IT WORKS IN PRACTICE

More tested lessons, suggestions, tips and techniques which have

all worked for ETp readers. Try them out for yourself – and then
send us your own contribution. Don’t forget to include your
postal address.
All the contributors to It Works in Practice in this issue of ETp
will receive a copy of Real English Grammar by Hester Lott,
published by Marshall Cavendish Education.

Start with stress Vocabulary coaching chart

This is a suggestion for helping students The aim of my vocabulary coaching ● It fosters the habit of writing
to get the stress right on multi-syllable chart is to get new vocabulary into definitions, chunks, collocations
words. By drawing attention to the the students’ long-term memories. and pronunciation in a neat and
stressed syllable first, you should be able Research suggests that we need to organised way.
to help them give it more emphasis and encounter new language at least
● Students are encouraged to check
pronounce it correctly. seven times before it becomes fixed in
if their classmates remember items
the memory, so the chart is a way of
1 Choose the multi-syllable words you that were important for them.
coaching the students to revise new
want to practise. For example: They are motivated to add the
vocabulary and record the dates when
dimension compromise vocabulary they hadn’t prioritised
they do this. The chart itself consists
expose available before onto their own lists.
of a column where the students write
reliable identity down the new vocabulary with space ● Students have a strong sense of
assignment preparation for seven dates for recording the accomplishment when they are able
exhibition mysterious occasions on which they revisit it. to explain their items successfully
2 Write the stressed syllable of each
In addition, there are a number of to their classmates.
suggestions at the top of the chart
word on the board. Do not tell students ● Students feel very positive when
for ways to recycle the items at home.
they are parts of words at this stage. they are able to give a definition
For example: read the words out loud
men pose li sign bi or make a sentence using items
and then try to repeat them without
com vai den ra ter suggested by their classmates.
looking at them; write sentences
3 Pointing to each syllable in turn, drill using the new words; read one ● Ten to 15 minutes of each class
them with the sound as it is in the word. expression and then look at yourself can be devoted to revisiting the
Continue drilling until the students can in the mirror and repeat it out loud. vocabulary chart, thus making the
remember the sound for each group of procedure a definite part of the
A colleague (Cristina Asperti)
letters. They may protest at the course and providing the teacher
observed one of my classes where the
incongruence between some letters and with a flexible activity.
vocabulary coaching chart was used
sounds, but ask them to be patient. for a 15-minute activity in which the ● Last, but certainly not least, this
4 Now write the complete words on the
students were asked to choose some procedure is a simple way to refine
of the expressions they had recorded the meaning of items that students
board and point out that the letter groups
and to check their meaning with a have included in their notes. It is
are in fact the stressed syllables of the
partner. She made the following usually very difficult for the teacher
words. Drill the words themselves, making observations: to get to know what students jot
sure that the students stress them correctly. down in their notebooks. By closely
● The whole procedure, along with
5 Erase the words except for the stressed monitoring the classroom activity
the classroom checking activity that
syllables, so the board appears as it did in when the students are busy asking
I observed, seems to be a very
stage 2. Say each stressed syllable as a and giving definitions and
efficient tool for vocabulary storage
prompt for the students to remember the examples of the items they have
and retrieval.
word. Finally, let them continue in pairs or chosen, the teacher has the
groups, giving prompts and identifying the ● The activity allows for choice – each opportunity to check if the items
student decides the lexical items were correctly understood.
words.
Simon Mumford they want to include in their sheets Léa Totti
Izmir, Turkey and how they want to record them. Brazil

(Léa, please get in touch with your address.)

34 • Issue 74 May 2011 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

 Peer assessment in writing
All students need to recognise their when teaching how to write a paragraph ● Give the students the criteria you
individual potential and take or an essay. Do the activity again in normally use to grade their writing.
responsibility for their own learning. subsequent lessons, choosing the work
Only then can we describe them as of different students each time, so that ● Ask them to read the essay and report
autonomous learners. But how do everyone has a chance to experience back to their group with regard to
students learn best? Involvement, peer feedback on their writing: their own allocated feature.
ownership and investment are often said ● Get the students in each group to
to be the components of a successful ● Make several copies of five different
student essays. compile written feedback on the essay,
learning task. Unfortunately, a teacher incorporating all the ideas contributed
often has to do quite a bit of ● Divide the students into five groups of by the different group members.
psychological ‘weaning’ to enable the five students and give each group
students to assume responsibility for copies of one essay. ● Give the peer feedback to the original
their own learning and progress. An writer of the essay.
integral part of autonomous learning is ● Tell each student in a group that they
are responsible for only one feature of ● The students who wrote the original
acquiring the skills of analysis, problem
the essay: a) content, b) organisation, essays use the feedback to rewrite
solving and critical thinking.
c) vocabulary, d) grammar or them.
The following is a simple task which Rania Jabr
really works in practice with all levels e) spelling and punctuation. Cairo, Egypt

Picture perfect
One school I worked at used to have a filing cabinet full of photos and images from magazines, newspapers, the web, etc.
They were filed under various labels such as people, animals, faces and objects. Over the years I have realised how useful
they can be for almost any class. Here are some ideas for ways of using pictures.

Exams revealing the image as the students ● They can be given pictures of strange
● Many English exams involve photos or make predictions about what is in the locations and told to write postcards
images in the Speaking section, so picture. home.
getting students used to describing and ● Students can practise linkers of
comparing pictures is very important. Business English
contrast by comparing gossip about two ● You can ask the students to adopt the
However, even when preparing for those film stars in a photo. They can also be
exams which don’t involve image (such persona of a famous businessperson
asked to compare pictures of different from a photo in a negotiation.
as IELTS) it can be easier for students to things, such as riding to school on a
describe things such as hobbies from a skateboard and taking the bus. ● They can create advertising campaigns
photo, and this gives them images to for random products or even cities,
recall later in the exam. ● To practise the third conditional, they based on photos of them.
can be asked to link two photos chosen
Roleplays ● They can use photos to choose bad
at random in a conditional sentence.
● Any speaking activity, particularly a events for topics for meetings.
For example: If Johnny Depp hadn’t got
roleplay, can be made more interesting married, he would have become a priest. ● They can invent their own companies,
by giving the students photos of people based on photos of locations,
they have to pretend to be. Time can be Vocabulary infrastructure or offices.
allowed for them to build up the ● Students can label items on a photo,
character, even for a famous person. using nouns, adjectives, antonyms and Presentations
Pictures of places can be used in a similar synonyms. ● When students are making
way to provide backgrounds for roleplays. presentations, the members of the
● They can be asked to create a luxurious
audience can be given positive and
lifestyle for a person in a photo.
Grammar negative photos, such as someone with
● You can establish the concept of tenses Writing their thumbs up and a person sleeping.
using photos of events and questions ● Students can build creative stories Whilst watching a presentation, they
such as: Did he go to Spain? Yes. Do we based on a few ambiguous photos. can then choose and hold up the photo
know when? No. (= present perfect) that best shows how they feel about the
● They can be asked to write letters of
delivery.
● Modals of deduction can be practised by complaint about a hotel shown in a Phil Wade
showing covered photos and slowly photo. Bordeaux, France

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 74 May 2011 • 35