Lessons in Your Inbox: Motivating Young Learners To Learn Online

Lessons in
Your Inbox
Motivating young learners to learn online
Contents
3
10 DOs and DON’Ts for finding 16
10 ideas for using selfies, street art
topics teenagers are interested in and internet memes
ETpedia Teenagers ETpedia Teenagers
Edmund Dudley Edmund Dudley
5
10 activities with images 19
Games and projects
ETpedia Technology Teaching English: Best Practices
Nicky Hockly for Blended Learning
Pete Sharma and Barney Barrett
8
10 activities with online comics
ETpedia Technology 23
10 story activities
Nicky Hockly ETpedia Young Learners
Vanessa Reis Esteves
11
10 activities with videos
ETpedia Technology 25
10 flashcard games
Nicky Hockly ETpedia Young Learners
14
10 ideas for making student videos
ETpedia Teenagers 27
Troubleshooting
Edmund Dudley Teaching English One to One
(2nd edition)
Priscilla Osborne
This collection contains articles, chapters, and units from Pavilion ELT publications available to
purchase at www.pavpub.com/pavilion-elt
Visit Pavilion ELT at www.pavpub.com/pavilion-elt today.

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Teenagers
Edmund Dudley
10 DOs and DON’Ts for finding topics that teenagers

are interested in
Finding topics that teenagers are interested in is a hit-and-miss endeavour. Although it makes sense to
look for topics that are relevant to students’ interests and lives, there is still every possibility that our
chosen topic area – even if it is traditionally associated with teens – will fail to engage our students.
The best way to find topics that work is actually to pay attention to the students themselves, rather
than just choosing topics based on our assumptions about what teens like. At the same time, we
should remember to respect the distance between ourselves and our students when we choose topics
for class. We need to be careful to ensure that we do not intrude too much on teenagers’ private lives.
Despite the challenges mentioned, if we keep the following principles in mind, it should be possible –
over time – to get better at finding topics for lessons and activities that our teenage students respond
to positively.
1. DO take steps to find out what students are interested in

If students complain about the topics in the coursebook, ask them to suggest alternative topics that
they are interested in. In addition, keep your eyes and ears open in class when other topics crop up,
making a mental note of the ones your students seem to be interested in.
2. DO test the waters

The ideal topic is one that teens are both interested in and willing to talk about. Remember that there
are some topics that teenagers do not want to discuss with their teacher, even if they have a strong
interest in it. A good way to test the waters is to show curiosity about topics mentioned by students.
Ask them a casual question or two. Pay attention to how receptive they are to these questions, asking
yourself if they appear open or closed to discussing it further with a teacher. Steer clear of the closed
topics when planning lessons.
3. DO offer choices
Another way to reduce the chances of a topic falling flat is to offer it as one of several options. Instead
of saying I was thinking about doing a lesson on [Topic A] next week. Would you be interested in that?
say I’ve got three possible topic areas for a lesson next week: [Topic A] [Topic B] and [Topic C]. Which
one would you say seems the least boring?
4. DO get feedback on lesson topics

Occasionally, get feedback from students about topics at the end of the lesson. Give them a sticky
note or a small piece of paper and ask them to write down anonymously what they thought about the
topic and whether they have any suggestions. This is five minutes well spent. Even if the students’
feedback does not provide us with much information, the act of reaching out to them – of asking for
their opinion – is something that teenagers do notice and value.
5. DO focus on young people rather than pop stars

Teenagers are often less interested in the lives of the rich and famous than their teachers tend to
assume. They are also more interested in the lives of ordinary teenagers than many of us realise. Bear
this in mind when looking for input language to go with a topic. For example, if the lesson is about
fashion, a YouTube video of an ordinary teen talking about her favourite T-shirts tends to be far more
interesting for teenage students than a similar clip about a celebrity’s wardrobe.
Visit Pavilion ELT at www.pavpub.com/pavilion-elt today. 3

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Teenagers
Edmund Dudley
6. DO keep it real and relevant

Glamorous, aspirational topics can actually be a turn-off for many, as they seem too far removed from
the reality of their lives. Look for down-to-earth topics that not only have some immediate relevance
to students’ own lives and experience, but that can be of potential real-life use as well. For example,
for the topic of inventions, reading about famous inventors is generally less appealing for teenagers
than comparing a selection of simple ‘life-hacks’ from the internet.
7. DO collect your students’ ideas

Save the most interesting comments produced by students in the lesson, or make a note of
memorable opinions that they have expressed. Use these ideas as a starting point the next time you
teach a lesson on the same topic with a different group of students, telling them that the comments
were made by fellow students (but not necessarily revealing their identity). Even if they are not that
interested in the topic, teenagers are usually interested in the views of their peers.
8. DON’T get too personal

It always makes sense to personalise topics, but remember that we have no right to expect teenagers
to share private or personal information about themselves – unless they want to, of course. Default
questions to teenagers should be personal but not prying, allowing them to express an opinion
without necessarily divulging personal information. For example, on the topic of presents, avoid direct
personal questions such as What did you get for your birthday? Instead, try something like What are
you glad you didn’t get for your birthday – and why?
9. DON’T limit yourself to resources in English

Just because something isn’t in English doesn’t mean it can’t be useful in the English classroom. Short
texts and clips in the students’ first language or in another foreign language can be useful resources
in topic-based lessons, providing the basis for interesting discussions – and also stimulating language
discovery.
10. DON’T lose your cool

Teenagers can be quite outspoken about topics they are not interested in. If we’ve spent a long time
planning a lesson only for a teen to say something disparaging or rude about our topic, it can be
hard not to get annoyed. Don’t expect too much, and don’t take it personally if you get a negative
response. Teens are not always very tactful. Try to remember (if you can) that, in most cases, they
genuinely do not mean to cause offence.

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Technology
Nicky Hockly
10 activities with images

Visually appealing images provide a welcome counterpoint to text for students; moreover, they can
easily be integrated into your classroom as a support for language learning. When you are working
with images from the internet, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind. Firstly, you need
to ensure that the images you and your students use do not have copyright restrictions (see Unit 43).
Secondly, finding and using images appropriately can help students develop useful digital skills, such
as effective search techniques (see ‘Image search race’ and ‘Reverse image search’ below), as well as
how to evaluate and verify the information they find online (see ‘Infographic fact check’ and ‘Create an
infographic’ below). The 10 activities below describe how to use images in different ways, for example,
as a way of developing your students’ search techniques, getting them to use a number of photo tools
as a prompt for speaking and writing activities, and analysing and creating infographics for skills work.
1. Image search race

Knowing how to find information online effectively through focused searching with appropriate
keywords is an important digital skill for learners of all ages. An image search race can help students
to develop this skill while reviewing vocabulary. Before class, prepare a list of 10–15 vocabulary items
that you have recently taught your students. In class, review the basics of internet copyright and
Creative Commons with your students (see Unit 43). Tell students to use their internet-connected
devices to find Creative Commons photos of each word you’re going to say. Put the first vocabulary
item on the board, and give them time to search for a Creative Commons licence image of that word.
Remind students that they can search in a Creative Commons image bank, but that they still need
to check the licence of each photo they find to ensure that it can be freely used and shared. Ask the
students to show each photo they find to a partner. Continue by adding the next vocabulary item to
the board. At the end of the activity, ask students if anyone found any unusual or interesting photos,
and if so, to share them with the class in a group texting app or similar (see Unit 19).
2. Reverse image search

A reverse image search enables students to upload an image and to see where it has already been
posted online. TinEye (tineye.com) is a tool that enables students to carry out a reverse image
search by uploading an actual image, or by adding the URL of an image that is already online.
Image search engines such as Google Images (images.google.com) and Bing Images (bing.com/
images) also allow for reverse image searching. Reverse image searching is useful in two ways.
Students can check the provenance of an image that they would like to use in their own digital work
in order to ensure that it does not infringe copyright. For example, if the site on which the original
image appears notes that the image has a Creative Commons licence, students can check what
conditions apply for reuse. If the original image does not have a Creative Commons licence, then
they should not use it in their own digital work. They can also use reverse image search to find out
more information about an image, for example, to identify a building or a place in a photo. Also, if
they have uploaded their own images online, say, to a social network or blog, they can check that
their images have not been used without their permission elsewhere. Give your students several
well-known images (eg images that are currently popular on social media), and ask them, in pairs,
to conduct reverse image searches for each image. Ask them to share what they found out with
the group. This is a useful awareness-raising exercise for students as it helps them understand the
importance of the provenance of images on the internet.

