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Last week’s installment of the Teacher’s Corner discussed questions to consider when selecting authentic materials as well as possible benefits and challenges when using them in instruction. This week will focus on warm-ups and activities to help students connect to authentic materials and create a meaningful context for practicing English.

THINKING MAP

Time: 10 minutes

Goals:

  • To encourage students to consider what experience they have with a topic or what they already know about it (their background knowledge).
  • To participate in a discussion in English.
  • To read and write in English.

Materials: Writing utensils and paper for each group of students, or a chalkboard/whiteboard and chalk/markers if the activity will be completed as a class

Preparation:

  1. Consider the authentic materials you plan to use with your students. Use the materials to create a few questions for students to consider when creating their thinking map. Some example questions are shown below. 

    Authentic Material

    Questions for Students to Consider

    Recipe for bread
    • What types of bread do you eat?
    • What ingredients are needed to make bread?
    • What are the steps to making bread?

    News clip or article about popular celebrity
    • Who is this celebrity? What is his or her name?
    • What do you know about him or her? What makes them famous?

    Brochure or website for an international travel agency
    • If you were going to travel to a different country, what steps would you take to prepare?
    • What would you pack for your trip?
  2. Decide if you will have students create thinking maps in small groups or as a whole class.

Procedure:

  1. Explain to students that they will soon participate in an activity to examine a recipe (or article, website, etc.). Tell students that first, they will think carefully about what they may already know about the topic.
  2. Model how to create the thinking map by writing the topic in a circle on the board. For instance, topics from the examples in the table above would be bread, [celebrity name], and international travel. In the following steps we will use the recipe for bread as an example.
  3. Write the questions that you want students to consider on the board.
  4. Model your thought process for students: Say “One type of bread that I eat for breakfast is roti canai, so I’m going to add that to the map.” Draw a line out from the circled topic and write the words roti canai at the end of the line.
  5. Continue by saying “I know that flour is used to make bread, and that some types of bread require time for the dough to rest.” Add two more lines to the map and write flour and time for dough to rest to continue modeling for students.
  6. Answer any questions students have about the process for creating the thinking map. If students will work in small groups, distribute necessary materials and have students form groups. If the whole class will work together on one map, allow students to contribute ideas by coming up to the board to add information.
  7. Stop the activity after about 10 minutes or when students have finished adding all of their ideas to the map. If students worked in small groups, display the maps in different areas of the room and allow the class time to move around and read all of the ideas each group wrote down.
  8. If you choose, the map(s) can remain on display in the classroom as students continue to work with the materials about the topic.

Variations:

  1. Allow beginner-level students to include illustrations or words in their native language on the thinking map if needed. They can discuss what they drew or wrote and the class or a peer can help them label it in English.
  2. Students’ background knowledge can also be activated by completing a similar activity to create a word cloud or word splash. Word clouds or word splashes are simply groups of words or phrases about a topic written in a large bunch. The words are often written in different sizes and in different directions. These can be created on paper or online using free generators such as www.wordle.net or www.wordclouds.com. A word splash can be created by using guiding questions as in the activity above or by using a photograph or single word or topic.

ANTICIPATION GUIDE

Time: 10 minutes

Goals:

  • To encourage students to consider their existing level of knowledge or their opinions about a topic.
  • To read and participate in a discussion in English.

Materials: Notebooks and pencils, a way to display statements for all students to see (e.g., a chalkboard/whiteboard or projector), prepared statements about the topic

Note: An anticipation guide activity works best with topics about which people usually have strong opinions or different levels of experience. News stories, documentaries, or materials that reflect things students might do in their own lives work best.

