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

Teaching with Ellii

<h1>We&#39;re unwrapping another year of content at Ellii...</h1>

<h2>🎶 Sing it with me!&nbsp;🎶</h2>

<h1><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/new-content/new-in-2025" target="_blank">New in 2025</a></h1>

<hr />
<h2>January</h2>

🎶 In the first month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/casas-test-preparation" target="_blank">CASAS Reading STEPS Level D</a></li>
</ul>

<img alt="CASAS STEPS Practice Tests on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5082/content_month-1.png" />

<h2>February</h2>

🎶 In the second month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/famous-people/5306-ayrton-senna" target="_blank">lesson request</a> from our Brazilian CTO (who could say no?)&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

We added lots of new content about famous Brazilians this year as well as two Study Packs!

<img alt="lessons on famous Brazilians on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5083/content_month-2.png" />

<h2>March</h2>

🎶 In the third month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a historic&nbsp;lesson in <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/that-s-news-to-me" target="_blank">That&#39;s News to Me</a>&nbsp;(Canada&#39;s Next Prime Minster)</li>
</ul>

We added new lessons to this section every week, using content from our media partner, The Associated Press. We also added current events&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/current-events" target="_blank">videos</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/photo-prompts">photo prompts</a>!

<img alt="That's News to Me lessons including Canada's New Prime Minister" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5084/content_month-3.png" />

<h2>April</h2>

🎶 In the fourth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a lesson on&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/discussion-starters/5429-cryptocurrency" target="_blank">Cryptocurrency!</a>&nbsp;(followed by many more <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/discussion-starters" target="_blank">Discussion Starters</a> lessons and warm-up videos by our newest Publishing team members)</li>
</ul>

<img alt="Discussion Starters lessons on Ellii, such as cryptocurrency" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5085/content_month-4.png" />

<h2>May</h2>

🎶 In the fifth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/packs/soft-skills-for-hospitality-workers" target="_blank">Soft Skills for Hospitality</a>!</li>
</ul>

Search &quot;soft skills&quot; for all of the new content we added on our &quot;theme of the year&quot; for 2025.

<img alt="Soft Skills for Hospitality on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5086/content_month-5.png" />

<h2>June</h2>

🎶 In the sixth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/packs/conversation-phrases-course" target="_blank">Conversation Phrases with Lise</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Ellii&#39;s video team focused on &quot;speaking&quot; content for&nbsp;2025.

<img alt="Conversation Phrases course on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5087/content_month-6.png" />

<h2>July&nbsp;</h2>

🎶 In the seventh month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a new section for Adult Literacy (<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/first-five" target="_blank">First Five</a>)&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

We added 29 new lessons to this section as well as&nbsp;several Language Ladder packs!

<img alt="Adult Literacy section on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5088/content_month-7.png" />

<h2>August</h2>

🎶 In the eighth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/picture-stories" target="_blank">Young Learner stories</a> with Benji!</li>
</ul>

New Benji lessons this year were about Benji&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/5653-workday" target="_blank">Workday</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lesson/5866-vacation">Vacation</a>!

<img alt="young learner picture stories on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5089/content_month-8.png" />

<h2>September</h2>

🎶 In the ninth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>a print-based course that took our whole team&#39;s&nbsp;energy!</li>
</ul>

Due to popular demand, we have started making printable versions of our workplace courses, starting with&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/packs/nursing-assistants">English for Nursing Assistants</a>&nbsp;and moving on with four more in 2025.

<img alt="printable workplace courses on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5090/content_month-9.png" />

<h2>October</h2>

🎶 In the tenth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>Ellii Up E! (the latest course in our ready-made <a href="https://ellii.com/packs?page=1&amp;level=&amp;material=&amp;category=43" target="_blank">General English</a> curriculum)</li>
</ul>

More General English courses coming throughout 2026!

<img alt="General English courses" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5093/content_month-10.png" />

<h2>November</h2>

🎶 In the eleventh month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li>Videos on <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep" target="_blank">US history</a> (Study Packs too!)</li>
</ul>

More US civics and test prep content coming throughout 2026.

<img alt="US Civics Test Prep on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5091/content_month-11.png" />

<h2>December</h2>

🎶 In the twelfth month of 2025, Ellii brought to me...

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/gather/dilemmas" target="_blank">Ellii Dilemmas</a> like <a href="https://ellii.com/gather/dilemmas/the-pet-policy" target="_blank">The Pet Policy</a>!</li>
</ul>

We&#39;ve also added lots of new beginner-level <a href="https://ellii.com/gather/polls" target="_blank">Ellii Polls</a>. A big request from teachers in 2025!

<img alt="Ellii Dilemmas" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5092/content_month-12.png" />

<h2>Who&#39;s counting?&nbsp;</h2>

We are! Here&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/new-content/new-in-2025" target="_blank">everything</a> we added to Ellii&#39;s content library in 2025. Subscribers have access to all of this content, plus everything else we&#39;ve added to Ellii in&nbsp;the last 20+ years.

<blockquote>
<ul>
	<li>253 lessons &amp; resources</li>
	<li>60+ Ellii original videos</li>
	<li>70+ AP videos &amp; silent clips</li>
	<li>9 flashcard categories (46 new flashcards)</li>
	<li>45 study packs</li>
	<li>14 courses</li>
	<li>44 polls &amp; dilemmas</li>
	<li>40 blog posts&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<h2>Who makes all of this content at Ellii?&nbsp;</h2>

Humans,&nbsp;of course! At Ellii, we have a small but mighty team of real-life materials writers, editors, proofreaders, designers, artists, producers, and other helpers (including our own daughters who offer summer help)!&nbsp;We also have a partnership with Tthe Associated Press and owe a little shout-out to our AI assistant, aka &quot;ElliiBot,&quot;&nbsp;this year. 
 
