Now I Will Do Nothing But Listen

25 Oct

I think we should do more listening tasks in class. In foreign language classes I’ve attended it was very rare to hear a dialogue, a song, a poem, a bit of newscast, or sound effects. Sound is so important, and … Read More »

Halloween: Paul the Monster Crashes a Party

25 Oct

Here’s a Halloweenish story/poem with accompanying audio. crash a party = to attend a party without invitation, or sneak into a party Poor Paul the Monster! Depression at last had set in From living alone the woods with not a … Read More »

Two Crickets Kissing, Writing A Haiku

31 Jul

At the 2007 CATEC Conference (Central Asian Teachers of English Conference) I attended a workshop in haiku writing by Ludmila Shirmina from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. First Ludmila had us brainstorm in groups. We wrote down anything we wanted on the topic … Read More »

The Red Wheelbarrow

27 Jul

Here is another really short poem by William Carlos Williams, which I have set to music. In this 40-second song, the entire poem is repeated twice. Step 1 Play the song and ask students to write down all the words. … Read More »

This Is Just To Say

30 Mar

Here’s a short little poem by William Carlos Williams that I set to music. It’s sung by Christy McWilson. Play it and ask students to write down what they hear. They should get the whole poem down in a few listenings. … Read More »

If I Can Stop…

25 Feb

Here’s a short poem by Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) which I’ve rendered into song: a ready-to-use listening, vocabulary, and literature lesson. No materials necessary except for the audio. Step 1. Talk and write (before you listen) Look at the following 9 … Read More »

Stop All The Clocks

8 Dec

W.H. Auden wrote a fabulous poem about losing someone who means the world to you. This poem has good verbs, so it’s good material for a listening activity. Most of the verbs I removed from the poem in the gap-fill … Read More »

Teenage Years

9 Nov

This poem was written by Zhenya Dudina, 20, of Samara, Russia. Step 1 Try to fill in the missing words. They will rhyme with the final word of the preceding line, so that and the context are your clues. Teenage … Read More »