Summer Holidays & Vampire Weekends

Summer is here and it’s not just the weather that changes.

Ask the students the following question:

How do we know it’s summer?

Where do people go during the summer holidays and what activities do they do?

Elicit summer words from the students and ask them to write the words on a piece of paper.

ex. ice cream, sunglasses, clothes, BBQ, music, movies blockbusters, festivals etc.

The Special guests in today’s class are Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend- Holiday

Students watch the following music video and check if the video contains any of their words.

Song lyrics:

Students watch the video several times and listen to the lyrics.  Give the students the worksheet below and ask them to fill in the gaps.

Vampire Weekend lyrics gap fill

Students check if they were correct by watching the following video with the song lyrics

Karaoke version:

Song meanings:

Ask the students what they think the song is about.

Show students what the band said about the song:

“The lyrics refer to a member of my family who gave up eating meat when we invaded Iraq. They were horrified by what was happening internationally and they lost their taste for meat. It wasn’t even necessarily an overt protest, it was a physical reaction.”

Ask the following questions:

What do you think about this reaction to war?

How did you react to the invasion of Iraq?

Have you ever done anything so drastic in reaction to something? (ex. death in family, failing exams etc.)

Summer party game:

I got the following activity from my great friend and fellow esl teacher, Jeremy.  It never fails to work and the students have lots of fun trying to figure out the secret rule.

Tell the students that you’re having a summer BBQ party and you are making a guest list.

Say that  you are bringing apples to the party.  Ask students what they will bring?

Students have to answer by saying ‘I will bring a _______’

The secret rule is that the next item must start with the next letter in the alphabet.

If they say, ‘I will bring a bottle of wine’ then the teacher will say ‘okay you can come to my party’ but if they say something that does not begin with b then say, ‘I’m sorry you can’t come’.  Write the list of the people who can come to your party.  Keep playing until all the students discover the rule and everyone joins the party.

You can make up other rules for this game.  The next item could start with the last letter of the previous item.  ex. I will bring chocolate, I will bring eggs.

Getting to know the band – Vampire Weekend Interview:

Ask students if this is the first time they have seen Vampire weekend.

Ask them what they thought about the song we played previously and the interview.

Video listening comprehension:

 Students listen to the interview and answer the questions on the worksheet below.

Vampire Weekend interview questions

Vampire Weekend – Giving up the gun

Tennis is officially cool with this video, featuring RZA and Jake Gyllenhaal.  If only ‘Wimbledon’ was this exciting

Students questions:

1.How many times do you see the girl in red hitting the tennis ball?

I counted 22.

Read the following passage:

The heroine of the video isn’t an amazing tennis player, but she has heart. She stays calm despite the unfairness of it all.  Giving Up the Gun centers around Jenny (a friend of Vampire Weekend) and a number of opponents whom she goes up against in several matches; there’s a samurai, a gigantic woman, Joe, and Jake (to name a few) and she beats all of them.

2.Do you remember a time when you didn’t give up, even when things were unfair?(write an anecdote)

Song meanings:

Ask the students what they think the song is about.

Show students what the band said about the song:

I got the idea for the song from a book my Dad gave me called Giving Up The Gun. It’s a history book about the time when Japan expelled all the foreigners from the country, closed off all trade, and stopped using guns and reverted back to the sword. It seems unimaginable now that humanity could willingly go back to an older technology. It got me thinking about whether you could give up the things that you have and go back to a simpler way of life.

If you were to give up something, what would it me?

How could you make your life more simple?

I hope you all have a wonderful summer.  Please let me know if you have any extra suggestions for this lesson.

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ESL World cup fever (game 2)

Warm up exercise:

Some World cup warmer questions:

1.  Where and when was the last World Cup? Germany 2006

2.  Where and when is the next World Cup?  Brazil 2014

3.  How many years is there between each World Cup?  4 years

Questions to ask every day during the World Cup:

What countries played yesterday?

What were the scores?

What players scored?

What country is at the top/bottom of group x?

First half – Countries , flags & mascots

Word relay game:

Ask the students to make groups.

Ask the groups to stand in separate lines in front of the board.

The student at the front of the each group is given a pen/piece of chalk.

