Teaching grammar isn’t always about a traditional textbook lesson, worksheets & drilling. What do our students really want? They want to be able to communicate in the target language. Isn’t that the goal? If you are looking for GAMES to help practice targeted grammar: click here. Whether you are teaching adult learners or kids – EVERYONE wants to be able to speak, understand and make themselves understood by others! The good thing is that you can sneak grammar into conversation sessions. What’s the key? Grammar focused conversation. How does this work? 1. Do a quick grammar intro – If you are teaching…
Author: brookehotchocolate
Conditionals – Zero, First, Second and Third – 120 Cards This is one of the most difficult tenses for students in my opinion. It’s hard to use and practice makes perfect. Often students are much better at writing this tense then they are at actually using it in an exercise or spoken conversation.This set of 120 conditional question and “Finish the Sentence” prompt cards are great for speaking and listening practice with your students in Upper Intermediate to Advanced ESL classrooms. This set is a MUST to reinforce difficult grammar and get your students speaking in all four of the conditional…
As teachers we are all thrilled when our students begin using the Present Tense correctly. They start using the third person, conjugating verbs and using question forms. Then, along comes the Past Simple. It seems great at first. Everyone is happily adding “-ed” to the end of their previously memorized verbs, when we drop the IRREGULARS bomb. In ESL classes, there is usually a page in the back of their book dedicated to the most common irregulars. You have your students turn to that page and boom…jaws drop! No, this can’t be happening. They NEED to memorize these verbs. Memorization…
Vocabulary bingo games are a great way to reinforce listening/repeating skills and are an amazing tool for vocabulary retention in ELL classrooms. These sets are great because I’ve included matching flashcards! You can teach, review and get everyone up to speed before playing the game! It’s finally Spring and depending on what part of the world you’re in – it’s starting to warm up. You might have already planted some flowers, vegetable and herbs with your students or your own kids. I always feel like this is the perfect time to start my vegetable and fruits unit with my EFL…
This St.Patrick’s Day Flap book is a simple writing activity to use basic verbs in a simple sentence structure to talk about why each student is lucky. I love using simple flap books with my students for a number of reasons. Since I teach a wide variety of age and skill levels, I find that flap books are an activity that can be easily differentiated based on those two factors. Also, as an English as a Foreign language teacher, parents are so curious to know what their kids are doing. “Is my child learning anything?” – “Is my child able…
Every year I teach English to students of all different levels and skill sets. It would be great to have all of our students at the same level and on the same page, but let’s face it – that’s not going to happen! This is where Task Cards kick in and can really help where some or many are struggling. Here’s a list of some of the topic based ESL Task Cards available HERE Prepositions of Location Task Cards I decided many years ago to implement them as a part of our weekly routine! I divide my class into…
We all know that literacy is not about memorizing sight, dolch and cvc words! As teachers we also know that knowing certain high frequency sight words can leave our students feeling more confident in reading. I speak from the standpoint of an ESL teacher. English is tough. Let’s face it. The pronunciation is ridiculous and students often struggle with very simple words. As adults, we do too! How should we pronounce “data” for example? While I firmly agree that learning to read is MUCH more than memorizing a list of highly occurring words, it’s also a great way to increase…
If I could choose only one activity to have prepped and ready to use at all times- it would be this. Why? It’s just so functional. Once you do the minimal prep, its always at your fingertips. Do you have 5 minutes left before the end of class? – Pull it out! Do you need a quick activity to transition with? Pull it out! Do you have a few fast finishers? Put them in a group and pull it out! Do you just need your students to practice speaking? Pull it out! ESL Kids Question Jar Activity – 150 questions…