Elt magazine winter 2012

Issue 2,
Winter 2012

Department of
Language Studies

ELTmag In this Issue
Welcome to ELTmag! Lessons for all page 2
Practical teaching ideas including suggestions for
teaching used to and relative clauses, listening to
About ELTmag a youtube video, revising tenses, and using mobile
This ezine is funded by Te Waka o nga Reo, The Department phones, contributed by Jamie Keddie, Amir Abbas
of Language Studies at Unitec in New Zealand, and edited Ravael, Emma Lay, Marjorie Rosenberg, Heather
by Jill Hadfield, author and teacher-trainer, who is a Senior Richards, and Clare Conway
Lecturer in the department. It has an emphasis on practical
TT Time page 9
teaching ideas with a global/universal appeal. The aim is
to provide an counterbalance to the largely Eurocentric Charlie Hadfield shares ideas on varying feedback
cultural bias of many of the materials available today. The format
Maori name of our Department, Te Waka o nga Reo, means Try This! page 10
The Canoe of Languages, a metaphor for the fact that, Russell Stannard explores the Connected Classroom
whatever our nationality, whatever our language, we are
all bound on the same journey. The main section of our Webwise page 13
ezine, devoted to practical teaching ideas, has the same In her regular feature Nicky Hockly introduces
philosophy. Glogster

This issue contains practical teaching ideas from teachers Hi-Tech/Lo-Tech page 14
around the world - Spain, Britain, Austria, Iran, New Zealand Joanna Smith uses Sound Recorder or Audacity to
and Chile - including well-known authors Russell Stannard, explore awareness of discourse structure
Charlie Hadfield, Jamie Keddie, Nicky Hockly and Marjorie
Lit Kit page 15
Rosenberg. Besides the usual features, we have two new
Jenni Percy’s regular feature on useful websites for
features this issue: Into the Classroom and Weblinks.
Into the Classroom, aims to bring research into classroom literacy teaching
practice and features articles outlining a piece of research Into the Classroom page 15
in a brief and readable way and exploring direct applications Chris Baldwin explores the classroom implications of
for the classroom. Weblinks provides a list of links to sites his research on error correction
with useful materials for teachers.
Conferenceshare page 17
Happy reading! Thomas Baker shares some highlights from the
Jill recent Edcamp ‘unconference’
Bookcase page 18
Unitec Institute of Technology welcomes visitors from Short and sweet: 100 word reviews
New Zealand and around the world to use this website.
By accessing and using this website you agree: Weblinks page 18
1. that the copyright in each article on the website vests in Links to useful websites for language teachers
the relevant contributor of that article;
2. that the content of any article may be reproduced free of Submit An Article page 18
charge in any format or media for personal or non- Guidelines for contributors
commercial use provided it acknowledges the contributor
as the author, is reproduced accurately, is not sold or
otherwise disposed of on a commercial basis and not used in
a misleading manner; and Enjoy!
3. that you are responsible for determining and clearing
And send in your articles for the next issue!
copyright and obtaining permissions if you wish to
reproduce or distribute the contents of any article
otherwise than in accordance with point 2.

Department of Language Studies Tel +64 9 815 2945 Freephone 0800 10 95 10 www.eltmag.com

ELTmag
2012

Decide how you are going to display the clip in
class. Possibilities include:
» Laptop or desktop (good for small groups)
» Computer, projector + screen
» iPhone or other mobile device
(good for one-to-ones/intimate classes)
Don’t forget the loudspeakers

Lesson plan
1. Tell students that you have a recipe for them.
Give out copies of the worksheet (Mystery recipe).
2. Tell students that something is missing. Ask them to tell
you what it is (answer = ingredients).
3. Make sure students understand that:
» Ingredient (1) appears on the recipe five times
and ingredient (3) appears twice.
» In some cases, students will have to write more
Lessons for all than a single word in the spaces provided on the
worksheet.
An unusual recipe
Jamie Keddie 4. While students complete the worksheet, help with
any unknown words or problematic vocabulary.
A reading activity based on a youtube video: Alternatively, allow access to bilingual dictionaries.
5. Let students compare their answers and conduct
Lesson type a feedback. Pay close attention to singular, plural,
» Language level: Pre-intermediate (A2) + countable and uncountable forms.

» Learner type: Teens; Adults; CLIL
Common answers include:
» Time: 30 minutes (+ follow up)
1. Spaghetti / pasta / rice
» Main activity: Reading 2. Salt
» Topic: Food and cookery 3. Oil / butter
4. Garlic
» Language: The imperative 5. Peppers / tomatoes
» Materials: Video + worksheet 6. Bay leaf / handful of basil / bunch of basil
(or other herb)
Preparation, equipment and materials 7. Spoonful of sugar / sugar lump
8. Butter / cream
1. For this activity, you will need a short animation 9. Cheese
from filmmaker PES called Western Spaghetti. It can 10. Salt and pepper
be seen on YouTube. To access the video, copy and paste
the following link into the address bar at the top of your
browser: 6. If you have students who cook, ask them if this is how
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBjLW5_dGAM they would prepare pasta or spaghetti. Find out what
2. Make a copy of the worksheet on the last page they would do differently.
(Mystery recipe) for each student. 7. Show the video.
8. Ask students to recall as many of the objects in the
video as possible. In many cases, they won’t know the
names and will have to rely on descriptions.

