English Language Teaching

Tool Kit

Contents

Useful Links! 2!

Question Race! 3!

Talking Checklist! 4!

Carbon Footprint Survey! 5!

Personal Interviews! 6!

A Three-Act Play! 7!

English Only! 8!

Lesson Plan Template! 9!

What the Good Language Learner can Teach Us! 10

1
Useful Links!
"
Resources!
๏ Digital Toolkit: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7W-
yVFNAV9sZ2lVVEhDM2RKa0k&usp=sharing"
๏ PowerPoint Presentations for Workshops from English Language Fellows in the
Western Hemisphere: http://peopleleap.com/category/wha-fellows-compilations/"
๏ An A - Z of ELT by Scott Thornbury: http://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/"
๏ American English website: www.americanenglish.state.gov"
๏ TESOL: www.tesol.org"
๏ ESL Library: http://www.esl-library.com/lessons.php"
๏ Busy Teacher: http://busyteacher.org/"
Conversation!
๏ English Idioms: http://www.idiomsite.com/"
๏ Conversation Questions: http://iteslj.org/questions/"
๏ Conversation Starters: http://www.conversationstarters.com/101.htm"
Pronunciation!
๏ University of Iowa Speech Emulator: http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/#"
๏ Rachel’s English: http://www.rachelsenglish.com/"
๏ English Central: http://es.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index/all/all/trending/0"
Reading and Writing!
๏ 100 Free EFL/ESL Short Stories: http://www.rong-chang.com/qa2/"
๏ Reading Passages with Questions: http://www.eslhome.org/ESLstudent/read/
readdo1.html"
Miscellaneous!
๏ Seven Habits of Highly Effective Intercultural Communicators: http://
sherwoodfleming.com/seven-habits-highly-effective-intercultural-communicators/"
๏ Carbon Footprint Calculator: http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/
calculators/"
๏ Games: https://www.superteachertools.net/?#

2
Question Race
"
Can you eat with
Do you like soccer? What is your favorite fruit?
chopsticks?

What is your favorite

Do you have any pets? What makes you smile?
season?

What did you eat for

What are you afraid of? What did you eat for lunch?
breakfast?

What is your favorite color? When is your birthday? What is your father’s name?

What is your mother’s

Can you dance? Can you ride a bike?
name?

Can you drive a car? Do you like sushi? Have you been to the US?

What´s your favorite

Do you like the beach? Do you like chocolate?
movie?

What time do you normally What time do you normally

Can you swim?
wake up? go to bed?

Can you sing? Do you like karaoke? Are you an only child?

Do you prefer chicken or Do you prefer sweet or salty

Do you prefer dogs or cats?
beef? foods?

What does your father do What does your mother do

Do you often go to church?
for a living? for a living?

Can you speak another What is two plus two?

Do you like black coffee?
language? (2+2=)

Do you like sweets? Can you cook? What sports do you like?

3
Talking Checklist
Traveling

!
• Would you prefer to travel by car, bus, train, boat, or plane?
• Would you like to travel to other parts of your country? Where would you go?
• Would you like to travel to another country? Which one? Why?
• If you traveled to Europe, where would you go? Why?
• If you traveled to Asia, where would you go? Why?
• If you traveled to the United States, where would you go?
• Are you more interested in traveling to big cities or small towns?
• What kinds of things would you like to see? Museums, Natural Parks, Cultural
Events, Architecture, etc.?
• Would you travel alone, with your friends, or with you family?
• Would you ever consider living in another country? Why or why not?
• Would you like to study English in another country? Why or why not?
• What would make you move to another country? Career, love, family, etc.?
• Do you think traveling can make you a better person?
• What do you think about the explores of the past who traveled the world in ships?
• How do you think traveling will change in the future?
• Do you think humans will ever start traveling to outer space or to other planets
"

