Audio Book Quizzes

I usually share links to audiobooks as well. We read a lot in class, so I know they are practicing that skill, but sometimes listening is more convenient. They can listen as they are doing the dishes, showering, cooking and other times that it can be a bit difficult to read a book.

Secondly, it can help my ESL students hear proper pronunciation or words. Even with my non-ESL students, this is nice because when we read books like Things Fall Apart, they can hear the African names spoken as they should be spoken.

Finally, in some cases, they can listen to the text as they read it. In some cases there are websites set up to do this. For example, with The Great Gatsby  the website ESLBits actually has the text and the audio book on the same webpage. Even when the audio and text are separate, students can still read and listen at the same time.

Students can actually purchase mp3s of the audiobook (or often find them free online). In the future, I want students to create their own audiobooks, but for this semester I wanted them to do something a bit different.

In the case off Things Fall Apart, the chapters worked perfectly for the project I wanted to do with my class. Each student was assigned a chapter to make a triv that would help the other students listen and check comprehension.

Here are the steps and a finished project.

STEP 1 - Setting the Stage
We used a triv in the class, so students could see what they looked like. We have used these before, but if you haven't I'd be sure to use one.

In my class we had read Yeat's poem, "The Second Coming," to prepare to read, Things Fall Apart. The next class we did a quick review on the poem by using this triv. (Triv is what www.blubbr.tv calls their trivia games)

STEP 2- Explaining YouTube Videos
I introduce how to listen to the book on YouTube. Most students seem to really be amazed by this concept. They never considered looking for audiobooks on a site for mainly videos.




STEP 3 - Setting the Assignment
I treat this as an individual outside of school activity. They are each assigned one chapter. They need to find the chapter online, and use it to make a triv. We do a sample with the first two minutes of Chapter 1. They need

1. Find an audiobook of their chapter
2. To create a triv for their chapter
• They need at least FIVE questions regarding the plot (or basic comprehension)
• They need at least TWO questions regarding vocabulary (or literary /rhetorical skills)

They send these links to me and I share them with the rest of the class who can use them to study.

STEP 4 -  On Their Own
Then students are on their own! I made these videos to help them.

Here's the video on how to sign up for an account:


Here's one on making triv:



I love this project because students are helping one another, and they become experts on one chapter.

Here's a Triv one of my students made

How do you use Trivs in your class?

41st ELT Blog Carnival: Teaching with Humor

Humor is more than just a funny face!

Welcome to the 41st ELT Blog Carnival! For quite some time I have had an obsession with using humor in the class. I find the more my students laugh, the more they learn! It seems I am not alone as this carnival has ten other teachers eager to share how they use humor in the classroom.

My hope is that you go through these blog posts and the descriptions intrigue you enough to click on the blog posts and get inspiration on how to get your students to laugh a little and relax enough to really learn.

Enjoy :-)

 1. Nick has an amazing collection of comedic sketches on YouTube. His contribution to the blog carnival is a list of DOs and DON'Ts when using these clips in the classroom. He uses several examples on different occasions these clips fit well in class and I am sure you'll be excited about using some of them in your classroom. Read more: Using "COMEDY FOR ELT" clips

2. David has a great blog to get you laughing that comes from his lessons in a can series of blog posts. It contains several links with jokes you can use including a slide with 22 jokes! You can have your students listen to these be read, or you can use them as reading activities. As David says, "it can be very funny and it is a good way to lighten up the day/lesson!"  Read more of the jokes for yourself at his blog post with: Funny Jokes

3. Alina has created a super cute blog filled with comics. Each of these comics contains a joke that uses the grammar form her students are learning. What a great way to use visuals to help students really comprehend jokes! I love how she was able to find so many jokes that fit her grammar needs perfectly. Interested? You can read it for yourself at her blog: Grammar With Comix


4. Here is a great oldie by Ivan Sokolov! It was originally published by the Bulgarian English Teachers' Association IAFTEL in 2001! It is a really well researched article on how and why humor is effective in the class. Be sure to read it to get a better idea of how and more importantly why to use Humor in the EFL Classroom

5. Vicki Hollet has created some lovely and informative videos for English Language Learners. This video is a short and humorous example of how to handle a phone call if you are busy. If you are looking for an example to use in class this is perfect! The grammar is simple, the humor is obvious, and the pronunciation is clear. Be sure to watch the video How to Handle Calls When You're Busy


6. I am a huge fan of using short videos in class! The Alltac blog has a great lesson using a funny video about students taking a make-up exam. In addition to the video being funny there are two pages of teachers notes. One page gives you ideas of how to incorporate the lesson, and the other page gives you materials for an activity. See the video and read more at the Alltac Blog.

