Creativity in the EFL classroom: a task-based activity

Hi everyone!

Another week has just gone by and here I am again to share a teaching activity I carried out with a group of my students with you.

I'd like to start this post with a quote by one of my favourite writers. 

www.google.com 

Creativity is one of the four 21st skills (along with critical thinking, collaboration, and communication) that students need to have in order to succeed. Moreover, according to Bloom's Taxonomy of Cognitive Development creativity is considered one of the higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). In particular it is defined as the ability to put parts together to create something new and unique by giving major emphasis on the formulation of new patterns or structures. (If you'd like to read more about Bloom's Taxonomy, I suggest that you visit this webpage).

Some time ago I read Creativity in the English language classroom edited by Alan Maley and Nik Peachey from the British Council series. You can find fantastic ideas here to use in your classrooms.

What I decided to do was to collect some of the definitions of 'creativity' which are true for me. I printed out a poster and put it on the wall of the room where I usually plan my lessons. I came up with the idea I'm sharing with you in the paragraph below while I was staring at it one day when my mind had gone blank. 

CREATIVE CAFES
Level: B1 - upwards
Time: 2 hours
Linguistic Skills: Speaking, Listening, Writing
Soft Skills: Creative thinking, Problem Solving


Warm-up activity
I showed my Ls this picture, I told them it was the sign of a shop and they brainstormed ideas about which type of business it could be and then I asked them, 'What is special about this cafe?'

www.google.com

In order to check their answers, Ls watched this video up to 00:35. Some of my Ls were really surprised about this business model and one of them even said that it was not worth it since anyone can eat everything up.

Listening activity - Running 'question' dictation
In order to improve my Ls' listening skills without making some of them stressed about it I decided to carry out a peer-learning activity. Instead of giving them the comprehension questions I wrote them on post-it notes and put them on the classroom walls. Ls were divided in groups of four, but only one member could stand up and read the questions on the walls (of course everyone had a go) and then report them to the other members of their groups.
Ls watched the video till the end twice and then answered the questions.

These are the questions they had to answer.

1) What's the English word for Ziferblat?
2) Is the owner disappointed about people eating a lot?
3) Why do customers enjoy going to this cafe?
4) What's the shortest time someone spent at Ziferblat?
5) What's the longest time someone spent at Ziferblat?
6) What's the feedback the owner gives about his own experience?

Creative activity
Ls had to create their own business idea about a special cafe.
What's the name of the place?
What's special about it?
What are special features about its interior design?
What's its sign like?

By working in groups, I had the opportunity to monitor them better. Lots of new language came up and everyone was engaged in the task.
Plus, what I loved about the classroom setting was that I could challenge them with possible problems they could have in their businesses and ask them to think about how they might solve them.
For example, one of the cafes, 'The Dice Cafe' gave the chance to their customers to pay half price for their coffees if they rolled a dice and got 6. I asked them, 'What if the customer were a gambler, s/he wanted to roll the dice again and an argument arouse?' They discussed about it and then decided to hire a bouncer.
Also, two groups chose the same name, 'Once upon a cafe', for their businesses. I asked them to explained their cafes to the other groups who had to decide which group was going to keep the name.

Here you are some creative cafes my Ls were working on.

When they finished, they presented their ideas to the class.

Through a blinding voting operation :), they decided which idea we were going to upload in a crowdfunding website such as https://www.indiegogo.com.

That's all for now, folks!

What if you spent a night at ‘Hotel California’? A ‘song-telling’ activity for advanced learners

We are all more than aware that music is a great tool in the classroom. In particular, Murphy (1992), who analysed the discourse of pop songs, stressed their effectiveness in the foreign language classroom for their highly affective and dialogic features. He also added that pop songs present vague references (he also referred to them as ghost discourse) which allow listeners to use them in personally associative ways. Ding dong. Yes, it does ring a bell to you too, right? These are some of the reasons why we love using songs in class.  

Starting from the ideas above I decided to create a lesson plan based on the song ‘Hotel California’. (Yes, I went back to the Seventies). It was pretty successful because my learners had had bad experiences (well, not as bad as in the song, of course) at hotels during their holidays. 

Happy to share some of my ideas with you!

WARM-UP ACTIVITY

(In order to engage Ls).

Show Ls this text and these two pictures and ask them to match the text with the picture they think it is describing. (Remember to ask, 'Why?')

*The word 'colitas' might put you in trouble, sorry!

https://www.flickr.com

www.flickr.com 

SONG TELLING ACTIVITY

1) Ask Ls to answer the following questions in pairs.

1. Who do you think the person speaking is?

2. Where is s/he?

3. What is s/he been doing? Why?

4. What do you think s/he going to do? What would you personally do? 

2) Now you can tell Ls that our ‘friend’ is actually going to stop over at a hotel. 

