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

Articles

<p>For many, reading is a silent, internal&nbsp;process.</p>

<p>When I did my CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), my tutor taught me that reading aloud was unnatural and, therefore, didn&rsquo;t have a place in the&nbsp;classroom.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As I&rsquo;ve developed as a teacher, especially as a teacher of adult ESOL&nbsp;literacy, I&rsquo;ve explored this belief a lot. I&rsquo;ve discovered that reading aloud is an essential part of the English language&nbsp;classroom.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some&nbsp;beneficial ways you can use reading aloud in your language&nbsp;classroom:</p>

<h2>Try reading aloud to your&nbsp;students</h2>

<p>Reading to students is a great way to add some energy, drama, and fun to the classroom. It provides an opportunity for English learners to hear the words and be exposed to the concept of reading. It can also <strong>activate imaginations</strong>, <strong>build vocabulary</strong>, and <strong>improve overall understanding of the&nbsp;language</strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Students can listen and follow the text as the teacher reads or simply enjoy listening to the&nbsp;text.</p>

<h2>Have your students read aloud</h2>

<p>Getting students to read aloud is one of the best ways to check that their sound decoding skills are developing. It also provides an opportunity to practice pronunciation&nbsp;and check that they understand&nbsp;punctuation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There have also been studies to show that <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200917-the-surprising-power-of-reading-aloud" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">reading aloud aids memory</a>. Colin MacLeod, a psychology researcher at the University of Waterloo, Canada, found that readers of all ages <strong>remembered words better</strong> if they read them aloud. He calls this &quot;the&nbsp;production&nbsp;effect.&quot;</p>

<p>Be aware that some learners may lack confidence in reading aloud in front of peers. This can be especially true for <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-english-learners-with-dyslexia" target="_blank">learners with dyslexia</a> or for those who find literacy&nbsp;challenging.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this case, aim to create a welcoming, supportive, and respectful classroom atmosphere,&nbsp;and allow learners to work in small groups or pairs to read&nbsp;aloud.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Practice choral reading</h2>

<p>Choral reading is a great way to read aloud in class. It gets everyone involved and allows learners to <strong>gain confidence </strong>before reading&nbsp;alone.</p>

<p>Simply display a text on the whiteboard or screen and ask students to read it aloud together.&nbsp;If one learner struggles with a particular word, they can hear how to say it from the other learners or the&nbsp;teacher.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Use technology to&nbsp;read aloud</h2>

<p>You can use tools such as&nbsp;the Microsoft&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-microsoft-immersive-reader-on-ellii" target="_blank">Immersive Reader</a>&nbsp;on Ellii&nbsp;to read texts aloud to&nbsp;learners.</p>

<p>Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/134/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank Readers</a>&nbsp;lesson section has tasks where students&nbsp;can...</p>

<ul>
	<li>read and listen to recorded audio of the text</li>
</ul>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/134/lessons/3685" target="_blank"><img alt="Audio track on top of an excerpt from Leena's Big, Happy Family lesson from Ellii's Word Bank Readers section." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2567/content_Ellii-read-listen-recorded-audio.jpg" /></a></p>

<ul>
	<li>record themselves reading a text for the teacher to mark</li>
</ul>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-speaking-tips-for-students" target="_blank"><img alt="Example of Ellii speaking task type with a record button to record your answer." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2568/content_Ellii-record-reading-text.jpg" /></a></p>

<ul>
	<li>watch videos and read aloud with the highlighted reading&nbsp;prompts</li>
</ul>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/134/lessons/3685" target="_blank"><img alt="An Ellii read aloud video from Lena's Big, Happy Family lesson." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2550/content_Screen_Shot_2022-07-06_at_11.32.40_AM.png" /></a></p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts!</h5>

<p>Do you use reading aloud in class? If so, how? Let us know in the comments&nbsp;section.</p>
</div>


The Importance of Reading Aloud in a Language Learning Class

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<p><strong>Dyslexia </strong>is a specific learning difference which affects information processing, memory, and organizational skills.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Learners with dyslexia may find reading, writing, and spelling more challenging. They may also need additional support to plan their time.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Often learners with dyslexia are very creative&nbsp;and excel at artistic tasks or solving problems.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some tips for supporting learners with dyslexia:&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Speak to your learners</h2>

<p>This is one of the most important things to do with any language learner who has additional needs. Every learner is different and will benefit from their own tailored support plan.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Set aside time to have a guidance appointment with them and discuss ways you can help. For young learners, involve their parent(s) or guardian(s).</p>

<h2>Give extra time</h2>

<p>Learners with dyslexia may need more time to read and process a text.</p>

<p>It&#39;s common for dyslexic learners to re-read entire paragraphs. They may miss lines or sections as they read or&nbsp;confuse visually similar words. They may even&nbsp;see words that &quot;float&quot; or appear to move around as they read a text.</p>

<h2>Give instructions one step at a time</h2>

<p>Learners with dyslexia may find it confusing to receive too many instructions at one time. To make the lesson as accessible as possible, give classroom directions one at a time.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Example of information overload:</strong>&nbsp;&quot;Open your computer, log in to Ellii, view your assignments and then read the text. Once you&rsquo;ve done that, answer the comprehension questions.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Instead, break it down into stages and give new instructions once each task has been completed.</p>

<p><strong>Example of simple instructions:&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&quot;Open your computer.&quot;</p>

<p>In reality, this is good practice for teaching all&nbsp;language learners. Often making small changes to your teaching practice to make learning English accessible for an individual can benefit the whole class.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Use assistive tools&nbsp;</h2>

<p>There are lots of different apps and software which can help learners with dyslexia. For example, spell-checkers, voice-to-text, mind mapping, and text-to-speech.</p>

<p>Ellii uses Microsoft&rsquo;s <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-microsoft-immersive-reader-on-ellii" target="_blank">Immersive Reader</a>&nbsp;which&nbsp;allows learners to customize their own reading experience. Students can change&nbsp;the text size, view the text&nbsp;in&nbsp;full-screen, adjust the translation to their preferred language, and have the text read aloud.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Learn about dyslexia-friendly&nbsp;fonts</h2>

<p>In general, <strong>larger, sans serif&nbsp;fonts</strong> with double line spacing are easier to read, especially for people with dyslexia.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There are also a variety of fonts which have been designed specifically to support dyslexic readers. Their effectiveness depends on individual preference.</p>

<p>Speak to your learners and find out if they have any font preferences.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Use visuals</h2>

<p>Dyslexic learners often enjoy <strong>multisensory approaches</strong>.</p>

<p>Visuals such as graphic organizers, mind maps, diagrams, and charts have minimal text so they can reduce processing load. They also appeal to dyslexic learners&rsquo; creativity and aid memory.</p>

<p>Here are two examples from Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons" target="_blank">Writing in English</a> lesson&nbsp;on <a href="http://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1826" target="_blank">How to Brainstorm</a>:</p>

