Trying Out Web2.0

Learning Shared Reading

2012-01-27T12:47:00.001-08:00

I was lucky to teach young learners using shared reading when I was working for The Sequoia Foundation, a wonderful institution that does an amazing job in public schools. Nothing new under the sun for ESL teachers, but seems to me that EFL teachers and trainers really do not know much about it here in Brazil. It strikes me as a big surprise because I only see advantages to this method. That's why I have decided to study the theory behind shared reading and to deliver a worshop in 2012 to brush up since I have the practice( quite forgotten, by the way...), but know very little about the principles behind it. Here is what I have come up so far:

What is Shared Reading?

Shared Reading is an interactive reading experience developed by Holdaway (1979), and it builds from the research that indicates that storybook reading is a critically important factor in young children's reading development (Wells, 1986). The storybook reading done by parents in a home setting is particularly effective (Strickland & Taylor, 1989). With this instructional technique, students have an opportunity to gradually assume more responsibility for the reading as their skill level and confidence increase. Children join in the reading of a big book or other enlarged text as guided by a teacher or other experienced reader until they are able to read independently. During the reading the teacher involves the children in reading together by pointing to or sliding below each word in the text. This provides children the opportunity to participate and behave like a reader.

This description pleases me, for it reminds me of Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Learning - Children learn from and with a more experienced peer who pushes him or her a little beyond what they already know and builds on it by experiencing the reading passage.

What does Shared Reading aim at?
Help children become familiar with texts so they can use the book independently for writing and reading. Shared Reading can be extended when teachers and children choose to make their own "big book" in response to a story or text. This provides a way for the teacher to model how the author's ideas can be revisited and related to one's own experiences. I remember reading a book called Grandma Brings to a group of underpriviledged children in Salvador, Bahia . They were learning places around the world and what gifts a person can bring to illustrate a little the culture of the places. As a follow up, we made a song about what could a person buy to depict our culture. Students made many interesting contributions.

What is the challenge for EFL teachers who want to use Shared Reading?
Shared Reading is generally accomplished using an enlarged text that all children can see. Selected books must be suitable for students to join in the experience. This can be a challenge in itself because we usually use ESL books that follow a totally different rationale. Traditionally, shared reading has used paper-based materials. However, a teacher can take advantage of a number of electronic resources that have been developed or even create the resources that match the syllabus. One such resource is called Mimic Books that has been specifically designed to be used on interactive whiteboards for shared reading lessons. The benefit is that it replicates the look and appearance of a real big book but on the interactive whiteboard making it clearly visible to children. Another site that I really recommend is called Readinz A-Z because it offers some free samples and amazing worksheets. I have created some materials with Storybird or bugging a workmate to illustrate some of the vocabulary items or grammar points I was supposed to teach, but there are many webtools that can be used to help an EFL teacher who is eager to use such a rich reading workshop in class. I'll be posting some of my work this year at the end of this post regularly.

What are the characteristics of appropriate Shared Reading materials?

When working with shared reading, it is important to choose or write a book that offers the possibility of multiple readings for enjoyment and also offer a rich picture text match. There are basically 6 types of appropriate books suggested by McCracken and McCracken (1995):

1- Rhythmic books. The rhythm of the text enables children to anticipate some of the words. An example would include Leland B. Jacobs book, Good Night, Mr. Beetle, where each line follows the format, "Good night, ________," with a culminating line for "The moon's in the sky."

2- Repetitive books. Many books contain repetitive text by which children can easily learn and join

in during that part of the reading. The classic story of the Three Little Pigs provides an example

of repetition:

I'll huff and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in.

3- Cumulative books. This type of text continually builds each page by repeating text from previous pages and adding a new line of text with each new page. The House that Jack Built is a good example of a cumulative book:

This is the house that Jack built.

This is the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.

This is the rat, that ate the malt, that lay in the house that Jack built.

4- Basic sentence pattern books. In this type of book, a basic sentence pattern is used to provide support for the reader. For example, the basic pattern could be represented by,

"This is my __________," which is repeated on every page with variations in the blank (e.g., dog, cat).

5- Information books. These books do not follow a storyline, but are instead full of information

about content-related topics. Use of information books is a good way to support students as they learn vocabulary, facts, and concepts. Examples include Antarctica by Helen Cowcher, Sharks by Russel Freedman, and Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington.

6- Two-part books (question & answer). Brown, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr., is a good example of a two-part book. This type of text reads like a conversation in which a question is asked by one animal over two lines in the book, and a response from another animalis given with a subsequent two lines.

Teaching Methods
Initial reading (done by teacher) follows this pattern: Gather children in an area close to the book. The book must be easily seen by the children.

Introduce book (share theme, examine title, cover, illustrations, etc. make predictions)
Excite student's imagination and relate prior experience to text
Concentrate on enjoying the text as a whole by taking a book walk
Encourage students to use background knowledge to make predictions
Encourage spontaneous participation in the reading of the story
Discuss personal responses to the book ( tricky for EFL teachers due to students' low proficiency level.
Direct children's attention to various aspects of the text, and reading strategies, and skills. Many of the strategies needed for independent reading can be taught during shared reading, especially when shared reading takes place with a small group versus the whole class.
Experiment with intonation and expression, discuss colorful phrases or words.
Attend to teaching points as they arise.

The children's contributions may range from reading in their heads or mouthing some of the words to more complete renderings which may include a number of approximations. Techniques for children participation could include:

choral reading
oral cloze (where the teacher pauses or drops his/her voice out of a choral reading)
dramatization
recording children reading the text
masking activities
word work such as "Be the Words" or sorting the words

What are the children supposed to do during the reading?

Enjoy reading

Track print left to right and word for word

Predic and infer

Expand their lexis

Learn and use reading strategies

Work on phonics by finding letters and sounds in context

Understand and use concepts of print (spacing, capitalization, punctuation)

Understand story elements such as characters, setting, beginning, middle and end.

Expand on the reading

Personalize content and develop critical thinking.

Why should teachers revisit the text?
In the shared reading model there are multiple readings of the books over several days. Throughout, children are actively involved in the reading (Yaden, 1988). The teacher may pause in the reading and ask for predictions as to what will happen next. Groups of children or individual children might volunteer or be invited to read parts of the story. Through repeated readings and the predictable text, children become familiar with word forms and begin to recognize words and phrases (Bridge, Winograd, & Haley, 1983; Pikulski & Kellner, 1992).

