Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<p>Where do you go for dinner inspiration when your refrigerator is half empty and the thought of cereal for yet another meal makes you feel slightly nauseous? Last night, I turned to this week&rsquo;s <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/that-s-news-to-me">That&rsquo;s News to Me</a> lesson and it did not disappoint!</p>

<p>At the beginning of each week, members of Ellii&rsquo;s Publishing team scour Reuters&rsquo;s portal for timely, relevant articles that will appeal to students and teachers alike. (We license content from Reuters to bring authentic materials and graded readings to classrooms around the world.) Often a &ldquo;newsy&rdquo; story takes precedence, but if we don&rsquo;t feel there is an &ldquo;event&rdquo; that we should cover, we turn to articles that deal with a wide range of topics including business and economics, politics, the environment, education and technology, health, family and society, and sports and entertainment.</p>

<p>Yesterday, we looked at a few possible articles, but when Felicia found one about &ldquo;misfit&rdquo; food, we knew our search was over. Tara mentioned that she loved &ldquo;buying those mushrooms that are ready to use tonight at half the price,&rdquo; and I was reminded of the juicy pears that, while brown in spots, made for a scrumptious addition to our Sunday brunch over the weekend. Plus, we knew that Steve, our illustrator, would do a bang-up job with the lesson image. And did he ever! Have you ever seen a cuter carrot?</p>

<p>As I was editing the Advanced version of <a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/6526-convincing-consumers-to-choose-misfit-food">Convincing Consumers to Choose &ldquo;Misfit&rdquo; Food</a>, I decided that I&nbsp;could personally do more to help reduce food waste than buying a few overripe pears. Despite being a Gen Xer&mdash;the demographic, according to the article, who is the least enthusiastic about buying &ldquo;ugly&rdquo; produce, upcycled products,&nbsp;or food that is nearing its best-before date&mdash;I downloaded an app that the author mentioned, <a href="https://www.toogoodtogo.com/en-us">Too Good To Go</a>.</p>

<p>Too Good To Go sells &ldquo;surprise&rdquo; bags of surplus food at a fraction of the retail cost. Yesterday, a local Afghan restaurant, <a href="https://themantuva.com/">The Mantu</a>,&nbsp;was offering these bags for $9.99 each. My husband and I are not the best meal planners and had nothing prepared for dinner, so I reserved a bag for us. When I picked the bag up from the restaurant, I was surprised by how heavy it was. By the time I was halfway home, my mouth was watering from the aroma of the food.</p>

<p>When we opened the bag, we discovered generous portions of spiced rice, chicken, and dumplings. We ate our fill and resolved to make &ldquo;surprise&rdquo; bags part of our weekly routine.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I hope that you make our That&#39;s News to Me section a part of your weekly classsroom routine. You never know what awaits!</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p></p>

Inspiration Abounds at Ellii

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2835/Ann_Inspiration-Abounds-at-Ellii_Banner.png

Discover what's new or coming soon, including upcoming lessons and resources and product feature updates. 

Announcements

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://www.loom.com/embed/d774d52971af49e881a85291f339f968" style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%;" webkitallowfullscreen=""></iframe><br />
&nbsp;</div>

<p>A new and improved version of Learning Pathways goes live on Ellii Solo on Monday, October 26.</p>

<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://ellii.com/solo" target="_blank">Ellii Solo</a> is Ellii&#39;s self-study platform for English language learners. Designed for ESL programs in&nbsp;adult ed, high schools, and libraries, Ellii Solo is ideal for independent study, supplemental learning, computer labs, and distance education.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>When students study on their own, it&#39;s not always obvious what to do next. Pathways take out the guesswork by laying&nbsp;out a clear route through each of our six levels, from Pre Beginner all the way to Advanced.</p>

<h3>What&#39;s new on Ellii Solo?</h3>

<p><strong>Progressive Ellii Up courses</strong></p>

<p>Each Pathway is now a curated sequence of Ellii Up courses. Students follow a&nbsp;clear, logical order, so they always know what to study next.</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5817/content_01M536F258SRAQQ05W9MRSTKK8.png" style="width: 1360px; height: 881px;" /></p>

<p><strong>Level assessments</strong></p>

<p>Completing an assessment is now an optional step at the end of each level. Admins set the required passing score to unlock the next level. Students can retake an assessment as often as they&#39;d like, and their best result is saved automatically.</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5823/content_assessment.png" /></p>

<p><strong>Ellii Solo Preferences in your admin account</strong></p>

<p>A new Ellii Solo Preferences page will soon appear in the Account section of your admin account. It lets admins and managers set whether the level assessment is required, the minimum score to pass, the order levels unlock in, and whether teachers can manually change a student&#39;s level.</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5824/content_settings.png" /></p>

<h3>What happens to the previous Pathways?</h3>

<p>The previous version of Learning Pathways stays available to your students until December 31, 2026, through a link on their Ellii Solo home page. All of the content from previous Pathways can still be found in the Ellii Solo Library.</p>

<p>Once the update is released, admins can adjust your program&rsquo;s Ellii Solo Preferences directly from the <a href="https://ellii.com/my_account">Account</a> page.</p>

<h3>Helpful links</h3>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/332-how-to-set-ellii-solo-preferences">How to Set Ellii Solo Preferences</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/333-how-to-change-your-students-ellii-solo-level">How to Change your Students&#39; Ellii Solo Level</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>Questions?</h3>

<div style="position: relative; height: 0;">Reach out to us at <a href="mailto:hello@ellii.com">hello@ellii.com</a>&mdash;we&rsquo;d be happy to chat with you!</div>


A New Learning Pathways Experience Is Coming to Ellii Solo

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2837/Ellii-solo-update_Banner.png

Find quick links to each episode of the Teacher Think-Aloud podcast, hosted by Shélynn Riel and Anna Ciriani-Dean and sponsored by Ellii.  

Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast

<p dir="auto">In the latest episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>, hosts Anna and Sh&eacute; are joined by Matt Sussman, CEO and co-founder of FLOW Speak, an AI-powered English speaking practice app, for a conversation about a problem nearly every ESL teacher recognizes: students who do everything we assign and still hesitate when it&rsquo;s time to speak. Drawing on 30 years in education and international exchange, from teaching English in Japan to working with Fulbright scholars, Matt asks what&rsquo;s really missing between knowing English and feeling ready to use it.</p>

<p dir="auto">The conversation takes on a question that&rsquo;s hard to answer honestly: what happens when practice moves beyond the classroom, and where does the teacher fit once it does? Matt, Anna, and Sh&eacute; trade ideas about what learners need before they ever hold a real conversation, and Matt shares a first-time announcement about where FLOW Speak is heading next.</p>

<blockquote dir="auto">
<p>&ldquo;Teachers, in my mind, are irreplaceable. Learning is a human endeavor.&rdquo; &mdash; Matt Sussman</p>
</blockquote>

