Listening to Numbers

Listening to Numbers

Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash

In today's post, I have created a lesson plan to review numbers and listening to numbers.  I often prepare students for the IELTS and the FCE exams and my students find listening to numbers extremely challenging.  My business students also have difficulties understanding numbers and figures when attending meetings and participating in conference calls. Therefore, I hope this lesson will give them the opportunity to practise and improve their listening skills.

   

Whilst browsing for a suitable video containing lots of numbers on the Woodpecker app, I found a video from the Alltime Numbers YouTube channel.  They have created a variety of videos on different topics 'in numbers', with the help of YouTube and the Woodpecker app these videos can be quickly and easily transformed into lesson plans or homework activities. 

Preparation tips

• Use the Woodpecker app to find a video by typing a keyword into the Search Bar in the Main Menu. You can also use the list of categories to search in a specific area of content or click on the Channels & Playlists and search there.  I simply wrote 'numbers' in the search bar and scrolled through the options. 
• Once you have chosen your video and checked that the content is suitable and appropriate, touch the Share icon to send yourself an email containing the Woodpecker code for the video.  You will add this to your lesson plan so that your students can connect directly to the video within the app.
• Open the video in YouTube, on your PC/Laptop, click on the Options menu (three dots on the right-hand side, under the video). Click Open Transcript, the transcript will appear at the top right of the screen and can be copied and pasted into your lesson plan in order to create a fill the gap listening exercise.
• Choose the vocabulary, expressions, and grammar that you would like to introduce or review in the lesson and basically, you have a lesson plan.

Lesson Objective

The objective of this lesson is to firstly review how to say numbers and figures and secondly to develop the ability to listen to numbers.

The lesson consists of a warm-up activity, vocabulary and grammar revision, a speaking exercise and a scaffolded listening exercise.

Warm-up: A reading activity containing random facts about the UK.  Students should read the text. Feedback and pronunciation correction should be given.  The facts can also be discussed.

Vocabulary and grammar review: Students read the information.  At the end of each point, the teacher should highlight key information and then write additional examples for the student to practise in order to check comprehension e.g. the use of 'and' should be highlighted by the teacher 'one thousand AND one' then additional examples should be given, e.g 2,018, 5,432.  This is not a reading activity, the more active this part is, the better-prepared students will be for the speaking and listening tasks.

Task 1: Say the numbers - Students need to read and pronounce the numbers correctly. 

Task 2: Listening - Students should watch the video without the transcript or subtitles.  First, they should focus on understanding the main idea and then they should try to listen for details, listening and noting down the numbers that they hear.

Task 3: Complete the gaps - Students should watch the video again, this time completing the gaps with the correct numbers.  They can watch the video numerous times according to their need.

Task 4: Reading and checking - Students can now turn their phones to portrait mode and watch the video again, reading along with the transcript and using the video tools to check the translation/definition (depending on the dictionary they have chosen in the Woodpecker app) of new or unfamiliar words.  They can also check their answers from Task 3.

The lesson materials

Lesson Materials

Click to view the lesson materials in Google Docs

Click to view the video in the Woodpecker app

Click to view the video on Youtube

Conclusion 

Using authentic English videos to review numbers is an excellent way to prepare students for tests and for real-life English.  It takes practice and experience to develop listening skills, so creating lessons like this and setting homework tasks for students to work on using apps like Woodpecker is essential.  I hope you and your students find this lesson useful.

Please feel free to comment, I appreciate any feedback.  If you are a Google+ member please comment below. If you're on Facebook please message me there and of course, you can always contact me through my website: http://talk2meenglish.wixsite.com/lessons

Woodpecker App - Creating a lesson plan based on an engVid video

10 Phrasal Verbs for the Office

In my last post, I explored how to use the new Woodpecker app to create a lesson based on a video about UBI.  In this post, I will demonstrate how to use a video from one of the "Teacher Channels" in the Woodpecker app to create a lesson plan. 

There are some great video lessons on YouTube or on websites like engVid, which I sometimes send to students as self-study activities. I search for videos that will complement the particular lesson topic or grammar point that I have been working on with the student. It is an alternative and fun way for students to review the language covered in the lesson, improve their listening skills, and it is something that can be done on-the-go.  

In this post, I'm going to do things the other way round. Firstly, I chose a lesson from the engVid 'Teacher Channel'. In the video, teacher Alex introduces and explains the use and meaning of 10 common office phrasal verbs. Then, I created a lesson plan to go over the same phrasal verbs. The homework activities will involve the student watching Alex's video, through the Woodpecker app, in order to review the phrasal verbs. The objective is to assist language retention, improve listening comprehension skills, and to work on pronunciation.



