Answer:  The pair work speaking activity, DRAW 'N' SHARE,  works beautifully to give learners a chance for introspection and high-order thinking skills.  In addition, learners can interact and get to know each other better.

Title:  Draw 'n' Share pair work speaking activity 

Level: All levels from B1

Age:  12+

WHAT is a Learning Diary? To begin discussing this question, we will define a Foreign Language Learning Diary as a journal, record or diary of what one has listened to, viewed, read, discussed or written in the target language.  The diary is a personal document but can be shared with the learner’s instructor and/or fellow classmates.

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ANSWER: The activity we have to suggest, appropriate for B1+ learners, begins with in-class dictionary work.  To conduct the group activity titled Moving With Meaning:  A Kinesthetic Way To Teach Adjectives,  you will need to have either an English-English Dictionary on hand or access to an online dictionary for each group of learners.   Also, you will need to select sets of 3 to 5 synonyms; select one set for each group of learners and an additional set to use as an example.

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QUESTION:  As language teachers, the ‘authority’ in class, we have many opportunities to give feedback to our learners.  My question is “How can we encourage our learners to give us feedback on how much they value what we ask them to do and how they feel when interacting in class?”  

ANSWER:  Personal Connectors is an in-class writing activity designed to provide learners with a number of compound and complex sentences, which they can refer to when they practice essay writing in class or at home. Connectors, which are difficult for many learners to use and learn, need to be associated with the individual learner's real experiences to make sense to them and to be remembered. 

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΗ:  Στα ελληνικά λοιπόν για τους καθηγητές/τριες όλων των άλλων γλωσσών. Η άσκηση αυτή είναι ειδικά για τον γραπτό λόγο για Επίπεδα Β1+. Ειδικότερα, μία άσκηση που βοηθάει τους μαθητές/τριες μας να διαβάσουν προσεκτικά και σταδιακά τις οδηγίες, να κάνουν

*καταιγισμό ιδεών ( brainstorming),

*να κρατήσουν σημειώσεις,

*να τις ιεραρχήσουν, και επομένως να σχηματίσουν ένα πλάνο, και

*να εκφράσουν τις ιδέες τους.  

Η διαδικασία αυτή μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί για επιστολές (emails) και για περιγραφικές-αφηγηματικές εκθέσεις.

Familiarizing learners with works of art is a great idea for a number of foreign language projects! We'd like to share a lesson that you can do with your B2 students, which can be a 'springboard' for a series of projects around Art, Music and Poetry.  

PART 1:  Show your students a print of Vincent Van Gogh's painting “Starry Night”. [Another option for elicitation is to show the interactive animation of this painting  by Petros Vrellis   http://vimeo.com/36466564 ]

Answer:   When working with learners, we may want to provide them with an array of multi-sensory activities.  This activity is great for hands-on learners because it requires the learners to handle the paper circles to form the caterpillar's body and 'reshape' its body parts to revise question formation! The only minor preparation by the teacher is to cut out the 'manipulatives'  for this grammar game, which is designed to help learners practice and consolidate the formation of the interrogative forms of verb tenses that have been presented to them.

ANSWER: Writing activities must take place in class. And, when we say writing, we mean productive writing activities which are specifically designed so learners can produce in writing the knowledge they have just acquired or they have acquired so far.

Answer: It's true that Valentine's Day isn't part of every language learner's culture and tradition. However, just about all of the world has adopted it, as it does give the opportunity to people to "celebrate" love and friendship on a special day.

We would like to suggest an activity which could be used for Valentine's Day, but it could also be used any other time of the year, whenever you would like to give the opportunity to your learners (of all ages) to be mindful and to express positive feelings towards each other, their best friend, or their family.

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