Correcting COMMON mistakes!

It's not an easy task, but we need to be aware of  how our students are doing and try to keep a balance between fluency vs. accuracy in the classroom 

There is a tension where too much desire  for accuracy denies a student fluency.  And too much emphasis on fluency can result in spoken language that follows no rules at all.

Bring exercises where they can access and correct COMMON mistakes is a great way to do it without putting them in the spotlight. 

This activity can be done in groups or individually,  set a time limit and ask your students to correct the mistakes in the sentences below. 


1. I have twenty one years old.
2. My friend he is a system analyst.
3. This is for to use in the computer.
4. Could you borrow me your book?
5. He don´t work here anymore.
6. That store is near to my house.
7. How long time were you in Mexico?
8. She can to go right now.
9. How frequent do you watch sitcoms?
10. I go to the gym one time a week.
11. I need do my homework today.
12. How long do you work here?
13. Childrens usually don´t like vegetables very much.
14. I´m not understanding. Could you repeat, please?
15. Did you went to the movies in the last week?
16. I´ve knowing my best friend since for 10 years.
17. I don´t have nothing to do.
18. I want you to tell to her I am very busy.
19. The peoples usually like to work in a group.
20. I´ll attend the phone.
21. I borned in SP.
22. I have afraid of ghosts.
23. I was doing my homework yesterday night.
24. I told my wife to change your car. She bought a very old one!
25. I got up late and I lost my bus!!!
26. A: Have a nice weekend.
B: For you too!
27. Have twenty five people in my department.
28. I have particular Spanish classes.
29. We have differents products in your company.
30. I tripped to London last year.
31. Always I ask my boss to take easy.
32. We go out work at 6:00 pm.
33. When I will win the lottery, I will buy a huge apartment.
34. Are you calling me today at night?
35. You must train your Spanish.
36. Did you used to play a lot as a kid?

Learn from your students!

Today we came across a great post from Creative Education, and it made us think about the importance of learning from our pupils. 

The notion  that teachers don’t learn, has been gone for quite some time now. You just have to look at the many communities on common social networks to observe a huge group of teachers making the effort to learn and understand new ideas, new tools and new ways of teaching.

Teachers learn, but often that search is very personal, they do so on their own or perhaps sharing ideas with colleagues. 

What about the people you're with everyday?

What can your students teach you?

Pupils As Observers

Student voice is something that has gained an increasing toehold in schools, including some where the pupils themselves observe teachers and provide constructive feedback. Teachers who participate often find you can get incredibly useful feedback from your students on your teaching style and topics. This is a very direct way of learning from your students and can reap considerable rewards.

Personal Courage

Sadly, misfortune can strike someone at any age – and it certainly will have struck some of the children learning at your school. Some children show an extraordinary degree of personal courage in the face of adversity. In doing so they provide an example not just to their classmates, but to us teachers as well. It’s easy to get dragged down by the day to day of planning, marking and other paperwork, but seeing your job through their eyes helps you really put things in perspective.

Attitude on Life

Adolescence is a highly creative phase with children trying out different things to understand how the world works. As we receive and develop wisdom we gain so much, but we lose some of that creativity that helps us as adults challenge how the world works and improve it. Why not take a look at your role through the lens of one of your students – how would they approach it, what might they try, what questions would they ask? The answers to those questions may surprise you.

Teacher as Learner

If as teachers we are learners too, we have a lot to learn from how others approach a similar task. Hours and hours of learning a day is an enormous mental task – how do students approach it? What do they find interesting? What sustains their engagement. There is no-one better placed to answer those questions than you, and you can use the answers to help design programmes for yourself that you can really get into and deliver the best results.

Surprising Skills

Finally, even when it comes to a more classic definition of knowledge students still have a lot to teach us. You never know when you’ve got a skilled beekeeper sitting in front of you, or a champion gymnast. One area where this is particularly evident is IT. With their minds so flexible, it’s well noted that children take incredibly quickly to new technology whilst adults struggle to catch up. You can either fret about that, or just go with the flow. Get your students to teach you what they know, and watch your teaching blossom.

Class Rules!

"When it comes to setting rules in the classroom, in some ways the old adage "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst" rings true.

Starting the school year on the right foot includes establishing classroom rules that will last the whole year through. Many teachers involve students in establishing their classroom rules. (Surprisingly, student-created rules are often much the same as -- or even tougher than -- rules a teacher might create. After all, students want to attend school in a safe environment, and they want to know the boundaries when it comes to classroom behavior.

