ESL Fanatics: 7 Pop Culture Elements You Can Use to Engage Your Students (Busy Teacher)

[ELTWeekly Volume 7, Issue 15 | July 27, 2015 | ISSN 0975-3036]

Viral videos, snarky memes, and a cat that is so grumpy it puts all other crabby felines to shame, these are but a few of the pop culture elements that make millions drop what they’re doing to check out the latest craze. Why are these things so addictive? What makes them so irresistible?

What is Pop Culture?

Pop Culture is defined as the set of elements and phenomena that represent the mainstream of any given culture – “pop” is short for “popular”. Within this category, we have images, memes, videos, games and attitudes. It is often opposed to what may be called “high culture”, things like literature and classical music. Pop culture is often seen as superficial and consumerist. These days, it is the main reason people waste countless hours surfing the Internet and watching videos.

Why Use Pop Culture in the ESL Classroom? (more…)

Continue ReadingESL Fanatics: 7 Pop Culture Elements You Can Use to Engage Your Students (Busy Teacher)

Writing together – collaborative writing tasks for elementary learners (Cambridge English Blog)

[ELTWeekly Volume 7, Issue 15 | July 27, 2015 | ISSN 0975-3036]

Collaborative writing can ease the initial difficulties elementary writers have when asked to bring their own ideas onto paper. Here are some of the collaborative writing tasks I rely on in my classroom:

In person, place, type of story, the students use cards in three different colours and describe:

  • the main character of the story by name, age, job etc.
  • the place where the story unfolds. It can be anywhere and students are encouraged to be specific, e.g. a restaurant in a run-down neighbourhood of Chicago.
  • a type of story: love, crime, fantasy, disaster, science fiction, etc.

(more…)

Continue ReadingWriting together – collaborative writing tasks for elementary learners (Cambridge English Blog)

Laura Patsko’s Tips for Teaching Pronunciation (Cambridge English Blog)

[ELTWeekly Volume 7, Issue 15 | July 27, 2015 | ISSN 0975-3036]

1. Make sure you teach pronunciation!
First and foremost on this list of top tips: don’t be afraid of teaching pronunciation! It isn’t just a ‘nice to have’. It affects all areas of language learning – for example, there is evidence that strong reading skills and good phonological awareness go hand in hand.

2. Don’t just teach occasional ‘pronunciation lessons’.
It’s important – and not difficult – to integrate pronunciation throughout the syllabus. For example:

  • always drill new vocabulary items;
  • invite students to compare how they would pronounce something with what they have just heard in a listening clip;
  • invite students to identify words in a reading text that contain a particular sound.

(more…)

Continue ReadingLaura Patsko’s Tips for Teaching Pronunciation (Cambridge English Blog)
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