Tel +64 9 815 2945 Freephone 0800 10 95 10 www.unitec.ac.nz 2

Mystery recipe
Objects in the video:
To prepare the ___________________ (1):
1. Pick-up sticks (a game in which you have to remove
a stick from a pile without disturbing the remaining » Turn on the gas and place a pot of water on the heat
ones) » Add some ___________________ (2)
2. Plastic eyes (perhaps from a doll or teddy bear) » When the water starts to boil, add a handful of
3. Aluminium foil _________________(1)
4 A Rubik’s cube » After boiling for about 10 minutes, the ______________
5. Pin cushions
(1) should look like rubber bands – this means that it is
6. A one-dollar bill
ready.
7. A dice (or ‘a die’ if you prefer)
» Drain the ___________________ (1) in a colander
8. A Post-it note
9. A ball of wool
10. Glitter (from a kaleidoscope) To prepare the sauce:

» Add some ______________________ (3) to a frying pan
Note that some learners, especially young learners, will
» Chop a clove of ___________________ (4) and add it to
have little or no knowledge of some of these items (pick-
the hot ________________________ (3)
up sticks, Rubik’s cubes or kaleidoscopes, for example).
» Add a few ripe _____________________ (5) and squash
them with a wooden spoon
Follow up » Stir the sauce
» Take a _____________________ (6) (perhaps you grow
Ask students to write out their own recipes (serious or
silly). Note that they should refer to the language in the this in your own house or garden), chop it up finely and
worksheet as a model for their own writing. add it to the sauce
» Add a ____________________________ (7) to sweeten
Variation » Melt some ___________________ (8) into the sauce

Try to get hold of as many of the items from the video as
And finally:
possible (a ball of wool, a pin cushion, a dice, etc). Use these
to play a game in which you pass each object around the class » Transfer the _______________________ (1) to a plate
and in pairs, students have to think and write down something » Add a good-sized spoonful of sauce
it could be used for. After this, tell students that they are going » Grate some _______________________ (9) on top
to do something completely different and then move onto the
» Season with _______________________ (10)
main activity. Students will be especially surprised to see the
» Light a candle, sit down and enjoy your meal!
objects make an unexpected appearance in the video.
Jamie Keddie 2012
Comments
» For more great animations, go to the filmmaker’s own
website: www.eatpes.com
» The difficulty of this lesson plan may depend more on
students’ experience or (cultural) knowledge of cooking
and recipes than on the language used in the worksheet.

Jamie Keddie is a European-based teacher, teacher
trainer, writer and presenter. He is the founder of
www.lessonstream.org, the site that was formerly known
as TEFLclips, winner of a British Council ELTons award. His
publications include Images in the in the Resource Books for
Teachers series published by Oxford University Press. Jamie
is an associate trainer at Norwich Institute for Language
Education in the UK.

Department of Language Studies Tel +64 9 815 2945 Freephone 0800 10 95 10 www.eltmag.com 3

ELTmag
2012

Lessons for all 5. Now ask studentsask studentssentences into the sentences i
5. Now to separate the to separate the
two parts (main and relative clauses). Sometimes students
We’re Relatives relative clauses). Sometimes students will jus
will just break the sentence in half and not realise that the
Emma Lay 5. Now ask students to separate the sentencesandstudents to the main clause. sentences into th
5. Now ask is not realise that (main the
relative clause embedded in separate and clause is embe
into the two parts the relative
relative clauses). Sometimes studentsrelative clauses). Sometimes students will just brea
will just break the sentence in half
Overview
5. Now ask students separate the sentencesand the two in the (mainto
Khaled wants
embedded parts the relative
and study finance
Time: 30-40 minutes accuracy canto that the relative clause isintonot realise thatmain clause.clause is embedded
Using relative clauses with not realise
and present syntactical
and conceptual challengesclauses). Sometimes students will just break the sentence in half
relative for many learners of English.
This interactive activity aims to wants these challenges studyKhaled
Khaled address to financewants next used year study
who to to work
. finance in
n
Time: 30-40 notof grammar fun!the
and minutes that
and make this tricky area cards enough forrelative long sentences with one card per
realise clause is embedded in the main clause.
Materials: A4-size 4 or 5
Aims:
word/punctuation mark (see below), a markerto felt-tipfinancewho in student. Jeddah to
who used or work
pen for eachnext used year is useful . for work in
Khaled wants to study At this point, it students to put th
1. to promote understanding of the syntax of non-defining
Materials: with relationship between the clauses.5 long sentences with one card per
A4-size cards per
for 4 or 5 long sentences the one card enough for 4 or
relative clauses and relative clause second just to highlight the ‘ext
a markerPreparation:who of punctuation andfor to a markerstudents to put the main long clause. and the to put the mai
2. toword/punctuation mark point, it the students to or felt-tip penand each relative
or felt-tip awareness At in the(see below),
raise pen for each student.used useful of move in forinmake it is useful for
At the
student.
space this room is absence for work about this point, a clause first students
Jeddah
ough for 4 or 5 long sentences with clause second just to highlight the ‘extra’ nature of the information
the subject pronoun in non-definingcard per
relative one relative clauses.
‘sentence’ line. relative clause second just to highlight the ‘extra’ na
6. They will have 2 spare commas and no subj
elow), a markerPre-intermediateinpoint, in is useful for students to move about anduseful for students to put the main
Level: or felt-tip pen for each student.
– Intermediate At this point, it is
or students toPreparation: space itathe room for
At this make long
move about and the relative clause. to put in the relativerelative clause second just to
the main clause firstlong the
make a and
clause first and the clause.students what is ‘wrong’ with
clause. Ask
Time: 30-40 minutes
‘sentence’ line. They will second just to highlight thehighlight nature pronounof thetheno full-stop). Give them b
relative clause have 2 spare commas and no subjecthavethe spare commas and no subject pr
6.
Language practice: relative clausessentences 6.‘extra’ the ‘extra’ nature forand relative the
They will of pronoun information in
subject 2
information
Materials: A4-size cards enough for 4 or 5 long relative clause.
oom for studentscard move about and clause.students what is ‘wrong’ with the second sentenceis(no
to per word/punctuationAsk a long
in the clause. make (see below), a
relative mark clause. Ask students what
with one these features, and no subject pronoun with the s
‘wrong’
6. They will have 2 spare commas replacing ‘who’ with ‘He’ and ad
marker or felt-tip pen for each student.spare commas and no subject pronoun for the relative is ‘wrong’
6. They subject relative and no
will have 2
uses Language practice:pronoun clauses full-stop). Give themAsk them and nothe and addGive them blank c
subjectblank cards to write combined sentence aga
for the relative clause. Ask students what
7. pronoun make full-stop).
Procedure: in the room for students to move about
Preparation: space with the second sentence (no subject pronoun and no
clause. Ask students what is ‘wrong’ full-stop). adding thesentence ‘who’ with these
with the features, replacing (no
second full
and make a long ‘sentence’ line. features, replacing ‘who’ with ‘He’ and Give them blank cards to write and add ‘He’ and adding t
these these relative clausestop. to physically ‘embed’ the
have
ve clauses subject pronoun and nothe combined sentence again. make with ‘He’ and with the full stop. again. T
7. Ask clauses make full-stop). Give themAsk replacing ‘who’ studentsadd ‘who’ ,remove one o
them features, cardsThe
7. blank
them to write and adding sentence
the
1.Procedure:
Language practice: relative replace the the combined
Show students a sentence that includes a non-defining relative clause ‘He’ card with –
these relative clause have to physically7. Askrelativethe full the combined sentence. The
and adding remake stop.
them to
features, replacing ‘who’ with ‘He’ ‘embed’ themselveshave tomain clause,
the commas the physically ‘embed’ themselve
clause in back have This really
students with the relative clause in. . to physically gets the me
ideally have as many items in the sentence (including punctuation) as
Procedure:
7. Ask them make the combined ‘who’ ,remove one of relative the main clause, replace the
replace the ‘He’ card with sentence ‘embed’ themselves in clause
again. The students with the put
replace the ‘He’ card that occur between the 2 ‘f
the ‘full-stop’ with and
cards