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Nicky Hockly
3. Image quizzes
Create online quizzes for your students that include images. For example, create multiple-choice
questions for students in which they need to select an image rather than text as an answer. At very
low levels, an image quiz can help with vocabulary practice. For example, your quiz might have the
instruction: Choose the pineapple, followed by four or five images of different types of fruit (including
a pineapple). An image quiz can also include an image as a question, for example, your quiz could
have an image of a pineapple with the instruction Choose the correct word, followed by four or
five words for different types of fruit (including the word pineapple). An image quiz for higher-level
students might involve choosing the correct description for an image of a landscape, or of a person.
Quiz tools that allow for the integration of images include most of the poll and survey tools suggested
in Unit 21, as well as Google Forms (https://www.google.com/forms/about/).
4. Photo mark-up
There are digital tools available that enable students to mark up a photo by adding text or drawing
to the image. The added text or drawing appears on top of the image. Simple activities involving
photo mark-ups include adding descriptive words to photos of landscapes or people, adding speech
bubbles to photos of people, and labelling images. For example, ask your lower-level students to use
their devices and a photo mark-up app to label parts of the body or furniture in a room. ESP (English
for Special Purposes) students can mark up images with more complex specialised vocabulary, such as
parts of an engine, organs in the body, architectural drawings, etc., depending on their subject area.
Photo mark-up programs include the popular PicsArt (picsart.com), which is web-based (ie suitable for
PCs and Macs) and is available as an app for mobile devices.
5. Photo collage introductions

At the beginning of a new course, ask your students to each create a collage of significant personal
photos, and to use it to introduce themselves to the class. For example, they could include photos
of important family members or friends, places, or objects that have special significance for them.
Ask the students to show their photo collage to the class, and to use it to introduce themselves.
Alternatively, you can ask students to use their photo collage to write a text about themselves, and
to share the collage and text in a class blog or social network. Photo collage tools include photo
collage (photocollage.com), Pic Collage (pic-collage.com) and Pic Stitch for mobile devices (search
for this one on your app store).
6. Photo manipulation
Imagine your face on a billboard in a street scene, or in a painting in an art gallery, or in a newspaper
article …. There are several ‘photo manipulation’ websites and apps that allow you to choose a
template such as the scenes described, and then upload a head-and-shoulders photo of yourself so
that you appear in any number of different contexts. For example, Photofunia (photofunia.com) and
Fun Photo Box (funphotobox.com) enable students to create ‘manipulated’ images of themselves. The
manipulated images can then be used by students as a prompt for creative writing. Here’s a simple
activity to try out. Ask your students to visit one of the websites suggested above. They then choose
a template and upload a photo of themselves into it. Ask them to imagine a back story to explain why
they are in this context, and to write a short paragraph or story describing the circumstances. They
can share their manipulated photos and explain their back story orally in class. As an extension, they
can write a paragraph to accompany the photo and share it on a class blog or social network.

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Nicky Hockly
7. Storyboards
In preparation for writing or speaking activities, you can encourage students to create storyboards
(frames that serve as a visual step-by-step representation of a story). Storyboard That (storyboardthat.
com) is a website that enables students to easily create storyboards with images and text. The stories
can be original stories that the students themselves create, or they can be based on stories that
students have already read, or on films that students have watched. See Unit 27 for more examples of
how to use comic creation tools like Storyboard That.
8. Analysing infographics
Infographics are images (or ‘graphics’) that present information in an engaging visual format. Infographics
will often include facts and figures such as percentages or other numbers, along with short texts. You can
find infographics on almost any topic, from the history of rock music to how to get a good night’s sleep.
Two good sources for infographics are Daily Infographic (dailyinfographic.com) and Daily Infographics
(dailyinfographics.eu). Find an infographic related to a topic you are currently working on in class. Show
the infographic to your students, put them in pairs, and ask them to discuss the information presented
in it. For example, if you show your students an infographic related to a health topic, ask them to discuss
whether they are surprised by any of the information, how the information relates to them, or if they need
to change any of their lifestyle habits based on what they have learned. As a follow-up, ask the students
to write a short text summarising what they have learned from the infographic.
9. Infographic fact check

Infographics often present facts and figures from a single source (these sources are usually listed
in small print at the bottom of the infographic). Put your students in pairs and ask them to check
the facts presented by searching for other sources that corroborate (or disprove) the information
presented in the infographic. Verifying information found online by checking a number of sources is
an important digital research skill for students from secondary school onwards.
10. Create an infographic

There are a number of free web tools that enable students to create their own infographics. These
include Easelly (www.easel.ly), Piktochart (piktochart.com) and Canva Infographic Maker (https://www.
canva.com/create/infographics/). It will take students more than one class to create an infographic,
so this is a short project rather than a single lesson. Put your students in pairs or small groups and
ask them to choose a topic for their infographic. This could be related to a topic recently studied in
class. Ask them to decide on the main areas that their infographics will address, and then to research
facts and figures that they can include. Remind them to check several sources to verify the information
they find, and to keep a list of source URLs. They need to include their sources in small print at the
bottom of their infographics. Once students have created their infographics, ask them to share the
final product with the rest of the class, for example, via a class blog or a social network. Students can
present their infographics to the class, orally explaining the information.
“ELTPics (www.flickr.com/photos/eltpics) is a large collection of photographs posted

on Flickr, that English language teachers are free to use with their students. One of
my favourite simple activities is to take three images from an ELTpics album and ask
students to say which one is the odd one out and, of course, why they believe it to
be so. As there is no right or wrong answer you will often get interesting opinions.
This is a great activity for encouraging longer spoken responses to questions.”
Victoria Boobyer, Co-founder (with Carol Goodey and Vicky Loras) of ELTpics

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Technology
Nicky Hockly
10 activities with online comics

Comics are a fun, creative and engaging way to get students reading, listening and writing in a foreign
language. Comics (sometimes also called ‘graphic novels’) are generally well received by primary and
secondary school aged learners, as well as by adults; however, some of the more ‘childish’ comic styles
may not be suitable for adult classes. The extensive reading practice provided by regularly reading
comics can support students’ language learning and increase their vocabulary.
Students can read or listen to comics online, but they can also create their own comics. Online comics
include classic text-based and image-based styles, but many online comic sites also enable students to
create multimedia comics that integrate text, image, audio and video. Some well-known text- and image-
based comic sites include Make Beliefs Comix (makebeliefscomix.com), StripGenerator (stripgenerator.
com) and Toondoo (toondoo.com). Multimedia comic sites include Dvolver (www.dvolver.com/moviemaker/
make.html), Zimmertwins (zimmertwins.com) and Creaza (web.creaza.com/en/product/cartoonist).
1. Graphic novel reviews

Encourage your students to read online graphic novels out of class, especially if they are not keen on
reading regular texts. Ask your students to choose one graphic novel on a topic that appeals to them
(there is a large repository at The Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/comics). Give them a clear
timeframe in which to read their chosen graphic novel (eg two to three weeks), and ask them to write a
book review to share with the class when they finish. You can give them specific points to cover in their
review (eg author, title, topic area, plot summary, describe two main characters, state what you most
enjoyed about the graphic novel, etc.). Ask your students to read each other’s reviews, and to choose
another graphic novel to read based on the review that sounds the most interesting.
2. The classics: Shakespeare

Some courses require students to read classic texts such as plays by Shakespeare. Even for very high-
level students, the language in original Shakespearean texts can be challenging. You can introduce
your students to Shakespearean stories via short animated film versions such as Shakespeare: The
Animated Tales (www.dailymotion.com/video/xiind_shakespeare-the-animated-tales-haml_shortfilms).
This award-winning series includes 12 half-hour Shakespearean plays with optional subtitles in English,
and the films are created in a range of cartoon/animation styles.
3. Comic routines
Students can create short text-based comic strips to practise language that you have taught in class.
For example, if you have taught the use of the present simple tense for daily routines, ask your
students to each create a short comic strip describing their own daily routines for homework. Ask the
students to share their finished work in class or via a class blog or social network.
4. Functional language
Students can also create short text-based comic strips to practise functional language taught in class (eg
asking for and giving advice, asking for permission, explaining obligations). After you have taught one of
these (or other) functional language areas, ask your students to work in pairs to create a text or multimedia
comic strip that includes some of the new language. You can give each student a different situation (for
example, a situation in which someone needs advice on a specific issue), or you can use a situation from
your coursebook. Ask the students to share their work in class or via a class blog or social network.

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Nicky Hockly
5. Keyword comics
Put a list of about 10 keywords on the board. These can be important vocabulary items from previous
classes that you want your students to remember. Put the students in pairs and ask them to create a
short story integrating any five of the keywords. Ask them to create their story in a text or multimedia
comic tool, and to share their finished work with the class. The other class members then read/watch
the comics and try to spot the five keywords.
6. Processes
Because of their linear nature, comic strips are well suited to describing processes and stages. After
teaching the language for describing a process from the coursebook, put your students in pairs and
ask them to create a text or multimedia comic strip to describe a similar process. A comic strip can
also function as a simple instruction manual. For example, students could create a text or multimedia
comic strip describing how to play their favourite computer game. Ask the students to share their
work in class or via a class blog or social network.
7. Song lyric comics

Choose a popular song that everybody knows. Alternatively, ask students to work in pairs and to
choose a song themselves. The song needs to have lyrics that tell some sort of story. Ensure that
students understand the story in the lyrics and ask them to create a text-based comic that tells the
story as a conversation between characters. Ask your students to share their work with the class. If the
students have chosen different songs, ask the class to read the comics and see if they can guess the
original song from the story.
8. Comic interviews
Interviews can be transcribed or summarised by creating a comic with two characters. Ask your
students to interview you or to interview each other in pairs. First, ask students to create five or six
interview questions in pairs. They then carry out the interview making a note of the responses you
give (or their partner gives). Next, ask students to create a text-based comic with the questions and
a short version of the responses. Ask the students to share their work with the class. The interviewee
needs to ensure that all of the information given in the comic interview is correct!
9. Historical comics
Put your students into pairs. Ask them to choose a period from history and a specific historical
event from that time that involved one or two key characters. Ask the students to create a cartoon
about this historical event. An easy-to-use multimedia comic creation tool that provides students
with themes and characters from history is Creaza (web.creaza.com/en/product/cartoonist). This
activity is a potentially valuable cross-curricular activity for primary and secondary school learners;
you can liaise with your school’s history teacher about the content for the students’ cartoons. For
example, each pair of students can be given a different historical event and characters, or you can
ask them to work on the same historical period. The final animated films can be shared with other
classes in the school and even with parents.

