Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

<p>Students can often feel overwhelmed by <strong>complex tasks</strong>. These are learning activities that are more difficult for a variety of reasons. For example, the activity may involve multiple stages, making the task&nbsp;difficult to follow. It may also&nbsp;require a lot of information to be processed at the same time.</p>

<p>A complex task could be...</p>

<ul>
	<li>listening to a long dialogue while&nbsp;reading and answering comprehension questions</li>
	<li>reading a heavy text and categorizing the information</li>
	<li>working on a group project involving many stages</li>
</ul>

<p>One of the best things about being a graphic facilitator is being able to use my skills to make learning more accessible. It&rsquo;s a good&nbsp;way to <strong>reduce cognitive load</strong> and <strong>make difficult tasks more achievable</strong>.</p>

<p>Simple drawings and visuals are a great&nbsp;way to simplify complex tasks because they can be used to help learners interact with and process&nbsp;information in different ways. This in turn helps <strong>improve understanding and memory</strong>.</p>

<p>Let&rsquo;s use this <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/english-at-work/1699-1-applying-for-a-job" target="_blank">free lesson on applying for a job</a>&nbsp;as an example. I&rsquo;ve chosen this one since it&#39;s complex in a number of ways:</p>

<ul>
	<li>There&#39;s a long text with comprehension questions.</li>
	<li>It contains a lot of new vocabulary and concepts.</li>
	<li>The process of applying for a job varies depending on location and industry, so this may be unfamiliar or different to some students.</li>
</ul>

<p>Here&#39;s a quick step-by-step guide on how we&#39;re going to simplify these complex tasks for your students using visual prompts. These same steps can also be used to help you break down&nbsp;other&nbsp;types of complex tasks in future lessons.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<ol>
	<li><a href="#identify">Identify the key points</a></li>
	<li><a href="#create">Create the &quot;containers&quot;</a></li>
	<li><a href="#add">Add information or ideas</a></li>
	<li><a href="#exploit">Exploit the content</a></li>
</ol>
</div>

<h2>1. Identify the key points</h2>

<p>When we take notes or summarize information, we usually <strong>look for the most important details</strong>. The same applies when simplifying complex tasks.</p>

<p>Take a look through the lesson and find the key points&nbsp;you want your learners to focus on. If you&rsquo;re doing a listening or reading activity, these may be based on the comprehension questions. For a writing task, these&nbsp;might be the topics you want them to cover.</p>

<h2><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2963/content_Ellii_job-email-example.jpg" /></h2>

<p>In this instance, I read through the lesson&#39;s&nbsp;job application letters&nbsp;and found the following main ideas:</p>

<ul>
	<li>personality</li>
	<li>skills</li>
	<li>qualifications</li>
	<li>experience</li>
</ul>

<h2><a id="create"></a>2. Create the &quot;containers&quot;</h2>

<p>In the world of graphic facilitation, <strong>containers</strong>&nbsp;<strong>are simple icons that can be used to &quot;contain&quot;&nbsp;ideas</strong>. For example, in&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being" target="_blank">this blog post</a>,&nbsp;I use a thought bubble as a frame for students to add their inner thoughts.</p>

<p>For this lesson, I&rsquo;ve drawn:</p>

<ul>
	<li>a large head with a magnifying glass to represent <strong>personality</strong></li>
	<li>a big cog and a small star, tick, and tool to represent <strong>skills</strong></li>
	<li>a scroll to represent <strong>qualifications</strong></li>
	<li>a road map looking backwards to represent past <strong>experiences</strong></li>
	<li>an over-sized question mark to represent <strong>questions</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>The great thing about using containers is that they&#39;re&nbsp;flexible and can be used in many ways.</p>

<p>For example, I added the &quot;questions&quot;&nbsp;container so that students have a space to ask anything they&#39;re pondering or having difficulty with as they read. They can also use this container&nbsp;when preparing to write their own job application letters&nbsp;over email&nbsp;as a way to consider which questions they want to ask their teacher or potential employer.</p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-94e38506-7fff-3f06-b5f4-33dbd2c793f1"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2964/content_Emily-Bryson-ELT-skills-whiteboard.jpg" /></b></p>

<p>You&rsquo;ll notice that these containers are drawn on a grubby whiteboard and are by no means perfect. That&rsquo;s because the purpose of using simple drawings is not artistic wizardry. It&rsquo;s about <strong>communication</strong>, <strong>inspiration</strong> and <strong>activating schemata</strong>. In reality, whiteboards often need a good clean, and teachers don&rsquo;t have time to create masterpieces!</p>

<p>If drawing isn&rsquo;t for you, there&#39;s&nbsp;the digital option&nbsp;where you use stock vector graphics or create the template using online design tools,&nbsp;such as <a href="https://www.canva.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Canva</a>, <a href="http://Jamboard - Google Google https://jamboard.google.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Jamboard</a>, or <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/powerpoint" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Microsoft&nbsp;PowerPoint</a>. However, this does mean that you&rsquo;ll have a bit more prep to do ahead of class.</p>

<h2><a id="add"></a>3. Add information or ideas</h2>

<p>This is where students get to interact with the content. It&#39;s an opportunity to step away from worksheet-based questioning prompts and towards a multisensory means of learning.</p>

<p>There are many ways to do this:</p>

<ol>
	<li>Ask students to copy the doodles to their notebooks and complete them solo.</li>
	<li>Provide photocopies for students to complete.</li>
	<li>Use a whiteboard. Students add their ideas using sticky notes or whiteboard markers.</li>
	<li>Use flipchart paper. Use one sheet per container. Then pass each sheet around the groups and have students add their ideas using pens or sticky notes.</li>
</ol>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-b4e864b3-7fff-643c-1767-4a21ba68aff4"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2965/content_Emily-Bryson-ELT-skills-whiteboard-notes.jpg" /></b></p>

<h2><a id="exploit"></a>4. Exploit the content</h2>

<p>The beauty of using containers to synthesize information in class is that you can use and reuse them&nbsp;for different purposes.</p>

<h3>Reading/Listening</h3>

<p>Ask students to read or listen to a text and complete the information. You could use containers to check for understanding. This means students can really focus on their receptive skills instead of being distracted by comprehension questions.</p>

<h3>Speaking/Writing</h3>

<p>Students use the containers to consider and add their own skills, experiences, personality, qualifications, and questions. They can then share their ideas, role-play interviews, or use the ideas to help them write a cover letter or personal statement.</p>

<p>You could also use the containers from this blog post with this lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/everyday-dialogues/1705-interviewing-for-a-job" target="_blank">interviewing for a job</a>.</p>

<p>If you like this idea and would like to learn to develop your drawing skills for teaching, <a href="https://emilybrysonelt.com/all-courses/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">check out my courses</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

<p>Have you used a technique like this in class? What did you do? How did it go? We&rsquo;d love to hear from you!</p>
</div>

<h2>Related resources&nbsp;</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/graphic-facilitation-101" target="_blank">Graphic Facilitation 101: Teaching English through Visual Communication</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/graphic-organizers-for-language-skills-development" target="_blank">Using Graphic Organizers for Language Skills Development</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being" target="_blank">A Quick Activity to Boost Confidence &amp; Well-Being: Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-pictures-as-grammar-prompts" target="_blank">How to Use Pictures as Grammar Prompts</a></li>
</ul>


How to Simplify Complex Tasks with Visual Prompts

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Teaching with Ellii

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

Articles

<p>As environmental topics continue to trend in ELT, I&rsquo;m noticing that the <strong>UN&rsquo;s Sustainable Development Goals</strong> are appearing more and more in blogs, articles, videos, social posts, webinars, talks, and resources.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>This post explores what they are, why they are important,&nbsp;and how to incorporate them in your classes.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>What are the&nbsp;Sustainable Development Goals?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>The UN&#39;s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)&nbsp;have been around since 2015, when the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was published. This blueprint&nbsp;aims to tackle <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3235-climate-change" target="_blank">climate change</a>, preserve natural habitats, and make the planet more equitable, affluent, educated, and healthier now and in the future.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The agenda focuses on 17 goals&mdash;targets&nbsp;for every country to work toward&nbsp;through global partnership. Supporters of these goals&nbsp;recognize that promoting economic growth, providing educational opportunities, and reducing hunger and poverty are crucial for creating a sustainable world.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="17 Sustainable Development Goals" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2966/content_E_SDG_Poster_2019_without_UN_emblem_WEB.png" /></p>

<p class="caption">Ellii supports the Sustainable Development Goals</p>

<h2>Why are the SDGs&nbsp;so important?</h2>

<p>Put simply, we only have one planet. Looking after it takes collaboration and care.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As language teachers, we support learners from all over the world, each of whom is directly affected by the issues these goals address. Every student (indeed, every human) needs access to clean water, affordable renewable energy, healthy food, quality education, and a safe, peaceful place to live.&nbsp;</p>

<p>By incorporating the SDGs into our lessons, we can enhance our students&rsquo; knowledge of the world they live in&nbsp;and equip them with skills to make their own positive changes to it.</p>

