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Resources relating to English language learning, employability and teacher-training.
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Resources relating to English language learning, employability and teacher-training.
Featured resources
Literature reviews activity
This activity is aimed at undergraduate students embarking on dissertations. The worksheet can be used for private study but is best used in the classroom context, where it will generate discussion around Literature Reviews, allowing students to look at some examples and compare them, highlighting areas for improvement as well as noting useful academic writing styles, which they can then consider when writing up their own research projects.
This activity could be used in conjunction with a mark scheme / assessment grid from your university, where students allocate a grade to each example given in groups and then justify their grade to other groups of students in the class.
Bundle
Dissertation help
This bundle includes activities around key elements of an undergraduate dissertation. It is designed to assist with the structure and layout of the work as well as to influence the depth of content required in each chapter.
Laying out your research focuses on how research is presented. Students could work in small groups in class with some past dissertations sourced from the university library. Students look through the examples in front of them and discuss what each section contains, thereby coming up with their own definitions for each chapter. The handout allows space for more notes on each section of the dissertation and discussion as a whole class to compare notes may follow.
Writing Abstracts and Introductions, the Literature Reviews activity and Writing Methodologies are activities which can be used in conjunction with a mark scheme / assessment grid from your university, where students allocate a grade to each example given in groups and then justify their grade to other groups of students in the class. The Writing Introductions diagram is supplementary material for students to refer to on their own.
The Quantitative data analysis activity provides small groups of students with raw data, perhaps with each group focusing on a different question. They discuss any problems with the data and how they would analyse it and present the results. They then present their findings to the rest of the class.
The Academic Referencing activity could be set as directed learning following an introduction to referencing at your institution. It enables students to visit the library and/or do research online to write down different examples of referencing. A completed example has been included to give an idea. The activity could lead on to using referencing software, such as RefME.
Quantitative data analysis
This resource is an activity drawing on real action research using actual raw data as an introduction to quantitative data analysis.
The students work in small groups, focusing on one set of raw data each. They discuss any problems with the data and how they would analyse it and present the results. They then present their findings to the rest of the class.
Extension work could involve students designing their own questionnaire and carrying it out before analysing the data and writing up their work as a small-scale research project.
Investigating leadership theories
This resource contains 4 handouts covering different leadership theories, which could be printed (and laminated if you wish) before the class. The leadership theories include:
- Trait theories
- Behavioural and style theories
- Transactional and transformational theories
- Environment leadership theories
Students could work in pairs or small groups, with each group being given 1 of the handouts. Their task is to design a poster on flip-chart paper or a presentation on the computer showing:
- A summary of the theory
- Whether or not they agree with it (and why)
- A strength of the theory
- A weakness of the theory
(Also included in this resource is some examples of student posters on flip-chart paper to give an idea.)
Students can then present their work back to the rest of the class and others could be encouraged to ask questions and/or provide feedback. Further discussion could be around which leadership theory the class think is best (or worst!) and why.
Investigating management theories
This resource contains 7 handouts covering different management theories, which could be printed (and laminated if you wish) before the class. The management theories include:
- Taylor's theory of scientific management
- McGregor’s X/Y theory
- Mayo's theory
- Maslow's hierarchy of social needs
- Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory
- Edward de Bono and lateral thinking
- Tuckman’s stages of group development
- Belbin's team roles
Students could work in pairs or small groups, with each group being given 1 of the handouts. Their task is to design a poster on flip-chart paper or a presentation on the computer showing:
- A summary of the theory
- Whether or not they agree with it (and why)
- A strength of the theory
- A weakness of the theory
Alternatively, students could design a creative presentation, drama, rap or dance to present their theory.
Students can then present their work back to the rest of the class and others could be encouraged to ask questions and/or provide feedback. Further discussion could be around which management theory the class think is best (or worst!) and why.