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Technology
Nicky Hockly
10. e-Safety comics

A topic that is of particular importance for primary and secondary school students is that of online
safety or ‘e-safety’, that is, how to stay safe online (see Unit 42). First, with your students, discuss
important e-safety issues that are relevant to their age. These issues might include cyberbullying,
protecting personal information online or the use of social networks. There is a wealth of information
and educational material on e-safety available on websites like Childnet (childnet-int.org), Kidsmart
(kidsmart.org.uk) and the Thinkuknow site (thinkuknow.co.uk). Put your students in pairs and ask them
to create a comic about one e-safety topic. Share the students’ work with the class, with other classes
in the school, and with parents.
“I use www.buildyourwildself.com with

my nine- and ten-year-old students for
practising vocabulary related to body
parts. They create a wild version of
themselves by combining different human
and animal body parts and describe their
creation in their notebooks. It’s great
for developing vocabulary and it’s also
a great age-appropriate motivational
tool. A few extra links at the bottom
of the page lead them to New York
zoos and aquariums, which is a bonus
activity for the curious animal lovers.”
Marija Jović Stevanović, teacher in Serbia

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Nicky Hockly
10 activities with video

Video has always been popular with English language teachers, but with the advent of the internet, we
now have access to an enormous range of videos in English. These can be authentic videos or videos
specially created for EFL students. Technology and the internet not only enable us to watch video
created by others, but we can now easily create our own videos. We can use our mobile devices and
computer webcams to easily create videos and share them with others online. The first four activities
below describe how you can use ready-made online videos with your students. The following six
activities describe how you and your students can make your own videos to practise English.
1. Video lessons for EFL

There are websites that specialise in providing lesson plans for using authentic video with EFL
students. Lessonstream (lessonstream.org) by Jamie Keddie has a collection of lesson plans for
the classroom, based on authentic YouTube clips. You can search the site using such parameters
as language level, language aim, topic and time. Film English by Kieran Donaghy has lesson plans
on a range of topics based around authentic film clips (film-english.com). English Central (www.
englishcentral.com/videos) also offers a wide range of short subtitled video clips of under a minute,
searchable by language level, topic, type of English and skill. These can be used in the classroom,
but are also suitable for students to use as self-study materials. ESLVideo (eslvideo.com) has a bank
of video clips accompanied by quizzes, created by teachers for a range of levels. You can also create
your own quizzes for videos on the ESLVideo site.
2. e-Safety videos
e-Safety (keeping safe online) is a particularly important topic for teenagers and children (see Unit 42).
There are some excellent e-safety videos available online. These can be brought into class in order help
raise awareness of this important issue with younger students. The issue of cyberbullying is something
that can affect many children at school, and it is worth discussing overtly in class. Here is an activity you
can do in class based around a video on cyberbullying. First, write the word cyberbullying on the board,
and ask your students if they know what it is. Ask them to share any stories of cyberbullying they have
heard, or even experienced. Ask students what they can do to stop cyberbullying. Show your students the
award-winning two-minute video Let’s fight it together (youtu.be/dubA2vhIlrg). After they have watched
the video, ask them how this particular situation was resolved (answer: the police were called), and point
out that it’s important that victims of cyberbullying ask for help. Apart from this video, there are many other
excellent videos and other resources about cyberbullying on the Childnet website (www.childnet.com).
3. Viral videos
Viral videos are an excellent topic for a lesson. Viral videos are videos that suddenly become popular
and attract huge numbers of viewers – often in the millions. Many appear on YouTube. Put students
into pairs and ask them to discuss what they think the elements of a successful viral video are. Share
ideas with the class. Show students the TED talk (see Unit 30) by Kevin Allocca called Why videos
go viral (http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_allocca_why_videos_go_viral), in which he proposes three
essential attributes of a viral video. Ask students to note down the reasons he gives, as well as the
names of the four viral video clips that Allocca shows during the talk. As a follow-up, ask students to
discuss any viral videos they have seen. As a class, students vote on which they think are the top three
viral videos of all time. Show the videos in class, if possible.

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4. Literal videos
Literal videos are authentic video clips with subtitles that describe exactly what is happening on the
screen. There are different types of literal video, and the most popular are pop music videos (eg Bonnie
Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’), or subtitled film trailers (eg Harry Potter trailers). Choose a literal
video on a topic of interest to the class and show it to them. Let them enjoy the video (when they
are well made, they can be very funny) and afterwards ask students to note down 10 words they can
remember from the literal subtitles. Let the students watch the video again to check. You can follow up
with more language work on the subtitles (eg a gap-fill). As a follow-up activity, you can ask students to
work in pairs to create their own literal subtitles for a film clip (see, for example, ‘Bombay TV’ below).
5. Bombay TV
Bombay TV (www.grapheine.com/bombaytv) is an easy-to-use website that provides very short video
clips from Hindi movies. Students choose a clip and type subtitles in a text box provided next to the
clip. Alternatively, students can choose to dub the movie and record an audio voice-over for their
chosen clip. Students save their final clip and email the URL to each other or to you. The original film
clips are all in Hindi, which leaves non-Hindi-speaking students free to interpret the scenes in the film
clips in any way they like. Writing subtitles or preparing an audio voice-over is excellent language
practice for students. You can ask them to use language you have recently taught in class, or allow
them to subtitle or dub the film clips in any way they like.
6. Create interactive videos

Thinglink (thinglink.com) is a tool that allows you to annotate videos and images to make them
interactive. Thinglink creates ‘hotspots’ in a video. These are places on the screen where you can
click. A hotspot is indicated by an icon that is overlaid on the video. You can create hotspots that link
to other websites, to other videos or to an audio file (for example, of yourself explaining something
about the video), or to a poll or quiz. You can add hotspots to ready-made videos (for example, from
YouTube), or from videos that you have made yourself. Create interactive videos for your students by
adding hotspots. For example, you can create polls at different points in a video to check that students
have understood the dialogue in a video. Alternatively, you can create an audio voice-over for a video
that has no dialogue. Once your students have tried out interactive videos that you have created for
them, you can encourage them to create interactive videos for each other.
7. Video slideshows
Video slideshow websites enable you to combine text, images and videos with music into a single
video. For example, Animoto (animoto.com) allows you to choose a style from a range of templates,
choose music, and then add text, images and/or short video clips from your computer. These are
then combined into a single video that you can share with others. Students can use their own
photos and short video clips to create video slideshows of their summer holidays, their hobbies,
or any other area of interest. Encourage your students to share their video slideshows with their
classmates, for example, via a class blog or social network.
8. Mobile videos
It is very easy for students to create short videos out of class if they have mobile devices with video-
recording capabilities. It is usually less intimidating for students to film objects or places rather than
themselves when they start creating their own videos in English. You can ask your students to regularly
produce short 60-second videos to practise vocabulary and structures related to topics that you have
recently studied in class. For example, to follow up a lesson about literature or reading, ask students
to film the cover of a favourite book and to say something about the book. To follow up a lesson

ETpedia ETpedia TM
Technology
Nicky Hockly
about travel or countries, ask them to film a map of the world and to point out the places they would
like to travel to and why. Students can upload their finished videos to a hosting service like YouTube
(see Unit 29) as ‘unlisted’. They can then share the video URL with classmates, for example, in a class
blog or social network.
9. Create a ten-second video

Assign each student a topic that you have studied in class. For homework, ask the students to use
their mobile phones to create a 10-second video that reflects their topic. You can ask students
to include an audio commentary while they film (in ten seconds, this is likely to consist mainly of
keywords or very short phrases). Alternatively, their videos can be silent or have background music.
Share each student’s video in a subsequent class and ask the other students to try and identify the
topic of each video.
10. Create screencasts

Screencasting software records your computer screen in real time. It is a useful tool for describing
processes or for giving tutorials on how to use a specific software program. Many of the Help tutorials
you find on YouTube (see Unit 29), for example, use screencasting to guide you step-by-step through
a particular feature. Free screencasting software includes Jing (www.techsmith.com/jing.html) and
Screencast-O-Matic (http://screencast-o-matic.com/home). For homework, ask your students to create
a screencast in which they talk through the sections in their favourite website or describe how to play
their favourite computer game. Encourage students to share their completed screencast videos via a
class blog or social network. Teachers can create screencasts to talk through a student’s written work
and give detailed feedback.
“I’ve used the screencasting software

Jing to give feedback to an elementary
student on his written homework:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JI2fw_-3wc.”
Lindsay Clandfield, teacher, trainer and author