What is the purpose of rereading?

Readings of the same story serve various purposes. The first reading is for enjoyment; the second may focus on building and extending comprehension of the selection; a third might focus attention on the interesting language and vocabulary; a fourth might focus on decoding, using the words in the selection as a starting point for teaching word identification skills (Yaden, 1989). However, the main purpose is to entice students to become readers, and to systematically teach children how to be readers and writers themselves. (Parkes, 2000)

What to do after the first reading?
After reading, the teacher can take students back to the point of
making predictions, whether at the word or story level, and ask how they
knew they were right or how they knew if their prediction wasn’t quite correct.
Giving students this chance to talk about their thinking is very powerful and
ensures their full participation. for EFL teachers, it becomes mandatory to establish a reading routine to guarantee participation and understanding. The teacher asks open-ended questions and helps students build connections to the text by activating students’ prior knowledge to the theme or main idea of the book. The second and subsequent readings allow for the students to chime in with now familiar words and phrases. In some cases, students and teachers can take turns reading (e.g., the teacher reads the left side and students read the right side).  Displaying the titles of the shared reading books can be very motivational to emergent readers with the caption: “Books We Have
Read Together!”   Once read, the shared reading books or the ones written by students may be kept in an area accessible to students for independent and familiar rereading . If using a pocketchart, the teacher might write the story, or a portion of the story, on sentence strips so that
students can retell or build the story by putting the strips in order (McCracken &McCracken, 1995). Assign students roles by giving them index cards labeled with each character’s name. The students then wear the role tag and act out the story as a creative drama activity (Fisher & Medvic, 2000). Have students write a big book that extends from the storyline by
predicting what would happen next if the story were to continue.  Create puppets for role-playing so that students can dramatize and become the characters (Fisher & Medvic, 2000).
Have the students draw a picture of a favorite scene or character from. New stories can created or produced by the students using the same theme or sentence/language pattern of the book that has been shared.

What are the steps?

Introduce the Story

	Discuss the book cover's title and illustration.
	Invite predictions about the story.
	Point out and explain the author and illustrator.

Read the Story

	Be dramatic, showing obvious delight in both the storyline and the language.
	If appropriate and convenient, pause and invite predictions.
	Ask brief questions to measure comprehension and spur curiosity.

Conclude the Reading Period

•	Allow time and space for spontaneous reaction and comments.
•	Ask about parts the children enjoyed most or least.
•	Ask questions about the story line, e.g. why certain events took place.
•	Ask questions relating the story to the children, e.g. have they experienced something similar, or how would they have handles things differently than the story's characters.

Conduct Additional After-Reading Activities

	Ask the children to retell the story in their own words.
	If appropriate, focus on repetitive elements, such as a phrase, chant or chorus, and ask children to chime in as you re-read that element in the story.
	Point to the words in the text to demonstrate the conventions of print.

Re-read the Story

	If time permits, re-read the book.
	Usually, the first reading emphasizes meaning and enjoyment.
	Subsequent readings aim to (1) increase participation, (2) teach about book characteristics and print conventions, (3) teach reading strategies, (4) help develop a sight vocabulary of high frequency words, and (5) teach phonics.

Allow Independent Reading

	allow children to browse or read book themselves.

Conduct Follow-Up Activities

Expand on the text byasking students to write their own books, illustrate the cover, give the story a different ending.

References

http://www.oe.k12.mi.us/balanced_literacy/shared_reading.htm

http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/em_lit4.html

http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/shared_reading.html

http://www.prel.org/toolkit/pdf/teach/Shared%20Reading.pdf

http://readingtokids.org/ReadingClubs/TipSharedReading.php

P

Tools for writing e-books to be used for Shared Reading
All About Monsters by danilyra on Storybird

Designing a Task Collectively - Present Continuous - A Cultural Tour

2012-01-19T11:06:00.000-08:00

__________________________________________________________________________________
I have been hearing about connecting and the power of collaboration over the net, but never before have I felt the strength of a global group of educators willing to share and learn. Taking the Eletronic Village Online (EVO) was for sure a great decision I have made, and I am flabbergasted. Not only did I realize the cultural mix in the group but also the willingness of every and each one of us to implement purposeful changes in our teaching. We all want to be the best teachers we can, and to reach this aim here we are clicking, daring and sharing. Inspired by such a rich environment, I decided to invite teachers to do something I love doing! I thought about inviting people to collectively design a task for our students because I feel that we can do an amazing job.

_________________________________________________________________________________

I am describing an activity for teaching the present continuous below, and I added a challenge for teachers who share my passion for material design and collaborating worldwide. When comes to teaching the present continuous, I usually have textbooks to follow, but I tend to substitute the contextualization part in the book for a hands on, task based approach. I usually use two different pictures. In A there is a girl riding a horse, in B there is the same girl eating an ice- cream. Students interact a little to find the seven differences using a sentence prompt on the board. In my picture the girl/boy (details) is __________. Only after having used the structure do I expose students to discovery questions to realize the rules, I mean verb agreement and form of the present continuous. Eventhough the structure and usage are similar to a verb tense in Portuguese, my students tend to forget to use the verb to be. I go to the practice stage in the book, and move on to personalized practice and further practice before some of them grasp the use of the present continuous. I saw a great movie scene and decided to design a controlled practice. Here it goes:

1. What do we usually see in the street? Watch the video segment and check if anything of what you said appears in the movie.

2. Check the sentences that are true.

In the scene, the cars are moving.

The man in a suit is talking to his audience.

The boys are running.

The girl is eating.

The old lady is crossing the street.

The cars are honking.

People are swearing.

3. Get a blank piece of paper and write as many true sentences about what happens in the scene as you can remember.

I remember that... The girl is...

Challenge:

Would you like to help me design a multicultural follow up task? So here is the deal: We could take pictures of us and our families having fun at different places around the world and create a set on flickr under Creative Commons to be used by all of us. Pictures should depict a simple cultural aspect of the place so that students could learn about the cultural backgound, curiosities and geography while practicing language. If you'd like to give this idea a try, you could tweet me your picture @danilyra and tag it #2012evosundaypics and I'll start a set and post the link here. You could also write a link to your picture in the comments area below. Here is an example to help you visualize.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danilyra/sets/72157628966119303/

What am I learning at EVO?