Key Woodpecker functions used in this lesson

Built-in bilingual dictionary

Touch a word in the subtitles that appear in the lower half of the phone screen, to view the definition of the word in your chosen language. You can also touch on the 'speaker’ icon to hear the word played out loud.  

Back icons

Go back either 1 sentence or 5 seconds and listen again to a particular expression or sentence. Useful to improve comprehension and for pronunciation practice.

Word History

When a word is touched it is automatically added to the 'Word History', which can be found in the 'Main Menu'.  To export words from the 'Word history' to a range of apps or to copy to a file, touch the three horizontal dots on the top right of the screen. Then, tick the circle next to the words that you would like to export. Finally, touch the green export icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Choose either 'Copy to clipboard' or 'Export as file'.

*Note: The export function is a payable add-on, which can be purchased by touching the 'Main Menu' icon (top left of the screen) and then 'Add-ons (bottom right of the Main Menu). It is a one-time payment and costs approximately US$1.

Dictionary

In the 'Main Menu' of the app, touch the 'Dictionary' option. Then, type a word or phrasal verb in the search box to view a definition in your native language and to view videos related to the word.  Touch the arrow on the right of the translation to reveal greater detail from a dictionary. Touch on the name of the dictionary to go to the website of that dictionary and to see all the available information about the word or expression.

      

Creating a lesson plan based on a video within the Teacher Channel engVid in the Woodpecker app

Choose a video

When I ask students about their learning objectives and difficulties, phrasal verbs is something they all mention. For this reason, I have begun expanding my bank of lessons on small thematic sets of phrasal verbs. Therefore, I went to the 'Main Menu', 'Teacher Channels', 'engVid', 'Alex', and then touched the 'Search' icon and typed 'Phrasal Verbs'. I chose Alex's channel for a number of reasons. Firstly, because he's American and I try to expose my students to different accents (I have a British accent). Additionally, his lessons are no longer than 20 minutes, and he focuses on approximately 10 phrasal verbs in each lesson, which corresponds with my teaching method for phrasal verbs. My objective was to create a lesson to introduce the set of phrasal verbs in the video and then use Alex's video for homework and as a useful tool to encourage my students to review, recycle and hopefully retain the phrasal verbs.

Once you have chosen your video

Step one - Open the video in portrait mode in the app.  Then, click on the 'Share' button (top right of the video screen) and send a link to yourself by email. You will add this link to your lesson materials so that your student can go directly to the chosen video in the Woodpecker app for the homework activity.

Step two - Read through the subtitles of the chosen video and touch/take note of the phrasal verbs that you would like to work on in your lesson.

The Lesson Plan

I created a lesson plan that consists of 8 tasks, 4 tasks for 2 groups of 5 phrasal verbs. The main objective of the lesson is to introduce, review and give the student the opportunity to use the phrasal verbs.

Task 1

To introduce the first set of 5 phrasal verbs in context - The student must identify the phrasal verb in a sentence and match it with its definition.

Task 2

Review the phrasal verb - Fill the gaps with one of the five phrasal verbs. Some sentences require the tense of the phrasal verb to be changed.

Task 3

Context and meaning - Read the dialogue. Then, replace a verb/expression with a phrasal verb. Read the dialogue again using the correct phrasal verbs.

Task 4

Speaking - Ask questions about the student's experiences in the office to show the practical use of the phrasal verbs and to encourage them to use the phrasal verbs in context.

Task 5-8 are a repetition of Tasks 1-4 with the second set of 5 phrasal verbs.

Homework

The self-study activity has 8 parts, students will need to use the Woodpecker app in order to complete them.

Part 1 - Revision and Improve Listening skills

Students should turn their phone to horizontal mode, tap on the CC (None) and watch the first part of the video.
Part 2 - Improve understanding skills
Students should turn their phone to portrait mode and watch the first part of the video again, reading along with the text and tapping on words that they would like to add to their 'Word History' in the app.
Part 3 - Improve comprehension and pronunciation: 
Students should use the 'Go-back-one-sentence' button and the 'Go-back-five-seconds' button on the Woodpecker player to re-listen to chunks of text, in order to understand better. Encourage them to pause the video and repeat the chunks of language saying them out loud. Remind them to copy the native speaker’s pronunciation and intonation.

