E V O L V E S C H O O L: British Council TeachingEnglish 12 December 2012

TeachingEnglish Newsletter

12 December 2012

Regular readers will know that the TeachingEnglish website has hosted a number of Guest Writers. Why not have a look at our archive where you can find articles and blogs by ELT luminaries such as Adrian Underhill, Carol Read and Michael Swan.

LearnEnglish Teens

Welcome to our new website with material especially designed for teenage learners.

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LearnEnglish
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BritLit
The aim of BritLit is to help teachers from around the world to exploit English literature in the ELT classroom.

Premier Skills

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English Agenda
The British Council's UK home for ELT and research

Welcome to the latest edition of the TeachingEnglish newsletter!

This week we have a new blog of the month - Designer Lessons by George Chilton. In his latest post 'What's the story', George offers a lesson plan in which students are asked to create a narrative using images, build their vocabulary and write a biography for homework.

We also have a range of speaking activites to motivate lower level learners, a reading lesson based on a text about Inca society and a useful tip on exploiting tape scripts. And if you're thinking of trying arts and crafts with your young learners this festive season, this week's article considers how to ensure a successful activity and fun in the classroom.

And finally, on Wednesday 19th December you can join us live for a festive Dickensian Christmas event.

Enjoy!

Deb

TeachingEnglish Team | British Council | BBC

Featured blog of the month for November

Designer Lessons is a blog run by George and his colleague Neil McMillan and is designed to provide lessons which aim to engage and promote conversation in a semi-controlled way. There are several fantastic lesson ideas for all ages and levels.

Motivating speaking activities for lower levels

These activities are all designed to motivate lower level learners to speak in pairs or small groups. They are relatively short, with minimal materials preparation time for the teacher. They are designed for use as a warmer or a filler in the middle or at the end of a class.

A Dickensian Christmas

On December 19, The British Council will host a special event and stream it live online, to celebrate the UK's great novelist Charles Dickens. Tune in to Teaching English from Friday 7 December to count down twelve Dickensian days of Christmas with blog posts from Dickens enthusiasts, facts about Dickens' life and work and free resources for using Dickens in the classroom.

The Inca: A lost society

Reading can be a very solitary activity, but this lesson has been designed to maximise the amount of communication and interaction among the students, so that they work collaboratively and develop their own opinions about the content of the text.

Exploiting tape scripts

When I do extended listening exercises using pre-recorded material, I always have a photocopy of the tape script ready for the learners. I sometimes give this to them after we have finished comprehension activities and get them to read and listen again.

Arts and crafts with young learners

Using arts and crafts in the classroom can be an excellent way to facilitate language learning with young learners. Below are some reasons why these types of activities can enrich the learning experience for your students, followed by some practical considerations I bear in mind when teaching English through arts and crafts.