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Activities for reviewing and recycling the language  from News Quiz 2022 Image credits:  Matt Hrkac  [CC BY 2.0]; Heo Manjin | Korea.net [CC BY-SA 2.0]; Number 10 [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]; Steve Jurvetson [CC BY 2.0]  I hope the latest edition of the News Quiz provided some learning opportunities for your students and you're ready to do some further language-focused work. Like in the past two (pandemic) years, the follow-up activities come in different formats. Below you will find drag'n'drop activities on LearningApps, one matching activity on WordWall (Intermediate level only) and 'traditional' worksheets in editable Google Docs. As a lead-in, you can show  this BBC News video  and ask students which stories mentioned in the video appeared in the News Quiz. If you haven't seen News Quiz 2022 - click HERE Accompanying Quizlet sets :  https://quizlet.com/leosel/folders/news-quiz-2022/   The activities are grouped by level according to the two versions...

Traditional end-of-year news quiz for the first lesson of the new year Here's the 2022 edition of the annual news quiz some of you have already been asking me about. And yes, I did it myself - took me just a few days - without any assistance from AI! As you may know, ChatGPT has no concept of 2022 because its training ended in 2021, and it was basically useless (when I tried, it generated quiz questions based on fictional events, including a new pandemic and a divorce of a celebrity couple who broke up years ago). Just like in the past two years - since the start of the pandemic - the quiz comes in several different formats, suitable for different teaching scenarios (face-to-face or online). And as usual, it's packed with lots of juicy lexical chunks and other vocabulary items for your students to explore. The quiz is available in two levels:  Advanced (B2+/C1 or higher)  Intermediate (B1/B2)  and three formats, all of which can be edited if you wish to adapt them...

  A lesson based on Janine di Giovanni's TED talk Image source: TED.com [Fair use] I came across this talk, which is shorter than usual TED talks, while looking for some materials on the topic of war and conflict - in view of the current events. The reactions from the students I've showed it to this week have been: "touching", "impressive" and "outstanding". I've made two versions of this activity for different levels - just like with my news quizzes . At both levels, the activity starts with pre-teaching key vocabulary. Although it's debatable whether pre-teaching vocabulary before listening is beneficial, I found it helpful with this particular video. You will see that the higher level version also has a follow-up activity for the vocabulary that was 'pre-taught'. If you are surprised at the conspicuous absence of other pre-listening activities, such as prediction or activating background knowledge, I felt that the events in Ukra...

Activities for reviewing and recycling the language  from News Quiz 2021 Image credits: NASA  [PD];  TapTheForwardAssist  [CC BY-SA 4.0]; Glenn Francis  [CC BY-SA 4.0] I hope you enjoyed the latest edition of the News Quiz and didn't find too difficult. Like last year, the follow-up activities come in different formats, most of which can be edited and adapted for your needs. These include drag'n'drop activities on LearningApps, one matching activity on WordWall (Intermediate level only) and 'traditional' worksheets in PDF/editable Google Docs. If you haven't seen News Quiz 2021 - click HERE Accompanying Quizlet sets :  https://quizlet.com/leosel/folders/news-quiz-2021/  (two for Advanced and one for Intermediate level) The activities are grouped by level according to the two versions of the News Quiz. Online activities Advanced (B2+/C1) Drag'n'drop 1a  https://learningapps.org/watch?v=pb8myy57522 (preview below) Drag'n'drop 1b  https://...

Photo by Hello I'm Nik on Unsplash This blog is alive! And so is the blogger. Yes, as you can see, I've survived the apocalypse and am proud to present the 2021 edition of the traditional News Quiz. Unlike the previous year, the news stories related to coronavirus (oops, COVID-19) are kept to a minimum. But just like last year, the quiz is available in three formats: Google Slides, Quizizz and a PDF / editable Google Docs. The first two can be used in both in-person and remote teaching scenarios, while the last one is suitable for face-to-face teaching only. Also, I've kept the multiple choice format from last year to keep the trivia part of the activity brief and devote more time to the language. The quiz is available in two levels: Advanced (B2+/C1 or higher) Intermediate (B1/B2) and three formats, all of which are editable so you can adapt them if you wish. a Google Slides presentation. To edit, click on File -> Make a copy a Google Doc. To edit, click on File -...

