Resourceful english teacher complete companion chandler jon, stone mark

Rather than focusing on one resource area, as is often the case, The Resourceful English Teacher addresses the full breadth of resources available to the language teacher, and offers a

Foreword

This is, in m a n y ways, the b o o k that we w o u l d like to have been able to have to hand ourselves - both as inexperienced teachers starting our first jobs and as more experienced teachers l o o k i n g for fresh inspiration

Rather than focusing on one resource area, as is

often the case, The Resourceful English Teacher

addresses the full breadth of resources available to the language teacher, and offers a w i d e variety of activities and techniques for the modern classroom

This book aims to be a resource in itself,

presenting stimulating options and alternatives but without prescribing a specific a p p r o a c h to teaching It can be ' d i p p e d into' for a n e w w a y of recycling vocabulary, for e x a m p l e , or it c a n be read at greater length in order to get a fresh

perspective on using, say, newspapers or the O H P

We hope that these pages w i l l be w e l l - t h u m b e d and the activities w i l l be tried, played with and

m o d i f i e d , to suit y o u and your classes - and that

as a result y o u w i l l feel refreshed, and the

experience of being in your classroom w i l l be richer, for both y o u and your students

In short, we hope that it w i l l enable y o u to

b e c o m e a more resourceful English teacher

Jon Chandler Mark Stone

Icebreakers and W e l c o m i n g Activities

G e t t i n g classes a n d c o u r s e s off to a g o o d start

Introduction

Today's language classroom is a c o m p l e x and

varied place The d e m a n d s made on the language

teacher are no less c h a l l e n g i n g

On the one hand, you m a y be in a position w h e r e

all current technology is at your disposal

(computer, video, internet) On the other h a n d ,

you may find yourself in a place w h e r e even a

blackboard w o u l d be a luxury

In both cases, y o u are required to be resourceful

This book is designed to help y o u in either of

these circumstances, or as is more than probable,

in any of the variety of situations that lie between

Using This Book

The Resourceful English Teacher has been written

to be useful to a w i d e variety of teachers of English

• For the less experienced teacher, there is a

wealth of ideas to help y o u b u i l d up a

repertoire of activities in the c l a s s r o o m

• For the more experienced teacher, s o m e of

the ideas in the b o o k m a y already be

familiar, although, even with the tried and

tested activity, we have attempted to find a

n e w twist However, most w i l l be n e w and

w i l l help y o u to see the resources available

to you in a n e w light

•

• For the teacher trainer, there is a w i d e

range of materials to help y o u plan sessions

on individual areas of classroom t e c h n i q u e

Planning Your Lessons

The Resourceful English Teacher is not a b o o k of

lesson plans but of activities, strategies and games, designed to help y o u exploit the resources and

tools a r o u n d y o u , whatever they are

• Students enjoy songs but, in fact, rarely

want to sing t h e m W h a t else can y o u do?

• L o w level students find video daunting

W h a t kinds of tasks can bridge the gap?

• H o w can y o u use the O H P to create an

lesson, to liven up students, in the m i d d l e ,

to indicate a c h a n g e of pace or focus, or at the e n d , to fill an a w k w a r d gap

• A circle game might be used to find out

w h a t students k n o w or to practise what y o u have already taught them or both