Preparation:

  1. Consider the topic presented by the authentic material your students will be using. Think about the different opinions and levels of familiarity your students might have about this topic.
  2. Prepare a set of 5-8 statements inspired by the topic. As an example, let’s assume the authentic material being used is a travel brochure (this was also an example in the table in the Thinking Map activity, above). The table below contains some example statements inspired by a travel brochure.
  3. Decide how students should respond to the statements. They can label each statement true or false, indicate if they agree or disagree, rate their level of agreement on a scale of 1-5, etc. (If using a rating scale, the following levels can be helpful: 1 = disagree, 2 = mostly disagree, 3 = unsure/neutral, 4 = mostly agree, 5 = agree).
Authentic Material and Topic Example Statements

Material: Brochure or website for am international travel agency

 

Topic: International travel
  1. International travel helps open people’s minds to different cultures and ways of living.
  2. International travel costs too much and is not really worth the money.
  3. Traveling to different countries is a valuable way to spend time.
  4. I would enjoy traveling to any country in the world.
  5. It takes a lot of time and effort to organize an international trip.

Procedure:

  1. Explain to students that they will soon participate in an activity to examine a brochure (or news clip, article, website, etc.). Tell the class that first, they will respond to a set of statements about the topic.
  2. Tell students how you expect them to respond to the statements (true/false, agree/disagree, rating scale, etc.).
  3. To provide students with an example, you display the first statement and model your thinking. For example, if you were using a rating scale, you could say, “Well, I think this is false,” or “I agree with this statement, but not all the time, so I’ll rate this a 4.”
  4. Answer any questions the class may have.
  5. Display the statements you have prepared or write them on the board. Explain to students that they will copy the statements into their notebooks and then indicate how they feel about each one. Tell students they should think carefully and prepare to justify their opinions in a discussion.
  6. Give students time to copy the statements, consider how they feel about them, and make notes in their notebooks. This should take about 5 minutes.
  7. When students have completed the task, explain that they will share their responses and reasoning with classmates. This can be done in several ways. Students can share with a partner, move around the room and find a new partner for each statement, or share in small groups.
  8. To wrap up this activity, have students return to their seats. Ask the class to share any similarities or differences of opinion they encountered as they shared ideas with classmates.

Extensions:

  1. Have students keep these statements to refer to later. After completing more activities with the authentic material, students can revisit and reconsider the statements and note whether their feelings have stayed the same or changed and why. Follow the same steps from the procedure above and have students discuss why their feelings stayed the same or changed as a result of the lesson.

The two activities presented this week will help students consider what they know or how they feel about a topic before interacting with authentic materials. Activities like this can help build students’ confidence and motivation before they encounter authentic materials that may contain unfamiliar language structures or vocabulary. A warm-up that activates students’ background knowledge and introduces a topic in an accessible way is beneficial regardless of a student’s English proficiency level.

Next week’s Teacher’s Corner will discuss strategies for using authentic materials to teach and practice vocabulary words.

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Authentic materials are an excellent resource in any teaching context. Sometimes educators work at institutions that provide lots of materials, while others may only provide a few or none at all. How to incorporate authentic materials depends on each teacher’s preference and teaching situation. Materials can supplement an existing curriculum or textbook or can even serve as the basis for an entire course.

For instance, perhaps a textbook provides a unit on the simple past tense with practice dialogues and exercises for students to complete. An instructor could use different news clips or articles in English to have students apply what they learned about the simple past tense. Learners could watch the clips or read articles in small groups, and then use the simple past tense to write a summary of the news event to present to the class. A teacher might choose to use this type of activity regularly, perhaps as a weekly news overview that allows students to practice different targeted grammatical structures by presenting the news to classmates.

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS

Using authentic materials can have benefits and challenges just like any other instructional resource. However, with careful consideration, educators can find materials that benefit students and minimize potential difficulties.

Authentic materials are beneficial because they show a real-world use of language and often present content that is of high interest to students. Most authentic materials present current topics in news or culture or help students learn information that is useful in their everyday lives. For this reason, using authentic materials often increases students’ motivation and willingness to take risks with English.

Real materials, unlike materials made specifically for teaching, are not created with certain grammatical structures or vocabulary in mind. Instead they provide an opportunity for students to read or hear language as it is used in a real-life situation. This can help advance students’ language learning by exposing them to new vocabulary and grammatical concepts in a meaningful way.

There are possible challenges when using authentic materials for English instruction. Some time-dependent resources like news stories or social media posts can quickly become outdated. Although these items may work well in a current course, they may not be useful at a later time.

