after each one be appointed to write up items brainstormed
In this article I will use the term board (n, v, adj, adv, and so on). They can also use by particular student groups. (Having a line of
to refer to all forms of this teaching aid, so different coloured pens or chalk, distinct scribes at the front of the class, particularly
useful in the classroom that we could call it forms of underlining and a variety of symbols when groups are in competition, creates high
the teacher’s best friend. including equals signs, asterisks, arrows, levels of involvement.) When the energy
Although classroom language learning sweeping circles, and so on to help students level of classes is low, an old favourite is
can occur very effectively without any reach deeper levels of lexical understanding. Hangman, the vocabulary game where the
reference to the written word, through Teachers with drawing talents can use entire class pits its collective wits against the
songs, rhymes, chanting, repetitive actions, their boards to create quick drawings or person standing at the board – either the
physical responses to oral instructions, and images that establish contexts for learning. teacher or a student. A popular end-of-term
so on, most language teachers – literate Teachers can also use them to depict activity involves dividing the class into two
individuals who themselves rely heavily on familiar objects or to help teams and having randomly-selected
the written word – find themselves students understand the Teachers can pairs of students (matched in ability)
depending on their boards when teaching meaning of new words, enlist the help of from opposing teams rush to the
their lessons. How precisely do they use concepts or relationships. board when their number is called to
them, and why are they so effective? Even teachers without artistic a willing student spell a designated word correctly.
In classrooms where students have skills can draw stick figures, with artistic flair Activities such as these vitalise
neither textbooks nor access to photocopied do stylised representations of language classes, confirming that
materials, teachers obviously require students objects such as hearts or clouds, or portray classroom language learning is a collective
to copy down information for consolidation simple items ranging from houses and endeavour involving the whole class.
and future reference. The very act of copying furniture to plants and animals. If their The message of this article is: Don’t
words and phrases from the board is an classes laugh at their efforts, teachers can forget the board! Regard it as your trusted
important step in committing language to exclaim ‘You know I’m not good at friend which, unless its surface is damaged or
memory. Teachers must, of course, write drawing!’ or ‘Guess what this is meant to you run out of chalk or whiteboard markers,
legibly so that students neither copy words be!’ Alternatively, they can enlist the help of will never let you down. Make sure you enlist
incorrectly nor interrupt the lesson with a willing student with artistic flair – a its help in as many ways as you can! ETp
urgent requests for clarification. Teachers practice that not only engages the attention
must avoid the cardinal sin of rubbing of the class but also raises the status of
information off the board before the class has the individual concerned.
had time to copy it down. Nothing can be To prepare students for writing tasks,
Rose Senior is a conference presenter
more frustrating! Some teachers routinely teachers can write a topic (such as and teacher educator. She is the author
request permission before cleaning the board. technology, happiness or health) in the of The Experience of Language Teaching,
published by Cambridge University Press.
Boards are particularly useful for the centre of the board and then surround it
www.rosesenior.com
consolidation or expansion of lexical with words and ideas suggested by the

Prize crossword 31
ETp presents the thirty-first in our series of prize Keyways Publishing, PO Box 100, Chichester, West Sussex,
crosswords, and this one, again, has a very different PO18 8HD, UK. Ten correct entries will be drawn from a hat
format. Try it … and maybe win a prize! Once you on 10 November 2008 and the senders will each receive a
have done it successfully, let your students have a go. copy of the second edition of the Macmillan English
Send your entry (not forgetting to include your Dictionary for Advanced Learners, applauded for its unique
full name, postal address and telephone number) to red star system showing the frequency of the 7,500 most
Prize crossword 31, ENGLISH TEACHING professional, common words in English.
12 2 24 2 22 6 21 25 2 9 19 2 23 19 23 4 1 11 23 12 12 22 2
11 1 6 16 6 13 9 13 11 1 21 21 2 12 23 9 1
25 1 4 19 23 4 4 14 2 4 24 25 15 4 19 2 11 15 23 9 4 23 12 2
1 22 20 4 1 4 7 23 1 9 2 9 23 8 25 1 Winston
. Churchill
8 2 2 4 2 23 12 22 2 11
9 2 19 3 12 6 VERY FREQUENT WORDS *** Subjects that people discuss or

