a general tefl reader

8/9/2019 A General TEFL Reader

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1. English Tense Chart & TimelinePg.3-4

2. Phonemic Script

Pg.5

3. Pronunciation Information and TipsPg.5-6

4. Latin and Greek Word Elements in EnglishPg. 6-11

5. The Tongue Twister DatabasePg.12-30

6. Classroom Information for Young LearnersPg.31-43

7. Tips and Routines for YL ActivitiesPg. 44-46

8. Young Learner Games/ActivitiesPg.47-63

9. Adult Games and ActivitiesPg.64-73

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Tenses in English

One of the most complex issues for your students will be to master the tenses or time in

the English language. This will be even more critical with students whose native

languages don't put so much emphasis on the concept of "time" in grammar as manyEuropean languages and Arabic, for example, do. A basic outline of the tenses of English

is contained in the chart below.

Simple Tenses Simple Continuous Tenses Perfect Tenses Perfect Continuous Tenses

Simple Present:

I go.

Present Continuous

I am going.

Present Perfect

I have gone

Present Perfect Continuous:

I have been going.Simple Past:

I went.Past Continuous:

I was going.Past Perfect:I had gone

Past Perfect Continuous:I had been going.

Simple Future:I will go.

Future Continuous:I will be going.

Future Perfect:will have gone.

Future Perfect Continuous:I will have been going.

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English Tenses Timeline Chart

Conjugated verbs are highlighted in bold. Tenses which are rarely used in everyday conversation are marked by an asterik (*).

TIMELINE

SIMPLE

ACTIVE

SIMPLE

PASSIVE

PROGRESSIVE /

CONTINUOUS

ACTIVE

PROGRESSIVE /

CONTINUOUS PASSIVE

PAST TIME

^

|

|

She had already

eaten when I

arrived.

The painting had

been sold twice

before it was

destroyed.

^

PAST

PERFECT

|

|

I had been waiting forfour hours when he

finally arrived.

The house had been being

painted for over a month

before they began to

decorate the interior. *

I bought a new

car last week.

The bookwas

written in 1876 byFrank Smith.

^

PAST

|

|

I was watching TV when

she arrived.

The problem was being

solved when I arrived latefor class.

She has lived in

California for

many years.

The company has

been managed by

Fred Jones for the

last two years.

^

PRESENT

PERFECT

||

She has been working at

Johnson's for six months.

The students have been

being taught for the last

four hours. *

He works five

days a week.

Those shoes aremade in Italy.

^

PRESENT

|

|

I am working at the

moment.

The workis being done by

Jim.

FUTURE

INTENTION

|

|

They are going to fly to

New York tomorrow.

The reports are going to be

completed by the marketing

department.

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V

The sun willshine tomorrow.

The food will bebrought later.

FUTURE

SIMPLE

|

|

V

She will be teaching

tomorrow at six o'clock.

The rolls will be beingbaked at two. *

I will have

completed the

course by the end

of next week.

The project willhave been

finished by

tomorrow

afternoon.

FUTUREPERFECT

|

|

V

She will have been

working here for two

years by the end of next

month.

The house will have been

being built for six months

by the time they finish. *

FUTURE

TIME

English Phonemic Script

Pronunciation Information and Tips

1. There are three pronunciations for the ending ED:/t/, /d/, and /.d/.

Final ED is pronounced /t/ after voiceless sounds. Examples of voiceless sounds are k,

p, and s. Thus, examples of ED with a /t/ pronunciation are looked, zipped, andkissed.

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Final ED is pronounced /d/ after voiced sounds. Examples of voiced sounds are l, n,

and v and all vowel sounds. Thus, examples of ED with a /d/ pronunciation are called,

cleaned, and played.

Final ED is pronounced /.d/ after t and d. In these cases, the ending adds a whole

syllable to the word. Thus, examples of ED with an /.d / pronunciation are wanted andneeded.

2. There are three pronunciations for the ending ES: /z/, /iz/, /s/

3. When teaching the alphabet it is helpful to chunk similar sounding letters together:

/eI/ AJK /I:/ BCDEGPTV /aI/ IY /e/ FSXLMN /ju:/ QUW

Misc: HROZ

Use this similarity to open activities, games, class routines: example: I like to use them in

lower classes as my team names: Team A, Team J.

Latin and Greek Word Elements

English is a living language, and it is growing all the time. One way that new words comeinto the language is when words are borrowed from other languages. New words are also

created when words or word elements, such as roots, prefixes, and suffixes, are combined

in new ways.

Many English words and word elements can be traced back to Latin and Greek. Oftenyou can guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word if you know the meaning.

A word root is a part of a word. It contains the core meaning of the word, but it cannot

stand alone. A prefix is also a word part that cannot stand alone. It is placed at the

beginning of a word to change its meaning. A suffix is a word part that is placed at theend of a word to change its meaning. Often you can guess the meaning of an unfamiliar

word if you know the meaning of its parts; that is, the root and any prefixes or suffixes

that are attached to it.

Latin Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

Latin was the language spoken by the ancient Romans. As the Romans conquered most of

Europe, the Latin language spread throughout the region. Over time, the Latin spoken indifferent areas developed into separate languages, including Italian, French, Spanish, and

Portuguese. These languages are considered sisters, as they all descended from Latin,

their mother language.

In 1066 England was conquered by William, duke of Normandy, which is in northernFrance. For several hundred years after the Norman invasion, French was the language of

court and polite society in England. It was during this period that many French words

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were borrowed into English. Linguists estimate that some 60% of our common everyday

vocabulary today comes from French. Thus many Latin words came into English

indirectly through French.

Many Latin words came into English directly, though, too. Monks from Rome brought

religious vocabulary as well as Christianity to England beginning in the 6th century.From the Middle Ages onward many scientific, scholarly, and legal terms were borrowed

from Latin.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, dictionary writers and grammarians generally felt that

English was an imperfect language whereas Latin was perfect. In order to improve the

language, they deliberately made up a lot of English words from Latin words. For

example, fraternity, from Latin fraternitas, was thought to be better than the nativeEnglish word brotherhood.

Many English words and word parts can be traced back to Latin and Greek.

The following table lists some common Latin roots.

Latin root

Basic

meaning Example words

-dict- to say contradict, dictate, diction, edict, predict

-duc- to lead, bring,take

deduce, produce, reduce

-gress- to walk digress, progress, transgress

-ject- to throw eject, inject, interject, project, reject, subject

-pel- to drive compel, dispel, impel, repel

-pend- to hang append, depend, impend, pendant, pendulum

-port- to carry comport, deport, export, import, report, support

-scrib-,

-script-

to write describe, description, prescribe, prescription, subscribe,

subscription, transcribe, transcription

-tract- to pull, drag,

draw

attract, contract, detract, extract, protract, retract, traction

-vert- to turn convert, divert, invert, revert

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From the example words in the above table, it is easy to see how roots combine withprefixes to form new words. For example, the root -tract-, meaning to pull, can

combine with a number of prefixes, including de- and re-. Detract means literally to pull

away (de-, away, off) and retract means literally to pull back (re-, again, back).The following table gives a list of Latin prefixes and their basic meanings.

Latinprefix Basic meaning Example words

co- Together coauthor, coedit, coheir

de- away, off; generally indicates

reversal or removal in English

deactivate, debone, defrost, decompress,

deplane

dis- not, not any disbelief, discomfort, discredit, disrepair,disrespect

inter- between, among international, interfaith, intertwine,

intercellular, interject

non- Not nonessential, nonmetallic, nonresident,

nonviolence, nonskid, nonstop

post- After postdate, postwar, postnasal, postnatal

pre- Before preconceive, preexist, premeditate,

predispose, prepossess, prepay

re- again; back, backward rearrange, rebuild, recall, remake, rerun,rewrite

sub- Under submarine, subsoil, subway, subhuman,

substandard

trans- across, beyond, through transatlantic, transpolar

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Words and word roots may also combine with suffixes. Here are examples of someimportant English suffixes that come from Latin:

Latin

suffix Basic meaning Example words

-able,-ible forms adjectives andmeans capable or worthyof

likable, flexible

-ation forms nouns from verbs create, creation; civilize, civilization

-fy, -ify forms verbs and means to

make or cause to become

purify, acidify, humidify

-ment forms nouns from verbs entertain, entertainment; amaze, amazement

-ty, -ity forms nouns from

adjectives

subtlety, certainty, cruelty, frailty, loyalty, royalty;

eccentricity, electricity, peculiarity, similarity,

technicality

Greek Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes

The following table lists some common Greek roots.