Starting the school year on the right foot includes establishing classroom rules that will last the whole year through. Most experienced educators say the key to creating classroom rules is to keep those rules few and simple -- and to establish up front the consequences if the rules are broken."

                                         Source: http://www.educationworld.com

Our fellow teacher Fabio Oliveira has found a great video that perhaps will help students understand the importance of rules.

Activity:

1) Show the students the video and ask them to write down all the things they feel is needed to fix the traffic jam problem.

2) Ask the following question, and promote a little discussion:

                            Why are rules important?

3) After a quick debate pass a piece of paper around and ask students to write down the rules they feel are important for the classroom.

Enjoy:) 

***Fabio Oliveira, thank you for sharing!

Imperative Mood:)

This activity aims to teach the imperative mood of verbs in a fun way.

Grammar:

Imperatives are verbs used to give orders, commands, warning or instructions, and (if you use "please") to make a request. It is one of the three moods of an English verb (indicative, imperative and subjunctive).

You can also use "let's" before the verb if you are including yourself in the imperative. The negative of "let's" is "let's not".
Note that an imperative sentence does not require a subject; the pronoun "you" is implied.

Activity:

The students watch a video in which the participants are given several instructions to accomplish tasks.

The students should list down all the instructions given throughout the event.

After that, they have to order the events according to when they happened in the video.

Extension:

Ask the students to imagine they are in charge of commanding those participants in the video and they have to add three or more instructions for them to perform. Depending on the group, they can choose the student who gave the best instructions and role play it in the classroom (Simon says).

Brainstorm:

Have your student discuss about the following:

What are social networks?

Is it possible  to coordinate similar events to the one they saw in the video? Give examples.

Have they ever participated in any similar event? Talk about it.

Symphony in Slang:) Idioms!

1) Arrange your students in groups of 3 max. 4 people. Show "The Symphony in Slang" and ask groups to pay attention. Make strips of paper with the script (check below) written on it, and spread all over the classroom.  Play the video again and ask your students to pick up the idioms as they come up on the video. 

2) Ask groups to search the definition of the idioms online at http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/

3) To consolidate this activity students can create their own drawing, an image that reflects an idiom.

Script:

“I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.”

“I grew up overnight.”

“At the crack of dawn…”

“….I woke up with the chickens.”
« Don’t count your chickens before they ‘re hatched » : you are warning them not to make plans according to what they expect to happen before it has actually happened ( informal epxression)

“I got a job slinging hash…”

“…because the proprietor was short-handed.”

“But I couldn’t cut the mustard…”

“…so the guy gave me the gate.”

“I went back to my hole in the wall.”

“I was beside myself with anger.”

“I decided to get a train ticket to Texas. There I made some dough punching some cattle.”

“From there, I flew to Chicago.”

“There, a beautiful girl stepped into the picture.”

“Our eyes met.”

“My breath came in short pants.”

“And I had goose pimples.”

“I was all thumbs.”

“Mary’s clothes fit her like a glove.

“…with her hair done up in a bun.”

“She had good lookin’ pins too!”

“Finally, she gives me a date.”

“I put on my white tie and tails.”

“And brother, did she put on the dog!”

“We went around together for some time…”

“…painting the town red….”

“…going to the Stork Club…”

“…we had a box at the opera.”

“…I had a cocktail and Mary had a Moscow Mule.”

“…Mary let her hair down…”

“…and ate like a horse.”

“By then, my money started running out on me.”

“So I wrote a check. It bounced!”

“I was in a pickle…”

“The proprietor drew a gun on me.”

“So I gave him the slip…”

“…and head to the foothills.”

“The law was on my heel.”

“…the judge tried to pump me.”

“…everytime I opened my mouth, I put my foot in it.”

“So he sent me up the river…”

“…to do a stretch in the jug.”

“I was up against it…”

“…and felt myself go to pot.”

“I raised a big stink.”

“…let me talk to an undercover man.”

“I went through a lot of red tape…”

“…he sprung me!”

“It sure felt good to stretch my legs…”

“…I caught a Greyhound…”

“…I dropped in on Mary…”

“…and threw myself at her feet.”

“But she turned her back on me.”

“But she got on her high horse. I couldn’t touch here with a 10 foot pole!”

“She wouldn’t say a word. Guess the cat got her tongue.”

“So, I walked out on her.”

“After that, I went to pieces.”

“…where a bunch of the boys were hangin’ around.”

