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Hello and welcome to my blog! As some of you may know, I've been doing an end-of-year news round-up for quite a few years now. However this year it has got an upgrade. I am releasing it into the blogosphere, hoping to reach many more EFL teachers. This activity, suitable for adult or secondary school learners, is a quiz based on the hottest news stories of 2010. Click on the links below for worksheets, teachers tips on how to use the quiz and additional resources. Don't be put off by the fact that some questions may seem difficult. The idea is not to test your students' general knowledge. Therefore it should be done as a collaborative task or as a webquest (see T notes) Please let me know if you have used it with your students and how it went. I look forward to hearing your comments. Happy New Year 2011! LEO NEWS QUIZ (UPPER INTERMEDIATE) ANSWERS & TEACHERS NOTES (UPPER INT) POST VOCAB (UPPER INT)  - this can be used for review the following week NEWS QUIZ (PRE INTERM...

How many encounters with a lexical item are necessary before it is committed to memory? 6? 9? 12? 15? This article discusses how much heed language teachers should pay to vocabulary acquisition research, particularly with regard to repeated encounters with lexical items. Follow the  link  to read the article on the Teaching English website

In this activity students first listen to a conversation in the film (the technique known as Vision Off) and then check their understanding while watching with the Vision On. The activity is suitable for ages 14 and up. Procedure Preparation You will need a DVD of the film Bend It Like Beckham . The scene starts at 20:18 (Mother shouting "Chi, chi, chi!") and ends at 22:06 (after father says "You must start behaving like a proper woman"). Or, if you have a computer in the room, use this clip No More Football Bend It Like Beckham — MOVIECLIPS.com Click here to download WORKSHEET Pre-watching Students to brainstrom in pairs what boys and girls like doing in their free time (Before you watch). Make sure they don't look at Page 2 of the handout. What are they talking about? Tell your students they are going to listen to the scene from a film but they are not going to see it. They do not have to catch every single word. The idea is to understand the main idea. Play ...

In this activity students watch a short clip from the movie “Red Eye” and then discuss problems people may encounter when staying in hotels. The activity is suitable for both adult and young learners at pre-intermediate level and up. Procedure Preparation You will need a DVD of the film or, alternatively, you can show the clip on Youtube (click here ).  If you're using the DVD, the scene starts at 2.12 and ends with the receptionist saying on the phone “they were such a**holes”. If you find it inappropriate, stop the playback right after the customers say “We won’t!” Before you watch Freeze-frame: a view of the hotel from outside. Discuss with students if they have ever stayed / often stay in hotels. Brainstorm what kind of problems hotel guests may encounter while staying in a hotel (e.g. rude staff, room not being cleaned etc) While you watch 1. Show the clip. Was the problem the guests experience in the film mentioned in the pre-watching discussion? 2. Give out the handout (2 ve...

An activity for adult learners based on the song by Timbaland featuring Katy Perry focusing on chat-up lines, the future conditional and adjectives ending with -ed . Follow the links below to access: TEACHERS NOTES IF WE EVER MEET AGAIN WORKSHEET

Here are slides for two of the approximately 871 talks that Romain Guy and I gave at Devoxx last month (and again at the SF Android User Group meeting a couple of days ago). Videos of all of the Devoxx sessions are already posted on the excellent Parleys site for a small subscription fee, and should be made freely available sometime in the next few months. You probably want to check out those videos for the complete details. But in case you were at the talks, are sick of listening to us speak, or simply want to peruse the slideware, here you go... Android Graphics and Animation Android UI Development: Tips, Tricks and Techniques