Filed under: Classroom Tips | Tags: classroom distractions, Englihsh with Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL
A great lesson plan becomes difficult to execute when there are classroom distractions. Here’s a list of some of common distractions and tips to follow so that you aren’t led off track.
-
Off-task talking. It can be uncomfortable to be in the position where you must correct unwanted behavior of adult learners. You expect a certain level of maturity and mutual respect. I think respect is the key word. It may be helpful to post a pledge of respect* and call attention to it on the first day of class. Leave it on the wall as a reminder to all. When off-task talking occurs, it’s usually enough to say the students’ names followed by a firm please. If it repeats, you could make eye contact with the students in question and point to the pledge posted on the wall. I’ve also found it effective to continue teaching but move in close proximity to the talkers. They stop chatting as I approach. *MODEL: This is a place of learning and mutual respect. We will listen when others are talking. We will allow others to state their opinions. We will encourage everyone in his or her efforts to learn English.
-
Cell phones. State your rules clearly. Allow no exceptions.
-
Students coming and going. State your rules about tardiness and early departures. Consider the set-up of your room in relation to the door. If you can, allow a clear path on one side for a smooth exit (e.g. for trips to the restroom).
-
Lighting. Move about the room throughout the day and see the board and everything else from the students’ view. Is there a glare from the sun? Is one corner too dim? Don’t have blinds on the window? Talk to your school director about your concerns.
-
Classroom temperature. This can be a tough one to control when you don’t have access to a thermostat. Share your concerns with the school director. What are your options? Use of windows, fans, space heater, or what?
-
Outside noise. At home or at work, it’s annoying to deal with car alarms. Construction noise is another potential lesson-breaker. The same fan you requested to cool down your hot room may come in handy when dealing with outside noise. White noise is the next best thing to quiet.
-
Coughing, sneezing, etc. Winter colds and allergy season can lead to a chorus of distracting sounds. While I don’t like to see food in the classroom, I feel that bottles of water or juice are fine. I’d rather students take quiet sips of a beverage than deal with someone clearing his throat every two minutes. I also find it helpful to keep a box of tissues handy for everyone’s use.
-
Smells. A bottle of OJ is fine, but aromatic coffee is likely good only for the drinker and not the rest of the class. Both pleasant and unpleasant smells can be distracting. State your rules for beverages. Also, explain that some people are allergic to fragrances, so no strong perfumes or colognes, please. Finally, empty your trash when it’s full, and use windows and fans to combat sweating in the summer.
-
Room size. Small numbers and high numbers of students can challenge your use of an assigned room. With small numbers, get students to work more closely together, not letting anyone drift off to the far side or back of the room. With high numbers, increase students’ workspace by keeping unnecessary bags, coats, and other items on the floor or off to one side.
-
School announcements. Whether these interruptions come over the PA or through a visit by school staff, don’t let them throw you off. Remember where you are in your lesson and promptly return to that point when the announcement is over. If the announcement is long, you might use that time for yourself either to prepare for the next activity or to complete an administrative task. The nature of the announcement might actually serve you well: Can you make it a discussion topic in your conversation class? Can you use the content to illustrate a grammar point you’ve been working on? Not all interruptions threaten a lesson.
Filed under: Grammar
· Remember the “magnet rule” of opposites: If the statement is positive (affirmative), the tag is negative. If the statement is negative, the tag is positive (affirmative.)
You know the answer, don’t you? (+ / -)
You don’t know the answer, do you? (- /+)
· Clarify which auxiliary verbs are used to form the tag. Use the first auxiliary verb from the main statement. It should be a form of BE or HAVE or a modal verb (can, could, will, would, should, etc.) If the statement is in the simple present or simple past tense and BE isn’t the main verb, use a form of DO.
She hadn’t studied grammar before, had she?
= use of HAD
She’s hardworking student, isn’t she?
= use of BE
She’ll have learned a lot by the end of the course, won’t she?
= use of first auxiliary verb
She has a gift for languages, doesn’t she?
= use of DO
· Note unexpected pronoun pairings.
