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. Don’t forget to include your postal address.
The contributors to It Works in Practice in this issue of ETp will each
receive copies of Skillful Listening & Speaking and Skillful Reading & Writing,
published by Macmillan. Macmillan have kindly agreed to be sponsors of
It Works in Practice for this year.

Can you guess what it is yet? End of year revision

This is a simple way of practising speculation in the present. Using Here is my idea for revising coursework at the end of
PowerPoint, you can cut and paste an image of a famous person, an the year. I like it because it allows the students to
animal or a household item into a slide. Then, using the ‘insert shape’ ask all the questions for a change! It also gives
tool, you cover the image in squares, which are removed by the click of them a worthwhile and authentic task to do. It
a mouse when you use ‘custom animation’. should work well with whatever ability/age group
I started with a simple image to guess – a tiger – and asked for three you try it with.
speculations from the students before I revealed the next part of the 1 Ask the students which coursebook unit or topic
picture. The first fragment simply showed a brilliant blue sky, so the they enjoyed most.
responses were It must be outside, It might be in the summer and 2 Tell them they’re going to make up some
It could be Spain. Then I revealed the next part, which showed plants
questions on that unit or topic for next year’s
and the tip of an ear.
course participants.
In order to encourage as many ideas as possible and full participation, 3 Show them examples of different task types in
you can hand out cards, and each time a student makes a sentence,
coursebooks and workbooks. Typical examples
they discard one. Everyone has to use their quota of cards by the end
might include: Find the right words, Fill in words
of the activity.
with the same meaning, Make your own questions,
Which word is explained? True/false, Multiple-
Let me introduce myself choice questions, Crosswords.
A useful addition to a class is an invited guest. In this case, it is simply 4 Put the students in groups of four or five and
a picture of a person – it could be one from your own collection of appoint a secretary in each one. Each group
photos, a person in a magazine advert or someone from YouTube. The gives itself a name (Champions, Superstars, etc),
important thing is that it is not someone well known. chooses its favourite topic or pages in the
Depending on the size of the class, you can use one for each group of coursebook and makes up questions together.
around four learners. They then choose a name, a nationality and The secretary copies these questions onto an
create a background for the ‘guest’ they have received. Every week, you OHP transparency.
can introduce another aspect of your classroom guests which the 5 You can then either:
students have to decide on, gradually building up a full profile. These a) collect the OHP transparencies and copy them
creative sessions can then be used for writing, you might have a class for each student as a handout. The students
blog where the guests can be introduced, or you can simply keep then work on the groups’ tasks.
written records on the wall, next to the pictures. or:
Your guests can be used for a wide variety of different activities: b) have one student from each group play the
describing what they look like and their personality, comparing their role of the teacher, reading out their own
lives to your students’ lives, exploring feelings and opinions. You can talk group’s questions and getting the other
about their past, their plans for the future and give them advice. The students to answer them orally. This could be
list is endless, so why not go out and find someone to join the party? played as a kind of quiz.
Jane Neill Tim Howe
Cheltenham, UK Mainburg, Germany

38 • Issue 86 May 2013 • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • www.etprofessional.com •

 Preposition proposition A lovely idea
The use of prepositions is often a huge headache for I would like to describe a project I did a few years ago with my
students learning English, so why not turn the matter into a secondary school students. One of the units of our coursebook
fun, energetic activity? This activity would be especially good focused on love. My idea was for the students to make a short
for young learners, but I’ve used it successfully with film about love.
university students and even adults. Students can also be 1 The students decided who they wanted to work with and
grouped into teams so that even lower-level students can
formed groups, mostly with four or five members.
feel a sense of achievement when their team succeeds.
2 Each group had a two-week deadline for writing a script
1 Decide what prepositions or prepositional phrases you
and bringing it to me for correction. This was a very
want to focus on. It’s best to limit this to four or five.
important stage because I could monitor the students’
Prepare a list of phrases or sentences which use these
ideas and commitment, offer any help that was needed and
prepositions.
correct mistakes so that they would not repeat them when
2 Give out sheets of paper, one for each preposition used they were shooting the film.
in the activity, and thick marker pens to some of the 3 After the scripts had been checked, I gave the students
students. Tell these students which prepositions to write
about a month to produce their films. I told those who
on their pieces of paper and ask them to tape them to
would find directing a film difficult that they could make a
the wall, somewhere in the classroom. Make sure they are
simple voice recording instead.
all placed high enough to be read easily be everyone in
the room. 4 The final stage was a film session in one of our lessons
when they showed their work to the class.
3 Explain that you will read a sentence with its preposition
missing, and that the students must all listen carefully I knew it would be quite difficult to assess their work and give
and then run (or walk) to where the correct missing grades. I decided to use the students’ efforts as the main factor
preposition is posted. For example, you could read out in my assessment. I also took into account the quality of the
‘I’m a student _____ the University of Wherever’ and language in the script, whether my corrections had been taken
students would go to the ‘at’ card. on board and, finally, the success of the finished film.

4 Read out all the phrases and sentences on your list and I received a variety of films and recordings. Most of the
award points for going to the right preposition. students took the activity seriously and made interesting
movies with a romantic and sometimes ironic twist. There were
It’s a good idea to provide an opportunity for more
also some who were not interested in the activity and did not
concentrated focus on the language afterwards, as students
complete their films. However, the final results were better
often get caught up in the energy of the activity. You could
than I had expected. And one more important thing was that
ask them to try to remember and repeat the phrases or
from that moment I no longer had any problems with this
sentences they heard, or put a chart on the board and ask
group of students!
individual students (with the help of their classmates) to
Katarzyna Wiacek
write them under the correct preposition. You may need to Minsk Mazowiecki, Poland
read the gapped phrases or sentences again for this part of
the activity. The students could also work in groups to try to
recall what they heard and add other phrases and sentences
that use the same prepositions.
Do you have an idea which you would like to contribute to our
Rewards could be given for several categories – the most
It Works in Practice section? It might be anything from an
sentences remembered, the most additional sentences, the
activity which you use in class to a teaching technique that
most original sentence, etc – so that several students can
has worked for you. Send us your contribution, by post or by
feel their efforts are valued.
email, to helena.gomm@pavpub.com.
This activity could work as a lead-in to work on prepositions, All the contributors to It Works in Practice get a prize! We
as a way to energise a lagging lesson, or as a way to focus on especially welcome joint entries from teachers working at the
errors that you have noticed in previous lessons. same institution. Why not get together with your colleagues
Christina Rebuffet-Broadus to provide a whole It Works in Practice section of your ideas?
Saint Martin d’Hères, France We will publish a photo of you all.

• www.etprofessional.com • ENGLISH TEACHING professional • Issue 86 May 2013 • 39