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Might be an idea if everyone posted their fave sites that they use when looking for material?
I recently came across Just The Word, a site for finding collocations for given words:
http://193.133.140.102/JustTheWord/index.html
Keywords: collocations, teaching, web sites
Posted by General teaching of adults - jobe | 0 comment(s)
We'd like to put up some material on Developing Teachers.com to help teachers with lower levels.
What kind of things do you think might be useful?
Posted by General teaching of adults - Alistair | 0 comment(s)
Keywords: limerick, listening, Museum Day, phonology, prominence, pronunciation, secondary stress, stress, telegrams, tone units, tonic syllable
Posted by Alistair | 0 comment(s)
Keywords: activities, authenticity, beginners, classroom management, lower levels, pitch, relevance, signposting, study skills, teacher talk, variety
Posted by Alistair | 0 comment(s)
Posted by Alistair | 0 comment(s)
Hello guys,
Time is flying by! 
Next week we're starting May/08 and I find it hard to believe. Over here in Brazil it's mid semester and winter is coming only in June. The days are beautiful and students are dedicated at the moment.
I wonder if this dedication changes around the globe according to local holidays, seasons or celebrations. Next week, for instance, we'll have a big holiday on May 1st which will become a 4 day weekend. Guess what happens? All students start the "I'm on holidays" feeling even before, starting Monday (tomorrow). So I have, as a teacher, to swim against the mainstream and pump them up, trying to motivate us (them and myself) to focus and study - at least - until the holiday itself.
Does this happen with everybody else? I'd love to hear from you...
Have a great week,
Ivy
Keywords: dedication, holiday, Teaching
Posted by Ivy | 1 comment(s)
A couple of Days this week with lesson material on the site:
22nd - Earth Day
Unexpected situations:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips95.htm#2
23rd - St. George's Day - England
Slaying Dragons:
http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips65.htm
Last year the 25th April was International Noise Awareness Day & so one would assume it would be the same this year. But no, it was on the 16th! I'm not sure who really decides all of these Days but in order not to miss such a worthy Day entirely, better late than never, here are some ideas for using 'noise' as a theme, as well as looking at Noise Awareness Day:
- Noise lexis; a noise, make a noise, noisy, noiseless, noise pollution, soundproof...
- Students list 5 most pleasant noises & 5 worst noises & then compare to see if they have any similarities.
- Order the following in order of irritation, most to least:
* aircraft
* loud neighbors
* traffic
* leaf blowers and other lawn equipment
* loud music, "boom cars"
* sirens, car alarms, horn honking
* barking dogs and other animals, jet skis, snowmobiles
* other?
- Play a series of sounds & the students work out a story - see the Tip 'Sounds Intriguing': http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips66.htm
- Develop comprehension strategies, ways to clarify comprehension, by introducing language such as 'I didn't catch that.', 'Could you repeat that, please?', 'Could you talk a little slower, please?'... Maybe make your own audio recording of a conversation with lots of background noise that makes the dialogue dificult for both speakers, & include some of the clarification exponents. Deal with the content of the dialogue with appropriate tasks & then notice & pull off the language, clarify it & go on to practise it.
- Noise complaint roleplays - e.g.
A: You are fed up wiuth the noise from your neighbours. At all hours there is music coming from their flat. You would like some peace & quiet. Go & talk to your neighbours about the problem.
B: Your neighbours are very sensitive to noise, totally over the top. You play music but don't play it excessively, or loudly.
For a lesson plan on neighbourse & complaints:
http://www.developingteachers.com/plans/neighbours.htm
- Noise quotes for discussion:
'The worst wheel of the cart makes the most noise.' Benjamin Franklin
'Silence is the true friend that never betrays.' Confucius
'Silence is a source of great strength.' Lao Tzu
'The Arctic expresses the sum of all wisdom: Silence.' Walter Bauer
'Nowadays most men lead lives of noisy desperation.' James Thurber
'Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing to say is what counts.' Margaret Lee Runbeck
- Reading - from the League for the Hard of Hearing - lots of short reading that couold be used for some nice jigsaw reading - see the following - change the texts to suit:
Facts on noise: http://www.lhh.org/noise/facts/index.html
* Noise & Hearing
* Noise & Health
* Noise in the Workplace
* Recreational Noise
* Personal Stereo Systems & Headsets (mp3 players)
* Noise & Music
* Noise & Health Clubs
* Noise in the Home
* Noise Levels Common in Our Environment
* Airport Noise
* How To Handle A Noise Complaint
- Recipe for A Quiet Diet - from the above site - students brainstorm what they might do on the Day & then compare with the list of things below, deciding on the best ideas. The same for the younger learners but they try to do the tasks as quietly as possible, whispering to each other.
Take these few, simple steps to preserve the peace and quiet in your life:
ALL DAY:
Pay attention to the noises you make and respect your neighbor's right to peace and quiet.
Turn down the volume two notches on your radios and personal stereo systems with headphones.
Turn down the volume one notch on your television.
Do NOT honk your horn, except in the case of imminent danger.
Do NOT tip cab drivers who honk their horns illegally.
