COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Academic Task: Write a story based on pictures.

Social Task: Include every one's idea to write sentences.

Group Formation: The participants will get a card with the country of origin in one side and the flag on the other side

Team Building: The participants should sit in the alphabetical order of the countries and number each other according to the system already used.

Material: Set of pictures, graffiti board, colour pencil and crayon, markers, final sheet.

Task Direction:

*Each member gets a set of cards;
*Draw a cloud shape in the centre of the graffiti page for the title of the story;
*Each member has to write their best sentence using their set of cards;
*The set of cards move clockwise round the table until everyone has had each set;
*The members move clock wise one place;
*Choose the best sentence of each member;
*Write the final story.

Think about WHO, WHAT, WHERE and HOW to write the story.

All the stories can be hung on the wall where everybody will read them easily. It is amazing how creative a person can be when is stimulated by the other participants.

ANIMAL MATERIALS

Bits of animal bodies have been used for hundreds years.

Find out more about it:

Activity 1

Select some animals on picture cards;

e.g; elephant, bear, turtle, butterfly, snake, dear, tiger, crocodile, etc...

Select some picture cards with:

e.g; horn, fur, feather, antlers, different types of skin such as snake, crocodile, etc...

Play mix and match

Activity 2

Research in the Internet what kind of work art can be made with them. It is very interesting and motivating while pupils learn.

Enjoy!!!!

COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE

Activity 1

Warm up:

Select some objects and put them in a box.
Ask to the participants:
What is there in the box?
Write on the board all their names.
e.g: bowl, plate, fork, spoon, knife, sugar, coffee, milk, tea, mug, water, salt, etc...

Activity 2

Write down the names in the right column:

COUNTABLE UNCOUNTABLE
bowl sugar
plate coffee
fork milk
spoon tea
mug water
knife salt

Activity 3

Based on a picture, answer the questions:

1- Are there biscuits on the table?
2- How many mugs can you see?
3- Is there any fruit in the basket?
4- How much milk would you like?
5- What is there in the bowl?
6- Are there any grapes on the plate?

Activity 4

Complete the sentences with A, AN, SOME, ANY:

1- There is _____apple.
2- There are _______mugs.
3- Is there ________tea?
4- Is there _______plate on the cupboard?
5- There is _______milk in the mug.
6- There isn't _______fruit in the basket.

Activity 5

Listening exercise:

Prepare the lyrics of a song to fill in the gaps with the words missed such as: a, an, some, any and there be (is, are).
Play it three times if necessary and correct it.
Vocabulary checking and have fun.
Sing it.

I hope you enjoy it.

DO YOU LIKE FRUIT?

To practice food vocabulary:

*You can use restaurant's menu;
*Pictures;
*Cards with the names:
e.g. - chips, baked potato, sandwich, hamburgers, coffee, tea, cake, biscuits, cookies,
breakfast, drink, coke, juice, milk, pizza, pasta, etc...
*Teach the questions and answers:

Do you like...........? Yes, I do.
Yes, I like it.
No, I don't.
No, I don't like it.


Would you like some ........? Yes, please.
No, thank you.

In pairs the participants can match the names and pictures and also act out the questions above.

The teacher can check the comprehension and the pronunciation asking to each of them one question.

Don't forget to praise them: fantastic, very good, well done, yes and a big smile.

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Although all languages differ of each other with their own rules, grammar, syntax and pronunciation in the process of a second language acquisition, the knowledge of L1 (native language) facilitates the learner to transfer the concepts to the L2 (second language).

The second language acquisition theory suggests that one's learning of a second language is affected by his exposures to language models. So, to encourage the learners in the learning process their social and cultural values should be brought as topic of interests to contribute and help them to be motivated and not so anxious facing emotional state in learning a second language.

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

I have been working with speakers of other languages in Scotland since October 2007. The children average ages are from 6 to 12 in primary and secondary schools, and adult migrant workers are from 26 to 50 years old.