Students have to write down all the countries in the world cup.  The first student from each group writes a country and then passes the pen to the next in line.

Give the students a time limit(3 mins) and see how many countries they can write within the time limit.

Each group checks the ‘wordle’ to see how many words they managed to get and deduct points for wrong spellings.

World cup countries ‘Wordle’

Match the flag with the country

In groups the Students look at the flags and match the countries with their flags.  (Give the students a time limit)

Mascots

Ask the students what the mascot is for the South Africa World Cup.   Why do they think that a leopard was chosen to represent the world cup.

Ask the students if they can remember any previous world cup mascots and if they can, have them try to describe what they looked like.

Show students the picture of the previous mascots and ask them what country the mascot represents.

Click here for an article on the 10 dumbest World Cup mascots.

Answers: Goleo VI – Germany, Ato, Kaz & Nik – Korea & Japan, Footix – France, Stryker – USA, Ciao – Italy, Pique – Mexico, Naranjito – Spain, Gauchito – Argentina, Tip & Tap – West Germany, Juanito- Mexico, Willy – England

Ask the students what their favourite ‘mascot’ is and why.  Find out which is the most popular mascot within your class.

Students have to design a mascot to represent their own country.

Groups

Divide the class into teams.  Ask the students if they know what countries are in each group.  Have a contest to see which team can write the countries in each group correctly.

Second half  – Video dictation.

The alternative England anthem.

Watch the following video by the legendary; Mark E Smith.  His vocals are usually difficult to comprehend so it is very helpful that there are subtitles for the lyrics.  Ask the students to write down the words that they see.

Music video – ‘England’s Heartbeat ‘- Shuttleworth feat. Mark E. Smith

Extra time – Samurai Blue

If I haven’t already told you, the team I will be following this World Cup is shown in the clip below.

If only they were as strong as this:

What’s your prediction?

Ask your students who they predict to win the world cup and what team they think will actually win the world cup.  Put their predictions on the wall and check if they were correct at the end of the cup.

A British music magazine, ‘the NME’ recently did a feature on who the musicians predict will win the world cup. Click  here from some predictions by musicians.  Ask students to listen to the celebrities and have them write down the countries each artist thinks will win.

Sticker album

I have nostalgic memories of collecting stickers during the world cup when I was a wee boy.

I was always really excited to try and get as many stickers as possible.  It was always fun swapping stickers with friends.

You could hand out world cup country stickers every time a student answers a question correctly.  Give students stickers outside the classroom as well, if they ask you questions in English about the world cup.

I usually use images I find from ‘clipart’, laminate them and put double-sided tape on the back.  You could make a sticker sheet for the students to collect their stickers on.  MES English has a great selection of ideas for stickers and sticker sheets and has recently put up some great football stickers.

I hope you and your students enjoy the world cup and my lesson 😉

Selling the lists of life

Music clip: Quadron – Buster Keaton

Ask the students to watch the music video and write down the words they see.( The words start after 50 secs)

Play this music video a few times:

Tell the students that we are now going to use some of these phrases and words to discuss and debate issues. Students have to check to see if they managed to find the words we focus on.

1. Advertising slogans

Look at the following slogans from the music clip:

stay fresh!!!   Ready to shine    A new star     driven by desire      be cool    dream catcher

These positive slogans could all be used to advertise a product.

What type of product do you think you could sell with each slogan?

Ask students to look at the following slogans and match them with the products.

Click here for a link to many ideas of popular advertising slogans

Slogans:

I’m Luvin’ it      Impossible is nothing     It’s the real thing     The best a man can get     Just do it

Product:

Gillette          McDonald’s          X-Box          Adidas          Coca-cola

Show the students the following slide show to check if they are correct:

In groups students think of a product and a catchy slogan to sell it.  Students make a poster of  their advertisement.

2. Lists

The following lists are shown in the music video(1.40)

Warning maybe NSFC (Not safe for the classroom)

This is only appropriate for adult students as the phrase “have sex with honey” may be considered inappropriate with less mature students.  I suppose it all depends on what your students are like and how you think they may react to this sentence.

Ask the students if they know what the word ‘breadwinner’ means.