1. AM I NOT? is a formal tag. In everyday English, the tag AREN’T I? is preferred: I’m right, aren’t I? (Formal: I am right, am I not?)
2. Demonstrative pronouns THIS/ THAT in the main statement require IT in the tag: This is yours, isn’t it?
3. Demonstrative pronouns THESE/ THOSE in the main statement require THEY in the tag: Those don’t work, do they?
4. THERE as a pronoun in the main statement requires THERE in the tag: There isn’t enough time, is there?
5. Indefinite pronouns for people (both, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, etc.) in the main statement generally call for THEY in the tag: Nobody complained, did they?
· Teach purpose and intonation together. Tag questions elicit a yes-no answer (or “I don’t know.”) Why are the questions asked? Grammar sources commonly identify two main purposes: to confirm information or to seek agreement. However, when you really take the time to think of all the situations in which you might use tag questions, those two main purposes divide further and a third main purpose appears:
TO CONFIRM = You are asking a real question. >> Rising intonation.
1. To verify information. = Today’s March 25, isn’t it?
2. To start a conversation. = Excuse me. You work at BU, don’t you? I think we’ve met.
TO SEEK AGREEMENT = You don’t really need or expect an answer. >> Falling intonation.
1. You are certain that your information is correct. You want your listener to acknowledge this. = What are you afraid of? We went bungee jumping together last summer, didn’t we?* Sky diving will be just as fun!
2. You are certain of your opinion, but you want your listener to agree with it. = That was an amazing experience, wasn’t it?
* Could be said with rising intonation if the listener seems to have forgotten.
TO MAKE A REQUEST = You hope for compliance. >> Rising intonation.
1. To make an informal request. = Give me a hand with this, would you?
2. To make an urgent request out of annoyance. = Quit bugging me, will you?
3. To make a polite request or offer. = Please join us, won’t you?
4. To make an invitation or suggestion. = Let’s eat, shall we?
· Note the use of imperatives followed by tag questions. As seen above, tag questions that follow imperatives make use of WILL or WOULD. Let’s requires SHALL in the tag.
· Note informal tags. Students are bound to encounter the use of informal tags, so we might as well point them out for what they are. Examples:
You’re coming, right?
Don’t tell anyone, okay?
This is really exciting, you know?
(I don’t like typing this next one, but it’s out there.)
That’s the truth, ain’t it?
Filed under: Classroom Tips, Conversation | Tags: English proverbs, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, proverb summaries, word walls
Don’t cross that bridge before you come to it. This is a familiar proverb, one of those succinct and wise expressions we rattle off when commenting on everyday situations. It’s often hard to translate proverbs because they are so colorful and clever, yet their meanings are important to understand. Proverbs are a reflection of a culture and woven tightly into communication. For these reasons proverbs have their place in language instruction.
How can we help our students learn proverbs? Some common practices are a good illustration of waiting to cross the bridge until you come to it: address a proverb in the context of a reading passage, a listening passage, or when it slips out in your own speech.
Those are good and helpful practices, but let’s consider an alternative: You bring a proverb to the students’ attention deliberately, that is, before a chance encounter. Wait, you say. Doesn’t this mean there’s a lack of context? Not necessarily. It all depends on your presentation. Here are two suggestions:
- Wall of Proverbs – You’ve likely heard of word walls and perhaps have used them in some way in your own classroom. Typically, a word wall is used as an interactive display of common words to promote reading among children in their first language. Could we not adapt the concept for proverbs? Each week add one or two proverbs to the wall. Avoid a clutter, limit the number of proverbs displayed at one time, and recycle old ones to increase familiarity. At the start of the week, call attention to the newest additions, explain their meanings, and give examples. Then make a practice of referring to them a couple of times throughout the week. For instance, when assigning homework you can remind students not to procrastinate by pointing to the proverb of the week: Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Or when asking students to work in pairs, you point to a proverb posted the week before: Two heads are better than one.
- Proverb Summaries – Consider activities that present and activate a small list of proverbs through conversation or writing. In the activity Proverb Summaries, you list 4-5 proverbs on the board and explain their meanings. Then each student can choose a proverb to sum up a personal experience. Their choices are shared either with a partner or in a small group. Model:
Question: Which proverb best reflects how your weekend was spent? Why?
