Humor4u

Traditional quiz for your first lesson in 2014 By lasanta.com.ec  via Flickr [CC BY 2.0] For some reason I had a hard time coming up with news items for this year's quiz. Not that the year was uneventful but somehow there were no sex scandals, jumps from space or viral videos which usually make good questions for the quiz. There were lots of deaths though, which is reflected in the questions, and while we're on the topic I'd like to mention that our field has also lost three notable figures in 2013: Leo Van Lier, Earl Stevick and Dave Willis (see my tribute  HERE ) Anyhow, as in the past, the quiz comes in two versions: the upper level version is suitable for upper-intermediate/advanced level students (B2 +) and the easier, lower level version for lower intermediate students (B1 -). The detailed 7-page teachers notes (scroll all the way down) provide ideas on how to use the quiz with your students and how to explore the language from the quiz. In a few days, as usual, I wil...

"Early." It's one of those words like "new" and "fast," isn't it? As though they are inherently good, and their opposites - "late," "old" and "slow" - are somehow bad. Believing in the value and virtue of being an early bird has deep roots in our cultural consciousness. It goes back at least as far as ancient Athens. Aristotle's  treatise on household economics  said that early rising was both virtuous and beneficial: "It is likewise well to rise before daybreak; for this contributes to health, wealth and wisdom." But just as Gertrud came to suspect the benefits for her of being early weren't all they were cracked up to be, earliness isn't always better in other areas either. The "get in early!" assumption has an in-built tendency to lead us astray when it comes to detection of diseases and conditions. And even most physicians - just the people we often rely on to inform us - don't...

As the year draws to a close it’s time for various top 10, 20 etc lists. I am going to limit myself to 3 and share the web tools that have undoubtedly been my favourite this year. Three different tools - three different uses. Lyricstraining – Listening Listen to various songs and complete gaps in the lyrics. I first learned about this tool at the IATEFL conference in Brighton in 2011 – interestingly, it was mentioned during one of the Pecha Kucha presentations in the evening. I found my notes from the conference about a year later and this year it has been one of my favourite tools. I hope my students enjoy it as much as I do! How it works       Choose a song. Then choose one of three available levels (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) and click on play. As the song plays you have to complete the gaps in the lyrics. The difference between the levels is the number of gaps. Regardless of students’ level I always recommend starting with the Beginner level where y...

In response to the blog tag challenge By Masachi Mochida via Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] I’ve been tagged. Twice. In a blog challenge the idea of which is to post 11 random facts about oneself, answer 11 questions posted by the blogger who tagged you and then pass the baton by posting 11 questions and tagging 11 other bloggers. Why 11 - I have no idea. If it had been up to me I’d have gone for 13 (since it’s 2013) like last year’s Adam Simpson’s 12 of 2012 blog challenge (see  HERE ). Anyhow, I’ve been tagged this week by both Rachael Roberts who named me as one of her 11 favourite bloggers (by the way, it’s mutual) and KathyFagan , whose blog I am less familiar with (but it’s going to change!) and who, unlike Rachael, I haven’t met. Thank you both.  So here we go… 11 Random facts about me My latest creations: White Lady and Fuzzy Navel I like making salads. I’ve recently taken up cocktail-making as a hobby. I think it’s a hobby that provides a lot of health benefits in the fo...

Image source: www.universalstudiosentertainment.com I use a lot of films in my teaching: not just occasional Youtube clips but full-length authentic feature films, and I’ve been wanting for a while to start a new section on this blog where I would upload my film-based materials. I thought December would be a suitable time to share materials for many people’s favourite Christmas film Love Actually . Warning : some scenes are suitable for adults only Activities actually The activities are divided into three parts. They are not particularly imaginative - mainly questions to answer while watching. Feel free to adapt them. Pages 1-2 are for the first part of the film (until 4 weeks to Christmas title appears ) Pages 3-8   focus on various characters. You can divide the class into 4 groups and assign each group different characters. Because it's quite a big chunk of the film (more than an hour) students can watch this part at home. Alternatively, you can focus on (a pair of) characters ...

A summary of the TESOL France’s  32nd annual colloquium  which took place in Paris between 22 and 24 November 2013. ELT conferences often have a title or theme with various presentations loosely related to it. TESOL France’s annual colloquium held in Paris in November isn’t one of them. However, this year’s colloquium, my third, had an underlying theme for me – experimental practice . Here are highlights of some of the sessions I went to. What do you need ? A bit of TPRS, perhaps? After this year’s unusual opening on Friday - instead of a traditional opening plenary the organisers decided to experiment with a brief welcome address by the chair of TESOL followed by mingling - the first session I went to was Judith Logsdon-Dubois's on TPRS. I had virtually got to know Judith through Twitter and her comments on this blog, but TPRS turned out to be not quite what I’d expected. It is not a twist on TPR (Total Physical Response), an “alternative” ELT approach of the 1970s inspi...