<p dir="auto">This conversation is an invitation to rethink what speaking practice can look like in a world of AI tools, and what only teachers can do. Matt&rsquo;s work reminds us that the goal isn&rsquo;t more technology in the classroom, but more confident speakers walking out of it.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y5INg6MVlN4?si=PRVQvtc2A2mVyaVJ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p dir="auto">🎙️ Listen now on your favorite platform:</p>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1"><a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a></li>
	<li value="2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li>
	<li value="3"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2zv5mVNpSqkDNiNbQlnm7B" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
	<li value="4"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-teacher-think-aloud-podcast/id1629819608" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a></li>
</ul>

<p dir="auto">🔗 Follow The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast on social media for more updates:</p>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/teacherthinkaloud" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
	<li value="2"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thinkaloud_pod/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li>
	<li value="3"><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/thinkaloudpod.bsky.social" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluesky</a></li>
	<li value="4"><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a></li>
	<li value="5"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-think-aloud/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li>
</ul>


 AI-Powered Speaking Practice for the English Language Classroom

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2836/Tara_New-Year-New-Reflections-and-a-Partnership-with-The-Teacher-Think-Aloud-Podcast_Banner.png

These posts are written for learners of English themselves. Find learning tips and ideas for learning English.

For Students

<p>Going to group English classes can sometimes test your patience. You need to wait for other students in your class to think&nbsp;and speak. You also need to sit quietly&nbsp;as the teacher corrects other students&#39; mistakes or reminds everyone of the homework tasks you did yesterday!&nbsp;</p>

<p>But group classes are also a great chance to make new friends, review grammar, learn new words, and share skills. They are less expensive than&nbsp;private classes&nbsp;and you can&nbsp;practice English with other learners who share your goals.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this blog post, I will share how to make the most of your group classes through&nbsp;mentoring&nbsp;and peer learning opportunities.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>What is peer learning?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Peers are equals (or at least<em> near </em>equals). Perhaps they have&nbsp;a similar level of English. They might be about the same age, have the same gender, or have the same nationality&nbsp;and similar interests.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a peer learning relationship, two or more people learn from each other. For example, in class, you might read a text and then answer some questions together, helping each other with new words or difficult grammar.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<h2>What is mentoring?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Mentors have more experience&nbsp;or skills in something than their mentees. Mentees are less experienced&nbsp;and learn from their mentors.&nbsp;For example, a mentor might&nbsp;share advice on how to deliver&nbsp;a presentation, prepare&nbsp;for an interview, or write a report in English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This relationship can be informal. For example, a student who has just completed&nbsp;an IELTS test may share their experiences with a learner who is about to take the test.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The relationship can also be formal. For example, in a workplace, a paid mentor may support someone who is new to the job. The mentor can help them to learn new skills&nbsp;and complete necessary tasks.</p>

<h2>Benefits of peer learning</h2>

<p>The main goal of any English language class is to communicate. In a group class, teachers need to find ways to get students speaking as much as possible. Pair work&nbsp;and group work are the best ways to do this.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Imagine a group class where the students only spoke directly to the teacher. There would be very little communication at all!</p>

<p>And in the real world, you use English with lots of different people from all over the world. So speaking to your peers is excellent real-world practice.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Peer learning can:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>give more opportunities to practice English</li>
	<li>let students find answers and solve problems together</li>
	<li>allow&nbsp;students to share tips for studying or completing tasks</li>
	<li>develop teamwork skills</li>
	<li>let students learn through teaching each other</li>
</ul>

<h2>Benefits of&nbsp;mentoring in the language classroom</h2>

<p>It might seem like a chore to be paired with a student whose English is not as good as yours. However, one of the best ways to learn something is to teach it. Teaching&nbsp;lets you simplify information in a way that you and someone else can understand.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mentoring lower-level learners&nbsp;allows higher-level learners to:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>use&nbsp;their language skills in new ways</li>
	<li>think more deeply about the language</li>
	<li>develop&nbsp;new skills for their CV or resume&nbsp;</li>
	<li>learn how to give good feedback</li>
	<li>listen carefully</li>
	<li>choose simple ways&nbsp;to communicate better&nbsp;</li>
	<li>look back at how their English language skills have improved over time</li>
</ul>

<p>There are also a lot of advantages for lower-level learners as mentees. Their mentor can help them with:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>explaining difficult grammar or language points</li>
	<li>speaking practice</li>
	<li>correcting homework or writing tasks</li>
	<li>developing confidence</li>
	<li>learning study skills</li>
	<li>getting to know&nbsp;other learners who have done well in English</li>
	<li>making new friends&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2>How to be a&nbsp;peer learner</h2>

<p>In many ways, peer learning happens naturally in every group language classroom. Whenever your teacher pairs you with another student or students, you are learning from and helping your peers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>To be a good peer learner, look at every minute of the class as a learning opportunity. You can help others by offering explanations, asking questions, sharing your confusion, or telling others about the wonderful new English podcast or app you found.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Learning a new language can be scary, so as peers, we need to be polite and caring. No one wants to be laughed at or talked over. Give everyone a chance to speak and help others whenever you can.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As well as informal&nbsp;peer learning in class, there are also more formal projects. One project that&nbsp;I managed&nbsp;paired local people with English language learners who had just arrived in the country. This gave each language learner a chance to practice their English and learn about their new area. The local peer had the opportunity to share their knowledge and make someone feel welcomed and confident.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>How to be a mentor (or mentee)</h2>

<p>Some schools have started formal mentoring programs. This is where higher-level students mentor lower-level learners.</p>

<p>For example, at one college I worked at, upper-intermediate and advanced learners volunteered to mentor beginner and elementary learners. To do this, they helped the teacher in different ways. During writing tasks, they would help students with language points (e.g., spelling, punctuation, handwriting). They might also translate really hard grammar points.</p>

<p>Another project paired&nbsp;students who were confident with computers with students who needed to practice their digital skills. Students (who usually spoke the same language) met on their own time. They learned how to send emails, choose safe passwords, and write Word documents.&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p>What experience do you have with peer learning or mentoring? We&#39;d love to know! Please share in the comments.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You may also like these blog posts:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/working-in-english-when-english-isnt-your-first-language">Working in English When English Isn&#39;t Your First Language</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-your-way-how-to-add-you-to-your-english">English Your Way: How to Express Your English Personality</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-belongs-to-everyone-here-s-how-to-own-your-english">English Belongs to Everyone</a></li>
</ul>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Students as Teachers: Boost Your English by Supporting, Mentoring & Learning from Your Peers

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2834/Emily_Taking-the-Fear-out-of-Full-Class-Discussions_Banner.png

<p dir="auto" id="unveiling-the-power-of-pronunciation-a-deep-dive-into-the-color-vowel-chart">In the latest episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>, co-hosts Anna and Sh&eacute; explore the dynamic world of teaching pronunciation with the insightful creator of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.colorvowel.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Color Vowel Chart&reg;</a>, Karen Taylor. The episode digs into the intricacies of teaching spoken English effectively, moving beyond phonetic transcription to engage diverse learners through vibrant, memorable visuals.</p>