Bundle
Leadership and management theories
This resource is comprised of:
1. Investigating leadership theories - 4 handouts covering:
- Trait theories
- Behavioural and style theories
- Transactional and transformational theories
- Environment leadership theories
2. Investigating management theories - 7 handouts covering:
- Taylor's theory of scientific management
- McGregor’s X/Y theory
- Mayo's theory
- Maslow's hierarchy of social needs
- Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene theory
- Edward de Bono and lateral thinking
- Tuckman’s stages of group development
- Belbin's team roles
All the handouts mentioned in 1. and 2. could be printed (and laminated) before class. Students could work in pairs or small groups, with each group being given 1 of the handouts. They could be tasked to design a poster on flip-chart paper or a presentation on the computer showing:
- A summary of the theory
- Whether or not they agree with it (and why)
- A strength of the theory
- A weakness of the theory
Alternatively, students could design a creative presentation, drama, rap or dance to present their theory. Students could then present their work back to the rest of the class and others could be encouraged to ask questions and/or provide feedback. Further discussion could be around which leadership or management theory the class think is best (or worst!) and why. An example of students' posters is given as part of the 'investigating leadership theories' resource.
3. Leadership and management theory essay titles - covering the theories mentioned in 1. and 2. No word count has been prescribed, as this can be specified by the tutor according to their requirements. They could be used as a group writing exercise, homework or an assessed essay.
4. SWOT template: this could be used individually or in groups to prompt thinking about the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of different leadership and management styles.
Speed referencing
This classroom activity is aimed at students who are getting to grips with academic referencing and is designed to make learning about referencing fun. Before using this activity, ensure that students understand the concept of referencing and are familiar with the type of referencing and related conventions used by your institution.
To use this activity, print off several copies of this resource and laminate each sheet. (As a guide, the 2 sheets given here are suitable for 1 small group of 2-3 students, so you will need as many copies as you have groups). Use a guillotine to create small cards and put them into packs for each group (I find that using elastic bands or envelopes helps with this).
In small groups of 2-3, students have to order the cards given to show the information required in a reference for: a book, a chapter or essay in an edited book, a web page, a journal article, a blog, an electronic image, a newspaper or magazine article, an online report, a TV or radio programme and a conference paper.
It may be a good idea for students to practise first, referring to the reference guidelines of your institution, before trying to do it with no guidance - at this point, egg timers or an online timer could be used to see which group can organise the references correctly as quickly as possible. The teacher could shout out which one to do e.g. a book for each round to make it easier and more focused than doing all of the references at the same time.
Academic Referencing
This activity is designed for students to use when understanding how academic referencing works. The worksheet can be used after introducing the concept of referencing and how to do it.
Students can visit the library and/or do research online to write down different examples of referencing. A completed example has been included to give an idea. The activity could lead on to using referencing software, such as RefME.
Please note that the style of referencing used here is that of a university I have worked at; you may therefore need to adapt the example to suit your own institution's guidelines.
ESL speaking prompts: leisure, sports and the arts
This resource is aimed at international students learning English and provides some visual prompts of hobbies and activities as well as questions on this topic e.g. 'How much free time do people have in the UK? '; 'Do they go to performances/art galleries/museums etc.? '
It could be used as a gentle introduction to talking about leisure specifically within the UK, for ESOL/citizenship-related classes. It could also be used as a fun way to introduce one of the IELTS speaking topics.
A basic guide to reflective writing
A guide for students to refer to when writing a piece of reflective writing.
Job interviews
This activity is a role play, whereby one student pretends to be a potential employer conducting a job interview and the other student plays the part of the candidate being interviewed for the job. The role play activity gives details as to how each student can prepare for the task (this could be laminated for regular use in class).
The teacher needs to provide some job adverts/descriptions for the students to use alongside the role play activity so that they are focusing on a real job - a selection of job adverts are included in this resource which I have used with my students, but you may wish to find your own adverts, according to your students' interests (again, the adverts could be laminated for use in class).
A selection of adverts could be provided by the tutor so that students can choose which job to focus on, or all students could focus on the same job. Alternatively, students could find a job advert they are interested in and bring it in for this class. Students can swap roles so that they get chance to be both the candidate and the employer.
An alternative to role playing in pairs is to get the students to work in threes, with one student being the employer, one being the candidate and the other being the observer. The observer can then provide feedback as to how the candidate presented themselves and whether the employer seemed convincing or not! The students could then swap roles.