<p><a href="http://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1826" target="_blank"><img alt="Example of a Venn diagram from Ellii's Writing in English lesson on How to Brainstorm" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2557/content_venn-diagram.jpg" /></a></p>

<p class="caption">Example of a Venn diagram from Ellii&#39;s Writing in English lesson on How to Brainstorm.</p>

<p><a href="http://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1826" target="_blank"><img alt="example mind map from Ellii's Writing in English lesson on How to Brainstorm" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2558/content_Mind-Map.jpg" /></a></p>

<p class="caption">Example of a mind map from Ellii&#39;s Writing in English lesson on How to Brainstorm.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5><strong>Share your thoughts!</strong></h5>

<p>Do you support language learners with dyslexia, or do you have dyslexia yourself? What works for you and/or your students? Let us know in the comments below.</p>
</div>


Accessibility: Supporting English Learners with Dyslexia

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<p>I&#39;ve been teaching people seeking refuge and asylum in the UK since 2007. I feel absolutely privileged to have them as&nbsp;students.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They are some of the kindest, friendliest, most generous humans I have ever&nbsp;met.</p>

<p>I&#39;ve&nbsp;learned so much about international culture and affairs. I&#39;ve&nbsp;also been particularly lucky in sampling all sorts of delicious traditional treats, and I&#39;ve been introduced to some amazing books, films, and&nbsp;music.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Even the loveliest of students come with&nbsp;challenges.</p>

<p>Many of them have experienced forced displacement and severe trauma. Some of them have lost families and loved ones or been permanently separated from&nbsp;them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>When people ask me where my students are from, it often depends on the political&nbsp;climate.</p>

<p>When I first started teaching ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages), my classes were predominantly Eastern European, Congolese, Somalian, and&nbsp;Afghan.</p>

<p>Over the years, this demographic has&nbsp;changed.</p>

<p>Now&nbsp;I teach a lot of students from El Salvador, Kurdistan, Eritrea, Syria, and,&nbsp;I&rsquo;m sure very soon,&nbsp;Ukraine.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this post, I&rsquo;d like to share with you six ways in which you can support English learners from refugee&nbsp;backgrounds.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>1. Keep it relatable</h2>

<p>When selecting topics to study, <strong>choose something relatable which will benefit the learners in their daily&nbsp;lives.</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example, students who can&rsquo;t leave the country because they don&rsquo;t have the travel documents or the funds may not be motivated to talk about dream holidays in exotic locations. Instead, you could bring in leaflets for free things to do in the local&nbsp;area.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One Ellii lesson that my students really enjoyed was <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/134/lessons/3656 " target="_blank">Hiro&rsquo;s Apartment</a>. It was a great way to introduce vocabulary related to housing similar to their&nbsp;own.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>2. Offer options</h2>

<p>Just as it&rsquo;s important to keep topics practical for learners, it&rsquo;s also important to ensure they&#39;re not triggering. Some&nbsp;seemingly harmless&nbsp;topics could upset learners. So it&#39;s always good to provide&nbsp;options.</p>

<p>For example, a learner who&#39;s lost family members may not wish to talk about their family&nbsp;in detail.&nbsp;In this case, you can ask them to choose to talk about someone special to them. This person could be a friend or an&nbsp;acquaintance.&nbsp;</p>

<p><meta charset="utf-8" /></p>

<p><strong>Providing options and adaptations ensures learners always feel included</strong> and that they can practice the language&nbsp;points.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>3. Explore intercultural diversity</h2>

<p>ESOL and ESL classes are often very&nbsp;multicultural.</p>

<p>I&#39;ve learned so much about festivals, food, clothes, and traditions around the world.&nbsp;These topics can really enthuse&nbsp;learners from refugee backgrounds&nbsp;and create rich&nbsp;discussions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They&#39;re also a great way to <strong>encourage cross-cultural understanding and acceptance.</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Have a look at a diversity <a href="https://ellii.com/calendar" target="_blank">calendar</a>&nbsp;or ask your learners when special events are coming up for them. Then teach a lesson on these special events. Ask them to share their own ways to celebrate. It&rsquo;s likely that each individual or family has their own unique way of marking a special&nbsp;occasion.</p>

<p>This is a great way for English learners to <strong>explore the diverse ways people live around the world</strong>. It&rsquo;s also beneficial for considering differences in individual and collective&nbsp;cultures.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Have a look at Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons" target="_blank">Holidays &amp; Events</a> section for 100+ English lessons about holidays, events, and cultural and religious observances&nbsp;around the&nbsp;world.</p>

<h2>4. Be trauma-informed</h2>

<p>As I previously mentioned, some learners may have mental health problems such as <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/95/lessons/1851" target="_blank">depression</a> or <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/95/lessons/4162" target="_blank">post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)</a>.&nbsp;You may need to be flexible in your&nbsp;approach.</p>

<p>Some students may have priorities greater than their language classes. For example, they may be trying to relocate loved ones, find a job, or navigate&nbsp;homelessness.&nbsp;</p>

<p>English language classes can be a great distraction from the pressures of life. <strong>Try to keep lessons as fun and engaging as&nbsp;possible.</strong></p>

<p>Also keep in mind that for some learners, holidays may not be the welcome break we&rsquo;d expect. English language classes can be a mental health lifeline. A way to keep&nbsp;busy.</p>

<p>If possible, try to <strong>find&nbsp;alternative ways for learners to pass the time during holiday periods</strong>. For example, look for things to do in the local&nbsp;community.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You can read more on supporting your learners&#39; mental health needs in my previous 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&nbsp;Classroom</a>.</p>

<h2>5. Advocate</h2>

<p>Throughout&nbsp;my years as a language teacher, I&#39;ve signed countless petitions,&nbsp;written numerous letters to politicians, and stood in the rain at many&nbsp;protests.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Advocating for refugee rights in this way helps me feel like I&rsquo;m making the world a better place. It also lets students see that I&#39;m there for&nbsp;them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In class, it&#39;s important to support students to find their own&nbsp;voice.</p>

<p><strong>Always be ready to listen to their needs and support them to advocate for themselves where possible.</strong>&nbsp;This can mean teaching them to write emails to their local councillors or simply pointing them toward&nbsp;organizations that can&nbsp;help.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>6. Fundraise</h2>

<p><strong><img alt="A smiling Emily Bryson posing with her bike in front of a giant ceramic mosaic sculpture of a fish in Belfast, Ireland." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2515/content_Emily-Bryson-Belfast-Cycle.jpg" /></strong></p>

<p class="caption">Photo of Emily Bryson posing with her bike in front of the Big Fish sculpture in Belfast, Ireland.</p>

<p>I recently cycled to the <a href="https://www.iatefl.org/conference/home" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">2022 International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) conference</a> to raise money for a refugee education&nbsp;charity.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I cycled 150 miles (241.4 kilometers)&nbsp;in two days from Glasgow, Scotland, to Belfast, Ireland&nbsp;(I cheated a bit and took the ferry from Cairnryan).&nbsp;The hardest part was packing a limited conference wardrobe&mdash;and trying to dry my wet socks with an automatic hand&nbsp;dryer!&nbsp;</p>