hat includes Show 1. Show sentence that sentencenon-defining a non-defining thechanges one– ‘who’ ,remove one of the o
1.
a non-definingthe class.clause – a that includes
students in students a includes
students a
relative ‘He’ card with ‘who’, remove of the ‘full-stop’ cards
ideally punctuation) itemsphysically ‘embed’ themselvespunctuation) clause,
relative clause have items .
the commas to (includingpart the sentence really relative message
in back
2. Ask them ideally have asmanyback in the Thissentenceandthe the commas across and highlights
main
relative clause – to identify many part in.in the really gets the message extra . as with the gets
in the sentence (including have aswhich as is the main clause andput commas is back in.This really gets the theclause.
which combined in. This
replace the ‘He’ card with occur between message across and highlightsand changes that occur 2 original
nce that includes a (including punctuation) as students– the class.
sentence non-defining relative clause in ‘full-stop’ cards the between
students the changes that ‘who’ ,remove one the 2 changes steps occur put a the the sentence.
the the Repeat that 1-7 with
of
information. in the class. 8. original sentences and different
between the 2 original sentences and the combined
items in 2. Ask them to identify which punctuation)This really relative clause. which part is extra
the sentence the commas backwhich clause and gets the message across and highlights
part is the main
2. Ask(includingidentify in. . ask them main clause sentencesentence with of relative clause.
them a part each and as
art is the main clausestudentscombined extra part is the to write sentence with the relative clause.the the pronouns the most
to
which part and which card is
3. Give is extra information.
sentence with combined onto the
the and with the changing
the changes steps occur between the 8. Repeat The with a differenta the
8. Repeat that 1-7 with a different sentence. steps 1-7 with time.
information. 8. Repeat steps 1-7 studentsandsentence.
2 original sentences who different sentence. The s
struggle
3. Givecards. For example: ask them to write the
students a card each and cards the second
The students who struggle with the changing of the
sentence clause cards. For example: extra relative clause. with thecould take of the pronouns the most
3. Give sentenceaonto each the ask them to pronouns the most could take these particular repetitive nature
combined sentence is part with of
ich part is the main onto the and which changing andthe pronouns write mostsentence onto the particularcards the could
nd ask them to write the studentsthecardthe
with the 9. Repeat as required. The
the changing these
8. Repeat steps 1-7 with time.
cards. For example: second time.
cards the second a different sentence. The sentence structures and you should start to
students who struggle
cards the second time.
ach and ask them to with Repeat as required. The repetitive Repeat takerequired. Jeddah repetitive nature reall
Khaled write ,the sentence onto the
9.
who used to 9. Repeat as required. The repetitive nature really helps to
work in
changing of the pronouns the most nature as these particular the
could really helps toThe
9. the sentence at making the ‘drill’
‘drill’ faster structures and you should start to
changes.
cards sentence structures and you should start to getstructures get at making the start to notice
the second time. notice them notice themfaster fastershould
sentence faster in well, you and
and
to Khaledwork to in , 10. If this is going and you could move up a not
used , wants study Jeddahused
who finance to
changes. work
next year . Jeddah
9. Repeat as at making the changes.
faster required. The repetitive nature really making the ‘drill’ separate but related senten
at helps to two the
faster Show studentschanges.
10. If this is going well, you could move up a notch and
ho used tosentence structures and youJeddah move to notice themShow students two separate but a notch an
10. If work is going well, you should startreverse theis going get faster could move up
this in could 10. If this activity. well, you and
up a notch and reverse the activity.
dy finance , next wants year to . study finance next year
related sentences. For example:
.
faster Show studentschanges.
at making the two separate but related sentences. For example: but related sentences.
Show students two separatetaught in Japan. She is
Emma has
Emma has taught in Japan. She is from Birmingham.
study 4. finance If thisthen stand up and ‘be’ the sentence (the surprise element activity.
Ask 10. nextis going well, you could move up a notch and reverse the
them to year .
11. Ask them to combine them using a non-defining
Show students two separate but related sentences. fromexample:
relative is ForEmma student taking physical She
here really engages them all!). has taught in Japan. Sheclause with eachhas taught inaJapan. role is from B
Emma Birmingham.
and ‘be’ the Ask them to then stand upthen‘be’ the sentence (the the sentencesentence. They will have to decide which
4. sentence (the surprise element up and ‘be’
4. Ask them to and stand in the (the surprise element
surprise element here really engages them all!). information is extra and reuse/write cards for commas
. here really engages themtaught in Japan. She is relative pronouns.
Emma has all!). and from Birmingham.
d up and ‘be’ the sentence (the surprise element
m all!). 11 12

11 12

Conclusion Lessons for all
This works very well as a reinforcement activity, especially
Grammar Bingo
for students who are having problems with the punctuation
and substitution of the subject pronoun for the relative
Marjorie Rosenberg
pronoun. The kinaesthetic and analytical aspect highlights
Aims: to revise tenses
the structural and conceptual manipulation that needs to
take place to create and understand sentences with relative Level: Pre-intermediate – Intermediate
clauses. One of its strengths is that it is a collaborative,
Time: 30-40 minutes
learner-centred task with students working together to
build their sentences, with all students playing a part. The Materials: A copy of the worksheet for each student.
teacher is truly a facilitator and guide in this activity and it’s
Preparation: Copy the worksheet Ensure there is space in
great to be able to watch the activity and witness the penny
the room for students to move about.
drop the more they do it!
Language practice: mixed tenses
Extensions
Procedure:
» Ask students to then write and ‘be’ their own sentences
(a nice personalised touch that will aid retention of the 1. Give out copies of the worksheet and ask students to
patterns). write the answers in the boxes.

