Teaching techniques

Learning English can seem hard for a lot of people, that’s why it is the job of us teachers to

make learning English as fun and simple as possible. We can create our own ways to teach this

beautiful language, or simply adapt methods created by other educators and make our classes

alive.

Conventional teaching methods can and do work at times, but in the modern world where

technology is evolving in hundreds of different ways, a teacher need to develop himself to kill

the boredom and routine that can be found inside his classroom.

Here are some fun yet effective ways that are used by a lot of instructors, and can be used by

YOU!

Random themed chants:

This method is intended for elementary level and higher. Divide your students into groups; ask

them to pick random themes about daily routines, problems ect and talk about them through

chants.

This will help your students look for words that rhyme together and belong into one theme.

And would definitely bring some fun into your class and help the students use dictionaries

more.

Movie day:

Ask your students to watch a movie over the week-end, then discuss it during your class. You

can show some clips from the movie and talk about them more specifically using general use

of the language, grammar and vocabulary. This will enhance the concentration of the students

while trying to both watch and listen.

Songs:

Introducing level-based songs to your students is an amazing way to help them improve both

their listening and pronunciation skills. Give lyric-sheets with fill in the gaps activity, and ask

your students to guess the missing words before letting them listen to the song. After finishing

the previous activity; let the student practice singing the song to help them get the correct

pronunciation and to get used to the language.

Guess the meaning:

For this activity, ask your students to write down three or more (depending on your groups’

number) random facts about themselves and let the others guess the meaning behind them.

3: lucky number / house door number / number of kids …

Bursa: name of pet / place …

Mei: nickname / friend’s name / place …

Find the missing part:

In separate paper slips write down questions and answers and distribute them randomly to

your students, then ask them to wander around the classroom looking for their missing part

(question or answer).

Listen and imagine:

In this activity have your students close their eyes while listening to a certain piece of music.

Then ask them to imagine the place, time and the manner to get to that place. To facilitate the

task write down the questions: where, when and how on the board.

Role-play:

Nothing kills boredom and imposes learning like role play! If you’re teaching a topic that can

happen in our daily life, you can either randomly pick a pair or group of students to act out a

scene connected to that topic. Or simply divide them into pairs or groups, give them an idea

and ask them create a situation for it then act it out without reading their notes.

In the end your classroom is your own space and no one knows your students better than

yourself, so choose activities that fits you and your students the best and alter them in a way

that would give a better effect, or even better; create your own techniques and make learning

fun, easy and less scary!

Here you can find different explanations to use in your lessons, It´s important that everyone

have their tricks, but if we follow a tidy structure we´ll obtain better results.

How to teach English

Students just starting their English studies risk being overwhelmed by new material.

Showing them that lessons can be fun and that they can perform well is important to

get them engaged in and positive about your classes. Your curriculum should be

designed with this in mind so be sure to dedicate plenty of time to each section. If

students are doing better than expected, simply use the free lesson period to review or

better yet, have fun with a cultural lesson or holiday activity.

Lesson Material

Especially with beginners it is important to go slowly. There is a steep learning curve at

the very beginning of their studies especially if you are the first to introduce them to

the Latin alphabet. Try to introduce manageable chunks of information and do not add

in more information until your students are comfortable with what they have already

covered. This may mean that they are not able to understand the purpose of learning

certain things initially but perhaps after a few lessons on a topic, you can help put it all

together and then they will be amazed at how much they have learned. For example,

in one lesson you may teach your students the words I, you, he/she/it and what they

mean but they cannot make sentences with this vocabulary until you give them some

verbs to work with which may not be appropriate until a later lesson.

Teacher talking

In the classroom you will also have to slow down your talking speed. Students are

never going to understand you if you are talking a mile a minute. If you assist a teacher

who is not a native speaker and would like you to speak at a normal speed, you can

speed up slightly but a normal speed would not be appropriate for beginners. At the

intermediate and advanced levels, you may speak more rapidly as their grasp on

English increases and they can follow you better but it may still be challenging for

them. When you do choral repetition or drill exercises, be sure to enunciate clearly

and be loud enough for the entire class to hear you. It is often difficult for people to

understand you, if your mouth is hidden from view which is odd because your students

are supposed to be listening but even so, try to direct your attention towards your

students, as opposed to the blackboard for instance, when you are talking to them and

hold flashcards at an appropriate level.

Practice

Choose practice activities that are simple, easy to understand, and easy to explain.

Using lots of words that students don’t recognize to explain how to do a practice

activity is only going to further confuse them. In many cases a demonstration may be

your best option. As your students improve, you can introduce more complex

activities but if an activity ever takes longer to explain that to complete, it is not worth

doing again. Practice activities should revolve around students having the opportunity

to speak English so even worksheets should be used for that purpose. After a

worksheet has been completed, ask for volunteers to read the questions, translate the

questions, and give the answers. Try to involve as many students as possible and give

them continuous positive feedback.

Have Fun

Language studies give students the opportunity to learn in a different way. English

should not be taught the same way Mathematics or History is taught. There is no

room for lectures because luckily as the teacher, you already know how to speak

English while the students really need to practice more than anything else. Getting

students to communicate with you and each other in a positive creative environment

should be the goal of every language teacher. You can incorporate many different

games into your lessons and with lots of miming and role plays students will probably

laugh at you, in a good way, on more than one occasion. Taking the focus away from

grammar rules and focusing on communication will encourage them to try their best,

which is all you can really ask of them.

Students just beginning their English studies have absolutely no idea what to expect so

it is beneficial to you and all their later English teachers to help them enjoy it by

encouraging them and showing them that learning another language is not an

overwhelming task.

How to learn new vocabulary

Which different vocabulary to teach

When choosing new vocabulary to cover in class, it is worth having a few of each of the

categories below:

Thinks whose names they are likely to already know in English, e.g. because they are

the same in mother tongue.

Ones they are likely to already know but pronounce wrong, e.g. because of mother

tongue interference.

Ones they are likely to have come across but not remember

Some words that are totally unfamiliar to all students (but hopefully not too obscure or

useless) so that every student goes away having learnt something new.

(The totally new vocabulary could just be something related to animals, e.g. places

they live like “cave”, rather than their actual names. Unless there is a special reason

such as its inclusion in a song or story you will use, you will probably want to avoid

animals that they are completely unfamiliar with or don’t know the name of in mother

tongue.)

