This section of American Teens Talk! offers a variety of ways to use the text and audio with English language learners in the classroom. 

Photographs can be a great way for students to find visual representations of the language they are learning in class. We use pictures in language classrooms all of the time, but we don’t always give students opportunities to choose the photographs and make the connections out of their own creativity and understanding. In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we put materials development in the hands of the learners. Students will work to find a visual representation of a word they are given and then share that visual with the class as part of a class museum exhibit.

Any level

Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing

During this activity, students will:

• Use photography to provide visual versions of a vocabulary word or idea they have learned in class recently.
• Create written and/or spoken descriptions of their photos to reinforce and reteach language learned in the classroom.

• Card stock or heavy paper for “framing” photos
• Printed copies of photos/magazines/newspapers
• Scissors
• Glue
• Paper/Pencils/Markers
• Tape
• Example picture with text (see Appendix A)

• Have enough copies of magazines/newspapers/photos for all students to work with.
• Make stations of materials for easy collection. For example, have a pile of papers, a pile of magazines, a pile of glue, etc. so that each student can come to the front and collect one of each.
• Have a list of vocabulary words or concepts that your students have learned recently in class.
• Prepare one photograph with a written description as a model for learners. You can make one or use Appendix A.

1. Tell students that they are going to make a museum in class using photographs.  
• Show them the sample picture you created or use Appendix A.
• Let them look at the sample picture and ask if it reminds them of any vocabulary words or concepts they have learned in class recently.
• After they have made some guesses, read the description of the photograph to them.
• Ask learners what other pictures might also be used to explain the same word or concept.
2. Tell learners they are going to choose their own picture and write a description.
3. Have learners come to the front and pick up one of each of the materials you have at the front of the room.
• After learners collect their materials and return to their seats, walk around the classroom and give each learner a word or concept to focus on while looking for a photograph.
4. Give learners time to work on finding a picture and writing their own description.
5. Learners must also use the materials to make a frame for their photograph and hang it on the wall when finished.
6. Once all of the photos are on the walls, tell students to walk through their museum.
7. Have each student choose three pictures about which they will write one question each.
8. Once all of the students have toured the museum, ask them to sit down.
9. Have one student stand by their photograph and answer the questions other students prepared.
10. Give each learner time to answer questions about their photo.

1. In an adaptation of this activity, ask learners to bring in their own pictures to use for the project.
2. One variation might have students taking their own pictures outside of class time. They print the picture and bring it to class to use for the activity.
3. Another alternative is to make this into a digital photography project. Learners can find pictures online and submit them to you via email. You can then collect all of the photographs and put them into a PowerPoint or Prezi (www.prezi.com) slideshow as a way to present them via a projector and a computer. Rather than have written descriptions, have learners prepare a spoken description to give during the slideshow.
4. Another option is to have learners work in small groups to make slideshow presentations of their materials, complete with descriptions and pictures.

Sometimes, reviewing material or lessons, especially for a test, can be monotonous for both teachers and learners. Often we rely on drills, worksheets, and question sessions to clarify and reinforce lessons learned; however, reviewing material can be fun when paired with creative activities. In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, we’ll show you how to combine a review lesson with the fun and creativity of writing and acting out short plays. In this activity, learners will write and perform a play that reviews a chosen topic or lesson. The benefits of this technique are threefold:  learners are invested in the review session because they work together to plan the review session; the writing and performance support multiple learning styles that further reinforce the material for review; and the creative nature of the activity gives learners a new medium in which to use and practice language learned.   

For additional ideas and activities for using drama and plays in the classroom, see the webinar Introduction to Reader’s Theater for EFL Classrooms and the text Design for Drama: Short Plays from American Literature on the American English website.

Intermediate and above

Writing, Reading, and Speaking

During this activity, students will:

• Prepare the script for a short play or skit that reviews one of the units/lessons learned in class
• Practice and present the play to the class
• Watch and/or listen to plays to identify three things learned from each performance

• Paper and pencils for students
• Any materials for crafting, such as markers, crayons, fabric, and paper for making costumes or masks
• Template in Appendix A

• Identify the lessons or units that you want students to review
• Prepare a sign-up sheet so groups can choose the lesson/unit they prefer
• Alternatively, write each lesson/unit on pieces of paper and have groups draw at random
• Make copies of template in Appendix A (1 per group) or write the template on the board for students to use as a model for writing their play

1. Explain to learners that they are going to write a short play (sometimes called a skit) and perform it for their classmates.
• Each play will focus on a lesson/unit that they have worked on earlier in the term.  For example, if you and your students studied simple present tense and family vocabulary, then one group will choose or be assigned simple present tense as the theme of their play and another group might choose or be assigned the topic of family vocabulary.
2. Put learners into groups. If you haven’t made the groups before class, put students into groups of between four to six students.
• One way to group students is to have students count off. When you have 20 students, give each student a number from 1 to 5. All of the students given the number 1 work together, students with the number 2 are in a group, and so on. This creates five groups of four students each.
3. Once students are in groups, ask each group to choose a topic from the list or have them draw a topic at random.
4. Before students begin working on their play, explain and/or write the following guidelines on the board.
• Tell learners that everyone in their group will have a role in the play. This means every student will speak at some point. Use the template (Appendix A) to help students plan and write their play. You can also have students give you the completed templates at the end of the activity as part of their assignment.
• Each play should be about 10 minutes long.
• Plays are stories made up of speaking (dialogue), so students should prepare what each character will say by writing a script. They do not need to memorize their scripts but should have them written and available if they need them during the performance.
• Using their own creativity, they must write the play so that it retells and reviews the topic they’ve been given. For example, if their topic is family vocabulary, they can write a play about a family. The story of the family can be about anything the students choose as long as they use family vocabulary throughout the play.
5. Give students 5 to 7 minutes to brainstorm and discuss ideas in their groups.
6. Bring all of the students back together and have each group report to the class what they discussed. Answer any questions the students have about the project.
7. Have students return to their groups to plan, write, and practice their plays.
• Remember to circulate as students work. Offer feedback on their plans, and make sure that each group member will have a role.
8. Have groups come to the board and sign up for a performance time. This can simply be choosing if they want to perform first, second, third, or even last.
9. Provide any available art materials to students so that they can make costumes, signs, or props to use in their plays. Give them time to create with the materials and also practice their play.
10. Before the plays begin, tell learners that during each play they will have to write down three things that the play teaches them. If paper is not available, have the audience discuss, in small groups, three things they learned when each performance is over.