2012-01-18T16:15:00.000-08:00

I have decided to take a break on my vacation plans to connect and learn a bit more about webtools and how to take advantage of them to tell stories. We, language teachers are fortunate because we get to teach while people share their own, personalized, meaningful stories. To empower my students to open up and tell others about who they really are, or what their passions are is the reason for taking an EVO session called digitalstorytelling4kids. I am absolutely amazed by the large number of people connecting and daring. I have never heard of doctors or engineers engaging worldwide to learn for the sake of learning. Why do we teachers engage so much in professional development? I do not know the answer to that question, but it's beautiful to see how open and eager to grow and be dared are all the educators in this session. I came across many tools that I did not know, and of course I felt the fear of missing something and the anxiety of the first daunting week. I had to learn how to behave in order to survive in the platform. I teach online classes, and it was wonderful for me to be on the other side as a student again. I really enjoyed the way the moderators helped out with tutorials and offers for help. It was wonderful to realize that yes, I could cry for help and help the ones that needed an extra boost. I am learning a lot of subject matter, tools for telling stories, but I'm also learning a lot about how to keep online couses meaningful and fun. I have being witnessing learning taking place, and this is a bless to start the year ahead of me. Maybe I won't need a break after all.

2011-12-31T13:56:00.001-08:00

To start the new year, I will focus on being authentic, trustworthy, positive and eager to learn. I want to devote my time to my family, myself, my teaching and being the best person I can actually be. I will devote myself to doing what my heart tells me, and seeking the help of friends. Happy new year! Let 2012 come! I'm ready... Are you?

Writing Cards

2011-12-21T03:47:00.000-08:00

Intermediate
Teens;adults
Writing cards
Expressing feelings
Students need to do things that can be used in their real lives to feel motivated to continue their studies.
Do you usually write greeting cards?

Have you ever seen a funny/silly card?

What are the cards like in your country?

How easy/difficult for you is writing a card?

Do you like getting cards?

2. The guy in the movie wants to write a card to say congrats. What can he write? Watch the movie and check. Which one do you like most? What idea did he have for a love card?

3. Which idea did you like most? What is the next holiday in your country? Who would you write a card to?

4. Get in groups and think of ways to express your feelings.Use the web to see how people greet one another on special occasions. Use kizoa or hugelab to write your card and send it to someone in class.

Expressing Likes/ Dislikes

2011-12-21T03:23:00.000-08:00

Intermediate
Teens;adults
Guessing; Making lists
Talking about someone important to you
love/hate ...ing
Students need to experience the language points we teach in a freer and more authentic way to be able to cope with the pace of delivery out of the classroom.

Teachers usually have to teach verbs - like, hate, can't stand, despise. When I watched these scenes in the movie 500 Days, I imagined that they could provide me with a great chance to personalize this language point and give it an interesting twist by adding elaborated words to go with the verbs and allow students to use these words to talk about someone in their lives.

1. Have you seen the movie 500 Days of Summer? What is the story about?

2. Have you ever been in love?

3. The guy in the movie is deeply in love. He will tell his friend about what he loves about his girl. Watch the scene- sounds off. What does he say?

4. Watch the movie and take notes of what he loves about the girl . How many things did you get right?

5. Something happened and now the guy hates Summer, his girl. What could have happened?
6. Write down what you think he will say.

I guess he will say he hates...

7. Watch the movie. Were you correct?

8. Write a list of what was said.Your teacher will play music. The student with more correct sentences is the challenge winner.
9. What about you? What do you love/hate about someone in your life?

Reflecting on Peer Observation

2011-12-18T18:35:00.000-08:00

In the assignment proposed by Brown in Teaching by Principles teachers are invited to look at a list of potential choices we have when designing a method on the basis of what we know about second language acquisition and the pedagogical process. Whenever a teacher perceives connections between practices and theories and the principles derived from research, he/she will be able to see not only the reason for chosing a technique, but also his/her ability to assess usefulness in a self-appraisal. Nowadays, planning is the easiest part. Dealing with the schedule and my private life is tricky sometimes. But I love teaching, and I devote a lot of time to planning and I always want to make sure I deliver lessons to the best of my abilities. Every semester I need to focus on one aspect and design projects that will keep me focused and better equipped to reach the goals I set to myself. Next year I will face many challenges. I want to keep exploring technology and keep investing on my teaching so that every lesson reflects my beliefs. I decided to focus on peer- observation so that I can not only help myself, but hopefully inspire dear coleagues to join me.
I feel the need of pushing myself to become an enlighted teacher who can orchestrate practice and theories, techniques and principles to favor learners. I'll turn to peers to help make room for innovations and creative adjustments.
I came across an old worksheet used by my coach many years ago. I believe it could be a good start. Suggestions? Eager to hear.

Watching Learning Taking Place

2011-12-16T02:43:00.000-08:00

As a mother of three, I have experienced firsthand the development of my children with enthusiasm and wonder. How do they learn? How could my tiny little babies become bilingual, strong human beings? The question of how children acquire language is still a mystery even after so many years of research. One thing is true: Children will not only learn the basic but also push themselves to master the target language or languages which they are exposed to from early years. How much of their understanding of the world around them is innate? How much of their understanding is actually built from scratch? There are many theories to explain what a mother can only observe and relish. What do babies know?

In an article from Time, Michael Bruton writes about an experiment that took place at the university of Manchester that was set up to investigate and challenge current thinking on what young children do know and how they construct knowledge. According to the article, Daniel, a 9 year old was shown video clips of a train on a circular track. The train would disappear into a tunnel and reappear on the other side. There were hidden cameras recording Daniel’s eyes and measuring the diameter of his pupils at very high speed. The process was set up to measure the babie’s level of interest and attention spam. Whenever some novelty was introduced, he would register it and notice by becoming more alert.