» Students can try to remember the sentences for 2. Students then move around the room trying to find
homework and write them up as a record, as two people with the same answers as theirs.
sentences and then the combined version.
3. The aim is to find five answers that make a line (across,
down or diagonal).
Variations
4. The first person to do this can shout ‘Bingo!”
» You can have students with the relative clauses stand
closer together/sit down, stand up to exploit the activity
Marjorie Rosenberg teaches general and business English
for intonation practice.
as well as exam preparation (CAE) at the University of Graz
» If you don’t have space to move about, you can do this in and is employed at the University of Teacher Education in
small groups/pairs and index cards on tables or with Styria where she teaches ESP to ICT students. She is an
cards and blu-tack on the whiteboard. active teacher trainer and holds seminars, workshops and
conference presentations throughout Europe. Marjorie is
» For larger groups you can have two or three sentences
a co-author of ‘Friends’, a text book for lower secondary
going at the same time or the groups racing to finish the
schools and of ‘Business Connections’ and ‘Technical
same sentences to add a fun, competitive element.
Connections’, course books for upper secondary professional
» This can be done for defining relative clauses too as well schools in Austria. She has published ‘In Business’ and
as other grammatical structures such as cleft sentences. ‘Business Advantage Intermediate and Advanced Personal
Study Books’ with Cambridge University Press, ‘English for
» Different colour cards can be used for the punctuation
Banking and Finance 2’ for Pearson and has revised Pass
marks to really get the point across and add an extra
Cambridge BEC Vantage for Heinle-Cengage/National
visual dimension.
Geographic. She currently writes regularly for Professional
English Online, the CUP website. Her newest book, ‘Spotlight
Emma Lay has worked in various sectors of ELT for 11 years
on Learning Styles’ with Delta is due out in autumn. Marjorie
in the UK, Italy and Japan. She teaches EAP and EFL at the
is currently the co-ordinator of the Business English Special
University of Leicester and is interested in authenticity
English Group (BESIG) of IATEFL.
in the classroom, the Dogme approach and learner
empowerment through involvement in the learning process.
Contact ev14@le.ac.uk and keepitreal433@wordpress.com.


ELTmag
2012

Grammar Bingo
Write your own answers to the questions. Then find someone with the same answer.
Try to get five answers in a row (across, down or diagonal) from five different people. Then you can say ‘Bingo’!

What were you doing What haven’t you done What do you do every What are you going What do you hope will
on Saturday at 8pm? since you were a child? morning? to do at the winter happen next year?
break?

What did you do What do you do What are you going to What do you do on the What book are you
yesterday? several times a month? do next summer? weekends? reading?

How many films have What are you going to What did you enjoy What are you Which sport have you
you seen this year? do after class? doing as a teenager? studying? never done?

What event do you What are you going to What do you dislike What do you do in the When did you begin to
think will be important do this weekend? doing? evenings? learn English?
next year?

When are you going to What were you doing How many times have Name one other class How do you usually
finish your this morning at 9 am? you been abroad this that you are taking. get to the university?
studies? year?

Marjorie Rosenberg 2010


Lessons for all Feedback
Provide feedback on both language and culture.
Noticing classroom diversity: Mobile phones
Heather Richards and Clare Conway 1. Language: Depending on the level of the class, feedback
may involve error correction; new vocabulary (eg. ‘apps’);
new structures (eg. ‘I really like’, ‘I wish I had’, ‘I don’t
need’).
2. Culture: Acknowledging range of phones in class (variety
of models, colour, range of uses etc.) gives learners
the opportunity to reflect on diversity of practice
amongst classmates.

Activity

Classroom diversity: Mobile phones
Tell your group about your mobile phone if you have
one. If you don’t have a mobile phone, tell the group
about your landline.
Teachers’ Notes
Answer these questions:
Aim: To provide opportunities for learners to notice
diversity within their own environment in the context of » What make is it?
talking about mobile phones. » What colour is it?
Level: Elementary and above » Have you got a case for it?
Time: 10 -15 minutes » Where did you buy it?
Materials: One mobile phone; set of questions » Where do you keep it?
Preparation: Write questions on board; group chairs in » When do you mainly use it?
threes for student discussion.
» What do you use it for?
Skills » How would you feel if you lost it?
Speaking and listening » What does your phone reveal about you?

Language » Do you want a new phone?

Present simple for describing an everyday object
Overview
Culture
Effective lessons for learners integrate language and
Making connections with own culture culture. The Intercultural Language Learning Framework
(see References) provides teachers with a guide when
Procedure planning lessons to develop intercultural language
speakers. The framework has five domains:
1. Group learners in threes.
» Make connections with own cultures
2. Teacher shows learners mobile phone (preferably an
older model). Say, “This is my mobile phone. I want a new » Compare and contrast and make meaning
one.” » Link culture and language
3. Show questions and depending on level, check
» Reflect on own culture through the eyes of others
vocabulary (eg. ‘reveal’,) in questions.
» Interact in the target language across boundaries
4. Tell learners to talk about their phone – mobile or
landline. This mobile phone activity can be linked to the domain
‘Make connections with own cultures’ and gives learners the
5. Set students off to talk in groups.


