Online Grammar-
The first activity that can be used to assist ESL students in the classroom is the Grammar Aquarium. The students need to have access to a computer and headphones. The teacher can divide the students up into pairs, or allow them to work individually. Also, those who have internet access at home can be given the website address to continue getting assistance at home. It is up to the teacher to decide how much time will be given in class for this site. This can be given as an extra activity when there's down time in the classroom, or just anytime to get more practice.
http://www.autoenglish.org/freeexercises.htm
Similar to the first activity, teachers may use The English Grammar Lab online free of charge to build English grammar skills, also dividing students into pairs or allowing them to work individually. This site has a wonderful section on idioms, which will prove beneficial to students learning English as their second language.
http://www.englishmedialab.com/grammar.html
Discussion boards-
A great tool to use in the classroom is a discussion board which can be created on teacher web pages. www.freewebs.com is a website for teachers where they can create their own classroom page. Here, forums can be set up. The topics are chosen by the teacher and the students can go on there to monitor the discussions. Click on the link for an example: http://thompson1102.webs.com/apps/forums/
When it comes to discussion boards, they take a lot of time and effort to get started and maintain. Teachers need to be willing to spend time to make sure the comments are appropriate and everyone is participating. For ESL students, this is a great way for them to communicate without the worry of having to do it in class. This is a neat way to allow students to truly open up and it also allows higher levels of thinking to occur.
imovies-
After a lesson is learned in class, or students conduct their own research on a topic, imovies are a great way for them to show off what they learned. Over the years, students have enjoyed creating them because they are able to show off their creativity. It can also be used as a great assessment tool because based on what information they include in their video, you can tell if they mastered the concepts. imovies are mainly for mac users, but there are other ways to make videos on PC's like using Windows Movie Maker. Click on the links below to get more information.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx
free clip art courtesy: http://images.clipartof.com/small/4298-Concept-Clipart-Illustration-Of-Chefs--Cooks-In-A-Recipe-Box.jpg
Discussion boards-
A great tool to use in the classroom is a discussion board which can be created on teacher web pages. www.freewebs.com is a website for teachers where they can create their own classroom page. Here, forums can be set up. The topics are chosen by the teacher and the students can go on there to monitor the discussions. Click on the link for an example: http://thompson1102.webs.com/apps/forums/
When it comes to discussion boards, they take a lot of time and effort to get started and maintain. Teachers need to be willing to spend time to make sure the comments are appropriate and everyone is participating. For ESL students, this is a great way for them to communicate without the worry of having to do it in class. This is a neat way to allow students to truly open up and it also allows higher levels of thinking to occur.
imovies-
After a lesson is learned in class, or students conduct their own research on a topic, imovies are a great way for them to show off what they learned. Over the years, students have enjoyed creating them because they are able to show off their creativity. It can also be used as a great assessment tool because based on what information they include in their video, you can tell if they mastered the concepts. imovies are mainly for mac users, but there are other ways to make videos on PC's like using Windows Movie Maker. Click on the links below to get more information.
http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/moviemaker/default.mspx
To practice comprehension, have students use youtube.com video clips and answer questions after they have viewed the clips. This is and independent activity that can be done at school in the classroom or the computer lab. It can also be an enrichment activity for homework. The advantage is that students may watch the clips as many times as necessary to master comprehension. Start at the link below, then develop your own similar lessons.
http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/eslvideo/esl_movieclip8.html
free clip art courtesy: http://images.clipartof.com/small/4298-Concept-Clipart-Illustration-Of-Chefs--Cooks-In-A-Recipe-Box.jpg