Here&nbsp;is Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;2025 content and marketing team, including staff and contractors! A huge thank-you to all of our contributors.

<blockquote>
Tanya, Head of Video Production

Ann, Head Editor

Saori, Lead Designer

Lula, Motion Graphics Designer

Alison, Content Support Specialist

Zara, Materials Writer

Steve, Illustrator

Laura, Course Writer

Felicia, Materials Writer

Kate, Assistant Editor

Lise, Video Content Producer / Marketing Lead

Sarah, Designer&nbsp;

David, British English Editor

Emily, Blogger

Jaksyn, Jr. Materials Writer

Sofia, Jr. Publishing Assistant

Tara, VP of Publishing
</blockquote>

That&#39;s a wrap. If you think this is awesome, you should see what Ellii&#39;s Product team was up to this year. Stay tuned! 
 
~ Tara&nbsp;

The 12 Months of Ellii (in 2025)

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<h2>Introducing Study Packs!</h2>

Hey there! 👋 We&#39;ve released a new feature at Ellii called <a href="https://ellii.com/packs">Study Packs</a> that we think you&#39;re going to love!&nbsp;Typically, teachers using Ellii look for one lesson at a time to plan out their own customized curriculum. However, sometimes you just need a bundle of materials already curated for a specific need. So we built Study Packs as a way to easily assign a small collection of lessons in one simple click. Our Publishing team (who knows the content inside and out) puts these packs together, and every week they make and release new packs.

<h3>Here&#39;s how it works:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>A Study Pack will typically have between 4 and 6 ready-made lessons that are woven together with a common focus such as a target structure, a situational theme, or a discussion topic.</li>
	<li>We post these packs of lessons in a Study Pack index where you can quickly filter the packs by level or type.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>When you see a pack you like, you can instantly move it to your Lesson Planner to assign it to a class.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Once the pack is assigned, you can choose whether your students have immediate access to all of the lessons, or you can choose to release one lesson at a time.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

That&#39;s it. It&#39;s now super easy and super convenient to find curated collections of content and assign them all at once. Watch the video to see it in action. We hope you love it!

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="564" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/849109840" width="640"></iframe></div>

Introducing Study Packs

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Hey, great teachers!

We&#39;ve made it simpler to share videos and flashcards with your students. You can now assign any video, flashcard category, or flashcard set to your students directly on your Lesson Planner. It&#39;s super easy. Here&#39;s how it works:

<ol>
	<li>Click Add to class&nbsp;under any video or flashcard category title.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Select a class to put the media in.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Go to that class and drag the item to your Teaching lane when you want your students to have access. They will have instant access to the media.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>When you&#39;re done with that content, move it to the Taught lane and it will no longer show up as an assigment.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Any flashcard categories or videos you share with your students will permanently show up in their Media tab for future access anytime.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>

Here&#39;s a video to show you in more detail.&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="564" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/849221802" width="640"></iframe></div>

Assigning Videos & Flashcards to Students

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

Articles

If&nbsp;there&rsquo;s one thing I&rsquo;ve learned in my two decades of teaching English, it&rsquo;s that within every class there will be students with diverse needs.&nbsp;

Some learners will be strong at reading and writing&nbsp;while&nbsp;needing additional practice with speaking and listening. Others will speak completely fluently but may struggle to write. Then there are the learners who are super organized and self-directed&nbsp;versus those who arrive late and ask to borrow a pen.

As teachers, it&rsquo;s highly unlikely we&rsquo;ll ever have a class of students who are all at exactly the same level and learn at the same pace, so it&rsquo;s essential we figure out&nbsp;some easy ways to adapt our lessons to challenge every learner.&nbsp;

The good news is that we don&rsquo;t need to prepare multiple lesson plans for just one class.&nbsp;

Here are some super simple ways to differentiate your lessons without additional preparation.&nbsp;

<h2>1.&nbsp;Give options</h2>

Letting students choose their tasks gives them control over their learning and allows them to set their own pace.&nbsp;

In each class, there are likely to be &quot;fast finishers.&quot; These are learners who you always expect to finish quickly. It can be a challenge to find them something to do while&nbsp;they wait for other learners.&nbsp;

One option I&rsquo;ve found useful is giving students a &quot;difficult&quot; or &quot;very difficult&quot;&nbsp;option. For example, if students have ten&nbsp;comprehension questions on a reading text, the &quot;difficult&quot; option would be to answer five, while the &quot;very difficult&quot;&nbsp;option would be to answer ten.&nbsp;

This way, every learner feels that they have completed the task. By using &quot;difficult&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;very difficult&quot;&nbsp;instead of &quot;easy&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;difficult,&quot; each learner also has the perception that they have achieved something worthwhile.&nbsp;

An alternative to this is having some students work on the &quot;odd&quot;&nbsp;(e.g., 1, 3, 5) task numbers while others complete the &quot;even&quot;&nbsp;tasks. Fast finishers can then go back and complete both odds and evens.&nbsp;

<h2>2.&nbsp;Create an on-the-spot&nbsp;extension task</h2>

When I know some of my learners need a little more time to complete a task&nbsp;but other&nbsp;learners have already finished, I quickly think of different extension tasks for the fast finishers.&nbsp;

This doesn&rsquo;t mean coming to class with piles of worksheets (though I have found it helpful to have a few <a href="https://ellii.com/resources/grammar-usage" target="_blank">Ellii printables</a> at the ready on occasion).&nbsp;Here are a few extension&nbsp;ideas that can be used:&nbsp; 
&nbsp;&nbsp;

