Social networks help teenagers improve their speaking skills

Italian parents always complain about the time their teenage children waste in front of a computer screen or on their smartphones. They say their children do not talk anymore, they just text.
Instead of blaming my teenage students I prefer using their "bad habit" to make them improve their English, especially their speaking skills.
A few months ago I published a post about how to use the Internet and Facebook to engage teenage students, today I'd like to share with you a lesson plan which might useful if your students are fond of social networking apps.

Students: Teenagers
Level: A2

Lesson plan
1) Warm-up: Write the following questions on the board
- Do you have a smartphone, PC, I-pod, I-pad?
- What social networks do you know?
- What do you use social networks or apps for?
Students ask and answer the questions in pairs.
TIP: Monitor students to check they are on the task and at the end of the activity ask some students randomly what their partner have told them. (It's a chance to practice the"s" of the third person singular)
ALTERNATIVE ACTIVITY: If you have a small ball like this

Students throw the ball and choose a question to ask to each other.

2) Show students this logotype

and ask them if they know which social network it stands for.

If they know it you can go to step 3 if they don't you can play the hangman like this

3) Prediction: Before showing students this infographic about Anomo (I took it from Metro.uk), 

write down these numbers on the board (I chose them to practice their pronunciation). In groups of 3 students predict in which way they refer to Anomo.

10,000

3m

90%

9 out of 10

540

Then hand out the infographic and ask them to check whether their predictions were correct or not.

4) Now focus students' attention on the expressions:

- ICE-BREAKER GAME

- GET-TO-KNOW-YOU-GAME

from the infographic, elicit their meaning and then show them this picture

5) Students write 5 "get-to-know"questions on 5 different pieces of paper.
Then they fold and put them in a plastic bag. Now shake the bag and ask a student to pick up a paper. S/he will answer a question and decide who will be the next one to reply.

At the end of the lesson students  will have:
- practiced the question forms,
- improved their speaking skill,
- enhanced their rapport with each other.

If you try this lesson plan, please let me know your feedback.

7 ways to use INFOGRAPHICS in the English classroom

This is my first post of 2014 and I'd like to kick off the new year by writing about the latest popular phenomenon on the web: INFOGRAPHICS.

What is an infographic?
An Infographic (information graphic)  is a visual representation of a data set or instructive material. It takes a large amount of information in text or numerical form and then condenses it into a combination of images and text, allowing viewers to quickly grasp the essential insights the data contains.

Can infographics be used in the English classroom?
Yes, of course. These are 7 ways to use INFOGRAPHICS in the English classroom.

1. TO TEACH (OR REVIEW) NUMBERS - Let's face the truth: students do not like numbers. Maybe because it's the first thing they learn when they study a foreign language, (sometimes even before the alphabet). In infographics you can find very long numbers and your students can practice their pronunciation.
Tip: When a student does not know (or does not remember) the pronunciation of a number I usually ask to the class randomly until someone pronounces it correctly. Afterwards we drill it chorally.

2. TO TEACH NEW VOCABULARY - Each infographic is an incredible source of new vocabulary. You can find infographics about music, religion, education, cinema, jobs, social networks etc. Here you are some examples from the free newspaper Metro.uk (e-edition).

3. TO MAKE PREDICTIONS  - In my humble opinion this is the funniest way you can use infographics for. I usually copy only some numbers and the topic on the board and let my students guess what those numbers are related to. My students usually come up with many "contrasting" ideas which lead to li(o)vely debates.
Tip: Students'minds may go blank when they see all those numbers, give examples/ideas.

4. TO RETRIEVE INFORMATION - This activity usually comes after making predictions. Students have to check whether their suppositions were true or false by reading the infographic.
Tip: For lower levels you can simply prepare a set of questions and ask your students to answer them.

5. TO PRACTICE BUSINESS PRESENTATIONS - I'm sure that among your students there is a business person always in troubles with their presentations at the workplace. Well, infographics can be used as PPT slides while the students rehearse for their speech.
Tip: Keep the infographics on the PC and let your students use a pencil while they are talking, it will make them feel more confident.

6. TO ELABORATE - We always ask our students to sum up texts. Why don't we try to do the opposite? Why don't we ask them to elaborate short pieces of information into something detailed? Give your students an infographic and ask them to write an article starting from the information they have. It is an excellent exercise to practice their writing skills.

7. TO COLLECT USEFUL INFORMATION - We can use infographics but we can also create them! http://www.easel.ly and http://infogr.am are two free websites your students can use to make their own infographics. My students and I usually create them at the of the year to review what we have studied or to concentrate useful information for the exams. Eventually, we print the infographics out and stick them on the walls.

Do you use infographics in your English classes? How? Please, share your experience with me!

My 5 best posts of 2013

As 2013 is coming to an end I'd like to wish you a fantastic 2014 full of joy and peace.

In my humble opinion, these are my 5 best posts of 2013

1. The Power of Post-it Notes

2. Facebook and the Internet to Inspire Teens

3. Do You Want To Learn? Teach!

4. What the British Do Not Say: A Lesson Plan

5. Homework Is... Fun

Happy New Year!