<p dir="auto">Karen shares her intriguing journey into developing the Color Vowel Chart&reg;, aiming to transform the often daunting task of teaching pronunciation into an interactive and accessible experience. She frames pronunciation not just as a series of drills, but as a part of a broader ecosystem of spoken English.&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote dir="auto">
<p>&quot;Pronunciation is a very limiting term. Spoken English [is] a full-bodied term that gets into the grammar, the lexis, the vocabulary, and the pronunciation, all together like a little braid.&quot; &ndash; Karen Taylor.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p dir="auto">The episode further discusses overcoming accent bias and enhancing learners&#39; comprehensibility across different English varieties, touching on how the Color Vowel Chart&reg; supports teachers in celebrating linguistic diversity and enhancing students&#39; spoken English proficiency.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rr1GxYHX8Uo?si=YezSlIalA-_mEtK3" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p dir="auto">🎙️ Listen now on your favorite platform:</p>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1"><a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a></li>
	<li value="2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li>
	<li value="3"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2zv5mVNpSqkDNiNbQlnm7B" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
	<li value="4"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-teacher-think-aloud-podcast/id1629819608" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p dir="auto">🔗 Follow The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast on social media for more updates:</p>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/teacherthinkaloud" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
	<li value="2"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thinkaloud_pod/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li>
	<li value="3"><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a></li>
	<li value="4"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-think-aloud/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li>
</ul>


Unveiling the Power of Pronunciation: A Deep Dive into the Color Vowel Chart®

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2833/Tara_New-Year-New-Reflections-and-a-Partnership-with-The-Teacher-Think-Aloud-Podcast_Banner.png

<p>In English language teaching, class sizes vary enormously. Some schools may limit the maximum number of students per class&nbsp;to 6&ndash;10. Other classes might take place in huge lecture&nbsp;halls with lots of students in attendance. Then, of course, there are also one-to-one classes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this blog post, I&#39;ll explore some ways to&nbsp;manage classes of any size effectively&nbsp;in order to maximize communicative opportunities.</p>

<h2>Dealing with large classes</h2>

<p>Communication is&nbsp;the main objective in any ELT classroom. In larger classes,&nbsp;providing opportunities for learners to speak while still receiving feedback and support&nbsp;can become a challenge.</p>

<p>In these cases, it&nbsp;may not be realistic to give every learner individual time and attention, so learners need to work together to support each other.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Group or pair students</h3>

<p>In larger classes, students need to work together to practice their English.<strong>&nbsp;</strong>Think carefully about how to create groups or pairs of students so that they can help each other.&nbsp;</p>

<p>When students with different&nbsp;abilities work together, stronger students can support those who need more help.</p>

<p>When students with similar abilities work together, stronger students can push each other forward, while students who need more time can work at a more relaxed pace.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you know the students well, you could also group them by skills. Every student is different. Some might be super confident with speaking, but need more support with writing. In this case, you could have the strong speaker support the less confident speaker with speaking. They could then switch supporting roles&nbsp;so that they also help each other with writing. This way they can share language learning tips and skills.</p>

<p>Giving students roles during group or pair work&nbsp;can help them support each other effectively and stay focused. For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Translator</li>
	<li>Notetaker</li>
	<li>Grammar explainer</li>
	<li>Scribe</li>
	<li>Vocabulary doodler</li>
	<li>Error corrector</li>
	<li>Feedback giver</li>
</ul>

<p>Check out Ann&#39;s fun ideas:&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/8-ways-to-randomly-pair-and-group-students" target="_blank">8 Ways to Randomly Pair &amp; Group Students</a></p>

<h3>Try student mentoring or peer teaching</h3>

<p>One of the best ways to learn something is to teach it. This is one of the reasons why mentoring is so effective in the language classroom.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In large classes, it is unlikely that you&#39;ll manage to monitor and support every student individually. This is where mentors can help.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Student&nbsp;mentors could support&nbsp;other learners&nbsp;in the same class. You could also recruit vounteers from upper-level classes to support learners in lower-level classes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nominating mentors allows students to support others, cement their own knowledge, and have additional opportunities to naturally practice their English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There are many ways to choose a mentor:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Ask students to volunteer&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Assign mentoring to&nbsp;fast finishers when they complete tasks</li>
	<li>Select students based on skills</li>
	<li>Choose a student who can translate to a certain language</li>
	<li>Pick students names at random&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Have a daily or weekly mentoring rotation</li>
</ul>

<h3>Encourage learner autonomy</h3>

<p>In large classes, learners need to be more autonomous. Students need to take ownership of their own learning.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One way to do this is to let them choose what they want to learn. This could focus on a topic of interest (e.g.,&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/4211-nasa-space-telescope-s-first-cosmic-view-goes-deep">Space</a>&nbsp;or <a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/3041-the-amazon-rainforest">the Amazon</a>) or something they need more practice with (e.g.,&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/collections/videos/grammar">grammar</a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/visual-learning">vocabulary</a>).</p>

<p>Either way, let them choose something from Ellii&#39;s vast resource library, and then circulate, monitor, and provide support as required.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You could also&nbsp;choose and print&nbsp;a&nbsp;collection of graded readers for learners to use when they wish. For YL, try <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/categories/young-learners">Reading Routes A&ndash;Z</a>. For adults, check out <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/categories/topic-based" target="_blank">topic-based</a> packs.</p>

<h2>Dealing with small classes</h2>

<p>In general, small classes tend to be more manageable than larger classes. But they can be a bit perplexing&nbsp;when class numbers are unexpectedly low.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Perhaps a holiday, public transport issue, or last-minute emergency has left your class with just a couple or handful of students. Here are some ideas:&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Go outdoors</h3>

<p>When class numbers are low, take the opportunity for a walk around the local area.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Have students:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>describe what they can see</li>
	<li>be your tour guide and have them tell you the local history</li>
	<li>advise on where to go for the best coffee, the cheapest bread, or the most comfortable movie theater</li>
	<li>share their memories, inspired by different things that you pass</li>
</ul>

<p>You could follow up this learning opportunity in future lessons&nbsp;by having them report back to the other students in the class.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Team teach</h2>

<p>When class numbers are unexpectedly low in one class, the chances are they are low in every class. Team up with other teachers.</p>

<ul>
	<li>You teach the first hour of the class, and then the other teacher teaches the second hour.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Put on a class <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/end-of-year-english-skit-for-ells-see-you-later-alligator">play</a>. Have students practice in their own classroom, and then perform it for the other class.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Play <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons?genre=activities" target="_blank">games</a>, watch <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos" target="_blank">videos</a> in English, sing karaoke, or do interactive group tasks (<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/ellii-polls" target="_blank">polls</a> or <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/announcing-ellii-dilemmas" target="_blank">dilemmas</a>).</li>
</ul>

<h2>Personalized classes</h2>

<p>Low class numbers provice a great opportunity to give learners a little extra attention. For example, if you know that students need practice with handwriting, you could work on this skill together.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Let students choose what they want to study and have them work alone, in pairs, in groups, or just with you to complete the tasks.&nbsp;</p>

