IT WORKS IN PRACTICE More tested lessons, suggestions, tips and techniques which have all

worked for ETp readers. Try them out for yourself – and then send us
your own contribution.
All contributors to It Works In Practice in this issue of ETp receive
a free copy of Idioms Organiser by Jon Wright (published by LTP)
which will be reviewed in the next issue.

 The Ideal Classroom

 Party Photos Tell students they have got the opportunity to design the ideal
When presenting the past continuous tense, I often ask
circumstances for learning English. Then write on the board
students to imagine someone has taken a photograph at a
the following list:
party, and they have to describe what people were doing
when the photo was taken. Recently, I decided to make the furniture ● arrangement, colours, materials ●
activity more fun by using real photographs. equipment ● students ● teacher
First I gave out cards with simple activities on them.
Elicit ideas from students on possible changes in each
Students worked in small groups to mime the different
category (giving them a few hints if necessary), and elicit
activities for one another to guess
possible structures, for example
(using the present continuous).
While they were miming, I went Suggestions and proposals with should – There should be a TV.
round taking photos – where possible,
Second conditionals – If we had an overhead projector,
including more than one mime in each picture.
we wouldn’t waste so much paper.
When the film had been developed, the students really
enjoyed looking at themselves, and we had some excellent Second conditionals with wish – I wish we had larger windows.
practice of the past continuous as people guessed what
their classmates were doing: What was she doing? Were you Students form five groups, each group proposing changes in
opening a door? No, I was cooking! one area. Then they report the results of their discussion and
Silvia Aida Moya de Mandra respond to questions and suggestions from other groups.
Río Negro, Argentina Marcela Jonas
Pusan, Korea

 Spelling Names
 Lost Property  Have A Ball
When I meet a new class (except if Ask each student to produce something To revise vocabulary with younger
belonging to them and place it on a students, I put a ball on a table and ask
they are absolute beginners), students to stand in a big circle around
central table. Encourage them to
it. I read out a story I have previously
instead of saying my name, I spell surrender something of real value, as it
prepared, which includes words we have
adds a degree of tension to the activity! learnt in recent lessons. Each time I reach
it. I speak fast the first time, and
All the items are then transferred a word I want students to remember, I
then gradually more slowly until to the ‘Lost Property Office’ and a lost stop. Anyone who thinks he/she knows
property officer (possibly the teacher) the word runs to the centre, grabs the ball
somebody can say it correctly. is appointed. Each student then has to and says the word, scoring one point for a
correct answer. If the answer is wrong,
With classes who don’t already describe their missing item in sufficient
the ball is put back on the table and
detail to retrieve it. Deliberate or
someone else can take it and suggest a
know one another, we practise the contrived misunderstandings make it word. (With very young or very low-level
more fun. This activity is good for students, I read out a list of words and
alphabet and then students spell
description, possessive pronouns, they run for the ball every time they
their names to one another. and more! recognise a word from a recent lesson.)
Heather Miletto María Inés Pernicone
Annalisa Nardelli London, England Rosario, Argentina
Gubbio, Italy

36 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue Nineteen April 2001 •

 Collage  Read All About It!
To get teenage students in a new class to talk
 Postcard Teaching English to advanced students, I
about themselves, I ask them to produce a Connections find a lot of material in Sunday newspapers.
Bring a collection of postcards to class, Here are some examples of how to have fun
‘personal identity’ collage. This can include
and/or ask students to lend or donate with articles of topical interest:
just about anything: pictures of their postcards to the collection.
favourite food, drink, perfume, pop stars, Students work in groups of four or 1 Make a jigsaw reading by cutting an
actors, cartoon characters, photos of family, five, and each student is given four or article into sections and asking different
pets or friends, postcards of places they’ve five postcards at random. The teacher groups to read and exchange information.
been to, tickets from football matches, phone puts down the starting postcard in each 2 Give an article with no headline or
cards – anything that can be stuck onto a group. The first player then has to lay
subheads to students and ask them to
down a postcard next to it and explain
piece of paper. To show them what I mean, create their own. Students then vote for
why it is connected to the first picture,
I hold up my own ID collage, and elicit the best ones.
eg ‘The person in my postcard has just
questions from them, seeing how much they come out of the house in that picture’. 3 Blank out various items of topical
can find out about me. They then go home The connection is accepted or rejected by vocabulary in an article and create a
and make their own collages. a majority of the rest of the group. The gap-fill exercise.
At the next lesson, they take turns to same connection cannot be repeated by
4 Ask students to convert an article into an
come to the front of the class and talk about any player.
interview or roleplay.
The activity finishes either when
their collages, answering any questions from
all one person’s cards have been placed 5 Ask students to use the contents of an
the rest of the class. This stimulates a lot of
(competitive version), or when all the article to write a continuation, or a
lively conversation, and allows the students cards have been placed (co-operative contrasting view from another newspaper.
to work at their own level, using as much or version).
Agnes Howard The possibilities are endless!
as little language in talking about their
Palma de Mallorca, Spain Sally Storr
collages as they like. Students can, of course, St Genis Pouilly, France
talk about their collages in groups to
maximise participation.
I find that my students tell me far more  Frozen Songs
about themselves this way than they would In groups of four or five, students think of a popular song they all know.
normally do, and, when we’ve put up all the They are given about seven minutes to prepare a still statue (frozen scene)
collages on the wall, their colourful artwork to represent the song, and then the rest of the class guesses the title.
brightens up the classroom wonderfully. It works for proverbs too. Dicki Nicolaides
Josephine Swift Limassol, Cyprus
Legnago, Italy

 Shark Attack!
 Picture This I play a variation of Hangman which consists HOME
When I want to practise forming questions in the past of drawing on the board a set of stairs,
simple tense, I ask each student to bring a holiday photo to at the top of which is the safety of
class. So as not to exclude anyone, I tell them it can be from ‘home’, and at the bottom, a sea
a holiday abroad but also from a day trip or even a garden full of teacher-eating
barbecue. The only real requirement is that there should be a sharks. The game is
bit of a story behind the photo. Students pass their photos played in the normal way, with a series of blanks
around one at a time. The other students have to ask representing the letters of a mystery word (from previous
lessons). A paper ‘teacher’ figure is stuck in the centre of
questions. First they ask general questions like Where did
the staircase with a piece of Blu-tack. Students call out
you go? When did you go? What was the weather like? I then
letters they think might be in the word. Every wrong
encourage them to ask more specific questions to try to get
answer takes the teacher towards the sharks, every right
behind the whole story. When there are no more questions, answer takes the teacher back up towards safety. To make
the student whose photo it is can fill in any parts of the it more realistic, I stick my photo to the paper stick-
story that haven’t come out yet. figure teacher.
In large groups this could be done as pair or group work. I used a variation with my adult class, where I read
An alternative is to ask for childhood pictures or, if some out the definition of an expression and they had to say it
people in the group have children, pictures of their children. totally correctly. Luckily my class had done their
Pearl Braun-Nowygrod
homework and I lived to tell the tale!
Noordwijk, The Netherlands Esther Cuenca Martínez
Santa Cruz, Spain

• Issue Nineteen April 2001 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • 37