Greek root Basic meaning Example words

-anthrop- Human misanthrope, philanthropy, anthropomorphic

-chron- Time anachronism, chronic, chronicle, synchronize,

chronometer

-dem- People democracy, demography, demagogue, endemic,

pandemic

-morph- Form amorphous, metamorphic, morphology

-path- feeling, suffering empathy, sympathy, apathy, apathetic,psychopathic

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-pedo-,

-ped-

child, children pediatrician, pedagogue

-philo-,

-phil-

having a strong affinity or

love for

philanthropy, philharmonic, philosophy

-phon- Sound polyphonic, cacophony, phonetics

The following table gives a list of Greek prefixes and their basic meanings.

Greek

prefix

Basic meaning Example words

a-, an- Without achromatic, amoral, atypical, anaerobic

anti-, ant- Opposite; opposing anticrime, antipollution, antacid

auto- self, same autobiography, automatic, autopilot

bio-, bi- life, living organism; biology,

biological

biology, biophysics, biotechnology, biopsy

geo- Earth; geography geography, geomagnetism, geophysics,

geopolitics

hyper- excessive, excessively hyperactive, hypercritical, hypersensitive

micro- Small microcosm, micronucleus, microscope

mono- one, single, alone monochrome, monosyllable, monoxide

neo- new, recent neonatal, neophyte, neoconservatism,

neofascism, neodymium

pan- All panorama, panchromatic, pandemic,pantheism

thermo-,

therm-

Heat thermal, thermometer, thermostat

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Words and word roots may also combine with suffixes. Here are examples of some

important English suffixes that come from Greek:

Greek

suffix

Basic meaning Example words

-ism forms nouns and means the act,

state, or theory of

criticism, optimism, capitalism

-ist forms agent nouns from verbs endingin -ize or nouns ending in -ism and is

used like er

conformist, copyist, cyclist

-ize forms verbs from nouns and

adjectives

formalize, jeopardize, legalize,

modernize, emphasize, hospitalize,industrialize, computerize

-gram something written or drawn, a record cardiogram, telegram

-graph something written or drawn; an

instrument for writing, drawing, or

recording

monograph; phonograph, seismograph

-logue,-log

speech, discourse; to speak monologue, dialogue, travelogue

-logy discourse, expression; science,

theory, study

phraseology, biology, dermatology

-meter,

-metry

measuring device; measure geometry, kilometer, parameter,

perimeter

-oid forms adjectives and nouns and

means like, resembling or shape,form

humanoid, spheroid, trapezoid

-phile one that loves or has a strong affinity

for; loving

audiophile, Francophile

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-phobe,

-phobia

one that fears a specified thing; an

intense fear of a specified thing

agoraphobe, agoraphobia, xenophobe,

xenophobia

-phone sound; device that receives or emits

sound; speaker of a language

homophone, geophone, telephone,

Francophone

The Tongue Twister Database

Developed by: [email protected]

Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings.

A box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits

A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk,

but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.

Unique New York.

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Betty Botter had some butter,

"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.If I bake this bitter butter,

it would make my batter bitter.

But a bit of better butter--thatwould make my batter better."

So she bought a bit of butter,

better than her bitter butter,

and she baked it in her batter,and the batter was not bitter.

So 'twas better Betty Botter

bought a bit of better butter.

Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.

Is this your sister's sixth zither, sir?

A big black bug bit a big black bear,

made the big black bear bleed blood.

The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.

Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.

One smart fellow, he felt smart.

Two smart fellows, they felt smart.Three smart fellows, they all felt smart.

Pope Sixtus VI's six texts.

I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

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Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

A bitter biting bittern

Bit a better brother bittern,

And the bitter better bitternBit the bitter biter back.

And the bitter bittern, bitten,

By the better bitten bittern,Said: "I'm a bitter biter bit, alack!"

Inchworms itching.

A noisy noise annoys an oyster.

The myth of Miss Muffet.

Mr. See owned a saw.And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw.

Now See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw

Before Soar saw See,

Which made Soar sore.Had Soar seen See's saw

Before See sawed Soar's seesaw,

See's saw would not have sawedSoar's seesaw.

So See's saw sawed Soar's seesaw.

But it was sad to see Soar so soreJust because See's saw sawed

Soar's seesaw!

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Friendly Frank flips fine flapjacks.

Vincent vowed vengeance very vehemently.

Cheap ship trip.

I cannot bear to see a bear

Bear down upon a hare.When bare of hair he strips the hare,

Right there I cry, "Forbear!"

Lovely lemon liniment.

Gertie's great-grandma grew aghast at Gertie's grammar.

Tim, the thin twin tinsmith

Fat frogs flying past fast.

I need not your needles, they're needless to me;

For kneading of noodles, 'twere needless, you see;But did my neat knickers but need to be kneed,

I then should have need of your needles indeed.

Flee from fog to fight flu fast!

Greek grapes.

The boot black bought the black boot back.

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck

if a woodchuck could chuck wood?He would chuck, he would, as much as he could,

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and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would

if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

We surely shall see the sun shine soon.

Moose noshing much mush.

Ruby Rugby's brother bought and brought herback some rubber baby-buggy bumpers.

Sly Sam slurps Sally's soup.

My dame hath a lame tame crane,

My dame hath a crane that is lame.

Six short slow shepherds.

A tree toad loved a she-toad

Who lived up in a tree.He was a two-toed tree toad

But a three-toed toad was she.

The two-toed tree toad tried to winThe three-toed she-toad's heart,

For the two-toed tree toad loved the ground

That the three-toed tree toad trod.But the two-toed tree toad tried in vain.

He couldn't please her whim.

From her tree toad bower

With her three-toed powerThe she-toad vetoed him.

Which witch wished which wicked wish?

Old oily Ollie oils old oily autos.

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The two-twenty-two train tore through the tunnel.

Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.

The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed

shilly-shallied south.These sheep shouldn't sleep in a shack;

sheep should sleep in a shed.

Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs.

Three gray geese in the green grass grazing.Gray were the geese and green was the grass.

Many an anemone sees an enemy anemone.

Nine nice night nurses nursing nicely.

Peggy Babcock.

You've no need to light a night-light

On a light night like tonight,

For a night-light's light's a slight light,And tonight's a night that's light.

When a night's light, like tonight's light,

It is really not quite rightTo light night-lights with their slight lights

On a light night like tonight.

Black bug's blood.

Flash message!

Say this sharply, say this sweetly,

Say this shortly, say this softly.

Say this sixteen times in succession.

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Six sticky sucker sticks.

If Stu chews shoes, should Stu

choose the shoes he chews?

Crisp crusts crackle crunchily.

Give papa a cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup.

Six sharp smart sharks.

What a shame such a shapely sashshould such shabby stitches show.

Sure the ship's shipshape, sir.

Betty better butter Brad's bread.

Of all the felt I ever felt,

I never felt a piece of felt

which felt as fine as that felt felt,when first I felt that felt hat's felt.

Sixish.

Don't pamper damp scamp tramps that camp under ramp lamps.

Swan swam over the sea,

Swim, swan, swim!

Swan swam back againWell swum, swan!

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Six shimmering sharks sharply striking shins.

I thought a thought.

But the thought I thought wasn't the thought

I thought I thought.

Brad's big black bath brush broke.

Thieves seize skis.

Chop shops stock chops.

Sarah saw a shot-silk sash shop full of shot-silk sashes

as the sunshine shone on the side of the shot-silk sash shop.

Strict strong stringy Stephen Stretch

slickly snared six sickly silky snakes.

Susan shineth shoes and socks;socks and shoes shines Susan.

She ceased shining shoes and socks,

for shoes and socks shock Susan.

Truly rural.

The blue bluebird blinks.

Betty and Bob brought back blue balloons from the big bazaar.

When a twister a-twisting will twist him a twist,For the twisting of his twist, he three twines doth intwist;

But if one of the twines of the twist do untwist,

The twine that untwisteth untwisteth the twist.

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Untwirling the twine that untwisteth between,

He twirls, with his twister, the two in a twine;

Then twice having twisted the twines of the twine,He twitcheth the twice he had twined in twain.

The twain that in twining before in the twine,As twines were intwisted he now doth untwine;

Twist the twain inter-twisting a twine more between,He, twirling his twister, makes a twist of the twine.