ELTmag
2012

opportunity to recognise diversity within their immediate and the other of you when you were younger. Or, for fun,
environment, encouraging them to see beyond stereotypes. use a picture of someone who is totally different to you, but
obviously younger (I use Brad Pitt for example).
References
Conway, C. Richards, H., Harvey, S. & Roskvist. A. (2010) Procedure
Opportunities for learners to develop Language 1. Engage
Knowledge and Cultural Knowledge. Asia Pacific Journal
of Education. 40, 449–462. Stick the pictures on the board and tell the students some
things about each person, using the present simple
Richards, H., Conway, C., Roskvist, A. & Harvey, S. (2011).
A framework for analysing observation data: Language Young me Me now
teacher provision of opportunities for learners to Smoked 30 cigarettes a day I don’t smoke
develop intercultural competence. In A. Witte & T Harden Played football every other day Plays golf once a
(Eds.). Intercultural Competence: Concepts, Challenges, week
Evaluations. pp 239-252. Oxford, England: Peter Lang.
Ask the students to guess some further ideas about you
now and before. Write correct guesses up. If there aren’t
Clare and Heather work in Language Teacher Education in enough correct guesses tell them some more facts: aim to
the School of Language and Culture at AUT University. Their get about 6 sentences in each column.
research interests are in intercultural language teaching
and reflective practice. They have published and presented 2. Study
locally and internationally.
Usage 1: Past habits/states
Elicit some sentences about the younger you, using a gap
Lessons for all fill for the first example.
e.g. I _____________ to smoke 30 cigarettes a day.
When I was young…
Ask for further sentences using ‘used to’
Amir Abbas Ravaei
Now note the negative form
i.e. “I didn’t USE to play golf” and ask for further
example sentences.

Usage 2: To contrast past and present
Show an example using the young you and now
I used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day, but now I don’t smoke.
Ask for some further examples.

Study activity 1:
Put students in pairs and ask them to write six sentences
about themselves that were true but aren’t true now., eg
» I used to go out a lot , but now I stay home and watch TV
» I didn’t use to like cabbage, but now I do.

Teacher’s Notes » Ask students to share

Level: Intermediate 3. Activate
Time: 20 minutes The way we were!
Aim: In this lesson we will look at “used to” + infinitive for First, tell them that they shouldn’t write their names on
past habits and states which are now finished, and contrast the sheets but should write male or female at the top.
past routines with a present state Students complete the activity sheet for themselves
Language: “used to” + infinitive for past habits when they were 10 years old and now, filling in columns 1
and 2 only. Tell them not to write anything in column 3.
Preparation: Blow up two pictures one of yourself now


Swap the sheets around the class and get each student TT Time
to write a brief summary in column 3 from the
information on the sheet they have, using both Varying Feedback Format
affirmative and negative of ‘used to’ if possible. Charlie Hadfield
Swap the sheets randomly again, and they have to Feedback can take place in either oral or written form, or
guess who the people are. both. I believe trainees can learn most if they receive both
kinds of feedback , as each medium has its advantages and
Materials: A questionnaire can carry a different message.

1 2 3 Written feedback gives the opportunity for a more
Me aged Me now Sentence carefully thought out and elaborated message which
can be read and re-read and pondered on. Oral feedback
10
on the other hand maximizes trainees’ opportunities to
look like learn from each other and also to ask questions or clarify
misunderstandings. Here are some suggestions for
feedback formats that offer variety and a mixture of oral
and written feedback.
be like
1. a) Put trainees in pairs to talk to each other for 5
minutes , then regroup the pairs so that everyone has
a new partner. Continue regrouping until everyone
favourite has talked to everyone else.
food
Ask them to give each other: one ‘praise’
one question for that trainee
favourite TV one question to ask the tutor later
show b) Now make a circle, including the tutor. Get them to
ask their ‘tutor questions’.
clothes 2. a) Ask them, individually, to formulate a question about
their own practice, to share with the whole group.
b) Form a circle, and each trainee asks the question, and
hobbies then each of the other trainees and tutor responds if
they can.

sports

Favourite
music

dreams

Amir Abbas Ravaei has been an English language teacher,
teacher trainer, and ELT manager for 23 years. He is also
a Cambridge ESOL Speaking Examiner and runs TESOL
courses at Hakim Language Institute which is the partner
school of “ London Teacher Training College” in Iran.


has talked to everyone else .
Ask them to give each other: one ‘praise’

ELTmag
one question for that trainee
one question to ask the tutor later

2012
b) Now make a circle, including the tutor.Get them to ask their ‘tutor questions’.

2. a) Ask them, individually, to formulate a question about their own practice, to
share with the whole group.

b) Form a circle, and each trainee asks the question, and then each of the other
3. trainees and main thoughts about the lesson on the
Jot down tutor responds if they can. example, language of instruction-giving, we often focus
Pic of people in a circle
whiteboard/flipchart. Try to find 3 or 4 relating to each solely on this and run the feedback session as a micro-
trainee. They can be put up in random order. As a group, teaching session. In this example, trainees could be
3) Jot down main thoughts about the lesson on the whiteboard/flipchart. Try to
together, they have to comment on the topics, and say asked to script a set of instructions for a complex
find 3 or 4 relating to each trainee. They can be put up in random order. As a
why you have put them up, and who they might relate activity, such as a card game or information gap activity
group, together, they have to comment on the topics, and say why you have put
to. The board might look a bit like this: and try them out on each other. This is particularly
them up, and who they might relate to. The board might look a bit like this:
helpful in the early stages of TP.

Whiteboard work correction of student X 9. Silence…. Make no particular comments, but see which
posture instructions issues are on their minds, and what they need to talk
timekeeping!!
about. This is very helpful mid-course on a full-time
OHP?? Jokes
course when they are feeling most pressured.
SMILE! Students’ names 10. During the TP, write out small slips of paper with key
topics on (similar to activity (3) above) Trainees draw a
Grading of language slip from the hat, and have to say how they think it
Accuracy/fluency Use of colour relates to the lesson.
11. Looking forward: instead of dissecting the lesson just
TTT
finished, start by looking at the planning for next TP.
pronunciation drill Each trainee must say what s/he will improve on next time.