Show Ls the following picture and ask them to brainstorm ideas about what can possibly go wrong there. (E.g. no hot water, too much noise, etc.)

picture taken from www.google.com 

3) Ls listen to the song 'Hotel California' and check whether the problems they brainstormed are the same or different the singer experiences. 

4) Ls listen to the song again, this time with the support of the lyrics.

Elicit or explain new vocabulary.

5) Tell them that the singer was not happy with the hotel services. Thus, he decided to write a complaint letter.

I found useful phrases for writing a  (Cambridge CAE exam) complaint letter in this website. Hand out the worksheet you can download from the page. Ls go through the expressions in small groups. Provide them with translation if necessary.

6) Ls complete this text with phrases from the handout. 

FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY

What will the manager of the Hotel California do when he gets the singer's complaint letter? This type of task will let Ls be autonomous and go for either a writing or a speaking activity.

My students really enjoyed this lesson and I hope so do yours. If you use these activities or change them a bit, please let me know!

Bye for now ;)

GenZ and viral papal slap: teaching ideas

It’s been ages since last time I blogged. One of my new year’s resolutions is to be more ‘social’ and share my teaching ideas, so here I am! Back to tell you about my class experiences. 

At the moment I’m working with teenagers (mainly) at ‘Liceo’ in South Italy and I find it really interesting and exciting teaching Generation Z. If you are wondering about who Generation Z members are like, well, let me give you a quick description about two of their main features. 

GenZ - Open-minded people with a witty sense of humour

According to Seemiller & Grace (2019) more than 70% of today’s teenagers have described themselves ‘as loyal, thoughtful, determined, compassionate, open-minded and responsible’. The word that most caught my attention was open-minded and Seemiller & Grace go on saying that ‘their open-mindedness may help them look at situations and issues from multiple perspectives and in unconventional ways’.  Moreover, ‘growing up alongside YouTube, the hub of entertaining videos, it makes sense that those in Generation Z would seek out and use humour as a way to balance the more serious concerns they have in life’. The other day I was able to confirm all the above-mentioned characteristics through a lesson about an incident that happened on New Year’s Eve and whose video went viral. 

What I planned, what actually… happened in class…

https://www.neatoshop.com/product/pope-slap 

My lesson plan was all about the Pope and what happened with the pilgrim who grabbed his arm in St Peter's Square on New Year's Eve. I wanted the learners to watch this video and then do a series of activities (I am going to share with you). However, when I arrived in class I realised that Internet was not working. ‘No panic’, I said to myself, ’Let’s show off my entertaining storytelling abilities’. I started by saying that I was going to tell them the story of a famous man and an unknown woman. Then I asked them who they thought the man was and they yelled, ‘Trump’. (See? They are into the news). But I said no and I added that he was neither British or Northern American. Here we go, a storm of nationalities came up. (Really good exercise to revise pronunciation of countries and nationalities). When they realised he was from Argentina, one of the boys immediately said, ‘Messi’. Once again I put on my ‘sorry face’ and I said they had to try again. That was when they asked for more hints. So, I added he often wears white and they exclaimed, ‘Oh, yes! It’s Pope Francis’ and they bursted into laughter. They went on telling the story themselves and asked for some new vocabulary such as ‘grab’, ‘pull’, ‘slap’ and ‘yank’. I felt so proud of them!

Ideas to take away and use in your classrooms!

1. WARM-UP ACTIVITY 

2. What did the pilgrim tell the Pope? What did he reply? In pairs, Ls act out a dialogue between the two characters. (Remember to give Ls preparation time and ask them to vote the best performance according some criteria, e.g. the funniest dialogue, the most grammatically correct dialogue, etc.)

Make it different - Get Ls to create comic strips. You can use the picture below. (If you use a WhatsApp group with your class, they can use their smartphones to carry out the task.)

2. FOCUS ON LANGUAGE: Functional language - How to apologise

Elicit the meaning of apologising (e.g. If I say, ‘I am sorry’, I am apologising).

Elicit forms from Ls and board them. Take a look at this webpage for more ideas. Suggest also forms to respond to apologies (visit this page).

In pairs Ls act out a dialogue in which the Pope apologises and the pilgrim accepts (or maybe not) his apology. 

Here you are one of the performances. (Spoiler alert: the learners in this video felt embarrassed.)

3. FOLLOW-UP ACTIVITY

There is an eyewitness of the incident, who is he? The bodyguard! 

In pairs, once again, one student is a journalist and the other one is the bodyguard. The journalist interviews the bodyguard about what happened. I asked Ls to write and act out a five-question interview. 

Make it different - What would the bodyguard tweet? Use this fake tweet generator to make your Ls carry out the task.

‘That’s all folks’ from me for now.