• An icebreaker c a n be used at the b e g i n n i n g

of a course or as a w a y of clearing the air after an e x a m

6

Planning Your Course

If you w o r k with a c o u r s e b o o k y o u m a y be

looking for ways of bringing in authentic materials

either to augment a unit or to replace materials

that are less relevant to your students' interests or

needs If this is the case, the Sections on

Newspapers, Articles and Songs w i l l give y o u the

ideas you need to do this with c o n f i d e n c e

Alternatively, y o u may w i s h to use existing course

material but in a different w a y that w i l l bring it to

life for your class

• Dialogues c a n be presented in a variety of

ways and then practised in order to

memorise phrases or w o r k on stress, rhythm

and intonation

• G r a m m a r can be practised out l o u d using

circle games

• Personalised speaking tasks can be turned

into questionnaires for students w h o are

reluctant to v o i c e their o p i n i o n s

spontaneously

A number of activities in his b o o k w o r k w e l l as

'threads' throughout a course This means that y o u

can use them on a regular basis, perhaps o n c e or

twice a w e e k to give c o h e r e n c e and structure to a

series of lessons As students becorne more

familiar with the activities, they w i l l begin to use

them^more efficiently as the need to e x p l a i n the

'hows' and the 'whys' of the game d i m i n i s h

• Word box activities c a n be used to b u i l d

y o u students' active vocabularies over the course

• Articles activities c a n help to establish

strategies that students c a n use w h e n reading o n their o w n

• A circle game c a n be p l a y e d several times

Each time y o u can 'stir i n ' more language,

m a k i n g it m o r e c h a l l e n g i n g

7

Finding Your Way

The t w o hundred activities of The Resourceful

English Teacher have been d e s i g n e d to be as

accessible and easy to use as possible

Sections

The book has been organised into Sections, e a c h

of w h i c h focuses on a particular resource You w i l l

find a very brief explanation of each resource on

the Contents pages

class as a w h o l e If there is a competitive element,

or if the students need to be able to m o v e a r o u n d , then this too is indicated

Equipment / Materials

Here are listed the things y o u w i l l need to have

w i t h y o u in the c l a s s r o o m

Plus

Here y o u w i l l find any specific materials that you

w i l l need to f i n d , or to prepare, and on w h i c h the activity is based

Activities

Each Activity has been given a short a n d , we

hope, m e m o r a b l e title f o l l o w e d by a brief

description of the m a i n a i m and a set of

procedures that can be taken in at a glance

A series of Headings indicates everything y o u

need to k n o w to carry out each activity

successfully

Levels

We have suggested what we consider the o p t i m u m

level, or range of levels, for e a c h activity These

are described as: beginner, elementary,

pre-intermediate, pre-intermediate, upper-intermediate

Activity types

We indicate whether students w i l l be w o r k i n g in

pairs or groups; if this is suggested as an o p t i o n ,

then the activity can also be organised for the

8

Newspapers Newspapers are a valuable but often under-used classroom resource There is a breadth of coverage

in them, w h i c h means there is something of interest to almost all readers They provide a g o o d source of popular culture, as they often i n c l u d e articles on p o p music, TV and sport, as w e l l as advertisements for products and events O n e newspaper may be the source of a w i d e range of activities, for all levels

M a n y teachers are afraid that their students might

be intimidated by English language newspapers In this section, however, we offer a range of activities which acquaint students with newspapers through appropriate tasks for their level of English

You may wish to consider w h i c h English-speaking countries your students identify with most

positively Very often this identification

conveniently c o i n c i d e s with the availability of newspapers, but it is worth r e m e m b e r i n g that most newspapers can be obtained from their publishers

by post

N e w s p a p e r s

Describe a Typical Reader

Use newspapers to stimulate your

students' curiosity about

6 7 1 , 3 4 0 ; The Guardian 4 0 9 , 5 6 9 ; The Independent 2 2 1 , 9 2 6 , as at

w i t h m o n e y , t h e B r i t i s h w i t h c l a s s '

• O n c e s t u d e n t s h a v e c o m p l e t e d t h e i i lists, c i r c u l a t e B r i t i s h a n d A m e r i c a n

N e w s p a p e r s

Present a Newspaper

Learn about the differences between

newspapers - and practise a good

deal of vocabulary as well

Use a 'pyramid' discussion (see below)

to discover the differences between two cultures as exemplified in their newspapers

n e w s p a p e r

• P r e - t e a c h a n y e s s e n t i a l n e w s p a p e r

v o c a b u l a r y , f o r e x a m p l e column, article, feature, caption, headline

N e w s p a p e r s

Where Are The Correspondents? Article Pairing

Excellent practice for finding one's

way around a newspaper and

Headline 'Call My Bluff'

A panel game already used in English language classrooms with individual words, but not as yet with newspaper headlines

Chequebook journalism

The newshounds have sniffed out

some good stories - can they sell

them for a good price?

Spot the Paper

See how much your students have learned about English language newspapers

Level I n t e r m e d i a t e o n w a r d s

Activity type G r o u p w o r k ;

c o m p e t i t i v e a c t i v i t y ( o p t i o n a l )

N e w s p a p e r s

Chequebook Journalism

The newshounds have sniffed out

some good stories - can they sell

them for a good price?