Charlie Hadfield has worked as
24 a teacher and teacher
4. Ask them as individuals to write down three action-plan trainer in Britain, France, China, Tibet, Madagascar, run
points for each of their co-trainees for the next TP. short courses and seminars for teachers in many other
5. “I wish I was you” activity parts of the world, and worked as a consultant for the UK’s
Each trainee singles out one or two features of their Department of International Development, reviewing aid
co-trainees’ teaching style that they admire/ projects in Africa. Charlie now teaches at ELA, Auckland
envy/regard highly and which they’d like to develop University. He has written several books, including Reading
in themselves. They tell the group in turn what these Games, Writing Games, five books in the Oxford Basics
are and why. This activity can really help quieter/shyer/ series and An Introduction to Teaching English (OUP). He is
less confident trainees. Usually trainees sense when a also the author of 4 books of poems.
colleague is not doing so well or having a downturn, and
will instinctively rally round to help in this way. Everyone
leaves feeling praised and patted on the back. Try This!
6. Some TPs, not all the trainees teach. I then put the The Connected Classroom-Using Technology
‘teacher’ in a group with one or two ‘observers’. Teacher to get students speaking
asks the observers about his/her performance.
Russell Stannard
With a very solid bunch, one can develop into pairs/
There has been a general belief that technology and
groups talking in terms of
especially the internet facilitate listening, reading and
a) a positive comment +
writing skills more than they do speaking. This perception
b) a question ?
has perhaps changed to some degree with the introduction
c) an action point
of the podcasting since it offers the chance for students
but only if you are sure they can be supportive and
to make “oral” recordings of them speaking, telling stories,
practical and not negative.
doing interviews, describing places and much more.
7. One trainee (roll a dice) is volunteered to role-play the
However over the last 3 years, there has been a steady
Tutor – what issues am I going to bring up with regard to
trickle of web 2.0 tools that can easily facilitate speaking.
the lesson?
Among these are two free tools: mailVu and Eyejot, which
8. Generally, I manage to write a set of General Feedback are what are known as videocam tools. Both are available
notes as well as their own individual ones, which I copy on the internet and offer excellent opportunities for
for them all after the TP. These are thoughts that occur students to develop their speaking skills. At the Centre
to me during the TP which I feel will be generally for Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, I have
helpful to all.If there is one outstanding issue, for been experimenting with these tools and the results and


outcomes are very interesting. One even more pleasing I then told the students to do the same thing. They had to
thing is that these tools are incredibly easy to use, so even draw a timeline and add in some dates. I also suggested
the most technophobic teacher will be able to engage with they add a few notes in English to help them remember
the ideas I have outlined below. what happened at each date. I encouraged them to include
anything they felt was “important in their life”. After, I put
MailVu.com the students into A/B pairs. Student A started by talking
about his/her timeline and student B listened and could ask
You will never find an easier tool to use than mailVu. You
questions and then student B talked and student A listened.
need a computer, microphone and webcam. You go to the
I moved around the class, listening and taking notes. After I
site, click on a button and then record yourself speaking.
asked some of the students to talk about what their partner
The system also videos you at the same time. You can then
had said.
click on a second button, write in the address of the person
you want to send the video-mail to and that is it. The person I then went over some of the mistakes or problems that
who receives the video mail, simply clicks on the link and I had noted. Obviously the students were using the past
can listen and watch you talking. tenses a lot so I went over some of the pronunciation
problems and irregular verbs. We also looked at the adverbs
This is used a lot in business where organisations need to
and how to contextualise events.
send video messages rather than simple e-mails. However
it can also be used in language teaching. Students can I then showed the students MailVu and explained that we
prepare speaking activities in the classroom then go home, were going to use it for their homework. I explained that
open up mailVu and record themselves speaking and then the students had to go home, go onto MailVu and record
send the video-mail to their teacher. The teacher can then themselves talking about their lives. They were allowed to
click on the link and listen. It opens up a whole new world use their pieces of paper with the dates on to help them. So
( especially for homework) where we can get our students it meant they had a sort of “framework” from which to work
doing speaking outside of the class and what is now and help them organise their thoughts.
important is that it is free and easy to use.
Not a single student thought that the activity I had
suggested was strange and only one person complained
The Connected Classroom
they didn’t have a webcam. I simply suggested they did their
I have been working on several different scenarios with this recording on a friend’s laptop.
tool and with a lot of success. However one thing is clear
above everything else. The more you prepare the speaking Results
activity in the class, the better the students will do the
All the students did the activity. In fact many of them used
recordings at home. Below are 2 great ideas of activities you
up the whole 10 minutes of the recording time ( mailVu is
can do with this tool.
limited to 10 minutes). As the teacher, I simply received
the emails, clicked on them and could play back their video
Activity One
mails. I took notes on some of the mistakes and problems
The first activity was with a group of 24 Japanese students they were having and I gave them back their notes in the
whose level was probably somewhere around IELTS 6.0. next lesson.
The level is not that important and this activity could easily
I found marking the work really interesting. Instead of
have been done in a lower or higher level class.
marking an essay, an exercise or the normal sorts of
In the lesson I drew a time line on the board. It was simply a things we set our students for homework, suddenly I was
line across the whiteboard with a series of dates on it listening to my students speaking and telling me about
their lives. I found it really interesting. I simply clicked on
1965 1970 1979 1983 1986 1988 1993 1999 2000
the link, listened and took notes as I played the video. In the
2007 2009 2010 2011
questionnaires and feedback we did with the students after
I told the students that these were “Important dates in the activity, the students were very enthusiastic about the
my life” and I then began to talk to the students about the idea. Some even said that they were going to use mailVu
dates, giving a short history behind each date. It took about for other things in their lives. In other words, the activity
10 minutes of the lesson and I encouraged the students to was not only useful for learning English but also for the
ask me questions to get more information. I told them about knowledge they picked up about technology which they felt
things like my first ever football match, first time I went they could transfer to other areas of their life. I also played
abroad, first time I visited China, first time I fell in love, my some of the best examples back in the lesson and we talked
job in Spain, winning the Times Higher award, when I met about why they were good in terms of the language or
my best mate, a great holiday etc. organisation of ideas.