<p>These are just some ways to deal with varying class sizes. What other ideas do you have? What class sizes have you taught? We&#39;d love to know in the comments.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Related&nbsp;</h2>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/developing-learner-autonomy-with-ai">Developing Learner Autonomy with AI</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-ways-to-develop-learner-autonomy-in-the-elt-classroom">7 Ways to Develop Learner Autonomy</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-importance-of-self-directed-learning-transforming-the-elt-classroom-with-independence">5 Benefits of Learner Autonomy</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-teach-workplace-english">How to Teach Workplace English</a></li>
</ul>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Top Tips for Dealing with Different (& Unexpected) Class Sizes

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2832/Emily_Top-Tips-for-Dealing-with-Different-Class-Sizes_Banner.png

<article data-creator-id="47358920" data-read="" data-readable-identifier="Z2lkOi8vYmMzL1JlY29yZGluZy8xMDI3MTkyMzQyMQ" data-recording-id="10271923421" data-url="/5519100/buckets/40516350/documents/10271923421" id="recording_10271923421">
<section>
<p dir="auto" id="affirming-not-assimilating-a-new-approach-to-supporting-multilingual-learners">In the latest episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>, hosts Anna and Sh&eacute; are joined by Aylin Erengul Gregg&mdash;an international school teacher with over 15 years of experience and the creator of the LEAVES approach, a framework built around a question most schools never think to ask:</p>

<blockquote>
<p dir="auto"><strong>What if multilingual learners weren&#39;t the ones expected to do all the adapting?</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p dir="auto">Aylin traces the idea back to her own experience learning English abroad&nbsp;and to a linguist&#39;s line that stopped her in her tracks about what actually has to be true in a classroom before real language learning can happen. From there, she and the hosts dig into a distinction that sounds subtle but isn&#39;t&mdash;between a school that quietly expects students to assimilate&nbsp;and one built from the ground up to affirm who they already are. They trace how the first mindset shows up in ordinary, well-meaning staffroom language&nbsp;and what it costs students when it goes unexamined.</p>

<blockquote dir="auto">
<p>&quot;Affirmation happens when we say, &#39;We see you. We value you. We respect you with your identity and your languages, cultural backgrounds. You&#39;re welcome here, and here are the systems that we built thinking about you.&#39;&quot; &mdash; Aylin Erengul Gregg</p>
</blockquote>

<p dir="auto">The conversation doesn&#39;t stop at naming the problem. Aylin shares the BUDS&mdash;her name for a set of small, doable classroom shifts&mdash;that any subject teacher can put to use without becoming a language specialist. What they are&nbsp;and why something so simple makes such a measurable difference&nbsp;is worth hearing her explain herself.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ASgVYOGi4Q8?si=gYQV30OsMWwbqH2T" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p dir="auto">🎙️ Listen now on your favorite platform:</p>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1"><a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a></li>
	<li value="2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li>
	<li value="3"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2zv5mVNpSqkDNiNbQlnm7B" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
	<li value="4"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-teacher-think-aloud-podcast/id1629819608" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p dir="auto">🔗 Follow The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast on social media for more updates:</p>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/teacherthinkaloud" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
	<li value="2"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thinkaloud_pod/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li>
	<li value="3"><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a></li>
	<li value="4"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-think-aloud/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li>
</ul>
</section>
</article>

<section data-controller="toggle-class" data-toggle-class-toggle-class="recordable-discussion--backlinks-active">
<section>
<article data-creator-id="47358920" data-parent-id="10271923421" data-read="" data-readable-identifier="Z2lkOi8vYmMzL1JlY29yZGluZy8xMDI3MTkyNTAzOA" data-recording-id="10271925038" data-thread-entry-gid="&quot;gid://bc3/Recording/10271925038&quot;" data-type="comment" data-url="/5519100/buckets/40516350/comments/10271925038" id="recording_10271925038">
<header>&nbsp;</header>
</article>
</section>
</section>


Affirming, Not Assimilating: A New Approach to Supporting Multilingual Learners

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2831/Tara_New-Year-New-Reflections-and-a-Partnership-with-The-Teacher-Think-Aloud-Podcast_Banner.png

<blockquote>
<p dir="auto">This was a letter written by Nico, an engineer at Ellii, who moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, from Argentina to work on the Product Team at Ellii. Nico sent this letter&nbsp;to Team Ellii before he stepped away from his desk last weekend. Nico&nbsp;works on making things work behind the scenes from developing new features, to smashing bugs, to wrestling with Ellii Bot. When you download the new app for students this coming fall, you can thank Nico!</p>
</blockquote>

<p dir="auto"><br />
Dear Team Ellii,<br />
<br />
Working at Ellii not only means working in an English environment, but also, as you all know, working for a company that publishes English materials specifically for ESL learners! 😱</p>

<p dir="auto">I have always felt welcome and understood; not once have I had a coworker mention a grammar mistake or wrong pronunciation, and no one interrupts me to correct me unless I&#39;m asking for help. You are the best team ever! And believe me, I know my accent can be a challenge sometimes! 😂</p>

<p dir="auto">One of the perks of working with all of you is that I&#39;m constantly learning English without actually trying to learn English. This last week was one of the most prolific&nbsp;vocabulary wise, I learned 4 new words from 4 different people in random conversations.<br />
<br />
Each time I see a new word, something gets triggered in my mind; I can quickly catch its meaning by context, but you know what, the first reaction is thinking there was a typo or an autocorrect mistake, because your brain can always try to go to the known place, where things are not scary.</p>

<p dir="auto">Here are those new words:<br />
<br />
<strong>plummeting:</strong>&nbsp;hey, did they try to type <em>plumber</em>? I know that word! But nope; this is a new one, and means &quot;to fall or drop straight down at a very high speed, or to decrease suddenly and steeply.&quot;</p>

<p dir="auto"><strong>sleuthing:</strong> when I read it in my mind, it sounded like <em>slithering</em>. I know that one from Harry Potter 🧙&zwj;♂️, but no, this one means: &quot;searching for clues, gathering evidence, or tracking down information.&quot; 🕵🏻&zwj;♂️<br />
<br />
<strong>conundrum:</strong> I don&#39;t know why, but my brain went to <em>tantrum</em>, not quite the same; this one means &quot;a confusing and difficult problem.&quot; 😵&zwj;💫<br />
<br />
<strong>onus:</strong> this one sounded Latin, like some kind of legal jargon maybe, and I was right with the Latin etymology and used in legal contexts as &quot;onus of proof&quot;; this word means &quot;burden, responsibility, or duty.&quot;<br />
<br />
I&#39;m sure in a couple of weeks I&#39;m going to forget that new vocabulary, and I&#39;m not going to use it anytime soon, but a teacher once taught me to try to write it in a sentence; it will stick, so here we go:</p>

