Free English & ESL Lesson Plans

Improve Your English

2009-02-27T17:16:00.001+05:00

Tips for Indian and Pakistani English Speakers

Word: hotel
Culprit: pronunciation, meaning

The first I was asked if I wanted to go out to a HO-tl (pronounced with hard retroflex t) on a Friday night, I had to ask the speaker to clarify. She wanted to go out to eat at a nice restaurant, while I was wondering why we'd go out just to sleep in a hotel. In standard English, a hotel is a place where you stay or sleep. Many nice restaurants in the subcontinent happen to be in 5-star hotels, so it's understandable how the term 'hotel' came to mean 'nice restaurant.'

In standard English, the word 'hotel' is pronounced with stress on the second syllable, 'ho - TEL' and with a soft [t] not a hard one. The [t] should be pronounced right behind your teeth, in a similar position to the Urdu-Hindi softer sound.

There is also no verb 'to hotel,' which means we can not 'go hoteling' tonight. If that were a verb in English, it would have to mean something like going out to sleep in different hotels. What you want to say is, "Let's go out to eat tonight."

For more tips see here:

Avoid These Common Mistakes in English

ESL Grammar Lesson Plans

2009-02-27T17:12:00.002+05:00

Here are some links to complete ESL Grammar lesson plans:

Grammar

1) ESL Lesson Plan: Comparatives & Superlatives
Have fun teaching adjectives with this interactive lesson.

2) ESL Reading and Speaking Activity: Comparatives & Superlatives
Students read about and discuss 5 young world record holders as a reading exercise.

3) ESL Lesson Game: Action with Adverbs
An interactive group game to practice adverbs. Great for ESL students or native speakers learning grammar.

4) Lesson Plan: Make Narrative Exciting with Adverbs
A lesson plan to integrate grammar with writing skills

5) ESL Lesson Game: My Amazing Imaginary Life
This creative activity will help students master the use of perfect tenses

6) Lesson Plan: Fun with Verb Tenses
This interactive and fast-paced group game will help students review simple and perfect tenses. It can be adjusted for use with any other tenses as well.

7) Lesson Plan: Perfect Tenses
Presentation material for teaching present perfect, past perfect and future perfect

8) Lesson Plan: Verbs Daily Routine
Adjustable lesson plan to practice different verb tenses by filling in the daily planner of a superhero

Resources for Teaching and Learning English Pronunciation

2009-02-17T15:18:00.002+05:00

Pronunciation can be one of the most difficult areas to mast in any foreign language. Have a go at reading the following poetic verse out loud:

“I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble but not you
On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps,
To learn of less familiar traps?”

(Attributed to George Bernard Shaw)

Not so easy, was it? English pronunciation is, in part, so tricky because English spelling is not phonetic. In a phonetic alphabet, each letter will only represent one sound, and each sound will only be represented by one letter. In English, this is certainly not the case! Other teachers are always asking me for good resources to teach pronunciation, so here’s a list of websites along with their descriptions. Many of these sites are good for both language teachers and language learners.

Sounds of English

Sounds of English is primarily a site for English teachers. It includes some great links, handouts from presentations, pronunciation pages including sound and video files, activities and exercises for pronunciation and listening, teacher tips, and printable worksheets with answer keys. It’s one of the best sites for English language educators.

To continue reading article and access more great links, click here

Teacher Tips: How to Keep Student Attention

2008-10-23T11:40:00.001+06:00

Many times teachers find it a struggle to keep students paying attention in the classroom. You may have been teaching in forty-five minute periods for years, and then suddenly your school has switched to block scheduling of ninety minute periods. How can you keep students' attention? How can you prevent them from falling asleep during your lectures? Here are some helpful tips:

Strong Presence

Students will surely doze off if you aren't able to speak loudly, clearly and with a bit of personality. Avoid speaking in monotone and try to make your lectures lively. Students will be more apt to pay attention to a teacher who smiles and establishes good rapport, than one who scowls and uses fear tactics to keep students in line.

