vertical and horizontal development

In the book Teaching Lexically, Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkey refer to horizontal and vertical development exercises and the pay-offs they bring. By developping a sentence horizontally we are adding something that the writer or speaker might say next. By developping a sentence vertically we are adding something that someone else might say next. I’m quoting from their excellent book now. “These kinds of exercises … Continue reading vertical and horizontal development

danielmartin67September 5, 2018September 12, 2018Leave a comment

Grammar, Reading, Writing

reading frenzy 2

In this short blog post I will share with you another alternative way to exploit reading passages. This time the students create questions for the text. Write on the board: what which where why when who how Then tell the students to look at the reading passage and try to write questions about the text on a piece of paper using those question words. Give … Continue reading reading frenzy 2

danielmartin67June 1, 2018June 4, 2018Leave a comment

Grammar, Listening

articles in English

This morning I was watching the recorded plenary talk that Paul Seligson gave at IATEFL Chile 2016 whose title was Hooking English: using song lines to build on existing knowledge. There are many ideas in his talk that resonate with my vision and use of songs in the classroom. The novelty factor of playing a full song towards the end of the lesson as a … Continue reading articles in English

danielmartin67February 19, 2018February 24, 2018Leave a comment

Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing

delexical verbs 2

This second post on delexical verbs observes use of the students’ mother tongue in monolingual classes, as it is very much the case in most teaching situations. As Scott Thornbury puts wisely in his article T is for Translation, “with some structures (such as the future perfect) translation could be the most economical way of presenting them”. The students will be translating sentences into their … Continue reading delexical verbs 2

danielmartin67February 19, 2018February 20, 2018Leave a comment

Grammar, Speaking

staying in line

I have used this idea quite a few times with A1-A2 classes to practice telling time but it can be tweaked to practice other functional areas. Tell your students to stand up. They will be forming a line going from end to end of the classroom. The front will be “soon” and the back will be “late”. Then write on the board and ask: what … Continue reading staying in line

danielmartin67February 1, 2018March 25, 2018Leave a comment

Grammar, Listening, Reading, Speaking, Vocabulary, Writing

phrasal verbs 1

This activity revises phrasal verbs students are familiar with. It implies a bit of imagination or drawing skills (or both) in addition to language competence. Select about 10 phrasal verbs you would like to revise with your students. I will be using this list as an example for an Upper-Intermediate class. You will be using your own. run after: chase (police running after a thief) … Continue reading phrasal verbs 1

danielmartin67December 16, 2017January 6, 20183 Comments

Keep It Simple Activities

Zero or Minimal Preparation Activites for Busy Teachers

Category: Grammar