ETpedia ETpedia TM
Teenagers
Edmund Dudley
10 ideas for making student videos

Teenagers are generally happy to get their phones out to make videos, and – unlike many adults – are
usually not self-conscious or embarrassed about seeing themselves on video. Using mobile phones to
make student videos therefore makes a lot of sense.
One of the key advantages of getting students to make videos in the language classroom is that it gives
them control. Let students delete and re-shoot their videos if they are not satisfied with the outcome.
This approach can prove to be very effective, and students often strive to improve the quality of their
finished product through multiple takes. Note that it is traditionally quite hard to motivate students
to do their work again in order to make it better. Not so when using videos: teenage students tend
naturally to set high standards for themselves when they know they are being filmed.
1. Film vox pop surveys

Ask each student in the class to come up with a survey question in connection with a topic you are
covering. If the topic is food, for example, one survey question might be What do you usually have for
breakfast? Get each student to ask everyone else in the class their survey question, and to film each short
response. The collected data can be used as the starting point for a classroom project (see Unit 48).
2. Make a no-comment video

As an out-of-class task, ask each student to make a short (10–20 seconds) video of someone
engaged in an everyday activity. For example, it might be a classmate looking at their phone, a family
member doing the washing-up, or a street cleaner sweeping up rubbish. (If students are going to
film strangers, make sure they ask for permission first.) The video should have no commentary. In
class, play one of the videos and ask students to create an internal monologue of what the person in
the video is thinking. Give them time to write down their ideas. Play the video again, this time with
commentary added by the students.
3. Interview a character from the book

As a revision activity, get students into groups of three and ask them to plan and record a short video
interview with one of the people or characters featured in the coursebook. All three students plan the
questions and answers; then one student shoots the video, while the other two play the parts of the
interviewer and interviewee.
4. Practise roleplays
Get students into groups of three to practise roleplays from the book. Ask one student to be the
camera operator and director; the other two students take part in the roleplay. As well as filming, the
job of the camera operator is to give feedback and make suggestions for improving the quality of the
roleplay. Encourage them to shoot several takes.
5. Film mini-dramas and re-enactments

Bring coursebook texts to life by inviting students to film re-enactments of the events described in texts.
This kind of activity is unlikely to appeal to all teenage students, but there are some who will enjoy it.
Offer this activity as an optional out-of-class task for students to carry out with their friends in pairs or
small groups. The following lesson, play the videos to the rest of the group for comments and feedback.

ETpedia ETpedia TM
Teenagers
Edmund Dudley
6. Choose an image to discuss

Present students with a selection of online images to browse out of class. The images might be linked
by topic, or they might all be by the same artist or photographer. Tell each student to decide which
image that they feel is the most interesting and to think about why. Ask them to plan what they would
like to say about the chosen image. Get students working in pairs. Ask them to film each other talking
about the image they have chosen. This can be done either in class or between lessons. Get students
to upload their videos to your class site, together with the corresponding image. In the following
lesson, watch the videos together and discuss them.
7. Introduce a video
Get students to make a video about a video. Before sharing an online video that they would like the
whole class to watch (see Unit 44.10), ask students to make a video of themselves talking about the
video. Give them some time to prepare, perhaps asking them to make the video outside class, with
the help of a friend or classmate.
8. Make a How to … video

As a follow-up to working with online How to … videos (see Unit 44.8), invite students to film and
upload their own How to … video. The topic of the video is up to students: it can be something
connected to the topic being covered in the syllabus, or students can be free to choose.
9. Make a review video

Ask students to film themselves giving their opinion of something they have recently tried out or seen.
It might be a new video game, a new pizza restaurant or a recent football match. Students can film the
videos at home, or get a friend to help them. When they are ready, get students to share their video
with others in the group via your online group page.
10. Respond to a video

Get students to make a video about another student video. As a follow-up to one of the activities
above, ask individual students to film and upload their comments and feed back to their classmates.

ETpedia ETpedia TM
Teenagers
Edmund Dudley
10 ideas for using selfies, street art and

internet memes
The ideas in this unit focus on making use of the kinds of images that appeal to many teenage
students, and that are relevant to their everyday lives. Selfies (photographs taken of yourself on your
phone) are probably more commonly associated with teenagers than with any other age group. There
are several simple ways to get students taking selfies to illustrate language-learning points – and to
use the selfies already on their phones.
Teenagers tend to notice the street art and graffiti around them, and to have strong opinions about it, too.
We can use images of this kind as the basis for interpretive activities and debate tasks. Internet memes
(stock images with added captions) can also be put to creative use in the classroom, especially because
many teenagers are already familiar with memes and are interested in sharing them with their friends.
Activities based on selfies, street art and internet memes can also be given a creative and interactive
twist, making them both memorable and motivating. In order to share and distribute the images in the
activities below, use an online class group or create a class group on an instant-messaging app.
1. Set theme-word tasks with selfies

Give students a theme word or topic such as freedom, and ask them to give a personal interpretation
of the theme word in the form of a selfie taken outside class. Encourage them to use their imagination
when carrying out the task and to be as creative as they wish. Some may want to explore imagery
associated with the word freedom in their photo, others might want to show the literal meaning of the
word in some way. Collect all the selfies online, and then ask other students in the group to comment
on each photo, in each case guessing where the student is, what they are thinking, and what they are
feeling. See the ‘Homework selfie’ idea (Unit 30.4) for another way of using out-of-class selfies.
2. Spot the difference with selfies

Ask students to look through their phones and find a selfie that was taken in school. Then ask them
to re-create that selfie as accurately as they can. Finally, get them to compare the two selfies side-
by-side and to write down as many differences as they can between the two images.
3. Group-selfie speech bubbles

Highlight the language or structure that you would like the students to practise, for example making
offers and invitations. Working in threes and fours, ask students to plan a group selfie in which they
can act out an offer or invitation. When they are ready, students take the selfie and edit it by adding
appropriate text in the form of speech bubbles. Most teenagers do this already when sending
selfies to their friends. When they have finished editing, get them to upload the selfie to your online
group, where other students can add comments and feedback.
4. Get feedback via selfies

Use annotated selfies as a way of getting short feedback and opinions from students on topics or
lesson activities. At the end of class, give students a prompt, such as How helpful did you find today’s
lesson? Ask each student to take a selfie (with an appropriate facial expression, if they like). Then get
them to edit the picture by adding a speech bubble or a text overlay. Finally, ask students to upload
their images to your class online group.

ETpedia ETpedia TM
Teenagers
Edmund Dudley
5. Invent graffiti back stories

Several days before the lesson, ask students to take a photo of some street art or graffiti in the town
where they live. In class, get students into pairs or small groups, and ask them to compare pictures.
Ask Who was the artist? What did they draw/write? Why do you think they did it? What do you think
happened as a result? Ask students to invent a back story for every picture. Display the pictures and
get students to write or tell their back stories to the rest of the group.
6. Make a graffiti mind-map

As a follow-up to the activity above, write Graffiti: art or vandalism? on the board. Let students look
at all the images used in activity 5 again. Then ask them to think individually about each image:
would they categorise it as an example of art or vandalism? Then get students to discuss their
answers in pairs. While they are doing this, begin two mind-maps. Write Graffiti = art? in the middle
of a piece of flipchart paper, and draw a circle around the question. Then make another one with
the question Graffiti = vandalism? Stick the posters on the board. Invite students to explore the
questions together by contributing to each mind-map by adding their thoughts and comments.
7. Discuss controversial street art

If your teenage students are ready and able to discuss art in a broader social, political and
economic context, try the ‘Choose an image to discuss’ activity (see Unit 45.6) using the work of the
controversial street artist, Banksy. Direct students to a gallery of Banksy’s work (for example, banksy.
co.uk) and ask them to select an image to discuss.
8. Get students to explain memes

Tell students that you are interested in getting up-to-date knowledge about the latest internet
memes (stock images with added captions that go viral on social media). As an optional out-of-class
task, students pick one meme each to explain to the teacher. Each volunteer chooses a meme and
creates a presentation containing two or three examples of that meme. Each well-known meme
has its own theme, so, for example the Success Kid meme is used to celebrate the small, sweet,
personal victories in life, while the Unhelpful High School Teacher meme is used by students
worldwide to showcase examples of exasperating teacher behaviour and double standards. Ask
students to research the history of their chosen meme (there are dozens of them), including any
information about the people who feature in the standard image used. They should aim to explain
the usage of the meme as it applies to real-life situations.
9. Hold a meme contest

Ask students to create their own version of a popular internet meme, using a meme generator, such
as https://imgflip.com/memegenerator. The meme should be relevant to your group, and could
refer to the content of what you have been studying, or to recent classroom events. Set this as an
out-of-class task. Get students to print their memes and bring them to class. Stick the students’
work up around the room to create a meme gallery. Get each student to vote for their favourite
piece of work.