Level I n t e r m e d i a t e o n w a r d s

Activity type G r o u p w o r k ;

c o m p e t i t i v e a c t i v i t y ( o p t i o n a l )

Selecting your o w n articles from English language newspapers and magazines has additional

advantages Newspapers and magazines contain

an e n o r m o u s range of text types M a n y subjects are covered in a variety of styles and registers,

a l l o w i n g you to c h o o s e something that suits both your students' needs and interests Articles can be topical Students can use their k n o w l e d g e of current events as w e l l as their o w n experience to help them understand what they are reading and this w i l l help them b e c o m e more confident

Style and Register

Same story but look out for the differences in language

Maximize your students' curiosity A roleplay with a difference Everybody enjoys a good film before reading a newspaper article

A r t i c l e s

Day-by-Day Weather Reports

Everybody knows that the English

always talk about the weather

-prepare your students!

World Weather Reports

Widen your class's weather horizons

p h o t o c o p y o f t h e t h r e e r e p l i e s ) a n d

a s k e a c h p a i r o f s t u d e n t s t o m a t c h

t h e m E x p l a i n t h a t t h e r e a r e t h r e e letters t h a t d o n o t y e t h a v e a n y

'Peopling' the News

Reconstructing the news using the human resources at your disposal

3

Songs

Students often c o m e into the classroom h u m m i n g M a n y songs n o w c o m e with a v i d e o Exploit this songs to w h i c h they don't k n o w the w o r d s relationship You m a y also find the techniques in

K n o w i n g the words gives m a n y teenagers kudos, the TV and Video chapter of this b o o k useful with

a greater insight into the m i n d s of their idols, and songs,

may even help with language a c q u i s i t i o n

Teachers do not often have so m u c h curiosity

available in the c l a s s r o o m

For learners, as indeed for native-speakers, the

main desire is to understand the song, not

necessarily the details, but at least the gist N o n

-native speakers often find English language songs

particularly daunting and frustrating W h a t is

important, though, is the relationship between the

material and the task that is set

The activities in this section help students to

understand the songs, and in the process, d e v e l o p

their English in terms of grammar, v o c a b u l a r y and

pronunciation

Songs can often be bought c h e a p l y in

compilations Students m a y have their o w n

collections of English songs, and they appreciate

it w h e n the teacher borrows o n e of their songs

and develops a lesson around it

2 0

Line-by-Line Mingle Every Breath You Fake

Students mingle to unmuddle a

it, but d o n ' t c o u n t on it!

Shake, take, slake, rake - how many rhymes for '-ake' can your students think of?

Level P r e - i n t e r m e d i a t e

o n w a r d s

Activity type M i n g l e ;

g r o u p w o r k / p a i r w o r k ( o p t i o n a l )

Where Are all the Nouns?

An alternative to the standard gap-fill

S o n g s

Old MacDonald had a pram and on that farm he had a Old farm a MacDonald had

Level A l l l e v e l s Level B e g i n n e r a n d Level B e g i n n e r t o

Activity type P a i r w o r k / g r o u p w o r k E l e m e n t a r y I n t e r m e d i a t e

( o p t i o n a l ) Activity type W h o l e c l a s s Activity type P a i r w o r k

Materials S i n g l e c a s s e t t e p l a y e r ; Materials S i n g l e c a s s e t t e p l a y e r ; Materials S i n g l e c a s s e t t e p l a y e r

P h o t o c o p i e s p h o t o c o p i e s p h o t o c o p i e s

Plus A r e c o r d i n g of a s o n g Plus A r e c o r d i n g of a s o n g Plus A r e c o r d i n g of a s o n g

a n d t h e w o r d s a n d t h e w o r d s a n d t h e w o r d s (see b e l o w ) (see b e l o w ) (see b e l o w )

• C h o o s e a s l o w s o n g w i t h c l e a r

w o r d s G o o d e x a m p l e s a r e Play with Fire ( R o l l i n g S t o n e s ) a n d Yellow ( C o l d p l a y ) M a k e a c o p y

