I like to use audio loops for listening activities. Students in small groups hear the words a lot of times until they recreate the text. The easiest task is for them to write the words. But I prefer to have small pictures and words on little pieces of paper. Give one set to each group and they can move the pictures and words to re-construct the text. It’s more fun than writing and involves teamwork.

The usual listening set up in the classroom is to put the CD player at the front and play it loud enough for ll to hear. With a loop audio like this one, I like to put the player in the corner of the room, or even outside, and play the audio quietly. Then groups need to send one member to listen, and that member tries to snap a piece of the language and carry it in her head back to the group.

Here’s the environmentally-friendly text:

When you go to the store
refuse the bag.
Bring your own.
Recycle. Re-use.

It may take your students longer than you might expect to put the whole text together, even if this is just 14 words.

Standard Podcast [ 1:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (4738)

Hey! You may have seen a demonstration of “Who’s Got What?” at a conference. I’m putting these audios online for a limited time. I would love any comments, as these are pilots and I’m trying to perfect them before they go to CD.

This is the Fruits game. Works best with real fruit (apple, banana, kiwi, orange). It’s for four players.

Here’s the user manual for “Who’s Got What? Fruits.”

Who's Got What? - Fruits Level 1 [ 1:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6053)

Who's Got What? - Fruits Level 2 [ 2:22 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3600)

Who's Got What? - Fruits Level 3 [ 2:45 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3129)

Who's Got What? - Fruits Level 4 [ 3:42 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3190)

Who's Got What? - Fruits Level 5 [ 3:16 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3001)

Click here to download Kevin’s Easy Critical Thinking Activities

Looking for a St. Patricks song with an EFL/ESL twist?   Listen to the song “If I Were a Leprechaun.”  The lyrics comes from Mary O’Flynn at songs4english.com.  I recorded some music to them.

If I Were a Leprechaun [ 1:52 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (3742)

Click to enlarge.

That’s right. This crossword has audio clues. There is one mp3 file for “Across” clues, and one for “Down” clues.

Your task, when listening to the very short clips from Beatles tunes, is to isolate and identify the particle verbs (otherwise known as phrasal verbs). These are multi-word verbs such as “let down,” “take your time,” and “find out.”The particle verb will appear in the crossword exactly as sung by the Beatles.

So for the verb “let down,” you will write “DONTLETMEDOWN”–no spaces, no apostrophes.

There are also written clues (see the Beatles Phrasal Verb Audio Handout below).  Follow these clues carefully.  If the written clue contains a subject and is in the past tense, like “I discovered the truth,” the answer in the puzzle will also contain a subject and be in the past: IFOUNDOUT.  This allows students to explore how the verbs really function.

If you want to do the crossword online, by yourself, just click on this link: Beatles Audio Crossword Online, Java 

Listen to the mp3 audio files (below) and type in the missing particle verbs. If you click on the puzzle, you will also get a written clue for that word/phrase.

If you want to do this activity in the classroom, you can use either of these handouts. A Word document: Beatles Phrasal Verb Audio Crossword handout.doc or a printable PDF document: Beatles Phrasal Verbs Audio Crossword handout.pdf.

If your class is advanced, with experience in particle verbs, you may let them try using the audio alone. Play the audio all the way through, first the across and then the down. If students have trouble, play the audios again. You may pause in between clues if you like. Each audio is just over one minute in length.

Beatles Audio Crossword Clues--Across [ 1:09 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (7073)

Beatles Audio Crossword Clues--Down [ 1:20 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (6142)