7. Emily Richardson 's blog covers a plethora of ways to get students laughing in class. From fake mustaches, jokes, stories or just general vocabulary Emily has plenty of ways you can get your students giggling. You can read the rest of her blog post titled "Laughter is the best medicine." (Be sure you check out the cheer-leading video at the bottom of her post! It makes me smile every time!)

8. Roberta wrote a great post for World Laughter day back in May. She goes through the reasons humor is great in class (I agree with every single one of them!), as well as some sites that you can use to find jokes. Finally she goes through a simple way to use jokes in the class that could be adapted to work with so many different levels. World Laughter Day 

9. Raquel has a FANTASTIC lesson that's funny and practical! She uses clips from Friends as a starting point for discussing stress and other medical symptoms. In addition to clips, she also has QR codes set up for infographics. Raquel assures me that this lesson went over really well with her students, and I can see why! See for yourself: Explaining Symptoms

10. How does summarizing a movie make students laugh? When they do it in 5 seconds! It wouldn't be a blog carnival without a contribution from Larry Ferlazzo. I get a lot of my English game ideas from Ellen; Larry seems to get a lot of his from Jimmy Fallon! This is a quick post where he points out that one of the more recent games Jimmy Fallon played with his guests could be used in class. Read his post (and see a video) and I am sure you'll find a way to get your students laughing over this game:  Jimmy Fallon's Game

11. Finally, originally I was going to make a post on some jokes I use for reading comprehension. However, my summer became much busier than I expected. Instead I offer a fantastic doodling activity to do with students. It is a great way to practice adjectives, relative clauses, complex sentences etc. The exciting part about this game is students are ALWAYS interested. They are usually laughing half the class! I love when they have fun and learn! See for yourself: Doodling for Complex Sentences

I hope you enjoyed reading this carnival as much as I enjoyed putting it together. As always I encourage you to share the carnival with other teachers you feel may interested. As a special incentive we have FOUR funny items that the carnival contributors have put up for raffle:

• There are THREE Digital Prizes to be won

• From Emily you have the chance to receive a copy of her Pirate Joke book! 
• David's goodie is a PowerPoint with audio filled with Funny Stories, the printables that go with it, worksheets that go with the lesson and a Joke of The Day PowerPoint.
• Vicki has offered the worksheets that go with the amusing video on how to handle phone calls when you're busy.
• In addition to these great digital prizes, to show everyone you appreciate the humor found in English, I will send this, "You've cat to be kitten be right meow" iPhone 4 case you can proudly display. (Note as this will be mailed, only people with U.S. addresses can win. If the winner of the three digital prizes does NOT have a U.S. address, another winner for the phone case will be selected).

The contest will run for one week and then the winner will be announced. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Mad Gab (A perfect game for pronunciation practice)

Have you ever seen a game and thought, "This was MADE for my classroom." If you teach pronunciation in your classroom this game is PERFECT for you!

What's the premise of the game?

1. The game is basically a collection of 1,200 "puzzles" that you try to get your teammates to guess.
2. One person will read the puzzle. For example, "Bail heed ant sir."
3. Their teammates will try to figure out what is really being said.

This is a GREAT game for all the different types of blended speech. When we say, "Bail heed ant sir" we usually end up saying something like, "Bellee dants ir" which sounds an awful lot like, "Belly Dancer!"

Here's a commercial with another example:


The goal is to solve three puzzles before time runs out! With my students we normally play a simpler version where they get 1 minute. In that minute they have to try to guess as many as they can. Then it is the next team's turn.

