CROSS THE LINE

by Laura Antolin Antolin

If you are a trainee teacher like me. I recommend you to this activity that it will be useful when you start a class with new students.

Across the classroom you have to paste a piece of tape that separates the classroom in two parts. After this you have to show your students that they have to cross the line when you say a question that is related with their life. Give an example how they have to do the activity.

Then, you have to tell your students that the halves of the group have to stay far from the line, and you as a teacher have to say: Cross the line if you like to go to the cinema? , and if their students consider that the question is according with their life they have to cross the line, and their partners have to see where of their classmates like to go to the cinema. You can ask for different things

This kind of activity is flexible because you could use all kind of questions, obviously it will be according with the topic that you are teaching. But when you start a class you could see the interests of your students. I used this amazing activity when I went to practice in the Secondary School and my students love it.

The Hot Potato

By Laura Estrada Carreño

I recommend this activity when you want to teach someone English because is very interesting.

The activity is used like a game and of course the student learns across the game.

To develop this activity:

You need a ball and two or more students

Song: “the hot potato gets out the pan who has the ball is going to lose...1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10”.  

The students pass the ball for each one or throw the ball around the classroom or form a circle at the same time they singing a song. At the end of the song the student who has the ball is the loser and she/he should to answer a question make by the teacher. This question could be adapted whatever topic that the teacher teaches in that moment. So the benefit in this case is to feedback any topic and recognizes that the students have learned.

And if you teaching at kinder garden or elementary school this activity is so good to teach numbers because the children love to sing and play simultaneously.

A GREAT SITE FOR LEARNING ENGLISH "BUSUU"

By Lino Iniesta Padilla

http://www.busuu.com/

This is a site for learning English and other languages ​​estrangers for free, where you can find many activities and exercises which are for all types of level of language proficiency from basic pole besides the expert, you can also practice your learning with others through interaction in conversations or activities exist where you can do where you posted the revising and are judged by people with better learning in the language you are learning, has an opportunity of meeting people from other countries such of the English language such as USA, England, Sweden, etc..

On this page can also find activities and ways of teaching students to apply in high school where we marked very well as teaching must be from the most simple to the complex in general I can say that this is a great site to any foreign language learn because It gives you lesson plans and then you can practice with native speakers.

Role Play

by Mónica Gabriella Ortega Macedo

When we are learning a new language, we have few opportunities to practice our speaking. That’s why role play it’s a good activity to do it.

Role play consists on acting dialogues that are already done. I t could be about different topics and according to our students level. Role play helps your students to practice their speaking in a “real situation”, and at the same time they are improving their pronunciation and new vocabulary.

Your students, as the principal actors of his activity, get involved in all the process, so they learn by doing it.

I suggest you to use all your creativity and encourage your students to do it without. Be careful with the students who are very shy, and give them confidence that they can do it very good.

I think it’s a funny activity that you can enjoy a lot.

Don't Drop the Ball

 by Selene Cid Montoya

In this activity, the familiar child`s game of catch is used as a metaphor for conventional activity to illustrate the implicit rules of this type of interaction. The playfulness of the activity creates a memorable impression in the learner`s mind of the expectations of listeners and speakers and allows the learner to recognize potentially inappropriate behaviors.

Use this as a class opener. When all the students are seated, greet someone warmly and ask a routine questions, such as, Did you have a good weekend?. As you finish the question, gently toss the ball to the student who. You hope, will catch it. If the student doesn`t answer the question, silently retrieve the ball and repeat the question and ball toss. When the student answer the question, signal that you want the ball tossed back. If the student only answers “Yes” or some similar short response, they don`t catch the ball, let it drop to the floor and stare at it morosely as it bounces away. After the brief dramatic pause, sigh and retrieve the ball. Ask the same student a new question: “Where did you go” and toss the ball again. Continuo doing this, when the students ask you a direct question, beam happily and catch the ball.

Cross the Line

by Taide Citlalli García Garduño

This activity is very useful when the teacher wants to explain whatever topic.

•  First, the teacher draw a big line in middle of the classroom
• Then the teacher asks students to move to the right side.
• Then the teacher says some sentences about the topic, the teacher has to starts the sentences with this phrase: cross the line, if you…And complete with something about the topic.
• The students have to think if this sentence has a relation with their own ideas, if their idea has relation whit the sentence, they have to cross the line the other side that is in the floor. 

I recommend this activity because encourage the students and the lesson is more attractive for them.  

Useful Resource

By Tanhia Karen García Goméz

http://www.eslfast.com/

I like this page because there are a lot of readings but not only has it, each reading has its listening. First, I always listen and I try to write every word that I understand, I do this three times and then I watch the reading and check my mistakes.

Then, I listen again the text and finally I read aloud the text.

I think it is very useful, because I use both, reading and listening, but the way that I use this page not only develop two skills. I develop the four skills.

I recommend this page, but you have to use correctly.