In an attempt to understand children’s development, theorists have come with different explanations. “nativist” psychologists theorize that children are born already equipped with internal concepts about how the physical world. This idea can also be observed in the innatist prespective on first language acquisition. Noam Chomsky claimed that all human languages are fudamentally innate; He argued that children are biologically programmed to learn languages and that language develops in the child in just the same way that other biological functions. The study carried out at the baby lab mentioned in the Time article challenges this ‘nativist” view and supports the ideas of the Swiss pioneer Jean Piaget whose work led to the conclusion that development precedes learning. According to Piaget, Children construct knowledge through their interactions with the world.

Babylab director Sylvain Sirios has been challenging “Nativists” Beliefs and experiments.

How does my child learn two languages simultaneously? How does she make sense of the world and is able to make herself understood if only two years ago all she could do was cry? According to Piaget and Babylab director they have to through mental schema allowing them to make sense of the environment. Learning happens when facing situations or mental schemas cannot process. Our brain find disequilibrium. In an attempt to find balance the mind either assimilates the new piece of information or adapts by using new skills. Piaget called the process of assimilating new information to our schemas learning. In othe words, Children construct knowledge through their interactions with the world. Either way, a mother rests assured that her child will learn, and besides sitting and watching the magic take place, we, parents, should propose challenges and interact with our children as much as we can in order to help them develop as much as they can.

Learning Taking Place

In class we could:

Show the video and ask students to discuss what learning is.

Write the words: Motivation. strategies,automaticity, purpose, reward,investment, risk-taking, self-confidence, positive attitude, positive feedback. Ask students to find examples of these ideas in the video and how they can relate to learning a language.

Reflecting on Teaching Writing

2011-12-11T15:29:00.000-08:00

1. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both the product and the process approaches to writing. If you were to teach a writing course, which approach would you adopt? Why? Explain briefly how you would develop such a course.

Painless Writing

Writing could be considered the most difficult skill for most language learners. Few people, even in their mother tongue, find writing to be an easy task. Nevertheless, teachers often ask their beginner students to venture in writing despite their anxieties and emotional barriers. After just a few semesters of English one might be asked to write a short paragraph about the most embarrassing day in his/her life, or a short biography. More often than we’d like to admit, we, teachers, become disappointed with students attempts, and students become discouraged and even afraid of writing. If I could design a course, I’d do my best to make writing a challenging, exciting learning experience. I’d try to facilitate learning and offer students all the relevant support I could. The greatest challenge in designing a writing task is to understand what makes writing so difficult and why teachers sometimes fail to give students the scaffolding they need in order to succeed. Another point to consider is the difference between product and process writing, and which one really provides students with the chance of becoming real users and producers of the language. Educators should be clear about the principles behind designing and delivering a writing class, for a well written piece can motivate and inspire changes within oneself and in the way other people perceive reality.

According to Peter Elbow, writing is a thinking process. One should not attempt to just put ideas on paper, for the essence of writing is closely linked to the concept of learning. In other words, your ideas are not what you start with, but where you get to after you finish a writing task. Using his concept, one could see writing as a learning endeavor. Nowadays, it’s important to motivate our children and students to read more so they can better base their opinions, and to be able to write and reflect upon what was read so they can make well-informed decisions. Reading and writing should be related to learning in a broader sense; these aforementioned skills should be related to learning to think differently and to making changes happen when they are necessary. An effective, updated approach to writing takes in consideration why and what for people write, and focus on the message. Our learners are capable of putting on paper ideas worth spreading.

No student will write a line if not asked to. The composing nature of Writing requires skills that are not developed on their own. It demands time and effort and There are two different ways that teachers can approach it. Product writing focuses on the final product. Students are expected to follow a model to reach given requirements in terms of what language to use and the rhetoric expected. There are advantages to this model, as students are exposed to rich texts that usually establish high guideline parameters. In addition, instructors and learners target at a clear, articulate, well- organized piece of writing. On the down side, one could argue that the product approach does not take into consideration the natural flow of writing. Rarely does anyone know exactly what to say in the beginning of the process, for writing well requires guidance and editing. If a person wants be well understood, he/she must devote time to learning the steps to the dance.

Nowadays, many educators are eager to guide students to becoming creators of language. To be able to do that, students need to be trained to follow the steps of good writers and to be given the chance to focus on the message and learn in the process not only language but, most importantly, what his/her own ideas really are. One advantage of the process approach is that it fosters students’ understanding of their own composing needs. Another advantage is that students might build writing strategies and become faster so they can even do well is a timed based writing task. Process writing gives students the chance to work on their piece for themselves, it provides students with meaningful chance to learn from their own mistakes as they follow the instructor’s feedback. But as with anything else in life, process writing must be seen in the prespective of balance, for placing too much emphasis on the process might lead teachers to overlook the product. Process writing should be seen as a means to facilitate the process, and to make students eager to learn from writing besides learning to write.

Teachers are responsible for showing students that there is a need for what they have to say, that their voices and thoughts are valuable sources of knowledge to other people. To be read and seriously taken into consideration, one has to engage in developing techniques, but should bear in mind the importance of an interesting, mind provoking, inspiring final product.

Present Perfect - Yet and Just

2011-11-27T16:29:00.000-08:00

Beginners; Intermediate
Teens; Adults
Controlled grammar practice - anecdote
Present perfect with yet/just
Have you ever been abroad?
Material
Concept behind - Adult learners have to be engaged in activities that they are genuinely interested in to keep them motivated and eager to learn.

A. You will tell your partner about places you have been to. Use the sentences below to guide you. Take some time to think about what you'll say and what language you'll need.

1. I have been to... many times

2. I have been to.. once

3. I havent been to... yet, but I'd love to.

4. I habe been to..

5. I visited...there

6. I met .../ I didn't meet... because I...

7. I have tried... there.

8 The most interesting thing for me was...

B. yet and just

Use the words to write questions with yet, then write answers with just.

1. he/arrive at JK airport?

A Has he arrived at JK airport yet?

B yes, he just arrived there.

2. Fight 9435/ land

______________________________________________?

_____________________________________________.

3. people/ line up at booth 18

_____________________________________________?

____________________________________________.

4.Passengers/ 1-94 forms fill out

_____________________________________________?

______________________________________________.

5. Mr Navorsky/ speak to the custom official

______________________________________________?

______________________________________________.

6 Mr. Navorsky/ be cleared and ready to leave.

_____________________________________________?

_____________________________________________.

C. Watch the video. One of your sentences with just is not true. Why?

D. Complete the sentences with yet or just.

Flight has _______9435 landed.

