standup_sitdown_song_KevinMcCaughey

For a limited time, “Do You Wanna Eat Out or Do You Wanna Eat In?” is available for download.  It’s one of 20 songs that will appear later in the year on my CD “Kevin Sings Phrasal Verb Hits.”  Do_You_Wanna_Eat_Out.

Here is a PowerPoint Game that practices Party Verbs:  Kevin’s_Particle_Verb_Game_short version for webinar

Here is the Guide to Varied Phrasal Verb Activities: Guide to Varied Phrasal Verb Activities_Webinar 2012.  One of the tasks in the “Guide to Varied Phrasal Verb Activities is “The Neighbor’s Dog.”  It’s an authentic, unscripted listening task based on this short audio: The Neighbor’s Dog

Leave a comment if you find these useful, or if you just think I’m handsome.

Kevin

Leave a comment if try this and you find it works. Sometimes it’s a matter of routine. Students might need to hear the audio a few times before really getting the process.

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.

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.”

There are, according the David Crystal’s book English as a Global Language, 30 countries where English has some official status AND where there are at least 1 million speakers. 30 countries! We don’t include English learners here. These are countries were people actually speak English as a first, second, or third language and often where it is used in government.

Note: the list includes Hong Kong, which is not actually a country, but is significant as a former British colony.

Directions:
Put students into teams. Ask them to write the names of as many of these countries as possible in 3, 5, or 7 minutes, or whatever is appropriate to your level of class. See which team can come up with the most correct answers.

You can release hints to students at intervals throughout this brainstorming time. For instance:

2 of these countries are in North America
2 of these countries are in Europe
9 of these countries are in Asia
11 of these countries are in Africa
None are in South America proper, but one is an island country very nearby
1 of these countries is in the center of the Caribbean
3 are in Australasia

Before giving the answers, have students listen to the song which lists these. There is also a video to help them with the geography.

AUDIO (1:01): 30 Countries with a Million English Speakers

Answers:
Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, The Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Zambia, Tanzania, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Jamaica, Kenya, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Ireland, The UK, Canada, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hong Kong, The USA, Trinidad and Tobago

Here are 10 fun “Y” adjectives .

1. classy
2. dicey
3. ditsy
4. glitzy
5. jazzy
6. junky
7. pricey
8. sassy
9. snazzy
10. spunky

You may not know them all, but you can probably figure out their meanings. Try filling in the gaps in this “definition poem” below. Place one of the “Y” adjectives in each space. (Rhymes will help you too).

Someone who’s got style and taste is (1) _________
A girl who’s got a lot of spirit but a smart mouth is (2) _________
A situation or a place that’s risky and dangerous is (3) _________
A restaurant that costs too much is (4) _________
If your clothes are chic and and stylish you look (5) _________
And if you’re lookin’ snazzy then you’re also lookin’ (6) _________
A girl who is absentminded and shallow is (7) _________
And a hotel that’s very showy and bright is (8) _________
A broken old car that hardly runs anymore is (9) _________
And a person who is bold and forward in a good way is (10) _________

Answers
1. classy 2. sassy 3. dicey 4. pricey 5. snazzy 6. jazzy 7. ditsy 8. glitzy 9. junky 10. spunky

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.

I’m a dog and I eat bones.
I live in people’s homes.
I like to chase the neighborhood cats.
I don’t like to take baths.

The second version is “He’s a dog.” Since I now live in a Muslim country where dogs don’t live in houses, I changed it a bit.

I’m a dog and I eat meat
I live out on the street…
etc.

These songs were created as simple, model-based writing activities.

To do a follow-up writing activity, provide this model:

I’m a ___________
and I eat __________
I live _______________
I like to ____________
I don’t like to __________
(repeat line 1)