I would use recordings of speakers with English as a second language.

I would use recordings of speakers with English as a second language. This reflects the reality that English is a lingua franca. However, when selecting any materials I think the accent, the clarity and the correctness of the language used need to be considered in relation to the students and their needs. This does not exclude non-native speakers.

Next week in class with my advanced group we are going to look at the theme of places.

Next week in class with my advanced group we are going to look at the theme of places. I've created two 'games' to supplement the materials I'm going to use.

The first is a 'magic presentation' which is an improvisation speaking activity. The Powerpoint shows pictures of places and when used on Powerpoint (not Google Drive) the images change automatically at 45 sec intervals.

One person has to speak about the picture until it changes. When the picture changes the person speaking changes too. You can have all eyes on one group or have mini groups do it concurrently to a smaller audience.

All the photos used were taken by my friends or me. I got them all from Facebook.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-Y8v7Wjp3LSRtYnVYTSPZgJLDILG99uh/view?usp=sharing


The second activity is an information gap crossword to review the vocabulary. This is one of my favourite activities but it's the first time I've created my own. I used the site Half a crossword to create it. The students will split into groups a and b. The A group will collaborate to write the clues and the Bs too. Then A and B will form pairs to complete the crossword.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ixevY8bBN-tP843DsqWT8pGeT3ehZAzt/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ixevY8bBN-tP843DsqWT8pGeT3ehZAzt/view?usp=sharing

In 12 months time, I would like to be settled into a teaching routine that allows me time to produce my own...

In 12 months time, I would like to be settled into a teaching routine that allows me time to produce my own materials for my classes. I'd like to be able to share and write about these on my blog. Having done this course, I hope I will create consistent and clear materials that can be reused time and time again. I will have developed an inspiration bank of possible authentic materials (as suggested by other participants) and I will be more organised in how I store my own materials.

The course has inspired me to read more about the theory behind materials writing and I'd like to continue doing that. It's also reinforced how much I enjoy exchanging ideas and learning from others.

Here is my week 3 assignment- sorry it's late.

Here is my week 3 assignment- sorry it's late. At the end of the last course, I worked with my exam classes to produce 'How to' video tutorials for the speaking exams. The idea being that these create a bank of student-generated materials to be used with future classes (which motivated the classes producing the videos I hope!).


For the week 3 assignment, I have created a simple worksheet to be used with the student-generated video related to the FCE speaking part 4. The aim is to review and consolidate interaction skills.

Here's the video link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IBmZiyb0GXs23KjNUUq4TAQMQi8rQ25e/view?usp=sharing

Instructions

I'd play the video without images first.
For question 3 I'd play the first 20 secs.

For the following questions, again I'd play sound only the first time.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/17oYF72pNI5EGGWLLVETXMSLNEAgoV3f4/view?usp=sharing

Which ONE piece of advice would you give a teacher who wanted to create their own classroom material?

Which ONE piece of advice would you give a teacher who wanted to create their own classroom material?

Don't fall down the rabbit hole! By that I mean, avoid those frustrating situations where you think you'll 'just' look for an interesting authentic text, only to realize 5 hours (or days) later you haven't done anything or got anywhere. I'd love to hear advice on how to avoid this.

The following materials were made with my class in mind.

The following materials were made with my class in mind. I've just started with a lunchtime class at a language school. Students have another 3 hours of class each day and they want the lunchtime sessions to focus on speaking with some language development. There is no set syllabus and we are asked to work around a theme.

The group is Advanced level. Within that there are some strong students who need stretching. There are also members who have just moved up from a B2 level group.

My rationale is that the students need input but I'm trying to limit this to shorter texts which act as a starting point as they are desperate to speak and tired after their other classes. Where possible I'm trying to lead into a communicative activity due to the nature of the class.

Sorry for the late submission
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i-N-oaU7_zup3m-xG4fD0GZuPTInXFMx/view?usp=sharing

I like the materials I use to be clear and simple.

I like the materials I use to be clear and simple. Good materials are a springboard. It’s important for me to be able to adapt them to suit my classes and see different ways they can be exploited. I prefer the materials to be easy to negotiate rather than impressive. They don’t have to be ground-breaking, I’d rather they were effective. Good materials challenge students but their aims are achievable.

I don’t think any of the principles of materials discussed in the lecture and in Tomlinson’s article can be taken in isolation. For example, we cannot draw learners’ attention to the features of authentic language, if they haven’t first been shown authentic language, so it’s hard to say which principles are most important. When I produce my own materials, I do try to ‘stimulate intellectual, aesthetic and emotional involvement’ (Tomlinson) because this means that students are connecting with the language and they will be more engaged and the learning will be more effective.

The materials were produced with my class of 17-year-old Spanish B2 students in mind.

The materials were produced with my class of 17-year-old Spanish B2 students in mind.
The rationale behind the use of my school reports is
•The students are likely to engage as it is personal and personalised. It was deliberately chosen as something they could relate to.
•The language in the reports is authentic and requires some negotiation. It can be exploited to highlight collocations and lexical chunks related to success and studying
•Given the time of year, it presents an opportunity for students not only to build their language but also to reflect on their performance and write their own reports.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k8nEGXiv_gU4QpGOeWdUsDjp9taZ4qIB/view?usp=sharing

Hi.

Hi. I’m Geraldine. I also came to this course very last minute after seeing Anne Hendler’s tweet. I’m very happy to be part of this course and to be among such an interesting group. I came to English language teaching after completing an MA and PhD in French studies.I’ve been working in Andalucía for the last four years and I’m about to change schools when I return in September. Before Spain, I worked in the English department at the University of Lyon. I’ve also taught on a number of EAP courses in the UK. I love nothing more than being in the classroom but I like the fact that teaching also allows us to work outside of the classroom through research and materials development. I’m interested in creating materials and it’s something I do regularly to supplement the coursebooks I use. I’m doing this course because I think materials writing is something I’d like to do more of and I know I can do it better.