The Leith police dismisseth us.

The seething seas ceaseth

and twiceth the seething seas sufficeth us.

If one doctor doctors another doctor, does the doctorwho doctors the doctor doctor the doctor the way the

doctor he is doctoring doctors? Or does he doctor

the doctor the way the doctor who doctors doctors?

Two Truckee truckers truculently truckling

to have truck to truck two trucks of truck.

Plague-bearing prairie dogs.

Ed had edited it.

She sifted thistles through her thistle-sifter.

Give me the gift of a grip top sock:a drip-drape, ship-shape, tip-top sock.

While we were walking, we were watching window washers

wash Washington's windows with warm washing water.

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Freshly fried fresh flesh.

Pacific Lithograph.

Six twin screwed steel steam cruisers.

The crow flew over the river

with a lump of raw liver.

Preshrunk silk shirts

A bloke's back bike brake block broke.

A pleasant place to place a plaice is a placewhere a plaice is pleased to be placed.

I correctly recollect Rebecca MacGregor's reckoning.

Good blood, bad blood.

Quick kiss. Quicker kiss.

I saw Esau kissing Kate. I saw Esau,

he saw me, and she saw I saw Esau.

Cedar shingles should be shaved and saved.

Lily ladles little Letty's lentil soup.

Amidst the mists and coldest frosts,with stoutest wrists and loudest boasts,

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he thrusts his fist against the posts

and still insists he sees the ghosts.

Shelter for six sick scenic sightseers.

Listen to the local yokel yodel.

Give Mr. Snipa's wife's knife a swipe.

Whereat with blade,with bloody, blameful blade,

he bravely broached his boiling bloody breast.

Are our oars oak?

Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager

imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?

A lusty lady loved a lawyerand longed to lure him from his laboratory.

The epitome of femininity.

She stood on the balcony

inexplicably mimicing him hiccupping,

and amicably welcoming him home.

Kris Kringle carefully crunched on candy canes.

Please pay promptly.

On mules we find two legs behindand two we find before.

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We stand behind before we find

what those behind be for.

What time does the wristwatch strap shop shut?

One-One was a racehorse.

Two-Two was one, too.When One-One won one race,

Two-Two won one, too.

Girl gargoyle, guy gargoyle.

Pick a partner and practice passing,for if you pass proficiently,perhaps you'll play professionally.

Once upon a barren moor

There dwelt a bear, also a boar.The bear could not bear the boar.

The boar thought the bear a bore.

At last the bear could bear no more

Of that boar that bored him on the moor,

And so one morn he bored the boar--That boar will bore the bear no more.

If a Hottentot taught a Hottentot totTo talk ere the tot could totter,

Ought the Hottenton tot

Be taught to say aught, or naught,

Or what ought to be taught her?If to hoot and to toot a Hottentot tot

Be taught by her Hottentot tutor,

Ought the tutor get hotIf the Hottentot tot

Hoot and toot at her Hottentot tutor?

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Will you, William?

Mix, Miss Mix!

Who washed Washington's white woolen underwear

when Washington's washer woman went west?

Two toads, totally tired.

Freshly-fried flying fish.

The sawingest saw I ever saw sawwas the saw I saw saw in Arkansas.

Just think, that sphinx has a sphincter that stinks!

Strange strategic statistics.

Sarah sitting in her Chevrolet,

All she does is sits and shifts,

All she does is sits and shifts.

Hi-Tech Traveling Tractor Trailor Truck Tracker

Ned Nott was shot

and Sam Shott was not.

So it is better to be Shott

than Nott.Some say Nott

was not shot.

But Shott sayshe shot Nott.

Either the shot Shott shot at Nott

was not shot,or

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Nott was shot.

If the shot Shott shot shot Nott,

Nott was shot.But if the shot Shott shot shot Shott,

then Shott was shot,

not Nott.However,

the shot Shott shot shot not Shott --

but Nott.

Six slippery snails, slid slowly seaward.

Three twigs twined tightly.

There was a young fisher named FischerWho fished for a fish in a fissure.

The fish with a grin,Pulled the fisherman in;

Now they're fishing the fissure for Fischer.

Pretty Kitty Creighton had a cotton batten cat.

The cotton batten cat was bitten by a rat.

The kitten that was bitten had a button for an eye,And biting off the button made the cotton batten fly.

Suddenly swerving, seven small swans

Swam silently southward,

Seeing six swift sailboatsSailing sedately seaward.

The ochre ogre ogled the poker.

If you stick a stock of liquor in your locker,

It's slick to stick a lock upon your stock,

Or some stickler who is slickerWill stick you of your liquor

If you fail to lock your liquor

With a lock!

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Shredded Swiss chesse.

The soldiers shouldered shooters on their shoulders.

Theophiles Thistle, the successful thistle-sifter,

in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,

thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.

Now.....if Theophiles Thistle, the successful thistle-sifter,

in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,

thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb,see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of un-sifted thistles,

thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.

Success to the successful thistle-sifter!

Thank the other three brothers of their father's mother's brother's side.

They both, though, have thirty-three thick thimbles to thaw.

Irish wristwatch.

Fred fed Ted bread, and Ted fed Fred bread.

Cows graze in groves on grass which grows in grooves in groves.

Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades,blunderbusses, and bludgeons -- balancing them badly.

Tragedy strategy.

Selfish shellfish.

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They have left the thriftshop, and lost both their theatre tickets and the

volume of valuable licenses and coupons for free theatrical frills and thrills

Classroom Information for Young Learners

Teaching Phonics

Phonics is one method of teaching children how to read. Children are taught how to

"sound out" new words by learning the following items:

Consonant letters sounds: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z

Blend sounds: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr, wr, bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl, scr, str, sm, sn, sp, sc,

sk, Short vowel sounds: a, e, i, o, u

Always teach short vowel sounds first: a - apple, e - elephant, i- igloo, o - octopus,

u - umbrella)

Digraph sounds: sh, ch, th, wh

Two letters combine to make a totally different sound.

Double vowel sounds: ai, ea, ee, oa

These pairs say the name of the first vowel. Other double vowel sounds: oi, oo, ou, ow

Silent e: Silent e is bossy, it doesn't say anything but makes the vowel before it

say its own name.

R controlled vowel sounds: ar, er, ir, or, ur

Notice that er,ir and ur make the same sound.

Phonics is a series of rules that children have to memorize and apply when they are

sounding out new words. Children are taught a rule, i.e. Silent e, and then they practice

reading words with Silent e. Then children do skill sheets at their desk highlighting theSilent e rule. Children must learn letter sounds to an automatic level - they must be able

to see the letter(s) and say the sound immediately.

Critics point out that the reading/practice materials aren't very interesting, "See Spot run.

Run Spot run. Spot runs fast." It is a contrived atmosphere of reading practice using thephonic rules.

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Here's the bigger problem: children who struggle in reading memorize phonic rules, and

then are unable to apply phonic rules to connected print. To remedy this problem, two

things must happen:

1. Only the most important phonic rules should be taught in the least complicated

manner possible. For example, in teaching vowel sounds, it is distracting to talkabout "short versus long" vowels. Instead, a child should be taught the short

vowel sounds first. Then when a child encounters a long vowel as in the wordfind, tell him, "That vowel says its own name."

2. Phonics must be taught in a way that allows these children to immediately

practice phonic information in real stories. Every time a child is taught newphonic information, he should be given a short reading selection that highlights

the phonic rule. Completing a skill sheet is good, but even better is to help the

child practice applying the phonic skill to connected print.

A child cannot learn to read without proper knowledge in phonics. It is the foundation for

success in reading. She will succeed to read if she knows phonics.

Whole Language

Whole language is a "whole - part" method of teaching children to read. (Phonics is a

"part - whole" reading method.) Teachers use connected print to introduce reading tochildren. Children are encouraged to memorize words as whole units. They do hands-on

activities such as writing in journals, and analyzing words in context, by using pictures,

for meaning.

Whole language has strengths in that children begin to write early. They are involved in

connected print, and they are using personal language skills making the process of

reading more interesting. The weakness of whole language methods is that some children

never get a full phonic foundation. They are unable to decode unfamiliar words. Researchhas shown that good readers always use phonics to decipher new words.

Reading is best taught using a combination of three methodologies:

Auditory training - training for the ears to prepare the child's brain for phonics.

