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AI IN THE CLASSROOM: TWEE

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Twee Walkthrough

I’ve just come back from the annual TESOL Spain convention in Burgos brimming with ideas! It really is a fantastic event and all credit to the organisers and dedicated volunteers who made it possible.

Unsurprisingly, AI – and its applications in the classroom – was one of the major themes this year. I am a good litmus test for any kind of AI activity. If I can do it, anyone can! This is an idea taken from Catherine Morley’s Keynote session on Saturday, 16th March. I’m sure plenty of you are already using it, but in case you’re not (like me) thank you to Catherine for introducing me to it.

The Twee platform can help you generate a text on the topic and level of your choice, including target vocabulary and follow-up activities to exploit the text for meaning and language.

  1. Go to Twee and create a free account – it’s very simple.
  2. Once you’ve logged in, you see a menu – some options are free, some are ‘Pro’.

3. Choose the option ‘Create a Text on Any Topic with Your Vocabulary:

4. In the following section, you can choose the Topic, Target Vocabulary, CEFR Level, Genre and Length Range. I chose the following:

    • TOPIC: Tourism
    • TARGET VOCABULARY: overcrowded, strain on resources, protests from locals, cruise ships, infrastructure, income, economic importance
    • LEVEL: B2
    • GENRE: Argumentative article
    • LENGTH RANGE: 250-350

    5. Then click on ‘Do the magic’ and wait for the text to be generated

      Here is the text that it generated:

      You have the option of shortening the text if it is too long (button at end of text) and copying it to the clipboard (top-right corner) in case you want to use it later

      1. Once you’ve generated your text, you can ask Twee to create comprehension questions – using the option ‘ABCD questions’ from the menu below.

      This created seven multiple-choice comprehsnion questions for the text above at B2 level. Here are a couple of examples:

      7. Exploiting the text for language. Twee also offers you various follow-up activities. Here’s a sample of the options available for the target vocabulary in the text:

        Here’s a sample (not complete) from the word-definition matching activity using the target vocabulary

        8. Once you’ve created your text and activities, you can assign it to your students (especially good for online classes). In the top menu, use the ‘Assign’ option to create a link which you can send to students. They don’t have to create an account to use the platform!

        9. You can see students’ results in ‘My Lessons’ on the main Twee page

        *Twee is quick, intuitive and easy to use, but – as with any content created by AI – the result may not be immediately perfect. The teacher will need to fact-check and review the text and activities for the usual issues: bias, fact-checking, correct references etc.

        Then you’ll need to check/adapt the activities to make them appropriate for your students.

        HOW CREATIVE ARE YOU?

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        Creativity Tests and Tasks

        Introduction

        Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to attend the Psychology of Language Learning Conference in Madrid. One of the talks I went to was a workshop by Ashleigh Pipes (University of Tennessee, USA): ‘Embracing Creativity as an Individual Difference in SLA’. She presented interesting evidence that successful second language acquisition is linked to creativity, and related skills such as divergent thinking and problem solving. Therefore, as language teachers, we should be giving creativity as much attention as we do other individual differences such as motivation or aptitude.

        Ashleigh Pipes presenting at the PLL5 conference in Madrid, May 2024.

        Not only is this an interesting area for research, but it lends itself easily to classroom activities. Ashleigh tried a couple of these, taken from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, with us in the workshop. I’ve since tried them out with students and they meet the following criteria:

        • materials-light (or free!)
        • easy and simple to set up
        • fun for students (they get to analyse themselves)
        • generate lots of discussion

        In the next couple of posts, I’ll be sharing a couple of ideas taken from this workshop. These may not be new – but worth revisiting! There are classroom resource books to help develop creativity, e.g. The Creative Teacher’s Compendium (Marsh, A. & Clare, A, Pavilion ELT, 2021). If you are interested in looking into the background and research in this area in more depth, I would recommend Ashleigh’s book: Researching Creativity in Second Language Acquisition (Routledge, 2023)

        Summary

        These activities are designed to be done individually, and then act as a spingboard to classroom discussion.

        How creative are you? – learners do one of the tasks from the Torrance Test to find out their own level of creativity and then discuss the results.

        The Paper Clip Test – a classic test of creativty, that needs no prep or materials! Students have to think of as many different uses for a paper clip as they can! Simple but generates lots of (sometimes heated) discussion.