“The guy at the piano played by ear.”

“I felt a tug at my elbow…”

“We sat down and chewed the rag a while.”

“I heard through the grapevine…”

“…Mary was going around with an old flame.”

“That burned me up!”

“Because I knew that he was feeding her a line.”

The guy really spent his money like water.”

“I think he was connected with the railroad.”

“As they danced, I tried to chisel in…”

“…but the guy got in my hair.”

“Outside it was raining cats and dogs.”

“I was feeling mighty blue.”

“And everything looked black.”

“But I carried on!”

“I went to the 1000 Islands.”

“There, I became a beachcomber.”

“…and a tear ran down my cheek.”

“So I sends her a cable.”

“The next day, she sends me a wire.”

“I rushed back to the US on a cattle boat…”

“…and I hotfooted it over to Mary’s apartment.”

“When I opened the door, I noticed quite a few changes…”

“Why Mary, she had a bunch of little ones.”

“The groom had his hands full, too!”

“So, all this struck me so funny, I died laughing!”

The Fun Theory!

As teachers we should always try to create new ways to help students understand, relate to a subject and perhaps present rules. Teenagers respond a lot better to ideas that activate their brain or can be used on a day to day basis. 

During adolescence, the sense of perception towards the world changes which affects behavior, attitude, habits, personality, etc. It's an essential time for teachers to set good examples, help students organize their thoughts, and be supportive.

If there are ways of making things more appealing why not make it more fun. The Fun Theory project is an initiative of Volkswagen to help change people's behavior for the better. On their site (check below) there are great videos you can show your students, the one we selected is a great example of  how fun can go a long way and change people's attitude.

Enjoy:)

Special thanks to our friend and fellow teacher Andrea Catarineli for introducing us to this video:) Soon we will be posting more activities, we just love all the videos and we are full of ideas!

Site and video source: www.thefuntheory.com 

The evolution of now: Vocabulary practice :)

This activity will increase the use of new vocabulary by promoting interaction amongst the students, and introducing a topic they are quite familiar with: Social networks.

1) Tell your students that they are going to watch a video that shows where we are in terms of social evolution. Ask them to write down all the information they consider surprising. 

2) Divide your students in pairs or trios and give each group a copy of the text below: The power influence has to make things happen.

3) Still in groups, the students can make posters about the social evolution numbers. Display on the board the social network word bank (check below).

4) Depending on their level, they can create a social network hit that has a great potential to go viral:

Eg:

 protect the environment

 protect the animals

 children’s rights, etc…

OBS: Remember, you don’t need to use a real social network to do this activity, it all can be done using paper, cut outs, or even drawings, what really matters is their creativity, and the use of new words and structures.

The Power Influence Has to Make Things Happen

source: http://mysuperchargedlife.com/blog/be-an-influence-you-are-a-powerful-force

Think of your influence like water.  Water in motion is a very powerful force.  We’ve all seen the pictures of a flood carrying away cars and even homes.

This is similar to what can happen today if you launch an idea and it goes viral on the Internet.  It becomes like a flood.  It moves rapidly over all the obstacles in its way.  Nothing can stop it.

We often hold back launching our ideas because we think it won’t make a difference, but what if others embrace it?  It happens every day.  Common people become famous in an instant.  Movements are created.  People rally together behind a cause.  Influence makes big things happen.

Of course, not all ideas go viral, still influence is powerful.  It can work like erosion.  Slowly, but surely, over time erosion changes entire landscapes.

You have this power inside you.  We all do.  It is all about how we choose to use it.

Social network word bank:

Tweetup - noun: a meeting or other gathering organised by means of posts on the social networking service Twitter. [from tweet + up on the pattern of MEETUP].

Hashtag - noun: a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets (postings on the Twitter site) that contain similarly tagged items and view thematic sets.

Tag cloud - noun: a visual depiction of the word content of a website, or of user-generated tags attached to online content, typically using colour and font size to represent the prominence or frequency of the words or tags depicted.

Slashdot effect - noun: the slowing down or crashing of a small website due to a huge increase in traffic when the website is linked to another, much more popular one.

Unfriend/defriend - verb: to remove from one's 'friends' list (e.g. on a social networking website).

Freemium - noun: a business model in which some basic services are provided for free, with the aim of enticing users to pay for additional, premium features or content.

Paywall - noun: a way of blocking access to a part of a website which is only available to paying subscribers.

source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/185729/social_network_terms_go_mainstream.html