<p>Introducing&nbsp;topics of global importance&mdash;such as <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/global-issues/sustainable-development-goals/1-no-poverty" target="_blank">poverty</a>, hunger, pollution, transportation, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/global-issues/sustainable-development-goals/3-good-health-well-being" target="_blank">health</a>, food production, and <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/global-issues/sustainable-development-goals/5-gender-equality" target="_blank">gender equality</a>&mdash;is a great way to get students talking. It also helps them see the world from other perspectives and can make them more empathetic toward&nbsp;people from different backgrounds.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The goals may also inspire learners to take action in whatever way they can. Encouraging learners to get involved in their local&nbsp;and global&nbsp;communities is an excellent opportunity to develop their linguistic and intercultural skills. It also helps them to gain confidence in their abilities to be change leaders.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>How can I include the SDGs in my lessons?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Incorporating the SDGs into the English language classroom is much simpler than it seems. The 17 goals are well aligned to&nbsp;many aspects of life, as are language lessons. In other words, there are ways to sneak sustainability into every lesson!&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example, if your class is learning <a href="https://ellii.com/media/flashcards/transportation-travel" target="_blank">transportation vocabulary</a>, you could ask learners to rank each mode in order of environmental friendliness.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Likewise, if you&rsquo;re teaching structures on <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1629-modals-of-advice" target="_blank">giving advice</a> (e.g., <em>You should&hellip;</em>, <em>Have you thought about</em>&hellip;, <em>You might want to</em>&hellip;), you could ask them to think of tips for budgeting, making a home more heat efficient, or <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1281-food-waste" target="_blank">reducing food waste</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar/conditionals" target="_blank">conditionals</a>, you may wish to give them sustainability-themed sentence starters:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>If there were a lot of litter in my area, I&rsquo;d&hellip;</li>
	<li>Unless governments around the world work together, &hellip;</li>
	<li>As long as everyone is treated fairly, &hellip;</li>
</ul>

<p>You can also explore the goals individually with your learners. Ellii has&nbsp;created a <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/global-issues/sustainable-development-goals" target="blank">collection of resources</a> matched to each goal.</p>

<p><img alt="Sustainable Development Goals Collection" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2967/content_Sustainable-Development-Goals_Thumb.png" /></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/global-issues/sustainable-development-goals" target="_blank">Ellii&#39;s Sustainable Development Goals Lesson Collection</a></p>

<p>Learn more about the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals" nofollow="" noreferrer="" rel="noopener" target="_blank">UN Sustainable Development Goals</a>.&nbsp;<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Sharing is caring!</h5>

<p>Do you cover topics on sustainability in your English language classes? You can <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/global-issues/sustainable-development-goals/17-partnerships-for-the-goals" target="_blank">help promote the 17th goal&nbsp;</a>by sharing a related topic or activity you&#39;ve tried with your ELLs.&nbsp;</p>
</div>


The What, Why & How of Sustainable Development Goals 

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<p>As we approach the end of the year, now is a good time to ponder English language teaching (ELT) trends for 2023.</p>

<p>When Ellii asked me to write this post, I started noting some of my own ideas. However, ELT is a huge industry. I wanted to make sure that my post truly reflected trends across the industry.</p>

<p>It would be all too easy to be blinkered by my own echo chamber, so I posted my question on social media.</p>

<p>The responses were both reassuringly similar to my own, but also rich in diverse and innovative teaching and learning methodologies.</p>

<p>Here are six English language teaching&nbsp;trends you can expect to see more of in 2023.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>1. Green ELT</h2>

<p>As the climate crisis accelerates, so&nbsp;does the interest in environmental topics in the ELT classroom.</p>

<p>In 2019, Dan Barber declared a climate emergency at the closing plenary of the Innovate ELT conference. Following that, Barber, Ceri Jones, Katherine Bilsborough, and Christopher Graham founded <a href="https://eltfootprint.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">ELT Footprint</a>, an ELTon-winning collaboration focused on making ELT more sustainable.</p>

<p>Since then, there&rsquo;s been a growing number of green ELT organizations and industry leaders getting involved:&nbsp;<a href="https://renewableenglish.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Renewable English</a>, <a href="https://green-action-elt.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Green Action&nbsp;ELT</a>, and Colm Downes who published <a href="https://twitter.com/ColminIndonesia/status/1598033099161419776?s=20&amp;t=A9Da9kDC_CONPwzX-Vf2cw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">this informative Twitter thread</a>.</p>

<p>The appetite for green discussions, carbon-neutral conferences, and more environmentally focused resources in ELT is growing. I&rsquo;m also noticing more integration and reference to the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">UN&rsquo;s Sustainable Development Goals</a>.</p>

<p>Harry Waters, founder of&nbsp;Renewable English, had this to say:</p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-7b5402a0-7fff-d423-48ba-8e1d35a6cb19"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2968/content_1-Ellii-ELT-Trends-2023-Climate.jpg" /></b></p>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">Collection</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/search?query=environment"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2955/content_The-Environment.jpg" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/global-issues/the-environment" target="_blank">The Environment</a></h2>

<p>From heat waves to ecotherapy, Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;Environment collection is an excellent way to teach green in 2023.&nbsp;</p>
</div>

<h2>2. DEIB: Diversity, equity,&nbsp;inclusion &amp; belonging</h2>

<p>Diversity, equity,&nbsp;inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) will continue to play an important part in the ELT industry in&nbsp;2023. English language teaching, by its very nature, is beautifully multicultural and diverse. Our learners represent all ages, races, genders, (dis)abilities, religions, sexual orientations, marital statuses, family backgrounds, etc.</p>

<p>The pursuit of equity for all is not new,&nbsp;but it will continue into 2023 and beyond. There are ever-growing discussions, webinars, and resources on making the world a fairer place.</p>

<p>This includes&nbsp;topics like:</p>

<ul>
	<li>creating accessible learning materials</li>
	<li>supporting learners with special educational needs</li>
	<li>multicultural inclusion</li>
	<li>LGBTQ+ rights</li>
	<li>native-speakerism (an ideology characterized by the belief that&nbsp;people whose first language is English are best-suited to teach ELT)</li>
</ul>

<p>Meri Maroutian set up her business, <a href="https://thenonnativespeaker.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Non-Native Speaker</a>, to advocate against native-speakerism in the ELT industry. English is a global language used internationally as a <em>lingua-franca</em> (i.e., common language). 80% of its users speak English&nbsp;as a second language. The pursuit of equity for teachers whose first language is not English and for learners to embrace their accents and own style of English usage continues.</p>

<p>Lottie Galpin, a DEIB&nbsp;specialist who helps editors, writers, and publishers&nbsp;create outstanding, inclusive materials, had this to say:</p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-37b25092-7fff-7cf2-8eae-5b4cd655f0a1"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2969/content_2-Ellii-ELT-Trends-2023-Accessibility.jpg" /></b></p>

<p>To join the discussion and learn more about diversity and inclusion, the <a href="https://m.facebook.com/groups/321378049189535/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Reflecting Reality: Diverse and Inclusive ELT Materials Facebook group</a> is a great place to start.</p>

<h3>Related articles on inclusive English language teaching</h3>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-english-learners-with-dyslexia" target="_blank">Accessibility: Supporting English Learners with Dyslexia</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/support-english-learners-from-refugee-backgrounds" target="_blank">6 Ways to Support English Learners from Refugee Backgrounds</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-promote-mental-health-in-the-classroom" target="_blank">5 Ways to Promote Mental Health in the English Language Classroom</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tips-for-developing-students-digital-literacy" target="_blank">8 Tips for Developing Students&#39; Digital Literacy</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>3. Virtual reality</h2>

<p>Talking about virtual reality (VR) feels like a moment when you realize you&rsquo;re living in the future! VR wasn&rsquo;t something I identified as an ELT trend for 2023, but it was suggested twice in the comments and has made me realize just how much I&rsquo;ve been noticing it more and more on my social feeds.</p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-ccca9ebc-7fff-9748-837b-445cc0caad62"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2970/content_3-Ellii-ELT-Trends-2023-VR.jpg" /></b></p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-ac9edfa3-7fff-b430-28fd-176edd2fa9cc"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2971/content_4-Ellii-ELT-Trends-2023-Digital.jpg" /></b></p>

<p><a href="http://www.immerse.online/blog/spain-research-reveals-benefits-of-vr-language-learning" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Research</a> has found the following benefits of VR:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Students spoke at a higher level after using VR (B1 instead of A2).</li>
	<li>Vocabulary retention is higher with VR.</li>
	<li>VR supports the use of positional language (e.g., &quot;up there&quot;).</li>
	<li>Students retained emergent language while using VR.</li>
	<li>Anxious students were more confident when using VR rather than in class.</li>
</ul>