Phonics - knowledge of letter(s) sounds.

Whole Language - immediate application of phonics into connected stories.

Reading begins in a child's ears. When you talk to your child, you are putting the sounds

of the English language into his brain. His brain is properly wired to learn to talk back to

you. Over time his speaking vocabulary grows to thousands of words. The more you talk,sing, and read to your child, the bigger his speaking vocabulary will become. Here is the

surprise: children's brains are not automatically wired for reading. Your child needs your

help to become a successful reader. Learning how to read begins when your child's ears

are ready. There are several things you can do to get your child's ears ready. Teach himhow to rhyme by playing rhyming games, or reading rhyming poems to him. Play some

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of the other games presented in this website. His ears are ready when he can rhyme and

play the games successfully.

Teach your child alphabet letter names and sounds. This is the beginning of phonics.Phonics is learning what letters and letter combinations "say." It is an essential part of

learning how to read. Don't assume that your child learned all the letter sounds in school.It is likely that she does not know the vowel sounds because they sound so similar. Other

important phonic combinations are listed in the sidebar. When your child learns lettersounds, teach her to "blend" them together to "sound out" new words. Knowledge of

phonics will help her to read many words that follow phonic rules. The best way to

incorporate phonics is to find a short reading selection that has a lot of "sh" words, forexample, and read those words to him. Ask your child to say some words beginning with

the "sh" sound. Then teach him to read the short selection. Continue teaching phonics by

finding other short reading selections, each highlighting one of the letter combinationsfrom the phonic list. Please notice that letters and letter combinations appear in different

places in words. Vowels often occur in the middle of words. "Wh" occurs at the

beginning of words and "Ch" appears at the beginning or end of words.

Phonic skills must be put into connected print in order to become useful. Connected printis short selections in magazines or books. Two books, both by Dr. Seuss, have wonderful

selections to help a child apply a phonic skill by reading connected print.

1. Hop on Pop, an easier selection by Dr. Seuss (1963), has the following selections:

o pages 3-5 short u "Up pup pup is up."

o pages 22-24 short e "Red Red They call me Red."

o pages 26-33 short a "Pat cat Pat sat on a cat." "Dad is sad. Very, very sad."

o pages 40-41 short o "We like to hop on top of Pop."

o

pages 56-57 short i "Will is up hill still."2. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, by Dr. Seuss (1960), has these

selections:o pages 10-11, 18-19 short u "They run for fun in the hot, hot sun."

o pages 26-27 ea words "Oh dear! I cannot hear."

o pages 30-31 oo words "He took a look at the book on the hook."

o pages 40-43 short i "It is fun to sing if you sing with a Ying."

o pages 48-49 short e "You never met pet as wet as they let this wet petget."

You should help your child read a new reading selection every other day. This is

incorporating whole language methods of learning how to read. Using "To, With, and By"teach your child how to read a couple of sentences or one paragraph until it sounds great.The whole language method helps your child learn to read "sight words." Sight words

must be memorized because they don't follow phonic rules. (Half of all words in the

English language are sight words.)

Best of all, using To, With, and By will improve your child's fluency and comprehension.The goal of reading is comprehension. When your child is able to sound out new words,

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has memorized a bunch of sight words, reads fluently and understands what he read, he

has learned how to read!

More Phonics

did some phonics today with elementary stu's in a hagwon. Loads of stuff: keep it easy -we did -ap and -op words today (tap and top, for example). Indeed, when they struggled

to get the differences it made me realise how much one just relies on context. I haven't

done much with phonics, but I am quite surprised how difficult they find it. A hint here isto make it absurd the differences by using sentences e.g. you want to wear my cat? My

hat??

1. use picture cues for many games. MANY games! fly swat games (hit the right card),

running games (run to the right cards), guess the number games (stick the pics on theboard, number them, then write a number under your hand and get them to guess - by

saying the word - the right card), write the number games (a good one to start with);

actions, action games, etc.

2. we had writing races today - give 'em a run up and a pen and they have to write theword or the sentence on the board first..) Often these are more sorta listening based, but

that last one is cool becuase it gives 'em a chance to practice without any performanceanxeity they are just saying the words to help their guy win the race.

3. Drills CAN be fun, and are important. follow up with exercises where they have tonumber similar sounding words in the order said, fill the gaps in little rhymes (good

practice before a game of bingo) At the end you might be able to get them to rhyme them

and make funny poems.

4. (reading) I would also recommend the leveled reader, A-Z books. They are great and

give lots of choices. Students can also colour and personalize them. I also recommendreading together. Even some of the Dr. Seuss, I have on line or the nursery rhymespowerpoint full of nursery rhymes. This too is phonics!!! Really is and don't let people

tell you it isn't . Phonics is just teaching students to categorize/evaluate text and speech.

Connect the two: reading in a different context.

5. I prefer teaching phonics wholistically, rather than individual sounds and linking /

creating words by syllables. Syllables are helpful but when it comes to communication,

they don't mean a thing other than to a linguist (phony phonemes). One way is to useflashcards. one side the picture, the other side the word. Children learn to pronounce the

words from other students and the teacher. One good way is to use a set in a PowerPoint,

go over the pronunciation and then print this PowerPoint, 6 slides to a page and cut andyou have flashcards for the children to play games with. Collect/keep and you have great

sets for all vocab. areas.

6. The first main challenge I'm trying to overcome is how to focus more on

suprasegmental rather than segmental phonology. There are many guides and games for

the latter (syllable articulation) but not so many for developing skills that aim forimproving suprasegmental (use of voice frequency, timing and manipulation of pitch, and

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duration, stress, and loudness of syllable combinations). In the case of young learners

there is much more potential to improve this area, and improvement in this area correlates

heavily to improvement in other areas of language acquisition, but we tend to rely onmimicking native speakers in class, which can be boring, repetitive, and not targeted on

specific improvements.

The second challenge is having to rely almost entirely on integrative motivation, as there

are few instrumental motivators beyond students' compliancy to the teacher's wishes.

Improved phonology presents little or no immediate academic award (or failure little orno immediate consequences) for students. To overcome this I'm trying to put together a

game based on hwa-tu () in which students try to match cards containing phraseswith the same stress patterns. I'm still trying to figure out how to adapt it to the rules of

hwa-tu but when I'm done I'll try to post my new game. I'm also going to try to make amodified game out an activity using origami that Jinks taught me.

Task Based Learning

First, it is important to understand what constitutes a task. In TBL, a task is a goal-

oriented activity with a clear purpose. It should achieve an outcome and create a final

product. Some examples include: listing, ordering and sorting, comparing, problem-

solving, sharing personal experiences, and creative tasks.

Some say that TBL is like a PPP lesson turned upside down, or as Willis would say "PPP

the right side up". As in PPP, there are three main phases in a TBL lesson. They include

the pre-task phase, the task cycle and language focus.

In the pre-task phase, there is an introduction to the topic and the task, exposure to real

language (which could include tape recordings of native speakers completing the same

task), and the use of texts and activities involving the texts.

In the task cycle phase, a task is completed, then students are asked to engage in a

'planning' stage to prepare for reporting on how they completed the task. During the

planning stage, students can draft and rehearse what they want to say, with the help of the

teacher. In the reporting stage, students report on the task, while others listen and give

comments. There is no error-correction during the task cycle phase.

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The final phase is language focus, where students analyse language and practice it. Based

on the texts that students used in the first phase, the teacher will set some language-

focused tasks. Here, there is a focus on form.

Activity Props

Using the prop of one activity as the crux of the next activity. I saw this at a demo class

at Bucheon Seo elementary school: The kids were doing a mingler with question cards,and once they sat down there was a letter on the back of their card. Everyone at the table

would put their letters together to make a word: a transitional element built into the

activity, but the question is how to make that transition without the TTT that was used

during the demo class. Activity with cards TTT to explain transition Next activity

with cards (I guess the element of surprise/unknowing is what makes this a transitional

element). I mean the kids might know the cards are just used for two activities, so youcan interpret it as 1 prop for two activities, but if the children are unaware of the second

use, then I think it splits the dynamic into something diverse.

Consolidation

Every class/unit/or semester should have consolidation function that brings together

everything learned. How to do it? When to do it? What comprises a consolidation? arethe questions at hand.

Classroom Movement

When the students need to move, the T can stage it to music. If you have an activity that

gets the students up and maybe sitting in different seats: play a song and have the Ssmove back to their original seats. The basic idea is for Ts to be aware that this is

possible; music + movement.