Now, there is a website  where you can access similar puzzles for free; however, I think buying the game is worth it because it comes with this handy card holdy flippy thing (I know that's an awful description), and I think that students realizing they are playing a real game (not just one designed for English language learners) is helpful to their self esteem.

If you read the actual directions (and I always do) they include the role of the coach. I encourage this! The coach knows the answer and tries to guide the guessers by giving them pronunciation advice such as, "Put more emphasis on the first syllable," or "Speak faster!" The coach needs to be at a high-ish English level, so the teacher is an easy fit. However, many students can do it as well.

Now, I think buying the full size game is worth it; however, if the price is too high (normally over $20), you have other options. They also have a travel version for UNDER $5! It is only 240 puzzles, but a great start for your class.

I'll end with this older Tweet from Mattel

Try saying this Mad Gab three times fast and slow then post the answer below! “Nosed Ring Sat Hatched.”
— Mattel Game On! (@MattelGameOn) April 3, 2014

What do you think, "Nosed Ring Sat Hatched" is really trying to say? Post in the comments and I'll let you know if you are right!

Jenga in the classroom

Everyone loves playing Jenga. If you watch the video below even cats fall victim to this addicting game! 

How can we take this fun game and make it educational?

There are several ways!

To start: I usually play Jenga with students AT LEAST in groups of two. This way they can help one another. Remember that Jenga technically can be played with unlimited players, but in order to keep students involved I suggest no more then 4 groups.


1. Make it part of a review game.

• Divide your class into two-four teams.
• Have students alternate coming to the front of the class
• Ask a review question. 
• The first student to answer the question correctly wins two point for their team
• Then comes the Jenga... there's a few ways to do this
• They can choose if they want to pull a block, or have the other team pull a block
• They can pull a block, if they get the answer right then the opposition has to put the block on the top. If they got the answer wrong their team has to put the block on the top.
• You can make it point based by assigning a point value to the blocks gets one point, but if you make the tower tumble your team loses 10 points!
• Alternatively, you can just make it so the first team to make the tower fall loses.

2. Make it conversational

• Put conversation questions on the Jenga blocks. 
• You can use a label maker to do this
• The blocks are 1.5 × 2.5 × 7.5, so you can also use labels you can print from the computer.
• Alternatively, you can write directly on the block in sharpie (or other permanent marker). Some teachers use pencil so they can reuse the blocks later.
• Each time a student pulls the block they need to answer the question AND ask it to someone else.
• Depending on the level these can be easy questions (what's your favorite food) or harder questions (If you met God tomorrow what three questions would you ask and why?)
• An alternative would be to make this similar to truth or dare. Have a "dare" on one side, and a "truth" on the other. If the student doesn't want to answer the question they can do the dare. Keep them English related! Have them mime a vocabulary word, or sing a verse of their favorite English song.

Photo by Edgarc2

3. Use it for vocabulary practice

•  Start a story and then have a child pull the block. 
• Using the word they pull they have to continue the story. 
• If the tower falls they need to quickly end the story
• While you are telling the story have the whole class write their own version using the blocks pulled. See how many different stories you get at the end!
• This is GREAT with transition words (First, Then, After, Thus, etc.)

4.  Make it a station / center!
If you use stations   (or centers) in the classroom, I think you can easily see how this would be a great station for small groups of students.

• If you want to be able to use one Jenga game with multiple subjects you can have each of the blocks have a number. This number can correspond to a worksheet that the students have with different questions / vocabulary words.
• Students work together to try to answer as many questions as they can!
•  An alternative to questions is to have them work with grammar. For example, if you were working on tag questions perhaps you would write out things like, "Do you own a car?- Negative" and students would need to change it to, "You don't own a car, do you?"

5. For pronunciation

Photo By:  jam343

• If you notice your students are  struggling with some minimal pairs or a tricky sound have this game focus on that!
• This is a free download that has words focusing on S / R made into ready to print labels.
• This printable is setup for K and G. Rather than write on the blocks, it is suggested that you color them and let students grab the matching card to practice. 