Different approaches and provisions have been delivered showing deliberately the result of the Stage of English Language Acquisition after one year participating in the learning process. Most of them belong to the Stage 1 in the beginning of the process, with very few vocabulary in L2 and low ability to communicate. They use L1 (native language) to express themselves and they tend to live in small communities originally from the same country.

Nationalities involved in the process of L2 learning acquisition: Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Russian, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Mexican.

MANY CHILDREN CAN'T SPELL SHAKESPEARE

Dr ken Smith suggests:

"University teachers should simply accept as variant spellings those words our students most commonly misspell."
He added. "All I am suggesting is that we might well put 20 or so of the most commonly misspelled words in the English language on the same footing as those other words that have a widely accepted variant spelling."
He said the word "judgement" was already accepted as a variant of "judgment", adding: " So why can't "truly" be accepted as a variant spelling of "truly"?

He blamed failings in the school system declaring:

"There was little evidence of students having been taught the relevant rules at school, or of the students having been corrected for obvious and frequent errors."

Jack Bovill, chairman of the Spelling Society, said its national survey had shown up to 54 % of people couldn't spell words such as "embarrassed", "separate", "accommodation", "millennium" and "friend".

He said the society did not advocate changing the spellings.

By Laura Clark
Education Correspondent
Daily Mail, Thursday, August 7, 2008

THE WORDS THEY COULDN'T GET RIGHT

20 COMMONLY MISSPELLED WORDS THAT SHOULD BE ACCEPTED BY UNIVERSITIES

Arguement for argument

February for February

Wensday for Wednesday

Ignor for Ignore

Occured for occurred

Opertunity for opportunity

Que for queue

Cue for queue

Kew for queue

Speach for speech

Thier for their

There for their

Truely for truly

Twelth for twelfth

Wierd for weird

Sieze for seize

Liesure for leisure

Nieghbour for neighbour

Foriegn for foreign

Mispelt for misspelled


Daily Mail, Thursday, August 7, 2008

BAD SPELLING

Daily Mail, Thursday, August 7,2008

"BAD SPELLING? IGNOR IT"

"Faced with a flood of basic spelling mistakes, you might expect a university lecturer to demand his students pay more attention to the dictionary.
But one don is so fed up with having to correct his undergraduates' errors that he is calling for something rather more unorthodox - a spelling amnesty.
Dr Ken Smith is urging colleagues to turn a blind eye to the 20 most common slips - such as "Febuary", "ignor" and "speach" - and view them instead as variants of standard spellings.
Writing in the Times Higher education magazine, the senior lecturer in criminology at Buckinghamshire New University said? "Teaching a large first-year course at a British university, I am fed up with correcting my students' atrocious spelling. Aren't we all?"

SNAP GAME

Prepare some pair cards with irregular verbs (present and past) and play memory game until the participants are familiar with the verbs in the two tenses.

The funniest part of the game is to distribute the same number of the cards among the group and play snap.

Snap is a popular CARD GAME in which the object is to lose all the cards.

In the game the entire pack of cards is dealt out among the players in face-down stacks as equally as possible. Play proceeds with the players taking it in turns to remove a card from the top of their stack and place it face-up on a central pile. Everybody has to say the verb on it and the one that makes the pair.

Eg: FIND - FOUND or FOUND - FIND.

The person who makes a mistake or does not know the verb takes all the pile. The player with the most card loses.

GLAMIS CASTLE

It was a beautiful day, sunshine and warm. A tour in Glamis Castle is a must! Enjoy the culture, the history and the nature.

These are key to effective assessment for all pupils.

As stated in QCA’s publication A language
in common, effective assessment for all pupils should:

• recognise what pupils can do and reward achievement;
• be based on different kinds of evidence;
• be a valid reflection of what has been taught or covered in class;
• be reliable in terms of enabling someone else to repeat the
assessment and obtain comparable results;
• be manageable, both in terms of the time needed to complete the
task, and in providing results which can be reported or passed on to
other teachers.

CLOTHES

*Prepare some cards with names of clothes, ,materials and types of patterns

e.g:


cotton, velvet, silk, leather,

skirt, shirt, blouse, scarf, gloves, hat, waist coat, raincoat,

flowery, pattern, stripes, spots,

*Hang some pieces of clothes in different places in the classroom

*The learners will match the cards and the clothes

*Play in groups or individual until they use all the cards

*They are supposed to dress up every time they make a mistake.