4
Carbon Footprint Survey
"
What’s your Carbon Foot Print?

Always = 2 points Sometimes = 1 points Never = 0 points

"
1. _____Do you recycle newspapers, magazines, glass bottles, aluminum cans, etc.?
2. _____When possible, do you buy products made from recycled materials?
3. _____When you go shopping do you bring your own shopping bags?
4. _____When possible, do you ride the bus or train instead of riding in a car?
5. _____When possible, do you refrain from using the air conditioner?
6. _____Do you use energy saving electronics?
7. _____Do you use the bath water to wash your laundry?
8. _____Do you refrain from using a lot of detergents and soaps?
9. _____Do you remove the oil from oily plates before washing them?
10._____Do you go to bed early at night and wake up early in the morning?
_____ Total Score
How many points did you get?
17~20 You are doing everything possible to protect our planet.
13~16 You are making a very good effort.
9~12 You are doing well, but you should try a little harder.
5~8 Please start thinking more about the earth.
0~4 Do you ever think about our planet. The earth is dying?
"
Followup: http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
5
Personal Interviews
Personal Interview - Food
Start with small talk…
• How are you?
• What´s new?
• How have you been lately?
• How was your day so far?
• What did you do last weekend?
• What will you do this weekend?
"
Tell the interviewee what you will be talking about…
Today I want to ask you some question about food. Is that okay? Ok let´s start…
1. What do you normally eat for breakfast/lunch/dinner?
2. Who cooks in your house? What do s/he cook?
3. Do you know how to cook? If yes, what do you like to cook?
4. Do you have a favorite food? Why is it your favorite? When do you eat it?
5. Do you think eating with other people is important?
6. How does eating together influence a relationship?

Personal Interview - Music

Start with small talk…
• How are you?
• What´s new?
• How have you been lately?
• How was your day so far?
• What did you do last weekend?
• What will you do this weekend?
"
Tell the interviewee what you will be talking about…
Today I want to ask you some question about music. Is that okay? Ok let´s start…
1. When do you normally listen to music in the morning/afternoon/or night?
2. Do you have a favorite kind of song? Why is it your favorite? When do you listen to it?
3. Do you have a favorite band or singer? Have you ever seen them live? If so, how was it?
4. Do you know how to play a musical instrument? If yes, which one? If no, do you want to learn?
5. Do you prefer to listen to music with others or by yourself? Why?
6. How does music make you feel? How can change your mood or attitude?
"
6
 A Three-Act Play!
"
Cast of Characters:!
1. The Knight" "
2. The Princess"
3. The Villain "
4. The Villain’s Servant"
5. Doors (2 Students stand facing each with their arms stretched out and hands clasped
together)"
"
(Knocking is heard.)"
Villain:! Go see who’s at the door."
Servant:! Yes, master (opens the doors.)"
Doors:! Crrreeeaak…."
Servant:! Who are you?"
Knight:! (Bowing) I’m the hero of the story."
Servant:! Oh. (Closes the doors.)"
Doors:! Crrreeeaak…."
Servant:! He says he’s the hero of the story."
Villain:! Curses!! Well find out what he wants."
Servant:! (Opens the doors.)"
Doors:! Crrreeeaak…."
Servant:! What do you want?"
Knight:! I’ve come to rescue the princess."
Princess:! Oh, my hero! (The knight bows, the princess curtsies)"
Villain:! Curses! Throw him out!"
Servant:! (Turns to face the Knight) He says I must throw you out."
Knight:! Ha! Not on your life."
Servant:! My life?!
Knight:! Out of my way, you fool! (He draws his sword)"
Servant:! (He steps back out of the knight’s path)"
Princess:! (She claps her hands and bats her eyelashes) Oh, my hero. "
Knight:" (The knight bows)"
Villain:! Just what do you think you’re doing?"
Knight:! I’m rescuing the princess."
Villain: ! Over my dead body!"
Knight:! Whatever you say. (Lunges at the villain who steps aside. "
" Accidentally stabs the princess)"
Knight:! Oops!"
Villain: ! You fool!"
Servant:! Oh dear!"
Princess:! (Dying) My hero . . . "
Doors:! Crrreeeaak…."
"
7
 English Only!
"
Blair needed a break from the indoor life. Sometimes it seemed like he was in his
apartment 24/7. He had recently found a perfect outdoor cure. It was a new coffeehouse
which served 45 kinds of coffee and tea. He liked it because the coffee was good and the
place was never overcrowded.