Have a great teaching year!

'Escape EFL Classroom' workshop: Behind the scenes - Game-based learning and gamification (1)

A new school year is about to start here in Italy and I am ready with a new project. If you have been following this blog, you would know by now that I am really into games. Thus, my new workshop for secondary school students is a special Escape Room, which is a 60-minute real-life adventure game. When I played this game for the first time with a group of friends I immediately thought it was great for my students because

-  it involves the use of the four linguistic skills,

-  it promotes peer-learning, 

-  it entails different teaching methods and approaches which suit different types of students.

I have decided to write a series of blogposts about my new workshop which analyse the different parts of it. Today I will start with the reasons why I use games in my workshops for students and teachers. 

Why 'gamification'?

Kapp describes gamification as ‘the careful and considered application of game thinking to solving problems and encouraging learning using all the elements of games that are appropriate’ (Kapp, 2012, p.12). We can infer, thus, 'gamification' is an integration of game elements and game thinking in activities that are not games. In particular, games have some distinctive features which play a key role in gamification:

- users (students) are all participants,

- challenges/tasks that users perform and progress towards defined objectives ('levelling up' raises interesting questions for educators - not least the fact that players are allowed to tackle challenges and tests like exams as many times as necessary - and with no lasting consequences - in order to progress from one level to another),

- points that are accumulated as a result of executing tasks,

- levels which users pass depending on the point.

Why 'game-based' learning?
Unlike 'gamification', which adds game-inspired elements to your teaching practice (e.g. points), 'game-based' learning entails the use of games to meet learning outcomes. It is through the game that students learn. Moreover, playing games is intrinsically motivating because by and large it’s a voluntary activity. Games encourage independent inquiry and exploration; interests and passions can branch off from the individual game. Finally, a consensual and transparent adherence to a fictional setting or role allows players to experiment with skills and identities without suffering the consequences of failure in real life.

In my next post I'll be writing about what traditional Escape Rooms are. Stay tuned!

For further information about the 'Escape EFL Classroom'
workshop email me spiceupyourenglishclass@gmail.com.

Bye for now,
Larissa

Generation Z and Social Networking Apps: Back to School and Instagram

Some time ago I started my DipTesol independent research about the use of social networking apps to engage learners in communicative tasks inside and outside the EFL classroom. Last spring I also set up a closed Facebook group to share activities which include the use of social networks to learn English as a foreign language. 

Social scientists who study young people have found that their digital use can be inventive and even beneficial. This is true not just in terms of their social lives, but their education too. In fact, thanks to the online world, young people can now publish ideas not just to their friends, but to the world. And by writing for strangers, their sense of “authentic audience” makes them work harder, push themselves further, and create powerful new communicative forms.

One of the apps which is most used by young people in Italy and in Europe is Instagram, which is a social networking service built around sharing photos and videos. (If you want to know more about it, check this article.

It is almost time to start your lessons again and I know you are more than excited to meet your new and old students! I am also sure that you are looking for an activity which is not the usual 'What did you do last summer?', though. This the reason why I am going to share with you the following Bingo game.

RULES OF THE GAME

1. Distribute the cards and pens or pencils to each student.

2. Tell the players that they must interview each other. Have each player go around the group and ask other students questions.

3. When they find someone who replies positively to their question, they have to write down their name and then move on to another student for another question.

4. The student who first completes the grid with 9 different names, raises his/her hand and shouts, “Bingo!”

E.g. A: Did you use #summer and #beach?
B: Yes, I did.
A: Can you show me, please?
B: (Showing his/her Instagram account) Here you are.
A: (Writing down B's name) Thank you.

Download the template here. You will also find a blank template you can use to write down your own questions.

Have a wonderful back-to-school time!

Bye for now,
Larissa

Ps: If you use this activity, let me know your feedback please!
If you are interested in learning how to use social networking apps in your English classes, email me spiceupyourenglishclass@gmail.com.

POINT YOUR FINGER: a game my adult learners really enjoy

A few weeks ago I gave one of my workshops for teachers about how to use games in order to teach English as a foreign language. Only one of the participants didn’t show interest at all, and yes I took it at heart. I approached the neglectful lady while everyone in her group was focused on the task and she was phubbing instead. ‘I don’t want to sound rude but’, I began. She looked up, glanced at me then looked down back to her smartphone. I hesitated but then I continued, ‘Don’t you like this game? In the next session there will be more exciting activities, don’t wor…’, ‘I don’t care at all, my boss paid for this course but I teach adults, professionals, business people, I have nothing to do with snotty kids’, she cut me off. Well, at that very moment the angel me and devil me started arguing. ‘Move on to the next group and try to be helpful’, ‘No way, she insulted all your theories you should show off your knowledge about how powerful games are for adults when it comes to learning’. As you know (or you don’t), I chose to follow my angel me’s advice and I carried on with my monitoring activity’. 