*Participants will describe each other using the sentence:

He is wearing black leather gloves.

She is wearing a yellow raincoat.

They are wearing boots, trousers, coats, gloves and hats.

It is very funny...have a good time!

BILINGUAL PUPIL

"Bilingual pupils have access to two or more
languages at home and at school. They may
operate at different language levels in a variety of
circumstances. Being bilingual does not mean that
they are fluent or literate in both languages. For
example, some pupils may be fluent in one of their
spoken home languages, which is used with family
and friends, but they may only be literate in
English or another community language."

Milton Keynes Ethnic Minority Achievement Support Service

I REJOICE IN JESUS CHRIST

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”- Zephaniah 3:17

DESCRIBE LAST WEEKEND

Teaching simple structures enable the learners to build up useful sentences.

Aim: Learning how to describe the weekend using adjectives.

Activity: Use the words from the board to describe the weather, the restaurant and the people in a situation in the past.


SMALL WET CROWED EXPENSIVE UNCOMFORTABLE


CLOUDY INTERESTING CHARMING COLD TALKATIVE


WINDY INTELLIGENT



Prepare a picture for each situation:

YOU WENT FOR A WALK IN THE COUNTRY.

WHAT WAS THE WEATHER LIKE?

IT WAS COLD.

1- It was wet.
2-It was windy.
3-It was cloudy.

YOU WENT TO A RESTAURANT FOR DINNER.

WHAT WAS THE RESTAURANT LIKE?

1-It was crowded.
2-It was uncomfortable.
3-It was small.
4-It was expensive.

YOU WENT TO A PARTY WHERE YOU MET A LOT OF PEOPLE

WHAT WAS THE PEOPLE LIKE?

1-They were talkative.
2-They were intelligent.
3-They were charming.
4-They were interesting.

Using the same approach, the participants are able to discuss about some other subjects.

ADJECTIVES

Adjective is a key word when learners are initiating a language course. They can express their opinions or make judgments.

Aim: Learning opposites

Activity: Inductive grammar learning exercise followed by oral exercises.

Level: Beginners

Outline:

Use pictures to introduce the words:

1-HAPPY
2-GOOD
3-POOR
4-SMALL
5-ILL
6-OLD
7-YOUNG
8-WRONG
9-STRONG
10-HEAVY
11-COLD
12-SHORT

MAKE SOME CARDS AND HANG THEM ON THE WALL, WHERE THEY CAN EASILY SEEN.

THEY HAVE TO MATCH THE RIGHT OPPOSITE: THE PICTURE AND THE WORD.

To practice the new vocabulary, introduce the sentence:

MY FRIEND HAS GOT A NEW CAR.

Every participant is supposed to say the same sentence changing the adjective, and they can't repeat it.

Ex;

MY FRIEND HAS GOT AN OLD CAR.

MY FRIEND HAS GOT A GREEN CAR.

Now they are able to write and say their own sentences:

I'VE GOT A/AN..........HOUSE.

I'VE GOT A/AN..........DOG.

Enjoy!!!!!

PLANNING A TRIP

Bring a brochure of a touristic place in the town.

Eg; The Broughty Castle.

Ask the participants to answer the questions using the brochure:

a) When was The Broughty Castle built?

b) When was it rebuilt?

c) What are the opening hours?

d) How much is the entrance fee?

e) What are the facilities in the Castle

f) What can you see there?

The readers don't need to understand every single word in the brochure, but they are supposed to be able to understand and answer the questions.

Before checking the answers the tutor can prepare a listening activity using the brochure, to improve the pronunciation and speaking skills.

Provide them a copy of the timetable sheet of the local bus. Ask them to use the timetable and according to the instruction in the brochure, prepare a trip to visit the Broughty Castle.

To check their understanding, tell them that you want to visit the Castle on Monday at 2:30pm in April.