Material Preparation

Have the Ss paste into their notebook an envelope, so you can assign any cutting or

prepping for homework, and they can store the pieces in their envelope.

Also either have an English folder that the Ss bring to class with them, or take the time to

paste the handouts and sheets into their book: neat little inclusive activity that puts

everything theyre doing in one book.

Using Flashcards in the English Classroom

Most teacher use flashcards in their English lessons when they have to introduce new

vocabulary. Using flashcards with students will allow them to be able to understand the

new vocabulary without any kind of translation. We must take into account that there are

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lexical fields that cannot be illustrated with flashcards (some abstract words, such as

feelings).

To start with, we will always choose comprehension activities. This means that the

students are not required to say the new words; they should just try to understand them.

After this stage, it is good to introduce activities, which require repetitive production.

Then, they will be ready to develop tasks in which they have to speak without models.

Finally, we will have to introduce interaction activities, which involve contextual use of

the language.

Comprehension

-Saying Hello (only in infant education): Very young children enjoy saying hello to the

animals, the people, and even the objects. We can put the flashcards in different places inthe room and have Ss greet them alternatively.

When the Ss have mastered the main vocabulary, we can make errors like saying, Hello

kangaroo, how are you? when we are speaking to the monkey. Children will be

delighted to say, no, that is a monkey!.

-The Chain: We put all the flashcards in different places. We choose one student and we

say one word, donkey. The S has to find the right flashcard in the right spot. The idea

is to use a repetitive chain of words: Donkey, monkey, horse, cat, dog, and pig. Use thesame chain for each S.

-Point To: T says, point to the donkey, point to the horse, and Ss have to perform theactions. Jazz it up by chunking more animals together or making a rhythm out of it: Point

to the turkey, horse, turkey, cat, dog, pig, turkey. Works well with the chain started with

another activity; try to keep the same chain throughout the different activities, and onceSs have mastered the vocab, then change the chain randomly for spice.

-Where Is It?: T turns all the cards upside down (on the floor/table), and then chooses 1 S

to be asked a question: where is the cat? Use 1 S for as many times as possible, or untilfailure. Also, use a chain for this.

-Be Quick!: T puts all the cards in different places in the room, or has Ss hold them up.T asks 2 Ss to stand. T says one word, Giraffe, and both Ss will try and grab it to bring

back to their desk. At the end, the student with the most cards wins.

Repetition

Here are activities with flashcards that promote echoic repetition of vocab.

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-The Parrots: 1 S leaves the room, and the T hides a flashcard around the room

somewhere. The S comes back into the room, and the other Ss will chant the word on the

hidden flashcard softly if the S is far away, and loudly if the S is close to the card.

-Whispers: Divide the Students into groups. Put all the flashcards on the board. Have a

group representative come to you and then whisper to them one of the words. Those Ssmust return and whisper the word to the S next to them. The group must whisper through

all the students, and the last student will run up and grab the flashcard.

Production

-Mad Pointer: Put all the cards on the board, and point to a series of four/five very

quickly. Ss must pay attention and try to memorize the cards and the sequence. Ask Ss

one by one to see if they are able to say the words in the right order.

-Memory Game: Put all the cards in a pile, and show them one by one noting thesequence, and then have students tell you the sequence that the cards came out in.

-Upside Down: Put all the cards upside down, and ask Ss, what is this?.

-Just a Little Bit: Take one card and hide it behind a book, a folder, etc. Show just a little

bit of the card, and ask Ss to figure out what it is.

-Just a Glimpse: Take one card and show it very quickly, so the Ss cant see it clearly.

Then ask what it is, and let the Ss figure out.

-The Missing Card: Put all the cards on the wall/carpet, and have students look at them

for 15-30 secs. Then ask them to close their eyes, and the T removes one card. Ss must

find out, which one is missing. The S who picks the right card gets to pick the next cardthat will be removed for the Ss.

-On My Back: Put one card on a Ss back, and let them go around looking at the other

Sss cards to figure out which one they have. Variations are abundant for this.

-Odd One Out: Put some cards on the board. All the cards should be related to a topic

except for one card. Example: trousers, jacket, cow, shoes, shirt, sweater. Have the Ssfigure out the odd one.

Interaction

Interaction activities require contextual language. For this reason, I cannot suggest any

general activity that could be applied to different lexical fields.

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For example, if we are learning vocabulary related to animals, we could play the role of

hungers in the jungle.

Teaching Songs to Young Learners

Songs are a good resource for English Teaching:

1. They are funny2. They promote mimics, gestures, and etc associated to the meaning

3. They are good for introducing suprasegmental phonetics (stress, rhythm, and

intonation)

4. Ss play a participative role5. Songs can be adapted for comprehension skills, or production skills

6. There are songs for all levels and ages7. Ss learn English very easily through echoic memory

It is not enough to play a cassette/DVD/VCD or to just say, Lets sing a song! Teachers

must introduce activities to promote students comprehension and acquisition of therhythm. Furthermore, if Ts want the Ss to sing the song, they, the students, must listen to

it many times. How do Ts do that without the Ss getting bored?

Song Activities To Promote Comprehension

-Hands Up!: Students have to put their hand up when they hear a chosen word. Ts canincrease the difficulty by adding actions with more words: put your hands up when you

hear car, and close your eyes when you hear, tiger. By adding a new request each

listening, you can create a funny TPR dance that ties the vocab. to an action. It is good touse meaningful gestures that relate to the word/picture: swing arms for monkey.

-The Chairs: Put chairs in a circle, and have all Ss sit except 1 who will stay in the

middle. Put flashcards under the chairs; you must have two of each card. Play the music,and when they hear the word, monkey, the 2 Ss with a monkey card try and switch

seats, and this is when the S in the middle can try and steal a seat!

-Gap fill: obvious controlled activity, but can be quite useful in conjunction with other

more interactive and free activities.

Song Listening Activities

These activities promote an unconscious learning of the song. They are useful if we want

the Ss to sing the song after awhile.

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-Pass the Ball: Put chairs into a circle, or use whatever arrangement will work. Have the

Ss sit down, and give 1 S the ball. Play the music, and have the Ss try to pass the ballwith the rhythm of the song. The S who has the ball at the end of the song must stand up

and answer/ask/produce some sort of question/task/etc.

-The Ring: (for very young children) The traditional ring around the posy kind of game

in which Ss dance around in a circle, and then fall down, or something else.

-The Cage: Same as the ring, but with a prop: place a ring that the Ss must walk through

while dancing, and when the music stops, or is stopped, the S in the cage must answer a

CCQ, etc.

Classroom Routines

Routines are very useful for young learners: they will feel confident and it gives them a

sense of consistency. Routines should involve the Sss participation as much as possible.This will give you the opportunity to reinforce the must important content every day,

without the Ss getting tired of it.

Daily Routines

-Make a Calendar and Weather Wall chart: Make a big poster wit the questions, Whatday is today?, and What is the weather like?, and other questions too! T makes all the

flashcards and words that Ss might need to answer those questions, and then the T puts

them in a box/container. Every day, the T picks a S to stick the right cards and words onthe wall chart.

-Count the Students and Ask If Someone Is Missing: Practices numbers.

-Ask If There Is A Birthday in the Classroom: Make a fake cake and use it through the

course.

-Dressing the Class Animal: Use a bear, or stuffed animal, and ask the Ss to dress the

animal according to the weather.

-The English Corner: Make an English Corner in the classroom. T can put all the

flashcards, vocab words that have been taught. T can also make and put copies of

tasks/gap fills/matching exercises, and others there for the Ss to choose and do when theyhave time.

Discipline and Classroom Control

Dont accept loud behavior, which means do not talk over the Ss, or continue the

lesson/activity while Ss are acting out. This mismatches what is acceptable in the

classroom and promotes further disruption because the teacher models that it is okay to

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continue not paying attention while the T is working. To correct this activity, stop and

use body language as a tactic; also, use rhymes, and repeated hand motions that the

students will pick up on. With one class, I would raise my hand palm out, and touch myelbow with my other hand, and the Ss knew it meant to quiet down. The best way is to

incorporate a few different methods.

-If You are Happy and You Know It: Use this to make commands in a proactive way. Its

discipline without the harsh edge: If you are happy and you know it close your

mouth/sit down/stand up/etc! Teach it at the beginning of a course.