The coffeehouse was only a 10-minute walk, which Blair now took. There were three
female customers in the coffeehouse. None of them were young and pretty. Blair was a little
disappointed. He’d prefer to see good-looking women while he was drinking good coffee, but
you can’t have everything.

He ordered a large “coffee of the day,” which was $1.70. He gave the clerk two dollars.
He put the change in the tip jar and took his coffee outside. Blair preferred to drink outside.
That way he could watch the traffic on the street. He liked to try to spot British motorcycles
and 1960 station wagons.

He sat at a table under an umbrella, opened his book, and began reading. The book
was a self-improvement book. Blair had been reading it on and off for about two years. He
hadn’t noticed any improvement. A woman was approaching the patio. Blair looked up to see
if she was attractive. She was. And she was by herself. He returned to the book as she
passed by him. Blair kept looking at the pages, but his mind was on the woman.

A few minutes later, she came outside holding a cup of coffee and sat at the table right
next to Blair’s. Her chair was so close to his that he could have reached over and touched her
on her right shoulder. There were four other empty tables on the patio. Why had she sat at
this one, so close to him? Was she telling him that she was available? Was she hoping that
he would make a move?

Blair went back to his book. But he wasn’t reading the words; he was thinking about the
woman. What could he say to her? How could he break the ice? What was a good line?
“What blend are you drinking?” “Your perfume smells nice.” “Weren’t we in the same art
class?”

But maybe she wasn’t interested in him at all. Maybe she just wanted to sit and drink in
peace. Yet why would she sit right here? His head was spinning. He must say something.

Just then, her cell phone rang. She answered it, then laughed, then started talking
animatedly. That’s got to be her boyfriend, Blair thought.

But from the moment she answered the phone, it didn’t matter if she had a boyfriend or
not, because she was speaking another language. Blair was not interested in a girl who didn't
speak English. He went back to his book and his coffee. It tasted good.

8
Lesson Plan Template!
Level - # or Students - Subject / Skill -
"
SWABAT -

Objective /
Step Teacher Student Time
Materials

TOTAL

Homework

9
What the Good Language Learner can Teach Us!
"
What makes a language learner an effective acquirer of a foreign language?
What methods and approaches do they use that enables them to become fluent
more quickly than the average language learner? What can we learn from their
techniques that we can pass on to other language learners?

"
They take and create opportunities to use the language
Many language learners avoid using the language in the early stages for fear of a
breakdown in communication. The good language learner, on the other hand,
uses the language at every available opportunity. They are forever seeking out
opportunities both to use and to hear the language, e.g. chatting with
storekeepers (rather than just purchasing the goods they have gone there to
buy); asking people at the bus stop how to get to where they want to go (even
though they are clear on this already!) instead of just getting on the bus; asking
someone in the street to explain some unusual object or event (rather than just
passing it by); asking someone on the bus or train to explain something in their
Chinese textbook, etc.. All the while, therefore, they are taking and creating
opportunities to use the language.

"
They practice what they have just acquired

Many language learners practice in class, but few practice enough outside the
classroom. The good language learner practices what they have just learnt as
soon as possible. For example, while on bus or bicycle, they are going through in
their mind what they have recently learnt in class by holding an imaginary
conversation with someone. And straight after class, or in the evening, they visit
their sympathetic listeners (whether they be neighbors, street vendors, store
assistants, etc.) telling them what they have just learnt that day.