They have to answer the questions:

a) What time does the bus leave the bus station?

b) What is the number of the bus?

c) What time does it arrive in Dundee?

d) Do I need to take another bus? At what time?

e) What time does it arrive at the Broughty Castle?


It is a lovely activity. They are going to enjoy, and probably they are going to visit the Castle as I did. Gorgeous!!!!!

LEASURE

This subject can be linked with favourite activity outdoors. So, bring some pictures of the touristic attractions in your city and their names.

E.g:

Coast, Beach, Cliff, Mountain, Village, Harbour, Park, Building, Museum, Statue, etc...

You start a quick recap with the question:

T:What is your favourite activity?
S1:My favourite activity is walking.
S2:My favourite activity is travelling.
S3:My favourite activity is visiting museums.

T:What can you see in a museum?
S1:I can see pictures.
S2:I can see old objects.
S3:I can learn about history.

T:Very good! So, now...in pairs, match the pictures and names and prepare 3 sentences about them.

Eg: The coast is beautiful.

The village is small.

The museum is big.

The building is high.

The cliff is dangerous.

The beach is peaceful.

Introduce a variety of adjectives to describe a place:- busy, gorgeous, nice, quiet, lovely, modern, old, ancient, cold, hot, etc...

Ask questions:

T:Is the village noisy?

Is the beach dirty?

Is the city calm?

S: Yes, it is.
No, it isn't.

To conclude, ask the participants to describe their home place.

E.g: I live in Colliston. Colliston is a small and noisy village.

I live at the beach. It is calm and beautiful.

I live in the mountain. It is high, quiet and gorgeous.

FAVOURITES

Write the word FAVOURITES on the board and ask the participants what they understand about "favourites".

E.g: CAR, colour, CITY, sport, COUNTRY, clothes, ACTOR, writer, FILM,...

Bring a picture of someone very famous and his/her favourites and complete a chart with the words from a box.

E.g: Ronaldinho's favourite things. (Brazilian Football Player)

Sport : football
______ : Ferrari
______ : Brazil, Spain
______ : green, blue
______ : Friday
______ : February
______ : Orange juice
______ : Feijoada
______ : Paulo Coelho
______ : Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona

With a friend separate the items below in categories:

E.g : Colour, Months, Car, Drink, Cities, Countries, Days, Sport, Writer, Food.

December, Blue, BMW, Coke, Potato, Baseball, Friday, USA, Washington, Shakespeare, etc....
(you have to complete the chart with about 10 items of each category).

The participants report the lists and check the answers.

Ask them to prepare their own "FAVOURITES".

Play the game "FIND SOMEONE WHO" using the question yes/no answers. E.g: Is red your favourite colour? Is fish and chips your favourite food? etc... The participants use their own favourites to find someone who has the same favourites.

To conclude, make a general review.

The objective is to introduce Months, Days of the Week, Sports, and talk about Favourites.

CLASSROOM

Write the words of a selection of objects you have in your classroom.

E.g:

THE BOARD, A BAG, A BOOK, THE CASSETTE PLAYER, A CHAIR, A DESK, A PIECE OF PAPER, A STUDENT, THE TEACHER, A PICTURE, A DICTIONARY, THE DOOR, A MAP...

In pairs ask the participants to label the objects. Check an go around reading the words. Point the things and work on ask and answer questions:

A: What's this?
B: A picture.
A: What's that?
B: The board.

Introduce some verbs and complete the sentences:

E.g: Listen, Look, Read, Use, Work.

A)_____________at the picture.

B)_____________to the song.

C)_____________your book.

D)_____________with your friend.

E)_____________the words.

Practice the sentences and replace some words building up different sentences:

E.g: Article, Music, A Pen, Photo, In Group Of Four.

A) Look at the__________.

B) Listen to the _________.

C) Use the __________.

D) Work ______________.

E) Read the_______________.

Review the new words and make sure the participants are able to recognize the objects and say the words properly.

EASTER CELEBRATION

Easter is a time to celebrate the rebirth of Jesus Christ, and it brings an excitement to all of us.