<p>I raised &pound;2,500 pounds (approximately US$3,060)&nbsp;for <a href="https://www.amalaeducation.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Amala</a>.&nbsp;I was stunned by everyone&rsquo;s&nbsp;generosity!</p>

<p>Amala delivers educational programmes to refugee communities all over the world. They currently facilitate courses in refugee camps in Jordan, Kenya, and&nbsp;Greece.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Curious to learn more about my cycle and fundraising? Follow&nbsp;me on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/emilybrysonelt/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer no follow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EmilyBrysonELT" rel="noopener noreferrer no follow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/emilybrysonelt" rel="noopener noreferrer no follow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

<p>What do you do to support learners from refugee backgrounds? Have you been involved in or are you planning any fundraising? We&rsquo;d love to know! Share in the comments&nbsp;below.&nbsp;</p>
</div>


6 Ways to Support English Learners from Refugee Backgrounds

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Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

<p>The end of a term,&nbsp;course, or school year is a time for celebration and reflection. It&rsquo;s an opportunity for students to look back at the distance they&rsquo;ve traveled, review key language points, and have a bit of&nbsp;fun.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are three&nbsp;of my favorite end-of-term activities your English learners are sure to&nbsp;love:</p>

<h2>1. Road map reflection</h2>

<p>This is a really common technique in the graphic facilitation world.</p>

<p>Simply draw a road map into the horizon (pathways and rivers also work well) on a whiteboard or&nbsp;flipchart. Give your learners sticky notes and ask them to write some ideas for how they felt at the beginning of the&nbsp;term.&nbsp;</p>

<p>You could give them prompts like:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>How confident were you with speaking/listening/reading/writing?</li>
	<li>How did you feel about your vocabulary/grammar/pronunciation?</li>
</ul>

<p>Students then stick the notes in the distance, on the horizon of the road&nbsp;map.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Once that&#39;s complete, give them another set of sticky notes and repeat the task for how they feel now. Students can then add their ideas to the front of the&nbsp;map.</p>

<p>You can then facilitate a class discussion on distance traveled, praise, and next&nbsp;steps.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This also works well as an individual task. You could ask students to complete the horizon at the beginning of term&nbsp;and then ask them to look back once the course is&nbsp;completed.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Road map drawing where the road is fading into the horizon line." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2494/content_Roadmap-Emily-Bryson-ELT-.jpg" /></p>

<h2>2. Random discussion topics</h2>

<p>At the end of a term, I often find that students want to use their language skills more naturally. They also want to&nbsp;review vocabulary they&#39;ve learned.&nbsp;</p>

<p>One way to do this is to have them ask and answer questions based on random&nbsp;topics.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/63-how-to-create-flashcard-sets" target="_blank">Flashcard Set</a>&nbsp;feature is great for this. If you have time before class, you can create a set of flashcards which revises specific words they&rsquo;ve learned throughout the&nbsp;year.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Click through the set and have students ask and answer questions for each word. For example, if the flashcard shows &quot;beach ball&quot;&nbsp;you could ask them to talk about beach balls for one&nbsp;minute.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Ellii Beach Ball flashcard" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2468/content_beach-ball-flashcard-Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<p>At lower levels, have one student make a question and another answer it. Encourage them to ask open questions (e.g., who, when, why, what, where) to get more interesting&nbsp;answers!</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<table class="horizontal">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Student&nbsp;1:</th>
			<td>When do you play with <strong>beach balls</strong>?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Student&nbsp;2:</th>
			<td>I play with <strong>beach balls</strong> when I&#39;m on holiday.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>If you&rsquo;re too busy to create a flashcard set, you could simply select a ready-made flashcard topic or browse the <strong>All&nbsp;</strong>category. Students can then select a word at random through a class vote or a volunteer closing their eyes and&nbsp;pointing.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="All Ellii flashcards" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2469/content_All-Flashcards-Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<h2>3. Pictionarades</h2>

<p>The last class of the term has to be fun! And what better way to add a bit of laughter than by drawing and acting out phrases or words at the same&nbsp;time?&nbsp;</p>

<p>I&rsquo;m sure you&rsquo;re all aware of Pictionary and charades, but I&rsquo;d just like to summarize them quickly as a&nbsp;reminder.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Pictionary</strong> is a game of quick drawing. Give students a vocabulary item and ask them to draw it. You can do this in teams, with one student drawing while their teammates guess, or as a whole class, with one learner drawing and the rest of the class shouting out their&nbsp;ideas.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Charades</strong> is a similar idea. Participants are given a vocabulary point and they have to act it out while others guess. Much like Pictionary, it can be played in pairs, small groups, or as a whole&nbsp;class.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Why not combine the two and give students the option of whether to draw or&nbsp;act?&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Pictionary + Charades = Pictionarades</strong></p>

<p>This will...</p>

<ul>
	<li>allow students who prefer a bit of movement to get active</li>
	<li>allow students who&nbsp;lack confidence in drawing the option to use&nbsp;drama</li>
	<li>allow students who are shy with performing to&nbsp;draw</li>
	<li>provide an option to naturally choose the best way to communicate (e.g., some words or phrases may be easier to draw than to act or vice&nbsp;versa)</li>
	<li>allow students to draw and act at the same time, if&nbsp;necessary</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

<p>Have you tried any of these activities with your English learners? How did it go? If you have any of your own favorite end-of-term activities, share them with us&nbsp;in the comments&nbsp;below!</p>
</div>


3 Awesome End-of-Term Activities for English Learners

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<p>English language teaching is about equipping learners with skills and confidence to succeed. As teachers, we have the opportunity to support our learners to&nbsp;feel invincible when they leave the&nbsp;classroom.</p>

<p>I&rsquo;d like to share a quick and simple well-being activity I use with my learners called &quot;Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel.&quot;</p>

<p>It focuses on quieting their inner troll and giving their inner angel a louder voice.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The inner troll is the part of the brain that wants to protect you from embarrassment or failure. It exacerbates self-limiting beliefs by using negative language such&nbsp;as:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>You <b>can&rsquo;t</b> do that.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>You&rsquo;<strong>re</strong> <b>not</b> good enough.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>You&rsquo;<b>ll never</b> be able to do that.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>The inner angel is your inner troll&rsquo;s friendly and encouraging alter ego. It wants you to succeed in life and to try, even if something is difficult. It isn&rsquo;t worried about failure or embarrassment. It uses positive affirmations which give confidence such&nbsp;as:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>You <b>can</b> do it.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>You <b>are</b> good enough.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>You<b>&rsquo;ll </b>get better in time.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<p>Many people battle with their inner troll. Learning how to <strong>switch negative thoughts to positive affirmations</strong> can have a life-changing effect on&nbsp;success.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel: How it works</h2>

