For the final week's assignment, I created a vocabulary review assignment for an intermediate/high intermediate...

For the final week's assignment, I created a vocabulary review assignment for an intermediate/high intermediate level English for Science class. The first part is a crossword puzzle that students can work on together to review definitions. The second part of the assignment is based on an activity a colleague showed me for vocabulary review. It involves having students creating a quiz (in this case, fill-in-the blank sentences) that another pair would answer. Students enjoy this because it forces them to think about how to use words correctly (both in creating and answering the questions). I walk around and help students with the creating of the quizzes. After we switch the papers and the other pair would answer, we project the answers on an overscreen projector, and we grade the students' answers as a class to see why and how the words are correct. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mJEHtamtgwwv4XSVwM5QcLdeyoNXNLFvEz86MyVDO_4/edit?usp=sharing

Where would you like to see yourself 12 months from now, in terms of being a materials writer?

Where would you like to see yourself 12 months from now, in terms of being a materials writer?

12 months from now, I hope that I have kept working on improving my materials writer skills, including getting more feedback from others. What I found most valuable from this class was that I received feedback on the activities that were good and the activities that could be improved on, which is something I haven't received from others when I created materials for different classes. Having an extra pair of eyes to see what works and what needs tweaking is very beneficial, and I hope to take the feedback that I received to continue and work on certain areas more.

This is part of a lesson unit on energy efficient buildings that I would use with an intermediate level ESL science...

This is part of a lesson unit on energy efficient buildings that I would use with an intermediate level ESL science class. The images I show here would be used to brainstorm and preview what energy efficient buildings are. (What is not included in the link below are the TED talks that I would show to students about other examples of energy efficient buildings. The last activity here does make a slight reference to it.)

The one piece of advice I would give a teacher who wanted to create their own classroom material is to think of the...

The one piece of advice I would give a teacher who wanted to create their own classroom material is to think of the audience (i.e., the teachers and the students) who will be using the materials. The teacher needs to think how their material is different and will be more helpful than the multitude of material that is out there. This includes making sure the directions are clear and tasks make sense. As one teacher once said to me, there is no point to "reinvent the wheel" if the wheel is working. But if the materials will be more helpful in reaching the classroom goals, then the teacher should be creating new materials to help the students learn in the classroom.

Hi everyone.

Hi everyone. This is my week 2 assignment. This is for an intermediate level English for Science class. The lesson was related to an article about Cape Town and how it may be the first major city to run out of water ("Day Zero"). Day Zero was supposed to have happened two months ago, but since the original lesson, they have postponed it to next year. So, I have had to update some of the materials for this particular lesson.

When using an authentic audio or video it is important to use only ‘native speakers’.

When using an authentic audio or video it is important to use only ‘native speakers’. Do you agree or disagree? Give reasons.

Like others, I also disagree that it is important to use only "native speakers". I think it's important to expose students to a variety of ways English speakers speak, as it may become more likely that they will mainly interact with other non-native English speakers in English. When I used to teach graduate students in Korea, my students would tell me how they were more likely to interact at conferences with other attendees who were from other countries such as China or Indonesia, and English was the only way they could communicate with each other.

I also think that listening to only "native speakers" speech creates unrealistic expectations on how learners are "supposed to" sound, and if they don't sound the same way, then they are failures as learners and speakers of English. I think we can use examples of native speakers to pay attention to things such as word stress and intonation, but variety of speakers may become of great importance in the future.

This is my Week 1 project.

This is my Week 1 project. I decided to use song lyrics from the song "Love is an arrow" by Aberfeldy to develop a listening/speaking/writing activity for high-intermediate students. The link to the project is below and the link to the music video described in this activity is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziaHHPLnLT4

I agree with a lot of the principles mentioned by others.

I agree with a lot of the principles mentioned by others. Like others, I like materials that are visually pleasing and not cluttered. I also like materials where the directions are clear and organized appropriately. This is something that I struggle with when I try to create my own materials. In my head, the directions are clear, but putting it on paper for someone else can cause some confusion.

Making sure that the context I provide is also language-level appropriate is also something I sometime struggle with. Sometimes I get so excited in thinking about the creation of the activity that I forget to think about the students. Do they have enough context or background knowledge for this activity? Is the vocabulary I am providing appropriate for their level? This ties in with with making sure the directions are clear. In the end, the activity and materials are for my students and not just for me, and I have to keep that in mind when I am creating and checking materials for use in the classroom.

Hello everyone

Hello everyone,

My name is Suzanne. I am also happy to be starting another iTDi course. I teach at a university's IEP in California, and I also taught for several years in Korea. Part of my job requires me to develop materials for various short courses, but sometimes I feel I do a haphazard job with this creation. I would like to learn how to make my materials more cohesive and professional when creating and developing new curriculum. I look forward to learning from all of you!