WHY STORYTELLING?

       Because  "storytelling" is a powerful language teaching tool that:
- interests and motivates both teachers and students.
- provides a meaningful learning through an interactive communication context.
- allows learners to experience authentic language input.
- helps teachers to improve the spoken language skill of their students.
- triggers "IMAGINATION".

 Waiting for your ideas, too. Share your comments with us please :)

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

       This is Molly. Molly is a little girl living in the woods with her mother. She likes wearing red clothes all the time and also eating the cookies that her mother bakes. Molly has got an old granny living in the village at the far end of the woods. She also likes Molly's mother's cookies very much. So, Molly takes cookies to her every weekend. Today is Saturday and Molly is taking cookies to her granny as usual. However, the way is long, scary and full of dangers for her.

       
        This is the hungry, greedy, hairy and dangerous wolf of the deep woods. It has got big ears to hear, big and sharp teeth to eat.
        Now, Molly is on her way to granny's cottage. She is walking alone on the long path among the huge trees.
        Oh, no! Is that the big hungry wolf looking at her behind those leaves of the trees?
        Poor Molly notices the wolf and thinks that it is friendly, but the truth is ugly because the greedy wolf wants to eat her.
        The wolf comes near her and asks: "Where're you going my pretty?"
        Molly answers: "I'm taking cookies to my old granny living at the far end of the woods."
        The wolf thinks itself: "Yummy! She looks tasty. I can eat both the granny and this sweet girl."
        The wolf says goodbye to Molly and runs fast to the granny's cottage. It eats the poor old granny, wears her clothes and lies on her bed.
        Molly arrives soon. She knocks on the door. The wolf answers: "Come in sweetheart! I can't answer the door myself. You know I'm too old."
        Molly gets in, comes near the bed, looks at the wolf in her granny's clothes and gets surprised by her look. She wonders and asks: "Granny, what's the matter with you? Why do your ears look so big?"
        "To hear you better my sweety!" answers the wolf.
        Molly asks: "Why do your eyes look so big?"
        "To see you better my sweety!" answers the wolf.
        Molly asks again: "Why do your teeth look so big?"
        "To eat you!" shouts the wolf and eats the little girl up.
        A woodcutter hearing the screams rushes to the cottage and catches the running wolf. He cuts its stomach off and takes the poor Molly and her granny out.
        After getting rid of the greedy wolf, everybody in the woods and village live happily ever after...

                                                                   THE END :)

by McD
     

Little Red Riding Hood Performance

OSS! MASTER!

        We're looking for the WORD MASTER :) It's an enjoyable way to test vocabulary knowledge. I've been working on vocabulary for a very long time and been fed up with classical vocab testing ways. I was in search of new methods and this activity suddenly sprang to my mind last week and I tried it.
    
         How to do:

• The pupils are gonna work as individuals. According to their levels, you can demand them mother tongue meanings of the words (do it if you have to pls), visualize them (for objects, action verbs... etc.) or to use the words in a sentence with the right meaning, usage and form.
• Each student has many pieces of paper to draw or write the meanings and sentences.
• The instructor is the referee and writes each student's name on one side of  board.
• The other side of the board is used to write the words to be guessed during the game.
• The pupils have got three "Plead the 5th" rights. They get  (+) for the right answers,  (-) for the wrong ones and  (0) for "Plead the 5th"s.
• When the instructor writes the word on the board. they've got fifteen seconds to write or draw. (The instructor should determine beforehand if the students are going to write meanings, draw or use the word in a sentence.)
• When the time's up, the pupils put their papers up at the same time. According to their guesses they get (+)s, (-)s or (0)s.  The one getting the most (+)s becomes the WORD MASTER of the week and is announced on the class corner till the next one is chosen.

        It worked in my class. I wonder your results and comments. too. :) Take it easy and have it your way...    Mcd :)

STOP TALKIN' THE TALK, WALK THE WALK ;)

 

        Hi again colleagues! It's really been a long time since the last one :) I've been tied up with a great deal of school stuff... But they're all gone now and I'm free and with you!! :D

        Let's begin the activity. As you can see from the title, it's pretty flamboyant and challenging. The pupils are going to make their own music video for famous songs.

• Divide the students into groups of six. (You may change the number according to your conditions and needs.)
• You should pick some English songs. According to the age and level of the students, they could be children songs or easy adult songs such as Lenka's "Everything At Once".
• Assign a song to each group. Before getting started; make them listen to their own song, help them understand and pronounce it. Then, keep your hands off and let them move as one body and one mind.
• They cowork, decide, design, choreograph, perform altogether and try to their best.
• The hardest part of the job is the instructor's. The best performance has to be chosen... I think, you'd better pick up a few colleagues (music, physical education teachers... etc.) with you as a jury and make your decision together.
• The winner group deserves a good prize :) Mine was recording the best performance and publishing it on our custom event which is going to happen at the end of the term.

        Take it easy... See you soon...
                                                    Mcd :)