Sprachdirekt is an exciting new agency based in Germany that organises language trips abroad – and right now Sprachdirekt is giving you the chance to win a 2 week English language course in London! The prize will give you the chance to not only improve your English language skills but also explore this vibrant city full of exciting attractions and immerse yourself in the British culture.
Movember Brings Moustaches to the EFL Classroom
Happy Movember everyone! Movember is the annual moustache-growing charity event that takes place every November. The Movember Foundation raises funds to support the fight against men’s cancers, while raising awareness for men’s health.
Although many of us are in lockdown right now due to the Coronavirus pandemic, we hope you can still enjoy this famous November event and wear your ‘taches with pride.
Many universities and colleges are joining in the event this month with students either growing their own moustache or wearing a false one. As English language teachers, we can get in on the act by raising awareness for the charity event in our lessons. Now where is my stick-on curly ‘Poirot’?
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Halloween EFL Lesson Plans: Ghostly Games and Eerie Ideas
Halloween EFL lesson plans at the ready – it’s that spooky time of year again! The ghosts and ghouls come out to play on 31st October and pumpkins with scary faces will adorn many a doorstep. Halloween is that one night a year when it’s OK to frighten your neighbours. You might even get sweets!
Halloween is about to be unleashed and this is one of those celebrations that has its own vocabulary. This is therefore the perfect time to think about Halloween EFL lesson plans and inject some fun Halloween vocabulary games into your EFL class. (more…)
European Day of Languages
The celebrations will start soon to mark the European Day of Languages! This annual event is all about celebrating other cultures through language learning.
Since the Council of Europe in Strasbourg initiated the special day in 2001, the European Day of Languages has been celebrated every year on 26th September and throughout the week with a range of events organised across Europe.
From international conferences and TV programmes to language clubs, games, talks and home celebrations, everyone can get involved – teachers, students, universities, schools and individuals.
Decorate your house with flags, cook up some tasty food, open your phrase books and check out the special events taking place near you as we get ready for this multi-cultural and multi-lingual day! (more…)
The FA Cup Final Inspires a Football-Themed EFL Lesson
The FA Cup Final will see Manchester City play Watford on Saturday! Who do you think will lift the coveted trophy? With all the excitement over the big match, this week is a great time to teach football vocabulary and use the theme of football to practice the English language.
There are so many football phrases that students can learn to help them enjoy watching the game on English TV. Teachers can use the matches to create fun FA Cup EFL lesson plans for speaking, listening, reading and writing exercises.
There are many collocations distinct to football, so the FA Cup Final is a great opportunity to get students enjoying an exciting footy-themed EFL lesson. (more…)
English Idioms: A Great Way to Sound Like a Native Speaker
Idioms are some of the most interesting features of any language – and some of the hardest to understand as a foreigner. English has many idioms in common usage and learning a few of these is a fun way to sound like a native speaker.
Idioms have a figurative meaning, rather than a literal meaning and because these words mean something completely different when used in an idiomatic phrase, non-native speakers can find them very confusing! Read on to explore how you can use idioms to sound like a native speaker. (more…)
Learning a Second Language to be Compulsory in Junior School
Learning a second language will be compulsory in junior schools from September 2014. The education secretary, Michael Gove has announced that changes to the curriculum means that all children will begin learning a second language from the age of seven. Languages on offer will include French, German, Spanish, Italian, Mandarin, Latin and Greek. But should second language learning start even earlier? (more…)
Immigrants to Face New English Test Before Claiming Benefits
Immigrants to the UK face a new, ‘more robust’ English language test in an attempt to stop any potential benefits cheats. Immigrants will need to answer questions on their working plans and take an extended ‘habitual residence text’ along with a sitting an English language skills test before being allowed to claim income-related benefits. (more…)
Find a New Way to Learn a Language
Learning a language is not a simple task. Many students can spend years studying a language and still have trouble conversing with a native speaker.
There are many different ways to learn a language. Although it is important to study the grammar of a language, often this theoretical knowledge does not always transfer to real life as easily as we would like. This is why one of the best ways to learn a language is sometimes to step away from the exercise books and do something completely different.
Find a new way to learn a language and not only does this keep the brain actively thinking in fresh ways it also keeps study interesting. This maintains student motivation – one of the most important aspects of language learning. (more…)
Do You Mentally Translate When Learning A New Language?
When we learn a new language we often try to translate the new words into our mother tongue as we read or listen. The better we become at a new language, the less we tend to perform this type of mental translation and the more we understand the words directly.
There are some obvious problems with mental translation. Firstly, it takes time to keep translating everything into a second language and secondly, languages cannot be directly translated word for word, only idea for idea. So, how long does it take to be able to understand a new language directly without having to mentally translate the words first? (more…)