6. Treat it like science!

• There's a great freebie on TPT using Jenga to help with inference. This idea is great to help students with expressing their opinions, and thoughts. 
• Because I know this, I think this will happen.
• Also great to have students practice making predictions! 

7. Alphabet Jenga

• This isn't the most academic Jenga, but it is easy and fun. Have students randomly select a category (food, sports, countries, clothing, verbs, animals etc.).
• I normally put them in pairs and they can help their partner.
• When they pull a block they need to say a word in that category with their letter.
• Letters can go in turn (A first, then B, then C, etc.)
• Letters can be written on the block. 
• In this case it can be fun to have the letters written on the square outside that students can see. This way they have some time to think of a word before they select it. They also need to think about location as well as which letters are easier.
• I tend to use the game like this for fast finishers, or if I am having a game day in the class. It could be used with stations / centers for vocabulary practice.  

BONUS!

Make any of these games even more fun by using a GIANT jenga set. Simply ask parents / students for donations of empty "fridge boxes" normally filled with soda. When you get enough (27-30 boxes) you can cover them with wrapping paper, or to try to mimic the appearance of the original Jenga set use contact paper designed to look like wood! Check out LockInLoaded's Blog for a sample of the finished product. Students will love playing with a big set, and if you use any of the games listed above they'll still be learning!
 
There you go seven different ways to use Jenga in the classroom! As you can see many of these ideas could be used for math, science, social studies or any other class! A lot of these are perfect for the end of the year, so I hope you enjoy yourselves!

Popcorn Reading

I like having students read out loud sometimes. It doesn't need to be a whole story. It just can be the questions and sentences in a grammar assignment, or the directions to an assignment.

Why?

I really focus on pronunciation errors since I already know what they are trying to say, and I don’t need to focus on the content as much as when they are speaking.

This is also how I have discovered some of my students were dyslexic. Not when they make small mistakes, but when I notice they commonly are mixing up bigger words like, “coffee” instead of “office.” These bigger mistakes are often corrected when typing, so reading a set text is the only time I hear them.

There are also many students who show respect when the teacher is talking, but they don’t show respect when other students are talking. By having other students read out loud this gives students a chance to practice respect for one another, not just an authority figure.

How?

One way that I read is called, “Popcorn reading.” The first time I use popcorn reading in class I make to to explain it carefully. The explanation usually goes like this:

“Does anyone know what popcorn is?”
“How do you make it?”
“When you make popcorn do the kernels pop randomly or in order?”
“That’s right it’s random. So, when you start reading you read until I say popcorn. Some people will read a little longer than others. After I’ve said popcorn someone else will read until I say popcorn again. Does everyone understand?”
To make sure they understand, you can ask: “When do you stop reading?” “What word will make you stop?” “Does everyone read the same amount?” ”Are people called in a specific order?”

To start, “Great, are there any volunteers, or shall I pick the first reader?”

Why do I like it?

1. It keeps things random. When students don’t know when they will be called they have to read along with everyone, instead of counting how many people will read until it is there turn and ignoring everything else.
2. It also makes it easy to differentiate. Yes, I claim that it is random, but I can tell a student I know struggles with reading, “On Wednesday I am going to call on you to read the second paragraph on page 22. Why don’t you practice it at home a few times, so you can be sure you are ready.” This way they are still participating, but they will have the time to practice and not worry so much about making a fool out of themselves.
3. Students think it is fun! I don’t know if it is because the word popcorn is silly or because they feel like it is a game(you win by paying attention), but they seem to enjoy it.

Variations

• After you say popcorn, you call out a student’s name. This is helpful because you can select harder passages for students who are best capable of reading them, or you can call on students who are visibly not paying attention.
• After you say popcorn, ask a question about what was just read. The student who answers the question gets to read next.
• After you say popcorn, use a random number generator (or class cards, or Popsicle sticks) to really show you are “making popcorn” and choosing randomly.
• After you say popcorn the student who was reading gets to call the next name. They like this because they get to pick their friends or crushes. I admit I use this the first weeks when I am trying to get used to the new names.
• You may want to make the rule that people CAN be picked more than once in a reading. This doesn’t really fit with the popcorn theme, but it keeps them on their toes. If it is a class that does NOT exhibit bullying and they are picking the next reader, I often let them pick the same student over and over again, but ONLY when I know the class (and student) well enough. With the right student the class laughs and the person feels like the center of attention. GREAT for students who love the limelight.

