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~~Learning a language involves learning new words. The more words you know the more you will understand and the better you will be able to communicate.
It is said that in order to “get by” in a foreign language you need a vocabulary of at least 120 words.
 Read: The more words you are exposed to the better vocabulary you will have. When you read and see words you don’t know first try to guess the meaning from the sentence/story and then look the word up. Read and listen to things you are interested in. There are lots of graded/guided readers available and even manga/comics.
 Play with words: Do puzzles, crosswords, play scrabble etc. Many of these are available online.
 Themes: Focus on a single theme per week, the mind naturally links connected words together.
 Use context: Research shows that the vast majority of words are learned from context. Pay attention to how words are used, the sentences etc.
 Review: When you learn new words recycle them (use them again and again) this ...

Here are some effective tips for planning to write a Persuasive or argumentative essay.
--Read the topic,
--Think about positives and negatives of the issues in the topic.
--Brainstorm arguments 'for' and 'against'.
--Consider the overall picture/key idea of the topic.
--Make your sentences about ideas.
---Here is a template, like a 'recipe', for planning the paragraphs for paragraphs  for a persuasive essay.
BASIC ARGUMENTS: (Expand and adapt to each topic).
POSITIVE ARGUMENTS: (Example topic: Should sport be compulsory in schools?)
(1) Progress is good.
(2) Need to live in the 21st Century.
(3) Same methods lead to same results.
(4) We all need to be responsible.
(5) If we don't change, we might regret it.
NEGATIVE ARGUMENTS:
(1) What happens next?
(2) It is expensive.
(3) It affects people's freedom, to choose to do what they want.
(4) What is wrong with what we are doing now?
LAST PARAGRAPH (Conclusion):
Consider the topic in relation to its effect on any of these:
(1) Social ...

“Knowledge is an elixir that immortalizes you and what you create out of it.” This quote aptly explains the gravity of why one must possess sufficient knowledge. The primary source of acquiring knowledge is from the traditional setting of a classroom. Classroom learning has been prevalent since the age of Plato and Aristotle. The basic definition of classroom learning includes the imparting of knowledge from a learned individual to pupils in organized methods. This traditional approach to education is partly resilient and partly constrained. When it comes to instilling discipline into students with knowledge, this approach can be assumed viable. But when the question of an all-encompassing and qualitative education arises, this approach lags behind extensively.
To make up what is lost in the traditional approach to learning, a contemporary formula of learning outside the classroom has to be applied. This approach assists young students to relish the pleasures of learning, through ...

Here is the second part of our activities that work well with low level adult students.
 
Activity: Guess the profession
Level: Foundation – Elementary
Target Language: Present simple for routines
Materials: Job cards
Procedure: Before the lesson cut up some paper to make some cards. Give the students one of the cards and ask them to write the name of a job on each piece of paper. Take the cards in and then redistribute them. The students should then hold the piece of paper on their forehead so everyone can see it. Students need to guess which card they are holding. They should do this by going round the classroom and asking questions of the other students. E.g. Do I work in an office? Do I wear a uniform?
 
 
Activity: Shopping role play
Level: Foundation - Elementary
Target Language: Can I have…?
Materials: Whiteboard, paper, pens
Procedure: Have students come up with ideas for items they could buy in a supermarket and then board these ideas. Tell the students that they can have any ...

Communicative Activities for Low Level Adult Students: pt1
 
Communicative activities are the bed rock of the modern language classroom. However for lower level learners it can be difficult to come up with effective freer practice activities, suitable for their level. Below, and in part two, are some ideas for activities that work well with these levels.
 
Activity: Celebrity Heads
Level: Elementary
Target Language: Personal Adjectives: tall, short etc..  He/she is/has got
Materials: Poster, photos or magazine
Procedure:  Show students pictures of various different celebrities, and then ask each student to choose one. They should then write three sentences describing the person they choose. The students then read out their sentences and the others have to guess which celebrity they are talking about.
Alternatively students write sentences about the celebrities and then fold them up. The teacher then collects in the papers and put the students into groups. They give each group some of ...