• C h o o s e a s o n g a n d t y p e i t u p M a k e

t w o c o p i e s , o n e w i t h t h e o d d

n u m b e r e d l i n e s g a p p e d a n d t h e

e v e n n u m b e r e d l i n e s c o m p l e t e ( c o p y A ) , a n d t h e o t h e r w i t h t h e

e v e n n u m b e r e d l i n e s g a p p e d a n d

t h e o d d n u m b e r e d l i n e s c o m p l e t e ( c o p y B) M a k e o n e c o p y o f e i t h e r A

s o n g : Run rabbit, run rabbit, run,

run, run/Don't give the farmer his

fun, fun, fun/He'll get by without his

rabbit pie/So run rabbit, run rabbit,

run, run, run f o r e a c h s t u d e n t , a n d

4

Readers

Most of the major publishers n o w p r o d u c e series

of graded readers They are very varied and

include contemporary fiction, as w e l l as classics

and books of films The w i d e range of titles means

that it is relatively easy for a student to c h o o s e a

book that fits their interests, or for a teacher to

choose a class reader that w i l l appeal to a given

class

The activities in this section fall into t w o parts:

activities w h i c h can be used w h e n the w h o l e class

is using a single reader; and activities to be used

when students are able to select their o w n reader

from the school library, a b o o k s h o p or a

school-supported mailorder scheme

Activities in this section a l l o w students to practise the skills of s k i m m i n g , scanning, and d e d u c i n g from context, as w e l l as creating an opportunity for fluency practice Students w i l l also be able to extend their v o c a b u l a r y and d e v e l o p their writing skills

The activities in the first part {Using a Class

Reader) d e p e n d on the class having read to the

same point in the reader The activities in the

s e c o n d part (Using Different Readers) are designed for w h e n students have chosen their

o w n i n d i v i d u a l readers

These activities aim to motivate students to read,

and to develop as independent learners Initially,

students will need to be supported through the

reading process This can be a c c o m p l i s h e d by

dealing with problems of c o m p r e h e n s i o n and

vocabulary, setting realistic reading targets and

providing appropriately c h a l l e n g i n g tasks This

will help to give students the c o n f i d e n c e they

need to read independently in their o w n time

R e a d e r s Using a Class Reader

Comparing First Paragraphs

For those happy situations where you

have a choice of more than one set of

class readers for your students

It's on the Tip of my Tongue Missing Character Lonely Hearts

Expand your students' vocabulary by

building on their knowledge of the

characters they have been reading

'unsimplify' the text

• Finally, the students c o m p a r e t h e i r

new texts w i t h the o r i g i n a l

A character's gone missing - will your students' mini-portraits help the police

to find him or her?

R e a d e r s Using a Class Reader

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr Darcy? Bring the text to life/celluloid?

Reviews Review Forms Book Presentations

Students help each other to choose

review o f the b o o k that h e o r s h e i s

reading for the o t h e r s t u d e n t s i n t h e

O u r Next Reader Story Soap Update Movie Moguls

Find out what everybody has been

reading - and see what you are going

5 Icebreakers and

Welcoming Activities

The word 'icebreaker' has been part of English

teaching terminology for a long time, w h i c h is

probably a fair indication of the necessity for

activities w h i c h can be used at the b e g i n n i n g of

a course

For adults, going into a c l a s s r o o m , a place

capable of stimulating some possibly unpleasant

memories, is hard e n o u g h , without the

expectation that one w i l l have to c o m m u n i c a t e

to strangers, and in a foreign language

For schoolchildren, the playful nature of language

learning needs to be c o m m u n i c a t e d w h e n a group

and a teacher are first brought together, if there is

to be a positive w o r k i n g relationship

Many private language schools bring students

from a variety of cultures and backgrounds

together, students w h o may have little in c o m m o n ,

apart from a desire to learn English It is necessary

to 'start out on the right foot' if a group is to w o r k

purposefully together The activities in this section

aim to get students w o r k i n g together in English,

with tasks that are challenging but not threatening

Many of them help students to get to k n o w e a c h

other, to get used to one another's English, and to

relax in an uncritical atmosphere

S o m e activities also a l l o w the teacher to stand back, observe group d y n a m i c s , and assess student needs These activities m a y be used w h e n a new group c o m e s together, or w h e n a teacher takes over an existing group S o m e m a y be used in a

s c h o o l w h i c h operates a rolling intake, where new students need to be w e l c o m e d into a class w h i c h has already assumed an identity

