Music and what it means to you.

There are hundreds of thousands of different ways to improve a second language whilst you're outside the classroom. In my opinion the easiest and most fun is by listening to music that you like and finding new music that makes you feel something.

The idea that a song holds significance can really add an impetus to learn and also a serious connection to the vocabulary, grammar and ideas presented in the song.

What I like to do is start my students off with some brief information about my favourite song and then move on to a slightly different gap fill to what is traditional.  

After you've bared your soul to the class and worked through the song using, clarifying any issues with the vocabulary and getting students to use it throughout the class, you'll find students are happy to bare their own souls within the music they love. Since introducing my song to my classes I tend to get an overwhelming response from my students wanting to create their own materials. Not only to show you how they feel about the song but to also get a better understanding of what they're listening to. I've found with a great deal of my classes they're now paying significantly more attention to the songs they listen to.

My favourite song in Everlong by the Foo Fighters. I've attached the worksheet here: Everlong

I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.

'til the next time.

Work Sneak with a twist

Those of you who have read my blog in the past may remember the game Shoehorn. Whereby students have to take words from the previous class or from the target vocabulary provided by the coursebook; and try to shoehorn them naturally into a somewhat contrived conversation. The results of this are often rather amusing, particularly with higher levels.

I've recently changed jobs and in our meeting we were sharing ideas.  A colleague of mine reminded me of the idea of rather than forcing the words into a conversation perhaps letting them do it a little more naturally and slightly less contrived. Students are provided with 5-10 words (from previous classes and from coursebooks) and they have to try and get them all into their speaking throughout the class. This idea jumped out at me and I decided to use it right away.

I'm not sure whether you stay on top of new vocab that occurs in class, but I do. I always write it on the side of the whiteboard, review it at the end of class and get a students to act as the scribe and write all the new vocabulary on very simple grids(which can be found here), which I later cut up and put into a box for each of my different classes. At the start of my next class I simply placed the words from the previous class on my students desks and asked them to keep their words a secret but to try and get them into the speaking throughout the class.

It went down a treat and at the end of the class students could announce how many words they'd used and the meaning of said words. The next class the pile of words grew and the task of getting the words into their natural speech became a little more difficult.

I hope your students, of all ages and abilities, enjoy it as much as mine did.

Til the next time

@ELFuencyfacilitator

The Fix is in. Of the pre and suf variety

I'm not sure how many of your students love lists, but I have a whole bunch of them who absolutely love lists. I think it might have something to do with the Spanish exam mentality that makes them enjoy pouring over list after list of phrasal verbs and dependent propositions. for some of them, it obviously works.
It's for that reason that I decided to spend far too many hours of my time making this list of prefixes and suffixes. It's just a list. No extra exercises, just a big long list.
The downloadable worksheet is available from the link right up there ^ it's called Just a few materials Affixation.

Anyway, there is a little taster below but for the whole docume t you'll need to click above.

Verb-forming Suffixes	Meanings	Examples
-ate / -en / -fy -ise / -ize	make / become render (as) / treat (as)	Activate / Shorten / Purify Minimize / Crystallize / Idolize

Adverb-forming Suffixes	Meanings	Examples
-ally / -ly	in the manner of / with respect to	Emphatically / Musically / Nicely / Alternately

Forget resolutions let's just think of some simple guidelines

Happy New Year everyone. I trust you've had a delightful festive period and you're nice and refresed for the year ahead.

As I'm sure all of you are aware the typical thing for people to do at this time of year is get students to think about and work with new years resolutions. Don't get me wrong,  I really like my classes working on the classic NY resolution activities like list building activities and guessing the most common new years resolutions. It's just I've been doing it for 8 years now I and I fancied doing something a wee bit different.

What I'm doing at the moment is something a little different. I was inspired on one of my many visits to themetapicture.com. What I'm doing with my classes is just going through some simple life hacks and some general wise words. If you look below you'll see thirty different tips. Not only on how to simply get through the day, but also how you can make yours and other pepole's days a little easier. Not to mention occasionally just a shade more fun.

My Top 30 Tips for Life

1. There are plenty of ways of getting into the pool. The stairs is not one of them.

2. If a street performer makes you stop, you owe them money.

3. When entrusted with a secret keep it.

4. When loading the diswasher always segregate your cutlery. It will make emptying it a lot easier.

5. Smile at strangers.

6. You only get one chance to notice a new haircut.

7. Never lie to your doctor.

8. Take a break from yout electronic devices, at least once a year.

9. It's never too late for an apology.

10. Give credit. Take blame.

11. Stand up to bullies.

12. Admit when you’re wrong.

13. The dinner table is for eating. Not mobile phones.

14. Forgive yourself for your mistakes and learn from them.

15. Know how to cook one good meal.

16. If you don't understand, ask before it’s too late.

17. Don't make promises unless you're going to keep them

18. Appreciate your parents. Theyre amazing.

19. Buy the orange properties on monopoly.

20. Never waste nutella. Use a scoop of ice cream to get the last bits from the jar.

21. Respect other people's problems. They belong to them.

22. Laugh at yourself. 

23. Win and lose gracefully. 

24. Not everyone wants advice or suggestions. Usually you just need to listen.

25. It doesn't matter who did it, clean it up.

26. If there is a woman in your life, she's ALWAYS right. 

27. Stop thinking about what you've done wrong and start doing what you're going to do right.

28. Hot pan, cold oil. Food never sticks

29. Remember violence isn't an answer but If there is NO choice but to fight. Punch first and punch hard.'

30. Know when to stop.

It should go unsaid that before going through this list of wise words and idea you introduce the word phrase life hack to your students. Here is a great page to give them the idea lifehacks.com. Then, after sharing my list I get students to compiling their own lis of at least ten ideas. This can be done in class or at home. If it's at home get students to look online for things like life hacks. I got them to share them with the class and keep the list to hand so they could take classmates ideas and add them to their own list to give themselves a top 15 and beyond. 

Another thing I've got my students to do with as many of these tips as possible is to rephrase them as a way to aid UOE part 4.

I also encourage them to keep it close to hand so if they ever come across or think of other ideas to add them to their list. 

The worksheet is below and can be downloaded and edited from the same place as always just look for Tips and Life Hacks