<p><img alt="Drawing of frowning inner troll with an empty thought bubble and smiling inner angel with an empty through bubble." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2444/content_content_Screen_Shot_2022-05-24_at_1.32.44_PM.jpg" /></p>

<p>Use the<strong> Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel&nbsp;</strong>activity to help your students&nbsp;develop a growth mindset through&nbsp;writing <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/affirmations-for-english-learners" target="_blank">positive affirmations</a> and learning how to silence their inner&nbsp;troll.</p>

<p>Here&#39;s how it works:</p>

<ol>
	<li>Draw an inner troll and an inner angel on the whiteboard. Add thought bubbles over each&nbsp;head.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Give students a piece of paper. Ask them to draw their<strong> inner&nbsp;troll </strong>and a speech bubble. Then ask them to write some of the things their inner troll tells them. Let your students know&nbsp;this is confidential and not to look at other students&rsquo; papers. Give them some examples (perhaps your own) if&nbsp;necessary.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Give students another piece of paper. Ask them to draw their <strong>inner&nbsp;angel.</strong> Then ask them to write some of the things their inner angel tells them. Again, ensure students know this is confidential. Give them examples if necessary.&nbsp;Some students may find this section difficult. Ask them to think about the nice things their friends and family say to them. It can help to think of their inner angel as a good friend.&nbsp;If the class knows each other well and has a good rapport, you could ask students to give each other compliments, and help each other with this part of the&nbsp;task.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>This is fun the part! Once students have completed their inner angel, ask them to pick up their inner troll once more. As dramatically as possible, ask students to tear the piece of paper with their inner troll into tiny little pieces, or scrunch it up&nbsp;and throw it in the&nbsp;bin.</li>
	<li>Ask them to look once more at their inner angel. Discuss ways they can try to focus on the positive affirmations. Suggest that students&nbsp;keep it close to them or display it somewhere they can see it, so they can easily remind themselves when their inner troll gets&nbsp;loud.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

<p>Have you tried this well-being activity with your class? How did it go? If you have any other activity ideas that promote confidence and well-being in the classroom, we&#39;d love to hear them! Share your thoughts and ideas in the&nbsp;comments.</p>
</div>


A Quick Activity to Boost Confidence & Well-Being: Inner Troll Vs. Inner Angel

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<p>I predominantly teach people seeking refuge and asylum at a further education college in&nbsp;Scotland.</p>

<p>I&#39;ve&nbsp;taught there since 2007, and in that time I&#39;ve met many English language learners from different backgrounds. Some have difficult living situations, family worries, or mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or depression. Others face economic&nbsp;hardship.</p>

<p>Creating a safe space where students feel valued, supported, and relaxed is crucial for motivation and student success. In order to best support them, I aim to make my English language classroom as supportive as&nbsp;possible.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here&nbsp;are the&nbsp;five tried-and-tested methods I like to use to&nbsp;promote mental health in the&nbsp;classroom:</p>

<h2>1. Listen &amp; be flexible</h2>

<p>I&#39;m very aware that learning English may not be my learners&rsquo; top priority.</p>

<p>I would love it if they did every piece of homework and always arrived to class on time, but I understand that asylum claims, work, family, and health are more&nbsp;important.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If my students aren&rsquo;t performing as they should, I set time aside to speak to them in private and ask them how I can help. If they need to make changes to their class times or workload, then we can discuss that and make a&nbsp;plan.</p>

<h2>2. Offer community support &amp; resources</h2>

<p>In some cases, I may not be able to help. I&rsquo;ve had students who have&nbsp;become homeless or who have experienced severe trauma, torture, or&nbsp;abuse.</p>

<p>It&rsquo;s useful to have a list of local support organizations&nbsp;that can be contacted in this instance. Consider collating a shared resources document within your team with contact&nbsp;details.</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Fire, police, and health services</li>
	<li>Women&rsquo;s aid shelters</li>
	<li>Homeless charities</li>
	<li>Mental health support teams</li>
	<li>Community centers</li>
	<li>LGBTQ+ support agencies</li>
</ul>

<p>If possible, try to develop partnerships with these organizations over time. You&rsquo;ll probably find that they&rsquo;re eager to work with you. They may even offer visits or weekly drop-in sessions specifically for your&nbsp;school.&nbsp;</p>

<p>See&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/2134" target="_blank">My Community Services</a>&nbsp;resource for a ready-made template that newcomer students can fill out with your&nbsp;help.</p>

<h2>3. Practice mindfulness</h2>

<p>Mindfulness is developing the ability to be aware of your feelings, situation, and surroundings without judgment. It&#39;s been found to be beneficial for relaxation and mental&nbsp;well-being.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="http://ellii.com/blog/practicing-mindfulness-in-the-classroom" target="blank">Practicing mindfulness in the classroom</a> is&nbsp;a&nbsp;great way to start or end a lesson. You can also use mindfulness&nbsp;to calm students who are&nbsp;feeling anxious about upcoming assessments or who need to relax and focus after an energetic&nbsp;activity.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>4. Draw</h2>

<p>As a graphic facilitator, I find more and more benefits to drawing in class every day. One of these benefits is its therapeutic nature and the ability to make people&nbsp;laugh.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Herbert Bensen, a Harvard&nbsp;cardiologist, found that drawing has&nbsp;a relaxation response. The movements necessary to draw were found to decrease blood pressure and lower pulse and breathing&nbsp;rates.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ellii has plenty&nbsp;of worksheets, activities, and blog posts incorporating drawing in class. You can search for &quot;draw&quot; or check out these drawing-related&nbsp;materials:</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/3-tips-for-using-flashcards-no-prep-required" target="_blank">3 Tips for Using Flashcards&ndash;No Prep Required</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-pictures-as-grammar-prompts" target="_blank">How to use Pictures as Grammar Prompts</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources" target="_blank">Drawing Activities</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>5. Get outside</h2>

<p>Being outside has been found to...&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>reduce stress levels and anxiety</li>
	<li>improve confidence, mood, concentration, and sleep</li>
</ul>

<p>So it&rsquo;s a good idea to take your English classes outside when you&nbsp;can.</p>

<p>If there&rsquo;s a park or recreation space nearby, use it for speaking activities, or language games.&nbsp;Day trips, walking tours, or setting up an outdoor-themed&nbsp;club (e.g., football, cycling, or gardening) can also be&nbsp;beneficial.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

<p>How do you promote mental health in your classroom? Have you tried any of the things I mentioned? Share your thoughts and ideas in the&nbsp;comments.</p>
</div>

<h2>Related lessons</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/133/lessons/3753" target="_Blank">Biles Protects Her Mental Health</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/133/lessons/4090" target="_blank">Unhappy Birthday</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/3881" target="_blank">Burnout</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/114/resources/4025" target="_blank">TikTok&rsquo;s Effect on Kids&rsquo; Health</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/133/lessons/3970">Doctors&nbsp;Prescribe National Park&nbsp;Passes</a></li>
</ul>


