Jazz chants are a great way to introduce the idea of English syllable or sentence stress to English learners and to learn vocabulary. You can use the following jazz chant to help students learn the past tense of many irregular verbs. Add a fun beat to the jazz chant to make it exciting. Learn more [...]
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Using colored cards for sentence formation activities
Using colored index cards (or writing in different colored markers on white paper) can be extremely helpful in illustrating grammatical concepts. The color coding of the cards helps with keeping the parts of the sentences identifiable. For more complicated concepts, start by simply working on phrases until the student is comfortable. Then, add additional words [...]
View ArticleListening and Dictation Website
The Listening and Dictation (LAD) project, based out of Seminole State College of Florida, provides a great website with listening exercises where students have an opportunity to answer questions and select sentences they hear.
View ArticleStudent Presentations
Getting students to present to their classmates is a great way for them to practice public speaking and take the pressure off of your lesson plans! Regularly scheduled presentations make for a fun way to start or end a class. The key to successful presentations is setting expectations for what the students will do – [...]
View ArticleReading Activities: Dictionary
Getting students to understand vocabulary through context is an important skill. Prepare by choosing a passage for your student(s) to read. Underline words that you think will be challenging for the them and create a list of these words on a separate piece of paper or on the board. Tell them to read it quickly [...]
View ArticleConversation and Listening Activities: Jigsaw Reading
Choose an article or text that can be easily divided into several (4-6) sections. Make a note of the sections on your copy and choose a random order in which to read the text. For example, maybe you’ll read sections 2 then 4 then 1 then 3. Tell students that they will need to take [...]
View ArticleConversation and Listening Activities: Listening Therapy
Choose a story or article that can be read in 5-10 minutes (1-2 pages). Preface the reading by giving an overview of the article. Then, tell students to write down important words that they here while you read. Afterwards, discuss the words that the students chose. Facilitate the discussion by asking students to explain why [...]
View ArticleUsing Magazine Pictures for Homework
It’s not uncommon for students to struggle to keep a journal – many students are not used to writing without a “purpose”, even when a prompt is given. Try this activity – courtesy of one of our group teachers, Leonard, – instead: Give a magazine picture or ad to your student(s) as part of their [...]
View ArticleReading Questions
Asking questions of students that force them to look both at the big and little picture is important. Here are some general questions to help you do that: What is the author’s purpose? What is the author doing in this paragraph? How do you think the author felt when s/he wrote this part? Why did [...]
View ArticleReading Strategies
Teaching advanced learners how to read is not as easy as it sounds and many students have advanced as learners without strong reading skills. For starters, it’s important to consider that comprehension does not necessarily equal the ability to read and understand a text. A reading task – no matter how long the passage – [...]
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