Own Your Learning - Jeremy Harmer

I recently attended a webinar hosted by Jeremy Harmer, author of several ESL books. The webinar was to promote his new series, Just Right .

I have a copy of the book, and it looks great. It is an integrated skills text, that would fit in any classroom.

However, I wanted to talk about one of Harmer's ideas that he discussed. The idea was for students to take ownership over their learning. By this, what he meant was for teachers to help students gain a better understanding of what and why they are learning. His examples were with vocabulary, which he had placed in three categories:

• Trash Can
• Refrigerator
• Suitcase

After teaching new vocabulary, the teacher was supposed to ask the student which section each new word would go into. He broke it down like this: Words they think they will never use should go in the trash can; they can forget those ones. Words they might use later in life, like in university or their careers, go into the refrigerator; keep them fresh and save them for later. Finally, words the students think they will use all the time go in the suitcase; Take those words around with them wherever they go.

I loved the analogy, and I loved the idea. As he commented, many teachers are always telling students, "learn this" and "remember that". Why not get the students to show deeper interest in what they learn and why?


If you want more info on Harmer, here is his blog:

Jeremy Harmer's Blog


What do you think about this idea? Do you have any interesting ways to get students to take ownership of their learning? I would love to hear them.

ESL Game Shows

Television game shows can make for some of the best ESL classroom activities. 

Here is a list of my favourite game shows to use in class. I am not going to explain the games too much, so I will assume you have a basic knowledge of how they are played. If not, you can find more information on each game in the comments.

Family Feud

This one works well because the topics are limitless, and you can adjust them for your needs. Most of the time I simply invent the top 4 answers and give them a point value. The joke with my students is that they eventually realize the answers are not from what 100 people say, and just what I made up, which leads to "We asked what one ESL teacher thinks...."

Works best with two teams of about 3-7.

Deal or No Deal

This one doesn't really help to practice a lot of English skills, but the students sure do love it. All you need to do is predetermine where the money values are out of 10 boxes. 

I secretly write down the numbers 1-10, and then write a money value beside it. Students can work in teams to choose the number of the box that I have on the board. As the different values are eliminated I stop and offer them a sum, which they can take or continue playing. The teams are in competition to see who can win the most money.

Works best with two teams of 4-5.

Jeopardy

This one is perhaps the best for practicing grammar. First, the answers always have to be in the form of a question, which gets them practicing questions right away. 

Second, each category can be a different grammar topic, like verb tenses. Or, you can simply play with trivia questions, and let the students focus more on having fun and structuring their answers as questions.

Works best with around 5-10.

Wheel of Fortune

Still the classic vocabulary building game, that also helps with spelling. This game is essentially just a more advanced version of Hangman, but if you have more time it is lots of fun. Just make sure you have the right number of blank spaces on the board, because it's a disaster when the word doesn't fit.

Works best with 5-10, but can be played with larger numbers.

These four games make for lots of fun in class. They can be played with an extra 10-15 minutes at the end of the lesson, or a whole session can be dedicated to playing them.

Does anyone else have any other ideas about game shows that work well in the ESL class? I'm still trying to work out how to play The Price is Right, but I can't seem to find where I can buy a Plinko board....

ESL Blogs

I have been looking around the Internet lately trying to find some good blogs for English teachers. I find many of them are similar, and I am continuing to look for real good blogs.

Does anyone know any good blogs that have ideas for ESL teachers? This could include games, activities, worksheets, lesson plans, etc.

If you have any ideas, leave a comment. I will post a list of the best blogs soon.

Focus On Grammar - ESL Book Reviews

Focus on Grammar is one of the most popular series of textbooks designed for students learning English.

The series is now in its 3rd edition and has 5 levels:


Focus on Grammar 1
Focus on Grammar 2
Focus on Grammar 3
Focus on Grammar 4
Focus on Grammar 5


As the title suggests, the books focus on the grammar component of learning English. The units are divided into sections on various grammar topics. However, each section has reading, writing, speaking, and listening exercises that support the main grammar topic. This, of course, is in addition to the several grammar exercises.

The grammar exercises follow a similar format throughout the series, which creates a continuity that students can rely on. The exercises begin with basic structure questions achieved through fill in the blank style questions. As the unit progresses, the questions increase in difficulty and become more abstract. Common activities include correcting grammar mistakes in written work, or using time lines to compare grammar structures.

The beginning of the chapters display the grammar topic in a reading selection. These selections are modeled on real-world situations such as newspapers, email, memos, or movie reviews. This is especially useful for teachers as it provides a reading exercise that prominently features a specific grammar topic. To give you an example, one such reading discusses the movie It's a Wonderful Life and how it uses the 3rd conditional. Throughout the text, examples of the third conditional are written in bold for the students to clearly see.


The books come with a student audio CD, which is used for the listening tasks. As well, there is an Interactive CD-Rom available for purchase at an extra cost. These extra resources are an added benefit of the series.


