Are you looking for free images to use? Then, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve put together, using Symbaloo, lots of sites that offer links to free stock images and copyright free images. In some of these sites there are some guidelines you need to follow. In most cases, photographers have retained the rights to these photos but they have allowed their use. Needless to say , you need to give credit to its creator if you use them.
Monthly Archives: November 2013
Convert Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Images, Web Pages and other files to PDF and the other way round
Although I normally use just one computer to prepare my classes -the one at home,if you want to know – I find that, sometimes and for different reasons, I need to use the computers at my school so I end up unwillingly working with four different PCs; and I’m sure you know the feeling of frustration when you suspiciously start the computer only to find out that the program you need to work with, is just not there. Bugger! 
🙂
One of the programs I very often need is a PDF Converter but unfortunately, what one seems to think as essential is not so important to others…. and there you find yourself staring at the computer …trying hard not to scream in frustration.
Anyway, this is the online PDF service I use where there is no desktop tool available.
Steps:
♣Type http://www.freepdfconvert.com/
♣Select the file you want to convert
♣ Choose output format
♣ Click on Convert
♣ Once it is converted, download it
Hope it is useful!
Reading Comprehension: Pre-Teaching Vocabulary
All my lessons last 90 minutes and even though I like to think that students don’t normally get tired or bored, changing gears several times 
during the 90 minutes is quite important to maintain their level of attention. In this sense, fortunately, teaching a language is not the same as teaching some other subjects where the range of activities you can do is a bit more restricted.
When it comes to Reading Comprehension there are some activities I have tried over the years that seem to have worked pretty well. This week I am planning to use a different activity with my intermediate groups to pre -teach the vocabulary in the Reading Activity, which I would like to share with you. It will require that they leave their seats and walk around the class, talking to their classmates. I’m sure they will appreciate the opportunity to move their legs.
Steps.
Step 1. Decide the vocabulary you want to teach (that goes without saying, doesn’t it?)
Step 2. Prepare two sets of cards. One card contains the word and part of speech you want to teach and the other card contains the definition.
Step 3. Students stand up and find their partner ( I have large groups so it’s going to take a while).
Step 4. Students sit down with their partner and write a sentence containing their word.
Step 5. Students read their sentences and explain the meaning of the word /expression being studied.
Note: I have very large groups, like thirty students per class but I never know how many will be attending on a particular day. For this kind of activities I need to make sure I have cards for all the students. So, if I run out of words to pre-teach, I’ll prepare some cards containing the phonetics for the targeted words.
Thanks for reading!
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Role Play : Renting a House
This year I am teaching two different levels, the 2nd course in the Elementary Level and the 2nd course in the Intermediate Level. Teaching the last courses within a level means my students will have to, necessarily, take the Certificación exam if they want to pass to the next level. The exam has different parts but I know you’ll agree with me if I say that the most stressful one is the Oral test. I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea to face a board of two or three teachers listening, very attentively, to every word you say. Haven’t you always wanted to be centre of attention 😉 ?
The oral Exam in the Elementary Level has two parts. The first part is a Role-Play. Here, the students will have to interact with the teacher. Students will be presented with a situation and they will have to take one role, while the teacher takes the other role.
To prepare my students for these role-plays, I often use PhotoPeach, an online tool which allows you to create a free slide show in seconds. Dying to try my other slideshows with Role-Plays? Click here
This is the last I have uploaded: Renting a House. Prior to this online Role-Play, students, in pairs, have written an advert for a house/flat for rent and from this advert they have written a dialogue, which they have later performed.
This is the last step.