Using student-made activities, exercises and

exam-reviews

JoAnn Miller,Free-Lance Consultant

• Learn best by trying things out and finding out what works. – exploring language– making errors and then correcting themselves– trying to communicate

• Lead to – language acquisition – increased motivation.

Passive listening or doing repetitive tasks leads only to limited learning and boredom.

• One easy way to get students more involved in their own learning process is to involve them in the teaching process.

• If students create teaching materials, they get more practice than if they just use ready-made materials.

• The process of making the materials, of understanding the concepts deeply enough to create them, takes them to higher levels of learning.

An old source

Lessons from the Learner: Student-generated activities for the language classroom

Sheelagh Deller, Pligrims, Longman, 1990

Some of her ideas

• Students choose topics, select vocabulary

• Students check the work (peer-correction)

• Students handle the equipment• Students choose homework, form

groups, etc.

Summary

• Grammar

• Reading

• Listening

• Writing

• Vocabulary

• Review activities

Grammar

Discovery Techniques

always

usually

sometimes never

often

100%

|

|

|

|

0%

Ken

always

comes

early

Student-made activityFor asking advice:

Why don’t you…?

You should…

I think you should…

Have you considered…

Etc.

My elephant has a head

cold.

Reading

Pairs #1:

Extreme Education

Pairs #2:

English is too hard to read for children

1. How many hours a day do pupils study in the North Star Academy?

2. How many pupils are there in the North Star Academy?

3. What percentage of children at North Star get free meals?

4. How many charter schools are there in the US?

5. How many children are on the waiting list for the North Star Academy?

6. How old are children at US ‘small schools’?

1. How many difficult words do British children meet by the age of 11?

2. How long does it take for British children to reach a basic reading level?

3. When did the Portuguese make changes to their spelling system?

4. When did the Turks change their alphabet from Arabic to Latin?

5. When did the Germans reform their spelling system?

6. How many basic words would be easier to spell if ‘extra’ letters were removed?

1. 10 hours a day.

2. 200

3. 90%

4. 3500

5. 1800

6. 10-14

1. 800

2. 3 years

3. Last month

4. 1928

5. 1990’s

6. 200

Listening

If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the _________I'd hammer in the _________, all over this landI'd hammer out _________, I'd hammer out a warning,I'd hammer out love between my _________ and my sisters,all over this land.

If I had a _________, I'd ring it in the _________, I'd ring it in the _________, all over this land I'd ring out _________, I'd ring out a warning I'd ring out love between my _________ and my sisters, all over this land.

If I had a song, I'd _________ it in the _________, I'd _________ it in the _________, all over this land I'd _________ out _________, I'd _________ out a warning I'd _________ out love between my _________ and my sisters, all over this land.

Well I got a hammer, and I got a _________, and I got a song to _________, all over this land.It's the hammer of _________, it's the _________ of Freedom,it's the song about Love between my _________ and my sisters,all over this land.

It's the hammer of _________, it's the _________ of Freedom,it's the song about Love between my _________ and my sisters,all over this land.

If I had a _________, I'd _________ in the morningI'd _________ in the evening, all over this landI'd _________ out danger, I'd _________ out a _________,I'd _________ out _________ between my brothers and my _________, all over this land.

If I had a bell, I'd _________ it in the morning, I'd _________ it in the evening, all over this land I'd _________ out danger, I'd _________ out a _________ I'd _________ out _________ between my brothers and my _________, all over this land.

If I had a _________, I'd sing it in the morning, I'd sing it in the evening, all over this land I'd sing out danger, I'd sing out a _________ I'd sing out _________ between my brothers and my _________, all over this land.

Well I got a _________, and I got a bell, and I got a _________ to sing, all over this land.It's the _________ of Justice, it's the bell of _________,it's the _________ about _________ between my brothers and my _________, all over this land.

It's the _________ of Justice, it's the bell of _________,it's the _________ about _________ between my brothers and my _________, all over this land.

“If I had a hammer…”, Peter, Paul and Mary

Writing

Business Emails

Problem!!!Credit card

Out of stock

Address

It was raining very hard when I got home that night.

Chain Story

Vocabulary

SHOPPING: supermarket, stationary store, pet store,

clothing store, shoe store, toy store

Categories

Adjectives

freezing cold chilly cool warm hot boiling

happiness, sadness anger, surprise, disappointment, love, etc.

Love

like adore

care for hate

be in love with

be attracted to

fancy

hate-like-care for-be attracted to-fancy-be in love with-adore

I was quite fond of him.

I was head over heels in love

Absolutely besotted.

We got on quite well.

Review Activities

Handout available at: www.efltasks.net

Take time to look around….there are a number of downloadable and online activities for all levels

Thank you very much

JoAnn Miller

joannmillerj@gmail.com

miller@room20.org

Handout available at:

www.efltasks.net

Presentations