Some materials can pose a challenge for beginner or even intermediate students. English language learners may have trouble with vocabulary and grammar structures in materials created for a fluent audience. To address this challenge, teachers have to plan thoughtful ways for students to interact with these materials.

SELECTING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS

Using the definition from this month’s Introduction, we think about authentic materials as any materials that use language to communicate information and meaning (Thomas, 2014). This description opens up a wealth of possible resources, most of which are free and easily accessible on the internet or perhaps in our everyday lives.

There are some key questions to consider when selecting authentic materials to use with your students:

  • What concept, skill, or language structure will students practice? How do I want my students to be able to use language, and how will this resource help them learn or practice? • What is the language proficiency level of my students? What support will they need in order to access the content of the materials?
  • What topics are interesting to my students?
  • Do my students interact with English in their everyday lives? If so, in what contexts or settings do they use English? If not, what types of materials can I incorporate into instruction to motivate them to use English outside of the classroom?

Thinking about the answers to these questions will help you select materials that will allow students to practice targeted language skills, interact with English in a meaningful and relevant way, and maintain a high level of interest and motivation.

Here again is the list of some authentic resources that can be used for instruction, also shared in the introduction:

  • TV shows, news segments, documentaries, movie clips and trailers, online videos, and commercials
  • Radio broadcasts, songs, and podcasts
  •  Photographs, artwork, signs, postcards, maps, and advertisements
  • Magazines, letters and emails, news articles, brochures, websites, blogs, and social media posts
  • Recipes, food labels, bus and train schedules, menus, and price tags and product descriptions

Next week’s Teacher’s Corner will share strategies to help students access their background knowledge about the different topics presented through authentic materials.

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This month’s Teacher’s Corner explores technology and how we can use it to enhance classroom practice. One way that technology can improve our classroom practice is in allowing new ways for teachers and students to create content. In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we learn about Openshot, a free-to-use, open-source video editing tool that you can use to edit video tutorials or presentations for the classroom.   

Level

Beginner to Advanced

Language Focus

Listening (primary focus); reading (secondary focus)                     

Goals

Teachers will learn about:

  • Openshot for video editing and producing

Materials

  • Teacher: computer, speakers,
  • Students: computer for watching content

Preparation

  1. Read through all the materials carefully.
  2. Download and install Openshot on your computer.
  3. Take time to explore the software to understand how it functions.

Screen Recording: Open broadcasting system (OBS)

Openshot is an open-source video editing tool. In last week’s Teacher’s Corner, we learned about OBS software, which can record video. Openshot can be used to improve those videos by editing video, adding music, or creating opening and closing title slides.

Openshot allows teachers to create good quality video content for classroom instruction or for students to access as part of an online class or for self-study. Openshot offers many features and options you can use to create video content for the classroom. This tutorial is designed to help you understand the basics, so for more information check out the Openshot User Guide.

To learn the basics of Openshot, follow the instructions below:

Figure 1: The main screen of Openshot, where users can add, edit, and preview videos.

Before beginning the tutorial on Openshot, take time to learn the main sections of the display:

Figure 2: This Openshot tutorial covers the areas highlighted with red arrows.

Before beginning the tutorial below, the following definitions might be helpful:

Project Files: This space will have the video files you add to Openshot. These are your original video files. These can be recordings taken from your phone, webcam, or camera.

Video Preview: This section of the screen shows the video currently being edited. It allows you to check what you are working on to make sure it looks the way you want.

Tracks: The tracks are the parts of a video. For example, you may have a video with music in the background. The video would be one track and the music would be a second track.

  1. Begin by downloading the Openshot software from https://www.openshot.org/
    1. Note: Pay attention to where the software is downloaded on the computer. You will need the file for the next step.
  2. Next, double-click on the Openshot file you downloaded in Step 1 and follow the on-screen instructions to install the software.
  3. Open the Openshot software. To begin, click on File in the top left corner of the screen. Then select Import Files.

Figure 3: Use Import Files to add video you want to edit to Openshot.

