Monthly Archives: May 2014

Teaching Environment Vocabulary with Capzles

Today I want to share with you a new tool that could be quite useful when trying to add  a touch of something to your classes. It is called Capzles and it is a very popular site for creating interactive timelines. It is a great tool for several reasons but mainly because the timelines created with this tool  let you use images, videos , pdfs …etc and it can also be embedded into a blog or a website.

Today I have used it to display some images containing vocabulary about the Environment but just as I am writing these lines , I am already thinking of other ways to use it, as being able to embed videos is a great feature and  makes this tool highly recommendable.

Word of the Day: Crutch Words

What are Crutch Words?

Crutch words are words or expressions that that we use far too often when we speak in order to give ourselves more time to think, to emphasize something we are saying or just because we use them so often that we don’t even realize we are using them. They are like tics but verbal and as such, more often than not, they don’t even add meaning and we often use them incorrectly .
Some of these crutch words are :

Think about it, when you use To be fair, honestly or seriously … do you really mean it? 🙂

More Role Plays for Elementary Students

Happy Tuesday!!

Hope that if you follow my blog  and you are not one of my students, you still feel the curiosity  to drop by from time to time; although it seems to me that, lately, all my posts have been  fully dedicated to helping my students practise for exams , but what can I do ??? I cannot just rest on my laurels and let them face the music without all the help I can offer them. I have very little time but  I cannot play possum when I know my students need me. I know, I know… I am an angel!!! I hope God will reward me with a cracking summer! Here they are some more role-plays, just cooked! 🙂

GOING TO THE CINEMA

JOB INTERVIEW

INVITATION TO GO TO A PARTY

HOPE THEY ARE HELPFUL!!

Picture Description : Global Warming

Are you in exam mood already? I hope you are just with your nose in you books and practising Speaking  in front of the mirror.

Here is another example of picture description at Intermediate level, kindly sent by Fedra Neila Moro. Thanks Fedra, well done!

The first picture shows a group of people sitting on chairs, in the middle of San Marcus square in Venice. The square is full of water, so they are wearing swimsuits. They look pretty funny and carefree, despite being in the water.
The second picture shows a child with his back to us. It looks as if he is staring at the dry landscape in front of him. Maybe, he is worried, thinking about his future and the horrible scenery, although it is difficult to say, because I can’t see his face.
In the third picture I can see a modern city with skyscrapers. It looks like quite a polluted city. Its sky is completely full of thick smog.
Currently, carbon pollution is the main reason our planet is getting hotter, increasing the risk of weather disasters, drought and flood, and damaging our health.
Since the past century scientists are warning us about the dangers of global warming.
In fact, lately, in the north of Spain, winter is being especially hard and extreme. For example, three years ago it was freezing for months with temperatures below six or five degrades. Two years ago it was pouring from November until June, and last winter was very windy and rainy. Even some people, who live on the coast, had to leave their houses because huge waves had flooded them.
Personally, I think that global warming not only affects the climate change but also the economic problems. So far, governments have spent a lot of money dealing with the damages caused by weather disasters. However, the most affected, the poorest countries, hardly ever receive enough help.
To sum up, from my point of view , if we want to stop global warming we should change our life habits, for example: we should share our vehicle, take more often public transport, have a shower instead of a bath, and above all, we should teach the future generations to take care of our environment and to protect it.
Finally, in my opinion, perhaps the most difficult and necessary thing to do is changing how we produce energy. We’d better reduce the fossil fuels and use clean and renewable energies, so that if governments don’t take the climate change seriously, in the future, the earth will end up being a big ball of smog.