<h3>VR-related materials for the classroom:</h3>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resources/photo-prompts/4161-virtual-reality" target="_blank">Virtual Reality</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/discussion-starters/3969-the-metaverse" target="_blank">The Metaverse</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>4. Mediation</h2>

<p>In an ELT context, mediation refers to the ability to convey meaning. Essentially, it&rsquo;s explaining concepts, knowledge, or understanding to others&nbsp;in a way that supports learning.</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<ul>
	<li>relaying the information from a text</li>
	<li>describing a visual, graph, or chart</li>
	<li>summarizing a source of information (e.g., an infographic/video)</li>
	<li>translating and sharing key points</li>
</ul>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-0127ac7d-7fff-6de5-5553-1532a15c6e1c"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2972/content_5-Ellii-ELT-Trends-2023-Mediation.jpg" /></b></p>

<p>Including mediation activities in the classroom supports learners&#39; development of real-world skills, such as communication and note-taking.</p>

<p><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2952/content_Ellii-ELT-Trends-2023-Mediation.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Mediation activities and strategies&nbsp;from the <a href="https://rm.coe.int/common-european-framework-of-reference-for-languages-learning-teaching/16809ea0d4%20target=" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment</em></a>.</p>

<h2>5. Life skills</h2>

<p>As language teachers, we want our learners to succeed in the real world as well as in the classroom. This involves incorporating life skills<strong> </strong>into our classes.</p>

<p>Life skills are often referred to as &quot;soft skills,&quot; &quot;21st-century skills,&quot; or &quot;transferable skills.&quot; They include skills such as communication, social, academic, critical thinking, problem-solving, digital, and work.</p>

<p>Their importance to student success is what will keep&nbsp;them trending in the ELT industry throughout 2023.</p>

<p><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2973/content_6-Ellii-ELT-Trends-2023-List.jpg" /></p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-010465b9-7fff-0eb3-847b-38fd51c8722d"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2974/content_7-Ellii-ELT-Trends-2023-analytical-critical-thinking.jpg" /></b></p>

<h3>Boost your students&#39; life skills with these lessons</h3>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/role-plays/1320-socializing" target="_blank">Socializing</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/functional-business/3852-resolving-work-conflicts" target="_blank">Resolving Work Conflicts</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/writing-in-english/3968-how-to-write-an-opinion" target="_blank">How to Write an Opinion</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>6. Task-based teaching, learning &amp; assessment</h2>

<p>Task-based learning (TBL) has been around for years and will continue its popularity in 2023.</p>

<p>The approach is based on giving students a task to complete and allowing the language to emerge naturally throughout the course of the lesson.</p>

<p>A favorite task-based activity of mine is giving students a pile of scrap materials and asking them to work together to build a bridge. Students then collaborate in groups to construct something that&nbsp;is stable and can hold the weight of a toy car. Throughout the lesson, language such as &quot;I think we should fold this paper,&quot;&nbsp;&quot;Pass the sticky tape&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;Wouldn&rsquo;t it be stronger if we&hellip;&quot;&nbsp;emerges.</p>

<p>Task-based learning offers a natural way for students to use and develop their language skills. It&rsquo;s also a great way to incorporate life skills and real-world tasks into the classroom.</p>

<p>From an assessment perspective, it&#39;s beneficial in ensuring that assessments become part of the learning process.</p>

<p>Project-based learning is similar to TBL in that it gives learners a task to complete over a period of time.</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">Lesson Category</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2956/content_group-projects.jpg" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects" target="_blank">Group Projects</a></h2>

<p>These project-based learning modules&nbsp;are intended as group projects that can be completed within a two- to four-week time period along with other coursework.&nbsp;The projects include research tasks and presentations that are useful for individual, peer, and group assessment.</p>
</div>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

<p>What English language teaching trends do you expect to see in 2023? Share your ideas in the comments!</p>
</div>


6 English Language Teaching Trends to Watch in 2023

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<p>In many countries, December is a month of festivities. There&rsquo;s <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events/1854-christmas" target="_blank">Christmas</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events/1857-chanukah" target="_blank">Chanukah</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events/1873-new-year-s" target="_blank">New Year&#39;s</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events/1856-kwanzaa" target="_blank">Kwanzaa</a> to be celebrated, and undoubtedly some I&rsquo;ve missed.</p>

<p>I teach multicultural classes in the largest college in Scotland. My learners get two weeks off for their winter break, which is traditionally based around Christmas and New Year&#39;s. Their spring holidays are also scheduled around Easter.</p>

<p>However, many of my learners do not celebrate these events, so it&rsquo;s important to <strong>make the holidays as inclusive as possible</strong>. Here are a few different ways I like to promote inclusivity in the classroom during the festive season.</p>

<h2>Use holiday-inclusive language</h2>

<p>Using the terms &quot;winter&quot; and &quot;spring&quot;&nbsp;is one way to help everyone feel ownership towards the holidays. Ask your students which winter&nbsp;holidays or spring holidays they like to celebrate at home.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Introduce students to different holidays and celebrations</h2>

<p>Most of my learners are new(ish) to Scotland and are curious about the celebrations. They often ask for <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events" target="_blank">themed lessons</a> when it comes to Christmas, Valentine&rsquo;s, Easter, and Halloween. Introducing and exploring one festival can be a great way to start discussions on special events that&nbsp;are important to them.</p>

<p>For example, in this&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events/1946-christmas" target="_blank">Christmas lesson</a>, you could ask learners to consider what vocabulary or items they associate with their own celebrations.</p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-da343e53-7fff-f574-ca45-166bee271fa0"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events/1946-christmas" target="_blank"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2911/content_Christmas-Lesson_Ellii.jpg" /></a></b></p>

<p>You could refer to other Ellii <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events" target="_blank">Holidays &amp; Events&nbsp;lessons</a>&nbsp;or <a href="https://ellii.com/search/flashcards?query=holidays&amp;button=" target="_blank">flashcards</a> when you do this. They&nbsp;have a comprehensive bank for almost every holiday imaginable&mdash;Holi, Nauruz, Diwali, Bastille Day, Waitangi, Cinco de Mayo, Lunar New Year, etc.</p>

<p>Here&rsquo;s some vocabulary practice from the <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events/3552-ramadan" target="_blank">Ramadan lesson</a>:</p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-a1de9ae8-7fff-1aa7-5cb4-d9f658126645"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events/3552-ramadan" target="_blank"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2912/content_Ramadan-Lesson_Ellii.jpg" /></a></b></p>

<h2>Encourage students to share&nbsp;how they celebrate different events</h2>

<p>As with any &quot;cultural&quot; lessons, I always add the caveat that <strong>everyone celebrates in their own personal way</strong>.</p>

<p>For example, at Christmas, the menu doesn&rsquo;t always include turkey, nor does every household decorate a tree. I do neither of those things, though I do visit my family and give small gifts.</p>

<p>I love asking my learners to discuss how they celebrate different events in their own unique ways. This gives them an opportunity to consider individual differences. It also provides an opportunity for them to share their own holidays with the rest of the class.</p>

<p>Of course, some of my learners have lived in Scotland for so long that they have adopted some of the traditions.</p>

<p>I know many people of different religions who receive gifts from Santa, find the biggest tree possible, and couldn&rsquo;t possibly celebrate December 25 without a turkey. This all makes for delightfully rich class discussions.</p>

<h2>Ideas for teaching about holiday inclusivity year round&nbsp;</h2>

<p>You don&#39;t need to wait for December to start sharing holidays and celebrations in class. Creating an atmosphere of cross-cultural curiosity allows students to learn about the world&nbsp;whenever it naturally comes up in discussions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are a few&nbsp;ideas to help you&nbsp;support&nbsp;learners to share their own celebrations, no matter the time of year:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Ask them to bring in an item that&#39;s important for one of their holidays. Give them time to talk about it and encourage the other learners to ask questions.</li>
	<li>Host a food event!&nbsp;Ask learners to bring food they eat on special days. Facilitate discussion.</li>
	<li>Create a class calendar of events. Ask students to add their special days.</li>
	<li>Watch a film, video, or documentary about their special events. Facilitate discussions.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Related resources&nbsp;</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/holidays-events/december-holidays" target="_blank">December Holidays</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/everyday-idioms-2/1781-12-home-for-the-holidays" target="_blank">Home for the Holidays</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/holidays-events" target="_blank">Holidays &amp; Events</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-write-holiday-greetings-cards-in-english" target="_blank">How to Write Holiday Greeting Cards in English</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/christmas-in-argentina" target="_blank">Christmas in Argentina</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/merry-christmas-or-happy-holidays" target="_blank">&quot;Merry Christmas&quot; or &quot;Happy Holidays&quot;? Let&#39;s Debate!</a></li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

<p>How do you make teaching about holidays and special events inclusive? Share your comments below! We&rsquo;d love to hear from you.</p>
</div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Inclusive Festivities: How to Value Every Learner's Holidays

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<p><strong>Spelling </strong>can be super tricky for English language learners. There are plenty of examples of English words with silent letters&nbsp;or sounds that&nbsp;can be spelled in a multitude of ways.</p>