‘One whose earnings are the primary source of support for one’s dependents.’

Ask the students who the breadwinner is in their family.

Ask the students to make pairs.  One students is given the ‘work list’ and the other student is given the ‘home list’.  Each student will read their list as a dictation and the other will write what they here.  They will each check to see if they managed to write down the list correctly.

Ask the students what their thoughts are about the female who made the list.

Ask what lists they tend to write during the week.(shopping/house work etc.)

Ask the students what is expected of them at home and at work.

‘They always want more’ (1.01)

Who in your life wants more?   Boss/ partner/friends/siblings

Students have to think about their expectations and write their own home/work list.

Students discuss their lists with the other students.

Homework idea:   Students bring a list they have made into the class.  Put all the lists into a box.  Give the lists back to the students making sure that they do not get back their own list.  Each student has to decide who the list belongs to and why.  Students present their findings to the class and discover if they are correct.

3. What is life to you?(2.39)

Students use this ‘wordle’ to think what life means to them now and what it meant  to them throughout the different stages of their life.  Use this as a basis for an essay topic.

Childhood (1.12) ‘Teenagehood‘(3.14) adulthood (2.40)

Some other suggestion for the students to think about:

Time – Person of the year (2.20) – What award would you like to be given?

Think about the many contrasts throughout life (2.26) :

rise/fall    slower/faster   yes/ no

Can you think of other contrasts?

Using the title ‘What is life to you‘, students write a speech and then present it to the class.

How to train your dragon (esl trailer-Dialogue)

How to :   Offering practical advice and detailed instruction on an activity.

Listen to the trailer without watching

1. Dictation activity.

Students have to listen to the trailer and write what they hear.  Students are the controller of the video and can ask the teacher to stop/rewind/play.

2. Cloze activity

Students are given the dialogue and are asked to fill in the gaps.

Hiccup: This is my _home____, we have __fishing_____, hunting and a charming view of the __sunsets_____.

The only __problems__ are the pests.  You see, some places have _mice__ or mosquitoes, we have dragons.  Fighting ___dragons__ is everything around here.

My name is ‘Hiccup”.  Iv’e always wanted to be a _great__ viking.

Viking: Oh no you __don’t___.

Hiccup: Oh, come on let me out.  I need to __make__ my mark.

Viking: You can’t lift a __hammer____,  you can’t swing an axe,  you can’t even __throw__ one of these.

Hiccup: But this will throw it for me.

Did I _hit__ it?

Yes, I hit it.   I have brought __down__ his mighty beast.

Hiccup:  eh, _nice__ dragon.  Okay.

no,no, no

mmmmmmmm

eughhhh

Astrid: Get __down___.

Hiccup:  It’s okay.  Astrid,  toothless.

Astrid: You are sooooo busted.

Hiccup: da,da,da,da,da we’re __dead___.

Viking: Either we finish them or they’ll __finish____ us.

Hiccup: Everything we __know____ about them is worng.

Viking: You’re crazy, I ___like__ that.

Hiccup: Let me __show____ you.  Gently

Thank you for ___nothing____ you useless reptile.

3. Questions about Hiccup and his home(answer using sentences)

1.  What is the only problem about Hiccups home?

The pests are the only problem about his home.

2. What two activities can you do?

You can do fishing and hunting.

3.  What view is charming?

The sunsets are charming.

4.   What pests do some places have?

Some places have mice or mosquitoes.

5.  What is everything around there?

Fighting dragons is everything around there.

6.   What has he always wanted to be?

He has always wanted to be a great Viking.

7.   What does he need to do?

He needs to make his mark.

8. What 3 things can’t he do?

He can’t lift a hammer, swing an axe or throw one of these.

9. What does he bring down?

He has brought down a mighty beast.

4. Madlibs

In groups the students try to fill in the gaps with their own ideas.  The funniest mad lib wins.

This is my home.  We have _skiing_____, __snowboarding_ and a ___beautiful__ view of the ___moon_____.

The only problems are the _monsters__.  You see most places have _goblins___ or __trolls____.  We have __yeti___. ___kissing__ __Yeti____is everything around here.

My name is ___Andy____.  I’ve always wanted to be a _great warrior ___