Tag: tips

Use Play Money!

monopoly-money-748981Money makes the world go round and it also makes a teacher’s job easy and students very interested!

When you play a game, instead of keeping score with boring marks on the chalkboard, use play money! Download some HERE. … Read More ....

Use a Timer! Get ticking!

timer-iconUsing a timer in class is really something that is invaluable and maybe even a MUST for a teacher.

Students need to know how long a task will take and a timer is a perfect way to let them know! … Read More ....

Guessing Games

Guessing games are a standard way to play and practice/learn vocabulary.

Simply generate with the class your vocabulary list. It can be recent vocabulary from your book/lesson/unit.

Then, the teacher describes one thing/place/person on the board and students try to … Read More ....

Backdoor – a great teaching technique

Mr. Bean works well with this technique.

Get some great Mr. Bean videos here or here.

Backdoor is a technique where in pairs students sit back to back. One student watches the screen and describes the action. The teacher … Read More ....

Drop Everything And Read (DEAR)

Drop Everything And Read celebrates the power of SSR (sustained silent reading).

Our students can acquire powerful amounts of vocabulary and lexical/linguistic knowledge by learning language within the context of a story/book. Stephen Krashen is one of ELT’s biggest advocates … Read More ....

Choosing Students – Chants

Mickey Mouse is the perfect way to choose a student in class. Unlike Einie Meanie Minie Moe, it  allows the students to actuall participate in choosing themselves, so the teacher can avoid any “blame”.

It goes like this. For each word, point … Read More ....

Stories – Predicting

  Stories are great in the classroom. A good narrative, really provides ideal context to learn language, even better if they have pictures.

The best and easiest way to “teach” a story is to tell it through prediction. Get the … Read More ....

Get a Laser Pointer!

If you want to be a really effective teacher, get a laser pointer! They cause only a dollar or two at most and really help a teacher effectively modify curriculum.

With a laser pointer, you can be helping a student … Read More ....

Student Names

It isn’t easy to learn so many names so fast! Here are some tips for remembering student names ( a must because when you use a student’s name, studies show they learn better/quicker! just by hearing their name!)

1.  For … Read More ....

Picture Library

Pictures speak a 1,000 words and are the engine of language teaching because they provide much needed contextualization for the lesson.

Every teacher staying in EFL / ESL should have a picture library, a folder of photos (laminated if you … Read More ....