<p>In class, it can be helpful to <strong>draw attention to spelling patterns and irregularities</strong> as they emerge. You could also use Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/phonics-stories" target="_blank">Phonics Stories</a> to <strong>focus on certain sounds and spellings</strong>.</p>

<p>In order to practice each word and commit it to memory, it&rsquo;s important to give students plenty of chances to spell in class.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this post, I&rsquo;d like to explore six&nbsp;of my favorite spelling games and activities that make learning English&nbsp;fun for students at all levels. I&#39;ve effectively used these spelling activities with adults and young learners. You may need to adapt them slightly for your class.</p>

<p>Let&#39;s get started!</p>

<h2>1. Spelling relay</h2>

<p>This spelling relay activity&nbsp;is a great way for students to work together and support each other.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Put students in teams and ask them to line up at the whiteboard. Make sure to give them one marker per team. Then tell students&nbsp;they must spell words by writing only one letter each before passing the marker to their teammate. The team that spells the word correctly first (and doesn&rsquo;t cheat) is the winner.</p>

<p>Shout out the word you&#39;d like them to spell (or ask a student to do this). Ensure each student only writes one letter before passing it to their teammate. Encourage teams to work together to help each other to spell the words correctly.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Multiple ways to adapt</h5>

<p>You could adapt this spelling activity by having students pass one piece of paper or a mini-whiteboard and one pen around their group&rsquo;s table.</p>

<p>Younger learners may also like to run from their team to the whiteboard and back from a particular point in the classroom.</p>
</div>

<h2>2. Spelling circles</h2>

<p>This fun game is a great way to <strong>improve spelling and pronunciation</strong>.</p>

<p>First, ask students to stand in a circle. Then shout out a word and ask them to spell it out loud&nbsp;as a group. Moving from one student to the next, each student says a letter until the word is spelled.</p>

<p>For example, to spell &quot;pin,&quot;&nbsp;the first student says the letter &quot;p,&quot;&nbsp;the next student says &quot;i&quot;&nbsp;and the third student says &quot;n.&quot;&nbsp;You could ask the fourth student to say the word &quot;pin.&quot;&nbsp;The fifth student could then suggest another word,&nbsp;and then the activity continues.</p>

<p>If English learners&nbsp;choose the wrong letter, you could ask them to spell the word from the beginning. Ask the class to support them as they do this and make the circle as collaborative as possible.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Want to up the engagement level?</h5>

<p>Passing a ball between the students as they spell can add an extra element of fun!</p>
</div>

<h2>3. Phonics spelling scrunch</h2>

<p>If you&#39;ve been practicing a few different sounds&nbsp;in class, write each on a piece of paper and scrunch it into a ball. For example, you might have sounds like&nbsp;/ay/, /sh/, /ch/, /th/, /ee/, /oo/, etc.</p>

<p>Give each student one of the balls (you can have duplicates of the same sound). Then ask one student to throw their ball to another student. That student picks up the ball, opens the scrunched paper and has to say a word with that sound (e.g., If /ay/&nbsp;is written on the paper, they could say the word&nbsp;&quot;day&quot;).</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Add an extra challenge</h5>

<p>To make the phonics activity more challenging, you could ask students to say a sentence with their chosen word.</p>

<p>When that student says the word, write it on the board to add additional support and opportunity to read the word. Then ask them to throw their ball to another student.</p>
</div>

<p>Continue this activity until all students have thrown their ball of scrunched-up paper and said a word or a sentence.</p>

<h2>4. Full-body spelling</h2>

<p>I got the full-body spelling&nbsp;activity from Johanna Stirling&rsquo;s wonderful book, <a href="http://thespellingblog.blogspot.com/p/book-teaching-spelling.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Teaching Spelling to English Language Learners</em></a>. She demonstrated this activity&nbsp;at the <a href="https://www.iatefl.org/conference/home" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">IATEFL conference</a> many moons ago, and it still stands out as the most fun session I&rsquo;ve ever attended.&nbsp;I do it every year with my adults, so don&rsquo;t let anyone tell you it&rsquo;s just for kids!</p>

<p>Ask students to work together to spell each word. You can do this in groups or as a whole class.</p>

<p><strong>In groups:</strong> You&rsquo;ll need at least one person for each letter of the word you want to spell (e.g., If you want to spell &quot;house,&quot;&nbsp;you&rsquo;ll need five students).</p>

<p>Ask students to use their bodies to spell each word. For example, a student might make the letter &quot;i&quot;&nbsp;by standing up straight and reaching their arms to the ceiling with their palms together. For &quot;n&quot;&nbsp;a student may stand facing to the side of the class and touch their toes.</p>

<p><strong>As a whole class: </strong>Shout out a word and ask students to work together to spell it.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Try this alternative</h5>

<p>In teams, you could whisper a word to each team and ask them to spell it. The other team then has to guess what the word is.</p>
</div>

<h2>5. Missing letters</h2>

<p>For this spelling activity, write some of the letters from an English word on the whiteboard. Leave spaces for the missing letters. For example:&nbsp;<strong>_nsw_r</strong>.</p>

<p>Students can add the missing letters in their notebooks or directly on the whiteboard. Encourage students to help and support each other.</p>

<p>This spelling game works particularly well when removing vowels and leaving consonants.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Try this alternative</h5>

<p>Scramble the letters and ask students to put them in the correct order.</p>
</div>

<h2>6. Tactile spelling</h2>

<p>This&nbsp;tactile spelling activity is&nbsp;great for <strong>learners who are developing their handwriting skills</strong>. There are two options:</p>

<p><strong>Option 1:</strong> Bring some sugar, salt, or flour to class. Give each student a plate and a pile of your chosen powder. Ask students to spell words in English using their fingers.</p>

<p><strong>Option 2: </strong>If your&nbsp;students are comfortable with each other, you could ask them to work in pairs and spell words on each other&rsquo;s backs. One student writes a word on the other student&rsquo;s back, and that student has to guess the word.</p>

<h2>Related resources</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/see-and-spell" target="_blank">See &amp; Spell: Interactive Spelling and Listening Practice for Beginner English Learners</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/spelling-variations-in-ellii-materials" target="_blank">Why We Use Spelling Variations in Our ELT Materials</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/typing-and-spelling" target="_blank">Fun Web Games &amp; Resources to Help ELLs with Typing and Spelling</a></li>
</ul>


6 Spelling Games & Activities That Make Learning English Fun

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<p><strong>Attention Deficit Hyperactivity&nbsp;Disorder (ADHD)</strong> is a neurodiversity that affects people&rsquo;s ability to concentrate.</p>

<p>Students with ADHD may have <strong>difficulty focusing</strong> when there are many things happening at once. For example, background noises or movements while completing an assignment or quiz&nbsp;may be overwhelming and distracting.</p>

<p>Alternatively, students with ADHD may have difficulty focusing when there is&nbsp;too much silence. In this case, <a href="https://chadd.org/adhd-weekly/white-noise-for-staying-on-task/#:~:text=For%20adults%20with%20ADHD%2C%20those,from%20an%20overhead%20air%20vent." target="_blank">white noise can be helpful for them</a>. For example, having a fan on, playing quiet music, or providing the student with headphones that play white noise.</p>

<p>Some learners with ADHD may also <strong>appear hyperactive</strong>. They might have lots of energy, be very talkative,&nbsp;or act impulsively.</p>

<p>Whether you&#39;re teaching English to children, teenagers, or adults, students with&nbsp;ADHD often find it more difficult to do well in school. So how can we&nbsp;as teachers&nbsp;better support them&nbsp;in their language learning journey?</p>

<p>From understanding your student&#39;s&nbsp;daily challenges to implementing accessible classroom strategies, here&#39;s what you need&nbsp;to know about supporting students with&nbsp;ADHD.</p>

<h2>Understand what students with ADHD struggle with</h2>

<p>Students with ADHD may have difficulty with...</p>

<ul>
	<li>timekeeping</li>
	<li>organization</li>
	<li>listening to and following instructions</li>
	<li>sitting still for long periods of time</li>
	<li>task completion</li>
	<li>focus</li>
	<li>stress management</li>
	<li>assessing risky situations</li>
	<li>forgetfulness and misplacing items</li>
</ul>

<h2>8 strategies&nbsp;for teaching learners with ADHD</h2>

<p>Use these eight accessible classroom strategies to help you overcome common challenges and help your students with ADHD reach language learning success.</p>

<h3>1. Teach the individual</h3>

<p>Every learner is different, so it&rsquo;s important to talk to them (and their parents) to find out what works for them. Learn what they find challenging and how you can help.</p>

<h3>2. Give clear instructions</h3>

<p>Try to keep instructions as short as possible. Breaking large tasks into <strong>smaller tasks</strong> and&nbsp;then <strong>giving each instruction one at a time</strong>&nbsp;can make learning more accessible to all learners.</p>

