Tag Archives: vocabulary

Acapela.tv: converting text to speech in a funny way

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This site is plain fun ! Acapela .tv is a new site that has a lot of potential for the language class.
Choose a real character or a cute cartoon and make him speak. Choose from a range of voices that interpret and read content with meaning and emotion. This text to speech tool is great to do dictations or revise vocabulary among other things.

HOW I’M PLANNING TO USE IT

♥I think it might be funny to divide the class into two groups -the class I have in mind, right now, is a small class of nine students; with larger classes I might need to divide it into three or four groups.

My aim with this activity will be to make sure students revise some vocabulary related to money for their next test. So, the class is divided into two groups. They need to listen to their cartoon speaking, write down the words the character asks them to revise and be able to explain them to the other group. Each character will say the same number of words and you know the rest… don’t you?? A competition, as usual, something that I, a very competitive person, just love.

TEAM A

TEAM B

♥My next step will be asking selected students from different courses to do the job. The volunteers will need to go home, register and create a character to revise vocabulary. Obviously, they’ll need to copy the link provided and send it to me so that I can display it when playing the game in class.

What do you think? Will they like it?

Blog de Cristina is also on Facebook. 

Let’s go to the cinema!!!

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This is a very simple activity to do some speaking about films I intend to try with my Elementary students. Nothing too complicated but I guess they’ll love to see how  film titles are translated  into English. Who, in the name of God, translated the film DIE HARD  starring Bruce Willis  into LA JUNGLA DE CRISTAL or SOME LIKE IT HOT starring Marylin Monroe  into CON FALDAS A LO LOCO. Was it Google Translator???

Anyways, there is a whole lesson plan about films ( complete with vocabulary, listening, reading and writing) that I created some time ago, if you feel like doing some more practice ( Click on the picture if you are such a hardworking student), otherwise and for the time being we will just focus on speaking.

THE GAME: SPEAKING. The game is easy: the class is divided into two groups. In turns, one member from each group sits on the Hot Chair facing  away from the whiteboard. The members of their group have -like one minute- to describe, without mentioning the title ( that goes without saying, but just in case, I’m saying it), the film being displayed .

They will need to talk about.

Kind of film/ Nationality of the film/ director/ plot/

Some hints:

♥The film ‘_______’ is a(n) _______ film which takes place in _______.
♥The film is set in __(ancient Greece)__.
♥The story is based on __(a popular novel)__.
♥The film is directed by _______.
♥The main character(s) in the film is/are _______.
♥_______ is a character who _______.
♥__(Johnny Depp)__ stars as __(Captain Sparks)__.
♥In the film , __(Jack Black)__ plays __(a rock guitarist)The story is about _______
♥The best scene of the film is_____

Speaking: Talking about Jobs

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I wasn’t planning on posting right away but my gym is still flooded so I can’t work out. It is still cold and rainy here in Asturias so I don’t seem to have many options but to stay at home looking after my kids.

Plenty of time in the afternoon to prepare classes  and still so hooked on Picture Trail that I have decided to use it again, and this, only when I have used it for the first time on Monday. Addictive!!

ACTIVITY 1

Funny!!!  Students are given a job and they won’t know what it is. They are given a worksheet with questions about their job  to ask the other students in the class, see worksheet here. Read the instructions on the worksheet, go through the questions and possible answers.

Ask students to come to your desk to get the jobs stuck on their backs (post-it). Students walk around the classroom mingling freely, asking each person  a couple of questions and writing down the answers. Stop the activity after 10 minutes of questioning or when the first student has correctly guessed their job. Ask the rest of the students to sit down and write down what they think their job is.

Source : InsideOut Resource Pack

ACTIVITY 2.

Students in pairs talk about the questions  in Picture Trail

Writing lesson: Stretching a Sentence and the Verb Shaker

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Writing is probably one of the most difficult tasks students have to tackle but it is also true that we never dedicate enough time to improving this skill; there never seems to be enough time during lessons. Added to this is the fact that we are not used to writing in our own language, let alone in a foreign one. Therefore, what we normally get from our students are short sentences which usually fall short of our expectations.
In this session I have used two activities, slightly modified, from two different blogs; Stretching a Sentence (original source here) and the Verb Shaker (original post here )

♥STETCHING A SENTENCE
I have created a PPT presentation (see below) to heighten the idea of a telescopic sentence.
The main idea is starting with a verb or a noun and stretching the sentence by giving the students some hints in the form of questions (who, when, where, what, why). In the end, they easily and effortlessly come up with a sentence that has some consistency and that I hope will help  them get rid of their fear of writing. This exercise does not focus on complex sentences as it is aimed at elementary and pre-intermediate students. It might also be necessary to point out that previous to this exercise, we have worked on the order of adjectives before the noun (basically Opinion+Size+Age+Colour) so you can imagine how colourful their sentences were.

♥VERB SHAKER

This funny idea came form the wonderful blog Crazy Speech World and though dyeing the rice and laminating the cards is an awesome idea I have to confess that I don’t have the time, so my students will have to make up do with just the box and the paper cards.
My idea is using this game with elementary and pre-intermediate students. I have written the verbs in two different colours:  in green, the easiest verbs to use in a sentence  and in blue, verbs which could be a bit more difficult to use. Using two colours, they can be easily separated. I have also included some blank cards in the box.

The game: one student picks up a verb (eyes closed) from the box and students, in pairs, have about 90 seconds to write a sentence including the verb. The longer the sentence, the more possibilities they have of getting the point, which will be awarded to the pair with the best sentence. (Remind students of the Who, What, When, Where, Why from the previous exercise). If a student draws a blank card, he can choose the verb he fancies.

To make things easier for me, I’ll provide them with slips of paper  to write their sentence so that when the time’s up they can raise it up and I can have a quick check. Sentences with mistakes will be automatically discarded and the remaining sentences will be read aloud and voted. The pair with the best sentence gets the point.

Edited: Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 verbs

Word of the Day: crib notes

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What’s  a “crib note” in British English or a  “cheat sheet “ in American English?

It is a small piece of paper containing the answers to an examination . The note is very small so it escapes detection and can be easily destroyed or eaten if detection is imminent.

I never thought I would write a post about crib notes, not with me teaching adults, but when you are teaching teenagers this is something you have to become an expert at .Don’t get me wrong here! I am convinced that most teenagers do not cheat  and that it was only  by sheer chance that  in these two weeks of exams I’ve  caught two students red handed .New technologies? No way! The picture accompanying this post is real ,from one of my classrooms: the students used the inside of the curtain to write his crib note. I wonder if I should send the curtain home to his mum to wash it!

I have done some research on the Internet looking for alternatives to spoiling a – if not beautiful- curtain , at least , the only one we’ve got.

I have learned that the most important thing is to be able to conceal the crib note successfully. Now, pay attention , I have become an expert!

♥ Hide your notes under the exam . This is the traditional one but I am going to give you a very important tip. Don’t look at the teacher. This is the most common mistake because it immediately gives you away.

♥ Use a bottle of water. Cut the outside wrapping , glue your notes and glue the wrapping back to the plastic bottle. Please, don’t stare at the bottle for too long or I might think you have gone postal.

♥ Use a cap with the notes glued on the inside. Take off your cap and let the show begin!

♥ Use glasses . Give yourself a rest to rub your eyes and … you know what to do!

♥Use your mobile phone.  Easy, no effort , but a lot more expensive than the rest!

The truth is that if you are going to write your notes by hand  ( in the computer , use Times New Roman font, size 6) you’ll find that you have  accidentally studied and you might end up never even using it.