        Materials

        A pdf with teacher’s instructions and key for each of these activities can be downloaded. There is a downloadable handout for ‘How creative are you?’. The ‘Paper Clip Test’ is materials free!

        Hope you – and your students – enjoy them and let me know how it goes!

        How creative are you – StudentDownload
        How creative are you – Teacher’s notesDownload
        Paper Clip Test – Teacher’s notesDownload

        The Science of Queueing – Reading & Speaking activity

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        Introduction

        The British love a good queue, or so we’re told. Differences in queueing etquette around the world can be the cause of misunderstanding and stress. This text, adapted from an online news article in the Guardian newspaper, summarises some of the research done into people’s queueing habits, with some surprising results.

        Summary

        This activity practises the multiple-matching task in Cambridge First Reading part 7 and acts as a springboard for discussion on queueing habits and cultural differences. This is aimed at students preparing for an exam such as Cambridge First but can be used as a speaking & reading activity with any group at a B2 level or higher. I’ve included the student’s worksheet and teacher’s notes (with lesson plan and key) as separate documents.

        Materials

        queues-studentDownload
        queues-teacherDownload

        Richard Osman’s House of (ELT) Games, part 3: Classroom Whiteboards

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        Games for classroom whiteboards

        Introduction

        This is the third in an occasional series sharing the potential (I hope) of the games in the BBC2 quiz show ‘Richard Osman’s House of Games‘ for EFL classes. In this instalment I share two games which make use of the main classroom whiteboard. In a physical classroom, you need access to a whiteboard or screen and a projector. I’ve only ever played these games with F2F groups, but it should be possible to adapt these to a videoconferencing format using the whiteboard and stickers functions available in platforms such as Zoom. 

        As usual, I’ve uploaded an example of each game in an editable ppt format. This means the games can be used as they are, or can be downloaded and adapted to fit the vocabulary and themes that you are presenting or recycling.

        Summary

        Both activities are ‘pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey’ style games, which involve associating vocabulary and cultural knowledge with images. While the basic premise is very simple, this format allows different variations which can expand the language use beyond a simple test of what students know.

        Put your finger on it is a game where students identify the correct option from an image projected on the screen.

        Where is Kazakhstan? is a geography-based general knowledge game, played in teams.

        I’ve provided instructions for both games on one downloadable document and a link to an example of each game in ppt format. I’ve chosen vocabulary and lexical sets that correspond to the context I was teaching, but you can use the ppt as a template to adapt to your own teaching situation and the needs of your learners.

        Materials

        Whiteboard games: Teacher’s instructionsDownload
        Put your finger on it pptDownload
        Where is Kazakhstan? pptDownload

        Video worksheet: ‘Thank a teacher’ for World Teachers’ Day, Oct 5th.

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        wtd2019 image

        Video worksheet

        Introduction

        This  worksheet is designed to be used with the short video ‘Thank a teacher’, which marks the annual ‘World Teachers’ Day’ coming up on October 5th.

        Summary

        The video and worksheet can be used as a basis for discussion on teachers, education and childhood influences and role models. The video ‘Thank a teacher’ is fairly self-explanatory. I’ve used it with B1 classes, but I think it’s probably more accessible to levels B2 upwards. The follow-up video (Ian Wright), which went viral a couple of years ago, would probably work better at higher levels (C1+).

        Materials

        World Teachers’ Day – Student

        World Teachers’ Day – Teacher

        Link to video

        Follow-up vídeo (Footballer Ian Wright is reunited with his old teacher)

        EFL Takeaways: Materials for EFL classes

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        Welcome to EFL Takeaways!

        Eng 2

        Image credit: http://www.etc-institute.com.ar/

        Over the years I’ve written, used and accumulated a lot of classroom materials, some of which I thought other teachers might find useful. Hence this blog!

        A little bit about me. I’ve been teaching since 1991, most of that time in Barcelona. I work at the Escola d’Idiomes Moderns of the University of Barcelona as a CELTA trainer, EFL teacher and head of Teacher Training. To find out more, please visit the About section.

        All the materials on this site are tried-and-tested, but bear in mind that they have been produced to use in a general adult EFL context in Spain. Please feel free to adapt the activities to use with learners of different L1s and different age groups. I’d love to hear your feedback, so please leave a comment.

        Thank you for visiting.

        Jessica