How to use 'imagine' by John Lennon for an EFL music lesson.

It has been a while since I last published an entry about songs for EFL lesson. Moreover, I has been a while since I last taught elementary students as well. Right now I feel very energetic and motivated about the lessons (we're at the begging of this semester) and the challenge I will have, say, to face. I have been teaching pre-intermediate, intermediate and advanced groups for the last few years.

I could not remember the feeling of being again participating in this stage, say, of English learning. Teaching this level might be a bit hard at the beginning. Students might need more time to think and it is quite normal to have some moments of complete silence in the classroom while they absorb, process, and practice new information in the language they are learning.  

Here I have this incredible John Lennon’s song called imagine. I am quite sure that everyone has heard about this song or even listened to it a thousand times.  

I have used this song so many times in my lessons, but always with different approach and purpose. I usually use it to present some prepositions, but there are many other possibilities.

Divide the group into two teams and give them these pictures. Play the song and ask them to only listen to it at the first time. After that, ‘brainstorm’. I mean, ask them to tell you what they were able to understand. Write everything they say on the board (even the mistakes and misunderstandings). Play the song again, but now you should ask them to put the following pictures (cards, if you like) in the correct order. Eventually, I may provide them with the lyrics and ask them 'to fill in the blanks.

I’m playing this song this week to my elementary students. Yes, that’s right. I’ll bring my guitar and ask them to sing along with me.

Hope you liked this entry. Leave a comment if you did. 

Imagine

John Lennon

01. Listen to the song and complete with the words you hear.

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
above us only sky

Imagine all the people
Living ______ today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't________ to do
____________ to kill or die for
And no religion too

Imagine all the people
Living life ______ peace
You may say,
I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the _________ one
I hope some day
You'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A ____________ of man

Imagine all the people
_______________ all the world

You may say,
I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope some day
You'll join us
And the world will be as one

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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DICAS PARA O ENSINO MÉDIO.

Mais uma pequena forma de fazer os alunos se esforçarem para pensar no inicio de uma aula ou no final. Aqui, envolvesse não somente a língua inglesa, mas a matemática e a lógica, indispensáveis para a sobrevivência aqui na Terra.

Harry Houdini, the famous magician, was born on March 24, 1874. How old was he when he died on October 31, 1926?

Resposta:

Iniciando as aulas no Ensino Médio.

Que tal começar uma aula de níveis intermediários com essa pergunta?

The record-breaking balloon flight took 19 days, 21 hours, and 55 minutes. About how many hours is that?

Resposta...

'Britain's Most Natural Beauty',

Do you recognize this woman in the photo? No? She is an 18-year-old girl who has been found to have the most beautiful face in the world, or at least in Britain.

I’m not writing to show you guys her face, but to say that we can use this subject to teach our students. How? Well, maybe by presenting them the ‘superlative’ in English. I know this is not enough, but probably a good beginning.

All you have to do is show the video and ask them to talk about it and naturally you, teacher, may focus on ‘the most beautiful’ structure. Enjoy the moment and elicit from them if they could say more adjectives about the photo and then ask them to compare it to another famous people.

[Video] A schoolgirl from the British seaside town of Deal in Kent has been found to have the most scientifically beautiful face -- at least for the purposes of TV. 18 year old Florence Colgate, who works part time at a fish and chip shop, won a competition called 'Britain's Most Natural Beauty' after she sent a photograph of herself into a television programme, and then won a public vote.

Britain's Most Natural Beauty winner Florence Colgate: "Basically it was just about natural beauty and I had to send in a picture wearing no make-up and from that I got called to say I got through into the top 5 out of 8000 people."

Researchers who've studied attractiveness say that on a perfect face, the distance between pupils is 46 per cent of the width of the face from ear to ear - Florence's is 44 per cent. The distance between the eyes and mouth should be a third of the length of the face - Florence's is 32.8 per cent. A picture of Florence will soon be on show at 'Superdrug' stores throughout Britain and she says she hopes some offers of modelling work come from there. The 18-year-old says she's a confident and happy person which she believes shines through.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

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Learning English from F*R*I*E*N*D*S

Season #10; Episode #11: The One Where the Stripper Cries.

