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Introduction
Background
For visual students
For auditory students
For kinaesthetic students
For other students
Final words
References
Introduction
It is not easy to be original in the field of ELT since a lot has already been written. However, it is
worth recycling easy techniques to make lessons interesting for different kinds of students and
without spending too much time and money. During my last year in college, I noticed trainee
teachers depend on ready-made activities and photocopies for lesson planning. It is true that they
are an easy way to work since you only need to find a good activity to photocopy and hand it out to
students. I am not denying how useful they are, especially nowadays, when teachers seem to rush
from school to school and have hardly any time to plan. I do not mean the activities in course-books
or photocopies should be banned. I just want to show my experience in making the most of them.
Activities that help save up money and time is nothing new, in fact Widdowson (1978, p.55) once
said they can be used at any level, an important factor to consider for teachers, who often have
little time for preparing lots of new materials.
Background
This article relies on Howard Gardners theory of multiple intelligences. Gardner stated that
intelligence is not a singular phenomenon but rather a collection of seven distinct intelligences
within every individual: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily kinaesthetic, interpersonal,
intrapersonal and musical (Gardner, 1983). Besides, Visual/Auditory/Kinaesthetic model for
learning preferences complements the understanding of Garners theory. NLP presuppositions are
found along this work, as well.
For visual students
Visual aids and visualization turn teaching more real and alive, and they help convey meaning. The
value of visual aids depends on how much they contribute to the learning process. Their function is
Humanising Language Teaching Magazine; Year 16; Issue 1; February 2014, ISSN 1755-9715 http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb14/less01.htm
not to make the lesson more colourful or to demonstrate the teachers versatility either in
constructing or handling them, but to make learning more effective (Byrne, 1976, p.128).
1. Cards
They are a good resource when courses are not very crowded. With large classes, it may take some
time to get organized and a great number of copies.
1.1. Flashcards and pictures
Flashcards are good for teaching vocabulary, guessing games, oral compositions, etc. They are
useful for the production stage, since they are non-verbal frameworks for language practice. They
prompt dialogue production and role-playing. They stimulate interpretation and discussion and help
students get their own viewpoints. Students can go beyond what can actually be seen in the picture
to whats implied by it. (Byrne, 1976, p.84). Flashcards and pictures should be large enough for
students to be able to see them from the back of the classroom. They can be drawn using a thick
felt-tip pen or cut out from magazines. The simpler they are, the more useful they will be for later
activities. Students can draw pictures themselves, this is suitable for those with spatial intelligence.
1.2. Why are flashcards, pictures and visualization so important in learning a foreign language?
Taking into account Saussures linguistic sign, we know every sign is made up by a significant and
a signified, i.e. a concept and an acoustic image. Picture 1 illustrates what happens in Spanish
speakers minds when they learn a word, in this case tree:
Since there is a tendency to associate the mother tongue directly to the foreign language, we could
assume that the process in the mind of a Spanish speaker studying English could be the following
(picture 2):
Flashcards and pictures may help associate directly the concept in English with the acoustic image,
without going through translation. So making good use of visual aids may have a very positive
effect on teaching vocabulary, and the result may be illustrated in picture 3:
For higher levels, cards can contain more complex instructions and they can guide more complex
and longer dialogues (see picture 5).
2. Charts
It is quite easy and quick to copy a chart on the board. Charts and visual displays in general help
students with spatial intelligence. The information on the chart can be used for different purposes:
2. 1. Talking about routines
The teacher can design a chart (see picture 6) on the board and ask students to fill in the first
column with their own answers and the second column with their partners information. For this
activity, students have to make an appropriate question to be able to get the information they need.
To check the activity, the teacher can ask students to make an oral report. They can use first or third
person singular, according to the structures they are drilling.
2. 2. Writing about routines
Charts are useful prompts for writing. Picture 7 shows a chart, which takes very short to build on
the board, can guide students to write about someone else. Thus, they practice routine and third
person.
Humanising Language Teaching Magazine; Year 16; Issue 1; February 2014, ISSN 1755-9715 http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb14/less01.htm
Possible outcome (PO): On Thursday, Tony gets up at 6:30 and has breakfast. He goes to school at
7:30. He has lunch at school at 1. Then, at 2, he goes to the club with John and Paul...
An alternative would be to ask students to fill out the chart with their own information, swap charts
with their partner and describe his/her routine according to the information on the chart. Using their
own lives to write about could motivate them. This kind of activity is good to help students with
linguistic intelligence.
2. 3. Making comparisons
The following chart is useful to work on comparisons. They have to fill in the chart with their
opinion (see picture 8):
PO: Mary has more sisters than I have. John has the most sisters.
2. 4. Games
A well-known game students love to play is Battleship. The teacher can ask students to draw the a
chart on the board (see picture 10) while he/she explains how to play the game:
Class can be split into two teams. Students choose a combination of letter and number, where there
Humanising Language Teaching Magazine; Year 16; Issue 1; February 2014, ISSN 1755-9715 http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb14/less01.htm
is a question to answer or a true/false statement. If they answer correctly, they have a point. An
alternative for this game is to hide pairs behind the squares, as a memory game. It is an interesting
way to consolidate verb forms, especially irregular verbs. It is also useful to work with opposite
adjectives, minimal pairs (phonetics), etc. These activities are very useful for students with logical
mathematical intelligence.
