using materials

Lesson Planning

Jo Budden — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:41:28 +0000

As a language assistant, when you are faced with planning whole lessons on your own for the first time it can seem like a daunting task. Where do you start? How do you choose a topic?

Realia

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:20:34 +0000

‘Realia’ in EFL terms refers to any real objects we use in the classroom to bring the class to life. In this tip I’d like to offer a few suggestions for activities using realia and to consider why we may want to bring things into the class.

Making a class magazine

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:22:46 +0000

Introduction
Class projects can be an excellent way to focus the whole class and get them working together towards a common goal.

How to exploit Essential UK

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:21:13 +0000

In this teaching tip you'll find out how best to understand and exploit the materials supplied on the Essential UK part of the site.

Using Graded Readers

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:19:59 +0000

Introduction
Graded readers or ‘readers’ are books that have had the language level simplified to help second language learners read them. The language is graded for vocabulary,

Using video 2

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:19:16 +0000

Introduction
Video is a great resource to use in class and there are an endless number of ways to exploit it to create motivating, memorable classes with a high level of language production.

Trivia

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:18:32 +0000

Introduction
Quizzes and trivia games can make a nice change from more typical EFL style activities and it may give students who aren’t the best at English a chance to shine in another area.

Proverbs and Idioms

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:17:53 +0000

Introduction
Proverb: ‘a short saying in general use, held to embody a general truth’

Adapting materials for different age groups

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:17:08 +0000

Introduction
In the last teaching tip we looked at how to adapt materials for mixed ability groups. This is the most common type of adaptation that teachers have to do. However,

Adapting materials for mixed ability classes

admin — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 05:16:34 +0000

Introduction
All classes are mixed ability to one extent or another. Extreme cases, when you have near native level speakers with beginners, can be very challenging for the teacher.