Many people have _____ passed through customs.

Mr Navorsky has not learned English _______.

Mr. Navorsky has _______ arrived at JK airport.

Mr Navorsky has not been cleared _______.

Mr. Navorsky is not feeling well. He has not understood what the problem is _______.

E. Work with a partner. Make questions with yet.

1. Be/USA

2. Got/ A passport

3. Have / problems at the airport

4. Pass/ through customs

5. Have to wait/ long hours for a connection

What's the Weather like?

2011-11-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

Beginners
Teens; Adults
Controlled grammar practice that leads to authentic personalized writing
Language to talk about the weather
What's the weather like?
Material
Concept behind: Learners need activities that appeal to them to retain language

1. Take a look at the symbols below and write some sentences about the weather condition where you live: Use the adjectives below:

hot, warm, cold, cool, wet, dry

In my hometown it's sunny in January. It's usually hot.

In my hometown it's rainy in...

Brasilia Weather Forecast, Brazil

2. You are going to watch a scene from the movie Notting Hill. In this scene, the woman left, and the heartbroken mas is walking along the road. The seasons go by to represent the time she has been gone. Watch the scene and complete the sentences.

First, It's _____ and ________.

Then it's _____ and ________.

After that it's _____ and ________.

Finally it gets ______ and _________.

3. Where could the place in the movie be? Why?

Humble Me - Comparative - Superlative

2011-10-31T07:41:00.000-07:00

Beginners
Teens; Adults
Controlled grammar practice that leads to authentic personalized writing.
Wallwisher
Comparatives - Superlatives
4 Good Things about Me
Material
Concept behind: Learners need meaningful practice to retain language.

1. You will watch a video scene from the movie Love and other Drugs. In this scene, the girl tells her boyfriend many good things about him. Complete the sentence with as many adjectives as you can think of to express positive ideas.

Look at you! You are such a ________ man.

2. Watch the scene and add the adjectives you didn't write down to your list.

3. On a piece of paper write the following adjectives and rank from o to 10 how each one applies to you. Add your suggestions to the list.

0- not at all

5- a little

10- very much

Kind

handsome/pretty

sweet

generous

smart

hardworking

determined

friendly

easygoing

4. Show your rank to your classmates. Write as many sentences as you can.

eg. John is... than...

I'm the most...

5, Write sentences on our wallwisher comparing you and your classmates. Write a false one. Can your classmates spot the lie?

In the Morning

2011-10-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

Beginners
Teens; Adults
Controlled grammar practice that leads to authentic personalized writing.
Glogster
Present simple - third person singular
Morning Routine
Material
Concept behind: Learners learn best when there is opportunity for focusing on meaning first and form later on. Students also learn best when they are given opportunity to personalize and make the sentences meaningful when they are actively engaged.

1. What do you usually do in the morning? How different would your rotine be if you live abroad?

2. You will watch a short scene in which two people in Minnesota, US are getting ready in the morning. Make a list of what you think you will see.

3. Lottery - We will play lottery. watch the movieclip and check all the activities you see in the clip that are on your list. The student with more crossed out verbs is the winner.

4. Spot the lie. One of the sentences is incorret. Can you spot the wrong one and correct it?

She wakes up at 8:00.

He has cereals for breakfast.

He plays in the morning.

5. Watch the movie again and write three sentences like the ones above to challenge your classmates. Can they spot the lie?

6. Tell your partner what you do in the morning. When you are done talk to someone else. Use the verbs/phrases below to help you.

Wake up

Get up

brush

eat/have _____ for breakfast

make breakfast

Play

Get dressed

have a shower

Leave home about ...

7. Play last man standing. Make a circle in the middle of the class. Say a sentence about one of your classmates.

so and so eats cereals for breakfast.

Throw the ball to another student. He/she will say another sentence about another student in class.

so and so wakes up at 6:00. Continue until there is only one student left in the circle.

8. Do you know anyone who lives in another city or country? Make a glogster reporting to your group what his/her routine in the morning is. Is it any different from ours? Why?

Noticing Changes in Pitch x Changes in Meaning

2011-10-28T09:46:00.001-07:00

Beginners; Intermediate
Teens; Adults
Intonation - Listening for pitch changes
Audioboo
Material
Concept behind: Students need a top down approach in which stress, rhythm, and intonation are given priority. Students need to understand how important these features are for conveying the intended message.

1.Discuss:

Have you seen the movie How to Lose a Guy In Ten Days?

How do you feel when you first meet someone interesting?

How do you usually come across?

2. You'll watch a scene from the movie How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days without the sound. In this movie, Ben, a very arrogant womanizer, is about to meet a beautiful girl. He really wants to impress her. Read the tapescript and decide what intonation they used.

He: Hi

She: Hi

She: Andie Anderson

He: Benjamin Barry

She: Cute

He: Thank you

She: I mean your name

He: Thank you two times

She: Unattached?

He: Currently

She: Likewise

He: Surprising

She: Psycho?

He: Rarely

He: Interested?

She: Perhaps

He: Hungry?

She: Starving

He: Leaving

She: Now?

He: Ok

She Ok

She: One second

He: I'll meet you at the door

2. Watch the dialogue again and check your answers.

3. Note that a change in pitch can indicate a change in meaning. What is the idea behind each utterance? How much can you tell about the speaker's intention just by the intonation chosen?

4. Read the dialogue below. Use the intonation indicated. Who and what they are ? What does each utterance mean?

4. Use audioboo to record one of the dialogues.

A Spooky Class for Young Learners - A Media Collage

2011-10-25T02:19:00.000-07:00

Using Songs toTeach Participial Adjectives

2011-10-19T06:09:00.001-07:00

Adults;Teens

Beginners

Guessing;singing

Song

Warmer; Inductive explanation, practice

Materials

Participial adjectives

1. Listen and read to some lines of well known songs. If you guess the name of the song, you'll score a point. If you sing part of the song, you'll score 2 points.

a) Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away...

b)Get up stand up get up for your rights

c) Start spreading the news... I'm leaving today

d) While my eyes are looking for flying sources in the sky...