  1. Import Files allows you to add your video files, music files, or images to Openshot. These are the files you will use to create a new video. When you import them, they will be added to the Project Files window.

Figure 4: After you import files, they will appear the Project Files window.

  1. To begin building your new video, click on the files in the Project Files window and drag these files to the Tracks window at the bottom of Openshot.

Figure 5: Adding files to the Tracks window allows you to begin editing them into a new video.

  1. Once videos are added to the Tracks window, you can press the space bar on your keyboard to play the video file in the Video Preview window in the upper right of Openshot.

Figure 6: The Video Preview screen is where you can see your new video as you edit it.

  1. Videos in the Tracks window can be edited by dragging the slider (the red line with the blue icon at the top) to the section of the video you want to cut and right-clicking on the slider.

Figure 7: Right-click the slider (the red line) to open the Edit menu.

  1. After right-clicking the slider and opening the Edit menu, select Slice. Slice allows you to cut a video into two separate sections. For example, if you want to remove the first minute of a video, you can slice the video where you want the video to start and then select Keep Right Side.
    1. Note: Editing video takes practice, like learning any new skill. Be patient, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, and remember that practice makes perfect!

Figure 8: The Slice option allows you to cut a video in two pieces and then choose which part you would like to keep.

  1. Along with adding videos, images, or music files to the Tracks window, you can also add transitions to your video. Transitions are movements between edits that can make the change less noticeable. For example, after one scene or section, the video can fade out and the next scene or section can fade in.

Figure 9: Under the Project Files window are three tabs. Click on these to find the transitions and effects options in Openshot.

  1. Both effects and transitions can be clicked on and dragged into the Tracks windows. Transitions can be added between video files in the Tracks, while effects can be placed directly over a video in the Tracks file.
     
  2. Once your video is complete, you can click the Files menu in the top left of the screen and select Export Video.

Figure 10: When you are ready to finish your video, select Export Video.

  1. After you select Export Video, a menu will open that allows you to choose where the video will be saved. After selecting Export Video in this menu, the video will be created. Depending on how powerful your computer is, this creation may take several minutes.
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This month’s Teacher’s Corner explores technology and how we can use it to enhance classroom practice. This week, we discover a way to create video content for the classroom with Open Broadcasting System (OBS), a free, open-source screen-recording software.

If you have watched the American English webinar series, you may already be familiar with screen-recording and screen-casting. With OBS you can record your own presentations similar to those in the webinar series to share with students and colleagues.

Level

Beginner to Advanced

Language Focus

Listening (primary focus); reading (secondary focus)                     

Goals

Teachers will learn about:

  • Open Broadcasting System (OBS) for screen-recording and screen-casting

Materials

  • Teacher: computer, speakers, a microphone
  • Students: computers for watching content

Preparation

  1. Read through all the materials carefully.
  2. Download and install the OBS software.
  3. Take time to explore the software to understand how it functions.

Screen Recording: Open broadcasting system (OBS)

Open Broadcasting System, or OBS, is an open-source recording and broadcasting tool that teachers can use for screen capture. Screen capture is the process of recording content on a computer screen. Using screen capture, teachers can create a presentation, record the presentation, and add the recorded presentation to online course materials.

In the past, screen-capture software could be slow and difficult to run on older computers. However, OBS uses fewer computer resources, which makes it ideal to install on almost any computer. Because OBS is open-source, it is also free to use.

The main screen of OBS looks like this:

Figure 1: The main screen of OBS. Users can create windows to show materials that can be recorded.

Before beginning the tutorial on OBS, take some time to learn the main sections of the OBS display:

Figure 2: This OBS tutorial covers the areas highlighted with red arrows.

 

  1. Begin by downloading the OBS software from https://obsproject.com/
    1. Note: Pay attention to the where the software is downloaded on the computer. You will need the file for the next step.
  2. Next, double-click on the OBS file you downloaded in Step 1, and follow the on-screen instructions to install the software.
  3. Open the OBS software and look at the bottom left corner of the screen. Here you will find two boxes: Scenes and Sources. These two boxes are the focus of the much of the tutorial. We will start with the Scenes box.

