IT WORKS IN PRACTICE Teachers have so much useful experience to share with each other.

This is a first selection of

 A quiet start have seen me playing table tennis. I same letter. For example:
A apple banana
was good - but not good enough for
In a noisy classroom, begin by the National Team!) B boat crab
speaking in a low voice. Students - I speak three foreign languages. (They C cat picnic
will want to hear what you’re saying know I speak German but is there a
Be careful. It isn’t possible with every
and the noise will drop. third?)
letter of the alphabet, but let the
Héctor Arrocha Alfonso students discover this for themselves!
- I got married in Scotland. (They don’t It’s an exercise that encourages them to
(Sancti Spiritus, Cuba)
know this, but it’s true!) learn - and it works!
After the activity students ask questions Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez
 My cat is too fat! and practise tenses. I then encourage (Ciudad Real, Spain)
An activity that worked for me with a them to prepare similar statements for
homework and we use them at the start of
very unmotivated class was ‘Giving
Advice’. I wanted to practise the later lessons.  And the last shall
grammar points should/ought to/had Zlatko Veber be first
better. The class was not interested in (Maribor, Slovenia) ‘Who’ll be the last to speak?’ is a five or ten
their grammar book. I therefore thought minute ‘warmer’. The teacher shows a
it would be a good idea to personalise
the activity. I handed out a sheet of  Speaker’s Corner picture of a famous person known to the
whole group (for example, in Spain, Julio
paper to each student and asked them Iglesias). The first student says one thing
Set up a Speaker’s Corner in your
to write a problem of their own at the that he knows about Julio Iglesias. For
top. I then told them to circulate the classroom. Allow some lesson example, He’s a singer. The second student
sheets among their classmates so that time for anyone willing to speak says, He lives in Miami. The third student
each of them could write a piece of continues, He has dark hair. Statements
advice about the problem. A good thing on any subject in English. cannot be repeated but can be challenged.
about this activity was that students Encourage students to make use If the majority believes that something has
were able to write amusing problems been invented, the statement is not
of the Speaker’s Corner during
and supply humorous answers that accepted. If a student cannot think of
produced laughter in the class. For breaks. anything to say within ten seconds, he or
example, My cat eats too much and is Ginka Vassileva she is ‘out’. The last student to say
too fat! Students wrote: You had better (Sofia, Bulgaria) something wins. As a follow up, the teacher
buy a new, thin cat! or You should starve can ask the class to think back and say
it! There may be teachers who have something about the famous person that
already used this activity or some  Question Time they found out during the activity. As an
version of it. My point is that students alternative, the activity can be used for
are more interested when an activity is
One student is interviewed by pairwork, with a weaker or quieter student
entertaining and relates to their own the whole class. The student being paired with a stronger or more
lives. answers the questions as if he outgoing one. ‘Who’ll be the last to speak?’
Sencan Topaloglu works with children and adults, and with
(Izmit, Turkey) or she were a famous person monolingual and multilingual classes at
or a classmate. The class have most levels.
Agnes Howard
 I got married to guess who the famous (Palma, Baleares)
in Scotland person or classmate is.
Personally I think the relationship between Simon Phipps
(Ankara, Turkey) IT WORKS IN PRACTICE
a teacher and students should not be cool
or reserved. Everybody should be ready to  WHAT HAS WORKED FOR YOU IN THE
CLASSROOM? WE ARE LOOKING FOR PRACTICAL
ask and answer personal questions. I find  Begin at the end IDEAS. THEY MAY BE SIMPLE, SOPHISTICATED,
True/False dictations very useful for WELL-TRIED OR ORIGINAL. THEY MAY TAKE A
When there isn’t enough time left to start
practising listening and writing. The LINE OR TWO TO EXPLAIN, OR REQUIRE
something new, or when you notice your
sentences I use are ‘tricky’ and students SEVERAL PARAGRAPHS. WRITE TO US SOON
students are getting tired, why not try
have to guess which one is true. My AND PLEASE REMEMBER TO INCLUDE YOUR
this? Tell them to write down the whole
favourite sentences are: NAME AND ADDRESS. IF WE PUBLISH YOUR
English alphabet. Then ask them to write
CONTRIBUTION, WE WILL EXTEND YOUR
- I used to play table tennis for the one word that begins with each letter
SUBSCRIPTION BY ONE ISSUE.
Slovenian National Junior Team. (They and another word that ends with the

• ENGLISH TEACHING professional • 33