Activity with EdPuzzle - FOOD AROUND THE WORLD

 

Hi there! The main topic of this activity is about food around the world. As we know, food is an engaging topic for our students, especially if we treat it in a different way instead of learning by heart in vocabulary tasks. We will divide this activity into three different parts, and the activity done with EdPuzzle will be the post-task activity. We will focus on the different flavours of the food and also the cultural heritage of UK and its diversity of places to eat. 

PRE-TASK

The first part of the activity will consist of the presentation of the vocabulary, which deals with flavours. Before the presentation, students will perform a brainstorming about different cuisines around the world and also the different flavours we can find in them. Then, we will present the following picture, in which flavours are described. We will select those that we consider more useful for them.

TASK

After presenting the vocabulary, students will elaborate a short text at home describing their favourite food and also how does it taste, as well as using verbs dealing with cooking and taste. There are two examples below.

POST-TASK

The last part of this activity deals with a cultural video about restaurants and food edited with EdPuzzle, in which students will recognize the different flavours and foods around the world. The video is set in Oxford and they will be able to see the wide variety of food and tastes, as well as respecting sociocultural aspects from the UK and its population. Students will do it as an interactive listening task, simulating a quiz contest

Here is the link: https://edpuzzle.com/media/646a6fa201113942e875016f

Why have I chosen this video?

Intercultural awareness and sociocultural aspects are fundamental to learn a language. It is, of course, necessary to learn the four skills properly, but if we do not contextualise and show our students aspects from other English-speaking countries, it would be more difficult for them to become familiar with the English Language. I consider this video very useful to show our students the diversity around the world and the importance of respecting each other. 

In terms of learning objectives, we can highlight the following ones:

1) to learn the different flavours from our cuisine and foreign cuisine

2) to describe their favourite food and flavours

3) to know the reality around the world, especially in English-speaking countries

4) to identify dishes from English Speaking Countries. 

As we can see, the only flipped part is the writing task. The video will be shown in the classroom as it is an interactive and motivating tool for our students. They want to participate and speak aloud in the classroom in order to choose the correct answers. 

Next time, I will prepare more variety of materials, because it can be also useful for grammar tasks or even writing linking words. Such a great tool!

Activity with TimeToast: FEMALE WRITERS

 

As an English teacher, I consider that culture and literature from English-speaking countries are crucial to understanding the language itself. In this case, I have focused on the English female authors, because the topic of literature can be interesting and appealing for students if we work it in an original format. 

This activity is targeted for students of Compulsory Secondary Education, concretely it can be used both in 3rd or 4th level. The aim of this activity is to learn about one of the most important British female writers. This activity is perfect for the World Book Day, especially if we want to add gender approach (in this case, for making visible female authors and their literary works as well to their contributions to society and literary movements). 

Working with biographies is sometimes boring and if we want to approach this topic to our students, we must do it in interactive and motivating format. Creating timelines is a different way of practising reading skills, as well as working in groups and cooperative work. 

First of all, it is important to show our students different timelines, so they can select in groups the information they should include in this task. In small groups, the students had to work with ICTs too, with a tablet or a laptop in order to include the different events and periods concerning the life of the chosen author. I wrote their parents via iPasen the day  before in order to remind them and the students to bring their electronical devices. At first, they were really confused because they have not heard about TimeToast and, as usual, they thought it was a boring and traditional activity. After convincing them, the work was easier than expected and the teams worked properly. The only thing is that I had two lessons with this activity instead of one, but they could finish it on time. 

I have never heard before about this app, but thanks to this course I have discovered it and I will use it as an amazing resource to practice reading and cultural aspects. This format implies students to work in teams, encourages cooperative learning and they also develop their learning to learn competence. 

The following link shows an example about the life and works of the British author Jane Austen, considered one of the most important novelists in the British Literature: https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/2937123 

The importance of reading habits

Communication is divided into two categories: oral and written communication. In this case, we are going to focus primarily on written skills, concretely reading. Reading habits have changed throughout history, as shown in the pictures below. Nowadays, there is a wide variety of textbooks, and also, the increase of users of digital books is a fact that is currently happening in our society.

This first picture, for instance, shows an adult woman who is teaching a child to read. It seems she is an older member of his family, probably his grandmother, because of her age and clothes. The fact of reading in this image is not an imposition as some people might suggest; Reading is part of our culture and a skill which is necessary to learn. Reading helps us to develop our linguistic skills, as well as the acqusition of new vocabulary. And, of course, this is something that we do with our students daily, in the case of being English teachers. The textbook 

On the other hand, what about the second picture? Even third-age people have chosen electronic devices to make easier their reading processes, such as changing the size of the words due to their sight problems or using audiobooks. This fact shows us that choosing different reading formats has no age, and technology is accessible to all people, too. I can't see the woman's expression or gestures, but in this electronic device, the words are bigger than in textbooks for adults. So, it seems that she can read easily in this format instead of paper books. 

In my particular case, I adore reading. For me, having a book is the best present somebody can have. I usually compare the process of reading to an imaginary trip: once you start reading a book is compared to the moment in which the plane departs, far away from your hometown. You can imagine all the characters, descriptions and create your own images, as well as if you travel abroad and observe calmly all the landscapes, the geographical features, even the people who live in that place. 

I always read both in Spanish and English, especially women authors. I love classical authors like Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, George Eliot, and Elizabeth Gaskell. In addition, I am very keen on poetry too. I admire Sylvia Plath and her capacity to write about her pain and how she shows her struggles and her inner strength. Finally, I also read essays about feminism, because it is one of my favourite topics, and I always talk about this issue in my daily lessons with my students (but I recognize that I tend to read in Spanish these kinds of texts because of the specific vocabulary and the complexity of developing the ideas). The importance of women is still non-recognized and I consider that making women's literary works visible is crucial to improve our culture too. I prefer paper books, I adore their smell and to collect them in my bedroom. 

In terms of reading habits, I usually read at the weekends or in my spare time, concretely in the evening or in the afternoon. I can't sleep at night, because I fall asleep easily! 

RESOURCES (1) - Resources for learning vocabulary

 Welcome on board! You can find here several interesting resources for practising vocabulary, especially through the use of ICTS. Using ICTS can help us to improve also our Digital Competence, so let's have a look!

1) BRITISH COUNCIL B1-B2 Vocabulary

 This webpage is one of our favourites! It offers plenty of resources and activities to improve and review vocabulary contents. 

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/vocabulary/b1-b2-vocabulary

2) GREAT VOCABULARY GAMES, APPS AND SITES

Here, you can find 20 vocabulary games which can make your learning process more active and dynamic. You can select a wide range of games and apps.

https://www.commonsense.org/education/lists/great-vocabulary-games-apps-and-sites

3) BRITANNICA - Vocabulary Quiz

How many words do you know? You can try this online quiz from Encyclopedia Britannica and enjoy this challenge. 

https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/quiz/vocabulary-start

Welcome on board!

 

Hello everyone!

The purpose of this blog is to offer interesting resources in order to learn English, for all levels of Compulsory Secondary Education and also for Post-Compulsory Secondary Education. 

I hope you find it useful! There will be plenty of resources to share and to enjoy together.

Let's start with this incredible adventure!