Muitas pessoas estão me escrevendo pedindo sugestões de atividades. Infelizmente meu tempo está cada vez menor, um dia para mim não tem mais 24 horas faz tempo, por isso, não por não querer compartilhar, mas por estar em um momento sem muitas ideias produtivas, apenas posto essa atividade. Se alguém tiver alguma ideia e quiser compartilhar conosco, esse espaço está aberto.   

Aconselhável para o nível PRE-INTERMEDIARIO (b1). 

Esse episódio pode ser usado para praticar o listening.

1.   É só usar esse dialogo para que os alunos vejam sem a legenda, depois entregar uma cópia da conversação com os espaços em branco para que eles possam completar.

2.   Pedir para que os alunos leiam antes de assistir mais uma vez e depois pedir para que eles assistam e completem o dialogo.

3.   Depois praticar a conversação em grupo de três ou com a sala toda (isso depende do professor).

4.   Depois recomendando ao professor passar o episódio todo (Watch Friends - Season #10; Episode #11: The One Where the Stripper Cries).

5.   Lógico que dependo da criatividade do professor, mais coisas podem surgir, mas sugiro não passar muito tempo nesse vídeo, pois os alunos podem se sentir desmotivado para assistir depois de fazer muitas atividades. O intuito é mesmo fazer com que eles tenham uma noção do que o episódio trata.

6.   Sugiro passar esse vídeo em uma sexta-feira (depende do formato do curso, no meu caso tenho aulas todos os dias na mesma turma), dia em que os mesmos podem estar muito cansados e menos dispostos do que nos dias normais.   

---------------------------------

Watch Friends - Season #10; Episode #11: The One Where the Stripper Cries.

Ross: Hey, where’s Rachel?
Monica: She and Phoebe took the stripper to (1) ____ (2) _____________.
Ross: Did you know Chandler kissed Rachel?
Monica: What? When was this?
Ross: (3) _____________. The weekend you guys visited me at school.
Monica: Oh my God! That’s wild!
Chandler: Yeah, but it was like a million years ago, so it doesn’t matter.
Ross: Well, it matters to me.
Chandler: Why?
Ross: Because… the night you kissed Rachel was the night I kissed Rachel for the (4) _______________.
Chandler: You kissed her that night too?
Monica: Two guys in one night? Wow, I thought she became a slut after she got her nose fixed.
Chandler: Seriously, where did this happen?
Ross: Okay, after you told me she was passed out in our room, I went in there to make sure she was all right. She was lying on my bed, all buried in peoples coats. Well, I went to kiss her on the forehead, you know. But it was so dark, I accidentally got her lips. I started to pull away, but then I felt her start to (4) ____ (5) ______ (6) __________.  It was only for a second, but… it was amazing. And now, now I find out that you kissed her first.
Chandler: Oh wait… What bed did you say she was on?
Ross: Mine.
Chandler: I’m pretty sure I put her on my bed.
Ross: No, she was definitely on my bed.
Chandler: Why would I kiss a girl, and then put her on your bed?
Ross: Well, then who was on my bed?
Monica: (screeching) OH! Oh, oh! (holding her hand in front of her mouth)
Ross: (realizing) NO! No, no!
Monica: YES! (Chandler gets an “oh no!” look on his face)
Ross: You were under the pile of coats?
Monica: I was the pile of coats!
Ross: OH MY GOD!
Monica: You were my Midnight Mystery Kisser?
Ross: You were (7) ___ (8) _______ (9) ______ with Rachel?
Monica: You were my first kiss ever?
Chandler: What did I marry into?

----------------------------

Answers. 

TRABALHANDO COM VÍDEOS NAS AULAS DE LÍNGUA INGLESA.

Mesmo quando planejamos as aulas de forma bem feita, sempre temos a impressão de que faltou algo mais. Pensando nisso, procuro variar o máximo possível e usar todos os recursos disponíveis naquela aula ou durante a semana (Preciso lembrar aqui que minhas aulas têm duração de duas horas em cada turma, dez horas por semana em cada turma e 180 horas por semestre, ou seja, 90 dias). Com tudo isso, temos dois lados: o bom e o ruim.