~~Stand up/Sit Down: Young children enjoy this simple game. Give a command and the children respond as quickly as possible. Then give the wrong command i.e. stand up when they are already standing etc. This can be adapted into a Simon Say type game where the children respond only when the caller says ‘please’. Children can take the teacher’s role.
Greetings Theatre: Every lesson should begin with greeting but they can also be used as an acting/drama game. Have two or more children walking around the table in opposite directions. When they meet each other they must greet each other. This can be extended to incorporate other QAs. Note: ‘Theatre’ should be an event rather than random. Have the learners who are not participating to sit at one end of the room as an audience, they could clap in time, teacher ‘sells popcorn’ etc. Make sure all learners get a chance to perform.
Alphabet Relay: Line up the learners in two teams as far from the board as possible. The first person in each team ...

~~Whatsit: "Whatsit" uses verbs or nouns.  Have one learner sit with their back to the board and another learner writes or draws a mystery word they all know on the board (word cards can be used to prompt where necessary).  The guesser must then ask questions to guess the word using “whatsit” in place of the unknown word e.g. if verbs are being used: "Can you whatsit?", "When do you whatsit?"  If nouns are being used:  "Can you eat a whatsit?", "Can you wear a whatsit?" etc
Forbidden Words: Write three ‘forbidden’ words on the board, e.g. blue, car, night. Have one learner volunteer and the rest of the class asks questions to try and get them to use the forbidden words. E.g. S2 - What colour is my shirt? S1 – It’s the colour of the sky S2 – When do you sleep? S1 – When it is dark. Etc.
Words from Words: Write a fairly long English word on the board. Set a time limit of 3-5 min. In pairs learners make as many words as they can using only the letters of the word on the board. E.g. ...

~~Writing is a complex process that encourages thinking and learning. Once learners realize that writing is a process that does not have to be right first time they are more willing to experiment, explore, revise and edit.
Activity 1: Simple Description with Visuals
Have learners examine a picture and ask them to identify the objects in it. Then have them write a paragraph to describe the picture.
Activity 2: Completing a Description Paragraph
Have learners examine a picture and complete a description paragraph. For example: Learners look at a picture and complete the following paragraph: 
Mary lives in a very nice room. In her room, there is a ——, ——, and a ——. There are also several ——. There are no ——, but Mary does have some ——. She wants to get a —— for her wall and a —— for the desk this afternoon when she goes shopping.
Alternatively focus the learners on function words by having them complete the paragraph by supplying prepositions and/or expressions required by the context. ...

Learning English as a Second Language can be a battle. Sometimes, it is difficult to stimulate students to remain motivated, due to the challenges they face, perhaps balancing work and study, or feeling daunted by the complicated nature of the English Language.
As teachers of ESL, there are ways of making ESL learning fun. Here are some suggestions:
*Play interactive games, whether in a classroom, or one-on-one tutoring environment. Ideas can include scrabble, or lucky dip, using a bag containing spelling words, or conversation or writing topics. Or you can use a shoe-box for "Pick a Box", so students can choose a lucky envelope with a spelling word, or writing or discussion topic.
* You can virtually adapt any board or TV game to enable learning English skills. For games such as Jeopardy, you can use play money as a motivator. Determine how much each student can 'win', by answering questions or spelling words correctly. Even 'hangman' is a good fun interactive way of learning new ...

Constructivism is simply an idea -- based upon scientific study and observation -- about just how folks learn. It claims that individuals construct their very own knowledge and understanding of the planet, through having small things and reflecting on all those experiences. When something brand new is encountered by us, we've to reconcile it with our prior experience and ideas, perhaps changing what we think, and perhaps discarding the brand new info as irrelevant. At any rate, we're active makers of the own knowledge of ours. To get this done, we should ask assess, explore, and question what we know.
In the classroom, the constructivist perspective of learning might point towards a variety of different coaching practices. In probably the most basic sense, it would mean encouraging pupils to work with established techniques (experiments, real world problem solving) to produce additional information and after that to focus on and discuss what they're engaging in and the way their ...