ETpedia ETpedia TM
Teenagers
Edmund Dudley
10. Story-telling with memes

Create a simple set of slides containing five meme images that are well-known to the students
(without any accompanying text). Share the slides with the students and ask them to create a story
incorporating all five memes. Give students time to plan their story. When they are ready to present,
get them to tell their story as a presentation. They should use the meme slides to punctuate or reflect
on the key events of the story as they tell it.
“Memes are tiny units of (pop)culture gone

viral, most commonly in the form of funny
captioned pictures and videos found on
social media. Most teens will encounter
memes on a daily basis and teachers
can use memes to start conversations
about various trending topics, highlight
cultural stereotypes or grammar points
in the pictures as well as teach chunks of
language. Or simply use them to connect
with your students, perhaps as funny ice-
breakers at the beginning of the lesson.”
Nina Jerončič, teacher of English and German, Slovenia

Te a c h i n g E n g l i s h
Best Practices for
Blended Learning
8. Games and projects

Practical idea 15: Stories of survival
Aim: to relate the experience of playing a survival game through short narratives
Contexts: adults, secondary, CLIL
Level: A2+ (you and your learners can determine the level of the language used)
Type of tool: smartphone or tablet (works best with students’ own personal devices), class blog or other online
communication platform
Type of materials: authentic (Survive – Wilderness Survival app – see www.thesurvivegame.com/)
Planning: short
Preparation:
■■ Download the app to your own device and play through the game a few times to become familiar with the
gameplay experience.
■■ Source an image to match the initial setting of the game – an adventurer on a canoeing trip in an isolated
area.
■■ Take a screenshot of the starting stage of the game (see Figure 2.8.1 below) to show the students in class.
Figure 2.8.1: Survive - Survive Wilderness app

■■ Prepare a list of vocabulary from the app which your learners may need to describe a survival experience (e.g.
make a shelter, craft resources, hunt, build a trap, patch a wound).
Procedure:
1) In the classroom:
Show the image of a canoeing trip. In pairs, ask students to make a list of items they would need in this
situation. Help them with any terms they don’t know and ask different pairs to compare their lists.

Best Practices for
Blended Learning
As a whole class, briefly discuss any potential dangers of such a trip.
Give the students the following scenario from the game: “I’m soaking wet ... I went off-route and my canoe
capsized, but I managed to swim to the riverbank. Only way out is to get to the town to the east.” In pairs, ask
them to list the first three things they would need to do in this situation before comparing ideas as a class.
Show the students the screenshot from the start of the game and ask which of their ideas would work best in the
given context.
Give the students some time to play the game in-class to become familiar with the gameplay. This is best done in
pairs to allow for collaboration and discussion in the initial stages.
Variations:
Instead of setting the context of the game in this manner, you could get the students playing immediately
before leading a discussion about survival techniques based directly on the game, and their successes and
failures while playing.
2) Outside the classroom:

Students play individually over the course of a week – encourage them to play for 15–20 minutes per day rather
than try to complete the game in one go.
After each play session, the students use the class blog to post brief updates on what they did to survive and any
difficulties or dangers they encountered (it would be useful for you to post about your experiences as well as to
provide a model using tenses appropriate for the level).
Comment on the students’ posts, offering advice where necessary. Encourage the rest of the class to do the same.
If a student ‘dies’ in the game, they write post a explaining what happened (perhaps employing some creative
writing skills to describe their last moments!) and then start again.
Variations:
As alternatives to a class blog, other digital spaces could be used such as a forum or a class Facebook group. If
privacy is not an issue, Twitter is also an option for brief updates.
Ask students for their feedback on the game and whether or not they reached safety.
Show some examples from their updates of accurate use of survival vocabulary and narrative tenses as well
incorrect examples. Ask pairs to find and correct the mistakes.
After whole class feedback, ask students to return to their own posts and make corrections.
Notes:
Survive (see http://www.thesurvivegame.com/) is a free app currently available on Android devices. There are
similar apps available such as On My Own or free PC survival games like Alteran Frost. As ever, make sure
your learners are aware of ads on free apps. There are also paid survival apps and games available (e.g. The
Long Dark, This War of Mine, and even Minecraft) which could be used for similar activities. Each game offers a
different survival experience, however, and it is important to become familiar with the gameplay yourself before
introducing it to your students.
Acknowledgement: many thanks to David Dodgson for this practical idea.

Best Practices for
Blended Learning
Practical idea 16: Escape the room… and the classroom

or The next level
Aim: to practise giving and following oral and written instructions, using prepositions of place, the imperative
form and vocabulary for homes and household objects; to complete a game
Contexts: YL – though adults will enjoy this too, provided you make your learning aims explicit
Level: A1+ (you and your learners can determine the level of the language used)
Type of tool: any smartphone or tablet; a classroom computer and projector
Type of materials: authentic
Planning: short
Preparation:
Check the following resources are available:
■■ an iOS or Android device per two learners with the Can You Escape app installed
■■ the walkthrough videos for Level 1 and Level 2 of Can You Escape.
Prepare:
1. Prepare a screenshot of Level 1 of Can You Escape.
2. Set up the walkthrough video for Level 1.
3. M
ake a list of the vocabulary which, depending on their level, your learners will need to produce a
walkthrough for Level 1. For example, you’ll probably need to teach A1-level learners: air vent, change, chest,
click, code, drawer, handle, horse, key, lock, open, painting, photo, pick up, safe, screw, screwdriver, tiles and turn.
Procedure:
1. S
how the screenshot of Level 1. Set a time limit for learners to write all the objects they can see. Collect
feedback and write the words on the board. Elicit any words learners have missed.
2. E
xplain that learners need to escape the room by opening the lift door. Elicit how they might do this using
different objects in the room. Don’t confirm answers at this stage!
3. P
ut learners in pairs. Explain that learner A will watch a video showing how to escape and take notes, while
learner B faces away from the screen. A will then read these notes to B to help him or her complete the level.
Explain that instructions must be written in English.
4. Tell A to face the board and ask B to turn away from the screen. Play the video, stopping at different points to
make sure A has written down the key points in note form. If learners find this difficult, you could scaffold the
notes by writing examples on the board – Open the ____ … or Turn the _____ to take a photo of a _____….
5. Tell B to turn back to face A and open the game on their device. Ask A to guide B using the instructions he or
she has prepared.

Best Practices for
Blended Learning
6. G
et feedback by telling the pair who finish first to present the solution to Level 1 to the whole group, using
their notes to help them. Their classmates follow on their devices to complete the level.
7. G
et learners to change roles. Learners then repeat the task to complete Level 2.
Variations:
Learners could also take turns to simultaneously watch the walkthrough video and give spoken instructions to a
partner, with the option of asking you to pause the video.
Learners could do the activity as a running dictation, using a written walkthrough you have prepared.
Learners could also correct deliberate procedural mistakes you have put in your walkthrough.
Rather than pre-teaching each lexical item, you could help learners develop strategies for describing what they
can see (the thing on top of the table, the long metal object, and so on).
2) Outside the classroom:

Learners work independently or collaboratively using a platform such as Padlet or a wiki to write
walkthrough guides to other levels. They can peer edit their writing and include screenshots from the game
to illustrate the guide.
Extension:
Learners can work together to design their own ‘escape the room’ game using a free online tool such as Room
Escape Maker. Planning, storyboarding and writing instructions for a digital game are meaningful and authentic
opportunities for learners to use English. They can also use English when playing and reviewing each other’s
games. Again, they can do this in or outside the classroom.
Notes:
If your learners don’t have access to smartphones or tablets or aren’t allowed to use them in your classes, there
are a number of ‘escape the room’ games available for free online. A particularly good example is the Submachine
series by Mateusz Skutnik. Remember, when using any free app or free website, train your learners to be aware
of in-game advertising and avoid clicking on ads. If you use Can You Escape on a class set of tablets, you can
remove all ads for a one-off in-app payment.
Acknowledgment: many thanks to Dave Gatrell for this practical idea.


ETpedia ETpedia TM
Young Learners
10 story activities
Stories are a fantastic way of exposing children to, and getting them to learn, new language in context.
The activities that you associate with a story will help engage the children during the storytelling process
and make the story meaningful for them. Here are 10 activities that you can apply to any story. Activities
1–4 can be used as pre-storytelling activities, and activities 5–10 are best used afterwards.
1. Guess what’s in my box

Give the children a reason to listen to the story by appealing to their curiosity. Put a few objects
related to the story in a box. Wrap the box in colourful wrapping paper and take it into class. Let the
children touch and shake the box without opening it to guess what’s inside. After a few guesses, invite
different children to open it, take out an object and show it to the class. To re-use the box, make sure
that the lid can open without the children having to tear the wrapping paper. Alternatively, let a child
tear the wrapping paper as if it were a present. As the child shows the class an object, teach and drill
any vocabulary that they don’t know. Then tell them that they’ll be hearing a story about the objects
in the box and ask them to clap their hands or click their fingers each time one of the objects in the
box is mentioned in the story.
2. Play a flashcard game

An alternative, which requires less preparation time compared with the activity above, is to take
flashcards of the main target vocabulary in the story and to play a flashcard game with them before
telling them the story. For flashcard game ideas, see Units 35 and 36.
3. Discuss the front and back covers of the book

Encourage the children to examine the front and back covers of the book before you start reading the
story. Tell them the title of the story and ask them to predict what the story will be about. Encourage
the children to develop their observation skills by focusing on details with narrative significance in the
illustrations. This is also an opportunity to teach them words like front cover, back cover, blurb, author,
illustrator and award.
4. Discuss story images

An alternative way of getting the children to predict the plot of a story is to scan one or two central
images in the book and to show them to the children on paper or in a digital format. (Remember to
ensure you are complying with your country’s copyright regulations and your school’s photocopying
policy.) Encourage the children to describe what’s happening in each image and to predict how that
image relates to the rest of the story. If you are teaching older young learners, you can extend the
activity by sticking the images on the board and making word maps with any target vocabulary that you
want the children to learn.
5. Doing comprehension exercises

After telling the children a story, always save time for an activity or two to check that they have
understood it. For younger learners, check comprehension through simple speaking activities. You
could try getting older children to order images or characters according to the story, or to match
pictures of the characters in the story to pictures of their actions. Alternatively, you could simply retell
the story making a few mistakes and invite the children to correct you each time they hear one.