Choices: (1) The early bird catches the worm. / (2) All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. / (3) If you can’t beat them, join them. / (4) Every dog has its day. / (5) What goes up must come down.
Online resource:
Filed under: Methodology | Tags: English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, teaching adults
As a teacher, it can be a joy to work with any age group. The secret is finding the right approach to make the learning experience positive for everyone. Next, you determine which specific strategies align with your basic approach. The strategies are compiled into a toolbox you tote with you to every lesson. When I worked with children in the past, I found ways to teach through music and movement. I also took advantage of their willingness to play games and listen to a good story. When I worked with teens, I kept on top of pop culture and tried to weave the information into my classroom examples and activities. What about adult learners?
The beauty of working with adult learners is two-fold: They are usually in the classroom because of their own choosing. Also, they bring knowledge and skills that can be transferred into their language learning experience. By skills, I am not simply referring to academic ones such as being able to use a dictionary or scanning for information. Adults have had the time to develop expertise and confidence in their various jobs and hobbies. That is what we the teachers must tap into because our adult learners can all too easily leave their confidence at the door along with expertise they have in other areas of their lives. Students’ confidence must be high enough for a positive learning outcome to be achieved. Doubt and self-criticism hinder progress.
I believe in finding ways to transfer confidence from outside the school walls to a classroom. This can be done by reminding adult learners of their expertise in a particular area and making that expertise integral to a lesson. For instance, I once taught a man with less than clear speech who attended my pronunciation classes. To encourage him in his efforts to master English sounds and rhythm, I incorporated exercises that placed him and his classmates at the front of the room making short oral presentations. Why? He was a minister and very comfortable on his feet facing a group. In this familiar position he gained confidence from those who returned his kind and steady gaze and listened to his warm yet authoritative voice. I also recall a sweet older mother who usually struggled with grammar and conversation, but blossomed the day everyone was required to share a favorite recipe with the class. She was in her element. Much like her recipe for tasty chicken and rice, a lesson that allows students to draw on their world knowledge and utilize individual skills yields satisfying results.
Filed under: Conversation, Reading | Tags: communicative activity, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, magazine reviews
I’ve noted before that magazines are great items to keep on hand. They can be used for a variety of communicative activities. Here’s one more to try out in your own classroom:
Activity: Magazine Reviews
Level: Intermediate to advanced
Skills Targeted: reading (scanning, skimming); academic skills/ critical-thinking skills (making predictions, making inferences)
STEP 1 – Collect a dozen or so magazines of various types, from GQ to National Geographic. Don’t subscribe to any? Ask your friends, neighbors, and even the receptionist at your doctor’s office for magazines that are no more than a few months old. Try to avoid copies of the same magazine (even if they are different issues).
STEP 2 – Bring your collection to class and initiate a short discussion about magazines to find out which ones the students read (if any). Hand out one magazine to each student (it should be done randomly unless a student regularly reads a certain magazine, in which case you can hand him/her something new). Ask the students to look at the cover, skim the index/ table of contents, and scan the whole magazine for article titles and advertisements. Prepare a sheet of questions to guide this process. Model:
- What’s the title of your magazine?
- How often is this magazine published?
- What kind of articles are there?
- What kind products are advertised?
- Who do you think reads this magazine?
- Would you read this magazine?
- How much does this magazine cost?
STEP 3 – As a class review any necessary vocabulary. Suggestions: publish, issue, advertise(ment), cost, newsstand price, appeal to, topic, article, title/ be titled.
STEP 4 – Have students work in small groups of 3 or 4. Each student should present his/her findings to the group. (Students should not work with others who looked at the same magazine.) Prepare a sheet of phrases to guide this process. Model:
- I looked at _______________________.
- This is a magazine for _______________________ (whom). / I think this magazine mostly appeals to _______________________ (whom).
- They write about topics such as _______________________. For example, I saw one article titled _______________________.
- The advertisements are for _______________________ (name the kinds of products).