Part 4 - Expand Vocabulary

Students should watch the second part of the video. Firstly, with their phone in horizontal mode and without subtitles, then in portrait mode reading along with the text and using the app to help them comprehend and to add new vocabulary to their Word History. Finally, using the 'Go-back-one-sentence' and 'Go-back-five-seconds' buttons to re-listen and repeat chunks of text to improve understanding and pronunciation.
Part 5 - Review New Vocabulary
Students should review the words that they have added to their Word History (found in the main menu) when they have finished watching the video. If they wish to purchase the in-app function (approximately US$1) they can use the 'Export' option, to export their vocabulary list to a text file or even to a Quizlet file in order to continue working on the expressions.
Part 6 - Writing and vocabulary review
Your student should write a sentence of their own using each of the ten phrasal verbs.  As an alternative, they could create an office dialogue using as many of the phrasal verbs that they can from the lesson.

Part 7 - Additional Exercise

Encourage your students to use the 'Dictionary' tool in the app to explore other uses and meanings of the phrasal verbs covered in this lesson.  

*Note: I would not recommend this activity to lower level students or to students that have found the lesson challenging.

The lesson materials:

Click to view the lesson materials in Google Docs
Click to view the video in the Woodpecker app

Click to visit the original video in the engVid website 
Click to view the video in YouTube 


Conclusion

In my opinion, using the Woodpecker app to find inspiration for writing a lesson plan, in the form of one of the 'Teacher Channel' video lessons,  is both highly effective and a huge time saver for teachers. From the students perspective, there are a number of advantages. The most important, I believe, is to be able to listen to another teacher with a different accent explaining the same vocabulary or grammar point again. The student gains from the repetition, which will increase vocabulary retention, while at the same time, being exposed to additional language and examples. Listening to a different accent will improve their listening skills. In addition, the combination of in-class activities and the more auditory/visual method of teaching from the homework video should reach a wider range of students by using a variety of teaching methods to suit different learning styles.

For tips on how to teach phrasal verbs, I recommend reading this blog post by James Taylor:

How to teach phrasal verbs by James Taylor 

For more information about learning styles, I highly recommend this book by Marjorie Rosenberg:

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Styles-Delta-Teacher-Development/dp/1905085710

Please feel free to comment, I appreciate any feedback.  If you are a Google+ member please comment below. If you're on Facebook please message me there and of course, you can always contact me through my website: http://talk2meenglish.wixsite.com/lessons

How can I improve my English speaking skills?

This is the question that I am most frequently asked by students.

Last week I created a post for my social media sites '5 Ways to Improve Speaking', immediately after posting I received a number of messages from language learners asking for recommendations and links to websites.  So, what better way to start 2017 than to get back to blogging and write a post to try and answer this question in more detail!

In order to improve your English speaking skills, it is extremely important to practise regularly.  I recommend spending at least 10 minutes every day doing something you enjoy in English.  Here are some suggestions for ways to practise and examples of activities that will help you to improve your speaking skills:

Make friends

Make friends with English speakers and use social media to connect with other learners or native speakers.  Use platforms like How Do You Do, Lingoglobe, Speaky, Easy Language Exchange and Meetup. Chat about current affairs, learn about each other's cultures and exchange ideas about language learning.

If you are living in an English speaking country, speak to anyone, speak to the cashier in the supermarket or your taxi driver (they usually love to chat).   Use every opportunity to practise your speaking skills and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.  The more you practise, the faster you will improve and the more confident you will feel.

Speak to yourself

Speak to yourself in the shower, in the car, whilst doing the dishes, anytime, anywhere, speak and speak aloud. Speaking aloud will help you to practise and improve pronunciation and fluency.  Keep it simple, use short precise sentences, express your thoughts, ideas, try out new words and expressions, sing English songs.  Be vocal and build confidence.

Speak to the dog  

If you have a pet, make a conscious decision to only speak to that pet in English.  Have a chat with your pet in the evening, tell them about your day, tell them about your plans for tomorrow and talk to them about anything you like. I'm sure they will love the attention and they'll never interrupt you.

A good listener communicates better

Use the internet or your mobile phone to develop listening skills.  Listen to podcasts like the BBC’s 6 Minute English, ESL Aloud, A cup of English, Podcasts In English or tune into one of the podcasts on Player FM.  Use websites like ESOL Courses, English Central and watch TED talks (I recommend choosing short 0-6 minute talks). Watch TV shows, news reports and short documentaries on VOA News.  

Listen to the pronunciation of words and learn new expressions.  You will improve your ability to comprehend different accents. Exercise the skill of not translating as you listen, learn to grasp the general meaning of what is being said and learn not to panic when you don't understand every word.  Improving your listening skills is an essential part of learning English, and not only will it improve your ability to understand, it will also help you to communicate better.

