Category Archives: Listening and Speaking
Eight Great Reading Fluency Activities
According to the National Reading Panel, the four components of reading are: comprehension, vocabulary, fluency and alphabetics. As ESOL teachers we know how to teach vocabulary and comprehension, but fluency and alphabetics are terra incognita. So here, I introduce four classics and four more contemporary activities that focus on specific skill development in reading …
The Multisensory Checklist for Teaching Language
Here is a list I wrote to remind myself of the many modalities I can use in my class. Instructions: Just think back to your last week or two of teaching and check the boxes off. (To maximize this exercise, do it at regular intervals for several weeks.) Don’t expect to check all the boxes. …
Let’s Get Physical: Teaching Pronunciation
For pronunciation, I take a physical and playful approach. Many of my students are from Central America. They are reserved and find the expressive movements necessary for pronouncing American English quite embarrassing. I try to keep our pronunciation practice playful. As we practice, I make silly faces and try to get them to mobilize their …
Multilevel Dictation Handout
This is a handout a collegue, John Antonellis, created to use with dictations in his class.
Conversation Cards: A Warm-up Activity
Questions are the springboard for most conversations in English, whether they be “What do you do?” “Are you from around here?” or “How was your day?” These questions are a great way to open or extend a conversation. In my low-level English class we practice and recycle these questions regularly. Here’s how: Conversation Cards At …
Language for Working in Teams
Group work requires all sorts of language that might not be in the book. This is the language of turn-taking, clarifying, and making suggestions. Explicitly teach these gambits before students get into groups, so everyone is equipped with the language skills to work together.
Telling and Retelling: Practice Makes Perfect
Here are two fun activities that give students that essential chance to practice speaking.