Avoid noisy sports events, restaurants, rock concerts and nightclubs unless you use hearing protection.
Replace noisy activities with quiet ones such as taking a walk, visits to libraries and museums.
Ask your health club instructor to lower the music.
Ask the movie theater manager to turn down the volume.
Wear adequate hearing protection if you must be in a noisy environment (the subway, mowing the lawn)
Turn off the television during dinner and have a quiet conversation instead.
Get a free hearing screening.
Organize a town meeting to review (or develop) a local, enforceable noise ordinance.
Participate in the Noise Center's letter writing campaign to reestablish the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Noise Abatement & Control.
Spread the word about the danger of noise,
Posted by Alistair | 0 comment(s)
James sent me some Tommy Cooper jokes:
Two Aerials meet on a roof - fall in love - get married
The ceremony was rubbish but the Reception was Brilliant.
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Man goes to the docs, with a strawberry growing out of his head.
Doc says, "I'll give you some cream to put on it."
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"Doc, I can't stop singing the green green grass of home."
"That sounds like Tom Jones syndrome."
"Is it common?"
"It's not unusual."
-----------------------
A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet.
"My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?"
"Well," says the vet, "let's have a look at him"
So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth.
Finally, he says, "I'm going to have to put him down."
"What? Because he's cross-eyed? "
"No, because he's really heavy"
-----------------------
"Doctor, I can't pronounce my F's, T's and H's."
"Well you can't say fairer than that then"
-----------------------
Two elephants walk off a cliff...... boom boom!
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So I went to the dentist.
He said "Say Aaah."
I said "Why?"
He said "My dog's died."
-----------------------
So I got home, and the phone was ringing. I picked it up, and said
'Who's speaking please?'
And a voice said "You are."
-----------------------
So I rang up my local swimming baths.
I said 'Is that the local swimming baths?'
He said 'It depends where you're calling from..'
-----------------------
So I rang up a local building firm,
I said 'I want a skip outside my house.'
He said 'I'm not stopping you.'
-----------------------
Apparently, 1 in 5 people in the world are Chinese. And there are 5
people in my family, so it must be one of them.
It's either my mum or my dad.
Or my older brother Colin.
Or my younger brother Ho-Cha-Chu.
But I think it's Colin.
-----------------------
So I was in my car, and I was driving along, and my boss rang up, and he
said 'You've been promoted.'
And I swerved.
And then he rang up a second time and said 'You've been promoted again.'
And I swerved again.
He rang up a third time and said 'You're managing director.'
And I went into a tree.
And a policeman came up and said
'What happened to you?'
And I said 'I careered off the road.'
-----------------------
Now, most dentists' chairs go up and down, don't they?
The one I was in went back and forwards.
I thought 'This is unusual'.
And the dentist said to me
'Mr. Cooper, get out of the filing cabinet.'
-----------------------
So I was getting into my car, and this bloke says to me "Can you give
me a lift?"
I said "Sure, you look great, the world's your oyster, go for it."
-----------------------
Two cannibals eating a clown. One says to the other
"Does this taste funny to you?"
-----------------------
Police arrested two kids yesterday, one was drinking battery acid, and
the other was eating fireworks.
They charged one and let the other one off.
-----------------------
You know, somebody actually complimented me on my driving today.
They left a little note on the windscreen; it said 'Parking Fine.'
So that was nice.
-----------------------
A man walked into the doctors,
The doctor said "I haven't seen you in a long time"
The man replied, "I know I've been ill"
-----------------------
A man walked into the doctors,
he said "I've hurt my arm in several places"
The doctor said, "well don't go to those places"
-----------------------
I had a ploughman's lunch the other day.
He wasn't very happy.
-----------------------
I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I
couldn't find any.
-----------------------
I bought some HP sauce the other day.
It's costing me 6p a month for the next 2 years.
-----------------------
Two blondes walk into a building..........you'd think at least one
of them would have seen it.
-----------------------
Phone answering machine message -
"...If you want to buy marijuana.............press the hash key..."
-----------------------
I went to the butchers the other day and I bet him 50 quid that he
couldn't reach the meat off the top shelf.
He said, "No, the steaks are too high."
-----------------------
My friend drowned in a bowl of muesli.
A strong currant pulled him in.
-----------------------
A man came round in hospital after a serious accident.
He shouted, "Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!"
The doctor replied, "I know you can't, I've cut your arms off".
-----------------------
I went to a seafood disco last week...and pulled a mussel.
-----------------------
Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly.
They lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once and for all
that you can't have your kayak and heat it.
-----------------------
Our ice cream man was found lying on the floor of his van covered
with hundreds and thousands.
Police say that he topped himself.
-----------------------
Two fat blokes in a pub, one says to the other "Your round."
The other one says "So are you, you fat slob!"
Keywords: jokes, Tommy Cooper
Posted by The Lounge - Alistair | 0 comment(s)
Keywords: credentials, training, very young learners, young learners
Posted by Pre-school teaching - Troy Nahumko | 2 comment(s)
Posted by Alistair | 0 comment(s)