<blockquote dir="auto">
<p>Now the&nbsp;<strong>conundrum</strong>&nbsp;is how to stop my confidence from&nbsp;<strong>plummeting</strong>&nbsp;every time I have to do some&nbsp;<strong>sleuthing</strong>, but I guess the&nbsp;<strong>onus</strong>&nbsp;is on me to figure out what the heck everyone is talking about. 😁</p>
</blockquote>

<p dir="auto">Okay, that was harder than I thought. See you in two weeks when I have forgotten all four of them.</p>

<p dir="auto">And seriously, thank you all for making working in a second language feel so easy and comfortable. You probably don&#39;t realize it, but I&#39;m learning from all of you all the time. ❤️</p>

<p dir="auto">&nbsp;</p>


Working in English When English Isn't Your First Language

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2830/Emily_How-to-Be-an-ELT-Nomad_Banner.png

<p>The languages we speak are an important part of who we are. They help us to understand the world in different ways. They open us to meeting interesting&nbsp;people, learning new things, and being ourselves.&nbsp;</p>

<p>So when we learn a language, we need to make it our own. We can choose which words to use and how to use them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this blog post, I&#39;ll talk about how to speak English YOUR way.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Do you feel like a&nbsp;different person when you speak&nbsp;English?</h2>

<p>This&nbsp;is very common. Many people feel like their personality changes when they speak different languages. For example, English is a very polite language. Speakers use &quot;please,&quot;&nbsp;&quot;thank you,&quot; and &quot;sorry&quot; a lot, so some learners&nbsp;might feel that they become more polite (or too polite) when they speak English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I personally feel more confident in English than in Spanish. In Spanish, I&#39;m quieter, but I still try to make silly jokes. I always want to make everyone smile and that part of my personality has become part of how I speak Spanish.</p>

<p>Take a couple of minutes to think about how your personality changes in different languages.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Adopt a catchphrase</h2>

<p>I often visit my cousin&#39;s Italian family in the summer. My Italian is mostly food, campsite, and beach&nbsp;vocabulary. However, I have also learned a few key phrases that&nbsp;always bring&nbsp;a smile to the family&#39;s&nbsp;faces.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example, at bedtime,&nbsp;&quot;Sogni d&#39;oro&quot; (<em>sweet dreams</em> or<em> dreams of gold</em>) has become my key phrase. It shows that I&#39;m trying to learn even though their English is a million times better.</p>

<p>Having a catchphrase is a good way to feel welcomed and have a laugh. It can make you feel confident because you know how to say it. It is also a great way to share some of your personality or beliefs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example, my Cuban friend often asks me, &quot;Eeeeeh! Emily! Who really cares?&quot;&nbsp;He does this with such a huge, relaxed&nbsp;smile that all my stress&nbsp;disappears.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It is his way of reminding me not to take life so seriously. Whenever I feel stressed or worried, I think of him saying this!</p>

<h2>Make your own language</h2>

<p>An <em>idiolect</em> is one person&#39;s own unique way of using a language. Everyone is different. They know different vocabulary, speak with different accents, and choose to use grammar differently.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Speak your own idiolect with confidence.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Own your &quot;mistakes&quot;</h2>

<p>There is no perfect way to speak English. There are hundreds of different Englishes. Even so-called &quot;native&quot; speakers make mistakes and misunderstand each other.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The most confident English language users are often the ones who are not afraid of making mistakes. In fact, they sometimes even choose to make mistakes as part of how they speak English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They know that the best way to deal with mistakes is to make them YOUR mistakes.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example, I have a Hungarian friend who is an advanced English speaker and loves to misuse the phrase &quot;back in the day.&quot;&nbsp;Instead, he chooses to say &quot;back in days.&quot;&nbsp;He does this for fun and as a reminder that he once said it incorrectly, but <em>who really cares? &quot;</em>Back in days&quot; is perfectly understandable.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Some common&nbsp;mistakes have even become popular&nbsp;in English. For example, groups of Spanish and English speakers use the phrase &quot;make a party!&quot; even though they all know it&#39;s technically incorrect. As a direct translation, Spanish people &quot;hacer una fiesta&quot;&nbsp;(<em>make a party</em>)&nbsp;while English people &quot;have/throw a party.&quot; It is such a common error that some so-called &quot;native&quot; English language users now use it as their own.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Are they really mistakes? If people understand you, maybe they are just a fun part of how you speak English.</p>

<h2>Own your accent too</h2>

<p>There are hundreds of different ways to speak English. Everyone speaks English differently. The most important thing about pronunciation is to be understood.</p>

<p>Some people want to learn to speak with an American or British accent. But&nbsp;this is really hard. Even so-called &quot;native&quot; speakers have to change how they pronounce some words in order to be understood.&nbsp;</p>

<p>My Italian cousin-in-law has lived in Scotland for nearly 20 years. He speaks English with a little bit of a Scottish accent, but he still has a lovely Italian accent. I love the way he sings my name, speaks with his hands, and adds a little vowel sound to words ending with a consonant. It&#39;s part of who he is, and I never want him to change.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I also love the way my Spanish friends say &quot;a leetle beet&quot; when they ask for &quot;a little bit&quot; of cake or add a&nbsp;schwa sound before &quot;s&quot; words, like &quot;a-Spain&quot; or &quot;a-speak.&quot;&nbsp;For me, it&#39;s not a pronunciation error, but a way for them to share who they are with me.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Mix languages</h2>

<p>If you are reading this, you probably already speak another language&mdash;or 10. One of the most fun parts of speaking other languages is choosing to use different words.</p>

<p>English borrows hundreds of words from other languages. For example:</p>

<ul>
	<li><em>emoji&nbsp;</em>from Japanese</li>
	<li><em>entrepreneur</em> from French</li>
	<li><em>kindergarten</em> from German</li>
</ul>

<p>I have added phrases from other languages I&#39;m learning to my daily English use. This has become part of my idiolect, so my friends and family understand them too.</p>

<p>For example,&nbsp;I often say Spanish phrases&nbsp;like &quot;Hola, mi amor&quot; (<em>Hi, my love</em>)&nbsp;and &quot;nada mas&quot; (<em>nothing else</em>). I also often say&nbsp;&quot;basta&quot; (<em>stop</em>) in hopes that I don&#39;t eat too much&nbsp;at Italian mealtimes and &quot;scarpetta&quot; (<em>use bread to clean the sauce from your plate</em>) when I am eating too much.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;Scarpetta&quot; is an amazing word. One reason for this is&nbsp;because cleaning the plate with a piece of bread is delicious. But also, there is no word for this in English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Mixing languages is a great way to share some of your other languages (and personalities) with the world.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Get colorful</h2>

<p>One day I was sitting, reading my book in a park. Nearby, I could hear two people chatting together in Dutch. One was telling the other a story, while the other was listening.&nbsp;All of a sudden, one of them started swearing in English.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the Netherlands, most people speak Dutch and English. The speaker chose to switch from Dutch to English for that part of their story to give it more power, more drama, more feeling.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this moment, I loved how they used their languages to express themselves. That&#39;s one of the many joys of speaking different languages.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>How do you add your personality to the languages you speak?&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You may also like these blog posts:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-belongs-to-everyone-here-s-how-to-own-your-english">English Belongs to Everyone</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/what-every-language-teacher-needs-to-know-about-global-englishes">What Every Language Teacher Needs to Know about Global Englishes</a></li>
</ul>


English Your Way: How to Express Your English Personality

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2829/Emily_English-Your-Way-How-to-Express-Your-English-Personality_Banner.png

Learn how to make the most of your Ellii subscription with tips from our publishing team.