Ways of introducing and practicing vocabulary

Ideas include:

2D images, e.g. flashcards, the teacher’s drawings, paper cut into shapes, or shadows

3D figures, e.g. finger puppets or plastic animals

Picture books

Noises

Actions

Songs

Games

The best way of introducing new vocabulary for the first time is usually with some kind

of visual stimulus, e.g. color flashcards, plastic objects or a story book. With flashcards

you can introduce and practice the new vocabulary the same as with any flashcards,

e.g. revealing the flashcard very slowly, holding the flashcard somewhere they have to

move to see it, flashing it across their line of sight very quickly or describing the object

without showing it to them. Choosing pictures that are cute, funny or frightening can

add to the appeal of flashcard activities, but you will need to take into account that

there are some cultural differences in the simplified representations of animals that

might make some cartoonish animals difficult for students to recognize.

You can also do all the activities mentioned above for flashcards with 3D objects such

as plastic figures, or you can put them inside a bag to show the shape through or let

them feel.

Although you will always need some kind of visual stimulus to make sure they

understand what you are all speaking about, you can also use noises and/or actions as

the stimulus. Noises/actions can combine with the very many children’s songs about.

Vocabulary…it’s a double-edged sword. Students universally recognize the need to

expand their vocabulary in order to improve their fluency, but it’s difficult — and often

boring — to memorize word after word. Varying the types of vocabulary exercises used

will engage your students and enable them to retain the new words more effectively.

Remember: your goal as a teacher is to get the students to be able to use the new

words when they speak or write. As such, repetition is key… but using the same

technique over and over will cause the students to lose interest. Using a combination

of the following methods will hopefully get your students excited about vocabulary

again.

1. Vocabulary Board Game:

Write all of the new words in a long list on the left side of the board.

Divide students into two teams, and explain that you’ll be reading out a definition to

one team at a time.

If that team can correctly guess the corresponding word, they get $100 (pretend

money, of course!). If they guess the wrong word, the other team can “steal” the

money by guessing the correct word for $50. If the second team still can’t guess

correctly, it goes back to the first team for $50, and so on until one team gets it right.

Play then resumes with the next definition getting read to the second team, for $100 if

correct.

You can provide students with a copy of a word-definition list after the game to save

them from having to stop and write down the definitions as you go. Or, to save trees,

write the definitions next to the words as they are guessed correctly, and students can

copy them down.

The winning team is the one who has the most money once all the definitions are filled

in! For the last definition (since it will obviously correspond to the only word left on

the board), I often make it more challenging by making the team tell me what they

think the definition is. If correct, they get $100; if not, the other team can try for $50,

and so on.

2. Matchup:

Have one page of words and definitions for each pair or small group of students. Cut

each word and definition into strips (a paper cutter works wonders here). Don’t forget

that you can keep the strips for vocabulary review later, or review for a test.

Circulate, pointing out where students have made an incorrect guess so that they can

make another attempt with that particular word. Don’t forget to keep a master list for

yourself; it helps to refer to it as you circulate.

When all the students are finished, you can go over the answers as a class. To make it

more exciting, you can turn it into a competition by naming the first group to correctly

match everything up the winner.

3. Mini-Presentations:

Assign one new word to each student. Have them look up the definition in their

dictionaries (preferably English-English).

Tell them to write down the definition in their own words. They can ask you for help, if

necessary. Circulate to check that their definitions are clear.

Also, get them to write down an example sentence, so that their classmates will be

able to better understand the meaning of the new word. Circulate to check that the

example sentences make sense.

When all of the students are done, have them come up to the front of the class one by

one. Get each student to write the word and definition on the board, and while the

other students are copying it down, have that student read the example sentence. You

can add additional clarification at this time, if need be.

4. Context:

Being able to use the context (the sentences or paragraphs that surround the word) to

figure out the meanings of new words is an essential skill that you want all of your

students to be able to master one day. Because it is difficult to do, try it as a class

activity once in a while to get students used to it.

Have students read through the text first. You can have them do it silently or out loud.

Reading out loud enables you to correct their pronunciation and intonation, which is a

good use of time since you’re practicing several skills at once.

Once you’ve gone through the text, point out the new words one by one, and have

students guess at each word’s possible meaning as a class. After a few guesses, you

can give students the answer if they are unable to come up with it. Point out the

contextual clues that could help them figure out the meaning for next time.

It’s important to note that going over vocabulary only once will rarely result in

retention. I plan to write my next post on fun vocabulary review activities, so check

back soon! You can also check out Flashcard Ideas on our website for ways to use

flashcards for vocabulary practice and review. Our Simple Sentences lesson plans have

lots of vocabulary activities for beginners, too.

How to tell a tale

Stories offer variety and can be used to provide extra language practice by

supplementing and complementing a course book. Alternatively, they can be used as a

short basic syllabus in their own right. That´s to say, the can be used yo introduce

elements of the English Language.

Here´s how to make the most of stories

Pre-listening stage

These are activities to arouse children´s curiosity and expectations:

The teacher can get pupils to identify elements in the pictures. Children can tell the

teacher words they already know.

He/she can explain the context, key words etc. In the child´s mother tongue if

necessary

He/she can get the students to deduce from their observations.

The students can give opinions about their observations.

The students can predict what they think might happen.

While listening stage.

The students are now ready to listen to the story. The teacher can either read out the

story or play the story on a tape or CD.

Using a recording has the following advantages:

The voice provides a model of English spoken by a native speaker.

It provides a variety of voices.

Some recordings provide sound effects, which are motivating and helpful for

understanding of the story.

If the teacher is the storyteller, there are other advantages:

It allows closer proximity to children. The teacher can involve the children actively in

the story by asking those questions, for instance.

The teacher can use gestures, intonation, repetitions, pauses, slow down the narration

to encourage them to predict what happens next or to clarify a language item, increase

expectations, etc.

The teacher can disguise his/her voice for different characters to help convey meaning

and to attract the pupil´s attention.

Irrespective of the way the children are going to listen to the story, the teacher will

have to tell the story more than once. Pupils love hearing stories over and over again.

Furthermore, repetition helps to retain structures and vocabulary.

While listening stage (for 2nd and 3rd cycle)

Follow the plot of the story without being too concerned about the details.

Sequence the pictures of the story

Complete true/false exercises

Count the characters, places, animals… that appear in the story

Repeat key vocabulary items or phrases. Young children must be encouraged to

participate in the storytelling. The teacher can invite them to do this by pausing and

looking at them with a questioning expression.

Mime the story. The teacher can play the recording or re-tell the story while students

mime it. This can also be done in groups. So that everybody is acting.

Correct the mistakes. The students listen to the story a second time, but this time they

should listen out for any mistakes and try to correct them.

Post listening stage (for 2nd and 3rd cycle)

These follow up activities will consolidate the language presented in the story. These

activities also aim at skill integration.

