Creative posters from pinterest - Part 2

I've mentioned pinterest before - both for teaching and for working on language areas.  

Today, I wanted to mention a few things I've saved on my pinterest board.

Forever is over!

http://www.anatol.cc/images/objekte/nothing_lasts_forever2012.JPG

So many words are inside other words.......

When there's an earthquake, the earth quakes!

                                        Acting out of character?

char      er

     act

I'd like to have ......

http://pulpfreedom.tumblr.com/image/36702051634

What about you?  What would you like more of?

You could use posters like these to work on language.  Students can make their own.

http://wishflowers.tumblr.com/post/18929048409

For this last one, you could give students the verbs and they can choose the words to combine with them.
think                                                          daily
exercise                                                      happy
eat                                                             hard
work                                                          healthy
stay                                                            less
worry                                                         more
dance                                                         often
love                                                           positively
be                                                              strong

Another date for your calendar

Every week now I receive invitations to webinars.  Sometimes they fit in with my busy schedule and I can take part in them live.  At other times, I can't connect live because I'm out or just too busy.  That's not a problem because I can watch the recording afterwards.  It's fantastic!  

If you have an internet connection, teachers can take part in training no matter where they teach.

The latest webinar invitation I received is for:

Register link

I've signed up for the Monday session.  I might meet some of you online?

Teaching English posters

You may have noticed that I haven't written anything on this blog for several days.  I'm currently packing up the contents of our house - we're going to have some serious work done to it so we're moving out for a few months!!!  After 22 years of living in the same house, we have accumulated rather a lot of stuff.  I wanted to take advantage of the situation to have a sort-out/clear-out!  It's nearly done, but has taken up rather a lot of time and energy over the past two weeks!!!

While I was going through my papers - a neverending task! - I came across a note to myself to look again at TeachingEnglish.com posters.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/posters

There are 7 'posters' - more than 'posters', they are corkboards with ideas for teaching writing, reading, vocabulary, pronunciation, listening, grammar, speaking.

You can find some good ideas on the boards - maybe some ideas that you haven't used for a while.

So, I thought I'd share the link with you via this blog.  I hope to get back to writing regular posts!

Just out - TESOL Spain articles about exams

I must apologise for being a bit 'missing' as people in Spain would say.

But at the moment, my waking hours are taken up by finalising Young Learner timetables and dashing around Cantabria running sessions for the Cambridge English: Young Learners English Tests.

I keep an eye on the emails I receive and answer the urgent ones as they come in, but many are left in my inbox, waiting for a bit of spare time to look at them in more detail.

But I thought I'd mention a couple of articles in the latest TESOL Spain e-newsletter because they are both exam-related.  (And one of them happens to be written by a great friend and fellow Cambridge English: Language Assessment Presenter -  Rosie Burke)

100 Years of Cambridge English talks about how different the exams our students take nowadays are from the Certificate of Proficiency in English when it was first taken in 1913.  I for one have seen so many changes in the Cambridge English exams during the time I've been involved them and the changes seem to happen more and more frequently to keep up with changes in technology (and language too of course!)


The second article, by David Bradshaw links to his blog and includes lots of tips for things to do (and NOT to do) in a speaking exam.   David's post is very attractive, with links to videos with advice and sample speaking tests and his blog looks as if it contains lots of useful materials and ideas.  I'll be bookmarking it in my 'for later' file.

http://davidbradshawenglish.org/2013/05/27/speaking-exams-what-to-do-and-what-to-avoid/

Right - time to switch off the computer, check through the box of materials for tomorrow and switch off my mind!!!

Boxes of great ideas and links

A little earlier, I was catching up on emails from sites I'm subscribed to but haven't had time to explore (happens a lot!)
After seeing posters advertising Secondary and Primary Box in Granada and Malaga at the Cambridge Experiences, I decided that it was high time  I took a look at them.

In fact, I found so many interesting things in the Resources Section of Secondary Box, that I'll be leaving Primary Box for another rainy day!

http://www.thesecondarybox.org/

I have created an account on Secondary Box and have created a box called 'Writing'.  I'm saving resources that I find on Secondary Box that I plan to try out (and share with you!) to work on writing skills.

(I'm giving a seminar here in Santander on Saturday as part of the Santander Cambridge Experience, so writing is high on my interest list right now!)