Figure 3: The scenes and sources boxes allow you to easily prepare a screen recording.

  1. The Scenes box is where you can choose how material will be displayed in the center screen. Scenes are shortcuts for displays or types of recordings that you will frequently create. For example, if you often record presentations for an online class, you can create a scene that quickly turns on your microphone and camera and displays your presentation.
    1. To create a new scene, click on the + button in the bottom left corner of the scene box. You will be asked to give the scene a name; in this example, the scene name is Presentations.

Figure 4: Create a new scene by pressing the + button in the lower left.

  1. Once you create a scene, it is time to create the sources for the scene. Sources are the tools that create the different elements of the presentation. In this example, the scene has three sources: the camera, a microphone, and presentation software.

Figure 5: Sources are parts that can be added to the content screen.

  1. Note: Remember that once you set up these sources, they will be saved as part of a particular scene. When you use OBS again, you will only need to click on the scene you want to use, and you will be ready to record!
  1. Once a source is added, it will be displayed as a red box in the large center screen in OBS. The sources can be moved around the screen.

Figure 6: The camera source in the lower right can be made larger or smaller, or moved around the screen by clicking and dragging the box.

  1. Once the sources have been added and placed on the screen, you are ready to record. The record button for OBS is located in the lower right section of the software in the section labeled Controls.

Figure 7: Click on the Start Recording button to begin recording your scene.

  1. After clicking Start Recording, the button text will change to Stop Recording. Just click the button again to stop recording.
  2. The movie files will be saved in different folders depending on the operating system of your computer:
    1. On a PC using Windows, the files are saved in the Videos folder.
    2. On a Mac, the files are saved in the Movies folder.
    3. On a Linux-based computer, the files are saved in the Home folder.

For more on OBS, or to search for answers to specific questions, be sure to check out the OBS Help Page.

For more ideas on using video content in the classroom, check out Using Original Video and Sound Effects to Teach English.

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Teachers using technology in the classroom have many options for speaking and listening. However, we may not often think about how students can use technology to enhance their academic writing skills.

In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we will explore a variety of internet-based tools that students can use to support their English-language writing. From word choice to sentence structure, the tools below can assist students throughout the writing process.

Level

Intermediate to Advanced

Language Focus

Writing (primary focus); reading (secondary focus)                       

Goals

Teachers will learn about the following tools to support student’s writing practice:

Materials

  • Teacher: computer, internet connection, projector (if using tools in the classroom)
  • Students: computer, internet connection

Preparation

  1. Read through all the materials carefully.
  2. Explore each of the websites in this week’s Teacher’s Corner. Take time to use each of the tools to understand how they function.

Technology tool one: Graphwords

Graphwords – In American academic writing, students are encouraged to avoid using certain words that are commonly used in spoken English. For example, instead of using the word get in their academic writing, students should use words such as acquire, obtain, or receive. Knowing which synonym to use can be difficult, which is what makes Graphwords a useful writing tool.


Figure 1. A Graphwords search for the word get.

Graphwords is an enhanced version of a typical print thesaurus. Instead of looking through the book, students can enter a word into the Graphwords search box. The website will then create a web of related words color-coded by parts of speech, such as green for verbs, blue for nouns, and orange for adjectives.

The lines between words show the connections between them. In the example above, the words capture and catch are connected together and then connected to the word get, showing these words have similar meaning. For students who are more visual in their learning, Graphwords can assist them in quickly finding new words to use in their writing.

Technology tool two: hemingway

Hemingway – Of all American writers, Ernest Hemingway was most famous for his short, clear sentences. His writing style favored sentences that are direct.  Many teachers in American academic writing programs also encourage this clear, direct writing, or conciseness, in their students’ writing. For many learners of English, writing concisely can be challenging, but the Hemingway writing tool can help students working to make their sentences simple and clear.


Figure 2. The Hemingway software uses color coding to highlight suggestions for clarity.