ETpedia ETpedia TM
Young Learners
6. Sing a song or chant about the story

Some stories are based on a popular song or chant that you can teach the children before or after
telling them the story. For examples of this type of story, see Unit 29 point 10. If the story you have
chosen doesn’t have a corresponding song or chant, why not invent one with the children?
7. Do an arts and crafts activity related to the story

A popular post-storytelling activity is to devise an arts and crafts activity related to the story. A simple
yet effective choice for any story is to get the children to make finger puppets of the main characters
using empty toilet roll tubes. They can then use their puppets to retell the story to younger students
in the school, or share it with their families at home.
8. Roleplay the story

If you want to try something more ambitious, invest in a cross-curricular activity and put on a short
play of the story for the other classes in that year, or even the whole school.
9. Make a storybook
You can give children ownership of the
story by challenging them to come up
with an alternative ending to the story.
Help children ‘publish’ their stories
by making their own storybooks. (See
https://www.myetpedia.com/etpedia-
videos/ for a demonstration.)
10. Organise a story exhibition

Organise a story exhibition and invite children to contribute by producing artwork (pictures, paintings
and sculptures) or projects relating to the story. Invite the school community to visit the exhibition and
to vote for the best piece of artwork or project, which will win a prize. Remember to have participation
certificates for every participant.

ETpedia ETpedia TM
Young Learners
10 flashcard games
As a teacher of young learners, you may already know the value of flashcards. Flashcards help you teach
new vocabulary by providing the children with a picture of the new vocabulary item so that children can
quickly understand their meaning. They also allow you to do a multitude of activities while catering to
young learners’ needs. Here are 10 flashcard activities to get you using this versatile resource.
1. Voice-drilling activity
Children need to practise a word many times before they can remember it properly. However,
this drilling process can become tedious. So why not add some interest by using the children’s
imaginations and voices? Challenge the children to repeat the target vocabulary using a different
voice each time. All-time favourites are: a witch’s voice, a princess’s voice, a dragon’s voice, a ghost’s
voice and a parrot’s voice. (In the latter case, the children repeat the each word at least twice in a
squawky parrot tone.)
2. Guessing game
Remember that children need to be exposed to vocabulary before they can produce it themselves.
A fun way of giving them this exposure is to play a guessing game. Present and drill the target
vocabulary that you want the children to learn. Then practise it by playing a guessing game with
them. Start by choosing a flashcard without looking at it. Show it to the children by holding it in front
of you. Ask the children simple questions like ‘Is it [adjective]?’ and ‘Is it a [noun]?’ until you can guess
which flashcard you have chosen. When the children are ready, encourage them to take your place.
3. Missing card
After you have presented, put up and drilled a set of flashcards on the board, test the children’s
aquisition of this vocabulary by removing one flashcard at a time and leaving an empty space. Begin
with the first flashcard and continue removing them in order until there are no flashcards left on the
board. The objective is for the children to try and remember the order of the words represented by
the flashcards. To make the activity more cognitively challenging, remove the flashcards in a random
order, rather than in the order that you presented and drilled them.
4. Memory game
A variation on the activity described above is to play a memory game as you present and drill a set of
words. After drilling the words two or three times, turn the cards over, one at a time, until the children
can see only the back of the flashcards. To make the activity less cognitively challenging, turn the
flashcards over in the order they are on the board.
5. Show quickly and hide

After you have presented and drilled your target vocabulary, choose a flashcard of one of the words,
without the children seeing it, and hide it behind your back. Then quickly move it to your left or right
so that the children can catch a quick glimpse of it. Then hide it behind your back again and ask the
children to name the flashcard.

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Young Learners
6. Reveal a tiny bit

A variation of the activity above is to hide a flashcard by placing another flashcard turned over in
front of it. Then, in slow motion, reveal a tiny detail or area of your flashcard, and ask the children to
guess which flashcard it is. Continue revealing a small amount at a time until the children are able to
correctly guess which flashcard it is and repeat the word.
7. Point to
After you have shown the children a flashcard and started drilling it, display it in a place where the
children can easily see it in the room. Introduce all the target flashcards and display them round the
room. Then play a ‘point to’ game by saying, for example, ‘Point to the apple. Yes, that’s right – the
apple! Point to the apple.’ To make the activity even more fun, associate another action to the pointing
activity, for example, ‘Stand on one leg and point to the …’; ‘Touch your toes and point to the …’.
8. Flashcard hide-and-seek
Start by presenting and drilling your target vocabulary. Then, choose three helpers and three players.
Ask the players to leave the room for a few seconds. Next, ask your helpers to hide the flashcards
around the room. Invite the players back in and challenge them to find the flashcards. Involve the rest
of the class by allowing them to guide the players, saying, ‘Hot!’ (if the players are standing near the
flashcard), ‘Boiling!’ (if they are really close to finding it), ‘Cold!’ (if they are standing far away from the
flashcard) and ‘Freezing!’ (if they are heading in the opposite direction).
9. Go fish
Organise the children in a circle. Place the flashcards that you have drilled in the centre face up so
that everyone can see them. Choose a player. Ask that child to go to the centre and ‘fish’ (ie fetch) a
particular flashcard. If the child chooses the correct flashcard, they get to choose the next player. This
game can also be played as a group game.
10. Fly swatter game

Begin by presenting and drilling a vocabulary set. Then display the relevant cards on the board or
on a wall in the classroom. Divide the children into two teams and choose a player from each team
to stand at a set distance from the flashcards. Choose one representative for each group and give
each one a plastic fly swatter. Say one word at a time. The quickest player to swat the corresponding
flashcard earns a point. The winning team is the team with the highest score. To make the game
even more challenging, speed up the rhythm at which you say the words. If you can’t get hold of fly
swatters, get the children to swat the flashcards with their hands.

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
Chapter 12: Troubleshooting

In this chapter we will discuss potential problems that may arise in your one-to-one classes, and how to address them.
Potential problems in class

The student The teacher
The student may be: You may not have established a good relationship with
■■ unmotivated; the student.
■■ not talkative; You may find the student:
■■ stressed;
■■ tiring;
■■ anxious;
■■ boring;
■■ lacking in confidence;
■■ intimidating.
■■ suffering from culture shock;
■■ suffering from homesickness;
You feel sleepy in class.
■■ very tired by the lessons;
■■ demanding;
■■ rude;
■■ obsessive;
■■ arrogant.
The student feels a loss of control (e.g. executives who
are used to being in the ‘driving seat’).
The student expects to be ‘spoon-fed’.
You are not the kind of teacher he or she wants or
expected.
You need to avoid or minimise problems as far as possible, and there are several ways you can do this.
Explain clearly what the course will entail

Explain clearly to the students on the first day what the course will entail, what kind of teaching methods you
will use and how much progress they can expect to make. The beginning of the course is also a good moment
to ask the student directly about his or her motivation levels and what he or she expects to achieve. It is also
important to know what the student expects from the teacher. If the student comes from a culture where the
teacher is always in full control of the class, he or she might feel that you are abdicating responsibility if you
allow a lot of autonomy or ask his or her opinion about what activities to do in class, so it may be a good idea to
explain why you are doing this.
Gain the respect of the student

■■ Be well prepared.
■■ State the objectives of the class at the beginning of each lesson.
■■ Regularly check with your student that he or she is happy with the content and style of the lessons.
■■ Be interested in your student. (This sounds like elementary advice, but it may be something you need to work
at quite hard if your student is not very inspiring.)

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
■■ Don’t talk too much; your role is that of listener.
■■ Recognise your limitations. If your student clearly wants someone to entertain them and that is not your forte,
be ready to accept that you are not the ideal teacher for that student and try to compensate in other areas.
■■ If the student gives you negative feedback (e.g. This exercise is not useful; or I don’t like that activity), react
positively and work out with the student what exercises and activities would be more suitable.
■■ Be flexible, e.g. change or adapt your lesson plan if you don’t think it suits the student’s mood or energy levels.
■■ Dress appropriately, e.g. dress smartly for the first few lessons in order to create a professional image in the
student’s mind.
Once your student respects you professionally, they will accept more easily any experimenting you do in class.
Adapt to the learning style of your student

It is critically important to understand how your student likes to learn. There are various ways of classifying
learners according to their learning style, such as the four types identified by Honey and Mumford in their book
Manual of Learning Styles, 1992 (the activist, the theorist, the pragmatist and the reflector), or categorising
students according to whether they are visual, auditory or tactile/kinaesthetic learners. In fact, we do not need to
decide which of these categories our students fit into; they will be a mixture of these different types anyway. The
point is not to know the theory about learning styles, but simply to be aware of how our student likes to learn
and then to take steps to respond to that style.
For example, you can ask yourself these questions:

■■ How much imagination does the student have?
■■ What’s the student’s attention span?
■■ How systematic is the student? (e.g. Do they take notes? Do they review their notes?)
■■ Does the student state explicitly when he or she does not like something, or is it up to you to read between
the lines?
■■ What activities does the student clearly enjoy in the classroom?
■■ What activities does the student clearly not enjoy doing?
■■ How much of a risk-taker is the student?
■■ How much autonomy can the student assume?
■■ How does the student view the teacher?
■■ How much theory can the student take?
■■ How quickly does the student get tired?
■■ How long can the student tolerate an activity before they need some kind of light conversational interchange?
At the simplest level, you need to be aware of how the student reacts to the
various activities you do with him or her. If they do not like an activity, then you should a) avoid it, b) minimise
it, or c) explain very clearly the rationale for the activity and win over the student’s co-operation.