-If you have a disruptive S, sometimes it is helpful to choose them and have them come

to you and be your holder/helper. Ill have them hold my bucket of goodies, or maybe

collect the flashcards for me as I use them. Sometimes I just have the S come up to meand hang out with me a little up front before sending them back to sit down. The S has

no idea why, and if you do it nicely they have no idea you are disrupting their disruption.

-Make sure to teach the phrases and words that you will use for commands, anddiscipline:

Read Look Write Match Listen Work.

One way to teach these is by practicing them in vocab. manners, and then using a

controlled matching exercise.

Asking Questions, and developing your CCQ style.

I had a presentation with a co-teacher one day, and we were passing the locus of control

back and forth in a good manner, but I got to observe his questioning style, and it made

me realize how poor mine was in comparison!

Your questioning style is one of the most important strategies a teacher can have and

utilize says, Douglas H. Brown look for his book:

From my observation, I noticed these things:

1. His CCQs were non-linear (more creative in approach).

2. He paused to redirect the topic to a distant, yet related topic, or he would start

with a related topic and worked towards the target language.

3. He emphasized action.4. He asked the Ss direct questions that were contextual for their situation, instead of

just questions about the flashcards/objects of learning. Example: He would ask

about the other students, himself, the Ss parents, etc.

Special Notes

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-I always use teams in my YL classes (not only for games/and activities but for general

rewards, and punishment also. I use a star system for rewards, and the result of having

the most stars is that team can leave the classroom first) Using a star system can aid inlearning and production too. I dont always use stars, or simple team names. I will pull

vocab out of the lesson and use that as the team name, or as the board point. I might have

Team A, and Team J (similar sound letters, and for their points, I might draw Team A anice cream, and then draw team B carrots: this system allows you to ask more CCQS about

preference, amount, size, color, etc, AND it allows you to get them mad/upset. Draw a

small carrot vs. a big ice cream and see what that team does: use it for L2 production!Crafted teacher mistakes are very useful because the Ss will have a desire to correct the

problem, situation.

-For YL class disruption you can change the seating. I mean sometimes have the Ss siton the floor and go on with the lesson. They have less reason to stand up and fidget if

they change every once in awhile.

-When choosing students, dont just always call someones name. Use different methods:eenie meanie miney mo, or pick a student; have them close their eyes and spin with their

arm and finger pointed out; then say, STOP, and whoever that S is pointing at is chosen.Another rhyme is:

One, two, three, four, five,

This is English, English time.Six, seven, eight, nine, ten,

Come with me; were going to play.

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Tips and Routines for YL Activities

Powerpoint

Use powerpoint slides in your class to introduce many things (pictures, ideas, actions,

sounds), but for this purpose make sure to use some it for introducing song lyrics. Thestudents need to see them, and you can do many activities with the lyrics before even

getting into the song. The whole class can view them, and its easy to manipulate with

the program.

Using Hotseat

When you use hotseat, sometimes use it right after an active listening activity because the

students will be able to employ the gestures they learned for the active listening activity.I didnt come up with this; it just happened one time, and my students were giving hintswith the gestures: great stuff!

Queing Choral Repetition

Just simply ask the whole class, what? I didnt hear that

A Hangman Hint

If you think the word/sentence/or construction is too hard for you students, or it is the

first time you play a word guessing game, you can give them a hint in the form of amistake: Write the slots for a typical hangman game, but write a letter instead of a slot

accidentally. If some students were watching they will see the letter; then you look at

it and make some oops gestures before erasing it; the students will understand what

happened. I dont play hangman, I just do sentence and word guessing with patternpracticed question forms.

Comprehensible Input and Questions

EX: I have flashcards with the days of the week. I pick up Thursday and have group 1

count through the letters with me. Then, I ask them about the 5th letter. The counting

gives them a scaffold to understand the question, and even if they dont know thequestions, they may recognize the similarity between the numbers 5 and 5 th. Use this

example to expand your use of CI and prepping of the students.

Whose Left, Whose Right?

When modeling for left/right sides or directions make sure you are facing the way thestudents are facing. Many YLs do not recognize the difference between the way youre

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facing (towards them) and the way theyre facing (towards you). Cut down the confusion

and show them only their way.

TTT Reduction

Reduce your TTT by queuing choral repetition with your fingers: each finger willrepresent a letter in the sentence/saying. 5 words = 5 fingers, plus sometimes the kids

will join with you, and that just adds some physical gestures to their practice.

Frontloading

In some activities the teacher may need to frontload certain information. Frontload

structures and ideas that are infrequent in the activity but are important for learning andbeing able to produce the L2 more. EX: a grab bag of pictures: the students must take a

picture and say a sentence about the features of the picture. To keep the students from

repeating the same old and abused features frontload a picture or two that pushes them to

use another feature: I would have frontloaded an elephant and a theatre mask because theprominent features will push the children to pick them out and use them.

Implying the Rules/Structure for an Activity

A. Before starting a pattern practice activity, the T will put the pattern on the board and

then have the Ss repeat it after the T with the BBB (beep beep beep) sound. Then the Twill say the pattern filled in correctly with a word: the Ss will repeat. The T then

answers/gives the response they would normally give if a S were producing the pattern on

their own.

Example: Letter fill-in activity: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _!

The pattern: Is there a ____?

T = Is there a BBBSs = Is there a BBB

T = Is there a Q?

Ss = Is there a Q?

T = No, there is no Q.

T repeats a wrong one again, and then gives the Ss a right letter, so they see how the

activity will unfold.

B. Give the Ss implied structure by putting place magnets under the lesson sections

being done the time: GEPIK curriculum: Lets Sing, Read and Write, Lets Play, etc.

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Transitions

Songs and Chants as transitions, especially while Co-Teaching: 1 T prepares activity

while the other sings/chants with the students. TPR songs: a song that moves fast

slow, or vice versa, and the students will be able to perform it quickly 1-2 minutes

maximum. The 2nd

T can than do a short activity, etc to fill in the remaining prep. time.

Chat Time

After explaining something difficult, the teacher should check to see of at least 1 student

understood the directions/explanation. The teacher can set this up with the student before

hand, but can also let it flow naturally. The teacher will explain, then the T will leave fora quick drink, and in that time the student who knows what to do will explain in L1 the

directions, and there is no affective interruption. The class needs to be controlled and

bonded enough to the teacher to allow for a short leave from class: 30 seconds.

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Younger Learner Games

Finish the Features

This is a read and draw but its for the context of drawing faces and features of people, soit can fit well with a similar lesson, and also shows how the read and draw/listen and

draw can be adapted for content use.

Recognizing Questions

You can use audio, textual, or real input and you can teach the students to listen forquestion intonation vs statement intonation, punctuation, and grammatical markers such

as fronted WH words and basic grammatical inversion. You can do active listeningactivities, speed games, writing, relay, etc.

Wolands Activity

Do something like a dictogloss or grammar dictation:

Choose a short text that is manageable for the students. Go over any new vocabulary

ahead of time and do a short pre-reading type of activity on the topic to get studentsprepared. Tell the students that you will be reading the text ONE TIME ONLY AT

NORMAL SPEED and that they should write down whatever they hear. Once this is

done (the first time you do this, chaos will occur, and you may have to read again, but inlater uses of this technique, students will be better prepared), tell the students that their

job is to reconstruct the exact text you read them.

More chaos.

Get them settled down to work for a few minutes. They will be unable to do it. When no

one seems to be writing anything, partner them and have them help each other with thetask. When paired efforts break down, put pairs together. Repeat again, moving to groups

of eight.

At this point, the groups should be getting substantial portions of the text. Check to seewhich is furthest along and have them write their text on the board. Allow the other

groups to make challenges to anything that they think isn't right on the board.

Finally, re-read the original text, indicating fixes on the board. Then discuss the areas

where they had trouble.

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This will take 30 to 45 minutes total.

The first time you do this there will be chaos. The second time will be better. The thirdtime should be all smooth, with the students knowing what the problem is, that they will

be able to succeed when they work together, and having developed strategies for dealing

with the problem.

Communicative Board Game

Divide the white board into 4 squares. Each square is labeled Important/Necessary,

Important/Unnecessary, Unimportant/Necessary, and Unimportant/Unnecessary.

After explaining the words, I ask them to tell me what belong in each category. They cansay anything: books, friendship, the sun, nuclear weapons, etc, as long as they can

explain themselves. If the students tell me something like, "the sun is necessary and

important."