Students can copy and paste their writing onto the Hemingway website, and the software will analyze their writing style to suggest improvements. What makes the Hemingway website useful for educational purposes is that it does not correct students’ writing but only highlights writing that can be improved. The website color codes the students’ writing depending on the improvement needed. For example, passive voice verbs are highlighted in green, and adverbs are highlighted in blue. The website also provides a readability score for the writing, and sentences that are too complex or hard to read are highlighted as well to encourage students to clarify or simplify the sentence.

Technology tool three: purdue owl

Purdue Online Writing Lab – The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) features an extensive list of resources for students to improve their academic writing. The website contains writing guides for students at all levels as well as a series of resources specifically for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. The ESL homepage has a number of worksheets on English grammar, including on adjectives or adverbs, how to use relative pronouns, and using verbs as gerunds or infinitives.


Figure 3. The Purdue OWL has resources for writers of all levels.

For more advanced students preparing for academic writing in the United States, the OWL website has an extensive series of resources on avoiding plagiarism, writing within specific style guides, and a series of videos covering academic writing for ESL learners.

The OWL website also offers a list of professional development resources for teachers of ESL, including web links to professional organizations, and academic journals.

For more on writing in the classroom check out:

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This session, "Two Frameworks for Teaching Culture and Critical Thinking," explores the rationale for including culture as a principled area for study in the language classroom followed by an interactive walkthrough of a lesson in which listening and intercultural awareness skills are developed. Two tools, the Cultural Elements Framework and the Cultural Knowings Framework by Dr. Patrick R. Moran, will be utilized to delve deep into a cultural mystery with the ultimate goal of developing students’ ability to form critical questions rather than instant judgments.

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This session, "Creating a Positive Classroom Community," explains how to successfully foster relationships among learners to create a sense of purpose and belonging in the classroom, resulting in greater student participation and rapport. During the session, the presenter will share examples of successful classroom community building activities, strategies, and techniques to implement not only on the first day of school, but throughout the year. By the end of the session, participants will have multiple activities that can be easily implemented into their own classroom in order to build a positive classroom learning community.

Author: Rhonda Petree Format: Text, Video
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Receiving enough pronunciation practice is challenging for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students as the classroom often provides the only opportunity to practice and improve their pronunciation skills. Fortunately, a variety of new technology tools can provide our students with opportunities to practice pronunciation and receive feedback they need. In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we highlight several tools students can use to practice their pronunciation skills outside of the classroom.

Level

Beginner to Advanced

Language Focus

Speaking (primary focus); reading (secondary focus)

Goals

Teachers will learn about the following tools to support student’s pronunciation practice: 

Materials

  • Teacher: computer, speakers, a microphone, Internet connection, (projector)
    • Note: This week we focus on tools that students can use for self-study. However, if you would like to use these tools in class, the projector listed above will be needed.
  • Students: computer, speakers, microphone, Internet connection
  • Note: These tools are needed if students will use these tools at home or in a computer lab setting.

Preparation

  1. Read through all the materials carefully.
  2. Look at the sites listed above: Youglish, the Color Vowel Chart, and VowelCat. Take time to explore each of the tools to understand how they function.
  3. Read the materials in the links found at the end of this week’s Teacher’s Corner; they provide excellent resources in using the Color Vowel Chart in class.

Technology Tool 1: Youglish

Youglish – Youglish is a unique search engine that scans online videos for specific words or phrases. For example, students can search the phrase “how’s it going,” and the website will return a variety of videos featuring that phrase spoken in authentic contexts. For teachers, the added bonus of Youglish is it only searches speeches, interviews, news programs, and other informational videos, so the material is always classroom friendly. 

Figure 1: Youglish displays and highlights words or phrases as they are pronounced. 

A transcript, or the written script of the words, is displayed below each video so students can follow along with the audio. The transcript is interactive, and students can click on unfamiliar words. When they do, the website displays a definition of the word and provides example sentences of the word in use. Students looking to hear pronunciations in specific accents can narrow their search so that only American English pronunciation is displayed.