Start a discussion about the subject and find out the meaning of Easter and what are the things that symbolise Easter. Listen carefully the participants and write down a list of items they know.

E.g:

Rabbit, egg, cross, chicks, Jesus, chocolate, ...

It has been a tradition to give chocolate eggs for friends and family. In school, children decorate boiled eggs and roll them down the hill, which symbolises the rock that was rolled in the cave Jesus was buried. It is also a symbol of fertility, the rebirth of Jesus Christ.

Easter Sunday is a day for a beautiful meal. Bring this spirit of joy to your classes. Prepare a meal with your students, describe different meals in different countries at Easter.

In Scotland we have HOT CROSS BUNS, a sweet roll with raisins. Very tasty!

To conclude, EGG HUNT. Wow...that is very funny.

Hide chocolate eggs in the classroom;
Divide the participants in groups,
Ask them to hunt the eggs;
The winner is the group that gets more eggs;
Prepare a quiz about the topic and have fun! wow...the group that had more eggs might have to share and eat them... nhumi....

CULTURAL MOMENT

It is very important to try different recipes, specially when you have a multicultural group of learners.

We had a very good surprise during one session. Polish people had prepared Bigo and Mayonese and they also brought chocolate to celebrate "women's international day". It was a very pleased moment that included a short film presentation about Poland, and some songs.

This is all about learning another language. We learn about local culture, typical food, and habits.

The group had the iniciative to plan the session in English.

Finally, to celebrate one of participant's birthday, a home cake was served. It was absolutely delicious!!!

Congratulations!!!

CONNECTIONS

If you want to learn a foreing language, open your heart and your mind to integrate a new community. It includes cultural knowledge as simple as greetings.

E.g.

Connect que questions and the answers:

A- Could you pass me the salt please? 1-Yes, I did.
B-What are you doing? 2-Of course. Here it is.
C-Would you like some coffee? 3-I am taking a shower.
D-Did you go to the club yesterday? 4-Yes, please.
E-Have you got a car? 5-No, I haven't.

Answers: A-2; B-3; C-4; D-1; E-5


You can work on the subject you are teaching at the moment. Use pictures to estimulate the brain and facilitate the learning process through different learning styles.

FIND YOUR PARTNER

It is a very good icebreaker to prepare some cards with different descriptions about several profiles.

Eg:

I am creative and active. I like any kind of activity outdoors. I walk about one hour everyday. I don't like to watch TV, but I love reading and surfing on the Internet.

I am a very quiet person. I don't like to listen to music aloud, but I enjoy cooking. I am always looking for some new recipes.

You need one profile for each participant. They get a card, read it and try to find someone who has the most similar habits, talking to everyone in the class.

It is very interesting!!!!!!!

PLAY RIDDLES

People love riddles. Here it is one to illustrate your driving lesson.

Ask to the participants:

How do you come to school?

Probably you are going to listen: by car, by bus, by bike, on foot....so ask again:

I'm not a cap or coat, but you must put me on before you hit the road! What am I?

The answer: SEAT BELT

ICEBREAKERS

Every lesson should be interactive and motivating. People tend to seat at the same places with the same partners, but it is very importante they come to know each other. This icebreaker is the chance to speak to four different people at least.

INSTRUCTION:

*Give a label to each participant and ask them to write their names;

*Ask them to find a different partner;

*Give them two minutes to talk and introduce themselves;

*After two minutes you say "STOP";

*Ask them to get their partner's lable; it means that from know they are going to assume a new personality "they are going to perform their first partner with another partner";

*Say "GO" and speak to your new partner pretending you are your previous partner;

*After two minutes you say "STOP";

*Again change the labels and personalities and partneres for four times;

*You say "STOP" and please "SIT DOWN";

*You start the introduction;

My name is....
I am from.......
I live in.....
I work for.....

and you ask.... WHO ARE YOU?.... Give a chance to hear everybody. You are going to notice that some information is lost, and some changed, but it is a very good icebreaker.