Como assim? O lado bom: Temos tempo de sobra para refazer uma aula ou outra que não deu certo. Podemos repensar a forma como abordar o mesmo conteúdo, mas de maneira diferente, caso não tenha funcionado conforme o planejado, na primeira vez. O lado ruim é que corremos o perigo de ter os nossos recursos (jogos, dinâmicas, canções, vídeos etc) esgotados. Pensando nessa possibilidade, resolvi compartilhar com você, professor de inglês que está lendo essa postagem agora, essa atividade que fiz no nível pré-intermediário.

Trata-se de uma atividade baseada em uma parte de um dos episódios da série americana FRIENDS.

EPISÓDIO: THE ONE WITH THE BALLROOM DANCING – AT THE GYM. Quarta temporada – episodio 4.

PRIMEIRO PASSO: Passe esse vídeo acima uma vez e peça para que os alunos apenas assistam ao mesmo. Depois, tente fazer com que eles digam o que está acontecendo naquele momento. Qual a situação (lembre-se de apresentar os personagens ROSS e CHANDLER primeiro).

SEGUNDO PASSO: Antes de assistir o vídeo pela segunda vez e faça as seguintes perguntas:

1.   Do you like sports?

2.   What kind of sports do you like?

3.   Do you like going to the gym?

4.   If so, how often do you go?

5.   Do you practice any other sports besides going to the gym?

6.   Have you ever quit any sports you started? Why?

Essas perguntas devem ajudar a entender o que está acontecendo no vídeo. Claro que o vocabulário deve ser trabalhando antes de voltar a ver o vídeo e o professor pode acrescentar mais perguntas.

Passe o vídeo mais uma vez.

TERCEIRO PASSO: Depois de ver o vídeo mais uma vez, peça para que os alunos respondam com VERDADEIRO ou FALSO:

[   ] Chandler and Ross are members of the gym.

[   ] The gym is the worst equipped gym in New York City.

[   ] Chandler thinks it is easy to quit the gym.

[   ] Ross doesn’t want to join the gym.

[   ] Ross is easily influenced to become a member of the gym.

QUARTO PASSO: Peça para que os alunos assistam mais uma vez e tente obter feedback dos mesmos. Peça para que digam suas impressões do vídeo (se foi de difícil compreensão mesmo assistindo várias vezes, se à medida que assistiam cada vez mais, ficava mais fácil de entender etc).

Para níveis mais avançados ou caso a turma tenha vocabulário, faça as seguintes perguntas:

1.   Are you a quitter?

2.   What important things have you quit in your life?

3.   Is there a right moment to quit things?

Por fim, assistir ao episodio todo (duração de mais ou menos 24 minutos) poderia ser uma boa forma de encerrar a atividade. Nesse estágio, os alunos não teriam mais que fazer nenhuma atividade controlada, cabendo aos mesmos apenas assistir, “sem compromisso”, ao episódio todo para ter contato com o “inglês real” do seriado. Depois o professor poderia fazer algumas perguntas simples e passar para a próxima parte da sua aula. 

Temos mais atividades para compartilhar, mas a próxima somente será postada aqui no blog quando o mesmo estiver com 300 curtidas no Facebook. Se você gostaria de ver mais atividades, curta nossa página clicando na imagem acima.

Veja agora uma versão estendida e com legendas do mesmo episódio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh8PFs0LTKc

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Did you spot a typo?

Do you have any tips or examples to improve this page?

Do you disagree with something on this page?

Use one of your social-media accounts to share this page:

I am always looking for ways of improving this blog. I should be grateful if you would indicate the appropriate number below.

How would you rate this post?

(5) Excellent (4) Very good (3) Good (2) Satisfaction (1) It needs improvements

WARM UP ACTIVITIES FOR ENGLISH LESSONS.

Fact or Fiction

In this game, one person tells a short story about themselves or someone they know or heard about. Usually it is something funny or crazy. It can be a true story, or something made up.

Example: Josh tells a story about his Uncle Leo who sleeps in the nude. One day Uncle Leo was sleepwalking and he went outside and took his dog for a walk. The next door neighbor was coming home late from work and saw him! She called the police and he got arrested for being naked in public.

Everyone around the room has to say whether they think Josh's story is FACT (true) or FICTION (made up). Josh reveals the truth when everyone has guessed. Members can take turns telling a story.

Curta nossa página no Facebook [LINK].

English Language Teaching: Activities.

You ever tried getting your haircut in a foreign language? Or what about describing other people's hair?