And I just wanted to give quick mention of an interesting find that I have saved in my Writing Box.  I'm going to use a screenshot because it explains so well what the blog is and what it aims to do:

http://tefldust.blogspot.it/

TESOL Spain

Just over a year ago, I gave a session at the 2012 TESOL Spain Convention in Bilbao.

I didn't make it to this year's convention in Seville because I had other commitments, but I have heard a lot about it and as a reader for the TESOL Newsletter and with friends on the Board, I try and keep up with what's happening in TESOL Spain.

I receive the e-newsletter once a month by email.  You can read this month's edition online here (and also look through the previous 10 editions). The Question and Answer with Dr David Crystal (whose plenary I had the pleasure to attend in Bilbao) is well worth reading.

I've just been looking at the TESOL Spain website too and have begun downloading the handouts from the sessions in Seville.








The fact that you can access speakers' handouts even though you weren't at the Convention or were there but couldn't go to everything at once is great.  A great initiative!


I've downloaded several sets of handouts to look through in more detail.  Many of them contain your take-away-and-use-today ideas - for example Andrea Littlewood's ideas for personalisation in the YL classroom or Fiona Mauchline's Putting the Creative Back in Writing.

And of course, our very own Cambridge English Seminar Presenter, Katie Curbelo (or Katie Maunder as she appears on the programme) was in Seville.  Her session was called Speak, Write, Learn:  Fun Activities for the Adolescent Classroom.  I'm sure the session was as practical and as useful as always.

I'll be looking at the other articles in the newsletter and downloading more handouts in the coming days when I have time to come back to the site.  If you do the same, pass on recommendations to the rest of us via this blog!

And I hope to see some of you in Granada on Saturday!

Granada Cambridge Experience

On Saturday, I'll be in Granada.  I'm really looking forward to the trip and also to meeting lots of teachers and sharing ideas (as well as picking up some inspiration from Michael Tomlinson and Guy Brook-Hart.)

If you live (or will be) in the area, there is still time to sign up - see below for how to do this:

Hope some of you will come along!  I'll write about the experience next week on this blog!

What if our students are colour blind?

I've just returned from a trip to Rome, where I gave a session called 'What's in an image?'

One of the points I was suggesting that we as teachers should consider is that we may well have colour blind students in our classes and a proportion of candidates taking a Cambridge English exam will no doubt be colour blind in some way.  Colour and pictures are an important part of the Cambridge English: Young Learners Tests.

I have discovered a very useful site called Vischeck.

You can upload a photo or picture and it shows you what the picture looks like to someone who is colourblind.

At the conference in Rome, I showed the teachers what a picture used in a former Starters speaking test would look like to a boy or girl who is colour blind.
They can still see that two girls are playing basketball, but the actual colours that the the ball or the blonde girl's hair are changes. If we are asking them questions like 'What colour is this girl's hair?' then their answer would not be the same as ours!

Original picture (Starters Practice Tests 6 page 53)

Deuteranope means that people have a red/green colour deficit 

Tritanope means that people have a blue/yellow colour deficit.

On the Vischeck site, you can also check what a webpage might look like to these people.

One advantage would be that students with red/green deficit would be that having a teacher who overuses a red pen would not have the same effect!  But I was just thinking that the traffic system which functions around red-amber-green just doesn't seem logical!!!!!

Apparently, 7% of US males and 0.4% of US females are colour blind in some way.  Presumably, this is also the proportion that will apply to the students in Spain where I live and work.  And very probably in your classrooms too.  Bear this in mind when you show them a picture and ask:  What  colour is this?'!!!!!

YLE Teaching Tips

I've mentioned before that I am subscribed to the Cambridge English South East Europe Blog.

This week, I've had three emails about posts describing activities submitted to a global competition run by Cambridge English Language Assessment UK and Bell which invited  teachers of English from all over the world to submit written practical teaching ideas for preparing their candidates for a range of Cambridge English examinations.

All three posts talked about suggestions for fun activities to prepare for the Cambridge English: Young Learners English Tests.

In Post 1, Natalia Cheskidova, from Russia describes an activity involving describing and drawing a picture.  Her suggested activity is recommended for YLE, Preliminary and First. 

In the second post, Julieta Caffarel, from Uruguay again uses a picture and drawing and colouring activity to practise for all 3 of the Cambridge English: YLE tests papers.

And in her post, Daniela Mirza,  from Romania, suggests recording an interview and then creating a comprehension activity.

It was great to be able to see both Natalia and Julieta 'in person' on Cambridge TV!