- The newsstand price is _______________________, and I think that’s _______________________.
- Personally, I would/ wouldn’t read this magazine because _______________________.
STEP 5 – Have students change groups so that they can work with other students. (Again, try not to place together those students who looked at the same magazine.) Repeat the process of sharing findings.
STEP 6 – Encourage students to read magazines on their own. Remind them that libraries have free copies for on-site reading. If you are not going to repeat this activity with another group, allow students to take copies home to read on their own.
Filed under: Conversation, Listening, Reading, Writing | Tags: English With Jennifer, how to teach literacy, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, language experience approach, lea
For those who are not familiar with the Language Experience Approach (LEA), it was created as a way to develop literacy for native-English-speaking children. In time, the approach found application in the ESL classroom as well. The basic idea is for a teacher or aide to transcribe an oral account as told by the learner and turn it into a readable text. The process integrates speaking, listening, reading, and writing. It is characterized by a high degree of personalization: the content and the language are chosen by the learner. This ensures engagement. How can one’s own story not be of interest to the learner?
I am hardly the first to consider experimenting with the LEA in order to develop the language skills of more advanced adult learners. From one-on-one (as is the tradition) to a group format, and from oral readings to forms of publication, there are probably a dozen or so possible variations of the LEA. Let me offer this one:
ACTIVITY: Story Scramble and Retell
STEP 1 – Place students in groups of 3 (or 4 if necessary). Write two topics on the board and ask the group to initiate a conversation about ONE of them. Choose topics that have broad appeal but are specific enough to quickly inspire personal stories. Examples: (1) Pets I’ve Owned / (2) Bad Food Experience. Allow groups about 5 minutes to converse freely. Give them a 1-minute warning before you tell them to stop.
STEP 2 – After this initial period of conversation, ask each group to choose one student to retell a BRIEF story from his/ her past (less than a minute). If it’s difficult to choose one student, have them flip a coin or draw straws (slips of paper). Tell them each person will have a special role. Student A tells the story. Student B sits next to Student A and transcribes the account exactly as it is told. Student C (and D if there are four) listens and asks questions either for clarification or to prompt Student A.
STEP 3 – The roles change slightly. Students B and C now look at the transcribed text suggest corrections. Student A must give his/ her approval for changes to be made. Student C rewrites the text starting each new sentence on a new line with wide spacing. Ideally, there should be about 8-10 lines. Model (based on a true story):
My family had a cat while I was growing up.
It was an outdoor cat, and it liked to hunt.
It usually brought home whatever it killed.
One day it brought a chipmunk.
The problem was that the chipmunk wasn’t dead.
It was hurt and scared.
The cat chased it into our house.
It took my brother and his friend and two hockey sticks to get the chipmunk out of the dining room and back outside.
I stood screaming on a kitchen chair the whole time.
STEP 4 – The text is now cut out line by line to create strips of paper. Ask each group to shuffle the strips and hand them over to another group of students.
STEP 5 – With their set of strips, each group must assemble a story in what they believe is the correct order. Once they feel that the order is logical, they must rewrite the story in paragraph form. Editing and revision are allowed.
STEP 6 – Using the final drafts, the groups read their assembled stories to the class. The original story-teller may comment on the accuracy and quality of the final version. Final drafts can be handed to the teacher for additional corrections.
STEP 7 – (Optional) – Independently, each student may write a short account on the other topic that was not chosen by their group and submit it to the teacher. Once revisions are made, these stories may be shared orally in a later lesson.
While unique on its own, the above activity still respects the basic characteristics of the LEA. The content is student-generated. The language is chosen by the students. The level of skills integration is high: it embraces a whole language approach.
Filed under: Pronunciation | Tags: English interjections, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, pronunciation activities, teaching intonation
I’ve often taught separate lessons for each intonation pattern in American English, and I think this is effective when language learners are first studying the different patterns. However, once students have been exposed to those patterns, they need to deal with them in close proximity to one another. For instance, when rising and falling intonation are used back-to-back, can students hear the difference? Students’ comprehension of various intonation patterns should be tested not only through simple discriminatory exercises, but also through listening passages that illustrate intonation in a meaningful context. Once they gain comfort identifying a speaker’s mood or underlying thoughts through intonation, they can more accurately use the intonation patterns in their own speech.
