As we are confined in our homes trying to slow the spread of the coronavirus, we must try and make the most of this situation. Nobody could have predicted, back in September when we started the course, that talking about viruses and fear and panic and death was going to be one of our topics this course. Despite our growing concern for what lays ahead of us, I cannot and will not give my students a lesson that will cause them more pain and sadness. Yes. I want them to understand and use the vocabulary related to the situation we are living nowadays, but I also want to do my bit and help brighten up their day. I hope nobody takes offence.
We all know it’s bad out there but fear and worry over the coronavirus have prompted a crop of funny videos that I hope help me put a smile on your face. We need to be worried and we need to have a sense of common responsibility. That’s undeniable. But a little levity now and then is surely appreciated. I don’t need science to know that in times of crisis, laughter is the best medicine we have.
In this lesson, you will find
useful language to talk about the situation we are living now due to the coronavirus
a bit of listening practice
funny videos featuring situations or attitudes prompted by the pandemic
some conversation questions following the videos
Note: it goes without saying this speaking lesson will be done online. I have shared this lesson with my students in advance and asked them to see the videos and have a look at the vocabulary.
Since half the world is in lockdown and we are confined to our houses, now more than ever, technology comes to the rescue.
We, dedicated teachers, are doing our best to keep in touch with our students and though some of us have been using learning platforms for some time now, this is not the case for many teachers.
For most of us, home teaching is something new and although it is fairly easy to give students grammar and vocabulary exercises or listening comprehension activities to do at home when it comes to practising speaking, things get a bit more complicated.
Today, I want to share with you a video conferencing platform 8X8.vc , which is really super simple. It takes just one click to start a meeting. Seriously. You don’t even have to create an account.
I learned this from the generous Ingrid Mosquera and it is with her consent that I am publishing this post.
Note: At the end of the post, you will find a step by step guide for both teachers and students. Keep on reading, please.
Why do I like it?
Neither you nor your students have to register.
It offers unlimited meetings and unlimited minutes.
You don’t have to download any program or plugin.
There is not a limited free trial.
Students simply start or join a meeting with the click of a button.
The maximum number of participants is 50 (enough in my case).
How to set up a room without signing up
Open your Google Chrome browser and go to 8×8.vc. This is the best browser for this platform.
Name your meeting and click Start Meeting. Note: you can name the room or you can choose to keep the weird random name the program gives you. If you are worried about being hacked, this is probably safer than calling a room Cristina.
You might be prompted to download the extension for Google Calendar and Office. I have not done it.
Share the URL of the meeting with your students and automatically they will be in the same room as you.
If you sign up, then you can record the meeting.
Among other features, you can:
Share your screen
Raise your hand
Chat
What I like less and what to take into account before setting up a meeting
On a mobile device, you will have to download their app 8×8 Video Meetings.
It works best on Chrome.
The current maximum number of participants in a single meeting is 50, however, for meetings requiring additional participants, hosts can select a live stream to YouTube option that will support unlimited viewers. See How to Live Stream 8×8.vc on Ingrid’s Youtube Channel. I also highly recommend visiting her blog here.
If there are too many students you can ask them to mute their mikes. There is an icon for that.
I always tell my students English is easy. When they hear me say that, those who have been with me for two or three years just roll their eyes and say: “Teacher, you always say that! For you, everything is easy!” But hey! What’s the point of saying ” Careful here!! This is very difficult!”
I am sure you see my point.
Anyway, the thing is that when learning a foreign language not everything is a breeze. Unfortunately. There are hundreds of words that can be easily confused because they have a similar spelling or a related, but different, meaning.
Today, I want to share with you a website Writing Explained that is really helpful in clarifying differences or similarities in the meaning of hundreds of confusing words. For example, do you know when or how to use Altogether and All together? Some day versus Someday? Elder and older?
Why do I like this site?
Though the list of confusing words is not exhaustive and new sets of words are added every day, it is just perfect for the average students.
The words are in alphabetical order so it is very easy to find what you are looking for
It is explained in clear everyday English
Differences are always explained in 5 steps and I love the Summary. This is the one I would read if I knew the difference and just wanted to double-check.
I also like the idioms dictionary on this website. Why? Because it not only explains the meaning of the featured idiom but also gives its origin and uses the idiom in a clear context.
Check it out! You’ll love the site!