Read more here

Creative Writing: Showing Rather Than Telling

2008-07-25T19:30:00.001+06:00

Outcomes:
Students will be able to differentiate between "showing" and "telling" in writing.
Students will be able to add details in order to improve descriptive passages.

Time: 30 minutes

Resources: white board/markers

Presentation:

Ask students: Which of the following endings is better? Why?

A. I had finally finished the long race across the Sahara desert.
B. As I crossed the finish line, a surge of excitement went through my body. I knelt down and kissed the ground. Finally, after weeks of trudging through endless sand dunes, it was over.

Allow students to discuss the two endings. The second ending is better because it gives the reader a vivid picture of what happened. The first ending only tells. When writing, we want the reader to be able to see, taste, smell, hear and sense things just as we are. It is important to use details that invoke imagery.

Write the following sentence on the board: Today the weather was nice.

Ask students: How could we add more details to this sentence? We don't know what the weather was like at all. Was it sunny, raining, cloudy, or what?
Ask students orally to think of ways to better describe the nice weather, jot down ideas on the board.

Continue reading the detailed lesson activity here

Making Story Outlines

2008-07-25T19:28:00.000+06:00

Key Concepts: genre, setting, characters, plot, outline
Time: 45 minutes
Resources: 1 copy of Sample Story Outline per student OR this material on an overhead, white board & markers

Presentation: Elements of a Story Outline (15 minutes)

Genre

Ask students, "What does genre mean?" Elicit answers from students. If they are unable to define it, you can tell them it means "type."

Ask, "Can you think of different movie genres?" Write student responses on the board. Responses may include romance, horror, documentary, western, science fiction, comedy, action, adventure, musical, etc.

After writing all the responses on the board, say, "It's the same thing with books! Just like we have different types of movies, we have different types of stories. Can you think of what types of stories there are?" Again write the answers on the board and compare them to the movie categories. Inform students that whenever they want to start writing a story they should first decide the genre.

Setting

Say, "The setting answers the questions where and when." Explain that when writing a story we need to describe the place."

Continue reading lesson plan here

Speaking Fluency Part II

2008-07-25T19:25:00.001+06:00

Objectives:
1) Be able to recognize features of formal and informal speech
2) Analyze a natural speech sample
3) Be confident in using features of natural speech including discourse markers & fillers to sound more like a native speaker
4) Be able to share a narrative in a fluent fashion by making use of natural speech features

Time: 120 minutes

Resources:
Text for Activity 1 on handouts (one per student)
White board & markers
Speech Sample for Activity 3 on handouts (one per student)

Lesson Components

Warm Up (10 minutes)

Greet each student with a different slang greeting.

"Hey, what's up?"

"Hi. How's it goin'?

"Hey man. How're things?"

"Yo! What have you been up to?"

"Hello. What's up with you?" (pronounced "wichu")

Explain to students that we do not always say the same greeting when we meet each other. Some are more formal and others are more informal. Write the new slang expressions on the board and have students practice greeting each other.

Presentation 1: Features of Informal Spoken English (15 minutes)

Say, "When you speak fluently you are usually speaking in an informal situation. Due to this fact, it is important to be able to recognize and imitate features of informal spoken English such as the following:

Read Complete Lesson Details Here

Speaking Fluency Part I

2008-07-25T19:23:00.001+06:00

Lesson Objectives:

1) Understand the concept of speaking fluency
2) Recognize the difference between formal and informal speech

Resources: Presentation 2.0 examples (on overhead or handouts)

Time: 50 minutes

Lesson Components:

Warm Up (5 minutes)

Say, "Today we are going to talk about fluency." Write the word fluency on the board. Ask students,

"What do you think it means to be fluent in a language?"
"What languages are you fluent in?"
"How do you know when you are fluent in a language?"

Call on students for responses. Allow them to share but do not give your answers.