5 Ways to Promote Mental Health in the English Language Classroom

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

Teaching with Ellii

<p>As teachers, there are small changes we can make to our teaching to ensure all language learners are supported and&nbsp;included.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Every learner has individual needs. Some learners may be blind or&nbsp;have low vision. Others may&nbsp;experience color blindness or require vision&nbsp;correction tools such as&nbsp;glasses.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The best advice is to talk to each learner about how you can support them in making their learning journey more&nbsp;accessible.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Learners who are blind</h2>

<p>For learners who are legally blind, your learning organization may be able to give individual support, such as a classroom assistant who provides audio descriptions and&nbsp;scribing.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If this is not possible, you can help students to access audio&nbsp;support.</p>

<p>For example, you could help them access the sound files for each Ellii text or introduce them to the <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-microsoft-immersive-reader-on-ellii" target="_blank">Immersive Reader</a> function, which reads texts out loud and describes photos using alt&nbsp;text (a contraction of&nbsp;&quot;alternative&nbsp;text&quot;).<br />
<br />
<img alt="Ellii Lesson with Immersive Reader open" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2361/content_Emily_Accessibility-Supporting-Blind-and-Low-Vision-Learners_01.jpg" /></p>

<p>You can also include the rest of the class&nbsp;by asking other students to read out loud or describe images, which has the added bonus of additional speaking&nbsp;practice.</p>

<h2>Learners with low vision</h2>

<p>Learners with low vision, as well as those who need glasses,&nbsp;can be supported using larger fonts and double-spaced text. Use the zoom function on your browser or computer screen to enlarge text and ask learners about their sizing preferences.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ellii has a <strong>Fit Width</strong> option as well as a zoom feature (represented by the magnifying glass icon with a plus sign)&nbsp;to magnify the PDF view on&nbsp;screen.</p>

<p><img alt="Fit Width option selected on an Ellii Lesson PDF" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2362/content_Emily_Accessibility-Supporting-Blind-and-Low-Vision-Learners_02.jpg" /></p>

<h3>Don&#39;t forget about font size and&nbsp;style!</h3>

<p>It&#39;s&nbsp;essential to consider font size and style. Sans serif fonts (without &quot;flicks&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;tails&quot;) such as Arial, Trebuchet MS, and Calibri are easier to read. Ellii&nbsp;uses Open Sans, which is great for supporting students with low&nbsp;vision.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="A preview of the fonts Arial, Trebuchet MS, Calibri, and Open Sans" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2364/content_Emily_Accessibility-Supporting-Blind-and-Low-Vision-Learners_03.jpg" /></p>

<p>In general, these font sizes are advisable:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Print materials = 12 point minimum</li>
	<li>Presentations = 24 point minimum / 36 point recommended</li>
</ul>

<p>If your students&nbsp;are using their smartphones to access their learning, bear in mind that fonts can be even&nbsp;smaller.</p>

<p>In online classes, ask your students regularly if the text is large enough and make any necessary&nbsp;adjustments.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ellii&nbsp;uses a few different font sizes&nbsp;within their PDF worksheets. You can print these as A3 size paper&nbsp;to increase the font size. Content for young learners or made specifically for adult&nbsp;literacy are set higher at 14 point in a different font (Fredoka and&nbsp;Quicksand).&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Ellii young learner lesson using the fonts Fredoka and Quicksand" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2363/content_Emily_Accessibility-Supporting-Blind-and-Low-Vision-Learners_04.jpg" /></p>

<h2>Learners who are color blind</h2>

<p>Color blindness&nbsp;makes it difficult to distinguish and identify certain&nbsp;colors.</p>

<p>Remember to not rely solely on color&nbsp;to convey meaning. Make sure to also circle words, draw arrows, or bold fonts. These will provide clearer visual cues for color-blind&nbsp;students.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Avoid color combinations with red and green as these can be particularly difficult to&nbsp;differentiate.</p>

<h2>Supporting all learners</h2>

<p>It&rsquo;s not only blind or low-vision learners who will benefit from these adjustments in class. One small adaptation can be beneficial to many&nbsp;learners.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example, learners can listen to the audio on the bus home from their language class&nbsp;or when they&#39;re making dinner. What&#39;s more, pretty much everyone finds larger fonts easier to&nbsp;read.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Do you teach blind or low-vision language learners?</h5>

<p>What adjustments have you found helpful? We&rsquo;d love to hear your ideas and tips.&nbsp;You can read more about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-microsoft-immersive-reader-on-ellii " target="_blank">Immersive&nbsp;Reader</a>&nbsp;here.</p>
</div>


Accessibility: Supporting Blind & Low-Vision Learners

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<p>I teach people from refugee backgrounds in a Further Education college in Scotland. Many of my students&nbsp;have few&nbsp;digital skills.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Over the years, I&rsquo;ve taught my language learners&nbsp;basic <strong>digital literacy skills</strong> such as using a mouse, pressing the return key to send a message, and switching between capital and lowercase letters.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>While we often focus on reading, writing, speaking, and listening in the language classroom, it&rsquo;s also important to consider digital skills.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The best way to do this is to<strong> </strong><strong>incorporate digital tools</strong> into your classroom practices.</p>

<p>I&rsquo;ve found using the Ellii&nbsp;platform is an excellent way to do this as its navigation is intuitive.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are my eight tips for using Ellii to help develop your students&#39; digital literacy skills.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>1. Keep It Simple</h2>

<p>Learning how to use new software for the first time can be overwhelming. Try to keep the process as simple as you can. If possible, use a platform your students are already familiar with.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example, most language learners can use email or may be familiar with <a href="https://support.google.com/edu/classroom/answer/6020279?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Classroom</a>. Ellii PDFs can be emailed to students&nbsp;or embedded directly into Google Classroom.&nbsp;</p>

<p>When I first started using Ellii, I was nervous about my students remembering their login information&nbsp;or spelling their username and password correctly. I didn&rsquo;t need to worry since they can sign in with Google.&nbsp;</p>

<p>This was a game changer! Most of my students are already logged in to Google on their devices, so logging in to Ellii was simply a case of clicking&nbsp;<strong>Log In with Google</strong>.</p>

<h2>2. Send Hyperlinks</h2>

<p>This might sound simplistic, but you&rsquo;ll be surprised how often I receive a link that I need to copy and paste into my browser.&nbsp;This is fine if you know how to copy and paste.&nbsp;For students who don&rsquo;t, <strong>hyperlinks are essential</strong>.</p>

<p>Here&#39;s how you do it: When you copy-paste a link into your learning platform or into an email for homework, press the <strong>Return</strong> key (aka the Enter key) while the cursor is on the last digit of the link. The link will then turn blue and be underlined.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
<img alt="How to copy-paste a link and turn it into a hyperlink" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2316/content_copy-paste-hyperlink.jpg" /></p>