Note: Fromm my enthusiasm describing this website, you might think that this is a sponsored post. It is not. 😉
I always start my classes revising what we learned in the previous lesson. I do it for many reasons: it allows students who have missed the previous lesson to catch up and not fall behind, it gives students the opportunity to clarify meanings or pronunciation they haven’t quite grasped, and also it encourages retrieval practice that, in my opinion, is the way to learn.
I really think that the first 5 minutes are really important as it sets the mood for the rest of the lesson. That’s why I am always designing revision activities that add variety in my lessons and, if possible, fun.
This one I will call The List. It’s quick, fun and effective.
Context: I have been working with the topic Language Learning and my students have been learning some new vocabulary. Time to revise it!
Procedure: Ask your students to write a secret list of 10 words, collocations or expressions they learned during the previous lesson. Ask them to keep it secret.
Pair students up. Tell students they will have 1 minute to try to guess the words on their partner’s list. Say Student A starts trying to guess the words on Student B’s list. As B listens to the words, he crosses the ones Student A has guessed. Ask them to change roles. Let students compare lists and have a look at the ones they could not guess. You might want to write them on the board to revise and reinforce.
Kicking off the month with one of my favourite topics of conversation: languages learning. This is a lesson I feel I could entirely teach based on videos from the internet and conversation questions.
I always like to introduce a new topic with some visual aid that either sparks discussion or puts a smile on my students’ faces. This time, I might have gone too far and used not one but four videos. Ohh, but they are so good!
These are the videos I have been using over the years and that have never failed me!
TO PUT A SMILE ON THEIR FACES
I normally play this video at the very beginning of the lesson and ask them to guess our next topic. Believe it or not, although I have seen it a thousand times, I still laugh my head off.
Useful Vocabulary:
translator, interpreter, to translate from Spanish into English, native speaker, to be fluent, to speak a language fluently, to be proficient in (English); to speak like a native speaker, to be bilingual, lingua franca.
Discussion Questions
How many languages do you speak?
What is the most difficult language to learn in your opinion?
Have you ever tried to learn a language and given up because it was very difficult?
Do you think that in the future there will be just one language in the world?
Nowadays English is the lingua franca; do you think this is going to change any time soon?
TO BOOST THEIR MOTIVATION
Before playing the video, ask students:
Why are you learning English?
Useful Vocabulary:
to do a course, have a chat, standard English, slang, take a message, widely spoken, mother tongue, make mistakes, pronunciation issues, to make an effort, to sign up for a course, to learn a language online, a complete beginner.
Discussion Questions
How old were you when you started learning English? Do you think it is a good age?
What motivated you to start learning English?
What are the advantages of learning a foreign language?
Are there any similarities between English and Spanish? Does Spanish have many loan words from English?
When you are speaking in English, do you try to be accurate or do you just talk and not worry about making mistakes? Which way do you think is better?
TO HELP THEM GET BETTER AT ENGLISH
Useful Vocabulary: to switch between two languages, to put into practice, to feel frustrated, a conversation partner, to memorize vocabulary, to improve your grammar, speaking skills, to have a good range of vocabulary.
Discussion Questions
Do you think it is possible for a non-native speaker to speak the language like a native?
What do you find most difficult to learn in English? Why do you think is that?
What is the best way to speak a language?
What do you do on your own to improve your English?
What techniques do you use to learn new vocabulary?
TO SPARK DISCUSSION
Useful Vocabulary:
translator, interpreter, context, translation fails, to come in handy, accurate translation, basic conversation, translation app, a translation device.
Controversial Statements
On the board, write these two statements and ask students to choose the one they agree with. Form two groups depending on their choice. Allow them to discuss their reasons to support the statement and then pair up students from different groups to try to convince each other to change sides.
The statements:
“There is no point in learning a foreign language when Google Translator can do it for you”
“Translation technology is good but should not replace learning languages”
You, as a teacher, want to agree with the second statement. Here are some reasons against the use of translation apps and in support of the second statement I have found to convince my students to keep on learning English. Do you think I’ll manage to convince them? Translation apps:
They cannot understand context or translate pronouns correctly
Cultural references are lost
They don’t produce high-quality translations
Accuracy depends on your accent or on background noise
You cannot use it for long and involved conversations
It is not good at recognising proper names and names of cities