I c e b r e a k e r s a n d W e l c o m i n g A c t i v i t i e s

Person/Place/Object

A get-to-know-you activity that

bypasses the more commonly

discussed personal details

• W h e n t h e b a l l c o m e s b a c k t o y o u say, ' T h i s i s Y o k o [ n a m e o f t h e

• W h e n t h e b a l l c o m e s b a c k t o y o u , say, ' I ' m M a r k a n d I l i k e p l a y i n g

Famous Person Labels

Perfect practice for yes/no questions

I c e b r e a k e r s a n d W e l c o m i n g A c t i v i t i e s

Families

An enjoyable activity that works

particularly well with large classes and

encourages question practice

I c e b r e a k e r s a n d W e l c o m i n g A c t i v i t i e s

Lying G a m e

Cynical teenagers, who might not be

curious about one another, are happy

Dialogues

Scripted dialogues have always been a part of

language teaching, whether contrived and

w o o d e n , or authentic and fresh They can be

found in coursebooks, may be written by teachers

themselves, or can be taken from radio, films or

In this section we are c o n c e r n e d with the use of

short recorded dialogues and their transcripts, not

primarily for d e v e l o p i n g listening skills, but as the

basis for more intensive language work D i a l o g u e s

can be used to teach n e w v o c a b u l a r y in a clear

context, to present functional language, and to

introduce n e w structures; as w e l l as to present and

practise stress, rhythm and intonation

Before using a dialogue, it's always best to m a k e

sure that y o u are fully aware of the p h o n o l o g i c a l

features it contains M a r k i n g the transcript for

p r o n u n c i a t i o n , in the w a y that has been s h o w n

opposite (Example Dialogues), helps to remind

you of these features - in addition to the target

language It can also serve as the basis for the

students' written record

In this section the activities are d i v i d e d into t w o

parts: Presentations and Practice Activities These

are cross-referenced so that it is clear w h i c h

activities m a y most easily be c o m b i n e d w i t h i n a

single lesson

Example Dialogues

1 Nightclub

— y\

Vic: Oh no! Not this track again!

Bob: I know This is the third time

he's played it tonight

Vic: I wish he'd play something decent Bob: I know This music's driving me up

the wall

o

2 Under the weather

Sue:

Fine And you?

Hi How's things?

Have you tried taking an aspirin?

I have, but it didn't help

o o Perhaps you should see a doctor

I think I wiil

o Key

w a v y l i n e - i n t o n a t i o n

b l a c k d o t - s e c o n d a r y stress

w h i t e c i r c l e - p r i m a r y stress

36

may be f o l l o w e d by Disappearing Dialogue,

First-line Change, Parallel Situations

• Find a short d i a l o g u e (of f o u r to

D i a l o g u e s Presentations Practice Activities

m a y f o l l o w Stressed Words, Line-by-Line

Prediction, Cut-up Dialogue

7

Warmers and Fillers Everybody needs warmers and fillers Warmers

c o m e at the beginning of a lesson; fillers in the

m i d d l e or at the e n d W h e n an activity is used as

a warmer, the teacher's a i m m a y be to get the

students talking and thinking in English,

motivating them and getting them to think about

the topic to c o m e The a i m m a y also be to get the

students w o r k i n g as a group Or again it m a y be to

avoid a predictable b e g i n n i n g to e a c h lesson, for

e x a m p l e , 'Turn to page 113.'

W h e n an activity is used as a filler, the teacher's

a i m may be to provide a change of pace, fill an

a w k w a r d gap or finish off the lesson on a positive

and purposeful note On a linguistic level,

warmers and fillers can be used to recycle

previously taught language, as w e l l as diagnose

problems before an input stage or test after n e w

language has been introduced They can be used

to practise the four skills of speaking, listening,

reading and writing

It's worth trying a range of activities with your

students, so that y o u find w h i c h ones w o r k best

These can then b e c o m e regular sessions, giving

your students something to look forward to, and

p r o v i d i n g continuity w i t h i n the class syllabus

4 0