Tag Archives: vocabulary

Having Fun while Revising Vocabulary

Games, , , ,

Some time ago I took a methodology course in London and I’ve been using this game to revise vocabulary ever since. It’s the kind of game I love playing in class for two reasons: it requires no preparation and it’s lots and lots of fun. Students love it!

♥How to Play: the class is divided into teams and one person from each team sits on a chair at the front of the classroom facing their team. I normally put myself behind the person playing and show the rest of the team a card with the word I want to revise. The team has to give hints about this word using English only. They have 1 minute to guess as many words as possible and I give them as many points as words they have guessed. Then, it’s the turn for the other team.

♥Post-Activity: At the end of the activity and when we have a winner I ask students to write on a piece of paper all the words, used in the revision game, they can remember so we have further opportunity to revise.

♥My humble Tip: I wouldn’t use it to revise a Vocabulary Field because it would be too predictable. It is, on the other hand, perfect to revise vocabulary at the end of a unit.

              Click to follow

A Cool Dictionary: Vocabulary.com

Dictionaries, ,

I just love this dictionary! Really ! I love it!  ♥ It’s one of those sites that is worth bookmarking. Have I mentioned it’s called Vocabulary.com?


You might be asking yourselves why all this enthusiasm over a simple dictionary but it’s just that when you see something that is really helpful not only to me, as a teacher, but also to students, you get all cheered up.

Why do I like it?
♥First it has The Challenge Section where you are posed questions about vocabulary and you are given points every time you answer correctly. Better to try it than to explain it! You can also compete against other people if you sign up.


♥Secondly, it has The Dictionary itself. If you sign up whenever you look up a word, you can add it to your learning queue. Each vocabulary word includes a short blurb that is easy to understand and fun to read. The dictionary also provides usage examples from real life, so you can see how words are used in context .

♥Third, The Vocabulary List . You can create your own list of words you need to revise and then do different activities to help you remember them. One of them includes audio.

Now, aren’t you dying to give it a go? Yes? Off you go!

Like Blog de Cristina? We are also on Facebook. Click here to follow

 

15 Grammar Goofs that make you look silly

A word on Grammar, , ,

I’m up to my eyes with exams so I don’t have much time to publish. I was saving this post for a rainy day -so to speak- and the rainy day has finally come.
It is literally embedded from the webiste www.copyblogger.com and if you’re wondering what a “goof” is you are about to know. A “goof” is a silly or stupid mistake. Without further ado here are the 15 grammar mistakes that make you silly:

15 Grammar Goofs That Make You Look Silly
Like this infographic? Get more copywriting tips from Copyblogger.

Word of the Day: Leap Year

Word of the Day,

If you were wondering if I was going to let this special day go by without giving it my full attention, the answer is No! How could I not jump at the chance of explaining what a leap year is? How could I possibly let the 29th of February (leap day) go by without dedicating it a whole post?

2012, 2016, 2020…etc  are  leap years. This means that we get an extra day on February 29th, so instead of having 365 days there will be 366. A leap day is added  very four years.

Why do we need a leap year? Every four years we have a leap year to correct discrepancy between the calendar year of 365 days and the time taken for the Earth to complete one orbit of the sun -365 days and 6 hours.

I just  love the way Epipheo explains what a leap year is. Watch the video and then answer this question: What is a leapling?

Well done! A leapling is a person who is born on February 29th and they are all invited to join The Honor society of Leap Year Day Babies

Are there any traditions associated to this day? Yeah! And I love it!

According to the legend it started in Ireland around the 5th century. It is said that St. Bridget complained to St. Patrick about women having to wait for so long for a man to propose and he decided that women could propose to the man they wished to marry, only on this day. In 1288 in Scotland a law was passed stating that if the marriage proposal was refused then the man had to pay a fine: a pair of leather gloves, a single rose, £1 and a kiss.

See I could not let this chance slip!

Hope you have liked this post! Happy Leap Year!

Forcing the Past Continuous

Funny Stuff, Students' Corner, , ,

For the past few days I have been thinking about possible situations where my students could use the Past Continuous. But, by far, the funniest one has been this one I’m about to tell you.
Bear in mind before going on reading that I work with teenagers. They can sometimes get quite emotional so I have to be careful not to push them too far so that they also enjoy the activity. Drama, on my side, is essential or they won’t buy my story. The more drama, the more fun you’ll get! This is my story and I have realised I love being naughty!!

(Going into the classroom with a gloomy face is a must for this story. Say nothing for a while and stare at them. Soon students will begin to feel uneasy and someone will eventually ask: “What’s wrong, teacher?”).

Well, you see! Yesterday afternoon I came to Grado (name the town where you teach) to do some shopping and a very unpleasant thing happened to me. (sad face and some more staring) . While I was leaving a shop (name the shop for realism) I heard a boy and a girl calling my name and running away. I couldn’t see their faces but I think I recognised their voices. When I went over to my car I realized someone had scratched my car with a key. That’s why I’m so sad. “Sara, the girl’s voice sounded just like yours!” ” Oh, no, no teacher” “What were you doing yesterday at 5 o’clock?” “I was doing my homework at home” and you David “Were you in Grado yesterday afternoon? Yes , but I was playing a football match!

As I said : I love being NAUGHTY!