3. Listen to a musical quiz and tell your partner how the songs make you feel.

4. Read some of the sentences. Which ones are true to you?

a) Song one makes me feel tired.

b) Song one makes me feel relaxed.

c) Song one is annoying.

d) Song 2 is annoying.

e)Song 2 makes me feel excited.

f) Song 2 makes me bored.

g) Song 3 is exciting.

h) Song 3 is exciting.

5.Complete the table with four sentences from the quiz.

Sentences with adjectives ending in – ed

Sentences with adjectives ending in - ing

What’s the difference?

The present and past participle forms of many verbs function as adjectives.

The past participle (tired, excited, annoyed) has a passive meaning. Most sentences using past participles can be restated with a by phrase.

The artist is excited = He is excited by the news

6. Follow up

Think of a soothing, interesting or stimulating song that you like. You are going to tell your partner about it. Choose from the list the things you want to talk about. Think about what you’ll say and what language you’ll need.

Does the song bring you memories? What kind?

Have you been listening to this song lately?

What are the lyrics like?

What do you think of the melody?

How could you describe the beat?

What artists perform this piece of music?

Do you prefer the melody, the lyrics or both?

Can you sing or hum this song?

7. Post the song in our virtual classroom!

Modals Ability/Necessity - Combining Tools With a Purpose

2011-10-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Beginners
Teens
Controlled grammar practice that leads to authentic personalized writing.
Glogster
Modals have to / can't
House rules; school rules
Material
Concept behind: Learners learn best when there is opportunity for focusing on meaning first and form later on. Students also learn best when they are given opportunity to personalize and make the sentences meaningful when they are actively engaged.

1. Read the sentences below and choose the ones you agree with. If you say why you agree, you'll score two points. Winners get to choose witch small movie scene we will watch in the last 5 minutes of class.

Little boys have to go to bed early.

Little boys can jump on their beds late at night.

Little boys have to brush their teeth before they go to bed.

The dog's family doesn't have to sleep in the bedrooom.

The dog can not bark nonstop.

A dog's family has spend all night inside the house.

A dog has to bark the whole time.

2. Match the verbs with the definition:

1. Can

2. Have to

3. Don't have to

4. Can't

( ) You have the know how/ability to do something.

( ) You have the obligation or the necessity to do something.

( ) You don't have the obligation or necessity to do something.

( ) You don't know how/ability to do something.

3. What happens in the house? What do you think about it? Get strips of papers with words to form sentences about the video. When you teacher says go, start putting the sentences together. How many can your group organize?

4. How about you? What are your rules at home or at school? Write as many sentences about you as you can. Write your sentences on glogster and show it to your family. Do they agree with the rules?

Teacher Education Course

2011-10-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

What all theories of language acquisition account for is the ability of human beings to learn in different environments or circumstances. All the main theories draw conclusions based on indirect evidence. Language learners have to make do with the methods at hand and hope to have inpirational teachers who despite the absence of comprehensive theory can draw conclusions and look for the best practices to the specific group of people in front of them.

There was never a single method that would be effective to all learners worldwide, but an educator might choose from past methods elements or techniques to add to his/her repertoire and be able to justify the choices. It’s common in language teaching programs to study different methods and learn the approach and rationale behind them so that a teacher can make decisions in terms of what principles to incorporate into practice. New teaching ideas abound and every language teacher has had the experience of trying out a new activity in class. But no matter how carefully you plan your lesson, there will always be a moment in which a reflexive teacher will realize she/he should have done things differently. It’s paramount to realize that our beliefs and approaches must not be set in stone since educators will always face the challenge of preparing people for a fast changing future. A teacher has to be dynamic and eager to experiment and take calculated risks, trying new ways and ideas here and there. The relationship between our beliefs and what actually happens in class should be our guide when we are to decide what changes we welcome in our practice. A 21^st century teacher not only faces the challenge of looking into the past to learn that each method brought advantages and drawbacks but also look into the present changes and the future to sort out what new ideas to implement. Here is a Quizlet about approaches and methods - an overview (adapted by Nunan 1989) from Teaching by Principles to refresh my memory and brush up.

Study these flash cards | Study teaching flash cards

Voking in Class -

2011-09-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

Beginners
Teens; Adults
Speaking / Listening / Writing
Text to speech
Simple present
Voki

1. Listen to my character and dictate what he says to your partner who is out of the classroom.

2. Answer some questions about my other characters.

3. Now it's your turn. Write a simimar text about a friend you like. Make one character as similar to you as you can, and send it to your teacher because she will post them all here. Who has the funniest? Coolest? Most interesting avatar? Do you have friends in common? Did you write about the same friends?

Marcelo's

Mlearning an Advanced Conversation Class - Technology

2011-09-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

It's the word of the day. It seems that everywhere I turn there is someone writing about or experimenting with M-learning, so I decided to give it a try. So far? Well, it's been interesting, bumpy, awful, and interesting again. I'm trying to do it with different age groups. Adults are fast adopters as they already have the gadgets and seem to be just waiting for me to finally start using apps, young teens LOVE it. In fact, today I had meetings with parents , and I was very happy to hear that even my students who don't like to learn English seem to be more motivated and eager to use their phones or Ipads. Older teens? Well... My advanced group will facebook away. Well... I'll start with the easiest: Adult conversation class on technology using QR readers is just out of the oven. Enjoy.
High intermediate; Advanced

Technology, Google Search, IQ readers, Augmented reality, Web2.o4ed

Speaking / Split viewing
Adults; Older teens
Materials

A. Choose from the box below the statements that are true to you and share them with your partner. Expand on each statement by providing more pieces of information:

I love my cell phone, and I can’t see myself without it.

I’m really interested in mobile learning.

I never have to use technology in my job.

I know what QR codes are, and I have used them.

I know what augmented reality is, and I think it is very useful.

I’m a good online searcher. I can get any piece of information I need without any struggle.

I have to be updated in terms of the latest advances in technology

I avoid using computers and information technology as much as I can.

I have heard about web2.0, but I’m not sure what it means.

I don’t know how to use information technology for educational purposes.

I’d never take an online course.

I try to spend less time as I can in front of a computer.