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
Fabrizio
Fabrizio was a Public Relations Director for a large Italian multinational, and had a particularly idiosyncratic learning
style. Fabrizio’s attention span lasted about ten minutes before he would waylay the teacher with a digression of
some kind. However, without apparently doing any work in class (more time was spent in impromptu coffee breaks,
on the phone or in diversions from the objectives of the class), Fabrizio managed to learn an impressive amount
and he performed well in the output activities. He subsequently did several other courses, creating great frustration
for teachers who did not adapt to his learning style. However, with the couple of teachers who understood how he
liked to learn, he was a charming and enjoyable student.
Obviously you need to adapt to the student’s learning style, but this does not mean you have to change your
teaching style. It is worth remembering that students appreciate having teachers with different teaching styles.
If they prefer one teacher to another, sometimes it is due to the content of the lesson rather than the personality
or teaching abilities of the individual.
Your image
It is also worth asking yourself about the image that you are projecting in the classroom. You may see yourself
as an easy-going, motivating individual; your student may see you as an over-serious slave driver. Such glaring
mismatches in perception are rare, but variations in how the student perceives the teacher and how teachers
perceive themselves are common.
One of the best ways to find out how your student sees you is to look at his or her course feedback comments.
Learning from the student’s feedback at the end of the course

Students normally complete a course evaluation questionnaire at the end of their lessons. Depending on where
the course took place, the student may be asked to evaluate the pre-course information, teaching, materials and
equipment used in class, social programme, accommodation and administration of the course. These feedback
sheets are a valuable learning tool for the teacher, and some language learning institutions give their teachers
access to them. If you are not able to look at the student’s evaluation after the course, ask your Director of Studies
to let you know if the student made any specific comments on your teaching style or manner in the classroom.
Many teachers find this very hard to do, and are sensitive to any negative comments the student may make.
However, if you can, bite the bullet and read what your student has to say about you. If the student makes
constructive comments (or if you can interpret negative comments constructively) and you then implement
changes into your teaching style or manner in the classroom, you will improve as a teacher.
Dealing with difficult situations
Tired students
Learning English one-to-one can be immensely tiring. This is particularly true if the student is taking an
intensive course, and it is not just low-level students who can get exhausted: very advanced students who are
learning something new (e.g. accounting vocabulary) can get worn out too. And students who are studying abroad
not only have to cope with the language, but also have to acclimatise to the new culture.
If you realise that your student is becoming tired, you can:

■■ take a break;
■■ go out of the building with the student – for a walk, to a coffee shop or whatever is appropriate;

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
■■ introduce physical movement in the classroom;
■■ think about re-arranging the programme.
If you want to prevent your student getting tired:
✘ Don’t Do This:
■■ cram in as much as you can;
■■ be afraid of silence;
■■ be afraid of silent reading in class.
✔ Do This:
■■ understand clearly what constitutes a tiring activity, and which activities are less demanding;
■■ give your student time to think (which entails silence);
■■ give your student time in class to prepare any activity that needs preparation;
■■ take frequent breaks if your student tires quickly;
■■ change the activity if you see your student getting tired;
■■ over-estimate the time it will take for you to complete a task; you can always have a few five-minute fillers up
your sleeve in case you finish early;
■■ aim to finish a few minutes before the end of the class.
Tiring activities include:

■■ dense input sessions (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, meetings language – whatever the topic);
■■ controlled practice activities;
■■ challenging listening activities.
Less tiring activities include:

■■ speaking (although it depends how challenging the topic is);
■■ fun activities (e.g. games);
■■ easy listening activities.
Anxious students
There are many reasons why a student might be anxious: for example, he or she may not think enough progress
is being made, have difficulties with the learning process, be about to start a new job, or be worried about exams.
Ideally, your student will talk to you openly about his or her concerns. In addition to encouraging this, you can
make the classroom a relaxed, pressure-free environment by:
■■ giving the student achievable tasks;
■■ being positive, cheerful and encouraging;
■■ explaining how progress works, e.g. that it is not linear, and that sometimes it’s difficult to notice progress
until the end of the course – or even some time after that;
■■ giving very positive feedback;
■■ not putting pressure on the student;
■■ being relaxed yourself.

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
The student lacks confidence

You can handle this situation using the same techniques as for dealing with anxious students.
The student is rude

Students can sound rude when it is not their intention. This could be due to
linguistic and cultural misunderstandings. For example:
■■ interference from mother-tongue intonation patterns;
■■ poor level of English;
■■ cultural differences over what is appropriate social and socio-linguistic behaviour in certain settings (e.g.
requests in their language sound too direct compared with English).
During the feedback sessions, you can draw their attention to these points – it opens up the potential for
interesting discussions on cultural differences between your student’s culture and British culture.
Personality clashes
Sometimes it can be difficult to create a rapport with your student; one step on from this is having a student with
whom there is the potential for a personality clash. In this situation you need to subsume your personal feelings about
your student and just get on with your job. Every teacher gets bad feedback from a student at one time or another
because the personal chemistry between them was not right; Directors of Studies are usually able to distinguish
between negative feedback due to poor teaching and that which occurs as a result of a bad personality match.
Culture shock
If the student goes to an English-speaking country to do his or her course, they not only have to contend with
speaking a foreign language, but also get used to the climate, dress, food and social behaviour of that country.
This can lead to culture shock for some students. Students taking an intensive one-to-one course are at
particular risk because there are no other classmates to distract them.
Homesickness is an aspect of culture shock, and can be experienced by adults as well as children and younger people.
Not only do students miss their families, but they may also find their new circumstances intimidating, especially if
they study in a big city like London. All this will detract from their ability to learn efficiently and effectively.
Get the student to talk about it

Get your student to describe what he or she finds surprising about Britain, and to talk about how British life
differs from life in his or her country.
Distract the student

If you are in a school, you need to make sure that your student gets to know the other students and is included
on any social programme that may exist. In a homestay context, you can make sure your student is fully occupied
with activities outside the classroom by taking them on trips and visits, and giving them the opportunity to meet
other people outside the homestay family. (This is covered more fully in Chapter 8 Homestay Teaching.)
Make the classes fun

Provide activities that you are sure your student will enjoy.
Obsessiveness
Students can be obsessive about various aspects of the language learning process – for example, they may look
up every word in the dictionary to the detriment of the flow of the lesson, or be obsessed with learning grammar,
or want you to correct every single mistake they make. You can try to persuade them that it is not in their best

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
interests to study in this way, but often the best strategy is to give them a diluted version of what they want
rather than fighting them.
Lack of motivation
Sometimes students are unmotivated because they have been sent on the course by their parents or company. If
this is the case, get them to talk about it and then discuss how best to motivate them. Students can be stimulated
by your enthusiasm and by your careful choice of classroom activities.
You find your student tiring

This can happen for several reasons, e.g. they start and restart sentences very frequently, or speak very fast and
make many mistakes. You can try the following strategies:
■■ Admit you’re tired! Suggest taking a brief break.
■■ Introduce movement to the classroom.
■■ Do some work on the offending linguistic fault.
Students are often afraid that they are tiring the teacher. If you find them less tiring in subsequent lessons,
praise them for that.
You find your student boring

First of all, are you sure your student is not equally bored with you? If you are sure this is not the case, then
tell your student that in a group class he or she would need techniques for holding the attention of the other
students, and that this is exactly the same in the one-to-one classroom. If you do it humorously (and your student
has a sense of humour), he or she will generally respond positively to this approach.
The student is very demanding

During the needs analysis is the right moment to explain clearly to the student what the course can and cannot
provide, thereby making sure he or she has realistic expectations. If your student is too demanding, firmly
explain why you cannot meet all his or her requirements.
You feel sleepy in class

One of the problems of the static classroom is the ‘afternoon dip’. Teaching after lunch can literally be painful if
your body is timed to expect a sleep after lunch. With group teaching you need to be more active, so this is less
likely to be a problem.
■■ If you are sleepy, be upfront and tell the student. (He or she will probably be sympathetic, and may very well
be suffering from the same problem.) If you can, take a brief coffee break together with your student, or go
and get a cup of coffee and bring it back to the classroom.
■■ Stand up and move around the classroom. Of course, this is difficult if the classroom is as small as the
classrooms allocated for one-to-one teaching tend to be – but physical movement is one of the reasons why it is
much easier to stay awake in a group classroom.
Dealing with problem students

Look at the following examples and think of ways of dealing with the students in question. You will find
suggested answers on the following pages.

