Adrià's Language Portfolio

Language biography:

My name is Adrià Lapuente Roca, I am twenty-one years old and I was born and raised in Valencia. My parents share origin with me but have different mother tongues, so at home my eighteen-year-old brother and me speak Catalan with my mum and between us, and Castilian with my dad.

Moreover, I attended Escola La Masia, an only-Catalan speaking school which developed my Catalan skills for fourteen years. This also made me use Catalan as a L1 with my friends

Marta's Language Portfolio

For sure, there is not a better way to introduce me as a future english teacher than sharing with you my language portfolio in which you can know more about my relationship with languages.


Language biography:

My name is Marta Ruiz and I am twenty years old. I was born in Vila-real, a little city next to Castellón, where I spent all my childhood and adolescense. My parents were not born in the Valencian region so they always speak spanish at home, because my father and grandparents are from Jaén, in Andalucia, and my mother's family are from teruel, Aragón. So I speak Spanish as a target language.

I can also speak Valencian but I don't have the same competences as in Spanish because I only speak this language at school, but not with family nor with friends. And because of me not speaking Valencian at home, my parents have always wanted me to learn it at school.

Circle Games

Circle games are a great way to encourage the whole class to work together. They also provide an often welcome change in working pattern. They are mostly used with young learners, but teenagers will play them and so will the right kind of adult class: one that doesn't take itself too seriously.

What are Circle Games?

Circle games are any games or activity that involve the whole class, sitting in a circle. Many of the games recycle vocabulary and involve an element of fun. We would like to outline a selection of our favourite circle games that can be used in young learner and adult classes. Some of the ideas were given to us by colleagues or they are classic children's party games which have been adapted to the English language classroom.

What’s My Problem?

This is a brilliant EFL game to practice giving advice. It should be played after the ‘giving advice’ vocabulary lesson has taken place. It is a great way for students to see what they have remembered and what needs reviewing. This game works well with any age group, just adapt it to fit the age you’re working with.

• Why use it? Speaking and Listening; Giving Advice
• Who it's best for: All ages and levels

How to play:

1. Write ailments or problems related to your most recent lesson on post-it notes and stick one post-it note on each student’s back.
2. The students must mingle and ask for advice from other students to solve their problem.
3. Students should be able to guess their problem based on the advice they get from their peers.
4. Use more complicated or obscure problems to make the game more interesting for older students. For lower levels and younger students, announce a category or reference a recent lesson, like "Health", to help them along.

Hot Seat

This is one of the students’ favorite games. Hot Seat allows students to build their vocabulary and encourages competition in the classroom. They are also able to practice their speaking and listening skills and it can be used for any level of learner.

• Why use it? Vocabulary; Speaking and Listening
• Who it's best for: All ages and levels

How to play:

1. Split the class into 2 teams, or more if you have a large class.
2. Elect one person from each team to sit in the Hot Seat, facing the classroom with the board behind them.
3. Write a word on the board. One of the team members of the student in the hot seat must help the student guess the word by describing it. They have a limited amount of time and cannot say, spell or draw the word.
4. Continue until each team member has described a word to the student in the Hot Seat.

Reinventing Writing: The 9 Tools That Are Changing Writing, Teaching, and Learning Forever

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In this much-anticipated book from acclaimed blogger Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher), you’ll learn the key shifts in writing instruction necessary to move students forward in today’s world. Vicki describes how the elements of traditional writing are being reinvented with cloud-based tools.

Invent To Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom

 

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There’s a technological and creative revolution underway. Amazing new tools, materials and skills turn us all into makers. Using technology to make, repair or customize the things we need brings engineering, design and computer science to the masses. Fortunately for educators, this maker movement overlaps with the natural inclinations of children and the power of learning by doing.