Activities for reviewing and recycling the language  from News Quiz 2020 Image credits: Frankie Fouganthin  [CC BY-SA 4.0],  TenAsia  [CC BY 3.0],  U.S. Secretary of Defense   [CC BY 2.0] - via Wikimedia Commons The traditional news quiz has changed its format this year so the follow up, which usually consists of paper-and-pen activities, had to follow suit. I've created a series of interactive online activities on WordWall and LearningApps, which you can adapt if necessary and share with your students. There are also 'traditional' worksheets in Word and PDF, which those of you teaching remotely can display via ScreenShare on Zoom or Teams or simply send to students by email. If you haven't seen News Quiz 2020 - click HERE . See also this Jeopardy version (Advanced level) kindly shared by a colleague of mine, Marlene Saban Accompanying Quizlet sets ( work in progress ):  https://quizlet.com/leosel/folders/news-quiz-2020/ The activities are groupe...

Photo by Victor He on Unsplash Here's the delayed 2020 edition of my traditional news quiz with apologies to my friends and followers. I hope it still arrives in time for your first lesson of the new year. This year's quiz is heavily influenced by the pandemic, which shouldn't come as a surprise! Still it has a considerable dose of non-Covid related new stories from the world of sports, science and entertainment. The unprecedented events of the year call for a slight change in the format of the quiz. As most of you are probably teaching remotely (using Zoom or MS Teams), the quiz is made with Google Slides and Quizizz (which is similar to Kahoot, but better!) and can be used in both traditional and remote teaching scenarios. Another change is that the questions are all multiple choice this time. As usual, the idea is to get through the quiz part of the activity as quickly as possible - and multiple choice helps keep this part short - and devote sufficient time to the langu...

A listening activity based on a Coldplay's song, which can be optionally followed by jigsaw reading. This is a song activity based on a surprise collaboration between Coldplay and the Chainsmokers from a couple of years ago. I've used it successfully with students of different ages: teenagers and young adults, who complimented me on my musical taste (!) Note that the teacher's notes are not provided because the student worksheet is pretty self-explanatory. To check the answers for the While Listening activities, see this lyrics video: Procedure Pre-listening Facilitate discussion about heroes and superheroes with students - at this stage you don't have to tell students that a song is to follow. Use the handout below (1st page) or click  HERE  to open it in the editable Word format. While-Listening 1 Students listen to the song and try to catch the names of the heroes/superheroes mentioned. Four are mentioned: Achilles, Hercules, Spiderman and Superman (all in the first ...

Photos of the Week section in The Atlantic Although the lockdown restrictions are gradually being eased in many countries, remote teaching is still in effect - and looks set to continue for the unforeseeable future. Here is an activity I’ve been using a lot at the beginning of my Zoom lessons lately. I suppose you can call it a warmer. Activity Level:   any - but would work best with B1+ students; a bit of a struggle for A2 but can be done with a lot of support from the teacher Focus:  Speaking and later  Writing Aim:   Come up with captions for memorable images depicting current events  Preparation Google: BBC Week in Pictures . Find the latest one. The new photo collection is always published on Saturday so, at the moment of writing this, the latest one is for the week of 16 - 22 May 2020:  www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-52768835 Other sources are I use are: - The Guardian  - 20 Photographs of the Week:  www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/series/twe...