Teaching with Ellii

Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

<article data-creator-id="49773119" data-read="" data-readable-identifier="Z2lkOi8vYmMzL1JlY29yZGluZy8xMDE2ODk4Mzk4Mg" data-recording-id="10168983982" data-url="/5519100/buckets/43976440/documents/10168983982" id="recording_10168983982">
<section>
<p dir="auto">If you lead an English conversation group, you know every week can bring new faces and often a wide range of proficiencies.</p>

<p dir="auto">Ellii has you covered with a variety of content and tools to ensure your conversation groups are lively and impactful, without requiring endless prep time.</p>

<p dir="auto">You don&#39;t have to reinvent the wheel for every session. Ellii&#39;s content and gamified tools are built to spark real conversations. Here&#39;s how to put each one to work.</p>

<h2 dir="auto">Discussion Starters</h2>

<p dir="auto">Students love talking about real issues affecting the world. With over 180&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/discussion-starters" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Discussion Starters</a>&nbsp;lessons on current issues like the cost of living and fast fashion, this section gives you full lessons created to get students talking about issues that matter to them. This lesson section is aimed at low-intermediate to advanced learners.</p>

<h3 dir="auto">Tips:</h3>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1">Set a timer and rotate pairs or small groups during the Discussion task so students practice speaking with different people.</li>
	<li value="2">Check out these lessons that come in multiple levels&mdash;great for differentiation!
	<ul>
		<li value="1"><a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/5543-goal-setting" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Goal-Setting</a>&nbsp;(Low Int) /<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/5541-goal-setting" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Goal-Setting</a>&nbsp;(Adv)</li>
		<li value="2"><a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/3235-climate-change" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Climate Change</a>&nbsp;(Low Int) /&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/1263-climate-change" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Climate Change</a>&nbsp;(High Int)</li>
		<li value="3"><a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/4303-culture-shock" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Culture Shock</a>&nbsp;(Low Int) /&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/4300-culture-shock" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Culture Shock</a>&nbsp;(Adv)</li>
		<li value="4"><a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/4016-phobias" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Phobias</a>&nbsp;(Low Int) /&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/4030-phobias" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Phobias</a>&nbsp;(Adv)</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>

<h2 dir="auto">Photo Prompts</h2>

<p dir="auto"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/photo-prompts" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Photo Prompts</a>&nbsp;use real pictures to spark discussion and storytelling&mdash;useful for mixed proficiency groups.</p>

<h3 dir="auto">Tips:</h3>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1">Start simple. Ask students to describe what they see, and then extend the conversation by asking what they think is happening outside the frame.</li>
	<li value="2">Split the group into pairs with the same photo and have them compare their descriptions.</li>
	<li value="3">Easily differentiate your activity. Beginners can name objects and describe the scenes, while advanced students can speculate about backstory and make predictions.</li>
</ul>

<h2 dir="auto">Silent Clips</h2>

<p dir="auto"><a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/silent-clips" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Silent Clips</a>&nbsp;are short, wordless videos of people and moments, covering categories like body language, holidays, and workplace gestures. Because there&#39;s no dialogue, students have to interpret tone, facial expressions, and context clues.</p>

<h3 dir="auto">Tips:</h3>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1">Use a body language clip to launch a discussion on cultural differences based on gestures.</li>
	<li value="2">Put students in pairs to create and present a dialogue based on the silent clip.</li>
	<li value="3">Ask students what they think the person is thinking or about to say, and then have them say their answer out loud and compare with a partner.</li>
</ul>

<h2 dir="auto">Dilemmas</h2>

<p dir="auto"><a href="https://ellii.com/gather/dilemmas" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Dilemmas</a>&nbsp;are interactive, high-engagement activities, ideal for sparking thought-provoking debate while building critical thinking skills. Students use their own devices to participate. No prep required!</p>

<h3 dir="auto">Tips:</h3>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1">Give your students sentence stems and key vocabulary to boost confidence and participation. Students can check out the Useful Language feature in each Dilemma for additional support.</li>
	<li value="2">Have students work in groups to create their own dilemma and share with the group.</li>
</ul>

<p dir="auto">Mix and match activities based on your students&#39; levels and how much energy the room needs that day. As you&#39;re exploring the platform,&nbsp;<a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/217-how-to-use-folders" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">save content to a folder</a>&nbsp;for easy access!</p>

<p dir="auto">&nbsp;</p>

<p dir="auto">If you enjoyed this blog post, we think you&#39;ll love this post too:</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/boost-student-talk-time-with-the-line-up-game">Boost Student Talk Time with the Line Up Game</a></li>
</ul>
</section>
</article>

<section data-controller="toggle-class" data-toggle-class-toggle-class="recordable-discussion--backlinks-active">
<section>
<article data-behavior="expandable" data-creator-id="49773119" data-read="" data-readable-identifier="Z2lkOi8vYmMzL1JlY29yZGluZy8xMDE2ODk4Mzk4Mg" data-recording-id="10168983982" data-url="/5519100/buckets/43976440/documents/10168983982" id="new_comment_for_recording_10168983982">&nbsp;</article>
</section>
</section>


Conversation Groups Made Easy: Get Students Talking with Ellii

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2828/Kylie_Conversation-Groups-Made-Easy-Get-Students-Talking-with-Ellii_Banner.png

<p>English is always changing and growing. Although it <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-history-of-english">started life in England</a>, over the centuries it&nbsp;has traveled the globe. Now, around <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/26884/most-spoken-languages-online-offline/" target="_blank">1.5 billion people</a>&nbsp;around the world use it every day to communicate.&nbsp;</p>

<p>These users are not all so-called &quot;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-belongs-to-everyone-here-s-how-to-own-your-english">native speakers</a>.&quot; Most of these users have learned it as an additional language.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><b>There are many ways&nbsp;to speak English</b></h2>

<p>There is often a mistaken belief that there is one &quot;correct&quot; way of speaking English. This is impossible.</p>

<p>Around 75 countries use it as their official language. Each one uses it in their own special way.&nbsp;</p>

<p>And within each country, people use it differently in&nbsp;different areas, cities, and towns. This gives us an interesting mix of accents and words.&nbsp;</p>

<p>People often think of British English or Amercian English as the &quot;correct&quot; models. But in Britain, there is Brummie (Birmingham English), Cockney (London English), and Glaswegian (Glasgow English)&mdash;to give just three examples. In the US, there&#39;s Southern (e.g., Texan), Mid-Atlantic (e.g.,&nbsp;New York), and Western (e.g., Californian).</p>

