17 jul 2014

by | in Games, Grammar, Lesson Ideas, Teacher Development, Vocabulary

Some teachers see warmers, ice-breakers and fillers as basically different ways to say the same thing. In fact, they are quite different. While ice-breakers are usually meant to help students get to know each other better, the objective of warmers is to get them ready for a certain topic or task.  Fillers, on the other hand, are activities that don´t require much time or preparation, and are designed to finish a topic or a class on a lighter note, or to review vocabulary before the next part of...

13 jul 2014

by | in Educational Technology, Games, Grammar, Lesson Ideas, Technology

Olá, pessoal! Lá, no agora distante, primeiro post que fiz para este blog, prometi que iria falar de alguns aplicativos para dispositivos móveis, os famosos apps.  Pois bem, como sou bem pragmático, vamos direto ao assunto: seguem, abaixo, algumas dicas de programas que podem ser baixados, gratuitamente, para qualquer dispositivo que suporte iOS, o sistema operacional da Apple (iPod, iPad, iPhone). Peço desculpas aos usuários de Android: como não sou um usuário desse sistema, nem todas as dicas são para vocês. Mas prometo que vou trazer mais coisas para este...

23 jun 2014

by | in Classroom Experiences, Games, Vocabulary

I enjoy playing games in the classroom. And I know my students do too, especially the young learners and teenagers (even though teachers of adult students know that many times adults really enjoy playing games too.) I've recently bought a game called "Hit or Miss" to use with my students. The obvious main aim of the game is to review vocabulary, but I've thought of a couple of other pedagogical uses for it in the classroom. And I thought I'd share this game here, because I believe other teachers...

24 maio 2014

by | in Games, Pronunciation

Here’s one more post with ideas and suggestions for helping our learners become aware of pronunciation areas which are essential for their intelligibility, and overcome their difficulties. This time let’s focus on a very common Brazilian pronunciation problem which fortunately teachers and more recent course books (like Richmond's new English ID series) have been giving more attention to lately than they used to do a few years ago. That’s the mispronunciation of initial R’s as H’s because of the way the letter R is pronounced in that position in...

15 mar 2014

by | in Educational Technology, Games, Technology, Vocabulary

Já ouvi muitas pessoas torcerem a cara para jogos de video game: são violentos, viciantes… Nada de bom parece vir desses brinquedos “malditos”. Entretanto, há mais benefícios do que se pode perceber e que eu, como um gamer de longa data (e estudioso dos efeitos do lúdico na aprendizagem), poderia elencar aqui. Mas como este é um blog para professores de inglês, acho que cabe alguns comentários acerca de como o jogos de video game podem ser uma ferramenta a mais para nossos alunos aperfeiçoarem seus conhecimentos linguísticos. Os...

22 fev 2014

by | in Games

Around this time, teachers and students all over Brazil are returning to their English classes. It’s time to check whether kids remember grammar topics and vocabulary or not after two months on vacation. Preparing ELT classes demands more creativity at this first moment than during the year. Teachers need to engage students in the learning process again. Games are taken for granted as meaningful and enjoyable activities for students at any level.  In my career, I have used plenty of them to motivate kids and teenagers to use language....

13 fev 2014

by | in Games

Olá! Uma das minhas técnicas favoritas (tema do meu trabalho de conclusão de curso e do meu mestrado), que venho usando há alguns anos em sala de aula, é o uso do RPG como uma ferramenta de ensino. O termo é geralmente associado a jogos de videogame, como Final Fantasy e World of Warcraft. Mas estou falando dos também chamados tabletop RPG, ou RPG de mesa. RPG é a sigla de role-playing game, e mistura elementos de duas outras atividades: as brincadeiras de faz-de-contas e contar histórias. Resumidamente, um jogador...

01 fev 2014

by | in Educational Technology, Games, Technology

It all starts when you are organizing the room where you teach. And there are many questions we should ask ourselves when doing that… Am I going to have a big table or many small tables? A board? Chairs? Desks? Posters? Pictures? Books? Games? A stereo? A projector? A computer? A cell phone? What about seating arrangements? Students have to feel their room is a unique place which will also help them in their learning process and will nurture their creativity. Creativity strikes again when you are planning your...

06 jan 2014

by | in Games

Here’s a small teaching present for January 6, one you might be able to use in class at the beginning of your new term.  It’s based on a TV game show called Family Fortunes. If you don’t know the show, click here to see an episode, or here to read the Wikipedia entry. Basic procedure 1 ask students to brainstorm  five typical new year’s resolutions. (You may need to make sure they’re clear on the whole concept of new year’s resolutions, what they are, who makes them and why). 2 Tell...