<p>You may wish to give your instructions in a variety of ways:&nbsp;orally, written, as a diagram, or with a drawing. You could also ask students to repeat or rephrase the instruction to check they have understood.</p>

<h3>3. Build confidence</h3>

<p>As with many learners, students with ADHD can often have low confidence or self-esteem. <strong>Praise their achievements</strong> and support them to look back on&nbsp;their learning journey. Reward them as they develop new skills.</p>

<h3>4. Minimize distractions</h3>

<p>Students with ADHD may find noises such as phone notifications, background chatter, or music distracting. They may be able to focus better in quiet places. <strong>Allow them to choose a seat somewhere that has fewer distractions</strong> or let them wear noise-canceling headphones for tasks that require concentration. For added focus, you can set the noise-canceling headphones to play white noise or soft&nbsp;instrumental music.</p>

<p>Visual distractions such as what&rsquo;s happening in the corridor, out the window, on a screen, or even in other group discussions may also reduce focus. Discuss with them the best place to sit in these situations.</p>

<h3>5. Allow movement and fidgets</h3>

<p>Sitting for long periods of time can be challenging and demotivating. Getting students up and moving around the class is a good way to energize the whole class.</p>

<p>Activities such as <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/4-fun-ways-to-warm-up-a-new-class" target="_blank">Find Someone Who&hellip;</a>, running dictations, <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/role-plays" target="_blank">role-plays</a>, Pictionary, or Charades are great ways to do this.</p>

<p>You may also wish to let students <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/graphic-facilitation-101" target="_blank">make sketchnotes</a> as they listen or play with a fidget toy. These can reduce anxiety and aid focus.</p>

<h3>6. Train students to take their time</h3>

<p>Students with ADHD may complete tasks quickly and need support to check their work for errors.</p>

<p>Encourage learners to read instructions carefully or multiple times. Proofread their work and <strong>aim for quality over speed</strong>.</p>

<h3>7. Practice mindfulness</h3>

<p>Some learners may also benefit from <a href="https://chadd.org/attention-article/from-my-classroom-to-yours-supporting-adhd-with-mindfulness-techniques/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">practicing mindfulness</a>. This has been found to help people with ADHD focus on the present task and identify their emotions. However, it can be challenging for some to do this for extended periods of time, so short meditations or impromptu breathing&nbsp;exercises may be a good starting point.</p>

<h3>8. Use study planners</h3>

<p>To support students to develop their timekeeping and organization skills, try creating study timetables together and practice writing &quot;to-do&quot;&nbsp;lists.</p>

<p>You could also support them by helping them identify which daily tasks to prioritize and how to minimize distractions from their study schedules.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

<p>What experience do you have with ADHD?&nbsp;What has worked for you or your learners? Every situation is different so we&rsquo;d really love to know. Share your thoughts in the comments!</p>
</div>

<h2>Related resources</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-english-learners-with-dyslexia" target="_blank">Accessibility: Supporting English Learners with Dyslexia</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-blind-low-vision-learners" target="_blank">Accessibility: Supporting Blind &amp; Low-Vision Learners</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being" target="_blank">A Quick Activity to Boost Confidence &amp; Well-Being: Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-make-students-feel-comfortable-in-your-class" target="_blank">5 Ways to Make Students Feel Comfortable in Your Class</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/practicing-mindfulness-in-the-classroom" target="_blank">Practicing Mindfulness in the Classroom</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/functional-english/2119-following-instructions" target="_blank">Following Instructions</a></li>
</ul>


Accessibility: Supporting Students with ADHD

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<p>I stumbled upon a treasure trove of inspiration while writing my last blog post on <a href="http://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-videos-in-class">using video in class</a>.</p>

<p>I hadn&rsquo;t realized&nbsp;that Ellii has more than&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/silent-clips" target="_blank">60 silent video clips</a>&nbsp;spanning across categories like <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/silent-clips/body-language" target="_blank">Body Language</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/silent-clips/holidays-celebrations" target="_blank">Holidays &amp; Celebrations</a>.&nbsp;Each clip is about 10 seconds long and shows different&nbsp;gestures and&nbsp;facial expressions as well as&nbsp;holiday-themed&nbsp;traditions, like blowing out birthday candles, attending a wedding reception, and more!</p>

<p>I was immediately bursting with teaching ideas.</p>

<p>Here are four creative and beneficial ways you can use&nbsp;silent video clips with your students to help improve their English fluency.</p>

<h2>1. Activate schemata</h2>

<p>Whenever I hear the term &quot;activate schemata,&quot; it takes me back to my <a href="https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/celta/" rel="noopner noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)</a> course.&nbsp;Only teachers would use such an odd-sounding technical term for such a simple&nbsp;concept!</p>

<p>To make things simple, people learn better when they <strong>connect prior knowledge to new information</strong>.</p>

<p>The process of schema activation is a key element of the English language&nbsp;classroom. It&rsquo;s an opportunity to <strong>make the lesson relatable</strong> and <strong>get students thinking</strong> about what they already know about a&nbsp;topic.</p>

<p>Silent video clips are perfect for this.</p>

<blockquote>
<p class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/746917435" width="640"></iframe></p>

<p class="caption">Video not playing? Your school might be blocking Vimeo, our video hosting platform. Please ask your administrator to whitelist <a href="https://vimeo.com/" nofollow="" noreferrer="" rel="&quot;noopener" target="&quot;_blank&quot;">vimeo.com</a>.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Many of Ellii&#39;s silent video clips are related to body language and emotions, including some of their holiday-themed videos.&nbsp;An easy way to <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teach-body-language" target="_blank">start teaching about body language</a> is to choose a clip and ask students to consider how that person feels and a&nbsp;possible reason for&nbsp;this.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Example</h5>

<p>You could play the <a href="https://ellii.com/video/pleased" target="_blank">Pleased clip</a>&nbsp;as a lead-in to the&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/everyday-idioms-1/1769-9-amy-passes-her-test" target="_blank">Amy Passes Her Test lesson</a>, and then&nbsp;ask students to consider other gestures or responses to someone telling you good news. This could then lead to a role-play activity.</p>
</div>

<h2>2. Teach emotions</h2>

<p>Silent clips are the perfect way to have a bit of fun teaching&nbsp;emotions.</p>

<p>Here are three simple steps on how to teach emotions&nbsp;using silent&nbsp;videos:</p>

<ol>
	<li>Open a selection of videos in different tabs, being careful not to show the text at the bottom of the video.</li>
	<li>Play each clip and ask students to think of different emotions it may portray. Encourage students to think of synonyms (e.g., the <a href="https://ellii.com/video/happy" target="_blank">Happy&nbsp;clip</a>&nbsp;could mean&nbsp;&quot;delighted,&quot; &quot;cheerful,&quot; &quot;good,&quot; or &quot;content&quot;).</li>
	<li>Take it&nbsp;one step further by facilitating&nbsp;discussions around what makes your students have certain emotions (e.g.,&nbsp;&quot;I feel <em>happy</em> when I listen to music&quot; or &quot;I&rsquo;m <em>delighted</em> when I see my cousins.&quot;)</li>
</ol>

<h2>3. Improve intercultural communication</h2>

<p>Ellii&#39;s silent&nbsp;video clips show various gestures and ways of expressing emotions. Their usage may vary in different cultures and parts of the world. For instance, what may be an innocent thumbs up to mean &quot;good&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;happy&quot;&nbsp;may be insulting in certain countries.</p>

<p>This can be a particularly interesting discussion in a multicultural class. Show students silent&nbsp;video clips and ask them to discuss what each gesture means in countries they know well. In a monocultural class, ask them to search online for information.</p>

<p>You could then ask students to also consider how they may respond to someone from another culture making a seemingly inappropriate gesture. This is a great way to <strong>raise awareness of global communication differences</strong> and <strong>encourage understanding</strong>. You could&nbsp;also practice friendly ways of explaining these differences to others.</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Teacher:</td>
			<td>&quot;What does this gesture mean to you?&quot;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Student:</td>
			<td>&quot;It is rude where I&rsquo;m from, but maybe it means something different here?&quot;</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>4. Have fun!</h2>

<p>When I first saw these silent video clips, I was amused at just how fun they are. You could have a few clips open and ready to play at different points throughout the class.</p>

<p>Here are a few examples of how to do just that:</p>

<ul>
	<li>When a student does something well, play the <a href="https://ellii.com/video/celebrating-happy-dance" target="_blank">Happy Dance clip</a>. You could ask other students to add their own sounds to accompany it!</li>
	<li>You could add a bit of humor to encourage&nbsp;students to do something you really need them to do by using the <a href="https://ellii.com/video/pleading" target="_blank">Pleading clip</a>.</li>
	<li>If you&rsquo;d like students to be quiet or you need them to keep certain information secret for an activity, you could show the <a href="https://ellii.com/video/secretive-child" target="_blank">Secretive clip</a>.</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Now it&#39;s your turn!</h5>

<p>These are just a few of my ideas. I&rsquo;d really love to know yours. How do you use slient video clips in your English class? Share your ideas in the comments below!</p>
</div>