<h2>3. Send Simpler, More&nbsp;Accurate&nbsp;Links</h2>

<p>When I first started using the Ellii platform, I would send emails to students asking them to complete the homework on Ellii.com.&nbsp;I didn&rsquo;t realize I was adding an unnecessary additional step for students.</p>

<p>My students had to find the <strong>Log In</strong>&nbsp;button on the top right, then select <strong>Log In As a Student</strong>.&nbsp;This was too much for some.&nbsp;I soon realized that&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ellii.com/students" target="_blank">www.ellii.com/students</a> takes students straight to the student login page.&nbsp;A rookie error, but an easy one to fix.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<h2>4. Try It Together</h2>

<p>When I introduce my English language learners to new technology, I prefer to do this face to face.</p>

<p>First, I demonstrate the steps, and then I&rsquo;ll ask students to do it themselves. If possible, I watch them do this so I know they can do it unsupported.&nbsp;</p>

<p>When they have difficulties, it can be tempting to take their phone and log in for them&nbsp;but this doesn&rsquo;t ensure they can do it alone. Allowing them time and space to figure out how to perform a digital task themselves lets them find their own way and gives them confidence in their own abilities.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>5. Bookmark Pages</h2>

<p>Bookmarking a page on your browser saves the site&nbsp;for later. This means students don&rsquo;t need to remember the name of the site or how to spell it. They can bookmark all the&nbsp;pages they frequently use for study, work, and life.</p>

<p>To do this, Google Chrome has a star icon in the right corner of your browser bar. Selecting the star adds the site to the bookmarks bar at the top of the browser window.</p>

<p><img alt="Bookmark star selected in Google Chrome browser" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2307/content_bookmark-chrome.jpg" /></p>

<p>In Safari, select the <strong>Share&nbsp;</strong>button then click on <strong>Add Bookmark</strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Share button selected and Add Bookmark selected in Safari browser" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2308/content_bookmark-safari.jpg" /></p>

<p>Once you&rsquo;ve helped students bookmark pages on their own device, check that they can easily find and access them again.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>6. Use Instructional Videos</h2>

<p>As with any technology, instructional videos can be invaluable, especially if teaching online.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I used the&nbsp;<a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/218-how-to-sign-in-students" target="_blank">How to Sign In</a>&nbsp;video to help my students log in for the first time.&nbsp;You can also check out Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://help.ellii.com/" target="_blank">Help Docs</a> which include more instructional videos.</p>

<h2>7. Log In As a Student</h2>

<p>I&rsquo;ve added myself as a student to all my classes. This is a great way to show students how to navigate the platform because it allows you to&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;to them how to access assignments and flashcards.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<h2>8. Use a&nbsp;Digital Buddy System</h2>

<p>It can be a good idea to follow a digital buddy system where you&nbsp;match students with stronger digital skills with those who need more support. This way, your learners can teach each other how to use the platform.&nbsp;</p>

<p>If your students speak different languages, this offers an additional opportunity to practice their English. For students&nbsp;who speak the same language, this lets them learn new skills in their first language, without additional language stressors.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/3292" target="_blank">Digital Learning with Ellii</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/electronics-gadgets/computers" target="_blank">Computer Vocabulary&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/digital-literacy-with-ellii" target="_blank">Digital Literacy&nbsp;Vocabulary</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/3651 " target="_blank">Digital Literacy Needs Assessment</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/folders/published/82130" target="_blank">Digital Literacy Ellii Folder (Beg &ndash; Low Int)</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/folders/published/82132" target="_blank">Digital Literacy Ellii Folder (Int &ndash; Adv)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/2505 " target="_blank">Using a Computer</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/2511" target="_blank">Using the Internet</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>


8 Tips for Developing Students' Digital Literacy 

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<p>Humans have always used visuals to communicate.</p>

<p>Cave paintings tell us stories from the distant past. Art, cartoons, illustrations in children&rsquo;s books, infographics, sketch notes, and photos all engage our senses.</p>

<p>Online, images are shared on social media to visually communicate experiences, emotions, and information.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Visual literacy</strong> is the ability to interpret and create visuals to communicate. It&#39;s an excellent way to encourage interaction and critical thinking in a language classroom at all levels.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ellii&rsquo;s new weekly <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources" target="_blank">What&rsquo;s the Story?</a>&nbsp;category from our <strong>Visual Learning</strong>&nbsp;resources section&nbsp;is the perfect way to get your students&#39; creative ideas flowing.&nbsp;It takes one intriguing photo and puts students&rsquo; reasoning, analysis, and evaluation skills to the test.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this post, I&rsquo;ll show you&nbsp;my six-step process for&nbsp;how I used the picture in <a href="http://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/3971" target="_blank">The Hidden Jar</a>&nbsp;resource to deliver a three-hour class. Let&#39;s get started!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Woman digging in the sand next to a jar of coins. Taken from Ellii's The Hidden Jar resource." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2249/content_content_businesswoman-burying-money-SBI.jpg" /></p>

<h2>Step 1: Describe the Photo</h2>

<p>I displayed the image above on a whiteboard for all to see. I then asked students to look at the photo and describe what they could see in pairs, then feedbacked their ideas as a whole class. I wrote any new vocabulary on the whiteboard (e.g., high heels, desert, sand, coins, etc.).&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Step 2: Focus on a Target</h2>

<p>We&rsquo;ve been working on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2093" target="_blank">adjectives</a> in class. To encourage <strong>vocabulary recall,</strong> I asked the students to work in pairs to make a list of adjectives associated with the picture. Then we added that list to the board.</p>

<p>The students said:</p>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;She is <strong>hot</strong><em>.&quot;</em></li>
	<li>&quot;She has<b> </b><strong>dark</strong><em> </em>clothes.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;She feels <strong>worried</strong>.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;It is <strong>windy</strong>.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Step 3: Discuss Character Thoughts&nbsp;</h2>

<p>When using photos in class, one of the best ways to <strong>incorporate critical thinking </strong>is to ask students to get inside the character&rsquo;s head.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I drew a thought bubble from the woman and asked students to consider what she might be thinking.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The students said:</p>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;I&rsquo;m hungry.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;Where is that other jar?&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;I hope no one sees me.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Step 4: Discuss Before &amp;&nbsp;After</h2>

<p>To encourage students to think in more detail about the photo, I asked them to first discuss what happened <i>before</i> the photo, then what happened<i> after</i> the photo.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Some students found this difficult in pairs, but once a few ideas had been shared as a whole class, there was no stopping them!&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Before</h3>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;Maybe she stole the money.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;She was at work.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;She&rsquo;s on holiday.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;She works as a pilot. Her plane crashed.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h3>After</h3>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;She was hungry so she went to McDonald&rsquo;s.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;She ran away.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;She went back to work.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;She had a shower.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Step 5: Add Another Character</h2>