Technology Tool 2: The Color Vowel Chart

The Color Vowel Chart – The Color Vowel Chart is a web-based tool for students who wish to practice their English vowel pronunciation. Proper pronunciation of vowels is often indicated with the use of symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet. These symbols can be confusing to students, so the Color Vowel Chart replaces them with words and colors featuring a specific vowel pronunciation.

Figure 3. English vowel sounds in the Color Vowel Chart.

On the Color Vowel Chart page on the American English website, teachers can find helpful guides on using the chart in class. The website also features a webinar teachers can watch to learn more about using the Color Vowel Chart in their classroom practice.

Technology Tool 3: VowelCat

VowelCat – Students looking to get more feedback on their vowel pronunciation can use the VowelCat vowel recognition software developed by Ohio University. By using VowelCat, students pronounce a vowel into their microphone and the software maps their vowel pronunciation to where in the mouth it is being pronounced.

Figure 3. VowelCat helps students improve pronunciation by using visual feedback.

The top left of the chart is the upper, front part of the mouth. The lower right of the chart is the lower, back part of the mouth. As students pronounce a vowel, their pronunciation is mapped onto the chart with a red ball. The red ball moves around the chart as a student pronounces specific vowel sounds. Students can then compare their vowel sound placements in VowelCat to the placements in the Color Vowel Chart.

Color Vowel Chart and VowelCat, when used together, can provide students the proper pronunciation of a vowel and the opportunity to practice that pronunciation while receiving visual feedback on their performance.

For more on pronunciation in the classroom, check out:

Integrating Pronunciation Across the Curriculum

To learn more about the Color Vowel Chart, check out:

Teaching Spoken English with the Color Vowel Chart

Welcome to the Color Vowel Chart

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The way classrooms are built and the way they are used can affect how students learn and participate in a class. The traditional classroom layout has students sitting at desks or tables and facing the front of the room, where the teacher stands. Students’ eyes are directed toward the teacher, and the teacher is the focus of the classroom. This set-up makes it difficult for students learning language to interact and practice language with classmates.  In other words, this classroom design leads to teacher-centered learning and little movement or activity on the part of the students. Changing the layout of a classroom can give students more freedom to move and talk, and their learning becomes student-centered and independent.

Since this month’s Teacher’s Corner is focused on movement, this week offers some ways to reorganize your classroom to encourage movement and active and interactive learning. These suggestions are intended to be flexible and adaptable to a variety of different classrooms. Try a few and see how they contribute to your students’ learning.

Suggested Classroom Designs

Groups of Four

This set-up is ideal for encouraging small group work. Desks or tables are moved together so that four students sit in a square, facing each other. If students sit and work together in the same group over several class periods or for an entire term, they can build a sense of cohesion and unity with each other. This design is great for group work because students face each other and can work closely as a single unit or individually, if necessary. Additionally, the focus shifts to the students’ work and their groupmates instead of the teacher. The teacher now can move around the room and facilitate learning. If your classroom has tables and chairs that cannot move easily, try this set-up with students sitting in small groups on the floor. While sitting on the floor would not work for every day, your class can try it occasionally to get students out of their usual and fixed seats.

Large/Small Circles

Seating students in small circles, or in one large circle for the whole class, offers a good way to conduct larger discussions. In the circle set-up, each student can see every other student. In addition, students are all placed equally, with no one person getting all the attention, because there is no front or back of a circle. Teachers can also put themselves on equal level to their students by sitting in the circle. Even though students will likely look at the teacher more than any other person in the circle, the circle set-up gives students and teachers a more natural way to include everyone in a discussion.

Wall and Board Work

Position students for group or individual work by having them stand at the board and around the room. Getting out of their seats can help students change their perspective, and by writing on the board or on large pieces of paper taped to a wall, they can step back and see their work in a new light. When out of their seats and standing, students can also look around the room to see what their classmates are working on during a task. Being able to see the work of their classmates while developing their own ideas can inspire and push students in new ways.

