You don't need to understand everything.... or do you?
One of the questions in a Needs Analysis questionnaire that I use with general purpose intermediate learners asks them What do and don't you enjoy doing in the classroom? In reply to this question, one...
View ArticleAn Elt Glossary: Word families
A word family is a group of words all derived from the same root word. For example :a) sad, sadness, sadden, sadlyb) origin, originate, original, originallyc) dictate, dictation, dictator, dictatorial,...
View ArticleAn ELT Glossary : The mandative subjunctive
The so-called "mandative subjunctive" is the use of the base form of the verb in a "that" clause after verbs and other expressions expressing concepts such as advice, recommendations, suggestions,...
View ArticleFirst Lessons : Establishing Classroom Culture
It’s the beginning of the academic year here, and new classes are starting up. And despite having taught for years, I still feel nervous before meeting a new class. Groups of students are a bit like...
View ArticleLearning Students' Names
At the beginning of the course you need to learn students’ names as soon as possible. Using names to call on students creates a more personal and involving atmosphere in the class, and also allows you...
View ArticleInferring unknown words from context (Part Two)
If you've not yet read Part One of this article, click on the linkTo summarise where we’ve got to so far : inferring words from context is a skill which is necessary for our learners if they are to...
View ArticleInferring unknown words from context (Part One)
It is very unlikely that any of our learners will ever know all the words they need. English has an enormous number of words - on the Oxford University Press website they estimate it at a quarter of a...
View ArticleTeaching High Level Lexis to Business English Learners
This article looks at why learners of Business English might need a higher receptive knowledge of lexis than they possess productively. It also suggests that this type of lexis can best be taught using...
View ArticleAn ELT Glossary : Partitive nouns
Partitive nouns, as the word suggests, are nouns which express the concept that the item described is only a part but not the whole of the item then referred to. For example (with the partitive nouns...
View ArticleAn ELT Glossary : Sentential Relative Clauses
Most relative clauses refer back to a noun phrase in the preceding discourse. For example :I spoke to John, who agreed to do it. (Who refers back to John).I liked the last book that she wrote. (That...
View ArticleAn ELT Glossary : Lexical Priming
Priming is used in two ways in EFL. Firstly it is used in Task Based Learning (notably by Jane and Dave Willis - see the articles referred to below) to describe the sort of scaffolding task often used...
View ArticleAn ELT Glossary : Proform
A proform is any word which can replace another word, phrase or clause in a sentence or utterance when the meaning is recoverable from the linguistic or extra-linguistic context. Proforms thus avoid...
View ArticleAn ELT Glossary : Optative Mood
Optative sentences are those where the speaker/writer makes a wish of some sort. In English there is no specific grammatical form for optative mood, though there is in some other languages such as...
View ArticleUnderstanding Relative Clauses - Suggested Answer
A) The legislation aims to regulate the hours under-16s can work online Form : Defining relative clause with relative pronoun (which/that) ellipted. Ellipsis possible as the relative pronoun is the...
View ArticleUsing Guided Discovery
A brief introduction to Guided Discovery was given in the article onconcept checking included in the ELT Glossary. If you haven't read it or aren't fully sure what GD involves, click on the link to see...
View ArticleAnalysing Word Class, Phrase and Clause Elements
NB: All the materials used in these activities come from our Delta Module One Course. The course is no longer running and the activities are therefore being made available for general use. However,...
View ArticleDifferentiating Activities in the Classroom
Differentiation has already been briefly discussed in the ELT Glossary, and you might like to start by checking out what was said there. in this article we go into more detail looking at...Why...
View ArticleRelative Clauses
How much do you know about relative clauses? Can you answer these questions?What's the difference between a defining and non-defining relative clause? When can that be used as an alternative relative...
View ArticleTeaching Functionally to Develop Pragmatic Competence
This article looks at the way teaching functionsand pragmatic competence in general are treated in contemporary coursebooks and classrooms. Whereas these areas were the main focus of any course in the...
View ArticleTeaching the so-called "conditionals" - pre-viewing task
Have a look at the beginnings and possible ends of these conversations. How do they relate to the so-called “three conditionals” (or four if you’re being generous)? How many other beginning and end...
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