I ask, "why?" "Because if no sun, we die." You can move on to the next student with theirhand up, or you can ellicit more of an argument from the student or students by asking

follow op questions. "What if we lived under the ground?" The students with littlespeaking ability can say things like, "garbage is unnecessary and unimportant." Smarter

students can say things like, "gravity, electricity, pollution, etc."

The purpose is to let them use all the vocabulary and grammar that they've alreadylearned, yet never had a chance to use.

Twister

This is typical twister, but you have the kids make their own mat. Get yourself four large

pieces of poster board. On each piece, draw a number of the following figures: circle,triangle, square. Ensure you draw them in different colors: red, blue, green. In each

figure, put in an English word. Join the poster board pieces together (2x2). Don't worry

about using a spinner for calling. Have a couple of kids stand at either end. Call out bodypart (left hand, right hand, left foot, right foot) and then either a color, a figure, a word, or

a category of word.

Make sure you have the kids do the calling and that they don't try to do it in Korean.

Station Game

Use this station game for scaffolding activities: I was thinking of how to do a scavenger

hunt in the room for my summer camps (they didn't want the kids running around outside

getting hurt or something) and I came up with a simple station game instead: I used 4stations: one on each wall. I just build a scaffolded series of activities that the groups

must get through: station 1: each students picks a flashcard and pronounces the word,

station 2: they recognize the flashcard word from station 1 and draw a picture of it.

Station 3: read the word/phrase/sentence and report it to the teacher/head student. Station

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4: A pattern practice, or if their level permits: a general mingler, or Q&A.

Add an extra station for singing. I was surprised how well the students remembered thesongs.

____ and Draw

Read and Draw - Have Ss walk up the board and read a word from a wordlist, and then

go back to their team and draw the word.

Listen and Draw - Have Ss pair off and talk and draw, or use an audio file.

The A/An singular/plural activity

Its from the GEPIK elementary books, and the T repeats phrases: nose, nose, nose, an

ear, ears, an eye, eye. Its like Simon says but without Simon says, and it relies on theright gesture with the right expression. The T might touch their nose but say an eye; Ss

need to follow it correctly, and it focuses on A/An.

TPR

Use it to teach classroom commands. Turn around, sit, down, but cycle them and make

sure to use it constructively: meaning, use it towards the goal of the students being able tounderstand your commands and words.

Computer Backgrounds

Use them as a short introductory way to introduce the topic to the students. If youre

working on directions, put a map on it. Just use it as a visual reference, a source of

CCQs, and front load it so you can utilize it for making metastatements (statements aboutwhat you will learn), and maybe even use it for teaching metalanguage (words for words,

nouns, maybe even punctuation.)

Combine the background with infrequent/spaced out CCQs, and the expanded games

(games that dont take a whole chunk, but just one round here and one round later).

Listening Activity

Have Ss listen to a dialogue/text and then have them stick an X/O, YES/NO, or

True/False on the chosen listening point

Clap, Clap

The song goes like this:

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Clap, clapClap your hands

As slowly as you can,

Clap, clap,Clap your hands,

As quickly as you can.

Karafun

Event changes, color changes, and time as an affect of NLP and Blooms taxonomy.

Flashcard Memorization

Make a flashcard series, and have 1 S come up and look at the cards. Go through them

once with the student and focus on the order (in a peripheral manner: not overtly). Havethe S close their eyes and then take 1 card or more away. Have the S open their eyes and

figure out which card is missing. Maybe have the other students ask questions, or help toelicit the answer.

Team Name Game

Name the teams, I usually use number, or a target set of vocab. Words. Associate an

action with the team names: T looks and makes a beckoning gesture towards group 1, and

in response the Ss are supposed to flash 1 finger, and 2 fingers for team 2, and 3 fingersfor team 3. Now the teacher uses this as an active listening game. The T will drill a few

sequences and then shock a team by looking at team 3 and gesturing, but the T says team

1. The T gives a point to the actual team called.

Guessing Game

This is from the GEPIK curriculum book. Print off small pictures of the vocabulary.

Tape one piece of paper to each Ss back. Have the Ss go around the room and start a

conversation.

Non-guessing S: Whats this?

Guessing S: with paper on back? Its a book

Non-guessing S; Yes, it is. No, its not.

YL Mingler for Similar Interests

One that works well in a large class and forces Ss in a simple way to use target language

is the chain tag game.

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You can sue this with any level of target language or any kind of vocab. Just change the

cards.

1. Model the target language example: Do you like ____? Yes, I do/No I dont.

2. Choose 6-8 possible responses. Put these on cards.

3. Distribute the cards to the Ss. Emphasize secrecy.4. Ss circulate around the classroom using the target language. When they meet

someone who likes the same thing, they say, So do I, and link arms. They

continue finding all the similarly interested Ss.5. When the T calls time, the Ss go to a place (integrate Walls and Corners with

this). Then ask some CCQs.

Matching Activity

1. Concentration games where the Ss match the word with the picture.

2. Concentration game where the S matches grammar parts: S V O

ZIP ZAP BOING!

It is quite simple and a good idea for the first lesson!

Ask the class to stand in a circle and introduce the Zip. They have to shout 'Zip' and slide

clap their hands towards the person standing to their left. They then pass it on. Once thezip has passed around the entire circle you can use the zap. Use both hands to gesture

towards anyone in the circle, who can then zap or zip. The boing switches the direction

of the movement. Just put up your hands and wiggle them, shouting boing!

If any student makes a mistake during the game, ask them a question in English and waitfor them to answer before continuing with the game.

I do variations with ABCs, and 123, and then a combinatorial finisher.

YES/NO Game

This is a great way to encourage the students to pay attention and practise their

conversational skills at the same time.

It works for ANY level of student.

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Divide the class into teams (as many as you feel like. We usually use 2-6 teams). Draw on

the board a space for keeping score. Then write on the board "Yes: 2 points" and "No: 1

point"The students will ask you yes/no questions. And you will answer them. If they get you to

say `yes` they get 2 pts, and only 1 pt if you say `no.` For example, Im often asked `Are

you human?` and `Can you speak English?`After the get the hang of it... change the points! No can be worth 3 pts, and Yes worth

only 1. Try to encourage the silent teams to speak up. This game is no prep, and works

great if you have an extra 5 or 10 minutes left over after class is over, and nothing to do.

Toilet Paper Icebreaker

Level: Any

This activity is used as a "getting to know you", icebreaker on the first day of class.

1. Teacher takes the toilet paper roll and takes several squares of toilet paper, then

hands the roll of toilet paper to a student. The teacher tells the student to takesome, more than three.

2. After everybody in the class has some paper, we count the squares we have, then

we have to tell that many things about ourselves, in English.

Chain Spelling (Shiri-tori)

Level: Easy to Medium

The teacher gives a word and asks a student to spell it, and then a second student shouldsay a word beginning with the last letter of the word given. The game continues until

someone makes a mistake, that is, to pronounce the word incorrectly, misspell it or comeup with a word that has been said already, then he/she is out. The last one remaining in

the game is the winner.

This game can be made difficult by limiting the words to a certain category, e.g.. food,

tools, or nouns, verbs, etc.

Bang Bang

Level: Easy

Divide the group into two teams. Explain that they are cowboys and they are involved in

a duel. One student from each team comes to the front. Get them to pretend to draw their

pistols. Say "how do you say..." and a word in their mother tongue. The first child to givethe answer and then "bang bang", pretending to shoot his opponent is the winner. He

remains standing and the other one sits down. I give 1 point for the right answer and 5

extra points if they manage to "kill" 4 opponents in a row.

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Editor's Note: Instead of saying the word in the students' mother tongue, it would be

possible to use a picture or to say a definition ("What do you call the large gray animal

with a long nose?")

Describing Appearances & Characteristics of People

Level: Easy to Medium (Low to low intermediate)

Each student is then given one sheet of paper. One student sits at the front of a room.

He/she describes a person and the rest of the class draws the person being described.

It is more interesting if everyone knows the person being described. Once the student hasfinished describing that person then he/she reveals who it is and each student shows

his/her drawing. The laughter from this is hilarious, as the impressions tend to make the

character in question look funny.

It is a good idea to encourage students to ask the interviewee student questions about whothey are describing.