Enjoy!!!
I

RULES AND LAWS

Everybody should know the main important rules and laws about driving. It is part of knowledge to live and work better in any country.
I am studying the theory to get my driver's licence in UK. The process is very hard, because I need to learn the specific jargon around the subject, as well to know the rules, the laws, and all the road traffic signs. It is a challenge!

Play and learn it!

*Print some flash cards with the road traffic signs and their respective meanings to play match the pairs;

* Prepare an exercise with pictures and meanings to link;

* Do the theory test and learn through mistakes;

The objective of this lesson is based on new vocabulary, and grammar is MUST, MUSTN'T, SHOULD, SHOULDN'T, HAVE TO, DON'T HAVE TO.

Have fun!!!

FRANKENSTEIN

You can have a very great time when you teach the parts of the body.

After the exercise "match the words and pictures", prepare some labels with the parts of the body. Draw a "Frankenstein" in a cardboard as big as a person and stick it on the wall. Divide the class in groups and give them the labels to stick on the right place. Of course, the winner is the best "Frankenstein". Sometimes, the elbow is labeled on the shoulder, and the eyebrown on the eyelash. The mistakes bring a good laugh, and of course, everybody can learn and have a good fun.

Enjoy the activity!!!!

Family Learning

It has just begun a Family Learning Course in Arbroath. There were four mothers from different countries; Latvia, Lithuania, and Pakistan.

To introduce ourselves, we prepared a poster drawing maps. The childrem participated as part of integration with their parents.

As a tutor, I started intruducing myself. I drew Brazil and Scotland maps with my family members in each country. Everybody had a chance to say:

My name is........................

I am from..........................

I have been here since..................

I live with............................in..............................and in my home country are....................................

I want to learn English because...........................................

My goal is......................................................................

After presentation, the childrem left the room to have some activities with the staff. At this point, I explained that they should complete a form with personal information and also answer a test to give me an idea about their English level. Two ladies were able to answer all the questions, but the other two did not do the test. They were able to read and understand, but not to write.

WE used flash cards for alphabet, days of the week, months of the year, and word hunt to practice reading and writing and talk about general knowledge. It was very funny!

RECAP

It is very good to recap the previous subject every time you meet your group. You can be very surprised with the progress among the participants.

I am one of the staff who is charge of the development and delivering the project "Working and Living in Angus", Scotland. We have got about 20 Eastern European every evening, once a week for 2 hours.

Teaching a language is an introduction of a different culture. Most of them come to this country with low level of English language or none at all. The objective is to offer them a better opportunity to become part of the society while they acquire the language, work and live in Scotland. The country is with its arms opened to embrance the community and to give them free education and a better opportunity for life.

"Recap" really works.

SUMMER TIME

HEALTH

Well, if you are living in a foreign country, I believe there are some subjects we should know in case we need in an emergency.

As I am a Brazilian in Scotland, I bring the "HEALTH" subject for your English class.

Start a simple discussion about the Health System in your country.

Ex: Where should you go if you need an operation?

What are the specialists you know in the health system?

I hope we get a list of vocabulary:

DOCTOR, NURSE, OPTICIAN, PHYSIOTHERAPIST, MIDWIFE, HEALTH VISITOR, EMERGENCY UNIT, CASUALTY, SURGEON, HOSPITAL, AMBULANCE, DENTIST, ...

Don't forget to use some repetition to check pronunciation and the stress of the new words. You can also encourage the group to use the words in a contest like this:

Ex: A................is a person who............................................

A dentist is a person who looks after your teeth.

...........................is a place you ..............................................

Hospital is a place you stay when you are ill.

You might want to review the words and the sentences, or probably you want to include some other extra information. In this case, prepare some flash cards with pictures, and play match the words.

DIRECTIONS

MIMICS IS ALWAYS FUNNY. Ask to the group to stand up, listen carefully to the instruction and do it: * Right hand up; *down; *Left hand up; *down; *Touch your right eye; *Left ear; *Left eye; *Right ear; *Left eye with your right hand; *Touch your left foot; Just use your creativity and have fun!!!