I leave for Rome in under 4 hours' time.  Hope to inspire and be inspired!!!!!

Travel inspiration

"We love exploring new places, taking photographs and staying at the most unique hotels we can find. "

I can relate to that!!

The above sentence is taken from the 'About' information on the Global Grasshopper.com website.

As I told you in my previous post, I will be in Italy Monday 26th November through to Friday 30 November.  It's going to be a packed trip and I was trying to work out which cities I might have a bit of time to explore (I'll not have much tourist time, unfortunately, but will probably be inspired to return to certain places as I whizz through them).

  

I hope to get a taste or snapshot of the five cities I'll be giving sessions in - Torino, Milan, Rome, Salerno, Reggio Calabria).

So when I ended up at the Global Grasshopper website after following a link I'd received in an email about eltblogs, I checked out the places mentioned in the article on '10 of the most beautiful places to visit in Italy'.  I'll be paying very short visits to Rome and Milan (2 of the places mentioned) and won't get to see the others on this trip.  I had a fantastic holiday in Sardinia this summer, so I fully support the mention of that island.

And I also took a quick look at the article and photos '10 of the most beautiful places to visit in Spain'.  I found myself nodding when I saw the 10 places that were covered.  Fantastic photos!!

I think the site, the organisation of the features (based around 10) and the photos have some fantastic material for use in class.  I'll certainly be using it for teaching and for personal reasons...  The hidden places in London might contain some great ideas for my upcoming trip to London ......

I'll try and find time to write posts when I'm in Italy.  If I don't post them while I'm there, I'm sure I'll be coming back with vast amounts of inspiration!   

Ciao!

Another goodie from my 'For later' bookmarks

In my previous post, I gave you an idea of how many miscellaneous links I have stored in my 'For later' bookmark file.

I decided to check one or two more out and wanted to share this one with you.

As a student at primary and then secondary school in the UK, I can still remember how to spell two words because of tricks my teachers at the time taught us.

1  The spelling of the word 'isosceles' (primary school maths) - Mr Beresford made up a sentence for us to remember the spelling - 'I saw our Simon climbing Everest last Easter Sunday'.  I must have been about 9 years old and I still remember this sentence now!

http://typenuts.com/2009/04/07/rhythm/

2  The spelling of the word 'rhythm'.  My English teacher Miss Anderson had us spelling the word by saying each letter in time to a beat - the first three letters slowly, then the last three following in quick succession.

As a teacher, I have often tried to help students remember the meaning(s) and spelling of words or the meaning of idioms by getting them to make up stories, sentences and pictures to illustrate them.

Look at this picture.  Notice the two meanings of the word 'wave' that are illustrated.

http://500px.com/photo/4944047

These meanings of 'wave' are easy to show, as is the next meaning:

http://www.mathcs.emory.edu/~cheung/Courses/455/Syllabus/2-physical/intro.html

But  can you easily illustrate these meanings of 'wave'?  I can see that for the first one, a teacher would probably need to choose something that is featuring strongly in the news.

For the second one, I might ask students to close their eyes and to imagine themselves in a very warm room inside a building.  Someone goes outside and forgets to close the door.  It's freezing cold outside.  What do you notice first?  (The cold air coming inside.) How might your body react? (by shivering, maybe) 

The door stays open.  What do you notice now?  (my skin starts reacting)

If no one closes the door, what will happen?  Where will you feel the cold?  (probably throughout your body, even deep within).

Ask them how quickly their body would react if the building was in the north or south pole - they would feel a wave of cold.

GROUP

C2 a group of people or things that arrive or happen together or in a short period of time

Dictionary examples:

There has been a wave of kidnappings in the region.

Another wave of refugees is arriving at the border.

 Learner example:

These people, who belong mostly to the middle class, and some other[s] like explorers [...] or youngsters seeking some adventure, produce the big wave of tourists to different countries.

Certificate of Proficiency in English; C2; Greek

a wave of hatred/enthusiasm/sadness, etc.

C2 when you suddenly feel an emotion

Dictionary example:

She felt a sudden wave of sadness.

 Learner example:

As he counted the money, a wave of shame and horror hit Berthold.

Certificate of Proficiency in English; C2; Portuguese

http://vocabulary.englishprofile.org/

Anyway, back to my 'For later' bookmark.  Click on the image of the book below and you will 

go to a video on YouTube showing different words as images.  Some of them are great!!

You can find more words as images on the Word as Image Facebook page.