The Challenge of Teaching Listening Skills

http://esl.about.com/cs/teachinglistening/a/a_tlisten.htm

The Challenge of Teaching Listening Skills

 http://esl.about.com/cs/teachinglistening/a/a_tlisten.htm

The key to helping students improve their listening skills is to convince them that not understanding is OK. This is more of an attitude adjustment than anything else, and it is easier for some students to accept than others. Another important point that I try to teach my students (with differing amounts of success) is that they need to listen to English as often as possible, but for short periods of time.

By Kenneth Beare, About.com Guide

Teaching the Tenses

http://esl.about.com/b/2012/09/10/how-to-guides-on-teaching-the-tenses.htm

Teaching the Present Continuous

I'm teaching the present continuous right now.
My wife is working in her office at the moment.
Those boys are playing tennis over there.
etc.
http://esl.about.com/od/teaching_tenses/a/How-To-Teach-Present-Continuous.htm

Movies in Class

We always try to think up of ways to make our classes interesting, fun and productive. Watching a movie or a drama in class productively is what I want to have. And I have started on some guidelines below on how I'm going to conduct my class.

Movie/Television Terms

Animated Film - A film in which the characters are drawn, made by computer or made from models
Romantic Comedy - A type of film which combines comedy with a love story
Blockbuster - A book or film that is very good or successful
Serials - A program on TV or radio that continues from one program or episode to the next
Cartoon - A short humorous film in which the characters are drawn
Series - A program on television or radio with the same characters but different stories
Credits - A list of people involved in making a film, usually shown at the end of it
Silent film - A film that has pictures but no sound
Director - person who is responsible for the artistic part of a film
Sound Track - music that goes with a film
Dub - To change the original spoken language of a film or television program into another language
Special Effects - Unusual sounds or images in films created artificially and using new technology
Feature film - A full-length film that has a story and is acted by professional actors, and which is usually shown in a cinema
Star - A famous film actor/actress
Multiplex - A cinema with many different screens so it can show many films at the same time
Title role - The part in a play or film from which the work’s title is taken
Pictures - Cinema in British English (informal)
Trailer - A series of short extracts from a film, used to advertise it in a cinema or on television
Road Movie - A film of a genre in which the main character is travelling, either in flight or on a journey of self-discovery
Spoilers - Reveals major parts of the plot or big storyline events which you likely would have rather learned on your own
Producer - The person who is responsible for the business side of the film

Discussion Questions about Movies

Have you seen any movies recently?

What is your favorite movie genre?

thriller science fiction comedy western

costume drama horror romance cartoon

Can you think of a recent film that fits into each of the categories? 

What other genres of film are there?

What was the first movie you ever saw at the movie theater?

Do you prefer to watch movies at home on DVD or at the movie theater?

Do you prefer to watch movies alone or with someone else?

What do you eat and drink when you watch a movie?

Who are more famous in your country of origin: American movie stars or your own country’s movie stars?

Do you have a favorite movie star?

Who is your favorite actor?

Name performer/s whom you think does not have talent.

Do you like to watch old black and white movies?

What do you think of Hollywood movies?

What’s the best movie you’ve ever seen?

What’s the worst movie you’ve ever seen?

Does your country of origin have a movie industry?

Modern blockbuster movies can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make. What do you think about that?

Do you usually read the reviews of movies before you watch them? Why/Why not?

Are movies just entertainment for you, or do you think they have an important part to play in our society?

MOVIE REVIEW Questions

Fill out the following information about the movie.


DURING THE MOVIE:
1. Who are the 5 most important characters in the film? Also list the names 5 of the actors playing these characters.


2. What is this story about? Be very detailed!


3. What group of people would like this movie (demographics)?



AFTER THE MOVIE:
4. Did you like this movie? Why or why not


5. What rating would you give this movie?


6. What spoilers might ruin the movie for viewers if you told them about it?


7. All movies teach a lesson (theme/moral). What did you learn from this one?

*demographics - demographics means those aspect of society or culture that are measurable and can be used to put people into categories. For example, religion, income, race, sex, marital status, child status, etc are all areas that can help put members of a population into smaller groupings.

An Olympic Lesson

Its the Olympic Season and everyone is in on the fever. Here is a link to a lesson fit for everyone's mood.

http://esl.about.com/od/readingintermediate/a/r_olympic.htm

Be sure to take the check-up quiz:

http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/bl_olympic.htm

What Every Vocabulary Teacher Needs to Know

http://busyteacher.org/10340-what-every-vocabulary-teacher-needs-to-know.html

So What Book Are You Using?

http://busyteacher.org/11499-how-to-select-great-esl-textbook.html

Tips to Teaching Collocation

http://busyteacher.org/6061-10-tips-to-teach-collocations.html