Photo by Caroline Feelgood on Unsplash Now that many schools around the Coronavirus-stricken globe have been closed, teachers have had to come to grips with the idea that many have heard about or maybe even experimented with, but never really implemented in earnest - teaching online. I've lost count of how many webinars and online tutorials on various online tools and platforms I have attended in the past week. Most of them were organised by various institutions I work for with each one choosing to use a different synchronous learning platform. The fact that most of these webinars were delivered by tech people exemplifies pretty much how you should not go about implementing edtech: instead of inviting (and paying!) a teacher experienced in remote teaching to do the job, let's ask the college's Moodle guy! On the other hand, teachers have taken to Twitter sharing activities, ideas and advice that is more pedagogy- rather than technology-driven. In a matter of a few days, t...

Image credits: Frankie Fouganthin ; Milliped ; SounderBruce ; under Creative Commons license [CC BY-SA 4.0] Activities for reviewing lexis from News Quiz 2019 Some of my followers have already been asking me for follow-up activities, particularly Quizlet sets, for the traditional end-of-year news quiz, which I posted last week. Incidentally, it was the 10th News Quiz I'd posted here, on my blog (you can see all of them HERE ), since I first launched the blog at the end of 2010...  by posting News Quiz 2010 . So, how's that for a #10yearchallenge? I'm actually surprised I've kept at it for so long! As usual, there are lots of activities here aimed at practising and expanding on the vocabulary and a bit of grammar) from the news quiz - about 4-5 pages for each level. These can be spread across and integrated into a series of lessons; some of them can be done at home, others are more suitable for You can download the activities in Word and edit/adapt them as you wich. They...

Traditional end-of-year news quiz for the first lesson of the new year Photo by Katherine Cheng [CC BY-ND 2.0] via Flickr  Just as I finished working on this, a thought crossed my mind: perhaps it should have been an end-of-decade news quiz this time? Ah well... Anyhow, in keeping with the tradition, here's an end-of-year quiz based on the hottest news stories of the past year. It's a usual mix of politics, sports and entertainment - but no mention of Brexit whatsoever! And as usual, it's packed with lots of lexical chunks and other vocabulary items for your students to explore. The quiz is available in two levels: - Intermediate (B1+/B2-) including a multiple choice version - Advanced (B2/C1 or higher) Both versions can be downloaded in Word format if you wish to adapt them. Some questions are adapted from  News Quiz: 2019 in review  in The New York Times The Intermediate level quiz has been checked using  English Vocabulary Profile  (EVP) and  VocabProfi...

Activities for reviewing lexis from News Quiz 2018 Image credits: John Bauld   flic.kr/p/McsiQi [CC BY 2.0]; Alisdare Hickson flic.kr/p/24W89b5 [CC BY-SA 2.0]; NASA [PD image] I hope you and - your students - liked the end-of-year news quiz, which I posted last week. As always, it is followed up by lots of activities aimed at reviewing and consolidating the language from the quiz, which I share below. If you haven't seen the news quiz, it's not to late - click  HERE You can preview the activities below or download them in Word format and edit/adapt them as you wish. The key (answers) and teachers' notes are provided at the end of each level. UPDATE: a Quizlet set for advanced level: quizlet.com/_5wm0we   Downloads Intermediate (B1+/B2) with Answer Key click  HERE  to download Word doc or preview below: Advanced (C1+) with Answer Key click  HERE  to download Word doc or preview below:  

Photo by KRIS AUS67 on Flickr  [CC BY 2.0] Although I haven't been a very active blogger this year - but check my posts on the CUP blog  -  the traditional end-of-year news quiz is here as always! Focusing on key news stories from 2018 I tried to keep a balance between politics, showbiz and sports. And as usual, it's packed with lots of lexical chunks and other vocabulary items for your students to explore. The quiz is available in two levels: - Intermediate (B1+/B2-) including a multiple choice version - Advanced (B2/C1 or higher) Both versions can be downloaded in Word format if you want to adapt them. The Intermediate level quiz has been rigorously checked using English Vocabulary Profile  and VocabProfiler on LexTutor. The former helped ascertain that the quiz includes vocabulary appropriate for the B1-B2 levels (on the CEFR scale) and the latter that the majority of the words (96%) are in the top 3000 most frequent words in English (K1-K3). There are only ...