Describing characters and places of the story

Role-play. This is a more difficult activity, since it involves the students speaking. The

teacher can adapt the dialogues to the students ‘competence.

The students can read the story out loud

Comprehension questions about the story

Pronunciation practice: practice of difficult sounds, intonation patterns, etc.

Sequencing the pictures of the story

Dictations of words or expressions from the story, Dictations are very useful activities

for improving spelling and integrating the skills of listening and writing.

Drawings, Children love drawing and coloring. They can re-draw characters, the

setting, their favorites sequence… they could also think of other possible cover

illustrations.

Doing word games using vocabulary from the story, For example, completing

crosswords

Singing a song about the story or about its characters

Storytelling techniques

Children are used to listening to stories in the mother tongue, it´s a hard work,

however, in a foreign language. The teacher must ensure that their understanding is

clear.

It is important to set the mood. If possible, the children sit on the floor around you.

The teacher asks the students to sit quietly.

The teacher should make sure the students can see the teacher´s face and the

illustrations of the story

The teacher should read slowly and clearly, varying the pace and volume when

necessary

He/she should involve the student actively by asking questions, making them repeat

key vocabulary, point to the illustrations or do an action.

The teacher must use gestures, facial expressions, varied intonation and so on as much

as possible to help covey meaning and to maintain the students ‘attention.

How to Play Duck Duck Goose

Duck Duck Goose is perfect for a group of young children.

Duck Duck Goose is a classic children's game. It is also called Duck Duck Grey Duck, The

Mush Pot, Pesek or Antoakyire. The game can be played at children's birthday parties,

Vacation Bible School, summer camp or just for an everyday occasion.

Sit the children in a circle with all players facing inward. Choose a person to be "It."

Instruct the child who is "It" to walk around the outside of circle, tapping each person

lightly on the head as he passes by and saying the word duck. Those that are

designated as "Ducks" remain seated.

Tell this child to choose a person to be "Goose." When he reaches the intended

"Goose", he will tap him on the head and say goose instead of duck. The "Goose" must

jump up and chase him around the circle. If the designated "It" reaches the "Goose's"

former seat and sits down before the "Goose" can tag him, the Goose becomes "It." If

the "Goose" touches "It" before he can get back to the empty seat, this child has to sit in

the middle of the circle.

Ask the child to stay in the center of the circle until someone else is tagged out. That

person then takes that place in the middle, and the one in the middle goes back to his old

seat.

How to Play Red Light, Green Light

Red Light, Green Light is a learning game for youngsters that need no special

equipment. It can be played at parties, on the playground or in your own home.

Teachers and babysitters appreciate this easy activity that teaches listening skills and

traffic awareness, while keeping kids socially engaged. Grown-ups might be surprised

to find this game a challenge, too.

Choose one person to be the "Stoplight." All the other players are "Cars."

Mark a starting line. Have the Stoplight stand opposite the starting line a distance

away--closer for younger kids, farther for older kids or to make the game last longer.

Begin the game when the Stoplight turns around, facing away from the starting line,

and calls, "Green light!" This means all cars can go, moving at a walk toward the

Stoplight in order to tag it.

Run when the Stoplight, still facing away from the starting line, calls "Yellow light!"

Stop fast when the Stoplight calls "Red light!" and whirls around, trying to catch Cars in

the act of moving.

Lose your turn and sit out if the Stoplight says, "I saw you move!" This aspect of the

game requires honesty by both players, which is reinforced by the other Cars watching.

Win if you tag the Stoplight first. Then you get to be Stoplight for the next game. The

Stoplight wins if it gets all the Cars out before they can tag it.

How to Play Freeze Tag

Freeze Tag is an outdoor game for a group of kids. Like a regular tagging game, one

player is 'it' and the other players run around trying not to let that player catch them.

In this version, players also work as a team to try to foil the tagger. When they're

tagged, they freeze and go out of the game until someone melts them and puts them

back in play. Games can be informal, with kids deciding how they play and how long

games last. If you want to be a bit more organized, you can time games and set

different rules.

Set up the Game

All you need to play Freeze Tag is some open space and a group of kids. It's worth

setting boundaries to contain the game -- and the players -- into a specific space. The

field of play should be big enough for players to run around and evade capture but

small enough to give the child who is 'it' a fighting chance. Before you start, talk to the

kids about safe tagging -- they shouldn't push, shove or slap other people. Pick one

child to be 'it." When you're ready to start, tell the group to scatter and have the child

who is 'it' count to five before chasing after them.

Gameplay Rules

The aim of the game for the child who is 'it' is to tag as many players as possible. When

he tags players, they freeze in place and are temporarily out of the game. The rest of

the group runs round to avoid being tagged and works together to unfreeze other

team members. Players melt frozen kids by tagging any part of their bodies or by giving

them a high-five. It's worth making a rule that the player who is 'it' cannot hang

around waiting to tag when someone is trying to unfreeze a frozen player. If you're

playing to win or scoring the game, set a time limit. If the child who is 'it' freezes all

players within the allotted time, he wins; if not, the team wins.

Alternative Rules

If you have a lot of kids and a large space, the player who is 'it' may get frustrated and

exhausted pretty fast. It helps to add another 'it' so the pair can work as a team.

Alternatively, make it harder to unfreeze people by making kids melt players by

crawling through their legs. To mix things up, set a rule that a player who is frozen

three times becomes 'it,' allowing the original player to switch to a team role. You can

also play a shorter version of the game by making a freeze tag permanent. If you're

playing competitively with a large group, it can be hard for the child who is 'it' to win.

You can even things up by giving a point to 'it' for every frozen player and a point to

the team for every free player at the end of the game.

Freeze Tag Variations

Everybody's It is similar to Freeze Tag, but all of the kids tag and freeze other players.

When a player is frozen, she must wait to melt until someone else tags the player who

tagged her. Kids often find Toilet Tag fun to play. The rules are the same as Freeze Tag

but, when a player is frozen, she goes down on one knee and holds her arm out to the

side. To unfreeze her, another player must sit on her knee and move her arm down to

flush the toilet. In Chain Freeze Tag, players unfreeze players by holding their hands.

They then have to run together in a chain, gathering other frozen players as they go. If

the child who is 'it' tags any child in the chain, the whole chain freezes until a free

player can grab the hand of a child at either end.