I know how to use twitter very well, and I see great advantages regarding its use.

I think information technology is changing the world in a positive way.

I don’t understand the fuss about Facebook.

I have lived very well without so much in-your-face technology, and II wish we could go back some years

B. You’ll watch different videos. Get together with other people who watched the same part as you and paraphrase the main ideas.

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/augmented-reality

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/qr-codes

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/web-search-strategies

http://www.commoncraft.com/video/twitter

C. You will read an article from Newsweek about computers. Read the title and the opening and try to guess what the article will talk about.

____________________________________________________________________

How Computers Just Got More Human

Scientists at IBM have created a new computer chip that mimics the processes in a human brain. Dan Lyons on how this breakthrough could produce smarter, more efficient computers.

________________________________________________

D. Read the text to confirm your predictions. Then answer the questions from memory.

Source: http://www.semiconductorpackagingnews.com

As computers go, it’s pretty hard to beat the human brain. That three-pound lump of gray matter contains 100 billion neurons and 100 trillion synapses, or connections. It operates as a massively parallel computer, yet it uses just a tiny bit of energy. To recreate this machine in silicon you’d have to build a supercomputer that weighs hundreds of tons, fills a football field and requires so much electricity that it would take down the power grid. Oh, and it would probably cost you a few billion dollars.Yet for an elite band of computer scientists the quest to reverse-engineer the brain represents the Mount Everest of computing, the biggest challenge out there. And in recent weeks a team of scientists at IBM has taken a small but significant step forward.

The IBMers announced that they’d managed to create an actual silicon processor that mimics the way the human brain works and can even learn, sort of. Next they’re going to start trying to hook these chips together to form computers that will be radically different from today’s machines. “What we have created are the seeds of an entirely new computing architecture,” says Dharmendra Modha, who oversees IBM’s Cognitive Computing effort, which produced this breakthrough.

The new machines won’t replace the kind of computers we use today, Modha says, but rather will complement them and enable scientists to solve different problems for which traditional computers are not well suited. “Today’s computers will be with us in perpetuity. We’re going after other kinds of tasks,” he says.

Today’s computers are “left brain” machines, Modha says. They’re great at crunching lots of numbers really fast and analyzing data. But they’re lousy at “right brain” tasks like pattern recognition. A new kind of computer could do things like predict tsunamis by tracking millions of sensors strung around the globe.

Huge obstacles exist, of course. The chips that IBM has made still use traditional semiconductor materials. That’s great for a prototype. But ultimately IBM will need to design new chips, using new materials, that draw a lot less power. Another issue is software. Nobody has experiencing writing programs that can operate in parallel across billions of cores.

_________________________________________________________________________

1. What advantages does the human brain present when compared to computers?

2. What is considered the Mount Everest of computing?

3. What has IBM announced recently?

4. What is the difference between the left and the right side of the brain?

5. Who will write programs for this new generation of computers?

F. Look at the expressions and phrases underlined in the text and talk to your partner. Refer back to the text and try to explain what they mean.

1. (To be) pretty hard to beat

2. It would take down the power grid

3. Reverse-engineer

4. The seeds

5. Breakthrough

6. (To be) not well suited

7. Another issue is…

G. You’ll take a web2.0 quiz. While you answer write down any interesting piece of information you come across.

How many of the tools can you use for work?

Go to a web2.0 library and choose one to explore. Be prepared to tell your group about it and how you could use it at work or for learning English.

H. Discuss these questions with a partner. Be prepared to tell the class the most significant points in your discussion.

1. What do you do in order to learn?

2. What do you remember of what you learned last week? Last term?
Last year? When you went to school?

3. What have you learned since you left school?

4. What have you learned about how you learn best?

5. Is there a difference between the way you learn English and the way you have tried to learn other subjects?

6. What could you do to improve your learning effectiveness?

7. What strategies could you use? This applies both to strategies you are already using in other areas and to those you could learn from other people.

8. How could you go about translating theory into practice?

9. In other words, how exactly could you integrate these strategies into your learning behaviors?

10. Can you foresee your using information technology to foster learning?

J. In pairs, discuss the content of the class today. Rank the items from (1) to (5).

(1) is the least useful and (6) the most useful.

c	Content of the videos	c	Topic – Information technology
c	Content of the reading.	c	Topic - Learning
c	Vocabulary development	c	Pronunciation Work

Preparing Students to Deliver A Great Presentation

2011-09-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

High intermediate;Advanced
Speaking; Listening
Presentatin skills
Materials

A. Choose from the box the statements that are true to you and share them with your partner. Expand on each statement by providing more pieces of information.

I never have to give presentations in my job.

I usually present to colleagues/ clients/visitors/other firms/ Head of the company.

I last gave a presentation a long time ago.

I have given at least one presentation that I’m proud of.

I usually receive very good feedback.

I can easily catch my audience’s attention.

The hardest/easiest part for me is to keep calm.

My nerves usually hinder my presentation skill.

I know how to present very well.

I’d like to know more about how to design a PowerPoint/KeyNote presentation.

I can name at least two good presenters.

I remember am outstanding/dreadful presentation I have attended.

I know what a good presentation consists of.

C. You'll watch a video about how to prepare a fantastic powerpoint presentation. Before you watch, talk to your partne and decide whether the sentences below are true or false.

( ) 95% of the PowerPoint presentations are awful.

( ) A person should use bullet points on the slides.

( ) Slides should convey lots of information to guide the presenter.

( ) The presenter should use very few images because they might distract the audience.

D. Watch the video and check.

F. You will watch a video called HOW TO DELIVER A GREAT PRESENTATION LIKE STEVE JOBS.

1. Before watching the video, read the opening below and try to guess what suggestions will be given.

Steve Jobs is probably one of the most polished presenters in the world. He doesn't use any bullet points in his presentations, his keynote addresses are free of any jargon, there are very few words in the slides but they have photographs and headlines that are hard to forget (everyone still remembers "the world's thinnest notebook," a phrase that Steve used to describe Macbook Air). How to present live Steve Jobs.

If you’d like to learn some of the techniques and styles that make Steve Jobs such a great presenter, here's some excellent advice [video + slides] from BusinessWeek columnist Carmine Gallo, who is also the author of the book - The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs.