Read more

The more you read the more words and expressions you are exposed to. Reading is essential for language acquisition. When you read a lot, you increase the possibility of seeing the same words in different contexts, this will help you to retain the language (to remember it). Choose books that are interesting and suitable for your level. Ask friends or search online for book recommendations.   

Read up-to-date news articles that are graded according to level on the Breaking News English website. Knowing what’s going on in the world and having the vocabulary to talk about it will help you to communicate in social situations and make small talk.   

Read language learning blogs, London Language Lab introduces an authentically British phrase each day and English with a twist shares practical business expressions for more advanced learners.  Learning authentic phrases and expressions will help you to communicate more naturally with native speakers.

Do things you love in English

When we participate in activities that we enjoy, our focus is on the activity and not on the language, it makes it much easier to learn and takes less effort.  If, for example, you love cooking: read food blogs to learn authentic language, join an English Facebook group, try out the recipes that are shared, share your own recipes, write comments and give feedback, create a YouTube channel, make a video, make new contacts and chat or Skype with the members of the group.  Surround yourself with English while doing things you enjoy.

Take regular online lessons

Taking a lesson with a professional, qualified teacher is probably the best way to improve your speaking skills.  An online teacher will encourage you to speak and you won't feel so nervous about speaking online (if you are really shy, you can even switch off your video).  However, your teacher will be there to listen, to give feedback and to correct. When you have a one-on-one online lesson, you will get maximum speaking time which guarantees that you will improve fluency and pronunciation and you will progress faster. When your progress is noticeable, you will feel more confident, you will feel relaxed, and you will communicate more successfully.  

Talk2Me English specialises in helping students to improve their spoken English. Your personalised online course is created by gathering information about you, your interests, your language needs, your current level and your language learning objectives. The lessons are topic-based, practical and interesting. You'll do most of the talking and you'll receive the correction you need in order to progress quickly. After every lesson, you will receive a detailed report containing: the lesson materials, feedback, new vocabulary and corrections, pronunciation tips, and activities for self-study. See what Emma’s students say about her lessons.  

As you can see, it's all about the practice.  So be practical, practise often, be vocal and most importantly speak, speak, speak.  

Feel free to comment, your feedback is always appreciated.  If you are a Google+ member please comment below.  If you're on Facebook please message me there and you can always send me a message via my website: Talk2meEnglish

Business English Idioms - Risk Management

I used to be a risk taker.  In my younger days, I was carefree and often careless. However since becoming a mum I've gradually become more and more cautious.  When we hear the phrase 'risk management' we usually think about business, but as a mum of two teenage boys, risk management is an essential part of parenting.  During the summer holidays I heard myself chanting various mantras over and over: "Be careful" "It's not worth the risk" "Better safe than sorry" "Just in case".  I realised that we use many idioms in English to talk about taking risks and being careful, so I thought I'd prepare a presentation to explore some of these expressions with my business students (and possibly fellow parents).

 Business English Idioms 

Risk management

What is risk management? 

It is a strategy used to understand, evaluate and take action to increase the likelihood of success and reduce the possibility of failure.

Since the global financial crisis in 2008, risk management has become a business priority.  However, the necessity to be cautious often interferes with a company's need to take risks in order to develop and remain competitive.

Risk management is a common topic of conversation in both everyday life and at work, so let's look at some of the common idioms used in English to talk about taking risks and being cautious. 

Do you 'throw caution to the wind' and take risks or 'play it safe' and prefer to be cautious?

Click to see the full-sized presentation: http://app.emaze.com/742619/business-idioms-risk-management

Success and the importance of failure - Advanced lesson

Success and the importance of failure 

Do we need to fail in order to succeed?  Is 'failure' a fundamental element of success? Could teaching our children, students, and employees, the importance of failure, increase their ability to succeed?

5 famous people that failed, before they succeeded:

1. Bill Gates' first company, was a failure.

2. Steven Spielberg was rejected three times from film school.

3. Walt Disney was fired for 'lacking ideas and creativity'.

4. Winston Churchill, failed miserably at school?

5. Oprah Winfrey got fired from her job as a TV reporter because she was 'unfit for TV'.

In this TED talk, Richard St John talks about his personal experience of success and failure:

Key expressions

Comfort zone: A situation or position in which a person feels secure.
To go downhill: To decline and grow worse and worse. 
Hot shot: A person who is highly successful and self-assured.
Living under a black cloud: Depressed or having a run of bad luck.
Floating along: To move or act without purpose.

Click to view video