How to teach the ABC

What is the first step in teaching a child to read? Letters and sounds instruction is the

key! In simple terms, for a child to learn to read independently and construct meaning

from text – he needs to be able to identify words automatically. He can do this after he

decodes unknown words. In order to reach this point, children have to first learn the

44 speech sounds of letters and more than 100 spellings that are made. Therefore, a

child must first be able to identify letter names and then be able to produce letter

sounds. Then, he will be ready to read! The next step is to implement a carefully

planned and systematic presentation of explicit letter/sound teaching.

Which Letters Should Be Taught First?

Although there is not one universal answer to this question, there is great data to give

professionals guidance in creating and/or implementing the necessary systematic

order of instruction. Teachers everywhere successfully teach children to read. Children

also learn differently. Quite honestly, there is no wrong order to teach letters. Many

teachers follow the curriculum, which determines the letter order.

What Does Research Say?

Some letters are harder to learn than others: U, Q, V

The following letters are most well-known by children, even if they have not been

taught them: O, A, B

Children are most likely to learn the first letter of a their name more easily and quickly

Teach the letters in an order that allows a child to form many words with them (for

example: C, M, A, T)

Begin with letters that make “simple sounds” that are easiest to stretch out and are

easier to blend: M, S, F, R, N, L

Teach new sounds in small steps

Review previously taught letters and sounds

Introduce commonly encountered sounds before the infrequent sounds: For example,

“A” occurs more commonly than “Q” or “V.”

Teach the letters that occur more frequently in most words. The most commonly

occurring letters are: E, T, A, I, N, O, S, H, R, D, L, C

Introduce vowels early. A child must know the vowel sounds, in order to make and

read words.

It is suggested to teach graphemes together, like C and H, C and K, T and H

Alphabetic order is not ideal because it does not address the needs listed above

Do not pair and teach together letters that are auditory and/or visually similar: E, I and

D, B

Introduce some continuous sounds early: M, S

One study suggests introducing lower case letters first, unless upper case letters are

similar in shape: (Similar: S, s, U, u, W, w; Dissimilar: R, r, T, t, F, f) Note: I have always

taught capital and lowercase at the same time: Ss, Rr, Tt, so I do not disagree with this

study, I myself and just unfamiliar with its effectiveness

Do not teach similar looking letters together: b, d, p, q

Introducing letters in isolation may confuse some children about the purpose of letters

in relation to words and reading

Some letters take longer to visually discriminate: t, a, e, o, s, i

Suggested Letter Order Instruction

http://www.themeasuredmom.com/free-letter-books/

Here you are different free books about each letter, if you what you can print to work.

How to use flashcards

Flashcards can be an excellent learning and teaching tool especially when introducing

new vocabulary or drilling familiar words. Besides being used by the teacher, they can

also be used in a variety of activities and even posted around the classroom for

students to reference.

Introducing new vocabulary

The words on these flashcards should be in a simple font, large enough for students at

the back of the classroom to see, and printed in an easy to read color. Generally the

reverse side of the card would have an image or a translation. When introducing new

vocabulary hold the flashcards up high enough for everyone to see and do some choral

repetition with students one word at a time revealing the reverse before moving on to

the next word. It is easiest when holding a set of flashcards to remove the front card

and move it to the back as opposed to moving them back to front. Especially with

beginners, only a handful of words should be introduced at a time.

Drilling vocabulary

After introducing new vocabulary, it is a good idea to review it often. At first,

pronounce each word, have students repeat each word as a class, and prompt them

for the translation.

This will be slower in the beginning however as they become more familiar with the

words, there will be no need for you to demonstrate pronunciation or prompt them.

When the students get to this stage with a set of vocabulary, challenge them by

flipping through the words at a faster pace. Translations are no longer necessary.

Practice

Small sets of flashcards can be used in a variety of fun activities. Here are some easy

ones.

A variation on Snap

Cards can have words, pictures, or numbers printed on one or both sides. Students

play in groups of three to five. First have students spread the cards out (face up) on the

desk in the middle of each group. Then simply say one vocabulary word aloud at a

time. Students, upon hearing the word, must repeat it and slap the corresponding

card. The student who slaps the correct card first gets to keep it and the student with

the most cards in each group wins the round.

Go fish

Cards can have printing on only one side and must be opaque. The deck must have two

or four of each card depending on how many vocabulary words you would like to use.

Around 50 cards in a deck would be good. Students play in groups of three to five. First

have students shuffle the deck and deal five cards (face down) per student. Put the

remaining cards in a pile (face down) in the middle of the desk. Students take turns

asking other members of the group for cards trying to gather the necessary two or four

cards of a particular word. You can make the asking and answering dialogue more or

less complicated depending on your students. The simplest method is to have the

student whose turn it is look directly at another student and simply say the word he is

looking for. The student being asked for a card can then either respond by saying the

word and handing the card over or saying “Go Fish” in which case the student whose

turn it is must draw a card from the center pile.

Memory

Cards can have printing on only one side and must be opaque. The deck must have two

of each card or perhaps have an image and a word for each vocabulary word. Students

play in smaller groups usually no more than four. Students should start by shuffling the

cards and laying them out (face down) in a square or rectangular grid. Students take

turns flipping over two cards trying to find a matching pair. If a matching pair is found,

the student whose turn it is gets to keep both cards and the student with the most

cards at the end of the game wins the game.

Eraser Races

Go through the picture cards that you are planning to introduce in class. Identify the

cards you think students are most likely to be familiar with. Place two of these cards on

the floor at the front of the classroom. Divide the class into two teams and have them

line up. Give the two students at the front of the lines one eraser each. When the

teacher calls out one of the cards, the two students race to put their erasers on the

correct card. The first student to do so wins a point for his team. Repeat several times,

and then add a third card. Play with three cards for several turns, and then add a

fourth card, a fifth card, and then a sixth card and so on. When you begin with cards

the students are a little familiar with, it allows you to slowly introduce some of the

more challenging vocabulary. If you are introducing vocabulary that no students in the

class know, give hints with your voice. For example, if you have a ghost card and a

ballerina card, say “ghost” in a spooky voice, so the students will have an idea of which

card it is.

Pass the Card

The students and the teacher sit in a circle. The teacher starts by passing a picture card

to the student on his left, saying, “This is a horse.” The student takes the card and

passes it to the next student, saying, “This is a horse.” The card is passed around the

circle. When the card returns to the teacher, the teacher puts that card aside and

introduces a new picture card in the same manner. When the students have learned a

few picture cards, the teacher has several options: a) wait until a card has reached the

halfway mark, then introduce a second card going in the same direction; b) introduce

cards at the same time going in opposite directions; or c) send 3-4 cards around the

circle in the same directions with little pause between each. Tip: four cards is probably

the maximum number of cards to work with at one time.