<p>If you&#39;d like to know more, check out my posts on the use of English in countries like <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/australian-english-for-esl-learners-common-phrases-slang-for-clear-communication">Australia</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/essential-scottish-for-english-language-learners-common-phrases-expressions">Scotland</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/irish-english-for-esl-learners-common-phrases-expressions">Ireland</a>.</p>

<h2><strong>The three circles of English speakers</strong></h2>

<p>In 1992, Braj Kachru created the three circle model of English speakers. He wanted to explore the use and status of different&nbsp;Englishes around the world.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He categorized them into the inner, outer, and expanding circles.</p>

<h2><strong>The inner circle&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>The &quot;inner circle&quot;&nbsp;includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. These are countries that historically spoke English first.</p>

<p>The Englishes from these countries are often used as&nbsp;models or &quot;norms&quot;&nbsp;for English language learners. This is why many language teaching resources use American or British English as examples&nbsp;in class.</p>

<p>This is also why some language schools continue the discriminatory practice of hiring language teachers from these countries&nbsp;rather&nbsp;than&nbsp;focusing on proficiency, lingusitic knowledge, or teaching expertise.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, there is a growing&nbsp;awareness that English is global. Speakers around the world are now challenging the&nbsp;outdated belief that so called &quot;native&quot;&nbsp;speakers from &quot;inner circle&quot;&nbsp;countries use the language more effectively.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>The outer circle</strong></h2>

<p>The &quot;outer circle&quot; includes countries where English may not be the most common language, but&nbsp;is an important or official language.</p>

<p>For example,&nbsp;India, Kenya, Malaysia, and Singapore started using&nbsp;the language when they were part of the British Empire. Like <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/australian-english-for-esl-learners-common-phrases-slang-for-clear-communication">Australian,</a> <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/irish-english-for-esl-learners-common-phrases-expressions">Irish</a>, and<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/essential-scottish-for-english-language-learners-common-phrases-expressions"> Scottish</a> English, their Englishes have unique differences in vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Although English speakers from these countries have grown up using the language, they are often mistakenly considered &quot;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/english-belongs-to-everyone-here-s-how-to-own-your-english">non-native</a>&quot;&nbsp;speakers.</p>

<p>This is due to the incorrect perception that English belongs to &quot;inner circle&quot; countries.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In reality, English belongs to everyone. Every user can make it their own.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>The expanding circle</strong></h2>

<p>The &quot;expanding circle&quot;&nbsp;refers to countries that have never had English as an official language, but still use it as a lingua franca. For example,&nbsp;English is an important language in Argentina, Egypt, and&nbsp;South Korea.</p>

<p>Although English is not an official language, many people in these countries want to learn it in order to enhance their careers&nbsp;and communicate confidently around the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Three circles of english" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5626/content_3-circles.png" /></p>

<h2><strong>How does the &quot;Three Circles of English Speakers&quot;&nbsp;model impact our classroom practice?&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>As language teachers, we need to be aware that there is not one correct way to speak English. Everyone uses it in their own way. The most important goal is to be understood.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This means that we need to adapt our classroom practices to our learners&#39; needs. Every learner has different reasons for learning&nbsp;and will use their language skills in different places.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It can be helpful to introduce learners to different accents and uses of the language. This supports them to adapt when they meet people who use an unfamiliar English.</p>

<p>We can also give learners confidence in knowing that even speakers from so-called &quot;inner circle&quot; countries can find each other hard to understand. Let them practice skills such as checking meaning, rephrasing, and adapting their pronunciation in order to be understood.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Finally, and most importantly, let them discover their own voice in English. Everyone uses English differently. Things that speakers from one country think are &quot;incorrect&quot; or &quot;weird&quot;&nbsp;may be very common in another.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Think about your own use of English. In what ways do you use it differently to other people you know?&nbsp;</p>

<p>If you enjoyed this blog post, we think you&#39;ll love these posts too:&nbsp;</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elf-pron-what-is-it-and-how-can-we-teach-it">ELF Pron: What Is It &amp;&nbsp;How Can We Teach It?</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-history-of-english">The History of English</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/australian-english-for-esl-learners-common-phrases-slang-for-clear-communication">Australian English for ESL Learners: Common Phrases &amp; Expressions for Clear Communication</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/essential-scottish-for-english-language-learners-common-phrases-expressions">Essential Scottish English for English Language Learners: Common Phrases &amp; Expressions</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/irish-english-for-esl-learners-common-phrases-expressions">Irish English for ESL Learners: Common Phrases &amp; Expressions</a></li>
</ul>


What Every Language Teacher Needs to Know about Global Englishes

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2827/Emily_What-every-language-teacher-needs-to-know-about-global-Englishes_Banner.png

<p>English is the most common language in the world. It has around <a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/26884/most-spoken-languages-online-offline/?srsltid=AfmBOooopVnQBvQWJRZYfuScM1zyBSWK2UZ_6Dz-HfoteHTsxL_1tqlA" target="_blank">1.5 billion speakers</a>. That&#39;s 20% of the world population. Most of these speakers have learned English as their second language.&nbsp;</p>

<p>People often think of American or British English as the &quot;standard,&quot;&nbsp;but people speak it differently in different places. Seventy-five countries identify English as their official language.&nbsp;There is not one &quot;correct&quot;&nbsp;way to speak it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In a&nbsp;series of blog posts on Ellii, I have been exploring common differences in English use in different countries. This post focuses on English from Ireland.</p>

<p>Many thanks to Irish ELT professionals&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-farren/">Stephen Farren</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-o-byrne-for-language-teachers/">Erin O&#39;Byrne</a>&nbsp;for their help with this. I loved sharing the differences and similarities with Scottish English with them!</p>

<p>You can also check out these posts on:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/australian-english-for-esl-learners-common-phrases-slang-for-clear-communication">Australian English</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/essential-scottish-for-english-language-learners-common-phrases-expressions">Scottish English</a></li>
</ul>

<h2><strong>Do I need to learn every different&nbsp;type of&nbsp;English?&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>The short answer is &quot;no.&quot; Even people who grew up speaking English find it difficult to understand speakers from other places.</p>

<p>Think about your own first language. Are there any countries, cities or regions that speak it very differently? How do you communicate with them?&nbsp;</p>

<p>Communicating with someone who uses a different style of English can be hard. However, when you don&#39;t understand, you can:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>ask them to repeat or rephrase what they said</li>
	<li>ask them questions to check that you have understood</li>
	<li>ask them to slow down or write down what they said</li>
</ul>

<p>Often&nbsp;people understand that their English is different but forget to slow down. They want to be understood too, so they will probably be happy to help.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Similarities with Scottish English</strong></h2>

<p>Ireland and Scotland are close to each other and have shared history. We also share some words.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>wee = small</li>
	<li>weans = children&nbsp;</li>
	<li>eejit = idiot</li>
	<li>yous = plural of &quot;you&quot; (to talk about a group of people)</li>
</ul>

<p>Stephen Farren reminded me of the use of &quot;messages&quot;&nbsp;for shopping. In Scotland or Ireland, you might hear someone saying:&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;I&#39;m going into town to get the messages.&quot;</p>