To add a bit of creativity and fun to the task, students playing the part of the employer could think of one 'wild' question to ask after the usual expected questions e.g. 'if you were a biscuit, what kind would you be and why?' The candidate could then try to link this to their own skills and qualifications! For further ideas, see: https://toughnickel.com/finding-job/Off-The-Wall
Idioms
This worksheet enables ESOL students to consider some idioms and to find out what they mean using research skills.
It could be used in class as an activity in a computer room or as homework for students to come ready to discuss in the next lesson.
Presentation skills: academic
This resource is an activity instruction sheet for students, who will work individually to prepare a presentation on an academic subject of their choice. It is aimed at international students learning English for Academic Purposes, who will be studying different degree subjects at a university but it could also be used in an ESOL class in a college, where the students are studying other subjects.
Prior to the activity, you might like to elicit from the students what makes a good presentation and you could also show a YouTube video such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze3IiHsHuIA
The students need time to prepare their presentations so you will probably either allocate a large chunk of the class for this or set it for homework/directed learning to allow adequate time for research. Students could have access to computers to assist with this.
After the allocated preparation time, each student takes it in turns to present. The whole class must be prepared to listen carefully and to ask questions when they are listening, and to be ready to answer questions when they are presenting. Students could be encouraged to give feedback to each other on their presentations - this could be done anonymously via written feedback or via an online voting system if eliciting verbal feedback is difficult.
Depending on how many students you have in the class, this activity with introduction and feedback could take several lessons. This type of activity could also be used as an assessment around speaking skills.
The British Monarchy
This resource contains a PowerPoint presentation about the British Monarchy and the role of the Queen in the UK. A note-taking handout accompanies the presentation. The final slides of the presentation provide references for further reading and research.
This is designed to be used in ESOL-type classes where students are learning about British culture but it could be used with other learners who are studying this topic. Following the presentation, it could lead onto a debate about the role of the Monarchy , or an argumentative essay on this topic.
Map activity: Great Britain, the UK, Ireland or the British Isles?
This map activity includes a handout for students which asks them to label the maps. The accompanying teacher's presentation with the answers could be used to present information first or to use afterwards to clarify answers, or both, depending upon the prior knowledge of the students.
It could be used in Geography classes, or with ESOL learners who have recently moved to the UK.
Homework planner
An adaptable table to print and use for students to record their homework in one place.
Writing introductions
A guide for students to refer to when writing an introduction to an academic essay.
English learner grammatical errors
This resource is a collection of grammatical errors that I compiled from ESOL students' work over a period of 3 months during 2014. The errors have been categorised into different types, with each type starting on a new page: agreement, articles, plurals, prepositions, punctuation/formatting, spelling / wrong word / collocation, tense, word class and word order.
In class, this resource could be used with intermediate and advanced learners of English. Students could work in small groups and each group could be given a different page/topic from the resource. Each group could:
1. try to correct the errors
2. discuss why they think the original sentences are wrong and why they think their revisions are correct
3. try to categorise the errors into groups of different kinds
4. come up with a theory about why students make these errors
5. think of some strategies for improving this particular aspect of grammar
Each group could then present their findings to the rest of the class. If time allows, students could create formal presentations to deliver to the class, thereby enhancing their group-working skills and utilising IT as well.
Jumping into journals
This resource is a template that university students or academics can use when reading journal articles. The headings and prompts encourage students to think about the main points of the article they are reading as well as its style and credibility.
The template can be used as self-directed study to enhance independent learning, or it could be used as an in-class activity. Either way, students can share their findings with others, particularly if they are all studying the same subject but have read different journal articles.
Speed-speaking
You've heard of speed-dating...well, this is the censored classroom version - speed-speaking!
Role plays encourage students to speak with different partners, developing improvisation and negotiation skills. This fun and creative activity helps to build students' confidence when speaking in English. It could also be used to focus on cultural issues such as politeness, eye contact and body language in different countries.
The resource includes a detailed lesson plan with notes on differentiation and a suggestion for an extension activity / homework. The role plays for conversation partners A and B are adaptable.
Ideally, this lesson is aimed at international/ESOL students but could be used with English or Drama students too.