Roll The Dice

Choose six picture cards you would like to introduce and place them on the

whiteboard with magnets. Give each card a number from 1-6, writing the numbers

above the cards with your whiteboard marker. Divide the class into two teams. Give

one student, any student, a big dice to roll. The whole class watches to see what

number comes up. The first student to say the name of the vocabulary card with the

same number as the dice wins a point for her team. If nobody knows the vocabulary

card, introduce it and have the students repeat it. They’ll try hard to remember so they

can answer it correctly the next time. Play until one team reaches a set amount of

points. If it becomes easy, begin replacing the cards on the board with new cards.

Guess The Picture

Take two sheets of paper the same size as the picture cards. Cut several small holes

randomly spaced in one sheet. In the second sheet, cut larger holes in the same spots,

so that the holes from both sheets of paper line up. Cover a flashcard with the large-

holed sheet, and then place the small-holed sheet on top of that. When you look at the

picture, you will only be able to see small parts where the holes are. Can you guess

what the picture is? No? Slowly remove the large-holed sheet, revealing the picture

bit-by-bit.

What’s Missing, Teacher?

Place three familiar cards face up in a row. Turn around and ask the students to turn

one card over. You return and try to name the card. Turn the card face up again, and

let the students add a card to the pile. Turn around again, and the students turn one

card over. Return and name the card. Gradually add more cards to the mix. Tip: Have

the students turn over only one card at a time. After a few rounds, change places. The

students turn around and the teacher turns a card over.

Jumping Cards

Choose 8-10 picture cards and hang them in a row on the board. Have students stand.

Everyone stamps their feet left, right, left, right, left, right in a comfortable beat. Start

chanting the names of the cards. After two or three rounds, turn one card over. Repeat

the chant, but when you reach the card that has been turned over, everybody jumps.

Turn over another card and start the chant again. You will jump two times now.

Continue turning over cards until all but one of the cards have been turned over.

Increase the pace or the number of cards if the students want a bigger challenge!

Magic eyes

Stick a set of no more than six flashcards in a row on the blackboard. Say the names

and get the children to repeat them two or three times. Then remove the flashcards

one by one. Point to where they were and children repeat the names as if they were

still there.

Flashcard charade

Divide the class into groups of three or four. Give each group a flashcard, making sure

that other groups don’t see. Explain that children must think of a way to mime their

flashcard. Give them a minute or two to prepare this. Each group then takes turns to

do their mimes to the rest of the class and guess each other’s flashcards.

Who’s got the flashcard?

Have a music CD ready for this activity. Children stand close together in a circle with

their hands behind their backs. Choose one child to stand in the middle of the circle.

Show the flashcard you are going to use first and elicit or remind children of the name.

Explain that when you play the music, children should pass the flashcard round the

circle behind their backs. When the music stops, they should stop passing it round. The

child in the centre has three chances to find out who’s got the flashcard by asking

questions e.g. have you got the sweater? Yes, (I have). / No, (I haven’t). If he or she

finds the child with the flashcard, that child has the next turn. The game continues in

the same way using a different flashcard each time.

Blackboard pelmanism

Use 8-10 flashcards and word cards for this activity. Stick the flashcards in jumbled

order on one side of the blackboard, facing inwards so that children can’t see the

pictures, and number them. Do the same with the word cards on the other side of the

blackboard. Invite one child to choose a flashcard e.g. Number two, please! And, as

you turn it round to show the picture, to say what it is e.g. (It’s a) hat. Then invite the

same child to choose a word card in the same way. The flashcard and word card

chosen by the child match, remove them from the blackboard. If not, turn them both

round so that they are in exactly the same position but facing inwards again. The game

proceeds with different children taking turns to choose a flashcard and word card in

the same way, trying to match them from memory until they are all removed from the

blackboard.

Threes!

Sit in a circle with the children and divide them into two teams. Lay three of the

flashcards out in front of you and elicit or remind children of the names.

Then turn the flashcards over so that the pictures are hidden. Change the positions of

the flashcards on the floor so that the children can no longer easily identify them.

Invite a child from one of the teams to name one of the three flashcards. This child

then tries to find this flashcard by choosing one of them and turning it over to reveal

the picture. If it isn’t the flashcard they named, the three flashcards are turned over

and moved around again and a child from the other team has a turn in the same way.

If it is the flashcard they named, they keep it for their team. You then need to

introduce another flashcard to make up the three in the game. The game continues in

the same way with the children on each team taking turns to name and turn over the

flashcards. The team with most flashcards at the end of the game is the winner.

Repeat if it’s true

Stick a set of flashcards on the blackboard. Point to one of the flashcards and say the

name. If you have said the correct name, children repeat it. If not, they stay silent. This

activity can be made more challenging if you say sentences e.g. It’s a red tomato.

For 2nd and 3rd level:

Spelling in pairs:

Student A picks up a flashcard and asks “How do you spell [word on flashcard]?”

Student B spells the word aloud. Then they switch roles. My students keep a piece of

scrap-paper handy to write the word out as they spell it.

Point and Say in pairs

Student A picks up a flashcard, mimes its meaning, or points to it in the classroom or in

a picture. Student B says the word. For example:

Colors: students point to an object with the color.

Verbs: student act out the verb action.

Household items: student point to the item in a picture.

Sorting

Individually or in pairs, students sort their cards into categories. The categories vary

according to the word set. For example;

Clothing: indoor-outdoor, winter-summer, casual-formal, female-male

Foods: fruits-vegetables, healthy-unhealthy; sweet-salty; raw-cooked

Alphabetizing

Individually or in pairs, students alphabetize their cards.

Concentration

For this activity, one side of the flashcards must be blank. In pairs, students join their

two sets of words and play concentration. Students lay all the cards face down. They

take turns flipping over two cards at a time to find a matching pair of words.

Composing Sentences

Writing: Individually students write sentences with the words. The teacher circulates

to correct their sentences.

Speaking: In pairs: Student A picks up a card and reads the word aloud. Student B uses

the word in a sentence. Student A listens and takes dictation. The teacher circulates

and checks the sentences students have composed.

Review

Cchallenge your students with lots of flashcards by combining all the sets they need to

review. It may be a bit overwhelming but if they have truly been building upon their

knowledge during the course of their lessons, they should perform well. Difficulties

with large sets of flashcards or vocabulary would suggest that they require more

practice when new vocabulary is introduced and more consistent practice of words

they have already learned.

How to motivate kindergarten pupils

Young learners, those attending preschool and kindergarten, will not have any

personal reason for studying English.