<blockquote>Extension Activities

<ul>
	<li>Read the text in pairs to each other</li>
	<li>Rewrite the text about themselves (e.g., changing he/she/they to&nbsp;I)</li>
	<li>Make questions for the rest of the class to answer later</li>
	<li>Add <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2966-vocabulary-cards" target="_blank">new words to their vocabulary</a> notebooks</li>
	<li>Research more information on the topic (and report back to class)</li>
	<li>Write a few sentences, a blog, a&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2559-writing-assessment-sequencing" target="_blank">timeline</a>, or a summary based on the text</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<h2>3. Facilitate peer learning</h2>

I often find that students learn best from each other. When learners have the opportunity to explain something to others, they gain confidence in their knowledge and added understanding and memorization. Likewise, learners who receive support from other learners often benefit from an explanation in their first language or simply a new perspective or a simplified definition.&nbsp;

My students love it when I say &quot;Okay, you are a teacher now. Can you help the other students finish their work?&rsquo;&#39; You can see a certain pride from all learners, knowing that they are helping each other and supporting themselves.&nbsp;

When grouping students, consider the mix of abilities. You may wish to have a group of fast finishers working on a more challenging task&nbsp;while learners who need a little more support work on something else. Or it might be helpful to have stronger students support those who take a little longer.&nbsp;

<h2>4.&nbsp;Get digital</h2>

One of the beauties of using Ellii content is that every lesson can be delivered in a number of ways. It&rsquo;s perfect for face-to-face, online, or blended learning.&nbsp;

It&rsquo;s also super easy to assign tasks to individual learners or whole class groups, either for homework or as an extension activity in class. View the video below for a quick demo.

This is a great way to give fast finishers an additional challenge and boost their digital skills.&nbsp;

<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/wE-g6Db8ZQ0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

<blockquote>
How do you adapt your lessons to support the diverse needs of your learners? We&rsquo;d love to know! Please share your ideas in the comments.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in these topics:&nbsp;

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/supporting-students-with-adhd">Supporting Students with ADHD</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-blind-low-vision-learners">Supporting Blind &amp; Low-Vision Learners</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-english-learners-with-dyslexia">Supporting English Learners with Dyslexia</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/a-quick-guide-to-universal-design-for-learning">A Quick Guide to Universal Design for Learning</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tips-for-developing-students-digital-literacy">8 Tips for Developing Students&#39; Digital Literacy</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/support-english-learners-from-refugee-backgrounds">6 Ways to Support Learners from Refugee Backgrounds</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/inclusive-festivities-valuing-every-learner-s-holidays">Inclusive Festivities: How to Value Every Learner&rsquo;s Holidays</a></li>
</ul>

The Power of Differentiation: Effective Strategies to Support Learners with Mixed Abilities

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Tour around the ELT conference circuit as our team shares conference highlights and session reviews.

Conferences

<blockquote>
This September 14 and 15, Ellii is&nbsp;hosting&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023">ElliiCon2023</a>&mdash;a free two-day virtual conference to explore the intersection of technology and traditional teaching. Learn how to maintain human connections with your students in the age of AI while incorporating practical tech tools that can free up more time for the crucial aspects of learning. This article is part of a series of posts introducing our 2023 conference&nbsp;speakers.
</blockquote>

<h2>Meet Nik Peachey</h2>

Nik Peachey is a two-time British Council ELTons award winner for innovation in English language teaching. He&rsquo;s also the founder and director of pedagogy at PeacheyPublications, a publishing company that designs digital learning materials for English language classrooms.

<h2>Presenter Q &amp; A</h2>

<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elliicon2022-nik-peachey" target="_blank">Nik Peachey</a> was a popular speaker at last year&#39;s ElliiCon, and we are thrilled that he agreed to come back to offer&nbsp;more great ideas and tools this year. Nik was kind enough to share&nbsp;a few&nbsp;thoughts with the #Ellii team ahead of ElliiCon2023 to help us get to know him better. (View <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biu9XIYq45s">last year&#39;s session with Nik Peachey</a> here.)

Ellii: The theme of ElliiCon2023 is&nbsp;Humanity &amp; Technology in ELT: Striking a Balance in the Age of AI. In your opinion, is AI a friend or foe&nbsp;of English language teachers? How do you think AI will impact our learners?

Nik: I certainly think that AI can be a friend of language teachers. It can save us so much time in so many ways from lesson planning to creating materials that are personalized and differentiated for our students&#39; needs. It does require us to step outside of our comfort zone, but for me that&rsquo;s always been an exciting place to be. That&rsquo;s where we can really grow. It can also be a great friend for students. They can literally make it into a friend that they can chat to in English and that can talk back to them and support and encourage them. It can open up so many ways for students to practice and learn language and find out more about the world.

Ellii: What topic will you be focusing on at ElliiCon this year? Can you share a few key points that you plan to touch on?

Nik: In my talk, I&rsquo;ll be looking at how AI can be used with students to help them prepare for pair work in the classroom. I&rsquo;ll be sharing some prompts that will enable students to practice interviews, role-play real-life situations, cowrite scripts, get feedback on their writing, and immerse themselves in the world of literature. So come along and see how this new technology can really engage our students.

Ellii: What&#39;s one thing that you would like ElliiCon attendees to know about you before attending your&nbsp;session?