4 Creative Ways to Use Silent Video Clips in English Class

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<p>As well as an English language teacher and author, I am also a graphic facilitator.</p>

<p>In this post, I&rsquo;d like to share with you the basics of graphic facilitation and why it&rsquo;s such a fabulous teaching technique.</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="#graphic">What is graphic facilitation?</a></li>
	<li><a href="#benefits">The benefits of graphic facilitation in the language classroom</a></li>
	<li><a href="#start">How to get started in graphic facilitation</a></li>
	<li><a href="#tools">Use graphic facilitation tools to create fun activities</a></li>
</ul>

<h2><a id="graphic"></a>What is graphic facilitation?</h2>

<p><strong>Graphic facilitation</strong>&nbsp;or visual facilitation is the use of simple, hand-drawn&nbsp;visuals to support groups and individuals toward a shared goal. The drawings are based around international iconography and are considered a form of visual communication rather than art.</p>

<p>The process is guided by a <strong>graphic facilitator</strong>&nbsp;who will create <strong>visual templates</strong> and tools to inspire and focus thinking. They may also add information and support the participants by drawing simple graphics throughout the session.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Visual templates</h5>

<p>The visual template is the mother of all graphic facilitation tools. It&rsquo;s most similar to a graphic organizer&nbsp;in that it provides a visual&nbsp;with space to add thoughts and ideas. Visual templates are often based on metaphors. For example, a road map can convey a journey or movement toward a goal.</p>
</div>

<p>In a business context, graphic facilitation&nbsp;is widely used in meetings, idea-generation sessions, and strategic planning. It has its roots in design industries, such as engineering and architecture.</p>

<h2><a id="benefits"></a>The benefits of graphic facilitation in the language classroom</h2>

<p>Graphic facilitation is a visual methodology which benefits English language learners in many ways. I&rsquo;ve been using it for a number of years now and can confidently say it&rsquo;s my teaching superpower.</p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-bf984f9f-7fff-fe6d-3315-98c5ea172abf"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2773/content_Emily-Bryson-ELT-benefits-of-graphic-facilitation.jpg" /></b></p>

<p class="caption">Emily Bryson&#39;s ELT benefits of graphic facilitation sketchnote.</p>

<p>Here are a few ways that&nbsp;graphic facilitation benefits language learners and teachers:</p>

<h3>Develops many different skills</h3>

<p>Images and diagrams have been used for centuries when it comes to communication and language learning. A simple visual can <strong>convey meaning</strong>, <strong>start a discussion</strong>, and <strong>spark ideas</strong>. The ability to draw these visuals quickly can add a hint of magic to the classroom. It also helps learners (and teachers) <strong>get creative</strong>, <strong>develop critical thinking skills</strong>, and <strong>relax</strong>.</p>

<h3>Supports students&#39; memory and vocabulary recall</h3>

<p>Moreover, pictures support memory. Learners are more likely to remember new vocabulary and concepts if they have a visual marker, and even more so if they draw it too.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://hsredesign.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Impact-of-drawing-on-memory.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">A study by Wammes and Meade</a> found that <strong>drawing a list of vocabulary was more effective</strong> as a mnemonic strategy than simply writing it.</p>

<h3>Better for neurodiverse learners</h3>

<p>Using visual facilitation strategies is beneficial to neurodiverse learners.</p>

<p>Learners with ADHD may appreciate the opportunity to interact with content in a multisensory way&nbsp;and to take visual notes during class. Likewise, learners with dyslexia may benefit from the <strong>reduction in processing load</strong> that a visual template or sketchnote provides.</p>

<h1><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2778/content_Emily-Bryson_Ellii_sketchnote.jpg" /></h1>

<p class="caption">Emily Bryson&#39;s sketchnote from CEO Ben Buckwold&#39;s Welcome Session at #ElliiCon2022: Simplicity in ELT.</p>

<h3>Saves teachers prep time</h3>

<p>From a teacher&rsquo;s perspective, learning a selection of graphic facilitation activities can <strong>reduce preparation time</strong> and save the day if technology fails. Creating your own visuals removes the need to trawl the internet for copyright-free images and allows each template to be tailored exactly to learners&rsquo; needs.</p>

<p>If you&rsquo;re feeling a slump in your teaching spark, graphic facilitation can put the spring back in your step. It certainly did for mine!</p>

<h2><a id="start"></a>How to get started with graphic facilitation</h2>

<p>Graphic facilitation is versatile. There are many ways you can use it in class or online.</p>

<h3>Whiteboards</h3>

<p>The mighty whiteboard wins the teaching resource prize again! Use it to draw a visual template (e.g., <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/3-end-of-term-activities-for-students" target="_blank">a road map</a>) and ask students to add their ideas with whiteboard markers or sticky notes. You could ask students to copy the visual into their notebooks and add their ideas there&nbsp;too.</p>

<h3>Flipcharts</h3>

<p>You can use a flipchart in a similar way to a whiteboard. The bonus is that you can keep and reuse any visuals that you create. You can also hang them up around the room&nbsp;or pass them around different groups or tables.</p>

<h3>Visualizers</h3>

<p>A visualizer is a document camera which can be used both face-to-face and online. You can connect it to your computer and use it to project your notebook or a piece of paper onto the wall or via video conferencing software.</p>

<h3>Scanning apps</h3>

<p>Scanning apps are great if you want to prepare your visuals before class. You can draw your visual template or icons and&nbsp;then scan them using your phone.</p>

<p>Use interactive whiteboard software such as <a href="https://support.google.com/jamboard/answer/7424836?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Jamboard</a>, <a href="https://miro.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Miro</a>, or <a href="https://www.mural.co/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Mural</a> to display the images during an online session. Students can add their own text, icons, or virtual sticky notes.</p>

<h3>Drawing tablet</h3>

<p>If you have a tablet or laptop with drawing software (e.g., <a href="https://www.adobe.com/ca/products/fresco.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Adobe Fresco</a> or <a href="https://procreate.art/ipad" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Apple Procreate</a>), you can have a lot of fun. Connect it to your&nbsp;computer to share the visuals. You can draw live and use it as a whiteboard in an online class.</p>

<h2><a id="tools"></a>Use these graphic facilitation tools to create fun activities</h2>

<p>These graphic facilitation tools are a great way to create engaging activities that will help&nbsp;learners improve their vocabulary, grammar, and critical thinking skills.</p>

<h3>Visual templates</h3>

<p>The visual template is one of the most popular&nbsp;graphic facilitation tools out there. It&rsquo;s most similar to a graphic organizer, in that it provides a visual&nbsp;with space to add thoughts and ideas.</p>

<p>Visual templates&nbsp;can&nbsp;offer structure, framework, and support in leading language learners toward&nbsp;a specific goal. They&#39;re&nbsp;also&nbsp;often based on metaphors (e.g.,&nbsp;a road map can convey a journey or movement toward a goal).</p>

<p>Here are&nbsp;two activity examples to try:</p>

<h4>1. <a href="http://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being" target="_blank">Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel&nbsp;</a></h4>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-b6ad6561-7fff-8506-aefc-c6380c30ff07"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2774/content_Emily-Bryson_Ellii_inner-troll-vs-inner-angel.jpg" /></b></p>

<p class="caption">Emily Bryson&#39;s Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel graphic facilitation activity.</p>

<h4>2. <a href="http://ellii.com/blog/3-end-of-term-activities-for-students" target="_blank">Road Map Reflection</a>&nbsp;</h4>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-890f0f3d-7fff-b569-2966-6e17462a0d9d"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2775/content_Emily-Bryson_Ellii_roadmap.jpg" /></b></p>

<p class="caption">Emily Bryson&#39;s visual template for her Road Map Reflection activity.</p>

<h3>Visual prompts and&nbsp;support</h3>

<p>Graphic facilitation is based around drawing simple icons. Ellii has loads of digital versions of these all over their website.</p>

<p>Here are two&nbsp;examples of ways you can add a graphic facilitation spin to Ellii content:</p>

<h4>1. <a href="http://ellii.com/blog/3-tips-for-using-flashcards-no-prep-required" target="_blank">3 Tips for Using Flashcards with Zero Prep Work</a></h4>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-7244210e-7fff-d0b8-66ac-d8d090d99d09"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2776/content_Emily-Bryson_Ellii_Using-Flashcards-No-Prep-Required.jpg" /></b></p>

<p class="caption">Emily Bryson shows how simple drawings and icons can help build student vocabulary.</p>

<h4>2.&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-pictures-as-grammar-prompts" target="_blank">How to Use Pictures as Grammar Prompts</a></h4>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-77e00e67-7fff-f0a6-8443-fa41d8db5bad"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2777/content_Emily-Bryson_Ellii_picture-prompt.jpg" /></b></p>

<p class="caption">How Emily Bryson uses simple drawings as grammar prompts.</p>

<p>If you&rsquo;d like to know more about Graphic Facilitation for ELT professionals, make sure to check out my&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PMwYXdlx_s" target="_blank">Elliicon2022 conference session recording</a>.</p>