Choosing a New Space

It is important to give students some choices with low stakes (or, that allow for student choice but don’t change the direction of your teaching or curriculum path). For pair or individual work, give students the option to work where and how they choose within the classroom. Encourage them to use the space that is available and to move into new spaces as a way to break up the routine. Although this offer might seem small, it gives students a voice in their learning and in how they do their learning. Teachers can also watch how students work in an environment that best suits their learning styles and needs.

Walkabouts/Mingles

Walkabouts and mingles get students to interact while moving around the room. In addition to getting up and moving, students can talk in small groups or pairs and move on to the next discussion or interaction at their own pace. This small bit of freedom allows teachers to see how students function in different group sizes. It can also help you to identify which students may need a little more support in interacting and which students can be expected to lead and participate independently. During walkabouts and mingles, teachers will notice that students are often more willing to talk without the pressure of the formal classroom seating arrangement.

Format: Text
Availability
Week 4 Activity
Text (PDF)

Making traditional classroom tasks and activities into games can be a fun way to get students moving and practicing language and to nudge them out of their routines. Many of the tasks and activities teachers already use for class need only to be adapted slightly for the lesson to be more active and make a lasting impression on students.

In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we will learn about a vocabulary activity turned into a race. During each round, students will step up to answer a question while their team members help with finding the correct answer. The first team to come up with the correct answer earns a point. The competitive nature of this race encourages students to work together quickly to find answers, and the excitement of the movement around the classroom motivates students to participate. It’s a fun and easy activity to use for teaching new material or reviewing previous material. 

Level

Beginning and above

Language Focus

  • Listening
  • Vocabulary

Goals

During this activity, students will be able to:

  • Identify target vocabulary words by definitions
  • Cooperate with classmates to find correct answers

Materials

  • List of vocabulary words and matching definitions
  • Enough chalk or markers for students to write on the board

Preparation

  • Divide students into groups of six

Procedure

  1. Tell students that in this activity they are going to work in teams to identify vocabulary words. The activity is a game where students will race against other teams to answer questions and score points. Every team member will participate in identifying new words while teammates offer help to earn points.
  2. Place students into their groups, and warm up the teams with some practice.
    1. Direct the teams to separate parts of the room so that each team has some space.
    2. Explain that they will practice within their teams before starting the game.
    3. Tell students that they will hear a definition of a word, and as a group they must identify the matching vocabulary word. Students can work with team members to discuss the definition to choose the correct word as a team.
      1. For example, the teacher gives the definition: “A person who takes orders in a restaurant while you are seated at a table.” Students will then work together to come up with the word server.
    4. The groups have 30-60 seconds to come up with the answer.
    5. Practice this process a few times with several different vocabulary words.
  3. Gather the students’ attention, and review the rules of the game.
    1. Tell students that each team will stand in a group and will choose one teammate to be ready to run to the board.
    2. The teacher will give a definition, and the teammate who has been selected must work with the group to identify the correct word and then race to the board to write the answer correctly.
    3. The first team to identify the word and correctly write it on the board will earn a point.
    4. Only the teammate chosen to go to the board for the round can write on the board. The other teammates must remain with the group but can talk to and shout out help to their teammate at the board.
    5. The next round is conducted in the same way, but a new teammate is chosen to go to the board. Each teammate must have a turn before a student can have a second turn to run up to the board.
    6. The game ends either when the teacher runs out of words or when a team reaches a certain number of points and wins.

Variations

There are a number of ways to adapt this activity to meet your classroom’s needs. First, this activity can be used for students to practice or review grammar or even sentences. Second, you can choose how big or small the teams should be to fit the space of your classroom.

One variation is to conduct the game between two teams at lightning speed with a five-minute time limit. Each team lines up and the person first in line goes first. The teacher says the definition, and the first student on each team must race to the board to write the word. Once one student writes the word correctly, the teacher says “switch,” and the students race to the back of the lines. The next students at the front of the lines listen for the next definition and race to write the word on the board. The team members can shout out help to their teammate at the board. Continue to do this for five minutes, or until everyone has had a chance to write on the board. Keep score, and the team with the most points wins.

Format: Text
Availability
Week 3 Activity
Text (PDF)

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