Nik: Even though I&rsquo;ve been working with educational technology in English language teaching for more than 25 years now, I still consider myself to be a humanistic teacher. My real interest is in people&mdash;their culture and their creativity&mdash;and what technology can do to enable and empower teachers and students to engage in expressing those parts of their lives.&nbsp;

<h2>Attend Nik Peachey&#39;s #ElliiCon2023 Session</h2>

At #ElliiCon2023, Nik Peachey will be presenting on ChatGPT as a tool for flipped learning. Join this session on September 14 from 11:15 am to 12:15 pm CDT.&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023" target="_blank">Register for ElliiCon2023</a>.&nbsp;It&#39;s&nbsp;free! You can also connect with Nik Peachey after his presentation at our&nbsp;Presenter Q&amp;A&nbsp;Table.

<a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023" target="_blank"><img alt="Description of Nik Peachey's ElliiCon2023 presentation" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3324/content_ChatGPT-as-a-tool-for-flipped-learning_ElliiCon2023_Nicholas-Peachey.png" /></a>

#ElliiCon2023 Speaker Spotlight: Nik Peachey

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<blockquote>
This September 14 and 15, Ellii is&nbsp;hosting&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023">ElliiCon2023</a>&mdash;a free two-day virtual conference to explore the intersection of technology and traditional teaching. Learn how to maintain human connections with your students in the age of AI while incorporating practical tech tools that can free up more time for the crucial aspects of learning. This article is part of a series of posts introducing our 2023 conference&nbsp;speakers.
</blockquote>

<h2>Meet Dr. Charles Browne</h2>

Dr. Browne is a professor of applied linguistics and TESOL in the English Department of Meiji Gakuin University, where he runs the EFL teacher training program as well as the graduate and doctoral programs. He is a specialist in second language vocabulary acquisition and extensive reading, especially as they apply to online learning environments. He is also the CEO of <a href="http://www.charlie-browne.com" target="_blank">Charlie Browne Company</a>, which helps online language-learning companies develop science-based learning platforms, gamified teaching approaches, and content.&nbsp;

<h2>Presenter Q &amp; A</h2>

To help you get to know Dr. Browne, Lise (our ElliiCon host) posed a few&nbsp;questions using&nbsp;VideoAsk! We hope you love his&nbsp;video responses. You can click on each one in the video below.&nbsp;

<ol>
	<li>The theme of ElliiCon2023 is&nbsp;Humanity &amp; Technology in ELT: Striking a Balance in the Age of AI. In your opinion, is AI a friend or foe&nbsp;of English language teachers? How do you think AI will impact our learners?</li>
	<li>What topic will you be focusing on at ElliiCon this year? Can you share a few key points that you plan to touch on?</li>
	<li>What&#39;s one thing that you would like ElliiCon attendees to know about you before attending your&nbsp;session?</li>
</ol>

<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *;" height="600px" src="https://www.videoask.com/cywh6o6e73jcqxd761aifm1jhsitvhpkpx053vmu" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px" width="100%"></iframe>

<h2>Attend Dr. Browne&#39;s #ElliiCon2023 Session</h2>

At #ElliiCon2023, Dr. Browne will be presenting on gamified learning of vocabulary. Join this session on September 14 from 2:45 pm to 3:45 pm CDT. You will learn all about the New General Service List and how to make it fun and challenging to learn essential vocabulary.&nbsp;Interested in attending Dr. Browne&#39;s session?&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023" target="_blank">Register for ElliiCon2023</a>.&nbsp;It&#39;s&nbsp;free! You can also connect with Dr. Browne after his presentation at our&nbsp;Presenter Q&amp;A&nbsp;Table.

<a href="https://www.newgeneralservicelist.com/"><img alt="Charles Browne #ElliiCon2023 session" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3313/content_Charles-Browne_Session.png" /></a>

#ElliiCon2023 Speaker Spotlight: Dr. Charles Browne 

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Registration Is Open for #ElliiCon2023

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

Grammar & Usage

Indefinite pronouns are words that refer to nonspecific people, places, things, amounts, or ideas. They help us express generalities rather than specifics. Unlike personal pronouns, which refer to a known noun, indefinite pronouns are intentionally vague.&nbsp;

<h1>Ambiguity &amp; context</h1>

The very nature of indefinite pronouns brings ambiguity to language. Without a clear antecedent, the referent becomes open to interpretation. For example, consider the following sentence: &quot;Someone left their umbrella behind.&quot; Here, we don&#39;t know who that &quot;someone&quot; is, making it impossible to determine the gender or identity of the umbrella&#39;s owner. The absence of a specific antecedent makes indefinite pronouns both versatile and challenging.

<h1>Common indefinite pronouns</h1>

Let&#39;s explore some frequently used indefinite pronouns:

<img alt="Common indefinite pronouns" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3269/content_Common-indefinite-pronouns.png" />

<h1>Tips &amp; tricks</h1>

<h2>1.&nbsp;Function &amp; form</h2>

Indefinite pronouns can be used in both the&nbsp;subject position&nbsp;and the object position within a sentence. Unlike personal pronouns (I/me, she/her, they/ them, etc.) whose form changes depending on their function, indefinite pronouns stay the same regardless of their role in the sentence.

<ul>
	<li>Someone left the door open. (subject)</li>
	<li>I met someone from Nigeria yesterday. (object)</li>
	<li>Anyone who buys a lottery ticket has a chance of winning. (subject)</li>
	<li>Maria doesn&#39;t know anyone at her new school. (object)</li>
</ul>

<h2>2. Subject-verb agreement</h2>

a. Indefinite pronouns that end in -one, -body, and -thing are usually treated as singular. Each&nbsp;also takes a singular verb.

<ul>
	<li>I rang the doorbell, but nobody was home.</li>
	<li>Everybody knows that I hate eggs.</li>
	<li>Someone is&nbsp;knocking at the front door.</li>
	<li>Everything is&nbsp;already in the car, and we are ready to leave.</li>
</ul>

b. Both, few, many, others, and several always&nbsp;take a plural verb.

