Bics Examples

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The concept developed by Jim Cummins to make a distinction between a non complex social interactional language ability (BICS) and the more complex academic language ability. (See CALP). BICS has been described as ‘Playground English’ and represents the easier to pick up, small chunks of language the students are able to use first.  [Read more]

  The next example of a game that we can adapt very easily for classroom use is the game of Jeopardy and in this particular game, what we can do is to have a set of levels for our questions, I'd say one through five, where one is going to be the easiest example and five is going to be the most difficult and then, in each of these sets of boxes, we can have various grammar points, such as tenses, perhaps modals, vocabulary and maybe even conditionals. So what the students can do is they can pick a particular topic first of all and within that topic, they can pick the level of the question that they want and then we can have a set of cards that have been created to fit into these slots and we can ask them that question at that level. So, a very simple adaptation of the game jeopardy...  [Read more]

  Okay, so we're going to use this pro-forma as our lesson plan and we're going to fill one out as though we were planning for an actual lesson. So, we start off with some basic information about the class. So, the name of the teacher, date and time and the class level. In this particular case, our class is going to be an elementary class and the room will be room 3. Having looked through the registers we see that the expected number of students for this particular class is going to be 10. This will help us in creating our worksheet copies. The context of the lesson for this class is going to be present continuous tense and it may well be the first time that this particular level of class has been introduced to this tense. So, our focus is going to be fairly general and it's going...  [Read more]

  So let's take an example of what those drills might involve. So here is an example of a repetition drill. I will model the language and then my class will repeat after me. So "This is a cup." "Spoon" ? "This is a spoon." "Knife" - "his is a knife." Thank you. The reason that it's called or also called the army method is that it was the method adopted by the United States military who had personnel stationed around the world at the end of Second World War and they realized that they needed those personnel to pick up the language very quickly and one of the positive things about this particular methodology is that you do very quickly learn vocabulary. Another positive thing about it is that you quickly learn the correct pronunciation of that vocabulary. However, there are some...  [Read more]

  So, let's take a common game that's been played over the years, which is called Noughts and Crosses or Tic-Tac-Toe. What we're going to do is to adapt this game for classroom use. So, we've taken the normal Tic-Tac-Toe or Noughts and Crosses grid and we've just numbered out each of the particular squares. What we can then do is to form teams and those teams can then be asked a series of questions and they get to choose which question they want from 1 to 9. So, let's say, for example, they choose question 1. That could be on anything that they have studied ,the grammar or vocabulary. If they get that question correct and say they are the Noughts or the zeros then they get to put their mark here. What the next group will probably do is to try to block them in some way by choosing...  [Read more]

  So, having elicited this particular structure, what I'm now able to do is to move on to the actual study activities. Typically, they will be in the form of worksheets to check that the students actually understand this information. So, I might prepare three activities. They may not do them all but, for example, I could prepare these three study activities. So, the first one is going to be a fairly straightforward matching activity, where perhaps they match the subject to its correct verb "to be" in that part of the sentence. The second one is going to be a gap fill. For example, I might use this verb here and ask them to complete a sentence using that verb, so that I can check that any spelling changes that take place are correct and the final one is going to be an unscramble,...  [Read more]

  The first part of my study phase is going to be the board work and I'm going to use the information that I generated in the elicitation part of my engage phase to move on to the actual board work. What I'm going to do is to show the structure of this particular tense. So, the phase study I'm expecting to take about ten minutes on this particular part and, again, the interaction will mainly be the students talking to me. So, how am I going to achieve that with this information? Well, we could ask the students to have a look at the sentences themselves and to tell us what they can see. If we look at each of the first words in here, then at this level, I should hopefully be able to elicit from my students what each of these words have in common and they may well give an answer that...  [Read more]

Setting clear learning objectives is crucial in TESOL as it provides a roadmap for both teachers and students. Clear objectives help teachers focus on what needs to be achieved in each lesson, ensuring that the content is relevant and aligned with the overall learning goals. For students, clear objectives provide a sense of direction and purpose, helping them understand what is expected of them and how they can track their progress. To establish clear learning objectives in TESOL, teachers can follow a structured approach. Firstly, they should identify the learning goals based on the curriculum and students' needs. Next, teachers can break down these goals into specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives. It is essential to use language that is...  [Read more]

TESOL teaching objectives are essential for planning, executing, and evaluating English language lessons effectively. These objectives outline what students should be able to accomplish by the end of a lesson or course. They serve as a roadmap for teachers to follow and help students understand what is expected of them. Clear and measurable objectives are crucial for successful language learning outcomes. Effective TESOL teaching objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). They should clearly state what students will learn, how their progress will be assessed, and the timeframe for achieving the objectives. Objectives should be student-centered, focusing on the learners' needs and goals. They should also align with the overall learning outcomes...  [Read more]

