This article gives a step-by-guide for teachers who would like to use authentic audio recordings with B2-level students in the classroom. Along the way, it mentions the various challenges a non-expert listener might experience, and explains how we can devise confidence-building activities which address these problems.
This activity is based on one of the lessons in our book Pen Pictures 3 (Oxford University Press). In this version, the picture story has been made into a video to help insipire the students before they do the writing task.
In this activity, students read an article in favour of internet censorship. Then they prepare for a class debate for and against this kind of censorship. The activity is inpired by the debates in For and Against by L G Alexander (Longman 1969).
This is a short mystery story in two parts. The questions challenge students to imagine or deduce what happened. The story was inspired by the Roald Dahl tale The Landlady, and I first wrote it for New Ways to Go 4 (CUP).
This is a short murder story, with a note taking activity. The story is rich in past simple passive, and there is an extension activity to focus on this language point. There are audio downloads in case you want to make this into a listening activity rather than reading.
In this workshop, we’ll analyse some of the challenges language learners face when listening to authentic texts. Then we’ll take a walk through a listening lesson, trying out and discussing the different types of tasks which ‘teach’ listening, and help learners aspiring to B2 level become more effective, confident and autonomous listeners.
There is a video of this lecture recorded at TESOL Spain, Bilbao below. Pronunciation is just as important for listening as for speaking. In this workshop, we will see how to help learners to understand authentic English by focusing on pronunciation. Specifically, we will look at features of connected speech, intonation, and accent.
There are 18 units in the book, each concerning a different aspect of grammar. For each unit, there are photocopiable pages - one for the song, one of practice exercises and one which is a game.