<p>I wanted to add another element to the story.&nbsp;Since the image was projected on the whiteboard,&nbsp;I just drew a stick figure at the side.&nbsp;I then asked students to discuss in pairs who this person was and to make a dialogue between them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>By now, my students&rsquo; imaginations were flowing. When they shared ideas, there was lots of laughter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The students said:</p>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;It&rsquo;s a security guard. They shout at each other.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;It&rsquo;s a kind person. They try to help her, but she runs away.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Step 6: Read Then Write the&nbsp;Story</h2>

<p>I wanted students to do a little reading and to think even deeper about the picture. So&nbsp;at the break, I quickly created a short paragraph about the image.</p>

<p>I asked students to read it and answer the comprehension questions. Then we spent some time noticing and discussing the grammar and vocabulary.</p>

<p>Lastly, I asked students to write a short paragraph about what happens next. Here&#39;s an example I wrote to give you an idea:</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>The Woman with the Jar</h5>

<p>Hannah went to Morocco for a holiday. One day, she woke up early. It was very sunny and very hot. She got up and had a cold shower. She was still hot. She looked out of the window. She saw a woman digging in the sand. The woman had brown hair and dark clothes. She looked hot and tired. Beside her, there was a large jar of coins. Hannah put a bottle of water in her bag and left the house. She walked towards the woman&hellip;</p>

<ol>
	<li>Where was Hannah?</li>
	<li>Why did Hannah wake up early?</li>
	<li>Did Hannah have a hot shower?</li>
	<li>What did she see out the window?</li>
	<li>What did Hannah put in her bag?</li>
	<li>What did she do?</li>
</ol>
</div>

<p>I did this with my beginner class, who are familiar with the simple present, the present progressive, and the simple past, but still need support in selecting the correct tense and collocating the verbs.</p>

<p>Throughout the lesson, I helped students with emergent language and changing tenses where necessary.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Post-Lesson Takeaways</h2>

<p>One of the best things about using an image this way in class is that it can be used for language learners at all levels. I&rsquo;d love to try this visual literacy activity again with a more advanced class.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Overall, I was a little nervous going into class with just one photo, but I was pleasantly surprised by&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>my students&rsquo; creativity</li>
	<li>the usefulness of the language that emerged</li>
	<li>the quantity of speaking and writing produced&nbsp;</li>
	<li>the smiles and laughter throughout the lesson&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<p>Ellii has an ever-growing bank of <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources" target="_&quot;blank&quot;">What&rsquo;s the Story?</a>&nbsp;resources. Watch for a new prompt each week! Which one will you try first? How would you use these images in class? Let me know know in the comments below!</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-pictures-as-grammar-prompts" target="_&quot;blank&quot;">How to Use Pictures as Grammar Prompts</a></li>
</ul>


What's the Story? How One Image Can Develop Visual Literacy & Critical Thinking Skills

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Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

<p><strong>Pictures</strong> are exceptionally supportive when it comes to language teaching and learning. A simple picture&nbsp;can instantly demonstrate the meaning of a word, removing any need for wordy or complicated definitions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pictures are also a brilliant way to <strong>prompt grammar</strong>. Many of our Ellii materials&nbsp;have visuals&nbsp;to support understanding and make grammar practice fun and engaging.&nbsp;</p>

<p>English language teachers can use materials like&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards" target="_blank">Flashcards</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/132/lessons" target="_blank">Picture Stories</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/134/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank Readers</a>,&nbsp;and other Ellii&nbsp;visuals as versatile&nbsp;prompts for just about any grammar point.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Take, for example, the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/2006" target="_blank">Daily Routines</a>&nbsp;lesson from the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons" target="_blank">Simple Sentences</a> section. The lesson is aimed at teaching the simple present, but the images alone could just as easily be used to teach the present progressive&nbsp;or the&nbsp;simple past.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here&#39;s how you can use the pictures&nbsp;from the lesson above&nbsp;as grammar prompts.</p>

<p><b>Note:</b>&nbsp;These ideas are best to review familiar grammar. If students are new to the grammar target, introduce it in context first using one of Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/collections/videos" target="_blank">videos</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons" target="_blank">stories</a>, or dedicated <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar" target="_blank">grammar lessons</a>.</p>

<h2><b>1. Provide Prompts</b></h2>

<p>First, show students the images. Demonstrate the target language then ask students to make their own <strong>questions</strong>, <strong>answers</strong>, or <strong>statements</strong>. Give them word prompts depending on the grammar they&#39;re using.</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Show the &quot;brush teeth&quot; image. Then ask your&nbsp;students to make a question with the words &quot;does&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;in the morning.&quot; &rarr; <em>Does she brush her teeth in the morning?</em></li>
	<li>Show the &quot;do homework&quot; image. Then ask your students to make a sentence with the words &quot;did&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;last night.&quot; &rarr; <em>I&nbsp;did my&nbsp;homework last night.</em></li>
	<li>Show the&nbsp;&quot;cook&quot;&nbsp;image. Then ask your students,&nbsp;&quot;What is he doing?&quot;&nbsp;&rarr; <em>He is cooking.</em>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2><b>2. Switch Tenses</b></h2>

<p>If students are reviewing multiple tenses, use the pictures to prompt students to change one tense to another.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Say or write: &quot;Change &lsquo;Does she brush her teeth in the morning?&rsquo; to the past tense.&quot; &rarr; <em>Did she brush her teeth in the morning?&nbsp;</em></li>
	<li>Say or write: &quot;Change &lsquo;I did my homework last night&rsquo; to &lsquo;every day.&rsquo;&quot;&nbsp;&rarr; <em>I do my homework every day.&nbsp;</em></li>
	<li>Say or write: &quot;Change &lsquo;He is cooking&rsquo; to &lsquo;last week.&rsquo;&quot; &rarr; <em>He cooked last week.</em></li>
</ul>

<h2><b>3. Draw or Create Stories</b></h2>

<p>Ask students to use simple drawings to express their daily routine or what they did yesterday. Remind students that their drawings don&rsquo;t need to be artistic, but simply communicative.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here&rsquo;s an example:&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="daily routine drawings" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2237/content_picture-prompt.jpg" /></p>

<p>Alternatively, you can <a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/50-how-to-print-flashcards" target="_blank">print</a>&nbsp;the images&nbsp;and ask students to put them in order.</p>

<p>Get your students to talk in pairs to explain their story. Then ask them to write sentences or a short text using the target grammar.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Yesterday I got up at 8:00 am. I brushed my teeth and had a shower. Then I had cereal and coffee&nbsp;for breakfast.</em>&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p>How do you use pictures to prompt grammar in the classroom? Which of these tips are you most likely to use? Share your ideas with us in the comments below.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-grammar-online-with-esl-library" target="_blank">How to Teach Grammar Online</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2564" target="_blank">50 Grammar Targets</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2565" target="_blank">Teaching Order for Grammar Practice Worksheets</a></li>
</ul>