3. Written posters
If material is well-made, it is not only more motivating for the students to work with, but it is also
more durable and can therefore be used with a number of different classes (Hubicka, 1980, p.9).
Picture 11 shows a gap-filling exercise on a poster could be designed in order to make it reusable.
PO: 1- is
2- from
3- in
4- a
5- work
6- old
In the case of matching exercises, the teacher could prepare independent posters for the columns to
be joined and stick them separately (see picture 12). In this way, students draw the lines on the
board.
Visual aids are good for visual people, but they are not the only kind of students we have in the
classroom, so it is good to keep in mind that auditory and kinaesthetic people do not always profit
that much from visual aids.
For auditory students
1. Dictation
Although dictation has long been criticized and banned from the English classroom, it should not be
considered a bad thing. Dictation is useful if we make good use of it. It is helpful to develop
listening skills. Students are exposed to chunks of language and they are able to understand the
general meaning.
Byrne (1986, pp.20-21) claims that dictation involves both listening comprehension and writing and
it is more difficult than we consider. He suggests we should use it to practice specific
pronunciation; such as minimal pairs and homophones. For this purpose, it is better to use sentences
rather than whole passages. When using passages, he admits that they should not be too long or
include sentences that cannot be split into meaningful units. If there are long sentences, we could
repeat them as many times as necessary instead of dividing them up. While Byrne considers that
dictating isolated words is bad, Revell and Norman (1997, p.37) do not seem to agree with him.
They suggest column dictation as a good way to integrate the four skills. An alternative: give each
Humanising Language Teaching Magazine; Year 16; Issue 1; February 2014, ISSN 1755-9715 http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb14/less01.htm
2. Songs
Songs are real English input easily found outside the classroom and they are usually very
motivating. Songs are helpful for students with musical intelligence. They think via rhythms and
melodies and they remember complex structures they have heard in songs. They can even make
sense of complex abstract lyrics.
As Byrne thinks (1986, p.92) they are real and once again provide a link between the classroom
and the outside world. They are enjoyable and therefore memorable. Even if they present
difficulties of comprehension, there is an incentive to overcome them. Revell and Norman (1997,
p.110) share this view, in the sense that they consider that songs help create a good rapport in the
classroom since it maximizes similarities between teacher and students. Whenever the teacher is
interested in something they like and knows about it, she is felt closer. She meets them at their map
of the world. Once we match, we can begin to influence, if we choose to, and if it is appropriate. In
fact we can only influence from a matching position from a position of rapport.
2. 1. True/False exercises
The following activity is a consolidation lesson for modals to indicate: prediction, permission,
advice and obligation. Students listened to the song Father and Son by Boyzone and said whether
the statements were true or false.
1. The son shouldnt make a change now.
2. The son should relax.
3. The son should take a vacation.
Humanising Language Teaching Magazine; Year 16; Issue 1; February 2014, ISSN 1755-9715 http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb14/less01.htm
Humanising Language Teaching Magazine; Year 16; Issue 1; February 2014, ISSN 1755-9715 http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb14/less01.htm
one is flicking a cigarette - the other one is giving a high five - the other one is hailing a taxi cab the other one is playing the piano - the other ones giving a peace sign
3. CDs
Workings with CDs may be boring if the lyrics are too long and students lose the gist. It is better to
use shorter songs, split them up, or make pauses. It is possible to ask students to listen to the song
and tell later what they remember. Littlewood (1990, p.68) offers an interesting classification of
listening activities.
3. 1. Performing physical tasks
This kind of activity is usually associated with Ashers Total Physical Response. However, it is not
the only way of having students do things after verbal and non-verbal prompts.
Identification and selection: Students need a set of pictures, they listen to the tape and have
to decide what picture is being referred to.
Sequencing: Students can be given pictures and, while they listen to the tape, they place the
pictures in the correct sequence.
Locating: Students place items into their appropriate location according to the tape. They
can use linguistic reference from the lyrics to locate the song or the singer. They can work
with the singers biography or they can place songs in time.
Drawing and constructing: While students listen to a description or discussion, they can
draw something. They can create a whole comic strip after listening to a song or story. They
can turn it into drama.
3. 2. Transferring information
Students can listen and put the information into a different format, like a chart or a gap-filling
exercise. I used this technique with adults at a private institute. I made them listen to a tape where a
person described his meals and students had to draw the tables with the food they heard. Then they
compared pictures.
3. 3. Reformulating and evaluating information
Students reformulate the text in their own words, they can make a summary or take down notes.
For kinaesthetic students
1. Simulation
Littlewood (1981, pp.49-62) grades activities taking into account teacher-control and learnercreativity As this control becomes less tight and specific, so there is increased scope for the
learners creativity. In this respect, the activities can be viewed as part of a single continuum which
links pre-communicative and communicative activities.
Humanising Language Teaching Magazine; Year 16; Issue 1; February 2014, ISSN 1755-9715 http://www.hltmag.co.uk/feb14/less01.htm
Control
Creativity
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Maley, A. and Duff, A. (1978). Drama Techniques in Language Learning. London: Longman.
Revell, J. and Norman, S. (1997). In Your Hands. London: Saffire Press.
Widdowson (1978). Teaching Language as Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Willis, J. (1995). Teaching English through English (16th impression). London: Longman.
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