Someone jumps the queue. How do you feel about it?

Are you irritated? Does it make your blood boil?

Below you can find worksheets with useful adjectives and phrases as well as speaking tasks for further practice.

I'm glad I have contributed to Travel Everywhere - Earn Anywhere blog.

Here's my guest post on lesson planning,https://traveleverywhere-earnanywhere.com/2018/03/23/lost-in-lesson-planning-heres-what-you-need-to-know

On the first lesson after a long break, like Christmas holidays, it is customary to spend some time talking about what the students have done during their break. This, however, can be time-consuming and sometimes even boring. Turn this typical activity into a fun and constructive way to practise speaking about Christmas holidays and New Year's Resolutions.

Split your class into two groups, A and B.

Give Group A 10 New Year’s Resolutions (handout) and ask them to choose any 6 of them at random.

Split Group B in pairs and ask them to discuss their New Year’s Resolutions. For each pair assign two students from Group A to listen to their conversations. If any of the two students hears the 6 resolutions he/she has chosen, he/she can shout BINGO and be the winner.
Point out that it is not necessary for the student to say the exact phrase. For example, instead of saying ‘I’m planning to work out more.’, the student might say ‘I am planning to go to the gym more often’.

Repeat the above activity by asking Group B to choose from a list of 10 things, 6 that the students from Group A might have done during the holidays (handout).

Later ask Group A to discuss in pairs how they spent their Christmas holidays.
Assign students from Group B to listen to their conversations and say BINGO after hearing the 6 things they have chosen .
Once again point out that it is OK if they don’t use the exact phrases .For example, instead of saying ‘I splashed out on Christmas presents.’, the student might say ‘I spent lots of money on presents.’

Once they finish, ask them to discuss the meaning of the phrasal verbs and come up with a synonym or definition.
Later give them a list of synonyms (handout) and ask them to check if they have come up with similar ones. Finally, ask them to match the synonyms with the phrasal verbs in the previous handouts.

For further practice, ask the students to discuss the same topics by using the phrasal verbs this time. For example, those who discussed about their Christmas holidays, they can discuss about their resolutions and those who discussed about their resolutions, they can discuss about their Christmas holidays.

Download all three handouts below.

Task-based learning is an approach that is widely used in language classrooms and it revolves around meaningful tasks that give opportunities for authentic language use and negotiation of meaning. Students use their existing knowledge and work at their own pace. Some raise the level and some stick to the basics. The aim of the lesson is to practise students' speaking skills by using collocations related to Christmas party arrangements.

Find the lesson plan below

It’s this time of the year when teachers of esl young learners put on their Christmas jumper and bring the festive spirit in the classroom. In the weeks leading up to Christmas the students celebrate the holidays and practise the language through fun Christmas activities and crafts.Making a Christmas Flipbook is easy and it can be used in various activities throughout the Christmas period. Students can learn Christmas vocabulary through pictures, practise prepositions and tenses or use it to tell stories and play games.

Materials 

1. Fold the card paper (cover) and the coloured pieces of paper in half.

2. Place the coloured pieces of paper inside the cover and bind them using staples.

3. Now you have a kind of notebook.

4. Cut the inside pages into 5 equal segments. DO NOT CUT THE COVER.

5. This is the end result.

6. First start by adding the stickers. You can download the stickers below.

7. Write the Xmas words following the word order. Subject + Verb + object + prep + noun
Place another piece of paper underneath so that the ink doesn’t seep to the other pages as well.

8. At the end, the flipbook is going to look like that.

The aim of the activity is to promote students' fluency. So encourage your students to come up with funny sentences . However, do advise them to keep the word order.

Christmas Activities for Young Learners

A. Santa’s Party Go Crazy

Santa is having a party and each student uses the flipbook to form a sentence by saying what the character they have chosen is doing at the party.

E.g.: Rudolph / is kicking / Scrooge / in / the fireplace

The students are working in teams of 5 or more and they are standing in a row one next to the other.

The 1st student is saying his/her sentence to the 2nd student.
Rudolph is kicking Scrooge in the fireplace

The 2nd student has to say the sentence of the 1st student and his/her own sentence to the 3rd student
Rudolph is kicking Scrooge in the fireplace
Mrs. Claus is eating a star next to the Christmas tree.