That’s it. A super easy way to have your students read in class. How do you like to have your students read aloud?

Confusing Words 1

STRIPPING STRIPES
The first day of class in the Spring semester we played a review game covering everything they should have learned from their class in the fall. One of the queries was as follows:Combine the following sentences:

The cat lives on campus. The cat has stripes.

I look over and see one group talking. They aren't using Spanish (YAY) but one student in the group is visibly confused and begins to mime whirling something over her head. Her classmates quickly laugh and shake their heads, "No... not strip! Stripes" and then they mime drawing stripes on their arms.Important distinction.

If your students need a reminder it may be a good time to cover spelling rules. The "magic e" makes the i says it's own name (long vowel). Without the  "magic e" the i can't make its own name (short vowel)

SWEET SWEAT
My students were writing opinion essays on business practices. One student had come to me after class for some advice about his essay against sweat shops. 

First let's start with praise. He correctly differentiated between sweat and sweet (which is something I see native speakers mess up sometimes). 

You can remember the spelling a few different ways.  Some people remember HEAT makes you SWEAT. Others that MEAT is not SWEET (so meat and swee
t use different vowels).

Even though my student got that part right, he did make a small mistake with one of his supporting ideas.

TASTE TEST
"An example of the horrible conditions of sweat shops is that the women are fired if they are found pregnant. To make sure they are not hiding their pregnancy the sweat shop tastes women to see if they are pregnant."

After I read this I smiled. "So did they lick the workers to see if they were pregnant?" 

He was shocked by the question, but quickly figured out that taste and test were in fact different words.

MEET THE MEAT To end, this one wasn't in my class but a blog comment on an earlier post prompted me to add it.

  Does anyone else think of the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy when students mix these up?

I am starting to collect commonly missed words, so let me know if you need a visual to help you and/or your students in the comments, by twitter or Facebook.

Pronunciation and the Punchline

Here's a YouTube video of the recent class I held as part of WizIQs eltTechniques MOOC (it is still going on now and you can join to watch the sessions remaining live AND catch recordings of the ones passed)



Overall I rambled too much, but I covered some great ways to include jokes in your pronunciation lessons. If you are interested go ahead and give it a look. If you use jokes in your class to focus on teaching pronunciation in some other way I'd LOVE to hear about it.

Please get in touch with me, so I can learn form you :)

Phonetic Punctuation

I am using a quote from Victor Borge in tomorrow's presentation...which made me realize I had no idea who he was. So I looked him up...and he is hilarious! This is one of his sketches on "Phonetic Punctuation" There are two videos below where he explains it.

The first one is a bit rougher, but subtitled in English. The second one is cleaner without subtitles (and somehow I think not as funny).






What do you think, would it be easier if instead of using intonation when we spoke we had sounds that marked the place of punctuation?

A punny book! Pun Enchanted Evenings

People often ask me where I come up with puns and jokes that I use in class. For the most part I remember them, but I also read up on joke books and twitter jokes sometimes.

A recent purchase is from David R. Yale! His book Pun Enchanted Evenings: A Treasury of Wit, Wisdom, Chuckles and Belly Laughs for Language Lovers -- 746 Original Word Plays has 746 funny puns!

Not all of them are perfect for the classroom, but a lot of them are. Since Wednesday I presented on teaching pronunciation with humor  I thought I'd pick out ten of his puns that show different types of connected speech.


The jokes in red show examples of connected speech where consantants and vowels connect to one another making parts of separate words sound like they are only one word: 
  
What bodily function tells you to use the bathroom?
Urinate sense! (Your innate sense)

What do you call a hotel with a really bad fiddle player?
A vile inn (violin)

Why should you use a pencil to draw a level line?
If you use a pen you get an ink line. (incline)

Why can't you agree with everything your spouse says today?If you did that, it would make it, "Yes, dear! day." (Yesterday)

How is an honest ant like a student who misses class?
They are both true ant. (truant)

The blue puns show that when the same sound (or similar sounds) ends one word and starts the next, we tend to only pronounce the sound once. 
  