<p>This means that they are going to the shops to pick up groceries such as bread, milk, and eggs.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can read (and hear)&nbsp;more examples of&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/essential-scottish-for-english-language-learners-common-phrases-expressions">Scottish English</a> in this blog post.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>What&#39;s the craic?&nbsp;= How are you?&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>Much like Australians asking &quot;How you going?,&quot; people have a different way to ask &quot;How are you?&quot; in Ireland.</p>

<p>In Irish&nbsp;&quot;craic,&quot; (pronounced &quot;crack&quot;) has many meanings.</p>

<p>It can be used to ask how someone is feeling, or how good or bad something is.</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;The party was good craic.&quot;</p>

<p>It can also be used to ask about gossip. For example:</p>

<p>&quot;Any craic?&quot; = Anything we can chat about?</p>

<h2><strong>Grand = fine/okay</strong></h2>

<p>When people ask &quot;How are you?,&quot;&nbsp;they usually want a positive answer, like &quot;I&#39;m fine&quot; or &quot;I&#39;m good.&quot;</p>

<p>In Irish English, when people ask &quot;What&#39;s the craic?,&quot;&nbsp;people will often reply &quot;All&nbsp;grand with me.&quot;</p>

<p>In Ireland, &quot;grand&quot;&nbsp;means good, fine, or okay.</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<p>&quot;The weather is grand today!&quot;</p>

<h2><strong>So I am / So it is</strong></h2>

<p>In Irish English, people often end what they are telling you with &quot;So I am&quot; or &quot;So it is.&quot;&nbsp;This is a way of repeating or emphasizing the information.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<p>&quot;I&#39;m grand, so I am.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>or</p>

<p>&quot;The craic was&nbsp;fantastic, so it was.&quot;</p>

<h2><strong>After + ing&nbsp;</strong></h2>

<p>This is a common way to talk about something that happened in the recent past. Some people refer to it as &quot;Irish present perfect.&quot;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<p>&quot;I&#39;m after making a wee cup of tea. Do you want one?&quot; = &quot;I&#39;ve just made a cup of tea. Do you want one?&quot;</p>

<h2><strong>Dead on / deadly = cool, nice, great, perfect, amazing</strong></h2>

<p>Something that is &quot;dead on&quot;&nbsp;is &quot;grand.&quot; For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>A: How was the film?</li>
	<li>B: It was&nbsp;dead on. / It was deadly.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2><strong>Notion</strong></h2>

<p>Much like their Scottish neighbors, Irish people prefer not to show off about their wins. They prefer&nbsp;to be humble and often try to keep their successes quiet.</p>

<p>As Erin O&#39;Byrne said, &quot;No one likes celebrating anyone&#39;s success here.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>People use the term &quot;to have notions&quot;&nbsp;to talk about someone who is showing off or looks successful. For example:</p>

<p>&quot;Look at them with their&nbsp;new sports car. The notions on them!&quot;</p>

<h2><strong>Mammy / daddy&nbsp;= mum / dad</strong></h2>

<p>Scottish and Irish English have a lot of similarities. But in Scotland,&nbsp;&quot;mummy&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;daddy&quot;&nbsp;are commonly used by&nbsp;children. Adults usually choose &quot;mum&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;dad&quot;&nbsp;(or &quot;maw&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;paw&quot;). In Northern Ireland, it is popular for all ages to refer to their parents as &quot;mammy&quot; and &quot;daddy.&quot; &#39;&#39;Ma&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;da&quot;&nbsp;are common throughout the island of Ireland too.&nbsp;</p>

<p>These words and expressions are some examples of the Irish English that I&#39;ve heard over the years.</p>

<p>They can be helpful to help you&nbsp;understand, but you don&#39;t need to use them&mdash;unless you want to show an&nbsp;Irish person what good craic you are!&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>More on Irish English</strong></h2>

<p>To watch examples of Irish English, here are some popular TV series:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111958/">Father Ted</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7120662/?ref_=fn_t_1">Derry Girls</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15469618/?ref_=fn_t_1">Bad Sisters</a></li>
</ul>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>What Irish English have you heard? Do you have any favorite words or phrases? Share them in the comments.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Irish English for ESL Learners: Common Phrases & Expressions 

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2826/Emily_Irish-English-for-ESL-Learners-Common-Phrases-Expressions_Banner.png

<p dir="auto">In the latest episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>, hosts Anna and Sh&eacute; return with their second annual summer reading list for English language teachers&mdash;a curated selection of memoirs, nonfiction, and fiction that have shaped how they think about identity, belonging, error, and what it means to be human. From grief and cultural inheritance to hidden empires and conditional citizenship, this year&#39;s picks reflect a shared desire to understand the systems and stories that shape both educators and learners.&nbsp;</p>

<p dir="auto">Anna and Sh&eacute; discuss how each book has shifted their worldview and their teaching, and offer practical ideas for bringing these texts&mdash;even as excerpts&mdash;into classrooms, book clubs, and professional development. Whether it&#39;s using memoir for personal narrative writing, exploring the politics of belonging through nonfiction, or opening up honest conversations about perfectionism and self-doubt, this episode is a roadmap for reading widely and teaching more humanly.</p>

<blockquote dir="auto">
<p>&quot;Every book on this list reminds us that it&#39;s hard being human. We&#39;re shaped by the empires we inherit, the grief we carry, the inner critics we can&#39;t shut up, the languages we&#39;re told are broken. And if that&#39;s true for us, it&#39;s true for every student who walks into our classroom, for every colleague that we work alongside.&quot;</p>

<p>&mdash; Sh&eacute;lynn Riel</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p dir="auto">Ultimately, this conversation is an invitation to read with purpose, stay humble about what we don&#39;t know, and let great books leave us just a little bit changed&mdash;because the best stories do.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/syJZDxq9G30?si=_iaqpMx2XPJTNLQs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p dir="auto"><strong>🎙️ Listen now on your favorite platform:</strong></p>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1"><a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/episodes" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a></li>
	<li value="2"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">YouTube</a></li>
	<li value="3"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2zv5mVNpSqkDNiNbQlnm7B" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Spotify</a></li>
	<li value="4"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-teacher-think-aloud-podcast/id1629819608" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p dir="auto"><strong>🔗 Follow The Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast on social media for more updates:</strong></p>

<ul dir="auto">
	<li value="1"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/teacherthinkaloud" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook</a></li>
	<li value="2"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thinkaloud_pod/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Instagram</a></li>
	<li value="3"><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/thinkaloudpod.bsky.social" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluesky</a></li>
	<li value="4"><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@thinkaloud_pod" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">TikTok</a></li>
	<li value="5"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/teacher-think-aloud/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li>
</ul>


Books That Challenge How We See the World, Teaching, and Ourselves: Think-Aloud Podcast Shares Summer Book List

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2825/Tara_New-Year-New-Reflections-and-a-Partnership-with-The-Teacher-Think-Aloud-Podcast_Banner.png