Presentation- 1.0 What is Fluency? (10 minutes)

Present the following information. Make sure to read it over thoroughly before and make some notes so that you do not just read this text. Write key words on the board. Key words and phrases are underlined. Fluency is the property of a person or of system that delivers information quickly and with expertise...

Read Complete Article Here

How to Teach English

2008-07-05T13:46:00.001+06:00

Date: July 29th, July 30th, July 31st, and August 1st (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)

Timing: 9am-12pm

Medium: English

Fee: 2000

Who Should Attend:
Any teacher or teacher trainer who would like to learn the basics of how to teach English. In order to take full advantage of the course, participants should be prepared to spend one hour a day on at home assignments.

Workshop Purpose:
This workshop will serve to equip participants with basic theory and practical skills for English teaching.

Outcomes:
• Learn how to teach receptive skills (reading & listening)
• Learn how to teach productive skills (speaking & writing)
• Learn about the basic parts of speech in English
• Learn about the pronunciation and basic phonology of English

Fun with Grammar - Verb Tenses

2008-07-05T13:43:00.001+06:00

Date: July 24th, 25th, and 26th (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

Timing: 9am-12pm

Medium: English

Fee: 2000 rupees for BOTH Fun with Grammar courses

Who Should Attend:
Sick of your students whining about grammar? This workshop is for teachers (Grade 6 and up) who could use some inspiration in teaching verb tenses. Any English speaker who would like to participate in a complete survey of English verb tenses is also welcome to attend.

Workshop Purpose:
This workshop will serve to equip participants with an understanding of the verb tenses of English. Language teachers will be able to adjust the model lessons used in the workshop to teach grammar for students of Grade 6 and up.

Outcomes:
• Know the difference between your present, past, perfect and progressive tenses
• Be able to teach about verb tenses in a clear and creative way
• Learn how to quickly adjust textbook material to make grammar exercises more interesting for students
• Learn different games and activities such as Verb Tense Bingo or Around the World with Present Progressive that can be used to spice up your grammar lessons

Fun with Grammar - Parts of Speech

2008-07-05T13:39:00.003+06:00

Date: July 21st, 22nd, and 23rd (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

Timing: 9am-12pm

Medium: English

Fee: 2000 rupees for BOTH Fun with Grammar courses

Who Should Attend:
Sick of your students whining about grammar? This workshop is for teachers (Grade 6 and up) who could use some inspiration in teaching verb tenses. Any English speaker who would like to participate in a fun and complete survey of English parts of speech is also welcome to attend.

Workshop Purpose:
This workshop will serve to equip participants with an understanding of the parts of speech in English. Language teachers will be able to adjust the model lessons used in the workshop to teach grammar for students of Grade 6 and up.

Outcomes:
• Identify all the different parts of speech used in English
• Learn to draw basic syntax trees comparing English & Urdu
• Be able to teach about parts of speech in a clear and creative way
• Learn how to quickly adjust textbook material to make grammar exercises more interesting for students
• Learn different games and activities such as Jeopardy or Conjunction Craze Race that can be used to spice up your grammar lessons

Creative Writing: Poetry

2008-05-19T17:34:00.002+05:00

Date: July 10, 11, 12 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

Timing: 9:00-12:00

Medium: English

Fee: Contact Naima at Ali Institute of Education
Phone: 042-588-2912-13

Who Should Attend:
Poetry doesn’t have to be boring! This workshop is for teachers (Grade 6 and up) who want to see students enjoy reading and writing poetry. Any English speakers who want to learn more about poetry are welcome.

Workshop Purpose:
This workshop will serve to equip participants with an understanding of the basic tools used in poetic writing. Language teachers will be able to adjust the model lessons used in the workshop to teach poetry for students of Grade 6 and up.

