I spend a possibly unhealthy amount of time designing activities that have to do with retrieval practice. I think I might be becoming an expert. In my head, I design the idea and then, I am confronted with two options:
Make it simple, using a simple sheet or slip of paper.
Make it more appealing and spend time I don’t have looking for a nice design that in terms of learning is not going to make any difference.
Guess which one do I normally choose? Yes! That one.
I always do some retrieval practice before giving my students a topic-related oral activity. I think it is essential to bring to the front of their minds what they have, with luck, stored at the back. Otherwise, in their conversations, I might not hear the desired newly-learned vocabulary but the old boring one from the previous level. And we don’t want that, do we?
This retrieval activity can be done using regular sheets of paper or this beautiful template on Canva designed by Sara T, which I have shamelessly modified to suit my needs. Here’s mine, which you can easily modify as long as you have a Canva Account.
Now, let me explain this very simple activity.
Level: can be done at any level. In my case, B1.
Topic: Education. Again. It can be adapted to any level.
Time: about 10 minutes
BEFORE THE CLASS.
Choose three words for each student in the group to revise. You will need a different list for each student in the group, so if you form groups of 4 students, you will need 12 words.
It should look something like this
THE ACTIVITY
Put students, ideally, into groups of 4.
Give each student a list.
Before the activity starts, they need to make sure they know how to define and pronounce the words on their lists. Allow some time for this part.
Student A starts defining his/her words, one by one. Students B, C and D write Student A’s name in the space provided (_____’s list) and their guess at the words being defined by Student A. Then, it is Student B’s turn, then Student C and finally Student D.
Once all the students have finished describing the words on their lists, it is time to check how many they have guessed correctly. You can do it as a whole class, with Student As re-explaining the definitions and any other student in the class volunteering their guess or, alternatively, you can let them do it at their pace, in their groups.
Each correct guess scores 1 point.
And well, you know, a round of applause or a sweet for the winners.
Now, they are ready to use this vocabulary in a speaking activity
Artificial intelligence (AI) has taken giant steps in the past month. The tool I bring you today is mind-blowing, even terrifying, and I am not exaggerating even a bit! I’ve been trying the website for a few days now, and I have already told all my friends about it, and now I am telling you. I cannot keep a secret this big! This is way more than a time-saver!
The website is
Free
Requires registration and some verification. Do it. It is worth it.
I have tried it in Spanish English, French, and German.
What can this tool do? The question is, what can’t it do?
Some things I have tried:
1. Write a formal letter to a client complaining about a product.(Personal note: my sis is constantly
2. Write an essay about unusual customs. Then I asked it to write the same thing in a more informal style, and then again using only 50 words. We can also ask it to write in a way that a 6-year-old would understand (for lower levels).
3. (personal) How to fix a wooden table bitten by a dog.
4. A list of the advantages and disadvantages of using a mobile phone in the classroom.
5. Vocabulary for C1 education (it was very basic).
6. Write 5 multiple-choice questions about education vocabulary with four options.
7. Correct this sentence: He took me granted because doesn’t love me.
8. Explain the difference between curriculum and syllabus so that a child would understand it.
In short, the list of things it can do for you is endless.
Limitations: ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers.” So while the material might come out sounding original and authentic, there is a good chance it may also be wrong. Also, it does not have access to current events or up-to-date information about specific countries. Its knowledge is based on a snapshot of the internet from 2021, and it is not able to browse the web or access new information.
It feels downright unfair that I figured out how to make the quickest taboo cards-easily, faster than you think, no-tech knowledge required, the kind you want to create again and again — and you’re only finding out about it today.
Enter the word you want to target in the panel on the left. Let’s say, the word is “student”. Click enter and see how quickly the cards are generated with the taboo words, ie.the forbidden words. Continue in the same fashion with all the words you want students to guess.
Save them, or print them, straight away; right click of your mouse and choose the option Print. Now you have two options:
Print them straight away
Save the cards as a PDF for future print.
