Dealing with vocabulary in the classroom

Dealing with Vocabulary in the classroom

Alastair Grant

“What does xxxx mean?”  “I don’t understand what it says here”  As any teacher can tell you, not a class goes by without someone asking you for the definition of a word.  It could be a word from the text they’re reading in class, or it could be something they saw on TV last night, or that they heard in a song they were listening to on their way to class.

The teacher knowing what the word means isn’t a problem (unless it’s some new fandangled expression which is fashionable amongst teens that particular week), the problem comes in trying to get students to spread their wings a bit more.  How can we make our students autonomous learners, who feel confident enough to understand without running to their dictionary (or teacher) every two minutes?  How do we, as teachers, know what vocabulary to introduce to our students? And when?

This session will answer all those questions, and more!

 

Nonsense IHWO  Plan  Though the way coursebooks deal with vocabulary varies types of vocab

Rethinking Reading

Rethinking Reading

Seth Sokol

Based on a session by Maggie Temple.

This session is designed to encourage teachers to rethink some of their assumptions regarding the skill of reading. Concepts addressed include: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Reading models; the importance of context and activating schema before reading tasks; and, how teachers can use original materials to improve their students’ reading skills.

Reading Plan  Reading Terminology Exercises  Nadsat  Bottom-up and Top-Down Reading

Using Authentic Material

Using Authentic Material

Maggie Healy

Based on a session by Silvana Giménez Amadeo in 2009

There’s lots of talk around these days about using authentic material in the classroom and while it’s a wonderful resource for language teaching there are also some drawbacks and pitfalls to watch out for. Sourcing suitable material is very important and so is designing a suitable task and gauging it well to the level of your students. Setting achievable gist and detailed tasks or creating a guided discovery lesson can be challenging. This session aims at brainstorming some ways that we can extract a quality lesson from sample authentic material.

2011-05-18 – Authentic Material – Sample worksheets  2011-09-19 – Authentic Material – Handout  Authentic Material – Theory

Adapting Original Texts for the Classroom

Adapting Original Texts for the Classroom

James Orpin and Charlotte Wright

Getting bored of the textbook? Got a student who doesn’t want to learn from the textbook?

Use original material!

It’s everywhere you look: newspapers, magazines, radio, video, even leaflets or lost dog adverts are all prime places to find authentic use of the English language. However, selecting the right text, audio or video and turning it into a lesson complete with tasks, grammar extraction, receptive and prodcutive skills practises etc can seem like a lot of  hard work. Here are some tips designed to make that job a little easier.

Adapting Texts LP  Adapting original texts for the classroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

Literature in the EFL Classroom 2011

Literature in the EFL Classroom 2011

Emma Cresswell

Following on from last year’s session Literature in the EFL Classroom, this session looks at other ways to introduce literature into the classroom and ways to exploit its use.

 

Literature in the EFL Classroom 2011  Literature in the EFL Classroom 2011 – wordles  Literature in the EFL Classroom 2011 – titles and front covers  Literature in the EFL Classroom 2011 – Book Descriptions  Literature in the EFL Classroom 2011 – bloom’s taxonomy  Literature in the EFL Classroom 2011 – bloom’s taxonomy – example questions

Internet in the EFL Classroom 2011

Internet in the EFL Classroom 2011

Emma Cresswell

The internet is constantly changing and so too are our students.  Following on from the original Internet in the EFL classroom, this new session looks at some other ways to use the internet in the classroom.

Internet in the EFL Classroom 2011 Internet in the EFL Classroom 2011

Helping our students become better readers

Helping our students become better readers

Maggie Temple

Many students find reading a major stumbling block, they get distracted and demoralized if they don’t know the meaning of a word and they tend to ‘forget’ the reading skills which they apply in their own language. Consequently they read slowly, inefficiently and don’t enjoy it much at all.

In this workshop we review the basic ingredients of a reading lesson and look at a few activities which help students become more confident, efficient readers. We also talk about the benefits of extensive reading in making our students successful language learners.

Helping our students become better readers

 

All’s well that starts well

All’s well that starts well: how to begin your lessons with an effective “appetizer”.

Silvana Giménez Amadeo

The first few minutes of a lesson are crucial to get your class to forget the outside world, tune in to English and get ready to learn. How do that in an easy and effective way?

This talk will give you a variety of fun, practical and tried-and-tested ideas to get your learners buzzing with energy, engaged and motivated to work.

 

All’s well that starts well

Internet in the EFL classroom

Internet in the EFL Classroom

Emma Cresswell & Vicky Wright

The internet makes our lives increasingly easier, yet it continues to play a minor role in the EFL classroom.  This workshop will demonstrate how even the biggest technophobe can incorporate the internet into their classes and give them another dimension.  From 10 minute gap-fills to entire classes based on the computer, we will help you make the internet your valued friend.

Internet in the EFL classroom Internet in the EFL Classroom(powerpoint) Handy websites Pride & Prejudice websearch

Handout Emergencies – Scavenger hunt

Using Authentic Material in the EFL Classroom

Using Authentic Material in the EFL Classroom

Silvana Giménez Amadeo

It is becoming increasingly necessary for teachers to make our lessons creative, engaging and tuned to the needs and interests of our students. Using authentic materials is an effective way to bring together your course and the “real world”.

In this workshop we will give some practical ideas on how to do this at all levels, with your children, adolescent, adult and exam courses.

IH Blog Authentic Material