<ul>
	<li>Many of the students drive to school, but others walk or take the bus.</li>
	<li>Both of my sisters like to write poetry.</li>
	<li>Many are called, but few are chosen.</li>
	<li>Several of my friends live in my neighborhood.</li>
</ul>

c. Depending on the context, some indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural.&nbsp;These include all, any, none, and some. If one of the indefinite pronouns in this group is referencing an uncountable noun, a singular verb is used. On the other hand, if the pronoun&nbsp;is referencing a countable quantity, the verb is&nbsp;plural.

<ul>
	<li>All of the fruit is rotten.</li>
	<li>All of the children are sick.</li>
	<li>None of the story was true.</li>
	<li>None of my answers were correct.</li>
</ul>

Note:&nbsp;When all is followed by a relative clause, it takes a singular verb.

<ul>
	<li>All that matters is your happiness.</li>
	<li>All that happened that night has been forgotten.</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. &quot;Else&quot;</h2>

Unlike most other pronouns, indefinite pronouns can be modified by an adjective. The adjective most commonly used to modify these pronouns is else. Else&nbsp;is placed after&nbsp;the indefinite pronoun, and we use it&nbsp;to refer to people, places, or things in addition to the ones we&#39;ve already mentioned.&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>After I ordered a salad and a cup of coffee, the server wanted to know if I wanted&nbsp;anything else.</li>
	<li>If Amir can&#39;t give me a ride to work, I&#39;ll ask someone else.</li>
	<li>We invited my family and close friends&nbsp;to our wedding, but no one else.</li>
</ul>

<h2>4. Referring back to &quot;somebody&quot; &amp; &quot;someone&quot;</h2>

In most cases, we don&#39;t know if&nbsp;someone or somebody is&nbsp;a male or female. To acknowledge this ambiguity, we often use the&nbsp;plural pronoun they to refer back to (singular)&nbsp;someone/somebody in everyday spoken English.

<ul>
	<li>As I was walking across the parking lot, I noticed that somebody left their headlights on.</li>
	<li>When you first meet someone, it is considered rude to ask them how old they are or how much money they&nbsp;make.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Summary</h1>

Indefinite pronouns add depth and versatility to our language. They&nbsp;allow us to generalize our statements so that we can include a wider range of individuals or situations. By employing these pronouns, we can express ideas, experiences, or beliefs that apply universally. For instance, saying &quot;Everyone appreciates kindness&quot; or &quot;Nobody likes to be left out&quot; helps us address shared experiences without singling out particular individuals. As a result, we can avoid&nbsp;making assumptions and judgments about specific people or groups.

&nbsp;

<div class="whiteBox">
<h2>Related Lesson</h2>

<h2 class="circleThumb"><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1625-pronouns-2"><img alt="Pencil and paper" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3261/content_88_Nouns-and-Pronouns.png" /></a></h2>

<h2><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1625-pronouns-2">Grammar Practice Worksheet: Pronouns 2</a></h2>
</div>

Indefinite Pronouns

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No matter who your learners are, it&rsquo;s likely that they are learning English to improve their life chances. They may be hoping to secure their dream job, further their education, or communicate confidently with English users from around the world.&nbsp;

In order to do so, they&rsquo;ll also need to develop&nbsp;digital, work, academic, critical thinking, problem-solving, and/or intercultural communication skills.&nbsp;

These are just a few key &quot;life skills,&quot;&nbsp;also known as:

<ul>
	<li>soft skills</li>
	<li>21st-century skills</li>
	<li>transferable skills</li>
	<li>essential skills</li>
	<li>functional skills*</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4467-talking-to-a-tax-preparer" target="_blank"><img alt="life skills focus tag on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3255/content_Screen_Shot_2023-06-22_at_2.56.20_PM.png" /></a> 
*Ellii previously used the Focus tag&nbsp;&quot;functional&quot; for content that focuses on these types of essential skills for newcomers to English-speaking countries. In 2023, we adopted the term &quot;life skills,&quot; which is more universally recognized due to its literal meaning.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

You will find many useful sections for teaching life skills on Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons">Lesson sections page</a> under the heading English for Newcomers. Alternatively, browse these ready-made collections: <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/everyday-topics/jobs-employment">Jobs &amp; Employment</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/casas-competencies">CASAS Competencies</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/linc" target="_blank">LINC Themes</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/clb-competencies">CLB Competencies</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/academic-subjects/social-emotional-learning">Social-Emotional Learning</a>.

In this post, I&rsquo;ll explore ways to incorporate &quot;life skills&quot;&nbsp;into your English language lessons.&nbsp;

<h2>1. Identify key skills</h2>

Every learner and teaching context is different. It&rsquo;s important to first find out what skills your students need, or want, to develop. If they&rsquo;re young learners, you may want to focus on creativity, emotional intelligence, team building, and time management. However, if you&rsquo;re teaching learners who are soon to go to university, your focus may be on self-directed learning, presentation skills, academic writing, and digital literacy.