That evening, on my way back home, I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘ Why do so many people still think that games are only for kids? And more importantly, what’s wrong with adults playing games?’ 

I’m sure that adult students’d better let their hair down after a long day at work rather than being in the spotlight if they got an irregular past simple wrong. Especially professionals and business people who are always under pressure benefit more when they learn in a playful environment.  

There is no doubt that children’s learning process is way too different from the one of adults but a playful activity has never harmed anyone. There are games for children and games for adults, there are games for children which can be adapted for adults. There are games adults like and games they do not like but that doesn’t depend on the fact that playful activities are only for kids but because the structure or goal of the game isn’t interesting/exciting enough. 

This is the reason why I’d like to share with you one of the games my adult students enjoyed most. 

GAME: Point your finger

LEVEL: Intermediate - upwards

LINGUISTIC SKILLS: Speaking/Listening

GRAMMAR FOCUS: Have you ever + Past participle? 

                                   Present perfect VS Past simple

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4-6 p/group

WHAT YOU NEED: 1. A set of ‘Have you ever…?’ cards

2. A truth metre and sticker finger for each student. (Tips: 1. Fold an A4 paper in 3 parts so that the truth metre cannot be seen by the other students. 2. Use a sticky note to make the finger.)

RULES: 1. Ask one of the students to pick a ‘Have you ever…?’ card and read out the question. 

2. Everybody (including the student who has read out the question) needs to stick the finger onto one of the four options:

0=never

1=once

2=sometimes

3=always

(Students need to be careful not to show their answer.)

'Truthmetre'

3. When everybody has answered (I suggest that you set a time limit), ask students to point their own finger at the person they think has answered 3 (always). 

4. Start to check the answers by asking the student pointed by the one who read the question and then continue clockwise.

5. The students who have pointed to the ones who have answered 3 win 3 points, those who have pointed to the students who have answered 2 win 2 points and so on.

When I played this game for the first time I was amazed because when a student said, ‘0’, she couldn’t stop talking, she had to explain about her answer because the students who had pointed at her wanted to know why she answered ‘never’. Honestly, all the students talked a lot because they were eager to share their personal experience, I had to stop them talking! 

It was such a pleasure to see them speaking English and having fun. 

Thus, ‘fingerly'-speaking, thumbs up for games, all the time… all ages!

Jenga in the EFL classroom

Hi everyone!

Here I am with another board game you can play in your EFL classroom!

Name: JENGA
Rules: http://www.jenga.com/about.php

In my opinion this game is great because it can be adapted to different levels and needs.
I used the following activities with my learners.

ACTIVITY 1
Level --> Beginner to Advanced
Age --> Teenagers/Adults
Type of activity --> Ice breaker
Skills practised --> Speaking and Listening

Before the lesson: 1. Put ice-breaking questions on the Jenga blocks.
2. You can either use labels or permanent markers.

During the lesson: 1. Each learner pulls a block.
2. They need to answer the question AND ask it to someone else.


ACTIVITY 2
Level --> Beginner to Advanced
Age --> Any
Type of activity --> Storytelling
Skills practised --> Vocabulary, Speaking, and Writing

Before the lesson: 1. Put words on the Jenga blocks.
2. You can either use labels or permanent markers.

During the lesson: 1. A learner pulls a block and starts a story using the word on that block.
2. The next student uses the word they pull to continue the story.
3. If the tower falls they need to quickly end the story.

In case you have a large class: While each learner comes to the front and continues the story, have the whole class write their own version using the blocks pulled.


ACTIVITY 3
Level --> Beginner to Advanced
Age --> Any
Type of activity --> Revision

Before the lesson: 1. Put numbers on the Jenga blocks.
2. You can either use labels or permanent markers.

During the lesson: 1. Divide the class in two teams.
2. Have two learners from each team come to the front of the class.
3. Ask one of the two students to pull a block.
4. Read out the corresponding question.
5. The first student to answer the question correctly can choose if they want to pull a block, or have the other team pull a block.
6. Once the next block is pulled, read out the question corresponding to that block.
7. The first team to make the tower fall loses.


ACTIVITY 4
Level --> Intermediate +
Age --> Teenagers/Adults
Type of activity --> Recognising minimal pairs
Skills practised --> Listening (Receptive pronunciation)

Before the lesson: 1. Put two different colours on the Jenga blocks.
2. Choose some minimal pairs to focus on, e.g. /iː/ /ɪ/

During the lesson:
1. Tell the class that each colour corresponds to a sound.
2. Read out a word.
3. A learner needs to pull the right block.
4. If the learner pulls out the wrong block, let them play again.


I'm sure you will have more ideas and I'd be pleased if you could share them.