--- Community service projects offer TESOL teachers valuable opportunities to make a positive impact beyond the classroom. Engaging in community service projects allows teachers to apply their teaching skills in real-world settings, contribute to the community, and enhance their own professional development. These projects can take various forms, including volunteering at local organizations, organizing language workshops for immigrants, or collaborating with schools to support English language learners. Participating in community service projects as a TESOL teacher provides numerous benefits. Firstly, it allows teachers to connect with diverse communities and gain a deeper understanding of their needs and challenges. This hands-on experience can enhance cultural competence and empathy,...  [Read more]

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional method that encourages students to delve into real-world challenges and acquire a deeper understanding of the subject matter through hands-on projects. In TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), PBL can be a powerful tool to engage students, enhance their language skills, and foster critical thinking and collaboration. By working on projects, students are motivated to use English in authentic situations, promoting language acquisition in a meaningful context. Incorporating PBL into TEFL lessons offers numerous benefits to both students and teachers. Firstly, it enhances student motivation and engagement by providing a purposeful context for language learning. Projects allow students to take ownership of their learning process, leading...  [Read more]

Action research is a systematic inquiry conducted by practitioners to improve their own practices, solve specific problems, or enhance the effectiveness of their work. In the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), action research plays a crucial role in promoting reflective teaching practices and empowering teachers to be agents of change in their classrooms. TESOL teachers have various opportunities to engage in action research to enhance their teaching methodologies, address specific challenges, and contribute to the ongoing development of the field. Engaging in action research offers numerous benefits for TESOL teachers. Firstly, it provides teachers with a structured approach to reflect on their teaching practices and make informed decisions based on...  [Read more]

Integrating cultural exchange activities into TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) lessons is crucial for providing a holistic learning experience to students. By incorporating cultural elements, students not only learn the language but also gain insights into the customs, traditions, and values of English-speaking countries. This helps in fostering cultural awareness, empathy, and open-mindedness among learners. Moreover, cultural exchange activities create an engaging and interactive learning environment, making the lessons more enjoyable and memorable for students. There are several strategies that teachers can use to effectively integrate cultural exchange activities into their TEFL lessons. One approach is to incorporate authentic cultural materials such as music, movies,...  [Read more]

Integrating language skills in English language teaching is crucial as it provides learners with a holistic approach to language learning. By integrating skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing, students can develop a well-rounded proficiency in the language. This approach mirrors real-life language use where these skills are often used together. It also helps students see the interconnectedness of language skills and how they support each other in communication. There are several strategies that TEFL teachers can use to effectively integrate language skills in their lessons. One approach is to use a task-based learning method where students work on meaningful tasks that require the use of multiple language skills. Teachers can also incorporate authentic materials such as...  [Read more]

  Our second example sentence 'I am playing football at the moment.' is the present continuous tense. This has a different structure as the subject 'I', the verb 'to be' in the present tense 'am', 'is' or 'are' plus the verb with an '?ing' on the end. So here: 'I am playing football at the moment.' Whereas the present simple tense is used to talk about habits routines and facts, the present continuous tense is used to talk about actions in progress at the time of speaking or around the time of speaking. Our third example sentence is the present perfect: 'I have played football twice this week.' Here, the structure is the subject 'I', auxiliary verb 'have' or 'has' plus the past participle. The past participle is usually formed just by adding '-ed'- on to the end of the base form of...  [Read more]

  Now an example of a straight arrow ESA lesson for our engage phase. What we're going to do is to show the students a video of animals and they are going to say what they like about those animals and try to create a list of some more. So, remember what we're trying to do here is to get the students talking and thinking in English. We're using a typical engage activity, which is to create a list and we try to make sure that all the students have been involved in some way in creating those lists. Moving on to the study phase, the first part is going to be the board work and the teacher is going to try to elicit from the students what each of those animals can and can't do. Typically, what the students will say is just single words, so "run," "jump," "fly," etc. What we would then...  [Read more]

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  Another way to approach teaching modal auxiliary verbs is in context, for example, "How to give advice". This is especially useful for students of higher levels that have some knowledge of the various modal auxiliary verbs. Below you can read feedback from an ITTT graduate regarding one section of their online TEFL certification course. Each of our online courses is broken down into concise units that focus on specific areas of English language teaching. This convenient, highly structured design means that you can quickly get to grips with each section before moving onto the next. I don't fully understand this. But I do want to note that I do love trying to study and be outside of my comfort zone. And this fully puts me right into this. Even though I was born in New...  [Read more]

  As mentioned earlier, our example sentence has used a regular verb 'to play'. With the regular verbs we simply add '-ed'. This spelling pattern changes for words that end with a consonant and a Y: 'cry' goes to 'cried', 'try' to 'tried'. Another spelling pattern we have to be aware of is our consonant plus vowel plus consonant. In these instances, we double the consonant used: 'shop' needs the double P; 'ship' needs the double P. With these spelling patterns, and most spelling patterns in general for the English language, there are always exceptions to the rules. So we have to be aware of those exceptions. We also have to impart those exceptions on to our students. We can do so through various exercises and various activities to end our class. To form the negative sentence here,...  [Read more]