These test questions will help my ESL students learn English and prepare for the final exam. The exam will contain four parts to assess elements of fluency and language learning:
critical thinking and persuasion
cohesive story telling
recall of vocabulary
effective descriptions by making clear distinctions
Part 1 Agree or Disagree? (2-4 minutes)
Each student will be given one of these random quotes. The task will be to:
define the meaning of the quote
state clearly if you agree or disagree
explain why with reasons and evidence
Respond to one of these quotes.
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” – Oscar Wilde
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
“To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.” – Albert Camus
“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime…” Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner
“Everything people did seemed so silly, because they only died in the end.”- Sylvia Plath
Teaching English just got a little easier with three ebooks from ESL Publications. These low-prep, high-interest logic puzzles, word games and trivia challenges help ESL students learn vocabulary and general knowledge while improving listening, speaking and critical thinking skills at the same time.
1. 160 Logic Puzzles and Word Games
Every good teacher has a stable of back pocket activities to fill unexpected gaps. They are called sponge activities. These 30 worksheets with 160 logic puzzles and word games are awesome sponge activities – time savers, not time fillers – because they frame language learning as a puzzle, challenge.
This three-part English grammar and speaking lesson helps high-beginner and low-intermediate ESL students learn the difference between made from and made of.
Part 1 – brief grammar lesson
Part 2 – whole class practice session
Part 3 – pair work speaking
Part 1a. Basic Grammar Rules
Look at these sentences. Notice the use of made of and made from. Why are they used in different situations?
This shirt is made of cotton.
The chair is made of leather.
The vodka is made from potatoes.
The tea is made from barley.
These two phrases are used to talk about things that have been manufactured or processed.
If the material is not changed…. then use made of.
If the material has been changed (i.e. we can’t see it anymore) then use made from.
Part 1b. Made With
Some products are made from many things. We use made with when describing one of the many ingredients. (If something is made with one main material, use made from.) For example:
Kimchi is made with cabbage and salt.
This pizza is made with goat cheese.
These muffins are made with cranberries.
Look at these two sentences. What’s the difference?
This juice is made from oranges.
This juice is made with oranges.
Part 2. Practice and Writing
Practice writing sentences using of/from with these words and phrases.
shoes, cereal, a house
a tie, a can, soybean paste
chocolate, a sculpture, a table
bread, wine, a BLT
Part 3. Pair Work Speaking
This pair work activity is called The Hint Game. It is played with two partners and a worksheet.
S/he looks at one word and gives a hint to the partner. The hint must include the use of MADE OF or MADE FROM. Of course, other words and ideas can be included.
Partner guesses the word and writes correct answer on his/her answer sheet.
Play rotates until all the words have been presented.
At the end of play, students keep word list and review next class.
About the exercise sheet: this exercise uses high frequency words from the New General Service List.
Teach writing?
Get the ebook Teach Essential Writing Skills. Transform the quality of EFL student writing by focusing on four essential skills. Click here for details about the ebook that should be part of every writing teacher’s resource library.
Save time. Teach well.
Cut your lesson prep time with this colossal collection of ESL resources that stimulate language learning and critical thinking. Simplify your lesson planning because teaching should be a joy, not a chore.
PHOTO CREDIT
The image in this post comes from Aurlmas and its use complies with the owner’s creative commons licensing terms.
I don’t know what to think of this ESL listening video. It’s not a highly educational lesson, though it does teach ESL listening students how to hear and pronounce a single word.
ESL Listening Skills
The video does have great style: think Japanese punk fused with cool animation and a single thought. Definitely, a 1 minute diversion for the English class when you need a break from other listening skills activities. Think Friday afternoon fun.