CAN YOU FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS

*Ask them to write the name of the places according to the directions;


You are in the middle of the piece of paper.
Straight ahead is the hospital.
The airport is to the right of the hospital.
The bus station is to your left.
Straight ahead of the train station is the hotel.
Between the hotel and the hospital is the restaurant.

* Invite a volunteer to draw the anwser on the board, and enjoy it!

DIRECTIONS - LESSON PLAN

*Aim

To present and practice describing where things are and giving simples directions in the context of local area.

*Procedure

Pre-teaching vocabulary.

*Ask to the group:

How do I get to the library?

Can you tell me where the ………. is?

Can you tell me how to get to the ………… ?

*Work the words we need to give directions

Go straight on, turn left, turn right, next to, beside, opposite, in front of, behind…………

*Check out understanding

Using the map take turns to give each other directions

DESCRIBE YOUR LOCAL AREA

Prepare a vocabulary list – directions, places of interest and services shown on map;

Hand out local information brochure with a map and ask participants to give each other directions to a point on the map;

In large group discuss local places of interest.

UNDERSTANDING DIRECTIONS

It is polite to say excuse me when stopping some-one to ask for help.


Excuse me, where is the ……bank…………..?
Excuse me, where is the nearest ………pub…………………….?

Excuse me, is there a ……Post Office…………………. near here?

Excuse me, can you help me …I am lost…………………?
Excuse me can you give me directions to…Damacre Centre………………..?

Excuse me is the ……hotel………………….. close by/ far from here?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

LISTENING COMPREHENSION

BASED ON THE SCRIPT "THE BURNS SUPPER" EXERCISES

Activity A

Listen to the conversation again and find a word that
means:

A main meal eaten in the evening or a small snack eaten before going to bed.
A special or formal event like a party.
When you pay to use something for a short period
People who are invited to an occasion such as a party or a meal
A person in charge of a meeting
Seeds which are used in cooking and baking and also to feed animals
A Scottish word for a poet
Scottish word for women
Funny

Activity B

Listen and answer the questions:

Where has Olga been invited? A Burns Supper
When is she going?
Where is the party?
How does she feel? Why?
What should she wear?
Is she going alone?
What will they eat?
What will they do?
What is Olga’s husband going to do before the party?

Activity C:

Listen again and mark TRUE or FALSE:

There will be a lot of people at the party. ( T )
This happens every year. ( )
The women can wear trousers. ( )
He needs to buy a kilt. ( )
Someone will play traditional Scottish music.( )
The women will make a speech. ( )
There won’t be many speeches. ( )
Some of the poems are funny. ( )

SCRIPT FOR "THE BURNS SUPPER"

Script for “The Burns Supper”

Olga: Helen, I haven’t seen you for ages. How are you?

Helen: I’m fine thanks. How are you?

Olga: I’m glad I’ve seen you – I’ve been invited to a Burns Supper and I don’t know what to wear or what it’s about.

Helen: Well, Robert Burns is Scotland’s national poet and every January 25th people get together to have a meal in his memory. It can be just a few friends, or it can be a big occasion where everyone dresses in traditional clothing, the men with their kilts and the women wear tartan skirts or sashes. Where is it happening?

Olga: It’s in the City Hall, so it’s bound to be a big event. I’m really nervous – what should we wear?

Helen: I wouldn’t worry too much. It might be nice if you wore tartan or wore your national costume. Do you have a partner for the night?

Olga: Yes, my husband. Should he hire a kilt?

Helen: That would be a nice gesture but he could wear a tartan tie or his own national costume.
What usually happens is the general audience arrives first and then the main guests are piped to their seats …

Olga: Piped?

Helen: Yes, a piper plays the bagpipes while they are walking in.

Olga: Oh, I see, the bagpipes. Lovely.

Helen: And you should stand up for that part. Then the Chairman will say The Selkirk Grace – it’s like a prayer that Burns wrote. And once everyone has had a drink, the haggis will be piped in too.

Olga: Ah. The haggis – I’ve heard of that. It’s a type of sausage, isn’t it?

Helen: Well it’s more like a pudding made of oats - and meat - and spices.

Olga: Ok, what happens next?