Interjections fit very well into a lesson on pronunciation. Though short by nature, they play important roles in communication. Here’s a suggested series of activities:
- STEP 1 – Elicit interjections from the class and list them on the board. Example: What do Americans say when hurt themselves? (Ouch!) Possible list: ouch, ah, well, mm, oh, oops, yikes.
- STEP 2 – Listening task: Test the students’ ability to identify an intonation pattern and its meaning. Have students sit in pairs and listen to a list of isolated interjections spoken by the teacher. The teacher can use versatile interjections such as ah, oh, well, and mm. State each interjection in two different ways (for a total of 8-10 items). Be sure to use facial expressions and possibly even body language to help illustrate the meaning you want to convey. After each item is spoken, the students will work in pairs to identify the pattern and interpret its meaning. Example: Students hear “Oh!” with a sharp rise-fall. They identify the pattern and understand that the teacher is surprised by something. The teacher asks one pair to share their ideas, the class agrees or disagrees, and then the teacher confirms the correct answer.
- STEP 3 – Pronunciation task: Test the students’ ability to produce correct intonation with interjections. Prepare 5-6 photos of people in advance. You can use magazine photos, Microsoft clip art, or online images (from Yahoo and Flickr). You want to collect photos illustrating a variety of emotions: bored, excited, surprised, in pain, etc. Tape the photos on the board and number them. In pairs, students should choose an interjection to represent each photo. Their work can then be shared and compared. Be sure students say the interjections with a clear and appropriate intonation pattern.
- STEP 4 – Using the same photos, assign one to each pair. With their partners, students create a short dialogue (teacher must set minimum and maximum length) between two people. One character is the person in the photo. The interjection selected from Step 3 must be included. Dialogues are then shared with the class.
Filed under: Grammar, Vocabulary | Tags: collocations, English prepositions, English With Jennifer, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, prepositions, teaching prepositions, vocabulary skills
Leaving phrasal verbs and their many particles aside, we have plenty to talk about when it comes to teaching prepositions. From beginner to advanced, students complain about the difficulty of mastering English prepositions. Are we surprised by something or at something? Do you talk to someone or with someone? Is there anything we can do to facilitate learning when it comes to prepositions?
I’m not aware of any sure-fire method to mastering prepositions quickly and effectively, so if anybody reading this is, please enlighten me. I’ve concluded that once prepositions of location and direction are covered, the remaining uses of prepositions are best treated in the context of vocabulary and not grammar. You can memorize words and their definitions, but that doesn’t mean you can use them meaningfully and accurately. Similarly, you can learn that with implies together and for conveys a purpose, but that doesn’t make it easier to decide which of the following is correct: Let me help with you./ Let me help for you./ Let me help you. Also, you can memorize charts of adjective + preposition combinations (e.g. content with) and verbs that are followed by prepositional phrases (e.g. ask for/ ask about), but only by using these collocations in one’s oral and written expression can a person internalize them.
The key is to be thorough when teaching new words. Let’s say the topic is people’s states and feelings. Hungry is first on the list. When we teach hungry to beginner students, we can have them practice making statements using hungry for (something). As students speak about the upcoming lunch hour, they can question one another about what they’re hungry for. In doing so, they are demonstrating their understanding of the word as well as their ability to use the word in communication. The conclusion: we must teach the meaning and use of new vocabulary.
It’s also necessary to test and confirm students’ knowledge of vocabulary outside the context of a vocabulary lesson. At all levels, we can encourage students to speak in longer phrases if not full sentences to draw out those collocations and solidify them. For example, after reading a passage with low intermediate students, you ask: “How does the man in the story feel?” A student volunteers: “Jealous.” This is great vocabulary, but it doesn’t reveal the student’s full ability to use it. You then ask: “Of who(m)?” The student has the chance to pick up the cue and answer: “Of his brother.” You restate this for everyone’s benefit: “So the man is jealous of his brother. Does everyone agree?”