It is simply another subject that they have to study at school or that their parents have

told them they need to learn. At this point in their lives, they may not know or

comprehend how important these classes can be. They might view your classes as

simply another fun daily activity and that is just fine. Even at this early age, you

can encourage them to develop an interest in learning English which will stay with

them long after they have finished your classes.

What Young Learners Want

Students at this level are just starting their academic careers. School may be

intimidating for some of the students in your class so, in order to encourage everyone

to participate, it is important to make your lessons relaxed and fun. YL Students will be

learning very basic material but you can design creative lessons that get students

moving around and speaking with one another. Young learners are generally very

enthusiastic about songs, especially if they can sing along, and active games. Be sure

to provide lots of encouragement and positive feedback. You want to create a safe,

stress-free environment that everyone can enjoy learning in.

How Young Learners Behave

Keep exercises fun and short because these students have short attention spans and

are easily distracted. Overacting and projection will help keep the focus on you. Teach

students how to behave in a classroom by asking them to be quiet while you are

talking and raise their hands if they have questions or want to answer a question. This

may not be directly related to ESL but it is important that students learn good behavior

early on; it will make their transition to primary school easier. Teach them to respond

to basic classroom English phrases such as “Please sit down.” because these are

expressions that they will hear repeatedly throughout their study of English. For

students at this age, you are responsible not only for starting to teach them English,

but also for preparing them for their next level of education. Students will perform

better in their classes if they behave well and have a good understanding of basic

principles.

What To Focus On

The primary focus of these lessons will be on communication and laying a solid

foundation for further English coursework. Students should practice the different

sounds of the English language and learn material such as

the alphabet, numbers, colors and shapes. You will introduce vocabulary words

gradually and may choose to study some simple structures that relate to everyday life

too. It could be that reading and writing never enter into your classes but a focus on

speaking and listening will help students become more comfortable and confident with

English.

More Young Learners Tips

There are many other things you can do to ensure that students succeed in class. There

is no need to assign homework at this stage but be sure to track individual and class

progress so that students can visually see what they have learned and how they are

doing. Encourage students to try their best and create a constructive learning

environment where students do not need to worry about making mistakes. Create

activities and exercises that are entertaining. Help students learn how to interact with

one another as well as how to speak English. Students will also feel more comfortable

if you stick to a regular schedule so if you decide to make changes, implement them

over a period of time rather than all at once. Constantly review and avoid introducing

too much new vocabulary at a time. Students may not remember material from one

day to the next so repetition is important. The more students are exposed to certain

material, the faster they will learn it. This is how native speakers learn English, by

listening to people around them and expanding their range of vocabulary gradually.

How to motivate 2nd and 3rd level pupils

Even the best students have days when they are not motivated for classroom learning.

With a little nudge from you, you can turn those dreary days into successful classes.

Children fulfill the expectations that the adults around them communicate. This does

not mean that every student will score 100% on every test we write. It does mean

that if you communicate to a child that he or she is failure, he or she will fail. If you

communicate to that same child that he or she will succeed; you will often find that

that is the outcome. With every opportunity, encourage your students that they are

making progress in their language learning. Point out to them the areas in which you

see progress and improvement. For areas in which a student struggles, try to portray a

picture of what success will look like. Encouraging your students to visualize their

success will aid them in accomplishing those goals you set before them.

Making sure you are teaching to all the learning styles in your classrooms is another

way to motivate your students. It is unrealistic to expect an auditory learner to be

successful and motivated if her sole instruction comes from reading a textbook.

Likewise, a kinesthetic learner will be frustrated listening to his teacher lecture class

after class. Make sure, as you plan your lessons that you are teaching to all the

learning styles in your classroom. If you do, you will engage students who might

otherwise struggle to pay attention in class.

When a student disengages from class, it is a good opportunity for you the teacher to

notice what methods you are using in class. Although some practices may be fine for

most students, timed tests, independent learning time, self checking methods, for

example, there will be students who not only do not connect with these methods but

who suffer negatively when you use them in your classroom. If a student begins to

disengage, be aware of the methods you are using and look for patterns. Though it is

difficult to meet every need of a classroom full of language learners, you can take pains

to avoid certain methods when it is possible to help certain students perform better in

class. This will also help you be intentional about using a variety of methods with your

class further engaging all of them.

Sometimes motivating your students is as easy as changing the material you are

using. For most teachers, the school chooses a curriculum that they expect each

teacher to follow in his or her classes. Even when this is the case, it does not mean that

you cannot bring additional resources to class. Sometimes students are turned off by

the style or approach of certain curriculum authors. Bringing a different perspective

into the class will reengage your students who are turned off by your current

materials. In addition, it will challenge those who are already seeing success from the

assigned curriculum.

Varying your environment can also be just the thing a reluctant student needs to find

fresh motivation. Field trips are always a great way to learn in a practical setting, but

even if that is not possible, take your class outside for today's lesson. Your students

may also benefit from a class meeting in the library or in another classroom. You can

still meet your daily class goals even if you take your class beyond the classroom walls.

Try setting your students to research at the library, observe another class, or listen to

native speakers in a public area. There is always language to be learned, so meet your

listening, speaking, and reading goals outside the confinement of students' tables.

Providing students with accountability is an important element of being a teacher.

Without the idea of a deadline and a grade, many students would never have the self-

motivation that is required to successfully learn a language. Be clear with your

students when you tell them your expectations. Make sure they know the deadline for

a project’s completion and what standards you will use to assess that project. You may

also consider contracting grades with your students who are at more advanced levels.

When you contract grades, your students sign a contract which outlines the

requirements to receive an a and a b. Do not give options for lower grades. The

student selects which grade he or she will receive in the class and then must complete

those requirements satisfactorily. From the start of class, your students know what

they need to accomplish, and they know that their success is completely dependent

upon themselves. This will get them to be self motivated learners and help them

engage themselves in the learning process.

Have you ever seen a child, or perhaps you have one, who is angelic when in public

and a terror at home? Some young people have similar behavior patterns when it

comes to the classroom. For you they misbehave repeatedly, but a substitute teacher

would never know it. You can break them out of this pattern by bringing outside

influences into your classroom. Invite a guest speaker or trade classes for a period with

a fellow teacher. The change in style and authority, even for a short period, may be

enough to spark some motivation in your students who have become accustomed to

your teaching style and expectations.

Competition is a great way to motivate students. We do not suggest posting grades

publicly or otherwise embarrassing your students, but there are many ways to foster a

friendly spirit of competition in your class. Games are fun for reviewing and they

motivate and engage students. You can also group your class into teams and set them

to a challenge. Who can collect the most authentic examples of the grammatical

structure you are currently studying? Which team can write the most entertaining skit

with this week’s vocabulary words? Whatever you are studying, there is some way to

add some competition to the mix.