The 3rd student has to say the sentence of the 1st and 2nd student and his /her own sentence to the 4th student
Rudolph is kicking Scrooge in the fireplace
Mrs. Claus is eating a star next to the Christmas tree.
The Snowman is eating a star behind the Christmas tree

The 4th student has to say the sentence of the 1st ,2nd and 3rd student and his /her own sentence to the 5th student
Rudolph is kicking Scrooge in the fireplace
Mrs. Claus is eating a star next to the Christmas tree.
The Snowman is eating a star behind the Christmas tree
The Elf is wrapping a present in the sleigh

The 5th student has to say the sentences of all four and his/her own sentence.
Rudolph is kicking Scrooge in the fireplace
Mrs. Claus is eating a star next to the Christmas tree.
The Snowman is eating a star behind the Christmas tree
The Elf is wrapping a present in the sleigh
The carolers are eating a pudding on the chimney.

Once the 5th student finishes, all members of the team have to sit down and shout “THE PARTY HAS FINISHED!”
The team that finishes first are the winners. If a student forgets the sentences, the others can help but ONLY by miming the sentences. If they talk, they have to start again.

B. What is my Christmas character doing?

Divide your learners into two groups A and B and ask each student to write a sentence using the flipbook. If you have a small class, ask them to write more than one sentences.
Then, tell them to change the word order and the order of the letters for each word (Anagrams).

Eg: sisk / derun / nasta / tlemistoe / keytur

Group A plays with the sentences of group B and vice versa

One member of each group comes at the front, he/she picks a sentence and tries to solve the anagrams and find the sentence. Once he/she does so, he/she needs to mime the sentence so that his/her team can find it. When they do, they need to write it in a mini board or on an A4 piece of paper.

Eg: Santa is kissing the turkey under the mistletoe.

The team that finds the right sentence first are the winners!

C. Who stole the presents?

While Santa was sleeping under the Christmas tree, someone stole the presents. Everyone is a suspect.
One of the students is Santa and he/she goes outside the classroom until the others decide who is the culprit. Once Santa comes back to the classroom, they are being interrogated by Santa and they have to say what they were doing while he was sleeping.

Eg: While you were sleeping under the Christmas tree, Santa, Rudolph was making a pudding under the mistletoe.

Students can also mislead Santa by accusing one another.

Eg: While you were sleeping, Santa, Rudolph was not making a pudding. He was talking to a snowman next to the fireplace.

Santa needs to decide who stole the presents.

The topic of the lesson is art and its aim is to practise students' speaking skills by using expressions on how to express an opinion, an agreement or a disagreement.

The lesson is accompanied by a Powerpoint which you can download along with the lesson plan below.

Expressing an opinion can be hard when it's not done in your own language. Agreeing and disagreeing can also be tricky as students can sound abrupt and communication might fail.

Below you can find a worksheet with useful expressions on how to express an opinion, agree or disagree.

For a full lesson plan have a look here: http://eltea.org/lesson-plans/lesson-plan-practising-expressing-an-opinion-an-agreement-or-a-disagreement-in-the-context-of-art 

The most wonderful time of the year is approaching and shops fill their shelves with Christmas stocking fillers. If you are an EFL teacher, it’s a good chance to renew the contents of your teacher’s bag in an easy and affordable way. Most of the games that are about to stuff your Christmas stocking require from the participants to come up with words, phrases or give short descriptions/speeches. They are fun and most important of all easy to carry.
All teachers have days when the students’ energy is running low or they have 10-15 minutes to kill. These games can easily act as warmers or fillers and they require no preparation.

Below you can see my recent purchases with the shops and the prices you can get them.

FACT OR FIB   Sainsbury's   £3.50

Inspired by the well-known TV show ‘Would I lie to you?’, the participants narrate either a true story or a lie. Later they are asked several questions about their stories, so that the others can decide if they are saying the truth or if they are lying.

10 CLUES   M&S   £5.00 (3for2)

The participants are asked to find the name of a place/person/object within 10 clues. The fewer clues they use, the better. It’s advisable to ask the students to work in groups so that they can discuss possible answers. You can also ask students to come up with their own words and clues and create their own cards.

SLIP OF THE TONGUE   M&S   £5.00 (3for2)

It’s very similar to TABOO. The participants are asked to describe to their teams certain words without using the banned words. Just like on the previous game, you can ask students to create their own cards.