If we take the time to teach vocabulary thoroughly and later make the effort to reinforce collocations when opportunities present themselves, our students stand a much better chance of working with rather than against the array of English prepositions.
Filed under: Writing, professional development | Tags: English punctuation, English With Jennifer, Essentials of English, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL, punctuation marks, punctuation rules, Punctuation Tree
We all know that sentences must end with a period and that apostrophes do not aid us in making plural nouns. Such knowledge, however, does not imply our punctuation is always perfect. As English language teachers, we are most likely more accurate than the average English speaker, but we can certainly fall prey to inattentiveness and just plain old doubt. Even for teachers, there is some confusion when it comes to:
· Using or omitting commas with appositives. Do not use commas with restrictive appositives. Examples: The educational publisher Pearson Longman is always well represented at the annual TESOL convention. (The appositive gives essential information. It identifies who the publisher is.) / This blog, a resource for ESL teachers, is sponsored by Pearson Longman. (It is not necessary to include the appositive.)
· Deciding to capitalize the first word after a colon. Not all writer’s manuals agree, but it’s safe to always capitalize an independent clause following a colon. If, however, a colon introduces a series or a phrase, capitalization is not necessary unless that first word is a proper noun. Examples: Technology has a growing role in education: It is no longer limited to being a supplement or enhancement of traditional instruction, but rather it is shaping new forms of instruction such as webinars. / One amazing tool has allowed me to stay professionally active over the past three years: the Internet.
· Using a dash. Often a colon, comma(s), or parentheses would serve us better than a dash. It seems dashes are inserted far more often in informal writing. Most manuals see the nature of the dash as abrupt. It can mark a change in the line of thinking or interject a comment. Example: I enjoy hearing from my YouTube viewers – all 13 thousand of them! – but I can’t respond to each and every message.
· Hyphenating compound words. Sometimes there is a choice as in co-worker/ coworker. Creative compounds take away that choice: a sweet-as-honey voice. It’s easy to forget the first hyphen when there are two hyphenated compounds together, so observe: I like to teach 50- or 90-minute lessons.
· Putting punctuation inside or outside the end quotation mark. Most sources in the US say to place periods and commas within quotation marks. Call me rebellious then because I follow the UK practice of placing periods and commas outside the quotation marks if they refer to the whole sentence. Examples: (US) It’s better to talk about grammar that is “challenging” rather than “difficult.”/ (UK – and Jennifer!) It’s better to talk about grammar that is “challenging” rather than “difficult”.
To help you provide the best writing model you can for your students, I’d suggest you note one or two websites with clearly stated explanations on punctuation and/ or purchase a copy of a good writer’s reference manual.
Online resources:
Offline resource:
Filed under: Pronunciation | Tags: English With Jennifer, how to teach consonants, how to teach phonemes, how to teach vowels, Jennifer Lebedev, JenniferESL
Can consistently miraculous results ever be guaranteed? Probably not, but I will say that with adult learners I’ve found it most effective to present vowel and consonant sounds by performing these steps in various sequences:
1. Explain the mechanics in a slow, simple manner;
2. Model the mechanics using your hands to represent the articulators;
3. Draw a mouth on the board and show how the articulators must work;
4. Use imagery, an analogy, or otherwise vivid explanation to make the production of the given sound memorable;
5. Repeatedly model the sound yourself as you perform the steps above so that the students can watch the movements of your mouth.
6. Put the sound in context, focusing on its placement in different parts of words (i.e., initial, medial, final). Note any changes in articulation of the sound depending on its position within a word.
7. Contrast the sound with another one when possible. For example, voiced and unvoiced pairs such as /g/ and /k/ or commonly confused sounds such as / ɪ / and / i /.
8. Build upwards. For example, if it’s a consonant sound, does it appear in blends or clusters?
9. Move to the phrase and sentence level so that students can practice smooth, connected speech.
10. Incorporate fun, meaningful practice to encourage sound production that is less conscious and more automatic.
For a demonstration of these 10 steps, click here.