Outcomes:
• Identify and write poetry with rhyme and rhyme scheme
• Be able to count syllables, identify rhythm and find word stress
• Identify and write poetry with similes and metaphors
• Use personification and alliteration for poetic writing
• Be able to teach a complete unit on poetry
• Learn how to assess students’ poetry
• Create your own poetry portfolio

Creative Writing: Compare & Contrast

2008-05-19T17:31:00.004+05:00

Date: July 17th, 18th, and 19th (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)

Timing: 9:00 - 12:00

Medium: English

Fee: Contact Naima at Ali Institute of Education
Phone 042-588-2912-13

Who Should Attend:
As students get ready to move onto high school and later onto university and the workplace, they must be equipped with academic and creative writing skills. This workshop is for teachers (Grade 6 and up) who want to see students write organized and interesting compare and contrast essays. Any English speakers who want to improve their creative and academic writing skills are also welcome to take part.

Workshop Purpose:
This workshop will serve to equip participants with writing and thinking skills needed for compare and contrast writing. Language teachers will be able to adjust the model lessons used in the workshop to teach compare and contrast writing skills for students of Grade 6 and up.

Outcomes:
• Learn different models of organizing compare and contrast topics
• Learn how to write interesting and concise topic sentences
• Learn how to use and teach about conjunctions
• Be able to confidently teach a complete unit on compare and contrast
• Learn how to assess student compare & contrast writing
• Create a polished piece of creative academic writing

Creative Writing: Description

2008-05-19T17:17:00.004+05:00

Date: July 14th, 15th, 16th (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

Timing: 9:00-12:00

Medium: English

Fee: Contact Naima at Ali Institute of Education - 042-58-2912-13

Who Should Attend:
Are you a language teacher sick of hearing this reaction to your writing lessons? “Ugh, Miss! No, not creative writing!” This workshop is for teachers (Grade 6 and up) who want to integrate writing skills and grammar with innovative and fun lessons. Any English speakers who want to improve their creative writing skills are also welcome to take part.

Workshop Purpose:
This workshop will serve to equip participants with writing skills needed for effective and interesting descriptive writing. Language teachers will be able to adjust the model lessons used in the workshop to teach descriptive writing skills for students of Grade 6 and up.

Outcomes:
• Learn how to “show instead of tell” when writing
• Learn how to get your reader hooked with a catchy beginning
• Learn how to use and teach about adjectives in context
• Be able to confidently teach a complete unit on description
• Learn how to assess student descriptive writing
• Create a polished piece of creative writing

Creative Writing: Narrative

2008-05-19T17:13:00.004+05:00

Date: July 7th, 8th, and 9th (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

Timing: 9:00 - 12:00

Medium: English

Fees: Contact Naima at Ali Institute of Education
Phone: 042-588-2912-13

Who Should Attend:
Ask a student to write a story and their minds suddenly go blank. This workshop is for teachers (Grade 6 and up) who want to see students write creative and interesting non-fiction and/or fiction stories. Any English speakers who want to improve their creative writing skills are also welcome to take part.

Workshop Purpose:
This workshop will serve to equip participants with writing skills needed for effective and exciting narrative writing. Language teachers will be able to adjust the model lessons used in the workshop to teach narrative writing skills for students of Grade 6 and up.

Outcomes:
• Learn how to make complete story outlines
• Learn how to revise and proofread your own work
• Learn how to use peer editing techniques in the classroom
• Learn how to use and teach about adverbs
• Be able to confidently teach a complete unit on narrative
• Learn how to assess student narrative writing
• Create a polished piece of creative writing

Welcome

2008-05-19T17:08:00.002+05:00

Welcome to the Teacher Training blog of Michelle Carreiro

I arrived in Lahore, Pakistan in January 2006 after completing my degree in Linguistics & Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. Little did I know that over two years later I'd still be here and involved in teacher training in Lahore.

This blog is to let teachers, language students, educators and administrators know about current workshop offerings happening in and around Lahore. As my background is in linguistics and TEFL (TESOL/TESL), my specialization is English Language Education.

Future workshops can be set up through the Ali Institute of Education.