Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Working with triads
To read it in detail, go here.
I believe this is quite a replicable technique that might be used as a time-filler or to develop specific sub-skills with many different age groups and levels. Besides, I appreciate the fact it allows shy students to shine by playing part C!
Let us know if you've tried it!
Gladys
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Friday, 11 June 2010
Some "different" dictionaries
- The Internet Picture Dictionary® (allows browsing by categories)
- One Look® Dictionary (allows searching for words related to a concept)
- VisuWords® (online graphical dictionary)
- And last, but not least, a dictionary of collocations, which can be consulted online (again for free): Oxford Collocations Dictionary Online for Advanced English Learners:
ozdic.com - Collocations for "task" |
Gladys
NOTE: Originally published on 19th June, 2009. Last updated on 7 September, 2012.
Friday, 4 June 2010
The World Cup is here!
Longman Pearson is offering us all some great resources to help us succeed at this. Check them out!
There are ideas for different levels. I'm positive teens and adults in Argentina would enjoy them!
If you try any of these with your classes, just let us know!
Gladys
Friday, 7 May 2010
The communicative classroom
Rings a bell, doesn't it? Right now, when we happen to be discussing the challenges of communicative language teaching at college, Tim Bowen (via Macmillan) shares a most interesting article on the issue. Definitely an opportunity not to be missed!
I invite you to enjoy Bowen's article (just follow the link!) and come back here to share your reactions:
1. What idea has caught your attention the most?
2. What relationships can you establish between Bowen's ideas and the ones discussed so far either in class or by the authors you've been reading?
3. Would you describe your own teaching as communicative? Why (not)?
That's all for today...
Have a nice weekend!
Gladys
Monday, 26 April 2010
You plan what you are
Great teacher Alistair writes:
When we plan our courses, the syllabuses we draw up reflect the ideas we have about teaching. If we think that grammar is one of the most useful tools, then there will be lots of grammar in the plan. If we think that functional work is the way to go then this will dominate. Likewise with skills, if we feel that the development of language skills rather than language is the road to success, we might take a more task-based approach…
(you can read more about this, and even subscribe to his free newsletter here)
As we are right in the middle of our discussion on lesson planning, I couldn't help but think this idea perfectly applied to the aims you set for your lesson plans... Do you agree? And how much do you like the image of yourself your lesson aims show?
See you next Fri!
Gladys
Monday, 22 March 2010
How do teens perceive their academic self?
High School students' academic self-concept is influenced not only by the achievement levels of other students in their class (so called, "frame of reference" effect) but also by the prestige or standings of the school they attend (so called,"reflected glory" effect). In a large study, researchers found that among equally achieving students, those placed in high-achieving learning groups had lower academic self-concepts than their peers. But, the negative effects of being placed in high-achieving learning groups were weaker for high-achieving students. For both groups, academic self-concept was positively influenced by their perceived school standings in the community. Trautwein, U., et al. (2009). Within-school social comparison: How students perceive the standing of their class predicts academic self-concept.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 853-866.
Interesting, don't you think?
Gladys
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Monday, 15 March 2010
A CLIL lesson plan
Monday, 22 February 2010
Managing behaviour
Do you have any tips on behaviour management to share? Or any questions you'd like to ask? Post a comment!
Gladys
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
Using our mother tongue in class
Peace,
Thursday, 4 February 2010
CBL: learning language through content learning
Here's an excellent starting point: a summary by one of our workshop participants during 2009.
Content Based Learning (CBL)
Thanks, Alejandra, for having shared this! (please leave comments at her Scribd if you can!)
Gladys
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Teaching pronunciation
Incredible English (OUP): Stress monster!
And here's another game, aimed at practising homonyms (two words are homonyms if they are pronounced or spelled the same way but have different meanings ): Word Frog>Homonyms
Try them and have fun (be brave and choose the highest levels of difficulty!!!) !
Do you think activities like these ones can actually contribute to our students' learning the pronunciation of English? Share your beliefs by posting a comment!
Gladys
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Managing your class
Regards,
Gladys
What IS assessment?
Many people assume that assessment is simply another word for testing but in this article Adrian Tennant outlines its role as an important aspect of teaching and learning (click on the image below or on either of the links in it to be directed to the article itself) :
Another great resource from the kind guys at Macmillan's Onestopenglish!
Gladys
Monday, 11 January 2010
More on CLIL
For more resources on CLIL teaching, visit Onestopclil - Macmillan's comprehensive resource bank for CLIL teachers. You can start by getting familiar with what CLIL is>, and learning about its methodology and activities through the CLIL Teacher Magazine>. The CLIL Young Learners section> has plenty of engaging, flexible resources for children and teenagers, and the Image Gallery> and Animations> sections are rich with fantastic ways to make vocabulary and grammar learning more fun. CLIL extra> will help you navigate through all these new features.
Enjoy!
Gladys