ELTmag
2012

A second idea key to making the most of these tools is that we connect
very tightly what we do in the class with what we get our
The second idea is not my own but rather one that was
students to do at home. It is this connection between the
suggested me by someone who had seen one of my
class teaching and the homework which I really like. The
presentations on the “Connected Classroom.”
homework is almost an extension of the lesson and not an
The idea in this activity is to get the students to interview after thought. In fact the way these lessons are organised ,
each other. It would work well in any level class but the it becomes an essential component of the lesson plan.
activity I am going to describe was actually done in an This is why I like the term “Conneted Classroom”
elementary adults class. What I like about this activity is
that it exploits the use of the web cam as well as the sound. More ideas
The students were put into groups and asked to think of You can use mailVu for a whole range of speaking activities.
all the personal information questions they could think Here are a list of a few ideas
of. They were told to think of questions in the following
1. Get the students to talk about their typical day
categories: general information, hobbies, job, education,
travel. They were told to think of at least 10 questions. 2. Get the students to talk about a holiday they liked
After the teacher asked one member of each group to read
3. Get the students to talk about their best friend ( they
out their lists of questions. The teacher and students then
could even bring them onto the camera)
selected some of the best questions and the teacher wrote
them on the board. 4. Get the students to talk about an object that is important
to them. Again this makes use of the visual element
The students then worked in pairs and interviewed each
since the students can hold up the object to the camera.
other. Student A asked B the questions and then student B
asked student A the questions. The teacher moved around 5. Get students to debate a topic in groups of pairs
and took notes and after provided some feedback regarding
6. Get the students to prepare a monologue around an
the questions and answers.
issue that is important to them.
The teacher then explained to the students how mailVu
Many teachers have asked me if the videos can be
worked. The students were asked to work in pairs and to
downloaded. The way the system works, the videos are
interview each other. The students were told to organise
kept “ in the cloud” so with mailVu you can only play the
a time to use the computer rooms and do the recordings
videos by clicking on the link. However there is another tool
there. The computer rooms have laptops with microphones
called Eyejot which works in similar way. You can only make
and cams. Students could either do their homework at
videos for 5 minutes with Eyejot but you can download
home in pairs or meet and do the recordings in the school
them if you want them for your records. This can be very
computer rooms.
important if you want to build up a portfolio of evidence
of the speaking skills of students. This tool is great for
Results
demonstrating student’s progress and providing evidence
The results were very encouraging. Again students really of how students develop overtime. Some of my ideas with
enjoyed the activity. What I felt worked here was the MailVu and Eyejot have created a lot of interest amongst
preparation and practice that the students had done before teachers who want to get their students to provide
they actually did the recordings. One suggestion is to get portfolios. MailVu and Eyejot can really help to produce
the students to add two more questions to the list so that more inventive and interesting ways of keeping a record of a
each interview is slightly different. The teacher listened to students learning and development. I have been using them
the interviews, took notes and then in the next lesson went in my own learning of Chinese and found it quite interesting
over some of the problems the students had. The teacher to play back examples I had made several months ago and
also played some of the more interesting interviews in compare them to my progress now.
the next lesson so that students could hear what other
students had done.
Video Help
Conclusions
How to use MailVu
MailVu ( or Eyejot) offer great possibilities for developing http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/mailVu/index.html
students speaking skills. They are very simple technologies How to use EyeJot
to use and they are free and generally very reliable. They http://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/eyejot/index.html
open up great possibilities for speaking. What seems to be


Russell Stannard runs www.teachertrainingvideos.com » Students can create ‘culture capsule’ glogs in small
a website that offers free step by step videos to show groups, with multimedia examples of cultural artefacts
teachers how to use technology in their language teaching. from their own or other cultures
It received around a quarter of a million visits in 2011.
» Students can create glogs in pairs or small groups
Russell won the British Council ELTons award and the Times
with the results of research on a particular topic (the
Higher “Outstanding Initiative Award” for his work on the
environment, animals, history, famous people or
website.
inventions, etc.)
» Students can create glogs summarising the main points
Webwise in a short story, book, film, or You Tube video

Glogster » Students can create glogs with key words and images to
Nicky Hockly revise a topic or course book unit

The Internet provides a great range of free tools that » Students can create glogs about their school or country,
English language teachers can use with students. In this and share them with students in other schools or
second in the Webwatch series, Nicky Hockly takes a look at countries
Glogster. » Teachers can create a class glog to collate and showcase
What is Glogster? students work e.g. videos, drawings, posters...

Glogster (http://www.glogster.com) is a multimedia online Some example glogs
poster tool. You can create posters with text, images, Glogpedia: the best glogs
audio and video. Glogster Edu (http://edu.glogster.com/) is
especially designed for teachers, and enables you to set up These are examples of glogs produced by students and
accounts for students and manage these centrally. Pricing teachers on a wide range of topics on the Glogster Edu site
plans for student managed accounts vary, but teachers (or http://edu.glogster.com/glogpedia/
students) can set up free individual accounts to create their Personal glogs
own ‘glogs’ or online posters.
A glog created by the author to introduce herself in online
What do you need? teacher training courses
You need an Internet connection to create a glog (poster) and http://www.glogster.com/nickyhockly/nicky-hockly-glog/
to view others’ glogs. Glogs are stored online, not on your g-6nbhff03mb7f0eeisgm1a27
computer, so it is easy to share glogs via their web addresses. Greetings from the world
You can add ready-made media (images, audio and video)
to your glog, or you can create media at the same time as These student glogs were produced as part of an
creating your glog. If you plan to create media for your glog, international project http://greetingsfromtheworld.
you will need a headset with microphone to create audio wikispaces.com/
recordings, or a webcam to video record or take still images Ghost stories
on the spot. But you can also easily add any media you A glog created by a teacher to collate videos of her young
already have stored on your computer, to your glog. learners telling illustrated ghost stories
How can you use Glogster? http://nadans.edu.glogster.com/the-canteville-ghost-
digital-stories/
» Students can create individual personal glogs about
themselves, their family, hobbies or interests, and share QR codes in education
the glogs with classmates, or use them as the basis for A glog explaining how QR codes can be used by educators;
an oral presentation. This works well at the beginning of this is an example of a blog being used as a tool to introduce
a new school term or year, for students who don’t yet teachers to new concepts
know each other http://theohiobloke.edu.glogster.com/qr-codes-in-
» Students can create individual glogs about a special trip, education/
holiday or occasion (eg. a birthday or other celebration), Party invitation
or a party invitation
A party invitation glog created by the moderators of an
» Students can create individual personal glogs with online teachers’ association
examples of their English work, with scanned examples http://antolina.edu.glogster.com/invitation-to-a-party/
of texts, photos, and audio or video recordings.