2. Now watch the video and check.

3. After watching the video, work in small groups and summarize the main ideas. Which ones do you agree the most/ least? Which ones would you consider adding to your planning?

G. Go to the site: www.TED.com using one of the codes below. Check if the presentation you were sent to has some of the features discussed here.

H. Now, plan the opening of a presentation. Remember to...

Welcome the audience.

Introduce yourself.

Layout

Explain why the audience will be interested.

Meaningfully Drilling Matters of the Heart

2011-08-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

I am teaching a group of EFL beginner adult learners. It's a challenge for me to deal with their frustration, and it's a pleasure to see them develop. I've been using the communicative approach for a long time, and I can easily understand why many learners fail to express their opinions as we want them to do. Is drilling a sin? What should a teacher do to scaffold speaking tasks in order to make them doable by the learners. Here is my suggestion. I call it a meaningful drill.
Beginner
Adults
Speaking;
Movie activity
Drilling/ Talking about relationships
Audioboo
Materials

You will watch a movie scene of a guy who met a perfect girl. How would you describe someone perfect? Watch the scene and pay attention to details.

Make the sentences negative. Then give the correct answers. Two sentences are correct. Can you find them?

When Hansen first saw Summer, he wasn't very impressed.

His friend liked her.

Hansen didn't like summer when they first met.

Summer just moved from Brazil.

Summer was a simple girl.

Summer and Hansen hit it off immediately.

Hansen wasn't listening to music in the elevator.

Hansen was listening to The Smith

Hansen ignored Summer in the elevator at first.

Summer didn't begin a conversation with Hansen.

It was easy for Hansen to talk to Summer.

Choose from the sentences below the ones that could help you to talk about the day you first met someone important to you. You may need to change some of the sentences to make them true to you.

When I first met my friend/wife/husband we were at a party.

We had a great time together.

I was very impressed by him/her.

I fell in love immediately.

I took a long time to fall in love.

We went out for a year before we started dating.

We hit it off immediately.

I remember our first date very well.

It was very easy/ difficult to talk to him/her.

We dated for many years.

I was very young when we got engaged.

I got married many years after I met my partner.

We had a wonderful wedding.

We got married in the summer.

We had two children.

We got divorced 5 years ago.

I hope to grow old together.

It's important to get corrective feedback from your teacher and peers to avoid fossilization. It's also very important to be able to correct your own mistakes. Record your voice here and email the link to your teacher so that she can hear you and provide you with some corrective feedback.

A Beautiful Place I've Been to

2011-08-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

Beginner; Elementary
Teen; Adults
Sharing personal experiences;Matching
Movie segments
Cultural shock; Traveling; narratives
Past tenses
Audiooboo

Have you ever been to a beautiful place?

How was the weather like?

How was the people like?

Would you go there again?

2. You will watch a scene about a person who arrives in a foreign country.

3.Read a description of the scene and spot seven defferences between the text and the scene.

Linda and her pet had a great time in Rio. They arrived during the day after a long trip by train. The weather was nice and hot; She was feeling well, but she was worried about the heat, so she put a lot of sunscreen on her face. Surprisingly, there weren't people on the beaches. When the car stopped, she got very surprised because people were wearing masks in the middle of the street! Her host told her about carnival, The second biggest party in the world. She was intrigued by a woman who was a professional performer. Linda was very excited about carnival and decided she wanted to join the crowd and dance too! The parrot, blu, made friends, and his friends told him that he didn't look like a foreigner. Blue came to Rio for carnival when is a good time to meet new people. The birds gave him a word of advice: Brazilian women don't respond well to a show of confidence. Everybody was really excited about being in such a great and colorful city!

4. Think about a place you have been to. Look at the sentences below and choose the ones that you could use to talk about your trip.

I was very happy to be there.

I got there by bus/train/plane.

It took me a long/short time to get there.

I arrived there during the day.

I arrived there during the night.

At first I was a bit confused/ tired.

I really loved the place from start!

I really enjoyed the weather/food/people there.

I didn't understand some cultural aspects.

I'd love to get back there, but I'd do some things differently.

5. Find a partner and expand a little on the sentences. Tell him as many details as you can.

6. Use audioboo to record your conversation and hear your classmates questions about your trip!

I Wanna Samba

2011-08-02T19:47:00.000-07:00

Pre-intermediate
Teens; Adults
Speaking
Movie activity
Simple past
Materials

1. Answer the following questions.

Where did Blu live before he traveled to Rio?

Where was Blu born? How can you tell?

Where did he learn samba?

Where was his girlfriend born?

When did he learn how to fly?

Did he live in the States or in Europe?

Was he happy before he came to Rio?

Why did he come to Rio?

2. Watch the movie and check or complete your answers.

3. Answer the following questions about you.

Where were you born?

What can you do well?

Can you name something you learned when you were a child that you have never forgotten?

Where did you live when you were a teenager/child?

Where was your mother or father born?

4. Report some parts of your conversation to the rest of the group. Did you learn anything new about your partner?

More Ideas to Warm up Our Classes

2011-07-24T18:24:00.001-07:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More esl

A Song Activity to Teach Reported Speech

2011-07-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

Intermediate
Teens; Adults
Grammar practice
Song activity
Reported statements and questions
Worksheet

1. Write on the dotted lines. Look at the reported speech and decide what the

singer actually says. Write it down. Listen to the song and check.

A: He told me to listen

____________________________________________

B: He asked me if I wanted to know a secret

--------------------------------------------------------------------

C: He asked me if I promised not to tell

----------------------------------------------------------------

D: He told me to get closer

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

E: He told me to let him whisper in my ear

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

F: He told me he was in love with me

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

G: he said he had know this secret for a week or two.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. Are you good at keeping secrets? Get in a group and talk about

a time when you...

Swore someone to secrecy

Confided in someone

Revealed a secret

Betrayed a confidence

A Reading Activity For Young Learners

2011-07-07T04:35:00.000-07:00

YLs
Reading
Children's stories
Storytelling
Blogger

1. Read one of the stories below. Choose a favorite to read at home. Read again with your parents. Prepare to tell the story to the rest of the group.

2. Follow up.

Go to your school's library. Choose a book. Make a video of your telling your story to share what you read with the others in the group.