What would you call a narcissistic sea creature?
Self Fish (Selfish) 

What would you call a tan gotten on horseback at a high altitude?
A mount tan (mounatin)

The jokes in purple show us that since English is a stress based language often syllables become unstressed. For example, mother will become motha.
 
What would you call a lock that keeps a hacker in Tampa from accessing your  records?
Tampa Proof (Tamper proof)

What would you call a machine that made fuel out of soda pop?
A coca coaler (coca cola) The unstressed shwa takes over the "er"

What is a gamblers version of heaven?
A para of dice (paradise)

To be honest I did not like all 746 puns, but at least 500 of them made me smile, and the vast majority were very unique. If you are looking for a solid pun book to dig up some treasures in class it is worth checking out less than $10 for the paperback and less than $4 for the e-book.

Alternatively you can add @bestpuns on Twitter where puns are shared for free!

Where do you usually find your jokes or puns?

Blubbr as a Listening Tool

Always nice to find a new tool!

I had the chance to catch Shelly Terrel this weekend and learned about an easy and fast tool to use.

Blubbr is a super easy site that  makes "games" which basically ask questions based on short chunks of YouTube videos.

Since I am talking about pronunciation on Wednesday (If you haven't joined the eltmooc yet there's still time!)

I took an older comedian sketch by the Two Ronnies. The sketch is based on a fun encounter of a clerk who can't understand what a customer wants. It is a great way for students to see how pronunciation (and listening) are important to everyday exchanges AND the use of humor of which I am a huge fan.  

If you laughed a bit, and you feel like your students would enjoy it, then I think you'll enjoy Wednesday's class.

Upcoming Pronunciation Presentation

I am really excited (and honored) about presenting in WizIQs current MOOC on pronunciation and listening. My presentation will be on using humor (mainly jokes) in the classroom to help students with pronunciation issues such as minimal pairs and connected speech.

The power of connected speech is everywhere, and it can be pretty tricky for English Language Learners! 

For example: Luis d'Antin van Rooten wrote: "Un petit d'un petit S'étonne aux Halles. Un petit d'un petit Ah! degrés te fallent. Indolent qui ne sort cesse Indolent qui ne se mène. Qu'importe un petit d'un petit Tout Gai de Reguennes."
To those that understand French, this is just a bunch of nonsense French words. However, once it is spoken through the powers of connected speech most English speakers will clearly hear, "Humpty Dumpty" in a strong French accent.



You can see examples of how what we here is different than what we read all over pop culture Avant Garde A Clue is another example.

Pronunciation and listening are really closely linked! Students must be able to hear and understand reduced forms and other connected speech examples.

I "Mustach" you a question

Ice Cream or  I scream

Mustache or Must Ask

Red eye or  Red dye
Alaska or I'll ask her

Saturday or Saturday

A night train or A night rain

An ocean or A notion

and so many more! Should they be able to hear the difference? Should they be able to differentiate this when spoken?

This can be tricky, frustrating, and exhausting... but can it also be fun?

Well, show up on Wednesday to support my little presentation and I hope you'll find at least one way to help your learners.

In short, on Wednesdays I plan to talk about:

• Why humor is great in the classroom.
• Types of humor that we, as teachers, can use
• Other reasons jokes are effective in class
• Types of jokes that work well for pronunciation
• How I use jokes in my classroom

This presentation will probably not change your life. However, it will probably help you consider another way to make your classroom a friendlier environment.

I would really appreciate anyone who has the time to log in and show up on Wednesday. It is free :)

• Noon in Mexico You can enjoy this during your lunch!
• 7pm in London which is a perfect time for you to enjoy this before or after your dinner.
• 8pm in Madrid this gives you plenty of time to enjoy and then grab diiner

If you aren't already part of this great MOOC I'd suggest you check it out! In essence it helps teachers with different ways to teach pronunciation and listening. It is free, and all the recordings are there, so you can check out the ones you missed. Most importantly, it is with a really great group of people.