Resources for ESL/EFL Teachers

Kyrgyzstan Initiative Group

judyb12 — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:38:35 +0000

It is my pleasure to announce that the resources on this website are to be included in an initiative to assist English teachers in Kyrgyzstan. This initiative, which is seeking funding via the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan ECA Alumni Grant program, will provide teacher resources such as handouts, methodology support, and professional development opportunities.

I am excited about being a part of this, and I am honored that the organizers have deemed my work to be of use to others.

Email Subscription – Recommendation

judyb12 — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:28:29 +0000

I subscribe to the Inside Out Macmillan English Update email service, which sends out a newsletter each week with links to downloadable activities. A number of them have been quite useful to me, but I have not posted about them because you need to be a registered email recipient in order to access them.

I highly recommend subscribing to this service, which provides activities on different proficiency levels throughout the month.

Click here for more information

Film Titles Matching Activity

judyb12 — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 11:41:54 +0000

This activity gives a list of 20 film titles in English and in French. The titles reflect what the movies were called upon release in the US and France, so they are not all literal translations.

Click here for a preview picture

Click here for the activity

Film Vocabulary & Word Search

judyb12 — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 11:36:40 +0000

Here is a 2-page handout with film industry vocabulary and a word search.

The vocabulary is translated into French. The text at the top of the first page is a little difficult, so you could opt not to cover it.

Click here for a preview picture of page 1

Click here for a preview picture of page 2

Click here for the activity

Board Game – Follow the Instructions!

judyb12 — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 11:30:17 +0000

This is a game I came up with for a class of 10-11 year olds. It involves some movement, which is great for kids that age. It can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your groups. Don’t forget you’ll need dice and markers!

Click here for a preview picture

Click here for the activity

Board Game – Are you allowed?

judyb12 — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:12:08 +0000

This is a board game activity that reinforces the use of the phrase “Are you allowed to…” and the idea of permission.

It requires all the players to speak, and it can take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your groups. Don’t forget you’ll need dice and markers!

Click here for a preview picture

Click here for the activity

Iraq & Oil Production – Recommendation

judyb12 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 10:43:32 +0000

I recently used the “Read a Pie Chart” handout found in lesson 2 here:

Scholastic News In-depth: Rebuilding Iraq

It took 10-15 minutes to discuss the chart and the questions with a group of lower-level 11 and 12 year olds. It is best if you have a world map, or at least a map of the Middle East to go along with this.

New Live Duplifiches 6e: Anglais – Recommendation

judyb12 — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:29:05 +0000

This recommendation is for a set of photocopiable sheets geared toward 10-12 year old French students for use in English class. They are actually quite useful for any age and any first language, but especially so for beginners to intermediate students.

I have used their sheets about the family, the body, basic adjectives, the house, and the city, and they are a very good source of basic vocabulary.

The publication information is as follows:

Title: New live Duplifiches 6e : Anglais
Editor: Didier (18 october 2004)
Language : Français
ISBN-10: 2278049062
ISBN-13: 978-2278049066

Amazon.fr record

Family Q&A Board Game – Recommendation

judyb12 — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 12:03:24 +0000

I have used the Family Q&A board game available at esl-galaxy.com with great success. It goes well with lessons on family vocabulary and relationships, and students always love a game.

Take a look at it here:

esl-galaxy.com board games

(scroll down to where you see “Who’s in your family?-Family Q and A”).

Revising “Getting to know you” Vocabulary & Structures

judyb12 — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 11:56:40 +0000

With beginning students (or with any students for that matter), it can be a good idea to revisit things they already know in order to reinforce them. The usual “Getting to know you” questions run along the lines of:

What is your name? My name is…
Where do you live? I live in…
How old are you? I am … years old
Do you have any brothers or sisters? Yes, I have … / No, I don’t
Do you have any pets? Yes, I have… / No, I don’t
What do you like to do for fun? I like to…

To revise the questions at a later date, I will give each student a picture of a person from a magazine. I try to make sure the pictures are not of famous people. I then ask them to imagine the answers to these questions for the person I have given them.

Each student then tells the others what they have come up with for their picture.

Variations:
1. Change the questions to include other topics, such as jobs, children, etc.
2. Give all the students the same picture and have them brainstorm the information for the person together while you write their ideas on the board.

Click here for the activity