Depending on the language level of the learners, the activity can be adapted to fit their abilities.

• For lower-level learners: Learners wear nametags with the names of their characters. Learners can write their dialogue with very short sentences. Remember, the goal is for learners to practice their writing and speaking skills using the target language. For example, if the topic is family vocabulary, then have each member of the group choose a family member as a character. For the dialogue of the script, each learner writes (and during “performance” time, says) two sentences about his/her own character and two sentences about other characters, such as, “Hi, I’m Jake. I am the youngest son in the family. She is my mom. She cooks dinner for us every night.” This gives beginning learners a manageable framework in which they can plan and perform.
• More advanced learners can write a more involved script that has their characters interacting with one another.

This week’s Teacher’s Corner features two activities to help students practice prepositions of place. These activities allow you to use everyday objects to teach and reinforce the meaning of prepositions of place for your students. During the Introduction, students create a vocabulary document with sketches to show what each preposition means. In Activity One, teams compete to arrange objects correctly according to instructions with prepositions. In Activity Two, students race against the clock to write sentences using new prepositions.

High beginner and above

Speaking, reading, and writing

During these activities, students will:

• Learn common prepositions of location using real life objects
• Read prepositions of location
• Form oral and written sentences using prepositions to describe the location of objects

• Chalkboard or whiteboard with chalk or markers
• Table
• A group of ten everyday objects, familiar to students, that can be easily displayed and arranged on a table (for example: books, pencils, notebooks, markers, pieces of fruit, a mobile phone, a hat, gloves, a scarf, a coffee mug, etc.)
• Index cards
• Markers
• Two grab bags or containers to hold folded up index cards
• Paper and pencils for students
• List of prepositions: above, around, behind, below, beside, between, far (away) from, in, in back of, in front of, in the middle of, inside, near, next to, on, on top of, outside, under
• Timer or clock

• Collect the objects you plan to use for the activity. Place them in a group on a table or desk where all students can easily see them.
• Label one of the containers objects and the other prepositions.
• Write the name of each object on an index card and fold it in half. Put the folded cards in the container labeled objects.
• Write each preposition of location on an index card.  Fold the cards in half and put them in the container labeled prepositions.

1. Explain to students that the upcoming activities will focus on prepositions of location. Tell students that these words tell where something is located in relation to another object.
2. Tell the class that you will teach the prepositions using the objects on the table to show what each one means. Students can write down the new prepositions and sentences and sketch the objects to help them remember the definitions.
3. Start with the word beside. Write the word on the board and have students repeat it. Choose two objects and put them next to each other on the table. Then, form a sentence about the objects using beside, such as “The apple is beside the notebook.”  
4. Choose different objects to display on the table. Ask students to form sentences about them using the new preposition.
5. Continue teaching the prepositions in this manner until you have presented each one and given students a chance to practice using the words.

1. Once students are comfortable with the prepositions, inform them that they will play a game to test their understanding. Divide the students into two or three teams and give each team a name.
2. Show students the two containers you have prepared and say, “This container has all of the names of the objects that are on the table.  This container has all of the prepositions you have just learned.  Two members of your team will come up to the front of the class together. One person will choose a preposition card and the other will choose two object cards. Then you will work together to arrange the objects to illustrate the preposition and use it in a sentence about the objects. Your team will earn one point for correct arrangement of the objects and one point for your sentence.”
3. Choose two students to come up to the front of the class and model the process of choosing the cards, arranging the objects, and forming a sentence. Provide guidance as needed and give students time to ask questions about the game.
4. Once students are ready, play the game and keep score. The activity can either be timed, or played until all students have had a chance to participate. The team with the most points at the end of the activity wins!

1. Have the class form pairs or small groups of 3-4 students.
2. Rearrange the objects on the table if you have just played the game in Activity 1. On the board, list the prepositions you want students to use.
3. Explain that you will set a timer for five minutes. During the five minutes, groups of students should try to write as many sentences as they can about the objects on the table using each of the prepositions on the list. They must use all of the prepositions once before repeating any.
4. After the timer has stopped, groups will exchange papers and check each other’s sentences. Students will check for correct use of prepositions and verify that the sentences correctly describe the location of the objects on the table. Groups earn one point for each correct sentence.

Once the sentences have been checked and points have been added up, the group with the most points wins. You can ask groups to share some of their sentences to provide further review. To repeat this activity, rearrange the objects on the table and have students work in different groups.