ELTmag
2012

Nicky is Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E (www. within two minutes. They may like to practise once before
theconsultants-e,com). She is co-author of several recording. Recording can be done with Sound Recorder
methodology books about ICT and ELT. Her most recent (free on most PCs) or Audacity (freely downloaded from the
publication is an e-book on Webinars (http://the-round. internet).
com/resource/webinars-a-cookbook-for-educators/),
Students then save their sound recording as an MP3 file,
and she is currently co-writing a book on Digital Literacies
and post it onto a discussion forum, such as can be found in
(forthcoming 2012). She lives in Spain, and is an ex-
Blackboard, or Moodle. Here, they can then also access their
technophobe turned technophile.
classmates’ recordings as well.
Analysis task: Allow students to spend some time listening
to the various ‘orders’ that are now posted on the discussion
Hi-tech/Lo-tech forum from their classmates. This can bring a lot of
Teaching discourse structure humour. They may wish to post response comments on the
Joanna Smith discussion forum, either to their own posts, or classmates’
posts. Students then complete the following tasks:
1. Write down what is common to all the different
recordings, e.g. specific items of vocabulary, (both
words and fixed expressions – greetings, idioms,
phrases) and structure.
2. Are any of the recordings unusual in any way? Why?
3. What ‘stages’ do you think these conversations all go
through?
4. Can you develop a ‘formula’ for this type of
conversation?
After discussing initial answers, show students what some
researchers have come up with, explaining the stages
that such ‘service encounters’ go through. Discuss with
Hi-tech the class whether they can see the researcher’s formula
working in their own generated conversations. It may
Level of students: Advanced
also be a good idea to have a couple of back-up ‘real life’
Time allowed: 2 hours in the computer lab service encounters, such as some clips from YouTube,
to show and analyse, to see the formula at work, just in
Aim of activity: to help students understand the concept
case the students don’t produce typical service encounter
of spoken discourse schematic structure – i.e. that certain
conversations. The students themselves are often able to
types of conversations have particular ‘rules’ or a ‘structure’
see which conversations are ‘more typical’ than others.
that fluent speakers follow.
Ask students whether they think that a service encounter
Procedure:
in their own country would follow a similar pattern. (This
This activity has two parts to it – production and analysis. highlights the fact that genre are usually culturally specific.)
Production task: In the computer lab, invite students to The point of lesson can then be discussed – students need
pair up, and use a double headphone jack to plug in two to become aware and listen to the everyday ‘formulas’ that
headphone sets into one machine. Alternately, if there is they hear, if they want to achieve a high degree of fluency
only one headset per computer, students will need to hold in the language. Formulas are everywhere – coffee orders,
the microphone, and take turns speaking closely into it. supermarket exchanges etc.
Tell students they are going to do a role-play. One student Lo-tech
is a McDonald’s employee, and the other student is about to
This activity can be done completely ‘lo-tech’ as well, by
order through a drive-through window.
having students write down the McDonalds’ ordering
Tell them to record themselves having a normal drive- conversation, rather than recording it digitally. Students
through ordering conversation. It does not matter what can simply share their pieces of butcher’s paper around the
they order. They should aim to complete the conversation classroom during the analysis phase.


The advantage of doing it orally, through recording, is that reminds me of the old 4-3-2-1 method of having 4 minutes to
students can have a chance to listen to themselves talk tell a story to person 1, three minutes to repeat it to person
in English, and compare their pronunciation with that of 2, 2 minutes with person 3 and finally, when you are really
their classmates, and/or with their expectations of what an honed, just 1 minute to repeat it to person 4. By the final
English service encounter should sound like. The advantage time, learner fluency and confidence is much enhanced.
of digitally recording it, and posting it to a forum, over using
Idioms
cassette recorders in a language lab, is that students can
access classmates’ recordings easily, and also can have Below are links to 2 examples from a whole series of short
access at other times, from home. Written and/or spoken YouTube clips (from 30 to 90 seconds in length) called
responses can also be made on the forum from either peers ‘Quite Literally”. Produced by PearsonLongmanELT, they
or teacher. introduce idioms to learners in a fun way, that gets them
talking about what the idioms might really mean. They can
When I did this activity recently, one student told me after
be used at many levels because the jokes are visual and
the class that that lesson had given her an epiphany –
they contain very little language. Once you click on the links
she was able to hear each student’s accent, and see the
below you will have access to many others.
difference that the L1 influence made. It’s important to note
that this student had been with the same classmates for http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS00BFRH0V8&featur
twelve weeks prior to this, and had never ‘noticed’ all the e=related (pull my leg) and
different accents. But the opportunity to listen carefully to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWZtUBKCtr8&feature
her classmates’ speech, at her own speed, with no other
=related (let the cat out of the bag)
disruptions, and with no expectation on her part to interact,
was a new experience for her, and one which she valued
highly.
Into the Classroom
Joanna has a background in descriptive linguistics and
has been teaching English for more than a decade. She is To correct or not to correct, that is the question
currently a lecturer at Unitec, New Zealand. She particularly Chris Baldwin
enjoys teaching various aspects of speaking, from discourse
analysis to pronunciation. She’s also interested in World
Englishes, and the place of New Zealand English in that mix.

Lit Kit
Supporting Oral and Visual Literacy
Jenni Percy
In this issue are a couple of ideas for using technology to
support oral and visual literacy.
Oral Presentations
Have you ever had a look at http://igniteshow.com/, where
the motto is ‘Enlighten us, but make it quick’. The concept
is that a series of 20 slides auto-advance after 15 seconds, To correct or not to correct, that is the question – whether
giving a speaker a total of 5 minutes to talk about a topic, ’tis nobler in the classroom to suffer the tenses and syntax
using graphics to highlight the key points. While not of outrageous grammar or to take red pens against a
designed for ESOL learners, higher level learners may be sea of errors and by correcting end them (to misquote
able to use some presentations for listening and note taking Shakespeare, 1602).
practice. Also, critical analysis of the presentations could This question has troubled us all, I’m sure – we correct their
support learners to improve their own presentation skills. errors until our red pens have run out and we’re blue in the
However, I have drawn you attention to the idea, because face, but they keep on making the same mistakes. Why does
I can see the value of this type of format if your learners this happen? What can we do about it? I started to think
need to give short presentations supported by Powerpoint, about these questions when I was doing my Master’s in
Prezi or whatever. 15 seconds requires the learners to really TESOL with Aston University (UK) and I found the research
focus on just the key ideas and be succinct and fluent. It to be fascinating. Here’s a brief summary.


Elt magazine winter 2012

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