New for December 2003

Christmas Activities

Teaching Children

Christmas activities for all ages

Speaking activities

The Christmas stocking game

Lesson share

Christmas board game

Scrivener's tips

Includes an activity for Christmas shopping

Festive postcards
Send a festive postcard to your students or colleagues

Free Resources
Fun downloadable activities for the festive season taken from:
100+ Ideas for Children
Ready Made English 2
Word Games for English 2

Grammar reference section

The first of a new series of articles on English grammar written for teachers of English as a second or foreign language.

Recognising Grammatical Differences between American and British English

The Onestopenglish
TOP NEWS STORIES of 2003
How much do you remember about 2003? This month we have prepared a series of activities that you can do with your learners all based on the 
major news stories of 2003.

ESOL/ESL section 
Signs
Age: Adults
Level: ESOL entry 3
Length: 1 hour
Vocab: Formal language used on signs

News Lessons for English teachers

Lessons with news articles edited to 3 levels. This month: From ‘civilisation’ to ‘WMD’, words are weapons - Propaganda: how governments and the media manipulate words to influence us.

Warmers

Lots of new warmers from teachers around the world. Get your favourite warmer published and we will send you a prize.

New: Fish and chips, sound race, who wants to be a millionaire and more..

Methodology section

Non-linear narrative and EFL/ ESL: projects for creative writing by Graeme Reid. A great online project which introduces students to non-linear narrative and provides a framework for creative writing.

Teaching with minimal resources

New this month Scott Thornbury on lesson sequences. One of the tricks of teaching with minimal resources is devising ways of making one activity evolve into another, and even another, so that you have a chain of linked activities. Here are a few simple sequences that you can use in most classrooms, however big or whatever the level.

Speaking Practice lessons

Practising speaking skills. Lesson plans that will get them all talking. 

The Office Party

Level: intermediate and up
Aim: a speaking mingle activity with emphasis on oral fluency.
Language point: expressions to use for telling a secret or registering surprise, workplace vocabulary; rhythm and stress when giving important information.

Plus:  The Christmas Stocking Game

Ask the Authors

Latest answers include Alan Maley on literacy training for young learners.

100s of free English teaching resources. 

Lesson plans for teachers of English: all levels, tests, games. American and British English. ELT / ESL.

Scrivener's Teacher's Tips

Jim Scrivener on Using Catalogues

Catalogues, shop brochures and leaflets are a type of authentic material often available free and in quantity. Here are some ideas for using these, whether printed in English or another language. Includes an activity for Christmas shopping.

Listening Skills

Lesson plans, activities, pronunciation practice, listening skills, jazz chants and much more. This month:

Theme: Talking about birthdays

Skills: Listening for details, listening for specific information

Level: Pre-intermediate.

Grammar focus: Going to for future plans, adverbs of frequency

Lesson Share

New this month: describing how something works/ describing a process (for high level writing practice - IELTS), the daily routines of monsters, zombies, ghosts and aliens (for young learners) and controlled narrative writing.

Lesson plans for adults at beginner level

We get a lot of requests for low level materials for adult students. Here are our first sets of lesson plans. 

Teaching Business and ESP

Teaching one-to-one has its own special techniques and throws up its own difficult situations. This month covers the following situation: their company wants them to do ESP and they want to chat about their family.

Teaching Teenagers

Teaching mixed-ability teens. Activities, advice and ideas for teaching mixed-ability teens.

Anecdotes and Web Quests

Using anecdotes in the class + great new theme-based activities for using the web with your students. This month Style. The anecdote section covers adjective order in English and talking about style and fashion. The web quest focuses on fashion.

Plus

The Macmillan Catalogue online and the bookshop.

Resource sites free weekly lessons by email and a lot more.

Teaching Teenagers and Teaching Children

Teacher's Log competition (read about teaching English around the world)

Anecdote competition (teacher tell classroom stories)

Crossword competition for teachers

Methodology section: TPR, Using literature in teaching English, content-based teaching and much more. 

Exams section: FCE, IELTS. Tips and lesson plans for teaching exam classes.

ESOL/ESL section: lesson plans for adults at low levels covering practical situations.

Vocabulary: theme-based lessons, metaphor lessons, teaching phrasal verbs

Interesting Words Tim Bowen looks at some of the roots of English.

Culture lessons lesson plans using Guardian articles on cultural themes.

Job Shop  for schools to advertise jobs and teachers to find them. 

Culture lessons:  culture based lesson plans with Guardian articles.

The Forum Speak out and share opinions.

An extensive archive of methodology articles in the Magazine.

Testimonials

Writing Skills Lesson plans for teaching writing