Sticky Toy/Ball Game

If you have a whiteboard in the classroom, buy one of those small sticky latex(?) toys.

Divide the board into different areas, filling each with a letter, and divide the class into 2

teams. Kids take it in turn to hurl the toy at the board, and the team receives the letter hit.They score points by making words out of the letters they accumulate, 1 point per letter

in the word.

Variation: Ss stand in a circle, and throw the ball to each other. Whoever gets the ball,must ask a question, answer a question, perform a language point, or perform a task ofsorts. That S then throws the ball to another S.

Will The Real Sentence Please Stand Up

This is a grammar activity where you put grammatical and ungrammatical sentences on

strips of paper in a bag and tell the students to dip their hands in and take out a strip. Theyhave to stand (or say something else such as 'me' if you rename it Will The Real Sentence

Please say me). If they correctly identify it as being grammatical or ungrammatical they

get a point and if they can explain why it is ungrammatical or a certain question as to why

the grammatical sentence is grammatical they get an extra point.

Who Am I?

This is a game the students really enjoy. You can practice basic grammar for questions

and vocabulary, although you can use this game for any level. All the students sit around

in a table and each one has to think of a famous or popular person, write it on a post-it(yellow piece of paper with glue on one end), and then stick it in a classmate forehead.

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Then students take it in turns to ask questions about themselves to find out their own

identity. These questions can only be answered with a "yes" or a "no", like, am I a

woman? Am I an actor? The game finishes when everybody knows who they are. I alsoparticipate in the game and students have a great time with it.

Gesture Game

This is a gesture game using previously learnt verbs and emotions. Have two envelopes,one is verbs and one is emotions. Students take one card from each envelope and must

perform the gesture; it is simple and very amusing. The students in the audience must

guess what the emotion is and what the action is. Who ever guesses it gets to perform,wins a point for team however you set it up. It works well for small groups (5-6) and i am

sure it would work for large groups as well.

Examples:

angry /swimminghappy /hair brushingsleepy /dancing

afraid/ cleaning

surprised /playing a guitarwe had a lot of laughs with this one, and it allows for creativity.

Sentence Auction

Write 15 sentences on a sheet of paper: some should be grammatically correct and others

should be wrong. The sentences can be relevant to whatever it is you're teaching that day.

Split the students into small groups. The students have to decide which sentences arecorrect and which are not. The teacher will be the auctioneer and "auction" off all 15

sentences. The idea is that the students should buy the correct sentences and not the

wrong ones. Correct the wrong sentences.

Blow the Fish

This is a great game to play with large classes Ideal if you are in Korea. Make teams

according to rows. Tell each row to make a paper fish. You place each fish between the

rows. They should all be at the back facing the front. They should also be in the sameposition. Using the tile on the floor you can line them up at the starting line. Then you

start asking questions when a student answers the question correctly he gets a chance to

blow on his teams fish. The team that is able to move their fish to the front of the room

wins the game.

Find the Word

Use with a vocabulary list

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This is a vocabulary game for practicing the pronunciation of new words. I find it

especially useful when doing 'Word Families'. After introducing, explaining and doing

whatever drilling is necessary draw two grids (I generally like to work with two teams)on the board and have the students fill them in with the required words. You can make

this part of the game by putting two markers in the middle of the floor, indicating a

member from each team, and saying, "GO". The picked students then have to come to themiddle of the floor, pick up the markers and write a word in one of the squares of the

grid. They then have to give, not throw, the marker to another team member and sit down.

This student has to repeat the procedure. It becomes a race and the first team to completetheir grid correctly is the winner. The winning team gets to go first in the next part of the

game as a prize.

Flashcard Jump

Ss stand in a circle and hold flashcards for everyone to see; T says one S name and that S

must jump and say the word. Next, the S says anothers name and that S jumps and says

the word, etc.

Where Am I?

2 Ss stand back to back with their books on the same page. 1 S says a word from that

page, and the other student must find the sentence and read it out.

Student TV

Draw a large TV set on the white/black board and then use it as a stage for real dialogue

following whatever language practice is going on in the class. Use 1 student as a reporter

and 1 student as the interviewee; I stand to the side as the cameraman.

Simple Shapes Activity

Square, Circle, Triangle

Teach them with 1-2-3 because of the syllabic unity. Square = 1, Circle = 2, Triangle = 3.

I first taught the shapes, and then introduced the numbers and the correlation to syllables.

Once the pre-teaching is done, there are various activities to do:

T says a shape and the students show with their hands 1,2,3. T shows a shape and the

students show 1,2,3. Mismatch the shapes and their numbers on the board, and have theSs fix it.

Finish the Sentence

2 Ss stand back to back and 1 S starts a sentence, and the 2nd S finishes it.

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Hot Seat

S sits facing the class (their back should be to the board). T writes a vocab word on the

board, and the class must give the hot seat S clues. The class cannot read the word to thehot seat S, but can use body language, noises, words, phrases, etc. The hot seat S must

guess what it is, and then I have the S make a sentence or spell it, or some other languageactivity.

Feather Game

Make a prop (for this one I used a paper feather) and have Ss pass it around while the Tcloses their eyes and counts down from 20. Then the T must find the feather with CCQs:

Who, Where, Does, Do?

Alphabet Sounds

This focuses on teaching similar sounding letters: B, C, D, E, G, P, T, V, and Z.

1. Put on the board and play a bit: have the students list some words that start withthe letters, play with pronunciation and voice level (I use my hands for this: my

hand down by my knees means a whisper, and up above my head means a

scream/shout). OR, elicit the letter list by starting with B, and modeling/pullingthe others from the Ss.

2. 1-9 (or how many ever letters there are) and make a board matching exercise.

3. I teach/or review favorite with the Ss, and once having gone over oral production,

I have the Ss write: My favorites are ___, ___.this makes an opening for

minimal pair practice. I then have the Ss read and recite their favorites, and

maybe ask them some CCQs: Tell me a word that starts with B?4. Have the Ss memorize them with chunking and sing song rhythm: fun, and it

works, and Ss realize they can do it!

Running Relay Jigsaw

Cut up a dialogue for as many groups in the class and place them at the back of the class.

Have 1 student be the runner, and the other group members will be the sorters. T reads aword/sentence from the dialogue and the runner gets it from the back of the room and

brings it to the sorters. When the first runner is back, the teacher reads another line, and

so on. At the end, the sorters must put the dialogue into correct order. Dont read the

dialogue in the correct order from the start; mix up your reading, so it is a little harder!

Tic-Tac-Toe

Use teams for this and use relevant CCQs, and language production as the games task.

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Survey

1 S uses a language point and goes around taking a survey of the other Ss, and then

comes and reports their findings. I have done this with 3-4 reporters asking aboutdifferent sets of questions, and then paired it with the TV activity.

Blind Person

Pick a S to be the blinded, or a T can be the blinded. The blind person sits in a chair at the

front of the classroom. A S picks something out of the room and then describes it to the

blind man, OR the blind man is given something (realia) to describe.

* A description game that can easily modified, so play with it!

Count the Bubbles!

When teaching couting, use bubbles! Pick a S and have them come to you. Blow somebubbles and have the S count them, and pop them, or play with them.

Word Halves

Use this as a student made controlled activity. Pick a set of words, or let the Ss pick a setof words, and then have them create on their paper a word halves list with the given

words.

Once done, have the students trade papers and work on it together.

* You can have all the words on 1 paper, and just split the words along the two margins,or you can have the Ss cut them apart and make a mix and match activity out of it.

Pass the Baton

This is a relay game that I use with 2 or more teams. A S from each team comes up and

does the language practice/activity and then passes the baton on to the next team member:

the team that finishes first gets the points.

English Karaoke

One S writes a line on the board, and picks a S to sing it. Once the S sings it, the wholeclass judges with: thumbs up, thumbs between, thumbs down, and if S has a good score

they get to write the next line. If they dont get a good score, they have somepunishment: language production, exercise, silly TPR.

Using Words

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See how many other words are within one word. ROMANTICALLY: I had a class that

came up with over 50 words in about 8-12 minutes.

Flashcard Hide and Seek

This works with any realia, but also with flashcards. Hide the flashcards after pre-teaching about questions and lesson vocab, and then have a S come up to you and

practice the specific question, and then let S loose to find the object/flashcard by asking

not grabbing/looking!

Picture Map/Mind Map

Put an occupation, a flash card, a picture, a name, a word, and et

a general tefl reader

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