The Stallers

I'm never quite sure what to do about students who use their notebooks as a springboard for a career as the next great artist.  In a group class, it isn't such a big deal.  We need to move forward for the sake of the others.  If they want to doodle, so be it.  In a private lesson, it can be excruciating.

One such student frequently kills 10 minutes just getting the date written to his satisfaction.

Me:  Good afternoon.  Did you have a good weekend?

Student:  Yes.  (holds hand up)  Just a moment, please.  (opens backpack, removes books and notebook, thoughtfully opens notebook, flips--page by page--to the first blank sheet)  What's today's date, please?

Me:  October 23rd.

Student:  (beings writing)

Me:  Alright.  Let's get started.  Can I see your homework from last week?

Student:  (holds hand up)  Just a moment, please.  (inexplicably goes over certain parts of certain letters and numbers with pencil)

Me:  Okay.  Let's see that homework.

Student:  (underlines the whole works using a ruler)

Me:  (clearing my throat)

Student:  (says nothing, makes it a double underscore)

Me:  ...and your homework.

Student:  Just let me get out my pens.  (slowly retrieves pens from case, makes sure the green pen is working properly)

Me: (trying to remain cheerful)  Looks good.  Let's go!

Student:  I'm going to test the red too.

Me:  Festive!  And we're off!

Student:  (not a risk taker, doesn't want to chance a misunderstanding during his nightly studying)

Discussion Questions and Conversation Starters: Personality Questions

I use these conversation questions as warm ups, fillers and closing activities.

I also occasionally use them for our weekly guided discussion classes and game nights.

They are better for intermediate students and up, as some of the questions are idiomatic, but I have used them for lower level students with success but lots of assistance on my part.

Download the file at Google Documents here.

Two Word Conversations

I use this simple activity as a warm-up, a time filler and a closing activity.

Lower level students especially like it, because there is not a lot of pressure for accuracy.  Students can practice intonation.  The conversations usually take a turn for the silly.

A:  Weekend?
B:  Good.
A:  Relax?
B:  Yes.
A:  Beach?
B:  No.
A:  Why not?
B:  Sick kids.
A:  Better now?
B:  So-so.
A:  That's good.

Depending on time, I have each partner start a conversation.

Discussion Questions and Conversation Starters: Non-Controversial Questions

(download below)

I use these conversation questions as warm ups, fillers and closing activities.

I also occasionally use them for our weekly guided discussion classes and game nights.

They are better for intermediate students and up, as some of the questions are idiomatic, but I have used them for lower level students with success but lots of assistance on my part.

I have always found that, regardless of level, I have a student or two who manages to kill all discussion with his or her answers.  If the class is oddly numbered, I try to make sure the discussion killer goes into a group of three and change the groups around frequently.

I am not sure why this person doesn't just make something up for the sake of practicing the language, since they are paying for the classes.  When I am practicing the past tense in my Portuguese class and I don't remember what I did last Thursday, I just say I went to the dentist or I met a friend for coffee.  The teacher and my classmates certainly don't care.  But to each their own.

For example:

Question:  "What is the worst food you've ever eaten?"

Discussion killer:  "I like everything."

Question:  "What newspapers do you read?"

Discussion killers:  "I don't like the news."

If you hear this happening over and over again, try to step in and ask follow up questions.  If that doesn't help, sometimes it works if I correct their answers ("You want to say 'I like every type of food.', not 'I like every foods.'") which maybe, sometimes, sorta' highlights that they are not really participating and at least makes the other students in the group aware that the discussion killer is not going unnoticed.

Download the file in Google Documents here.

Funny Quotes from my Classroom

 "Cheecher, I can't concentrate right now.  I hurt my necklace last night.  I need a massage."

Absolute and False Beginner First Lesson

(download the set in 2 parts--nine pages total--below)

The first lesson in almost every absolute and false beginner course I have ever taught deals with using the verb "to be" and the correct use or omission of the indefinite articles "a" and "an".

When it comes to low beginner level classes, I am a die hard lover of a very tightly focused, no-fail, no-frills mechanical practice portion of the lesson.  Especially in the early days of the course, not only does it help with mastery, I think it builds confidence, momentum and motivation.

After introducing the rules (a/an is not used for proper nouns, "a" is used for singular nouns starting with consonants, "an" for singular nouns starting with vowels) I use these cards like this:

Step 1:  singular proper nouns, "Spain is a country.",  "Mexico is a country.", "South America is a continent.", "Europe is a continent.", "Spanish is a language.", "English is a language."

Step 2:  add singular nouns that take an indefinite article, "A bee is an insect.", "An ant is an insect.", "A bear is an animal.", "A cow is an animal.", "A bear is an animal.", "A cow is an animal.", "A computer is a machine.", "A carrot is a vegetable."

Step 3:  plural proper nouns, "Canada and Brazil are countries.", "Tokyo and London are cities.", "Asia and Australia are continents."

Step 4:  plural nouns, "Dogs are animals.", "Bees are insects.", "Bears are animals.", "Computers are machines.", "Carrots are vegetables."

I drill with each separately until mastery then add each section to the first group one by one.  By the end, all of the cards have been integrated and shuffled together.  I end the activity when students are able to make "noun + to be + noun" sentences about all of them.

I try not to include written work yet because it requires explaining rules for spelling plurals.

As a production type activity for this lesson I play a game show style game with a bell in the middle of the table and will call out, for example:  "City."

The first student will ring the bell and make a sentence:  "Lisbon is a city."

If the student gets the sentence right, they call out the next category for their classmates to make a sentence.  If necessary, categories are written on the board.

Me:  "Animals."

Student:  "Bears are animals."

Download the part 1 of the flashcards in Google Documents here.
Download the part 2 of the flashcards in Google Documents here.

Sentence Strips Part 1

(download the set below)

My favorite materials are ones that can be adapted to many grammar points.

These sentence strips are a great example of that.

Using the 100 most commonly used verbs in English, I wrote positive sentences in the simple present in a variety of grammatical persons.  The orange sentences are irregular verbs.  The green sentences are regular verbs.

Students can change the subjects, for example, "she" to "you", the "we" to "I".

She eats breakfast. ------->  You eat breakfast.
We eat breakfast.  ------->  They eat breakfast.

Students can change the positive sentences to negative sentences.

I eat breakfast.  ------->  I don't eat breakfast.

Students can change the sentences to any tense you are working on:

I eat breakfast. ------->  I ate breakfast./I didn't eat breakfast.
I eat breakfast.  -------> I am eating breakfast./I am not eating breakfast.
I eat breakfast.  ------->  I will have eaten breakfast./I will not have eaten breakfast.

Students can make -wh questions:

I drink beer.  ------->  What do you drink?
He eats breakfast on Sunday at his mom's house.  ------->Where does he eat breakfast?
He eats breakfast on Sunday at his mom's house.  ------->  When does he eat breakfast at his mom's house?

Download the first set of sentence strips at Google Documents here.