This <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2224-goal-setting-can-do" target="_blank">Goal-Setting</a> graphic organizer is a good way to support students to identify which skills they have and which skills they would like to develop.&nbsp;

<h2>2. Encourage self-reflection&nbsp;</h2>

Having clear goals and a plan for how to achieve them makes success more likely.&nbsp;

Likewise, the ability to identify progress, strengths, and areas for improvement is invaluable for self-development.&nbsp;

This <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2370-weekly-reflection">Weekly Reflection</a> form can help learners get into the habit of doing this. It can also help them develop their study skills, note taking, planning, time management, and self-direction.&nbsp;

You may also like this road-mapping activity I created for my book, <a href="https://wayzgoosepress.com/emily-bryson/" target="_blank">50 Ways to Teach Life Skills</a>. Creating a visual representation of a five-year plan can help make the goals within it seem more achievable.&nbsp;

The beauty of this journey-mapping tool is that it can be used for future or past events. Students can also draw this road map and use it to reflect on all the things that have happened over a period of time.&nbsp;

<img alt="Emily Bryson's Journey Map" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3266/content_Road-Map-2.jpg" />

<h2>3. Use authentic scenarios</h2>

When learning to communicate in English, students need to navigate a multitude of interactions.&nbsp;

For example:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1745-asking-for-help" target="_blank">Asking for Help</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1744-expressing-confusion">Expressing Confusion</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2327-offering-sympathy">Offering Sympathy</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2106-reporting-a-missing-item">Reporting a Missing Item</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1746-making-excuses">Making Excuses</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4415-asking-for-time-off">Asking for Time Off</a></li>
</ul>

Each of these requires its own unique vocabulary, grammar, and useful phrases. Giving learners the opportunity to practice these interactions in a controlled and supportive environment will give them the confidence to use them outside of the classroom.&nbsp;

Ellii has identified 41 <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/functional-english" target="_blank">Functional English </a>targets&nbsp;and created a resource for each. There are video assessments in many of the digital lessons (also viewable in the <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/dialogues/functional-english-assessment">Media Gallery</a>).

<h2>4. Try role-plays</h2>

Role-plays are excellent ways to build confidence with communication skills. They&rsquo;re also perfect for integrating problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and team building.&nbsp;

Give students a scenario that allows them to develop their identified skills&nbsp;or let them work together to create their own. You can challenge them further by adding some additional problems to solve.&nbsp;

For example, if they are role-playing how to complain in a restaurant, you could give students an emotion to act out (e.g., a tired waiter, a frustrated&nbsp;customer) or an unexpected challenge (e.g., the customer forgot their wallet).&nbsp;

If you&rsquo;d prefer something more scaffolded, you&rsquo;ll find plenty of ready-made scenarios to practice in Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/role-plays" target="_blank">Role-Plays</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/everyday-dialogues" target="_blank">Everyday Dialogues</a> sections.

<h2>5. Projects, projects, projects</h2>

Integrating projects into your classroom allows students to organically practice a multitude of skills. It also provides the opportunity to get involved with the local community, explore an environmental issue, raise funds for a good cause, or create a campaign.&nbsp;

Whatever project you choose can develop a multitude of skills such as those needed to create and deliver presentations, vlog, and blog. Learners will also learn the value of&nbsp;teamwork and negotiation as they refine their decision-making skills.&nbsp;

Try some ready-made&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects" target="_blank">Group Projects</a> from Ellii.&nbsp;

<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects" target="_blank"><img alt="Ellii's Group Projects for ESL learners" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3259/content_Screen_Shot_2023-06-26_at_2.37.45_PM.png" /></a>

<h2>6. Get creative with assessments</h2>

Traditional assessments have their place and can be a useful benchmark for student progress. However, stepping away from quizzes can allow for more natural use of language. It can also make learners more relaxed and meet their learning preferences more closely.&nbsp;

Try assessment tasks such as <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/mini-debates" target="_blank">debates</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/6-steps-for-conducting-an-interview-in-english">interviews</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3029-the-language-of-presenting">presentations</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1828-how-to-write-a-blog-post">blogs</a>, or <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/takeaways-from-tesol-2022-project-based-learning">group projects</a>. These could allow for the use and development of multiple skills.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
What life skills do your learners need to develop? How do you incorporate them into your classes? Share your ideas with the Ellii community!
</blockquote>

<h2>Related Posts</h2>

If you enjoyed this blog post, you may also like these:&nbsp;

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/takeaways-from-tesol-2022-project-based-learning">Takeaways from TESOL 2022: Project-Based Learning</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-supercharge-your-students-study-skills">5 Ways to Supercharge Your Students&#39; Study Skills</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tips-for-motivating-language-learners-to-set-and-achieve-goals">Tips and Resources for Motivating Language Learners to Set and Achieve Goals&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/creative-ways-to-set-personal-academic-goals-with-students">Creative Ways to Set Personal &amp; Academic Goals with Students</a></li>
</ul>

6 Tips for Incorporating Life Skills into Your English Language Lessons

https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/2421/Emily_6-Tips-for-Incorporating-Life-Skills-into-Your-English-Language-Lessons_Banner.png

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

For Students

Listen and read along.

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/3257/camping-post.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

When summer arrives and the weather gets warm, people all around the world&nbsp;eagerly pack&nbsp;their bags, hop in the car or on a bus or train, and head into nature for some quality camping time. But not all camping experiences are alike! Here are a few questions to consider before you venture outdoors&nbsp;so that you can have the best possible experience,&nbsp;whether you prefer glamping or roughing it.

<h2>How &ldquo;outdoorsy&rdquo; are you really?</h2>

Some people love sleeping under the stars. Others prefer spending time outside without forsaking the&nbsp;creature comforts of modern amenities. The good news is that both perspectives are valid. If the thought of sleeping outside among the critters makes your skin crawl, consider renting a yurt with electricity, heating, and air-conditioning&nbsp;or maybe a trailer with its own cooking facilities. On the other hand, you might be someone who thrives on reconnecting with the wilderness. For you, a single pup tent or hammock might be enough!

<h2>Who&rsquo;s invited?</h2>

When you imagine yourself camping, who are you with? Since camping isn&rsquo;t everyone&rsquo;s cup of tea, it&rsquo;s a good idea to invite people who will enjoy the experience. Your high-maintenance cousin might not be the best person to pitch a tent with, no matter how well you get along.