How to Use Pictures as Grammar Prompts

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<p><strong>Flashcards </strong>are fantastic. They are one of the most flexible and learner-centered tools for teachers.</p>

<p>So many lexical items and language points can easily be represented by a simple visual.</p>

<p>They can be used to&nbsp;introduce or review vocabulary and grammar, as part of a game or activity, or to get your students talking.</p>

<p>You can also rely on them to be there for you when you&#39;ve run out of prep time!</p>

<p>Before we dive into my top three flashcard tips, here&#39;s a reminder on <strong>how to use flashcards</strong> on the ESL Library platform. (If you&#39;re already familiar with their Flashcards feature, feel free to <a href="#tips">go straight to the tips</a>.)</p>

<ol>
	<li>Log in to your ESL Library account.</li>
	<li>Go to the <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards" target="_blank">Flashcards page</a>.</li>
	<li>Select the flashcards you want to use. There are more than 3,000 flashcards to discover! They span a range of lexical topics, so it&#39;s easy to&nbsp;tailor to your students&#39; needs. You can also <a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/63-how-to-create-flashcard-sets" target="_blank">create and save</a> premade or custom&nbsp;flashcard sets.</li>
	<li>Choose how you want to display them. You can <a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/50-how-to-print-flashcards" target="_blank">print your flashcards</a>, launch them in the platform&#39;s <a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/198-how-to-use-the-flashcard-player" target="_blank">Flashcard Player</a>, or use the Share Screen option if you&#39;re teaching online.</li>
</ol>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Pro-Tip</h5>

<p>I tend to select 8&ndash;12 flashcards&mdash;some I&rsquo;m sure my students already know (for their confidence), some they know but might need to review or practice spelling, some that might stimulate some interesting discussion, and some that I think will be particularly helpful.</p>
</div>

<p>Now that you understand how the&nbsp;Flashcards feature works, here are my top three tips for how to demonstrate important language points to your students using&nbsp;ESL Library&#39;s flashcards online and in person. No class prep required!</p>

<h1><a id="tips"></a>3 Tips for Using Flashcards with Zero Prep Work</h1>

<h2>1. Take Your Time</h2>

<p>Taking your time with flashcards allows your students to fully <strong>experience</strong> and <strong>understand </strong>the new word.<br />
<br />
When I first started teaching, I used to drill the flashcards and ask students to repeat the pronunciation after me.</p>

<p>I soon found this to be problematic.</p>

<p>Some students already knew the words, while others knew different words for the same item (e.g., sneakers/trainers or elevator/lift). Others just got a bit bored.</p>

<p>Memorizing lots of vocabulary all at once was also information overload.</p>

<p>This led me to a much more collaborative approach.</p>

<p>The purpose of language teaching is <strong>supporting our students to communicate</strong>, so it makes sense to use flashcards to stimulate conversation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Now when I use flashcards, I&rsquo;ll show the image, and instead of telling students what it is, I&rsquo;ll invite them to tell me.</p>

<p>This can lead to some interesting discussions. And instead of rushing on to the next flashcard, we&rsquo;ll pause and have a chat about it. I&rsquo;ll often ask open-ended questions or practice question forms we&rsquo;re working on.</p>

<p>These conversations give the students time to really experience the new word, helping them to recall it later.</p>

<h3>Putting It into Practice</h3>

<p>Last week in class we started talking about &quot;storage lockers.&quot;</p>

<p><strong>First we discussed:</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>What they were</li>
	<li>Whether they had them in their building</li>
	<li>Whether they were common in other countries the students knew well</li>
	<li>What people might keep in them</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>This led to further discussion about:</strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>How tidy our homes are</li>
	<li>How much &quot;junk&quot;&nbsp;we have in our houses</li>
	<li>What we do with things we don&rsquo;t need</li>
</ul>

<p>All this from a beginner-level&nbsp;class! They got very enthusiastic about it. I now have no doubt that they&rsquo;ll remember the word &quot;storage locker.&quot;</p>

<p><img alt="storage locker flashcard" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2206/content_3-Tips-for-Using-Flashcards_storage-locker-flashcard.jpg" /></p>

<h2>2. Draw It Out</h2>

<p>As a graphic facilitator, I see drawing as a superpower.</p>

<p>I am not an artist, but the simple icons I draw in class communicate a message. I also find that they support students&rsquo; <strong>learning</strong>, <strong>engagement</strong>, and <strong>ability to remember new vocabulary</strong>.</p>

<p>A 2016 study by Wammes, Meade, and Fernandes refers to the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282658904_The_Drawing_Effect_Evidence_for_Reliable_and_Robust_Memory_Benefits_in_Free_Recall" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">drawing effect</a>.&nbsp;It found that people who drew a list of words were more likely to recall them than those who simply wrote each word.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Putting it into Practice</h3>

<p>While I work through flashcards with my students, I like to write the new words on a whiteboard and draw a very simple icon to illustrate each one. This creates a visual reference of new vocabulary for English learners and something for them to copy into their notebooks.</p>

<p>Students can choose to copy the simple icon, write the translation in their own language, or both.</p>

<p>I tend to find that my drawings are accessible and non-intimidating, so most&nbsp;students enjoy copying them.</p>

<p>You&rsquo;ll notice&nbsp;that these icons (see illustration below) consist mostly of lines, squares, rectangles, and circles&mdash;shapes most people feel confident about replicating.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Emily Bryson graphic facilitation example" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2207/content_3-Tips-for-Using-Flashcards_Emily-Bryson-graphic-facilitation-example.jpg" /></p>

<h2>3. Focus on Pronunciation &amp; Spelling</h2>

<p>The more time students spend interacting with a word, the more time it has to settle into their memories.</p>

<p>I like to show students how to write the word and assist them to notice any spelling and pronunciation features.</p>

<h3>Putting It into Practice</h3>

<p>Here&#39;s a quick example of how I used pronunciation and spelling techniques with flashcards.</p>

<p>In ESL Library&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/housing-tools/apartment" target="_blank">Apartment</a>&nbsp;flashcard set, we discussed the double letters in &quot;buzzer,&quot; &quot;lobby,&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;corridor.&quot; We also discussed the /k/&nbsp;sound in &quot;block&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;locker&quot;&nbsp;and made a list of other words they knew with that sound and spelling (e.g., &quot;clock,&quot; &quot;black,&quot; &quot;sock,&quot; etc.).</p>

<p>We then added these lists to their notebooks for reference.</p>

<p>Getting students to notice common&nbsp;spellings helps them to decode the notoriously tricky sounds of the English language.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<p>Which of these flashcard tips are you looking forward to trying out with your class? What are some of the tricks you use to demonstrate important language points to your students? Share them with us in the comments below!</p>
</div>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/10-ways-to-use-flashcards-in-class" target="_blank">10 Ways to Use Flashcards in Class</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="http://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-our-flashcards" target="_blank">How to Use Our Flashcards</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>&nbsp;</h2>


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Emily Bryson