"
They are willing to try anything in order to get their message across

Many language students, if they don't know the correct word or phrase for what
they wish to communicate, simply avoid the subject completely or use English.
The good language learner, possessing such a strong desire to communicate, is
willing to try out different ways in order to get their message across. For instance,
if they don't know the word for 'language school', they might say (in Chinese),
"the place where I learn Chinese". They even resort to acting if necessary! They
are willing to try almost anything, even to appear foolish if necessary, in order to
communicate.

"
"
10
They are willing to live with uncertainty

The average language learner, when hearing something which they don't
understand, often feels embarrassed and may try to change to another topic of
conversation. The good language learner doesn't give up so easily! They are
able to overcome their initial feelings of uneasiness, and in fact, may even enjoy
it -- seeing it as a game to be played! They hazard a guess as to what the
meaning might be, trying out their hunches by asking suitable questions which
they hope will shed light on the matter. The good language learner uses all the
clues which the context of the conversation offers them. And they are content to
rest with a general conclusion as to what the meaning might be, knowing that
everything will clarify itself later (hopefully!).

"
They monitor their own speech as well as the speech of others

Many language students are so bound up with getting their message across or
trying to understand what the other person is trying to say that they learn little
from the communication process. The good language learner, however, is firstly
monitoring their own speech -- listening to themselves speak and noting how
their speech is being received by their listeners (e.g. facial expressions, etc.). To
them, such feedback is very important. Then, secondly, they are monitoring the
other person's speech -- noting how they use words and phrases, as well as
grammar structures.

"
They are constantly looking for patterns in the language

Many language learners absorb only what they are taught in class about the
language; if the teacher or their textbook hasn't yet covered that point, they shut
their minds to it. The good language learner is constantly analyzing, categorizing
and synthesizing their new language. They know that learning a new language is
a very complex matter -- like putting together the pieces of a huge jigsaw puzzle.
They absorb what they are taught in class, but they are also actively involved in
discovering where new pieces fit in to the overall picture. And so they are
constantly trying to find schemes for classifying the information they have
gathered.

"
They are a systematic organizer

The poor language learner often lacks a planned and systematic approach to
acquiring the language, and hence fails to reach a reasonable standard of
performance. The good language learner, however, recognizing the magnitude of
the task, sets down a plan of campaign, dividing their study program into
attainable goals, and organizing regular times for study. Then they systematically
record what they learn about the language -- whether pronunciation, grammar or
vocabulary -- so that it is readily available for reference.

11
"
They are willing to experiment with different learning methods

The poor language learner, upon discovering that the way they were taught to
learn the language has proven ineffective, complains and gives up! The good
language learner tries out different approaches to acquiring the language,
chooses those that work for them and discards the rest. They also note how
other people learnt the language, trying out their methods to see if they are
suitable for them.

"
They make errors work

The poor language learner is so afraid of making mistakes that they say nothing
until they are sure that they can say it absolutely correctly -- and that day never
arrives! The good language learner knows differently. They recognize that errors
are a part of the learning process itself and looks upon them as a potential
source of information, as well as a way of improving their language skills. They
not only note their errors, but also try to understand why they made them and
how to avoid making them again in the future.

"
They are a friendly initiator of conversation

For many language students, it must be the other person who initiates a
conversation before communication takes place. The good language learner
knows that it is best if they start the ball rolling by initiating the conversation with
a question or comment. And by doing it in a warm and friendly tone of voice, they
find that the other person is usually very happy to chat with them.

"
Conclusion

People often say, "Extroverts get the language much more easily than introverts."
This is only partly true. Extroverts do have the advantage of being less shy than
introverts, but they often lack the discipline and determination that learning a
language requires. The person who succeeds is the restless searcher after clues
-- one whose mind is constantly looking for the thousands of pieces in the jigsaw
that will eventually fit together to complete the puzzle. They understand how to
use the people all around them to help reach their goal of foreign language
fluency and hence successfully integrate into the local community.

"
Followup: http://sherwoodfleming.com/seven-habits-highly-effective-intercultural-
communicators/

12