<h2>What&rsquo;s your ideal setting?</h2>

Maybe you live in a rural area with plenty of great camping spots around. If you&rsquo;re more of a city slicker, however, you might have to drive a couple of hours to get to your location of choice. Decide how far you&rsquo;re willing to go&nbsp;and what sort of environment you&rsquo;d prefer. Do you want a lake or river to swim in, or are you more focused on finding great hiking trails? Do dense forests make you nervous&nbsp;or are you a fan of the shade they provide?

Considering these questions&nbsp;before you set out will help you have a better overall camping experience. If you have any camping stories to share, go ahead and post them in the comments. We&rsquo;d love to hear them!

<h2>Vocabulary</h2>

<ul>
	<li>glamping: a luxurious version of camping&nbsp;(&quot;glamour&quot; + &quot;camping&quot;)</li>
	<li>rough&nbsp;it: to live without the usual comforts of everyday life</li>
	<li>creature comforts: small luxuries that make you comfortable</li>
	<li>critters: small animals that live outside</li>
	<li>make your skin crawl: to give you a creepy, uncomfortable feeling</li>
	<li>pup tent: a small tent for one&nbsp;person</li>
	<li>not one&#39;s&nbsp;cup of tea: something one doesn&#39;t enjoy</li>
	<li>high-maintenance: needing a lot of special attention</li>
	<li>city slicker: someone who lives in an urban enviroment</li>
</ul>

Camping: Getting the Most Out of an Outdoor Adventure

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<div class="white-box">
This September 14 and 15, we&rsquo;ll be hosting&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023" target="_blank">ElliiCon2023</a>&mdash;a free two-day virtual conference to explore the intersection of technology and traditional teaching. Learn how to maintain human connections with your students in the age of AI while incorporating practical tech tools that can free up more time for crucial aspects of learning.

This article is part of a series of posts introducing our 2023 conference&nbsp;speakers.
</div>

<h2>Meet Jamie Keddie</h2>

Jamie Keddie is a teacher, trainer, author, and storyteller. His areas of interest include images, videos, and stories in the classroom. He has shared his ideas with teachers and educators in more than 40 countries. Jamie is the founder of <a href="https://legacy.lessonstream.com/" target="_blank">LessonStream</a>&mdash;a community of teachers with a passion for using stories to engage students. He is the author of&nbsp;Images&nbsp;(Oxford University Press, 2009),&nbsp;Bringing Online Video into the Classroom&nbsp;(Oxford University Press, 2014), and&nbsp;Videotelling: YouTube Stories for the Classroom&nbsp;(LessonStream Books, 2016). Jamie also creates <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/jamiekeddie" target="_blank">YouTube</a> videos for English teachers and is an affiliate trainer at Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE) in the UK.

<h2>Presenter Q &amp; A</h2>

Q. The theme of ElliiCon2023 is&nbsp;Humanity &amp; Technology in ELT: Striking a Balance in the Age of AI. In your opinion, is AI a friend or foe&nbsp;of English language teachers? How do you think AI will impact our learners?

Q. What topic will you be focusing on at ElliiCon this year? Can you share a few key points that you plan to touch on?

Q. What&#39;s one thing that you would like ElliiCon attendees to know about you before attending your&nbsp;session?

<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *;" height="600px" src="https://www.videoask.com/cwgzlfay19m2y2renlxsbh1perrqotm869m61cyi" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px" width="100%"></iframe>

<blockquote>
&quot;Understanding story and storytelling is the quintessential 21-century skill.&quot;

&mdash;Jamie Keddie
</blockquote>

Join us at ElliiCon2023!

At #ElliiCon2023, Jamie Keddie will be presenting on storytelling.&nbsp;Join this session on&nbsp;September 14&nbsp;from&nbsp;12:30 pm to 1:30 pm CDT.&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023" target="_blank">Register for ElliiCon2023</a>.&nbsp;It&#39;s&nbsp;free! You can also connect with Jamie Keddie after his presentation at our&nbsp;Presenter Q&amp;A&nbsp;Table.&nbsp;

<img alt="Jamie Keddie's ElliiCon2023 session" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3352/content_Jamie-Keddie_ElliiCon2023-session.jpg" />

ElliiCon2023 Speaker Spotlight: Jamie Keddie

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Translanguaging was one of the key themes at <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/iatefl-2023-highlights-key-takeaways-reflections" target="_blank">IATEFL this year</a>. English language learners bring a rich diversity of languages, cultures, and perspectives to our classrooms. Embracing these differences through inclusive multilingual teaching practices supports learning and provides students with an opportunity to take pride in their identities.&nbsp;

This post will explore translanguaging, its benefits, and some ideas for you to incorporate it in your classroom.&nbsp;

<h2>What is translanguaging?&nbsp;</h2>

Translanguaging is the use of multiple languages in order to communicate and support learning. It recognizes the linguistic skills that learners have and encourages their use to discuss, take notes, research, ask questions, or explain new concepts in class.&nbsp;

While immersive teaching practices focus on using only English, translanguaging allows learners to use their other languages to help them learn. For example, a teacher may explain something in English and then allow students to discuss it and explain it to each other in their first language. The teacher can then ask comprehension questions&nbsp;or use the students&#39; first language&nbsp;to ensure the class understands.

<h2>Why is it beneficial to language learning?&nbsp;</h2>

There are many benefits to translanguaging:&nbsp;

<h3>1. Translanguaging values learners</h3>

Using multiple languages in the classroom recognizes and respects the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of English language learners. Being bilingual or multilingual is an asset. Translanguaging supports learners in their&nbsp;understanding of how their linguistic skills can be beneficial for life and work as global citizens.

