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Thursday, February 04, 2010
- With just a week to go until the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games, why not to take advantage of the Olympic excitement? It’s a great opportunity to introduce, review or focus on collocations related to Olympics, or sports in general. Below is a popular warmer adapted to the Olympic theme that can help ESL teachers to raise student awareness of collocations, words that often occur together.
Students mingle, ask questions and record the name(s) of their classmates who fit the prompts. Of course, they have to ask a correct wh-question first by rephrasing the given statements (e.g.: Are you going to watch..?)
Find Someone Who...
1. is going to watch live coverage of the Olympic Games
2. is sure his/her favorite athlete will break a record
3. followed the torch relay
4. knows the Olympic motto
5. would like to be a torchbearer
6. knows the colors of the five interlacing rings (the Olympic symbol)
7. has visited the host city of the Olympic Games
8. thinks Olympic venues will benefit the local residents after the Games are over
9. can’t wait to see who will light the Olympic cauldron
10. thinks each athlete should go through doping control-
- As a follow-up, encourage to come up with more Olympic collocations:
medal count/standing- Olympic committee/debut/flame/stadium/parade of nations/village/anthem/mascots
- opening/closing ceremony
- record holder/breaker
POSTED BY Olga Galperin AT 7:36 PM
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Tuesday, February 02, 2010
- What do you hear while waiting at a bus stop: traffic zooming past, honking horns, speeding motorcycles, squealing brakes or perhaps stereo systems blaring from cars stopped at the red light? Do you wish you had earplugs when you hear a chain saw, leaf blower or dental drill? Whether we like it or not, we’re constantly exposed to sounds around us. When we hear, we do so unintentionally.
Hearing is one of the 5 senses through which humans perceive the world (also: sight, touch, smell, taste). Can you hear well underwater (when you dive)? Would you hear your teacher in a noisy room (even if you tried to listen)? How about when someone whispers?
As we age, we might experience (partial) hearing loss and therefore might need a hearing aid - a device that can help us to hear better. When was the last time you had your hearing test done? This test is usually performed by an audiologist.
If you listen, you pay attention and make a cognitive effort to focus on particular sounds. You do so intentionally. As learners of English as a second language, you listen to the native speakers of English to pick up intonation and pronunciation. Do you always listen to instructions your teacher gives in class?
When you listen to an orchestra or a band, what and how many instruments can you hear? Can you listen to a musical tune and then recreate what you heard?
Sometimes, even if we listen, we can’t hear:
I tried to listen to their conversation, but couldn’t hear a word.
Some other times, we aren’t listening, but we might hear something:
The radio program was boring and I stopped listening until I heard the breaking news.
POSTED BY Olga Galperin AT 12:06 AM
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Vocabulary Learning Tips for ESL students
Words are the first priority in learning a second language. Make a grammar mistake – people may still understand you, choose a wrong word...
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Sound Natural 
Words, quite literally say it all.
They are the core elements of any language – the basic units of conversation, communication and connection with others.
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