This is a great ESL classroom game for a first lesson. Basically, it is a GTKY game, or a Getting To Know You game, but also helps SS review question words such as Who, What, Why, Where, When, How etc. It’s really simple too and does not need any resources. I hate using games which [...]
When I started out teaching, I used to spend hours searching for useful ESL websites, practical games, free resources and information on the internet. There are a few lists of useful ESL websites but as time went on, I had my own growing list of sites I referred to almost on a daily basis. There [...]
I’ve tried so hard to integrate some sort of online experience into my ESL classes – creating blogs, creating websites, even trying online diaries. Even tried to have my students make websites based on Jurassic Park, a book they all love. But two weekends later, only 3 out of 15 students were actively working on [...]
I love the Story telling game to revise past tense with my little kids. It’s also a great way to practice speaking. FOR KIDS: Divide your class into small groups of 3-4. The smaller the group, the more speaking practice the kids get. Have the kids sit in a circle. Give each group a line [...]
This is such a simple game, and can evoke some very imaginative ideas if you have some motivated students. Take a flashcard to class. It could have any picture on it, but I prefer something with a scene, not a single object. The last time I took a picture of a blue lake surrounded by [...]
Here’s an excellent ESL icebreaker game that I always go back to on the first day of a new class. Preteach Language – 1. What’s your name? 2. When’s your birthday? Round 1 – Have all SS stand in a semi-circle in the classroom. On the floor, write down January 1 at one end of [...]
This is a fantastic warmer to revise vocabulary with ESL students. Divide the class into teams of no more than 3-4 people each. In this game, only one person in every team is active at any point of time, so if the teams are big, the other students tend to get bored and/or distracted. In [...]
So what do you do once you’ve finished your TESOL or TEFL course? Hell man, I’m gonna get a job in China/France/Haiti/Brazil and I’m gonna be gone while you guys clean up the mess around here!! Uhmm.. wait. Did you sign your contract yet? Did you get the figures right? Are you sure you’re going [...]
Most ESL students (and their parents) lay an inordinate amount of emphasis on conversational skills and gloss over the need to learn how to write. It’s true that conversational skills are the most important ones to teach. If immersed in an English speaking environment, students pick up conversational skills sooner or later (which is why [...]
I have been waiting to write this post since the day I presented this lesson. Not because it was a spectacular lesson or even a horrible one, but because presenting it was a lesson in itself. This was the last of all the lessons I taught during the CELTA course at St. Giles International. One [...]
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