CATCH PHRASE   M&S   £5.00 (3for2)

This is more suitable for higher level students. The participants have to come up with the phrase that the picture illustrates, e.g. two peas in a pod

VERY BRITISH PROBLEMS   John Lewis   £9.99

This is a great chance for the students to become aware of the British culture and check how British they are themselves. Students can also generate similar questions about their own nationality and check their classmates’ knowledge on other cultures.

Teaching is a highly social profession that, besides lesson planning, requires constant interaction with students, colleagues and parents. So, one can easily assume that teaching might not be a wise career choice for an introvert. People often get that impression because they tend to associate introversion with shyness. However, introverts are not the kind of people who appear to be distant because they don’t enjoy getting into conversations. In fact, they do enjoy the company of others and the chats but in their own terms, which include small groups, meaningful conversations or chitchats with people they know well enough.

Being an introvert in a highly extroverted profession, such as teaching, might place you in a difficult situation, especially in a new working environment . Your colleagues might think you are clueless about what you are doing or even worse they might consider you a snob. These assumption are far from true and the only explanation is that introverts function differently. Brian Little mentions that, unlike extroverts, introverts need to have their stimulus level down in order to be able to cope with everyday tasks. What this means for teachers is, that instead of the buzzing staffroom , they will seek some restorative time in their classroom with their own kind of music on or a chat with a colleague they feel close to. Little refers to these times and places as ‘restorative niches’, where teachers revert to their introverted type after they have used their energy in the lessons or other social interactions. Once they regain their energy, they are ready to function in a high stimulus environment till they feel the need to resort to their own restorative niche again.

Surprisingly enough introverted teachers seem to be quite popular among students who think of them as outgoing and gregarious people. All teachers, whether they are introverts or extroverts, have their own ‘teacher persona’ and play a role when they enter the classroom. However, introverts need to put more effort into it and that’s why in the end the Oscar goes to them. A counter-argument to that is that teachers pretend to be someone they are not and therefore they are dishonest to their students. Being an introverted teacher myself, I never felt that I am deceiving my students. I play the role so that I can satisfy the students’ needs in the most positive environment and I think that they do appreciate the effort. I don’t think they would mind if they knew that after my lesson I resort to my own restorative niche with my cup of coffee and some music on. I don’t think I could have said it better than Little who says that introverted teachers ‘act out of character’ out of professionalism and love for their job.

As for the staff meetings with colleagues, introverted teachers make some time for themselves before they dive in. Attending a staff meeting straight after a lesson seems like a punishment to them. Staff meetings can be quite overwhelming for them especially if there’s not an agenda. Otherwise, they come well prepared. But still, the level of stimulus is quite high and there are so many things that go on in their heads. ‘Shall I interrupt?’,’ Can I object to what is being said?’, ‘Is my idea good enough?’.During the meeting they don’t generate lots of ideas but it might be the next day that they can come up with an idea they would like to share. They need more time to think things through and that’s ok. In every working environment employees are different. There’s always one who is late, one who dominates the conversation, one who is more spontaneous or out of topic. Still, all these different personalities coexist and sometimes they work miracles just because of this diversity.

Introverts make good teachers because of many different reasons. As previously mentioned, playing a role requires more effort on their behalf and therefore they spend more time planning their lessons in detail. They sometimes act out their lesson in their heads and visualize how they would present things in the classroom. At the same time, they are by nature more observant and astute in realizing what doesn’t work in the lesson or who is struggling and change the lesson to accommodate everyone. Introverts pay more attention to the individuals and they are considerate not only for the linguistic but also for the effective needs of their students. Though they are acting a role, they don’t like being the centre of attention and therefore students are playing the leading role.

Moreover, what introverts know how to do best is to reflect. Much of their restorative time is spent assessing their performance in order to become better. This benefits not only their students but also themselves. Knowing the flows of their lessons helps them become more efficient and saves them time from planning.
Research has also shown that introverts become better leaders. https://hbr.org/2017/05/what-sets-successful-ceos-apart They are more interested in inspiring others that attracting attention. Therefore, introverted teachers can help students organize their studying or set up a plan that best works for them.

Being an introvert doesn’t make you a bad teacher. Being energized by the tranquility of your own classroom, instead of the staffroom, doesn’t make you a bad colleague. All teachers have their own little quirks to survive in a profession as demanding as teaching.

Discussing options and making a decision is a huge part of our everyday life. Students in Business English classes as well as in exam classes, e.g. FCE, often find themselves in such situations.
Below you can find a worksheet with useful expressions as well as a speaking task for extra practice.