Helen: Usually there’s an address to the haggis …

Olga: Address?

Helen: Not that kind of address! It means a kind of speech …

Olga: To the haggis?

Helen: Yes. Again it’s a poem that Burns wrote …

Olga: To a pudding?

Helen: No it’s called To a Haggis …, Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race! Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy o' a grace as lang's my arm. …something like that. Anyway, after that, it’s cut up and served to everyone with tatties and neeps. Em, potatoes and turnip.

Olga: Sounds delicious.

Helen: It can be – not that I’m too fond of it myself. Then there will be a toast to Rabbie Burns, we usually drink whisky. There will be lots of Scottish music and dancing and the next speech is the toast to the lassies.

Olga: Lassies …?

Helen: Yes, the women. Burns was famous for his love poems and for his love of women.

Olga: Ok then what happens?

Helen: The last speech is called the reply to the lassies and is given by one of the female members of the party.

Olga: Lots of speeches then.

Helen: Aye, but they are meant to be humorous and entertaining, like a lot of Burns’ poems. That’s followed by dancing and singing.

Olga: It sounds like a lot of fun.

Helen: Aye it is. I hope you enjoy it. See you later

Olga: Bye, see you later

ROBERT BURNS SUPPER

The best way to live in Scotland and at the same time to teach English for speakers of other languages is to have an experience and bring the Scottish culture into the classroom, which is absolutely incredible.

On the 25th of January is celebrated Robert Burns anniversary, who was born in 1759 and died in 1797, considered one of the most famous poet. He was humanized and a special and sensible man, who wrote about life, feeling, religion, love, friends, work.

All schools celebrate this memorable date reciting his poems, singing his songs, performing the famous characters, with competitions, presentations, and studying the history of that time. For us it is not different.

We started our class with a gorgeous entrance of a piper, a Scottish man playing the pipes, followed by a lady bringing a tray of Haggis, traditional food made of oat meal, stomach of sheep, spicy and stuff. A poem was recited to Haggis, "Address to a Haggis", and served to every one with some Irn Bru, a traditional Scottish no alcoholic drink, substituting the Whisky.

Then everybody listened and read the script of a dialogue between a Scottish lady and a foreigner introducing the national costume, "The Burns Supper". Some exercises were developed as a listening comprehension and worked by the participants in small groups.

Everybody joined for the dancing, which was great and lots of fun.

A break for some coffee and Scottish shortbread brought a huge smile for the ones who are not used to have a very exciting evening and warm evening.

Why not to close this beautiful celebration with a golden key? Let's sing..."AULD LANG SYNE"...the international song, which very few people know it is Scottish, and written by Robert Burns. Lovely!!!!

MATCH THE WORDS

There are some combination of words we can learn and keep in our minds if we have some time to play with them. A very good activity is to prepare some cards in different colours for verbs and nouns, mix them, and give a set of these cards to each pair of students. Give them some time to match the cards. The ones to finish first start the reading.

Example:


read the newspaper
listen to the radio
answer the telephone
ask a question
sing a song
tell a story
play cards
write a letter
watch television

Just use your imagination. Combine the words you are working and remember...

HAVE FUN!!!!

Winter in Scotland

The holiday winter season is over. But back to school we can enjoy the winter time with lots of funny activities and involve the students in a warm environment. Although it is snowing outside, a very hot cup of tea and some games inside can make the season remarkable.

Enjoy and have fun!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

WRITING SENTENCES

New Year has just started and here I am with lots of perspectives of a very good refreshment to start the term with innovative ideas, , reflecting about methodology and trying different approaches.

I would like to spend more time in reading and writing with my students, and for the first day of classroom, and all the excitement about Christmas time, presents, trips, holiday abroad, the kids want to spread the good news. So, using the topic, I believe it is a good idea to write about it.

Notes:

Use: and, then, because, of, for...

Ask: who, when, what, why, where, how...

Think: make up the story in your mind...

Write at least 3 very good sentences.

Ex:

"Long time ago, my uncle and I went to the store. My uncle bought a bike for me, because I wanted it."

It was written by Gvidas, P2.