IMOORTANT: If it doesn’t work with the browser you are using (Chrome), try using another one (Firefox). You also need to bear in mind that it doesn’t work with compounds, ie, it will work with “arrogant” but not with “laid-back”.
How to play Taboo.
Divide the class into even groups of 4-6 students and ask them to choose a Team name.
Place a set of cards face down on the table.
A team member (the clue-giver) is chosen from the first group and brought to the front of the class.
The clue-giver takes the first card and describes it to their teammates (the guessers) without using any of the taboo (forbidden) words in it. If the guessers guess, they score a point for their team, Then, the card is set aside and the clue-giver picks another one to describe.
If the clue-giver says a forbidden word, the other team scores a point.
Buzzer the timer after 90 seconds, count the number of words correctly identified and list them beneath the team name on the board.
When time runs out, another team chooses a player to continue the game.
TRICK: If you’d rather use digital Flipcards, as I have many times in the past, you can still make good use of this tool by copy/pasting the suggested taboo words into the Flipcards. This will allow you to use the tool in a way that is convenient and efficient for you.
Glaring, serious, minor, common, grammatical, spelling, typing errors. Who doesn’t make them?
I must admit that I don’t dedicate as much time in class to honing my students’ writing skills as I should. Even if it is only for 30 or 35 minutes, assigning my pupils a writing assignment in class tends to disrupt the lesson’s flow. So, my students probably don’t write enough, but this is about to change. Well, in fact, I have already taken steps to make it happen.
But more important than making them write is the instructions I should be giving them to help them get better at this skill, and that includes many things, from using the newly acquired vocabulary and structures in a sort of guided writing to making them reflect on their errors. And it is this last part, making students aware of their errors, that has prompted me to write this post.
The truth is that it is not the first time I have tried some strategies to make my students reflect on their written errors (you can read all about it here) but after reading a brilliant post by Gianfranco Conti and inspired by his own error awareness chart, I have decided to try something similar and see how it works.
Below, you can see the chart I have designed. I am sharing with you two links.
First, the usual stuff: you give your students a written assignment, they hand it in, you spend an awful lot of time correcting their mistakes, and then, hand it back to them. So far, so good.
Now, together with their marked written work, give them a copy of the chart below and explain how, hopefully, the chart is going to help them improve their writing skills.
The first time, you will need to go through the list of errors on the left. Make sure they understand what each error refers to. Tell them the numbers 1-9 in this chart correspond to the different essays they will be handing in throughout the year.
So, say it is Essay 1. Students will have a look at their mistakes and put a tick in the boxes where they have made a mistake.
For example, they should tick the box Subject-Verb Agreement if one of their errors is People makes difficult decisions
And the box if they write something like: He went at home
This same procedure is repeated every time you hand back a marked written assignment. This strategy does not guarantee immediate success. That would be wishful thinking. Success at writing is something students must work on. And hard.
I find it really hard to stick to the textbook every time the lesson is about Relationships. With any other lessons, about any other topics, it might be easier to be content with following the dictates of the textbook. But I think Relationships, and all sorts of ideas spring up. Not all of them are good, to be honest. But these, I have tried and tested in class. They work.
This lesson is divided into two chunks:
The first part is dedicated to revising, reinforcing, and introducing new vocabulary.
The second part is dedicated to honing students’ listening and speaking skills using different visual inputs: images, audio, video, and cards.
VOCABULARY
GUESSING THE TOPIC WITH A FRIENDLIER VERSION OF THE GAME HANGMAN
Students will need to guess what topic we will cover in class next, But…. There are rules to follow:
The class is divided into 2 teams. Each team names a spokesperson.
Let’s say Team 1 starts. Now, to get the chance to say a letter to solve the puzzle, they’ll have to answer a content review question. For example: “what preposition collocates with the verb “depend”?”. After a quick discussion with the members of their group, the spokesperson will give an answer. If correct, they can suggest a letter. Whether it is a correct or incorrect guess, the turn will pass to Team B, who will get another content review question and the chance to guess a letter if the answer to the review question is correct.
