Negative Questions

Negative questions can be confusing, even for native speakers, so how do you teach this difficult grammar point to students?  Here are a few tips that I use in my classes that may also help you. 
1. Tell your students that you think that they all like (for example) to watch horror movies.  At this point, if they understand the statement, there are bound to be a few faces made, or a few NOs!! shouted out.
2.  Tell them again, I think you all like to watch horror movies.  Then say, 'Don't you like to watch horror movies?'  The answer should be the same.  Sometimes, you have to tell them that they like something a few times to get their excitement up, then switch to the question so they automatically answer.
3.  Explain that if you use a negative question, it's because you think you already know the answer, but you're not absolutely positive.  So, you want confirmation. 


Making this a game is pretty easy, just use things that you are sure you know about them and say the opposite.  This tactic works well for question tags as well.


I found a video and some exercises that will help along the way and will post them at the bottom.  I'd love to hear from you about your experiences teaching this topic.


Online quiz: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=Practice-Negative-Questions-1


Short explanation that you can copy and print out for students:  http://www.englishpractice.com/improve/negative-questions/


Videos: http://www.engvid.com/negative-questions-in-english/


http://learn-english.wonderhowto.com/how-to/use-negative-questions-english-language-165549/


A game you can make quickly yourself:  http://www.waygook.org/index.php?topic=31771.0

ESL Videos for class

I know students can get bored having English class everyday, so one way to mix it up a bit is to show a video in class.  There are a lot of ways you can do it, i.e. take a cartoon or movie from home, download one off of the internet, or ask the students to bring one of their favorites ( in English).  If they do this, then most likely they know the storyline already and that can make it easier for them to follow along.  Ask questions either during or after the movie to check comprehension and you could even make up a board game based on the movie so they can practice speaking afterwards.  There are lots of fun ideas out there, so just decide what would work best for your class and have fun!


http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/eslvideo/ This is a link to some videos with questions which follow.

Writing for Homeschoolers and ESL

One thing that came easily to me in school was writing.  I didn't really have to try because it's something that I naturally gravitated toward, unlike math and science.  I do know, however, that many students struggle with it and I was reading a homeschooling page tonight that happened to contain some tips for teaching students how to write, that I feel would be useful in both the homeschool and ESL classroom.


Take a look, it might help.  http://pearsonhomeschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PS1r8e&elementType=news&elementId=244163&utm_content=bufferca99f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=plus.google.com&utm_campaign=buffer

ESL Software for American English

I'm always looking for ways to help my students outside of class because working professionals don't have time to come to class every day.  I'm part of the homeschooling network in the States and there was an article about learning foreign languages online.  The article includes ESL help, so I went to have a look.  The reviews are great and I agree with the lady who says Rosetta Stone is sometimes difficult to understand.  Pictures are often not enough.  Mango Languages teaches with words and has 60 languages to choose from, so even if you teach in China or Russia, your students can use it because they can simply choose their native language to start with.  I'm going to try to improve my German with it and see what happens. 
http://www.mangolanguages.com/available-languages/ 

Contrast Linkers

There seems to be a lot of confusion about when to use what linking word in sentences.  My students ask me constantly when to use 'but' and 'however'.  My simple answer is 'however' is more formal than 'but'.  For a more in detailed explanation of the difference here's where you should look, it's a link to another blog that has a post on linkers, too.  It may help clear the confusion between 'but' and 'however'.  http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.de/2013/02/linkers-for-contrasts.html   There's only one way to be proficient in using these, sometimes, not so little words and that's to practice them.  There are lots of things you can do to practice them. 


Here's a link to a slide show that helps explain how to use contrast linkers in conversations.
http://www.slideshare.net/kesbu/contrast-linkers-17226445  There's also a really good explanation of the contrast linkers here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX8N9RiGCZg


Here's a link to some online quizzes  that can be helpful for practicing.  http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/89.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=136_contrast 


If your students are having trouble distinguishing the difference between 'because' and 'because of', here's an online practice they could try.  http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/220.html 
One thing that I realize as a teacher and former student is that there sometimes aren't enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do in class and that students need homework assignments that are short and practical.  Here's one that the students can do online http://writeenglish.net/usinglinkers1-1.php  Students can check the answers themselves and see their mistakes so asking questions during the next class is a little easier.  ELTbase also has a good number of worksheets that teachers can print out and use in class, or students can print them out and do them themselves.  http://www.eltbase.com/vtr_refs.php?id=148 






Here are cool vocab games to play. http://teflgeek.net/2014/03/19/six-great-vocab-games/


I really hope some of these links help you prepare for class and you can make it fun for the students, too.  Good Luck!

ESL Easter Lesson Plans

I love spring!  Color comes back into the world, snow melts and the air warms my lungs. I have a collection of fun activities to share with you from the net that will surely cut down on your stress level, warm your heart and make the students happy, too.


One thing I found was a lesson plan for young children.  There are songs and an Easter egg hunt included with a little lesson on prepositions and there's even a pin the tail on the bunny game. Here's the link: http://www.eslkidstuff.com/lesson-plans/easter.html#.UyXjJc9WHs0 


Boggle's World ESL has a lot of fun things to do with students.   My favorite is the Bingo game maker.  You can create as many bingo cards as you need simply by refreshing the bingo game page.  Here's the link: http://bogglesworldesl.com/easter_worksheets.htm  There are also drawing and writing exercises for young children.


If you teach British English and are looking for a gap-fill exercise here's an online one students could do as homework.  http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/festivals/easter/reading/easter-gap-fill.html 


One thing that would be easy to teach or practice with students during Easter is prepositions.  I have acquired quite a bit of material for teaching prepositions over the years and you can find the material here: https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B91PszKtVKWkTkFPWEpyb2dKYVU&usp=sharing  I hope the explanations and material help in preparing for class. 

Printing on Post Its

This is one very cool idea that I found on Pinterest.  You could use it for so many things, games, vocabulary matching, keeping track of students in the classroom and much, much more.  Go watch the video and spread the word.  http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/clever-classroom-tips-for-elementary-school-teachers