I am pleased to share with you that I am the winner of this month’s British Council’s Teaching English blog award.
I’m sure most of my readers know about this prestigious organisation but for those of my students who have just started learning English, know that the British Council, funded by British government, can be considered UK’s international cultural body. It works in more than 100 countries worldwide and reaches 20 million people face to face and more than 652 million people online.
When I started the blog eight years ago, I never imagined I would get this far. Initially, it was more like a meeting point for my students and me, a way to make sure they could still practise outside the classroom encouraging, in this way, autonomous learning. It still is a meeting point for us, but it has grown into something bigger, mainly because of you , dear readers. The pleasure of seeing so many visitors from everywhere in the world has kept me going, although sometimes it has not been easy to find the time to write something worth publishing.
Three years ago, a colleague of mine wrote the word “selfie” on the board. She says none of her students knew what the word meant. Nowadays, even my great grandmother, should I have one, would most definitely know what a “selfie” is, and would probably have taken one or two to send her peers.
It is said that the English language has more words than any other language in the world and it seems it might be true. The Oxford Dictionary Online stores over 600,000 words. Despite this number, new words are coined, clipped and blended all the time and although some of them are very soon forgotten, others make their way into the dictionary.
But how do they choose the words they include in a dictionary? The answer is simple: people need to use them. Basically editors watch the word for several years to see how it is used in both spoken and written English. They check to see that the word is used to express an idea clearly, and that the idea is understood. Then, when the word is seen in writing and speech regularly, it can go in the dictionary.
New words are added every year, but also words that are no longer used are eliminated.
Every year, the Oxford Dictionary selects a Word of the Year. “Selfie” was chosen Word of the Year three years ago. This year, the award has been given to the emoji (plural emoji or emojis) Face with Tears of Joy. The decision to choose a pictogram as word of the year, when it is clearly not a word, has been publicly criticized by many. But despite the selection of this word being frowned upon in many circles, the question to consider is: if words are used to communicate, aren’t emojis also used to communicate feelings and emotions in this new digital era?
So, as stated above, lots of new words enter the dictionaries every year. In this little quiz below you will find some of the most recent additions to the dictionaries
Should I say “hello” in class, everybody would say “hello”, but if I added “Adele”, I bet most of my students would answer “it’s me”. Who, in this planet, hasn’t heard Adele’s new single a thousand times already? And this is good, believe me, at least for teaching purposes. I’ve always found it easier to do songs students are already familiar with as once they know the melody, they are further motivated to work with the lyrics. Mindful of the fact that one of the most important ingredients in learning a language is motivation, what could be more motivating than singing along Adele’s song now that it is being played everywhere?
Show a picture of Adele and elicit any information they might know about her and her music. Offer some information about the song they are about to hear.
Adele is a British singer and songwriter. Her two previous albums, 19 and 21, have earned the artist numerous awards. Now, she has just released her third album 25 and the song Hello is the first single from the album. The song is a soul piano ballad that talks about nostalgia and regret and plays out like a conversation. Hello is the first song to sell over one million digital copies within one week of its release in the USA. (source Wikipedia)
Step 1. Introducing telephone vocabulary
Play from the beginning until 0:27 and ask students to tell you what Adele is saying when she is on the phone. Write on the board:
I’ve just got here, and I think I’m losing signal already. Hello? Can you hear me now? Sorry. I’m sorry, I’m — Sorry
Focus on the expression “losing signal”. Do students know what it means? Elicit vocabulary they know related to using the phone and write it on the board.
Step 2. Vocabulary handout
Hopefully students will know most of the words and expressions you are going to give them. Give students the handout and ask them to do Exercise 1.
Ask students to share their answers in pairs and then go over the answers as a class.
Step 3. The video: telling the story.
Tell students they are going to watch the video without sound; their task will be to narrate the story in the video focusing on using the vocabulary they have just learnt.
Ask students to work in pairs, student A and student B. The video lasts about 6 minutes. Student A will face the board and will tell student B, who is sitting with his back to the board, in as much detail as possible the story in the video for the first three minutes. Then, they change roles and student B does the same from 3.00 to 6.06. Encourage students to use the targeted vocabulary. Make sure everyone understands the activity and demonstrate if necessary.
Step 4. Focusing on the lyrics
Students listen to the song and their task will be to find the following:
a verb meaning to desire to know something.
three phrasal verbs.
an informal contraction that some people consider incorrect.
an idiomatic expression meaning to be lucky, successful and greatly admired.
a modal+ perfect infinitive
an idiomatic expression meaning to cause someone great emotional pain.
a combination that goes against grammar, but which is very common in casual registers.
an idiomatic expression meaningto achieve a goal, to be successful.
Ask students to compare their answers in pairs. Play the video a second time. Go over answers as a class.
Step 5. Singing along
Give students the lyrics and ask them to sing along. Should you have shy students, encourage them to shadow read. It might be good idea, at this stage, to remind students that listening to songs will help them improve pronunciation, listening and understanding of the English language.
The content of the lyrics is open to interpretation. Some people say it’s about a failed love relationship, some others argue that it is about Adele’s relationships with everybody she loves and cannot be with; others, on the other hand, claim it is Adele’s conversation with her old self before she became famous.
Yes, I know, these connectors can be quite confusing; that’s why I have created this beautiful presentation to help you clarify them . I just hope the explanation doesn’t mix you up more. And it’s also, with this mind, the reason why a quiz follows the explanation. Beautifully presented as well. 🙂
To create these two interactive activities I have used Riddle.com, which helps you create interactive content in a few minutes.