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
Beatrice
Beatrice is a French teenager doing a homestay course while her parents are on holiday. She is unmotivated and
grumpy in class. She is preparing for her baccalaureate.
Anastasia
Anastasia is a fifteen-year-old. She has arrived for her morning class clearly worried about something.
Michael
You are teaching Michael in-company. He is taking lessons in preparation for an advanced English exam. He
is prone to asking you awkward linguistic questions and you suspect he does not fully trust you to be the best
teacher to help him.
Günther
Günther is on a one-week course. He is very keen to study the present perfect, but you have told him that on
such a short course and with his particular needs it should not be a priority. He has subsequently been difficult
with you in class.
Bruno
Bruno, an Italian businessman, constantly questions your pedagogical and linguistic judgement. He is
considerably older than you and obviously thinks you are too young to be teaching him.
Joao Alberto
Joao Alberto is an eighteen-year-old Brazilian from a wealthy family. He is taking six weeks of very expensive
classes. However, he arrives late for all lessons and sometimes does not show up at all. He does not take the
classes seriously and you find him very difficult to teach.
Miroslaw
You have two hours of one-to-one tuition with Miroslaw in the afternoon. You find his way of speaking
exhausting; this is partly due to his accent, partly to his stress, rhythm and intonation and partly to the fact that
he makes so many mistakes when he speaks.
Vaclav
Vaclav, a former university professor, now runs a German subsidiary in the Czech Republic. Vaclav uses overlong,
over-complex sentences, and when you comment on this he seems reluctant to accept it. He often makes subtle
remarks about being more intelligent than other people and you suspect he may talk in this way because he
wants to be seen as an intellectual. The atmosphere in the classroom is slightly tense.
Jin Sung
For some reason Jin Sung, a Korean twenty-one-year-old, has taken a dislike to you. You do not know what you
have done and you are trying your best to please him.
Yayat
Yayat takes lessons once a week in his lunch hour. He always keeps you at the end of the class by asking last-
minute questions, and seems reluctant to let you go. The class usually over-runs by fifteen minutes. You let him
do this because you worry that he is not getting value for his money in his sixty-minute lesson.
Paola
Paola is an Italian housewife. She has been taking classes with you for several months now and is intending to
continue studying. She only wants to practise speaking, but has no ideas and nothing to say. You do your best to
encourage her to speak, but with no success.
Teng
Not only is Teng a complete beginner in English, but he has never been introduced to the Roman alphabet and so
cannot read or write. He was not able to survive in the group elementary class, so he has been given one-to-one
lessons to get him to a level at which he can go back to the group.

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
Andreas
Andreas is a pre-intermediate student in his late fifties. His company has recently been restructured and it was
decided that all staff should take English classes. Andreas is in a senior position in the company, does not understand
why he has to take the lessons and is very unmotivated. When asked to talk about his job, he says It’s too complicated.
Jean-Paul
Jean-Paul is a nineteen-year-old doing a three-week homestay course in your house. He gets up very late in the
morning and seems completely ‘out of it’ in class. You later realise that he smokes dope every evening.
Jeanette
Jeanette is a wildly attractive, long-legged, unattached, thirty-year-old business English teacher. Male students
ask her out constantly. She finds it very difficult to say no although she never wants to go out with them.
(See the next page for suggested ways to deal with these problems.)
Suggested answers
Beatrice
Put the ball back in Beatrice’s court. Say to her: ‘You’re obviously concerned about doing the exams. What do you
think is the best way to handle this?’ Beatrice may be thrown by this approach, but will appreciate being treated
like an adult. In fact, when you ask teenage students directly what the problem is, it may be the first occasion
that an adult has really listened to them and you may discover more than you anticipated (that they hate their
parents, are serial shop-lifters, etc.)!
Anastasia
If a teenager is worried about something, it is usually a good idea to find out what the problem is. Perhaps
Anastasia has had a quarrel with her boyfriend and is dying to contact him. If this is the case, tell her to take a
break and call him – otherwise nothing will get done in the classroom.
Michael
If you are an experienced teacher and have no problems handling Michael’s questions, he will come to trust your
pedagogical judgement in time. If he intimidates you, the Director of Studies might be able to give him a more
experienced teacher. If there is no possibility of changing teachers, make a note of all the questions he asks you
and tell him that you will have the answers the next time you see him, or that you will email him the information
before the next lesson.
Günther
It is not worth fighting Günther. Teach him the present perfect in its simplest form possible and cross your
fingers that this will keep him happy.
Bruno
Before you dismiss Bruno as being arrogant, is he right in any way? Perhaps the activities you are doing with
him are not the best suited to his needs, but he is unable to tell you this graciously. If he does not believe your
linguistic judgement, you can show him the evidence in a reference book. Be goodhumoured when he questions
your judgement, but make it clear to him that, while he may be expert in many different areas, in the classroom
you are the linguistic expert.
Joao Alberto
It is important to ‘cover your back’ in this type of situation, in case Joao Alberto’s parents come back to your
organisation complaining that you have not taught him very much. Ask your Director of Studies to remind Joao
Alberto that he is wasting his parents’ money by not taking the classes seriously. If he continues to behave in the
same way, tell him that you will not be responsible for any complaints his parents may have. Explain to him that
you are having a hard time teaching him, and discuss with him different activities you could do in class which he
would find more motivating.

One to One
Priscilla Osborne
Miroslaw
Tell Miroslaw that you find him tiring, but that you are working to reduce this problem by a) focusing on his
phonological difficulties and b) getting him to slow down his delivery so that he has time to think about what
he is going to say. Tell him that, as you find it tiring to listen to him, you will talk a little more than you would
normally do in order to give your brain some ‘breathing space’.
Vaclav
Record or write down Vaclav’s overlong, complicated sentences as before, but don’t make any comments about
them. Just ask him to look at the sentences and see if there are any changes he would like to make. Don’t say
‘simpler sentences are better’; he will not be pleased to hear that as it conflicts with his views.
Jin Sung
Tell your Director of Studies about the problem. He or she should then talk to Jin Sung to find out what is
troubling him. If it is a simple personality clash, perhaps the Director of Studies can move you to another
student.
Yayat
You need to be very ruthless with your timekeeping. Start getting ready to finish the lesson a good five minutes
in advance. Tell him that you have to finish exactly on time because you have a meeting/are expecting a
phonecall/ need to go to your next class, etc. Make sure you have a different excuse for each lesson. DON’T let
yourself be waylaid.
Paola
Suggest to the Director of Studies that Paola would benefit from a change of teacher. If that is not possible,
explain to Paola that you find it hard work teaching her because she does not talk enough. If that does not
lead to any improvement, make sure you give her very structured speaking activities (e.g. describing a picture;
answering a long list of questions on a discussion topic) which don’t require her to be creative.
Teng
Use techniques for teaching young children.
Andreas
Break down Andreas’s job into all its different parts and get him to explain it to you step by step. Very gradually,
start filling in the details of his job. Recycle the new words and phrases so he gets a chance to explain the same
things again, but in a slightly different way. Once he realises that he can talk about his job successfully, he will
be pleased by the progress he has made.
Jean-Paul
You could:
a) pretend you have not noticed and wait until his supply runs out;
b) explain to him that you were not informed in advance that he would be smoking dope and that you are not
willing to tolerate it;
c) tell him he can continue with the same behaviour, but you must inform his parents in case they complain later
than he has not made enough progress.
Jeanette
She could:
a) wear trousers and minimal make-up to work;
b) invent a live-in boyfriend and make sure she mentions him in class;
c) go on an assertiveness training course to learn to say ‘no’;
d) ask the Director of Studies to give her female students only.

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10 DOs and DON’Ts for finding topics that teenagers

1. DO take steps to find out what students are interested in

2. DO test the waters

4. DO get feedback on lesson topics

5. DO focus on young people rather than pop stars

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6. DO keep it real and relevant

7. DO collect your students’ ideas

8. DON’T get too personal

9. DON’T limit yourself to resources in English

10. DON’T lose your cool

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10 activities with images

1. Image search race

2. Reverse image search

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5. Photo collage introductions

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9. Infographic fact check

10. Create an infographic

“ELTPics (www.flickr.com/photos/eltpics) is a large collection of photographs posted

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10 activities with online comics

1. Graphic novel reviews

2. The classics: Shakespeare

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7. Song lyric comics

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10. e-Safety comics

“I use www.buildyourwildself.com with

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10 activities with video

1. Video lessons for EFL

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6. Create interactive videos

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9. Create a ten-second video

10. Create screencasts

“I’ve used the screencasting software

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10 ideas for making student videos

1. Film vox pop surveys

2. Make a no-comment video

3. Interview a character from the book

5. Film mini-dramas and re-enactments

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6. Choose an image to discuss

8. Make a How to … video

9. Make a review video

10. Respond to a video

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10 ideas for using selfies, street art and

1. Set theme-word tasks with selfies

2. Spot the difference with selfies

3. Group-selfie speech bubbles

4. Get feedback via selfies

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