<p>You can also find more ideas, online courses, and a free e-book on my&nbsp;<a href="http://www.emilybrysonelt.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">website</a>.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts!</h5>

<p>Have you ever experienced or used graphic facilitation before? What are some graphic facilitation tools or visual communication techniques you&#39;d like to learn more about? We&rsquo;d love to hear your thoughts.</p>
</div>


Graphic Facilitation 101: Teaching English through Visual Communication

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<p>Watching movies or TV is one of the most popular hobbies in the world. It&rsquo;s no surprise that students love to learn this way too.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Video is&nbsp;an excellent teaching tool and benefits English learners in many ways.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For starters, <strong>video is instantly engaging</strong>.</p>

<p>No matter your learners&rsquo; age or ability, using videos in class is a great way to <strong>keep their attention</strong> and <strong>make them more receptive to upcoming lesson activities</strong>.</p>

<p>Another big advantage of using videos in class&nbsp;is that they <strong>provide additional visual context </strong>your students wouldn&#39;t otherwise get through reading or listening.</p>

<p>Ready to start incorporating videos into your lessons? Here are four simple ways you can use videos to teach English more effectively in class.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>1. Play the video silently</h2>

<p>Playing the video silently is&nbsp;a fun way to introduce students to the topic, activate schemata, and get them thinking critically about the content.</p>

<p>As they watch, ask them to consider a question.</p>

<h3>For example:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>What happens?</li>
	<li>Who is in the video?</li>
	<li>Where is it?</li>
	<li>What are the people saying?</li>
	<li>What are they wearing?</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. Read aloud</h2>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/dialogues" target="_blank">Ellii dialogue videos</a> are a great way to support learners with all four skills. The visuals support their understanding, while the audio and closed captions provide listening and reading practice. Students can listen and repeat after a paused video or read the text aloud as they watch.</p>

<p class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/551974787" width="640"></iframe></p>

<p class="caption">Video not playing? Your school might be blocking Vimeo, our video hosting platform. Please ask your administrator to whitelist <a href="https://vimeo.com/" nofollow="" noreferrer="" rel="&quot;noopener" target="&quot;_blank&quot;">vimeo.com</a>.</p>

<p>Once students have gained confidence, they can role-play the dialogues in pairs or small groups.</p>

<p>Additional practice and support can be found in the lesson PDF&nbsp;and interactive digital tasks.</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3124/content_Screen_Shot_2023-04-06_at_3.19.24_PM.png" /></p>

<h2>3. Pause the video</h2>

<p>Pausing the video is a&nbsp;technique that can be used in a number of ways:</p>

<h3>Before watching</h3>

<p>Watch the video silently and pause it at key scenes or show the same sections as screenshots. Ask students to describe what they see.</p>

<p>This is a good way to <strong>pre-teach vocabulary</strong> or <strong>generate discussion</strong> on predicted content.</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label hangingLabel">Related video</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/video/going-shopping-beg"><img alt="a person shopping" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2769/content_76_Going-Shopping.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/video/going-shopping-beg" target="_blank">Going Shopping</a></h2>

<p>In this video, students learn how to ask to try on clothing in a store. They also learn to describe how something fits and how to ask for a different size.</p>
</div>

<h3>During watching</h3>

<p>Pause the video at selected points and ask questions. This ensures that students have <strong>understood</strong> the video so far. It also offers additional<strong> speaking practice</strong>.</p>

<p>You could also ask students what they think might happen next&nbsp;before they resume watching.</p>

<p><b id="docs-internal-guid-3611de2c-7fff-827c-9027-87fcb0e24f9a"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2772/content_video.jpg" /></b></p>

<h3>After watching</h3>

<p>Pause the video at key scenes and ask students to <strong>summarize</strong> what the voiceover said. They could do this orally or by taking notes.</p>

<p>This gives students an opportunity to <strong>share their understanding</strong>.</p>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label hangingLabel">Related video</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/video/climate-change-int-high-int"><img alt="a polar bear" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2770/content_72_Climate-Change.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/video/climate-change-int-high-int" target="_blank">Climate Change</a></h2>

<p>Students watch a video&nbsp;about how global warming is affecting the world.&nbsp;</p>
</div>

<h2>4. Rewrite the video</h2>

<p>Rewriting the video can generate a lot of laughter!&nbsp;Students watch the video with the sound off and create their own voiceovers or dialogues.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You could give each student, pair, or group a different video to watch and ask them to present the new version of the video live. This is an engaging&nbsp;way for students to <strong>practice their English writing and speaking skills</strong>.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>You can now find all our videos (130+) in our new <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos" target="_blank">Media Gallery</a>.</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Related materials</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/selfie-videos-ell" target="_blank">Teaching English with Selfie Videos</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-american-dream" target="_blank">The American Dream: Video Challenge</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>Ellii&#39;s YouTube Channels</h2>

<p>You may want to tell your students about&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ellii">Ellii&#39;s YouTube channel for students</a>&nbsp;(<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@ellii">youtube.com/@ellii</a>) and encourage them to subscribe if they want self-study videos on grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary, reading, dialogues, etc. (that you could also share in class).</p>

<p>Ellii also has a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@elliiteachers">YouTube channel just for teachers</a> (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@elliiteachers">youtube.com/@elliiteachers</a>) with demo videos of <a href="https://ellii.com/discover">ellii.com</a>&#39;s features.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4I3tmCtS4qA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts!</h5>

<p>Have you tried any of these ideas? How do you use videos in class? We&rsquo;d love to hear from you!</p>
</div>


4 Ways to Use Videos Effectively in Class

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<p>Vacations are a glorious, much-needed, brain reset. But sometimes it can be tricky getting back into the work zone after the holidays.</p>

<p>Here are five&nbsp;of my top tips for easing yourself back into teaching mode after vacation:&nbsp;</p>

<h2>1. Check your emails</h2>

<p>Checking your inbox and combing through your emails is&nbsp;a great place to start. It&rsquo;s a chance to get organized and familiarize yourself with current tasks, sort out your calendar, delete old emails, and get started on a &quot;to-do&quot;&nbsp;list.</p>

<h2>2. Chat with&nbsp;colleagues</h2>

<p>Whether your colleagues have been working throughout summer or your team has been sharing the same vacation schedule, reconnecting over a warm beverage&nbsp;always feels&nbsp;good.</p>

<p>Exchanging&nbsp;vacation tales and workplace news also helps build relationships and strengthens workplace&nbsp;connections.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The conversation will inevitably lead to chatting about upcoming deadlines, agendas, and meetings. This allows your&nbsp;brain to naturally get back into work mode.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>3. Tidy your desktop</h2>

<p>Returning from vacation can be the perfect time to clean up your overcrowded desktop.</p>

<p>Sorting out piles of papers&nbsp;in your workspace&nbsp;or folders on your computer often unveils <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/3971" target="_blank">hidden treasures</a>.&nbsp;You may find that long forgotten <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/categories/activities" target="_blank">activities</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources" target="_blank">worksheets</a> re-emerge, serendipitously, effortlessly preparing your classes for you&mdash;all with the added bonus of a tidy&nbsp;desk!</p>

<h2>4. Sign up for continuous professional development</h2>

<p><strong>Continuous professional development (CPD)</strong> can help get your brain back into teaching&nbsp;mode.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Search online or check&nbsp;social media for interesting courses. Another easy way to keep learning and to stay on top of teaching trends and best practices&nbsp;is to&nbsp;read blog posts, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WClGk9Q8Owc&amp;list=PL0MvnNQjMzmbCk_AEw6JNaf8EoD5ATs5L" target="_blank">watch videos</a>, or sign up for a webinar or event. You could also watch videos from past events, such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@elliiteachers" target="_blank">Ellii Con</a>!</p>

<h2>5. Search for ideas</h2>

<p>Preparing for your classes&nbsp;will probably be one of your top priorities.</p>

<p>If you&rsquo;re not sure where to start, try browsing the Ellii website for ideas. Explore their&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/discover" target="_blank">Discover page</a>&nbsp;(found under&nbsp;<strong>Materials</strong>&nbsp;in the navigation bar) to view a wide assortment of trending lessons and teaching ideas.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts!</h5>

<p>What helps you get back into the teaching groove? Do you have a process? We&rsquo;d love to know. Share your ideas in the&nbsp;comments!</p>
</div>


5 Ways to Get Back into Teaching Mode after Vacation

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<p><strong>Graphic organizers</strong> are visual tools which support learners in&nbsp;processing, ordering, and recording information.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They include diagrams, flow charts, mind maps, tables, vocabulary organizers, visual calendars, and Venn diagrams.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Often, they&#39;re supported by simple icons to <strong>activate schemata</strong> and <strong>aid&nbsp;understanding</strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I love using graphic organizers&nbsp;because they...</p>