The books are great for students learning English on their own. Yet, they are also very useful for teachers. They make a great resource for any English language school. The wealth of grammar lessons and exercises make them worth the price alone. They have excellent explanations, examples, and exercises for all the major verb tenses, conditional sentences, prepositions, noun usage, and many more important grammar topics. If I were choosing a text for an ESL course, these would be on the top of my list.

The only drawback to the Focus on Grammar series is that they have a serious approach, which makes them somewhat unsuitable for children. They are more designed for adult English learners. Adults who are serious about improving their English skills will find this series extremely helpful.

In general, Focus on Grammar is one of the best titles in the ESL textbook category. Any ESL teacher or student will be pleased with these books.

Domino Maker

I found an excellent game the other day on another ESL site. The site is called Tools for Educators, and it has some nice ideas. 

The game is called domino maker. It is basic dominoes made into an English review. You could make the game yourself, but the website is fun because it has lots of pictures and makes the dominoes for you.

Check it out here:

Domino Maker



I am personally a big fan of playing dominoes, so I loved using this game in my class.

ESL Music Ideas - The 2nd Conditional

The 2nd conditional is one of the most important grammar topics in the ESL classroom. It is important because it is very common in conversation, and therefore must be learned by anyone who wants to speak and understand English.

One example of how this grammar structure is so popular is because it is in many English songs. Music is a great way to teach the 2nd conditional.

Here is a list of the tops 5 songs that use the 2nd conditional.

1.

Beyonce - If I Were a Boy

This is the best song for many reasons. The entire song is a story about what it would be like if Beyonce were a boy. This is a great example of how the 2nd conditional is used for present unreal, or hypothetical situations. The lyrics use the modal would to show these hypothetical situations. The lyrics are also grammatically correct because they say "if I were a boy" and not "if I was a boy." Using "were" is the correct structure, but is not always done in other songs.

As well, this song is new and popular. Students enjoy the lesson more when the music being used is something they actually know and like.

2.

Barenaked Ladies - If I Had a Million Dollars

This is a song by a Canadian band that is not so popular around the world. However, it is excellent to teach the 2nd conditional. The reason it is so good is because it uses the grammar structure many times throughout the song. It shows the hypothetical situation of what the singer would do if he had a million dollars.

The song is also great because the singer talks about all the things he would buy, which helps to practice nouns. Students can learn about different types of cars, clothes, furniture, and more.

3.

Katie Melua - If You Were a Sailboat

This song is like the first two because it has many examples of the grammar structure. Many times in the lyrics the singer uses "If you were a __________, I would___________." This is why it is another excellent song to show how this conditional is for hypothetical situations.

4.

Cher - If I Could Turn Back Time

This one is an old song, but still a classic. Students will probably have heard it before, so they will be able to relate to it and enjoy it. Although it is not as full of conditional sentences like the first three, the chorus gives good examples. It is also good because it uses "could", which is not always that common. Students can practice the modal "could" as it is used for ability.

5.

Lyle Lovett - If I Had a Boat

This song also has many examples of the 2nd conditional, so it makes for great practice. The added benefit here is that it is country music, which is often something ESL students do not know very much about. Therefore, it can also work well with a country music theme, as students can learn about a type of music that is very popular in many English speaking countries.

These songs are clearly not the only examples of the 2nd conditional in music. However, they are the 5 best, and can be used in the ESL classroom.

ESL Factory Task

This is a team building exercise that works well for an ESL classroom. It gets students to work together, and it creates a good discussion.

Students are put into teams of about 3-6. These teams pretend to run a factory. The purpose of the game is to be the most successful factory.

What the factories make is entirely up to the teacher. I like a simple activity of making houses out of cards. They place three cards on their edges to make the shape of a capital I. Think of it as the beginning of a card house. 

I have also seen it with making boats out of paper, or other paper folding activities. I have also used blocks and called them towers. Essentially, the product needs to be something a little bit difficult to make, but something that eventually everyone can do.

Taking my example of card houses:

• Start the teams off with a bankroll of $50 - $100.
• There are 3 rounds of 1, 2, and 3 minutes.
• Each round, the students work in teams to make as many houses as possible.
• At the end of the round, I pay them $5 for each house they have built. (hypothetically of course)

Now the part that makes them think and discuss:

• Each card costs them $1. Therefore, they make a $2 profit for each house. However, they can’t return the cards they didn’t use. So, they need to discuss at the beginning of the round how many cards they think they should buy from me, the supplier.

An example:

Group 1 buys 27 cards, thinking they will make 9 houses. That costs them $27. I take $27 away from their initial $50 for a total of $23. After 2 minutes they have made 7 houses. I pay them 7 X $5 = $35. They made a profit of $8. They now have a total of $58. Then they discuss how many cards they want for round two, which has a different time.

There are many variations to this game that simply take a little creativity from the teacher. Some include:

• Making them pay for table space (ie factories)
• Making them pay wages per each round. (Each team member might not be able to build)
• Raising and lowering costs and prices

I really like this game for something a little fun, and a break from the ESL focused games. It is also wonderful for team building.

More advanced students can learn about words like profit margin, supplier, etc.