ESOL teachers use language games to increase motivation, provide authentic and meaningful language practice, increase student engagement, and infuse the classroom with fun. This volume describes a variety of innovative games used today in language classrooms around the globe, reflecting different contexts and cultures. Chapters in this book demonstrate how both theory and practice inform our teaching approaches. Though some of the games focus primarily on the four traditional language skills, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as well as the supporting areas of vocabulary and grammar, other games clearly have a different emphasis, such as critical thinking and content-based language instruction. Yet other chapters focus on objectives such as getting acquainted, or provide ideas for game templates that teachers can adapt for various purposes and types of content. This book stands apart in that the contributions reflect multiple classroom uses. Themes evident throughout the volume reflect pedagogical goals and practices for language learning, such as communicative competence, interaction, authenticity, skills integration, content emphasis, and collaboration.
For young learners to adults, New Ways in Teaching with Games offers over 90 fresh activities ? each with video instruction ? that involve play and games that will enrich your EFL and ESL classrooms. This innovative volumeIntroduces traditional, online, and commercial games and explainshow they can be used to practice language; Illustrates games that can reinforce language across the four skill areas, and encourage both culturally and pragmaticallyappropriate language productions; and Enriches language classrooms with a variety of innovative, leaner-friendly games that are seamlessly tied to language practice. Using gamification for your ESL classroom turns repetitive exercises into meaningful and fun activities! The activities are broken down by topic including: Traditional Pencil and Paper Games; Dice Games; Board Games; Card Games; Technology-Mediated Games: Online, Apps, and More; Miscellaneous Games. Video instructions included for each activity!
Drawing on cutting-edge research, this inspiring book shows how to integrate movement with classroom instruction, providing hundreds of activities that improve attention spans and student learning.
The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.
How do we get students to "ache with caring" about their writing instead of mechanically stringing words together? We spend a lot of time teaching the craft of writing but we also need to devote time to helping students write with purpose and meaning. For decades, Georgia Heard has guided students into more authentic writing experiences by using heart maps to explore what we all hold inside: feelings, passions, vulnerabilities, and wonderings. In Heart Maps, Georgia shares 20 unique, multi-genre heart maps to help your students write from the heart, such as the First Time Heart Map, Family Quilt Heart Map, and People I Admire Heart Map. You'll also find extensive support for using heart maps, including: tips for getting started with heart maps writing ideas to jumpstart student writing in multiple genres from heart maps suggested mentor texts to provide additional inspiration. Filled with full-color student heart maps, examples of the resulting writing, along with online access to 20 different uniquely designed reproducible heart map templates, Heart Maps will be a practical tool for awakening new writing possibilities and engaging and motivating your students' writing throughout the year.
ESL Games for Kids and Adults Learn how to enhance your lessons with a collection of fun interactive games for teaching English in any context. The activities outlined inside this book have been adapted from popular board games, TV game shows, and party games for all ages. * Easily integrate core language skills in all of your classes -- either online or in the classroom. * The flexible format allows you to customize your lessons to focus on specific skills, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. * Every activity includes real teaching examples that you can modify to match your teaching style and your students' language abilities. * Using a communicative approach, students participate in the activities during class while practicing English with their classmates. * Adding game-based methods like this in your lessons will naturally increase students' motivation, participation, and communication using the target language. * These ESL activities will save you hours of preparation so that you can devote more time to helping your students achieve their learning goals. Teachers' Comments About the Book "The creative games and activities outlined in this book are a must for any second language teaching professional!" -- Craig Hoffman, Teacher and Writer in Japan "This is a must-have volume that helps teachers make ESL fun. Chock-full of useful games and overflowing with fantastic resources, I'll be adding this to my library and using it in my classroom regularly." -- Shon Rand, Taught in the UAE, Russia, China, and the USA "As they say in teaching, have a plan, and then have a plan B! Games and activities like those in Paul's book will help to make sure you're prepared to keep your class engaged and having fun. Thank you for putting this together and supporting the ESL teaching community!" -- Brett Isis, CEO of Teaching Nomad (teachingnomad.com) "As an educator who loves making learning fun for students, and admittedly, myself too, I know fun when I see it, and Paul's games are just that! With his new book, you'll have ideas for days to get your students excited to demonstrate what they've learned." -- Taiwanda Bason, Taught in the USA, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Peru, and China "Learners learn best when they are having fun. By using these activities to gamify your lessons, students will be more excited to participate in class. These games will help capture your students' interests and motivate them to be more engaged and inspired to learn!" -- Lindsey Clifford, Taught in South Korea "Games like these are a great way to keep students engaged in the lessons. Even the most disinterested students enjoy a little competition and it can be a good way to energize a class on a slow afternoon." -- Gayle Aggiss, Taught in China, Vietnam, and Online "Paul Young has come up with a bumper book of ESL games -- a compendium of 50 activities that will become a useful tool in any teacher's arsenal to keep their students engaged with learning English as a second language." -- Dr. Rob Burton, Teaching in China "What I love about this book is that it contains many of the classic ESL games that are essential for any newbie teacher as well as some original ideas for even the most experienced of teachers which I am excited to try." -- Georgie Snape, CELTA-certified ESL trainer and owner of Teacher's Friend (teach-vietnam.com) "These fun and creative games encourage learners to develop their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in the classroom or online. They encourage active learning which is crucial for ESL learners and makes learning fun, engaging, and memorable." -- Kirstie Woodward, Taught in Thailand, Vietnam, the UK, and Online
During fourteen years of teaching, Ronit Wrubel has assembled practical, clever, kid-friendly ideas for grouping students to enable them to get the most out of their learning. From describing how the right partnerships can facilitate friendships among shy children to demonstrating how an effective cooperative learning group really functions or what to do when a group placement isn’t working, this book will enliven and maximize students’ learning. For use with Grades 1-5.
Featuring activities designed to help students improve English skills; this resource includes lessons that can be modified based on the students' levels of language proficiency. The activities span the content areas including language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science, plus easy-to-use lessons include step-by-step instructions and suggestions for whole and small group instruction. Definitely a must-have resource for diverse classrooms, this invaluable book also includes background information on language acquisition and language proficiency level. In addition, new Bloom's Taxonomy.