Important: Teams can’t try to solve the puzzle until half the letters have been guessed(i.e. if the word has 14 letters, 7 must have been guessed) and only the Team playing will have this chance.
If they guess and fail, their turn will be skipped.
GAME: THE 15 SECONDS CROSSWORD GAME TO REVISE VOCABULARY
Divide the class into 2 teams.
Team A chooses a representative who chooses a number from the crossword puzzle, reads the description, and has 15 seconds to guess the answer with the help of their team.
If they guess the answer, they can continue playing until
they can’t guess the word,
they run out of time (remember 15 seconds) or
they guess three answers in a row.
If this happens, it is Team B’s turn.
The winner is the team that solves the last clue.
In this case, the terms in the crossword were related to the “relationships”
NOTE: (click on the top right-hand corner to enlarge the crossword)
INTRODUCING NEW VOCABULARY: PEER TEACHING AND PARTNER DISCUSSION.
More Vocabulary here. Give students some individual time to read through the vocabulary, underlining any new terms.
Building on the belief that ” to teach is to learn twice” (Whitman, 1998), ask students to get into groups of 4 and help each other with any vocabulary they haven’t been able to guess on their own.
Whole class: ask students in Group 1 which vocabulary items are still unfamiliar to them. Ask the other groups in the class to volunteer an explanation if they know. If nobody in the class knows, clarify the meaning. Continue in the same fashion with all the groups until all the vocabulary has been clarified.
Work on pronunciation and then test students by giving a definition and asking them to quickly give you the term.
SPEAKING and LISTENING
MARRIAGE
SPEAKING.
Display this picture and ask students to comment on this picture. Ask:
Who do you feel more sorry for? The bride, the groom, or the mother-in-law?
LISTENING. Why bother with marriage? Watch from 0:00- 0:34
Play the beginning of the video (0:00- 0:34) In pairs or small groups, comment on the following:
What is the speaker’s view on marriage? Do you agree with his view?
Are there more benefits or drawbacks to getting married in your country nowadays?
What is the right age to get married in your country? And to have children?
FAMILIES: LISTENING and SPEAKING
Write NUCLEAR FAMILY on the board and ask students to explain what type of family a nuclear family is and what other different family types they know. Write them on the board. Ideally, they will come up with stepfamilies (also called blended families), cohabitation, extended family, lone parenting, DINKS (I know, unlikely!) and some others.
Time for listening.First Listening:Play the audio once and ask students to jot down the different types of families that are mentioned (stepfamilies. Cohabitation, DINKS, lone parenting and people living alone). Write them on the board. You will probably need to add People living alone. Second Listening: Note-taking. Form groups of 4 students and assign a different kind of family to each of them. Ask them to take notes, as their final task would be to retell the information they hear about their assigned family structure. NOTE: I have assigned cohabitation and DINKS to the same person.
Follow-up: ask students in their groups to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of each type of family structure
PARENTS AND THEIR OFFSPRING: SPEAKING AND LISTENING
1. LYING. Play this video where children confess the biggest lie they have told their mums, in front of their mums. Ask students to confess theirs.
2. OVERPROTECTING PARENTS.
Ask these questions
Are parents today too overprotective?
What is considered overprotective parenting?
What can overparenting do to a child?
FAMILY TRACKING APPS. Display with the OHP this article from the BBC about family tracking apps and ask them to read the first 3 paragraphs. Ask students to talk about the advantages and drawbacks for both parents and children.
SPEAKING CARDS: FINDING THE MATCHING PAIR.
Put students into groups of 3 or 4. Give each group a set of cards and ask them to place them face upon the table. Student A begins by taking the beginning of the question (in blue) and finding the matching pair (in orange).
Student A has two minutes to express his/her opinion. Then, it is Student B’s turn.
