Talk the talk (Teaching and developing speaking skills)

Step into the world of dynamic and engaging speaking activities that will push your ESL students’ communication skills to new heights! Get ready to ignite their language prowess and have a blast while improving their English skills. Let the excitement begin and dive into the interactive fun that awaits you on this blog post! Let’s kick off this language learning extravaganza together!

Set the story straight (Storytelling activities)

Looking to enhance your English lesson plans and teaching speaking skills in the ESL classroom? Incorporating storytelling can be a fantastic way to engage students in a fun and interactive manner while promoting communication and creativity. Not only does storytelling encourage students to speak and share ideas, but it also improves memory retention and develops critical thinking skills. Keep reading for some creative ideas on incorporating storytelling into your lessons.

Change your tune (Using music in your English lessons)

Looking to jazz up your ESL classroom with some musical magic? Wondering how to boost your students’ listening skills with catchy tunes? Want to add a spark of fun and creativity to your English lessons?  Look into five creative ways to incorporate songs into your English lessons. These game-changing ideas first caught my attention during my CELTA course and the young learner’s extension program in the UK and Spain. Let’s explore the incredible impact of using songs in your ESL lesson for a dynamic learning experience!

London calling (Planning a weekend getaway to London)

Are you ready to embark on an exciting journey to London? Have you ever wondered what fun activities you can do in this vibrant city? Get ready for a thrilling ESL lesson where you and your students will dive into the world of London!

Flip the script (Practising question structures)

Are you ready to “flip the script” in your ESL classroom? Let’s practice question structures in a fun and engaging way!Here’s how it works:

Your guess is as good as mine (vocabulary revision part 3)

The second version of the activity(see my previous post) is just slightly different. This version can be used with any vocabulary set that you want to review or reuse, such as from a previous lesson. Let students work individually or divide them into teams and assign one, two, or three words that you would like them to reuse. Instruct the students to write a short story in three sentences incorporating the assigned words. Then, allow each team to read out their stories and have the other teams guess the words in the story.

This exercise not only reinforces students’ memory of the vocabulary but also enables them to check the meaning and understanding of the words by using them correctly in a sentence.

A perfect match (vocabulary revision part 2)

While teaching in Vietnam and Spain, I came across a fun vocabulary activity which I later modified with my own twist. It’s a great way to review or practice vocabulary. Let me introduce two versions of this activity to you.

Race against time (Vocabulary revision for young learners)

Let’s rev up our engines and get ready to race through some vocabulary words! 

This activity was introduced to me by a fellow teacher in Spain and it is not only perfect for reviewing a variety of vocabulary topics but also ideal for preparing young learners for exams.

I’m all eyes and ears (A twist on using short videos in the ESL classroom)

Do you incorporate short videos into your English class? Looking to add a fun twist to your lesson? This activity requires a bit of preparation, but it’s worth it!

Break the news (Focus on listening)

Get your English class warmed up with this engaging activity using BBC One-minute  World News. Each day, they cover four news headlines that are perfect for this exercise. I was first introduced to this activity by a fellow teacher during my time in Italy.