*** Always, in every situation argue about
23 9 24 2 4 19 23 8 1 19 23 6 9 *** At the present time *** Things that might happen or be
*** A car whose driver is paid to take true
18 2 22 22 24 25
you to a particular place *** The whole of an amount or every
*** Change, growth or improvement part of something
23 19 1 17 23 4 2 23 10 2
over a period of time *** A word for adding another fact or
I *** To get something that you want or idea to what you have already said
26 14 19 19 19 6 9 9
C need, especially by going through a FREQUENT WORDS
2 6 3 19 1 23 9 5 2 1 19
process that is difficult ** Like a god, or relating to a god
E *** An injury on your skin made by ** The part of a piece of clothing that
9 6 13 23 2 2 22 something sharp covers your arm
*** To legally have something, ** A period of time that has a
19 9 2 26 2 4 4 1 11 23 22 15 especially because you have bought it particular quality or character
*** The place in which people live and ** Planes that can fly very fast
work, including all the physical ** To take something using official
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 conditions that affect them power and force
E *** A place where people live and work ** To throw something somewhere
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 that is larger than a village but smaller gently or in a slightly careless way
I C than a city ** Very impressive and beautiful, good
*** The process of trying to find out all or skilful
To solve the puzzle, find which letter each number the details or facts about something in
order to discover who or what caused FAIRLY FREQUENT WORDS
represents. You can keep a record in the boxes above.
it or how it happened * To slide over snow, as a sport or as
Three letters are done for you. Start by writing these a way of travelling
letters in the other boxes in the crossword where their *** A pronoun for referring to a woman
numbers appear. The definitions of the words in the puzzle or girl who has already been LESS FREQUENT WORDS
mentioned – A tall pole that sails hang from on a
are given, but not in the right order. When you have
*** To put food into your mouth and ship
finished, you will be able to read the quotation. swallow it – Large white or grey birds with long
*** The quality of being hot, or the beaks
degree to which something is hot – Lazy, or not being used
*** The same in value, amount or size – The room in a house under the roof

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ENGLISH Issue 58

Dealing with diversity

I think, therefore I learn

Poised for learning

• fresh ideas & innovations

• tips & techniques

• competitions & reviews

DEALING WITH DIVERSITY 4 GETTING INVOLVED 52

DIFFERENTIATION 1 8 BLENDED LEARNING 58

RESUSCITATING READING 12 WEBWATCHER 61

DANGER: ASSIMILATION! 49 THE TEACHER’S BEST FRIEND 63

TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS REVIEWS 44

BUSINESS ENGLISH PROFESSIONAL

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 1

The same could be said of many things in the world of

ENGLISH PO Box 100, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 8HD, UK

Editor: Helena Gomm Published by: Keyways Publishing Ltd,

Editorial Director: Peter Collin © 2008, Keyways Publishing Ltd

Designer: Christine Cox ISSN 1362-5276

2 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

Paola Vettorel Despite growing

4 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 5

6 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

8 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 9

3 I usually finish assignments ahead of the deadline. T/F

In my free time I like to __________________________________ . I learn better by doing. T/F

My best subject is ______________________________________ .

Costa, A Activating & Engaging Habits of

10 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

12 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

of a word manipulate them into a different part of

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 13

students time to question any points

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 17

the students to learn, etc. This gives so involved in the

18 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

3 What’s the word? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 19

20 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

22 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 23

Carla Wilson suggests you use yoga Successful

24 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 25

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 27

28 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 29

Tell me about yourself (A)

Tell me about yourself (B)

30 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

1 Identify a time when you have

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 31

I got it off the TV

34 • Issue 58 September 2008 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

I think, therefore I learn 1

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 35

Two ‘speed pairing’ activities

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 58 September 2008 • 37

TOTAL SIMILAR: ___ / 10 _ / 10 ___ / 10