<ul>
	<li>help learners to focus their ideas&nbsp;</li>
	<li>are versatile and can be adapted and reused in many&nbsp;ways</li>
	<li>use minimal text so they reduce the processing load on learners with dyslexia or literacy&nbsp;needs</li>
	<li>make information clearer&nbsp;</li>
	<li>aid memory and comprehension</li>
	<li>encourage critical thinking</li>
	<li>are engaging</li>
</ul>

<h2>4 activities for using graphic organizers</h2>

<p>Here are four&nbsp;activity examples&nbsp;of ways you can&nbsp;use graphic organizers using Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;lessons:</p>

<h3>1. Sorting and categorizing information</h3>

<p>This activity supports learners to categorize American words. You could provide interactive feedback on this by drawing the table on the whiteboard. Then give each student a pen and ask them to add the words in the correct&nbsp;category.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Check out Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/75/lessons/2277" target="_blank">American Citizenship</a> lesson from their Living in English section.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2697/content_Ellii_American-Citizenship_graphic-organizer.jpg" /></p>

<h3>2. Visualizing information</h3>

<p>This activity uses a family tree diagram to check learners&rsquo; understanding of reading about a family tree. They can then draw their own family tree and describe it to other&nbsp;students.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Check out Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/75/lessons/1655" target="_blank">Family</a> lesson from their Living in English&nbsp;section.<b>&nbsp;</b></p>

<p><b><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2698/content_Ellii_Family_graphic-organizer.jpg" /></b></p>

<h3>3. Scaffolding conversations</h3>

<p>This lesson uses a graphic organizer to focus students&rsquo; discussions on housing. The words on the left can be used as question&nbsp;prompts.</p>

<p>To support your language learners, you could elicit and drill the questions they need to ask before they start their paired&nbsp;conversations.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Check out Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/75/lessons/1652" target="_&quot;blank&quot;">Housing</a> lesson from their Living in English&nbsp;section.</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2699/content_Ellii_Housing_graphic-organizer.jpg" /></p>

<h3>4. Finding comparisons and&nbsp;similarities</h3>

<p>Venn diagrams are excellent visual tools for comparing, contrasting, and finding similarities. They can be used to analyze information after a reading or listening task&nbsp;or to compile thoughts before a writing or speaking activity. You can ask students to draw their own or use this printable, blank&nbsp;worksheet.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Check out Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/3086" target="_blank">Venn Diagram</a> resource from their Visual Learning&nbsp;section.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2700/content_Ellii_Venn-diagram_graphic-organizer.jpg" /></p>

<h2>Draw your own graphic organizers</h2>

<p>Graphic organizers are perfect for <strong>tailoring to your own&nbsp;needs</strong>.</p>

<p>You can draw them yourself on paper or on whiteboard and then have students copy them. You could also create your own using Powerpoint, Word, or online tools such as <a href="https://miro.com/" nofollow="" noreferrer="" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Miro</a> or <a href="https://www.mural.co/" nofollow="" noreferrer="" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mural</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The following is an example of a hand-drawn graphic organizer.</p>

<p><img alt="Five speech bubble, labled as Who, What, When, Where, Why" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2701/content_Ellii_hand-drawn-organizer.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Example of a hand-drawn graphic organizer by Emily Bryson.</p>

<p>It can be used in many ways. One idea is to give students a text or audio and have them write the answers. It could also be used to prepare for a speaking or writing activity where students tell a&nbsp;story.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Related posts</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-activities-for-engaging-students-this-school-year" target="_blank">7 Activities for Engaging Students This School Year</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/10-activities-to-increase-understanding-while-reading" target="_blank">10 Activities to Increase Understanding While Reading</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/bell-ringers" target="_blank">Bell Ringers</a></li>
</ul>


Using Graphic Organizers for Language Skills Development

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2224/Emily_Using-Graphic-Organizers-for-Language-Skills-Development_Banner.png

<p>The first day of class can be daunting and challenging. It&rsquo;s an opportunity for students to get to know each other, get to know their teachers, and feel comfortable in their new classes.</p>

<p>Here are four of my favorite first-day-of-term activities to&nbsp;help break the&nbsp;ice:&nbsp;</p>

<h2>1. Picture me!&nbsp;</h2>

<p>For this activity, ask students to find (or draw) five pictures that represent them. Give them time to discuss in pairs or small groups why they chose each&nbsp;image.</p>

<p>You&#39;ll want to encourage them to ask as many questions and talk for as long as&nbsp;possible.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You could model this activity first by selecting five <a href="https://ellii.com/media/flashcards" target="_blank">flashcards from Ellii&#39;s Media&nbsp;Gallery</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Example</h3>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>Student A: </strong>Why did you choose a&nbsp;bicycle?</p>

<p><strong>Student B:</strong> I love cycling.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Student C:</strong> Where do you cycle?&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Student B:</strong> I usually cycle along the river or to&nbsp;class.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Student A:</strong> I like cycling too.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Student C: </strong>I don&rsquo;t have a bike, but I want&nbsp;one.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Online, this works well in breakout rooms and&nbsp;then as a whole class in the main&nbsp;room.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As an extension, you could ask your language learners to write about another student or introduce them to the rest of the&nbsp;class.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>2. Find someone who...</h2>

<p>Where would the English language teaching world be without &quot;Find Someone Who&hellip;,&quot; also known as &quot;People&nbsp;Bingo&quot;?</p>

<p>In this activity, students go around the room, asking their peers questions based on a list of personal attributes. When they &lsquo;&quot;find someone who&quot;&nbsp;meets the criteria they&#39;re looking for, they write their name on a list.</p>

<p>The first person to find someone who ticks each box on their list wins. But if you ask me, the real winners are anyone who has used their English as much as possible throughout the&nbsp;activity.</p>

<p>Here are some questions to get you started:&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>Find someone who&hellip;</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&hellip;got up at 6 am.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&hellip;has two brothers.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&hellip;lived in another country.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;&hellip;speaks three languages.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&hellip;enjoys swimming.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&hellip;loves carrots.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&hellip;can stand on their head.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Online, you can do this using breakout rooms, switching the people in each room every 2&ndash;3 minutes to maintain&nbsp;energy.</p>

<p>You may wish to create your own questions&nbsp;or have students write their own. If you&#39;re already an Ellii subscriber, you can use their&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/2194" target="_blank">Find&nbsp;Someone&nbsp;Who&nbsp;template</a>.</p>

<p>You could also try this fun Ellii alternative: <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/2138" target="_blank">Find&nbsp;Someone&nbsp;Who&nbsp;Didn&#39;t</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>3. Two truths and a lie</h2>

<p>In this activity, students write two facts about themselves and one thing that isn&#39;t true. In pairs or small groups, they work together to decide which two out of the three statements&nbsp;are&nbsp;true.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Demonstrate the activity first by giving your own examples. Here&rsquo;s the one I usually&nbsp;use:&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<ol>
	<li>I have a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>I ran Edinburgh, Berlin, and New York marathons.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>My husband usually cooks for me.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
</blockquote>

<p>At higher levels, students can ask questions (e.g., Do you like cooking? What are your hobbies?) to discover the answers. At lower levels, they can have just as much fun&nbsp;guessing.</p>

<p>In terms of which of the example statements is true for me, I&rsquo;m going to leave you guessing here.&nbsp;Feel free to write your guesses (or questions) in the <a href="#comment">comments&nbsp;section</a>!</p>

<p><strong>Please note:</strong> Some students may not wish to tell lies for religious reasons. In this case, you can ask them to write correct&nbsp;and incorrect&nbsp;sentences&nbsp;instead.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>4. Adjective acronames</h2>

<p>This activity is a great way to review vocabulary and learn more about your new students&rsquo; language&nbsp;level.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The aim is for students to assign an adjective which describes them to each letter of their name. Students can refer to a dictionary, search online, or ask a peer for help.</p>

<p>First, think of adjectives that correspond to your own name. Then&nbsp;demonstrate the&nbsp;activity.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Example</h3>

<blockquote>
<p><b>E</b>nthusiastic</p>

<p><b>M</b>ysterious</p>

<p><b>I</b>maginative</p>

<p><b>L</b>ively</p>

<p><b>Y</b>oung&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This activity can be adapted for lower levels so that students can write any word beginning with that letter. You could also try this fun variation: <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/my-favourite-warm-up-activity" target="_blank">Adjectives&nbsp;with&nbsp;a&nbsp;twist.</a></p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Join the conversation!</h5>

<p>What&rsquo;s your favorite first day of class activity? We&rsquo;d love to know! Share your ideas in the&nbsp;comments.&nbsp;</p>
</div>

<h2><a id="comment"></a>Related materials</h2>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/everyday-topics/back-to-school" target="_blank">Back to School</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/2220 " target="_blank">Getting to Know You</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/75/lessons/1656" target="_blank">Getting Acquainted</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/1737" target="_blank">Saying Hello</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/76/lessons/1717" target="_blank">Making Introductions</a></li>
</ul>


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Emily Bryson