English for beginners

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Polish Grandpa

Christmas advert – worksheet

Introduction

It’s that time of year again!

Over the next couple of days, I’ll be adding a few vídeo worksheets to use as Christmas activities. Most of them are based on adverts, which is itself a discussion point – is that what the spirit of Christmas is all about now?

Summary

Activity based on a short (3-minute) Polish advert for an online auction site. It provides listening practice for English in a non-native accent and acts as a springboard for discussion on themes such as language learning and living in other countries.

I’ve used this worksheet with levels from A2 upwards. The language is simple and easy to understand and the themes (family in other countries, emigration, learning languages, etc.) are fairly universal.

Materials

Polish Grandpa – student

Polish Grandpa – teacher

Link to video

 

The Secret Millionaire

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Secret Millionaire

Video Worksheet

Summary

This activity is based on a short (3-minute) clip from the UK Channel 4 documentary ‘Secret Millionaire’, which can be found on YouTube. This complements the text ‘The Secret Billionaire’ in Unit 3 of Headway Advanced. but can be used independently as a springboard for a discussion on the importance of ambitions, money, drive and social environment.

The worksheet also focuses on the use of prepositions in a biography (Wikipedia extract) and introduces some idiomatic, spoken language and cultural references.

Materials

Secret Millionaire intro

Video worksheet Secret millionaire – student

Video worksheet Secret millionaire – teacher

English and Me

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learner historiesFirst day activity

Introduction

This is probably my all-time favourite activity. I’ve used it with many groups over the years from A2-C2 level, in order to learn about my students’ attitudes, expectations and motivations. The information I’ve collected about my learners in this time has been so rich and detailed that I’ve used it as the basis for articles and conference presentations. The original idea came from an activity on Men and Women in Cutting Edge Advanced (Cunningham, 2007, Pearson) and follows a task-oriented methodology.

Summary

Students compare their past experiences, present motivations and future expectations of learning English and prepare a short survey to interview their classmates. The speaking and survey activities focus on question formation. These also allow learners to discover similarities and differences with their classmates, which can lead to enhanced metacognition and awareness of diversity within the group. The subsequent writing activity is an opportunity to explore individuals’ learner histories.

Materials

English and Me – student

English and Me – teacher

Song worksheet: Rag ‘n’ Bone Man – Human

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Rag 'n' bone.jpg

Song worksheet

Worksheet on song related to the theme of ‘humanity’, which can be used to supplement the first unit of Headway Advanced 4th Edition (Soars, J & L, Hancock, P., 2015) Oxford University Press.

Materials

Song – Human -student

Song – Human – teacher

Video

Here’s a link to the video

 

BBC documentary: Trading Ages

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trading ages

Video Worksheet

This ten-minute clip from the BBC documentary ‘Trading Ages’ can be used to supplement unit 2B in English File Upper-Intermediate (3rd Edition), or can be used on its own as a springboard for discussion about prejudice and ageing.

Image credit: bbc.co.uk

Materials

Video worksheet Trading Ages – student

Video worksheet Trading Ages – teacher

 

Video

Here’s the link to the vídeo clip

Reference: Latham-Koenig, C., & Oxenden, C. (2014) English File Upper-Intermediate. 3rd Edition. Oxford University Press.

Ed Sheeran: Castle on the Hill

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castle-on-the-hill-ed-sheeran

Song worksheet

This worksheet is based on the lyrics of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Castle on the Hill’. The version of the vídeo with lyrics has animated images which make the text easier to understand. The activity involves listening for detail, first without vídeo, then using the song lyrics to check.

I’ve used this with learners from B2 level upwards. As it deals with the theme of nostalgia and growing up, it works well as a first class activity. Use as a springboard for learners’ personal histories and narratives.

Image credit: https://www.theupcoming.co.uk/2017/01/06/ed-sheeran-releases-two-new-songs-castle-on-the-hill-and-shape-of-you/

Video

Here’s the link to the vídeo with lyrics.

Materials

Ed Sheeran Castle on the Hill – Teacher’s notes

Ed Sheeran Castle on the Hill – Student

TED Talks: Jigsaw Listening – Sustainable Development Goals

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SDGs pic

TED talks worksheet

Summary

In this activity, students watch two TED talks on a related subject (UN Sustainable Development Goals) and answer different sets of questions. They then share their information and discuss some of the issues raised

Procedure

This activity can be done:

  • as a jigsaw listening, with students in two groups in different rooms
  • as a ‘flipped’ activity: students in groups A or B watch different vídeos at home, do the exercises, then share their information in the next class
  • as a whole class activity (talk 1) and then at home (talk 2)

It also works as a supplementary activity to Headway Advanced (4th Edition, Soars, J & L, & Hancock, P. Oxford University Press) Unit 2.

Videos

Introductory vídeo: Sustainable Development Goals

TED Talk 1: Michael Green (2015)

TED Talk 2: Johan Rockström (2018)

Materials

There is an introductory PowerPoint, a worksheet for each of the two talks and teacher’s notes with key for each worksheet. The vídeo links are included above.

TED talks SDGs intro

TED talks SDGs talk 1 – student

TED talks SDGs talk 1 – teacher

TED talks SDGs talk 2 – student

TED talks SDGs talk 2 – 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