Creative Use of Language Tools

By being creative with resources you can sometimes find uses which were not originally intended by their creators. This article suggests using some tools in different ways to enable the development of English language skills for international students. Even if you're not an international student it might still be worth taking a look.

Learning To Think

With so much information available just a click away, often free of charge, some are starting to question the value of learning the same information at expensive universities. One college argues that it's far more beneficial for students to learn how to use information effectively rather than simply retaining that knowledge, as is the case in many universities. The argument is that this approach better prepares their students for life by teaching them to process information.

Word Fun & Games

Visit our Fun & Games page for a bunch of new word games. Try them out and let us know what you think.

Easter - Video Comprehension Exercise

Here's a video briefly explaining the history of Easter. It is followed by a few comprehension questions for intermediate level students.
This page is one of many from a site with a variety of festival related EFL exercises for various learner levels. Follow the links on the page for more resources.

Video Clips - Listening Comprehension

This link takes you to an external site where you will find a range of short video clips from feature-length films including 'The Great Gatsby', 'Silver Linings Playbook', 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', plus many, many more.
With each video clip there are a small number of comprehension questions and answers. The level of difficulty for learners will vary according to the language and visual clues in each clip, but I would expect the easiest of these clips to be aimed at intermediate level EFL learners or above.
Although these exercises stand up on their own, not watching from the beginning of each movie removes a lot of the context. Not knowing the background to the situation viewed or the characters featured is a disadvantage for anyone trying to fully understand a short clip.
Ideally, learners could be encouraged to watch the whole film for gist, then they could do follow-up activities which could include these clips for specific comprehension, which could then lead to further language development.

Location, Location, Location?

If you're a TEFL teacher working away from home, why not let us all know which location, or even which organization, you think is the best,and why.

Third Conditional Fragments

Watch this video clip from Whatever Works, directed by Woody Allen. This clip is entitled Should Haves and Could Haves, as it focuses on what should have been or could have been. In other words it considers imaginary or alternative past times and events that didn't actually take place. It includes language expressing regret at lost opportunities, such as, "If only I had bought that stock" (I would have /could have been a millionaire by now) This third conditional structure is suggested in the clip but the second clause (in brackets, above) is not spoken.  The first phrase "If only.." is sufficient to tell us that missed opportunities are the key purpose of speech.

The third conditional sentence structure is a highly complex language structure and the concept that it describes is equally complex. Upper intermediate to advanced EFL learners should be able to manage the language aspects of this clip, but without a context such an audience may be lost as to the true meaning.  As with any clip, explanations or a summary of the film as a whole would provide a foundation for understanding the real meaning of the words.

Watch the whole film or see reviews for it by clicking the image below.


See more reviews and films from the same director, Woody Allen, by clicking the image below.

Ready to Learn from New Books or Discs? Trade in Your Old to Fund The New.

Friends... Got The Keys to Accurate Intonation?

Watch the clip of an episode of Friends at: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVqfHDi536o   

  

Intonation is the pattern of rising or falling of the voice as we speak. Patterns of intonation carry subtle meaning but can seriously influence understanding of the spoken words.  If the same phrase is spoken twice, but with different intonation each time, the meaning can be interpreted completely differently each time. In very general terms, if a statement ends in a rising tone there is the suggestion of a closed (yes/no) question being asked.  If just a phrase is spoken, rather than a complete sentence, there is less verbal structure to assist meaning and the intonation takes on a more significant role. In a case like this, if the intonation is misunderstood it is highly likely that there will be communication breakdown.

This video clip (from 05 mins 07 secs to 06 mins 17 secs), focuses on an incident in one episode of the sit-com series Friends, that arises due to a misunderstanding caused by intonation.  In this segment, which lasts for only just over a minute, one phrase spoken by one of the girls as they all leave the apartment in a hurry leads them to return to the apartment later without any keys.  What was the phrase and why did they not have the keys when they returned?

Click here for suggestions about teaching intonation.

If you enjoyed the video clip and want more Friends, why not click on the image below?

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.

Present Perfect - A Novel Idea

There's an interesting review for a novel called Present Perfect, found on www.amazon.co.uk, which includes an extract from the book: 

..."I’ve been unsure about many things in my life except for one thing, that I have always loved him. Every single minute of every single day that I have been on this earth, my heart has belonged to him. It has never been a question, never a doubt."  

The items that are highlighted in bold notably are examples of the present perfect tense.  It is hard not to notice that there are so many examples of the tense that is also the title of the novel. 

The review goes on to state that:

"Present Perfect is a story of how past events have present consequences (and how perfect your present could be if you stopped fighting and just allowed it to happen".)

The line above, in bold, parallels one of the key relationships between past and present that defines a key role for the present perfect tense.  An example of that relationship can be simply stated, as in this example:

I came here ten years ago (past simple). 
I live here now (present simple).  
I have been here for ten years (present perfect simple).

For more information and exercises, why not click on the images below?

Sherlock Holmes - The Mysterious Case of Language and Culture

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the character of the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, who first appeared in publication in 1887 and featured in four novels and 56 short stories.  This means that for nearly 130 years Sherlock and his sidekick Doctor Watson have been making a place for themselves in the public consciousness. Sherlock has appeared in various radio, film and television adaptations over time, including some wonderful black and white movies starring Basil Rathbone as well as more recent, modern adaptations starring Benedict Cumberbatch (pictured below). 

The contrast between these two representations of the same character are both interesting and notable. For example, if you compare the style of language used by the actors in these these two versions you should notice a significant difference in tone and style.  The language from the films starring Basil Rathbone, which were made in the 1930s and 40s, is much more formal than those made in the 21st century.  The class system is much more evident too with notable language differences between common servants and the ruling classes. In many cases too the style of delivery is notably different, with long narrative speeches being a key feature of the black and white movies of the war era, whereas a much more conversational style is used for the modern Cumberbatch adaptations.  Each of these differences reflect the views and expectations of society at the time the characters are set as well as the time that the recordings were made. This makes them wonderful examples for studies language and culture over time.   

Click the images below to explore the mysteries of the English language and culture with super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. 

Disclaimer: The owner of this website does not claim ownership or control of any of the content accessed via the links on this site.  Consequently the owner of this site is not responsible for any changes to or unexpected content found at these links.  The owner of this website has no control over the continued availability of such content and cannot be held responsible for discontinued availability. Users of this site are expected to have read and agreed to these conditions and are especially advised to check content via links before use in the classroom.