One never fail motivational method you can use with your students is giving

rewards. Tell your students that if everyone in class earns an 80% or higher on a test

you will have a pizza party. Tell them that with successful completion of the class novel

you wills spend a day to watch the movie together. Even something as little as a sticker

on a teenager’s paper can be enough to spark some giggles and winks but with it some

fresh motivation. Design your rewards to your students’ personalities, and tell them

what your plans are. Students look forward to even the simple pleasures that you can

dole out on an ordinary day.

Finally, though not as enjoyable as other techniques to motivate, consequences of

certain actions can also be a motivator to students. Make your expectations clear,

and communicate to your student what the consequences will be to certain behavior

or work ethic. No one likes to be punished, but when positive reinforcement and lively

change ups do not work, sometimes there has to be negative consequences to your

student’s actions.

How to represent a theatre

Preschoolers and primary elementary students need basic instruction that introduces

them to the idea of playing a character and expressing themselves through acting.

Have children watch a video of animals and ask them to move their bodies as the

animals do. Describe a tree blowing in the wind or a flower growing from a seed and

have students move their bodies to recreate the action. Children's songs, nursery

rhymes or short stories also work well to teach acting skills. Have students act like a

character in the story or song. For "The Wheels on the Bus", for example, the kids

might act like the bus driver.

Week one: You introduce the scripts. It is good to use scripts that are based on

pictures books (like A Porcupine Named Fluffy and Dogs Breath). First I read the

picture books and we discuss the stories and any twists or interesting pictures. Then I

will read aloud the script as a model for the children on how a fluent reader would

sound. If there is any time left kids each get a script and read the WHOLE thing

independently.

I really talk up how actors practice the parts over and over to get it just right. They may

try saying things different ways to see how it sounds. We are not memorizing these

scripts but perfecting our voices.

Week two: Kids sit in a small circle and read the script. No assigned parts, they just

read whatever part comes next. It is pretty much round robin. Generally I do not do

round robin, but for this activity I think it serves its purpose. I purposely DON'T assign

parts yet because I want all the students to practice first. Then at the end of the day I

try to let the kids pick the parts they want. Sometimes two or three kids will want the

same part so I get them to choose a number between 1 and 10. The child with the

number closest to the one I secretly choose gets the part.

Rest of the weeks: Practice, Practice, Practice! We practice introducing the play (I

usually give this to the student with the smallest part), introducing ourselves and parts

(My name is ___ and I will be playing the part of the big bad wolf.), and standing up in

our chairs and sitting! I like to line up the chairs and as students say their parts they

stand up. We practice standing up first, then saying our part!

Since I have two groups going at the same time, I work with one while the other

practices and then I switch.

A great activity to do on these days is to video tape each performance (make sure you

have permission to videoed each child first!). Then watch the video as a whole class.

Take the time to complement each other and share what we liked. Then give time for

students to brainstorm ways to make the performance better.

Last day: Performance! We try to perform for a younger class, like a kindergarten or

first grade class.

How to teach the time

Telling time can be tricky for some students so it is important that they have a very

strong grasp on numbers before trying to proceed with this lesson. Depending on the

age of your students, they may struggle because they have not learned to tell time in

their native language so teaching general references to time such as ‘in the morning’

and ‘at night’ would be more beneficial.

Get your students in a numbers frame of mind by doing some pronunciation practice.

Only the numbers one through fifty-nine are going to be used but review zero through

one hundred anyway. A game or two of bingo would be good practice. Give students a

five by five grid with the center square filled in. Ask them to write any numbers zero

through one hundred in the remaining squares, say random numbers (starting with the

one already filled in) and play until a few students have gotten bingo.

Introduce – Time: Hours

Draw a clock face on the board to demonstrate. Start by showing times such as 7:00

and 11:00 and writing them on the board next to clock faces. Check to ensure that

your students understand that the short hand indicates the hour and should be both

said and written first. Have students repeat “One o’clock, two o’clock…” after you. Ask

students to come to the board to both write and draw times you give them. For

example, say “Rachel, it is 9 o’clock.” The student should write 9:00 and draw a clock

face indicating that time.

Introduce – Time: Minutes

Move on to minutes. Show that there are sixty minutes in an hour and that the long

hand indicates minutes which should be said and written after the hour. Now

demonstrate times such as 8:10 and 3:42 just as you did for hours in the previous step.

Ask students “What time is it?” after drawing new clock faces on the board. Ask a

student “What time is it?” while pointing to the clock in your classroom. See if there

are any volunteers to draw clock faces on the board and ask the class what time it is.

Make sure your students understand that “It’s 8:10 o’clock.” is incorrect.

Practice – Time

Have a worksheet prepared with a section containing clocks showing various times.

Ask the students to complete this section independently and check the answers as a

class. If students are struggling, more practice may be necessary. In the second section

ask students to draw in the hands of the clock and then ask their partners “What time

is it?”

Introduce – Time: Vocabulary

Once your students have a basic grasp on numbers and telling time, introduce time

related vocabulary such as those listed below:

a quarter past

It’s a quarter past 4.

half past

It’s half past 9.

a quarter to

It’s a quarter to 12.

AM

It’s 7:50 AM.

PM

It’s 11:20 PM.

noon

midnight

Your essay will determine what exact vocabulary you need to cover. Practice

pronunciation of all the new words and ask students to tell you the time shown on the

board in two different ways. For example “It’s 7:15. It’s a quarter past 7.” Extensive

drilling and practice activities are necessary at this stage.

Practice – Time

Continuing the worksheet used above, students can match sentences with clock faces

or even with images. For example “It’s 9:30 AM” might match up with an image of a

student at school while “It’s midnight” would go with an image of a person sleeping.

Production – Time

Teach your students the model dialogue below:

A: Excuse me. What time is it?

B: It’s 9:30.

A: Thank you.

B. You're welcome.

Have students practice this dialogue in pairs using clock faces drawn on the board or

printed on their worksheets. Students should take turns being A and B. After five to

ten minutes of practice ask for students to demonstrate the conversation to the class

in order to ensure that students are correctly saying the time that corresponds with

each image.

Review

To end the class use another short activity to review what has been covered in class.

Ask students to tell you the time shown on the board, translate phrases, and ask for

the time to ensure that students are comfortable using all the new material and review

anything that gives them difficulty both before the class ends and at the beginning of

the next lesson.

How to drill

After introducing new vocabulary words, grammar points, or sentence structures, you

have to drill them with your class.