<h3>2. Translanguaging boosts confidence</h3>

Translanguaging allows learners to express themselves in many ways. Using their first language can reduce anxiety and provide thinking time, giving them the confidence to take risks and communicate in English.&nbsp;

<h3>3. Translanguaging supports learning</h3>

Multilingualism enhances brain function, aids memory, and makes it easier to understand and learn other languages. This helps students&nbsp;focus, study, and learn English more effectively.

<h3>4. Translanguaging aids cross-cultural communication</h3>

Valuing diversity and cultural identity in the classroom provides a safe space for intercultural conversations. This allows learners the opportunity to share their differences in curious and respectful ways.

<h2>How can I incorporate translanguaging in my classroom?</h2>

Chances are that you are already using translanguaging techniques. For example, if you encourage learners to write vocabulary translations in their notebooks or use bilingual dictionaries, you are&nbsp;incorporating&nbsp;translanguaging in your classroom.

Here are some other examples:

<h3>1. Multilingual collaborative translations</h3>

When teaching new vocabulary, it can be interesting to ask learners how to say the words&nbsp;in their first language(s). This gives them a chance to share their language abilities, learn other languages, and have a bit of fun drilling pronunciation.

Creating word clouds&nbsp;can be a fun way to do this. You could display the visuals&nbsp;on the wall and create more throughout the course.

<img alt="translanguaging word cloud" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3243/content_word-cloud.jpg" />

<h3>2. Collaborative projects</h3>

Task-based or <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects">project-based</a> learning is a flexible way for students to learn. There can be many different tasks within a project including researching a topic, writing a report, recording a podcast, and delivering a presentation.

To use translanguaging, students may choose to complete different tasks in different languages. For example, they may research the topic in their first language and then talk to a partner and create a poster in English.

<h3>3. Note-taking</h3>

When listening to a recording or a video, students may choose to write down their ideas. They could do this in English,&nbsp;in their chosen language, or in a mix of language(s).

They may wish to lay out their notes using a mind map or&nbsp;graphic organizer,&nbsp;or by adding doodles, diagrams, or translations. They could later share or explain these notes with another student.

<h3>4. Preparation, then translation</h3>

Some learners may find it easier to complete tasks in their first language and then translate into English. You could give them time to write a text in a language of their choice and then translate it. Support them to use online tools such as translation apps and bilingual dictionaries.

You may also wish to use AI as a comparison for their translation. Once they have translated their text to English, ask an AI tool to translate the original text (in their first language). Students can then look for interesting style features and phrases to enhance their work.

<h2>Celebrating &amp; supporting ELLs</h2>

As language teachers, our students bring a wealth of skills to class. Translanguaging offers an inclusive approach that celebrates their diversity and talents. By celebrating multilingualism, we can create learning environments that are welcoming and support cross-cultural understanding.

Translanguaging: Embracing the Power of Multilingualism in Your Classroom 

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Do you know the expression &quot;one in a million&quot;? It means someone or something is rare or special. Ali is one of these people.

We learned about Ali from her father, an English language teacher named Harry Waters. He shared this video of Ali on his LinkedIn page. One in a million, right?

<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/opRvOjhliRc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

<a href="https://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/1millionlitterpick" target="_blank">Ali has a huge goal</a>. She wants to pick up one million pieces of litter before her next birthday. She also wants to raise awareness about plastic consumption.

How can you help Ali? Here are two simple ways:

<h3>1. Learn about the dangers of plastic consumption</h3>

Watch Ali&#39;s video above and discuss it with your class. Then read about Ali&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/1millionlitterpick">campaign</a>. Why would you describe Ali as one in a million? 
 
Ellii has a few lessons you can use to learn more about this environmental issue. You can ask your teacher to share one of these lessons with you.

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1285-ocean-garbage">Ocean Garbage</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4031-un-plastics-treaty">UN Plastics Treaty</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4380-trashion-show" target="_blank">Trashion Show</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1212-garbage-solutions" target="_blank">Garbage Solutions</a></li>
</ul>

In our Famous Things section, we also have a lesson on <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1462-plastic">Plastic</a>. In this lesson, you can learn about the history of this material and find out when&nbsp;the plastic craze&nbsp;began. At the end of the lesson, you can share a personal response using the speaking task.

 
<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1462-plastic"><img alt="speaking task, plastic consumption" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3252/content_content_Screen_Shot_2023-06-08_at_11.33.20_AM.png" /></a>

Ali also cares about the <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/global-issues/sustainable-development-goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. You can watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4Wdt37YWyU&amp;list=PLuqJWaXJtKo_kd5lJk0yb2GRd1GKR3Faf" target="_blank">Ali&#39;s videos and tips </a>about these goals on&nbsp;YouTube.

<h3>2. Pick up litter (&amp; log it)</h3>

Ali needs your help to carefully dispose of litter (especially dangerous plastics) in your area. Your class can join this challenge together, or you can do your part individually.

<ol>
	<li><a href="https://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/apphelp">Download the Litter Logging App</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.kidsagainstplastic.co.uk/alismap">Log your litter clean-up and get on Ali&#39;s&nbsp;Map</a></li>
</ol>

<h2>Glossary</h2>

<ul>
	<li>one in a million: a very special person or thing</li>
	<li>campaign: an organized plan to complete a goal</li>
	<li>consumption: the usage of a resource</li>
	<li>dispose: to throw out</li>
	<li>litter: garbage</li>
	<li>log: to record (write down) an action or item on a form</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
Do you know someone who could be described as &quot;one in a million&quot;? Tell us about this special person in the comments!&nbsp;
</blockquote>

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