Warm Up Activities For English Clubs.

Can't Say Yes or No

In this game everyone is given a certain number of coins or squares of paper (about 10). Everyone moves around the room starting conversations and asking each other questions. The only rule is that you cannot say the words YES or NO. If you accidentally say one of these words, you have to give a coin or square to the person who you said it to. Try to trick each other by asking questions that you would almost always answer with a yes or no. Think of other ways to trick your friends. Sometimes asking two quick questions in a row works well. (Especially tag questions: Are you new here? This is your first time in America, isn't it?). This game is a great way to practice using small talk and to add variety to your vocabulary. It also makes everyone laugh.

PORTAL DA LÍNGUA INGLESA has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-partly internet websites referred to in this post, and does not guarantee that any context on such websites are, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

In some instances, I have been unable to trace the owners of the pictures used here; therefore, I would appreciate any information that would enable me to do so. Thank you very much.

Is something important missing? Report an error or suggest an improvement. Please, I strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact me!

Your feedback is welcome. Please direct comments and questions to me at bruno_coriolano@hotmail.com

Did you spot a typo?

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Saint Patrick's Day is just around the corner... Are you guys ready????

Next Saturday Irish people celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day and here we have some activities related to this celebration. In this very first activity we present a video about the history behind the myth. We hope you enjoy it.

It's an interview about the history of St. Patrick's Day and St. Patrick himself. The worksheet contains a list of comprehension questions for the video. Your students are supposed to listen and then answer the questions. You may want to pre-teach some of the vocabulary.

Watch the video (HERE).

The speaker is Irish, so it's not so easy to understand him. 

These questions are related to the video “Who was St. Patrick”

1-   Where was St. Patrick from?

2-   After being kidnapped, what did He become?

3-   What did God say to him?

4-   Why did he decide to become a cleric?

5-   Why did he come back to Ireland?

6-   Where did St. Patrick create the 1^st Church?

7-   Write about the Legend of the Snakes.

Do you want some more? (HERE)

SUGESTÃO DE ATIVIDADES: LISTENING.

Essa atividade serve para os níveis iniciais e para ser utilizada quando o tema for nacionalidades (nationalities).

É bem simples: O professor ler o texto e depois entrega somente as perguntas para os alunos. Antes de iniciar a leitura, peça para os alunos focarem a atenção na pronuncia das nacionalidades e países.

Essa atividade é simples e não exige muito preparo do professor. Apenas temos que observar aqui, a necessidade da pronuncia na hora da leitura. O professor pode ainda pedir para os alunos reescreverem o texto trocando apenas as nacionalidades e o nome dos países.

Lembrem-se sempre que as atividades devem ser um pouco desafiadoras. Você pode dizer o nome dos países e pedir para os alunos darem as nacionalidades. Outra sugestão é falar o nome de famosos e pedir para completarem com suas nacionalidades. Nesse caso, lembre-se de ativar os conhecimentos prévios dos pupilos.

Segue a atividade:

READING COMPREHENSION FOR BEGINNERS:

MY FRIEND PETER.

UNDERLINE THE COUNTRIES AND CIRCLE THE NATIONALITIES.

My friend's name is Peter. Peter is from Amsterdam, in Holland. He is Dutch. He is married and has two children. His wife, Jane, is American. She is from Boston in The United States. Her family is still in Boston, but she now works and lives with Peter in Milan. They speak English, Dutch, German and Italian! Their children are pupils at a local primary school. The children go to school with other children from all over the world. Flora, their daughter, has friends from France, Switzerland, Austria and Sweden. Hans, their son, goes to school with students from South Africa, Portugal, Spain and Canada. Of course, there are many children from Italy. Imagine, French, Swiss, Austrian, Swedish, South African, American, Italian, Spanish and Canadian children all learning together in Italy!

Comprehension check questions

1. Where is Peter from?

2. Where is his wife from?

3. Where are they now?

4. Where is her family?

5. What are the children's names?

6. How can you describe the school?

Check true or false. Correct the false ones.

1. Jane is Canadian.

2. Peter is Dutch.

3. There are many children from different countries at the school.

4. There are children from Australia at the school.

English Teacher Bruno Coriolano

www.portaldalinguainglesa.blogspot.com