SEASON'S GREETINGS

Season's Greetings

Christmas Crackers: Useful Links

Christmas is one of the most popular and celebrated holidays all over the world. I do love having  lessons about Christmas with my students to show them the traditions of the country(ies) whose language they are studying.

This year I taught my young teenagers the story of the Christmas Cracker and we even made our own Christmas Crackers! 

I'd like to share with you the online resources I used in my class.

1) The story of the Christmas Cracker

http://didyouknow.org/christmas/crackers/

TIP: pre-teach vocabulary and prepare questions for reading comprehension.

2) Make your own Christmas Crackers

2a Watch the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi3KRrMlof8 

TIP: don't forget to get everything you need ready in your classroom. 

As you could see in the video, inside the Christmas Cracker there are a small present (such as a chocolate), a joke and a paper hat/crown. 

2b You can copy your joke from this 50 Christmas cracker joke list:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/10523013/50-Best-Christmas-cracker-jokes-ever.html

2c You can see how to make your own paper hat/crown in this video (always from TESCO Life Style)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqfyajji7A8

I hope you will enjoy making your own Christmas Crackers with your students. 

Metro UK: Get the best out of a free newspaper

Are you one of those teachers who:

1) is teaching in a non-English-speaking country?
2) is looking for new ideas to create or adapt authentic materials?
3)  is fed up with course books?
4) is training their students for a Cambridge exam?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, keep on reading this post!

When I lived in London I used to take the tube almost everyday. Before getting on the train I used to grab a copy of a free paper: METRO. I flicked through it during my journey, reading some headlines here and there. When I was about to come back to Italy I decided to pack some copies up. When I was here I realized I could use it to create or adapt materials even to train my students in several parts of some Cambridge Examinations. Plus, checking on the internet I found out its PDF edition so my materials are always brand new and up-to-date!

I collected here some ways to use METRO UK in your classes:

1. To teach vocabulary - There are lots of colorful picture. 

2. To warm up - If you want to introduce the topic of the lesson in a fun way you can use its comic strips. Find out more in this previous post:
http://larissaslanguages.blogspot.it/2013/06/comic-strips-to-warm-up.html


3. To have a debate or a conversation class - Intermediate and upper-intermediate students sometimes are stuck with the same vocabulary. Pre-teaching new vocabulary, reading a newspaper article, having a talk are three easy steps which will make your students more interested in your lesson. Don't forget: feel free to adapt the text in order to meet your students' needs and levels.


4. KET: speaking test - In the second part of the speaking test there are two candidates. The examiner gives them a sheet with a picture and some information. Candidates ask and answer questions in turns about the information on the sheet. Questions are usually introduced by questions words such as who, when, which, what, where, etc. For this part of the test you can use the ads.

Possible questions:

a. Where do you get 25% off?
b. What time do the stores close?
c. How much do you have to spend to get free delivery?




Possible questions:
a. What is Jamie magazine about?
b. What can I do to get a free copy?
c. Who writes in this magazine?

5. FCE: Writing test - One of the genres of the writing test is the report. It is the most formal piece of writing because it is full of data and impersonal expressions. How can your students get data to build up their report? Use the infographics from the section IN FOCUS. Here you an example about the graduate and non-graduate jobs in the UK currently.



I hope that these prompts will be useful for you and if you have any other ideas, please share them with me!
(All the pictures are screenshots of the PDF edition)

Do you want to learn? Teach!

Yesterday during my break between two classes I was checking my Facebook when I ran into this picture:

The more you teach the more you learn! So I thought it would be a great idea to make my teen students be teachers for a lesson!

I knew it was an experiment and it could have been either a success or a flop but I decided to try. 

I wondered what role the teacher played in this context and what materials students could use in order to teach. Thus, I put together two different teaching methods:

1) Silent way teaching

The Silent way is a teaching method developed by Caleb Gattegno in 1960s based on the belief that students should learn independently of the teacher. Gattegno proposed that students would learn better if they worked together and they were more responsible for their own learning. Students are introduced to new materials by using Cuisinare rods and a series of wall charts.

2) Realia
All your possessions (and your students') can be used in your class to bring it to life.

MY EXPERIENCE
New Language: COUNTABLE & UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Level: ELEMENTARY

1. I drew two columns on the board and I wrote COUNTABLE NOUNS & UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS.
2. I didn't use Cuisinare rods but real things. I showed my students two apples, two cups of tea and two tea bags. I wrote under the UNCOUNTABLE COLUMN:
A cup of TEA
Two cups of TEA
A TEA bag
Two TEA bags
And under the COUNTABLE COLUMNS: 
An APPLE
Two APPLES

Notice: We are considering the words TEA (uncountable) and APPLES (countable) not cups or bags.

I underlined the s of the plural and I made them notice there was no S in the word tea.


2. I asked my students to come to the board in turn. I gave them the cups of tea, the tea bags the apples and other food and drink. Then I mimed an interrogative expression to make them explain the difference between countable and uncountable nouns. Good explanations were given the thumbs up.


--> NOTICE <--
- The Silent Way has some drawbacks. You have to be really good at miming. Plus, some students may need more teacher input than what is provided through this method. Thus, the student-teaching part of the lesson should last not more than 30 minutes.

- Get real object ready in your classroom or use pictures/flashcards.