There are many ways to drill new material. Using a variety of drilling methods in your

classes will help make this portion of the lesson more interesting and keep students

focused.

Choral Repetition

Choral repetition is a commonly used method of drilling. Students simply have to

repeat words or phrases after you. This is a good method because it means that

students are given excellent model pronunciation immediately before they are asked

to respond. Going through vocabulary this way many times in a single lesson will be

boring for your students and they will be less inclined to perform well. Break up the

monotony by changing the speed or volume you use and have students change their

responses accordingly. Using this method, students are not called on individually to

pronounce words therefore you will need to check individual pronunciation and

comprehension separately. Integrating these checks into your drill activities will keep

students alert because they will never know when you may call on them.

Drilling with Flashcards

Drilling using flashcards can be useful as well. In the introduction, show students both

the image and word sides of each flashcard. When you start drilling words for the first

time, show students the word side of the flashcard so they can practice reading and

pronouncing it. Later on, rather than show students the word you want them to

pronounce, show them the image. This will help check their comprehension of the

material. With flashcards, you can also challenge your students when they become

more familiar with certain vocabulary by flipping through the cards at a faster rate

Comprehension

Asking for volunteers or calling on students to give you a synonym, antonym, or

translation of a new vocabulary word will check individual comprehension. It is always

nice to ask for volunteers as opposed to calling on students individually but generally

a volunteer will be more confident in his answer so this will not properly show whether

or not the class understands the material. When you find it necessary to single out

particular students who are not participating in drill activities, calling on them for

answers is an easy method of focusing their attention on the lesson. Doing

comprehension checks is also a good way to break up the drill activities a bit.

Drilling in Pairs

As material becomes more familiar, you may want to conduct short pair activities

where a student’s comprehension is tested by his partner. To do this with a vocabulary

list for instance, have student A read the translation of each word in random order

while the student B says the word in English. Student A can then place a checkmark

next to all the words student B got correct and then the students can switch roles.

With this method students can check each other and have visual proof of how well

they performed afterwards which they can refer to when practicing material on their

own or preparing for exams. Conducting an activity such as this on a regular basis will

help students review vocabulary often and should not take more than five minutes

even with fifteen to twenty vocabulary words. It may still be necessary to practice

using choral repetition before performing pair activities so that students are reminded

of the proper pronunciation of the vocabulary.

Games

Breaking your classroom up into sections where each section says one portion of a

new structure is another way of drilling material. In small classes you can conduct

some drilling activities in a circle. The more variation there is to an activity, the more

students have to pay attention but it is best to start off with the simplest, easiest

variation of a game and build on it as opposed to trying to explain a complex activity

from the very beginning. Challenging students but not overwhelming them is

important in maintaining their attention and participation.

Drilling is generally not the most fun part of teaching or learning English but it is an

essential step when learning new material. Varying your approach can make it more

enjoyable and encourage students to participate more fully.

How to teach the differences about a/an

Advice and classroom activities for teaching the two forms of the indefinite article and

the difference between them.

The explanation that “an” is followed by a vowel is well known. However, this is often

misunderstood because “an” actually comes before a vowel sound rather than a

written vowel (that is, letter). This leads to examples like “He’s an honest man” and

“There’s a university just across the street” (not “a honest man” or “an university”).

The first example also illustrates something else that students sometimes find

confusing, that “a” or “an” goes with whatever word comes next rather than always

being affected by the noun, as in “an imposing woman” but “a woman”.

Some native speakers use “an” with words with a pronounced “h” as in “an historic

day”, but this is neither consistent nor standard usage and so best ignored unless

students bring it up.

If we ignore the “an historian” problem (as I always would at the level that “a”/“an” is

usually presented) we basically have a simple distinction, with two tricky little points

(silent H and U with a /ju:/ sound) to keep students on their toes. This means that

practice is much more important than presentation, and in fact it is possible to do

whole lessons with just a couple of minutes of actual grammar presentation, and this

can be cut down still further if you make sure you use lots of realistic classroom

language with “a” and “an” such as “Can I have a/an…, please?” and “What’s this? It’s

an elephant” in the weeks before this point comes up in the book. The more elaborate

presentation ideas below are therefore for higher-level classes.

Presentation activities for a/an

A/An chain stories

Make up or adapt at least two texts so that they have many examples of “a” and “an”,

giving each student just one text each. They try to memorise the story and then tell it

to someone else. Perhaps after people orally passing on the stories further times,

students who have just heard the same story work together to write it down. They

then compare their version with the original, commenting on factual and grammatical

differences between the two versions and then trying to work out the difference

between “a” and “an”.

A dictogloss

This is like a teacher-led version of the game above. The teacher reads out a text with

lots of examples of “a” and “an” twice. Students just listen the first time and listen and

make notes the second time, then work together to reconstruct the whole text.

Perhaps after comparing with the original text, students then discuss the rule for

“a”/“an”.

A jigsaw story

Create or adapt a story so that it has lots of examples of “a” and “an” in it, then split it

up after some of those words, e.g. “It was a” “dark and stormy night. An” “undertaker

was working in the morgue and…”. Students put together the story from a

combination of meaning and grammar, then discuss what the rules are for “a” and

“an”.

A clap, a clap and another clap

This is slight variation on a well-known game where students sitting in a circle take

turns brainstorming, the next person having to add to the list after three claps (i.e. on

the fourth beat) after the person sitting next to them. This can be done with

vocabulary and/or grammatical categories such as “Clothes with an” or “Words

beginning with U”. Another possibility is for students to work their way through the

alphabet in order, e.g. clap clap clap “An apple” clap clap clap “A bed”. For more

intensive practice of “an” they could do the same thing with just A E I O U or in more

advanced classes with the vowel sounds that the teacher has written on the board

such as /a:/.

A/An Hangman

You can give “It’s a” or “It’s an” as the first clue for Hangman (preferably also

continuing to give hints like “It’s usually black” and “It’s in my bag now” whenever they

guess a letter that isn’t part of the word).

A/An Snap

This is based on the old card game Snap!, with the match that someone should say

“snap!” to being two cards that take “a” or two cards that take “an”. This obviously

leads to more matches than most versions of this game, so you might want to add

some completely blank cards that don’t match with anything to slow the game down.

A/An Pelmanism

This is also based on a popular card game, this time the memory game Pairs, where

students find two face-down cards that match in some way. In this case a match is two

cards that take “a” or two cards that take “an”. To add the target language, they

should make a sentence describing the first card that they turn over (e.g. “It’s an

orang-utan”) before they turn over the second one.