Steps to create a Riddle
• Click on the Create Button
• Choose the type of Riddle you want to make. For this post , I have created a List and a Pop Quiz, but you can also create opinion polls and surveys.
• In a Riddle you can use images, animated gifts, articles, youtube videos…etc
• You can share on facebook and twitter or get an embed code for your blog
• The best feauture? It’s free!
I highly recommend Riddle to create beautiful interactive content for your classes.
CONFUSING WORDS: LASTLY, FINALLY, EVENTUALLY, IN THE END, AT LAST
Use LASTLY or FINALLY to introduce the last point you want to make, the last action in a series of actions, or the last item in a list
Lastly, I would like to remind you that speaking Spanish is not allowed in this class.
Load the paper, select the number of copies, and lastly press ‘Print’
You add flour, salt, and finally milk.
FINALLY and EVENTUALLY
Use FINALLY or EVENTUALLY to say that something happens after a long time
Finally we managed to get the car to start.
When she eventually turned up, the food was cold.
EVENTUALLY and IN THE END
Use EVENTUALLY or IN THE END to say what the result or outcome of something was
They eventually got bored and went home.
In the end we decided to cancel the trip.
AT LAST
Use AT LAST to say that something happens after a long period of waiting or trying, when you are glad about this
It’s good to be home at last.
At last, the pizza’s here!
www.cristinacabal.com
Ready for a small quiz?
Confusing Words: Finally,In the End, Eventually, Lastly and At Last
Read the sentences and decide which of the options best fits the gap.
Source: Longman Dictionary of Common Errors
Although she had been ill for a long time, it still came as a shock when she ___ died
Eventually
At last
__, I’d like to thank everyone for coming this evening
Eventually
Finally
Thank goodness! I’ve finished my essay ____!
at last
in the end
___ the baby stopped crying and we managed to get some sleep
Finally/eventually
lastly
Do you really mean that you’ve stopped smoking ___?
at last
finally
___ Spain won by two goals to one.
in the end
at last
___, as soon as you hear a beep, press the start button
Finally
eventually
It seems more and more likely that the human race will ___ destroy itself
eventually
lastly
She showed us the new dress, then the blouse and ___ the shoes
lastly
in the end
Blog de Cristina www.cristinacabal.com
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You didn’t score as well as the experts but this means you can only get better! Practise makes perfect so just get stuck in and give it a go. You’ve got to be in it to win it!
[You can use this space to write some funny content to encourage people to share their result. You can also add in links like the one below or choose (in the Customise menu) to show a form that collects user information so you can build an email list etc.]
You know everything there is know about creating viral content! Well, almost. Great start – now it’s time to get creating fun viral content. Then you can sit back and watch people share it around the world.
[You can use this space to write some funny content to encourage people to share their result. You can also add in links like the one below or choose (in the Customise menu) to show a form that collects user information so you can build an email list etc.]
It seems to me that children nowadays never listen to riddles. In fact, I don’t think I have ever asked a riddle to my children, but when I was a kid, things were different. I don’t know if things have changed for the better or for the worse, but they have certainly changed. I used to sleep over at my grandma’s twice a week when I was at primary school. I have such good memories! I looked forward to those evenings spent playing cards and singing old Asturian songs. My granny had a memory like an elephant and could even remember the lullabies her mother used to sing to her… and the riddles, she always surprised me with a new one. It’s a pity she’s not here anymore, she would have helped me write this post. Unfortunately, I have a memory like a sieve and I can only remember one of the riddles she asked me and my siblings. She gave us one clue at a time and we wouldn’t let her continue until we had run out of ideas; then she gave us the second clue and so on
a minute has one
a moment has two
but a second, none . Who am I?
Answer: The M
Giving homework to our students is something we often do. I’m not going to discuss in this post whether this is a good or bad thing to do, though with me teaching adults and being flexible for this reason, I cannot see any disadvantages to dedicating some time to brushing up on some of the contents studied during the week. It will surely hurt nobody! Having said this, I also want to point out that giving students assignments they will enjoy and assignments where they will have to produce their own content, makes all the difference.
Level: B2 (Advanced)
Aim: to improve writing through riddles
GETTING READY FOR THE TASK
Write the word “Riddle” on the board and ask students to explain or give an example of what a riddle is (A question or statement intentionally phrased so as to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning-Oxford Dictionary).
Give two examples of riddles and ask students to guess the answer.
Example 1. What flies forever, and never rests? (The wind)
For the second example of a riddle, read one clue at a time and let them guess before you read the second clue.
Example 2
a minute has one
a moment has two
but a second, none . Who am I?
Answer: The M
EXPLAINING THE TASK
Tell students their task at home will be to write a riddle to be read in class and for the other students to guess. They can decide whether to write a short riddle like example 1 above or an inference riddle with some clues as example 2 above.
Go to philtulga.comand play some inference riddles with them. For a more student-centred approach, you can ask volunteers to read the clues.
REPORTING THE TASK
In this stage, students will need to read the written assignment.
Depending on how large your class is, you might want to ask students to work in pairs or in small groups.
Groups will take it, in turn, to read their riddles to the rest of the groups. If it is an inference riddle with several clues, ask students to read one clue at a time. With each clue, groups will need to make a guess. Allow only one guess per clue.
