Introductions and Icebreakers

You can click Wallwisher above to add your sticky, or for bigger image of Wallwisher, click here to add your stickies! Many thanks in advance.

Over the next 2 weeks I will be teaching 23 primary and secondary school EFL teachers in 2 groups at the Lake School of English, instead of writing about teaching! I love writing my blog, but it's time to get back to the chalkface, figuratively speaking. So, I've decided to experiment with my lesson planning here, where else? It will be a diary of events and also my learning journal.

One of my favourite icebreakers involves using stickies. I write down a combination of 5 numbers/names/years on the board, related to me eg

• 3
• 1979
• Daphne
• 18
• 30

Students have to guess what these numbers/years/names refer to.

Students then write down 5 things related to them on a coloured stickie. They stick the stickie on themselves, and then walk around viewing as many other bits of information from the other students and trying to guess the significance of the numbers / names they see. It's a fun way of getting to know each other.

Web 2.0 Introductions and Icebreakers
I have experimented with creating introductions using Web 2.0 tools like the following. Please do write a comment about any other tools you have exploited when meeting a class for the first time. How was the new tool received? Any useful tips?

Xtranormal
True or False information about your teacher. Students have to guess which facts are true.

My Nightmare Come True

Congratulations to the winning team, Germany. Sadly, England is coming home right now. No need for fancy lesson ideas, no heart for a "guess which adjectives to choose for the England v Germany match", which has just unfolded. My Chronicle of a Nightmare Foretold has come to fruition just now and it has well and truly done me in. Did I tempt fate? I will never know. The pain of being 2-0 down after approximately 30 minutes to a Germany side that were not supposed to be at their best, was awful. The drone of the Vuvuzelas did everything to dampen my growing fear. The 38th minute goal that was disallowed, was a shocker in true horror story fashion. Had the referee not had his eyes checked out before the match??

The Goal that NEVER was but SHOULD have been

This was the goal that went in, but it was disallowed for some unearthly reason. Anyway, I wouldn't like to be accused of sour grapes, so that is it. Job done. No going back. The dream is over for England.


May the very best team win this World Cup 2010.

Sofia - A Mention in Early EFL Blog!

Sofia has had a mention in Early EFL Blog by Leahn Stanhope!

Unfortunately, I and Sofia had a bit of a relationship "issue" the other evening, and she openly disobeyed me. I know she respects me, but on this occasion, there was something that she just could not let go of. She had a very simple choice: ignore me and eat something rather yucky (in my view), or listen to me and abandon the lump of desirable extra food (in her view), foraged from the jungle area. Hence the problem that arose.

Please read the following excellent posts which deal with a very interesting analogy. Leahn is teaching in Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands. Her blog is always full of useful lesson ideas and thoughts about teaching. I like it very much.

Commanding Respect
How to get Children and Dogs to Respect You

My First Ever Glogster

At last I have made my first Glog! I spent last night watching Russell Stannard's very informative and thorough Glogster tutorial. My Life in Abruzzo is a very basic Glog to begin with, but it was a lot of fun to create and the possibilities are endless. To view it in full size, click on the Glogster link on the top right hand side of the poster..

I wonder what took me so long to try Glogsters out? Next time, I would like to embed more links such as text, videos and audio to take maximum advantage of their interactivity. These posters have got many applications for educational purposes. You can find links and examples of some fabulous Glogsters below. It'll be quite a while before I get to their very high standards!! They will definitely be my inspiration to be more creative.

Glogster Tutorial from GlogsterGirl.com
Free Technology for Teachers
Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century
Glogsters from Greetings from the World wiki by Arjana Blazic
Ozge karaoglu's Glogster wiki
Sean Banville's Glogster Introduction Lesson

Glogster EDU
I have added this very informative Youtube tutorial on Glogster EDU by Traci Blazosky after reading the comment below by Karen.

Lake School of English in Oxford:YouTube Video

A fabulous YouTube video of the Lake School of English, Oxford has just been published on the Internet. I feel very proud to show you the video below. I have taught some of the students featured in the video and it is lovely to see some of my colleagues as well. In my personal opinion, I would like to say that the Lake School is the BEST school in the UK for learning English! I actually taught there for well over 20 years, hence most of my teaching career, before moving to Abruzzo. Leaving the nest was hard, but I am extremely lucky to have the opportunity to continue enriching my teaching experience by occasional guest teaching slots at the Lake School during the year. I can't wait to see everyone again next week. I will be teaching on the very popular Teachers' Refresher courses. Enjoy the video below and then think about coming to the school to improve your English and have lots of fun at the same time. I can certainly promise you that!