Coffee House discussion ideas

With both the Auburn and Union groups, we had one evening program wherein the theme was "coffeehouse." Now, Ukrainians don't really drink coffee, so it should possibly have been called "teahouse," but whatever. :)

Anyway, I'm going to try to put up some of the themes and activities that we used for these nights. The way we structured it was very similar to how Mystery Night worked: the Ukrainians remained stationary at the tables, and the Americans rotated around the groups so that everyone was able to interact with all of the Americans. These are designed to last for about 10 minutes, depending on the size of the group.

Fears

1. 2-minute list of things people are afraid of

2. (group question) What were things that you were afraid of as a child?

3. (group question) How do fears change as we grow older?

4. Pictionary: spiders, snakes, dark, heights, airplanes, small places, storms, crowds of people

I'll include more as I locate my prompt cards...

Spur-of-the-moment Travel lesson

Through a crazy series of events, I ended up needing to craft an additional lesson while the Union team was here. We decided to go with "travel" as our theme, and this is what we did:

1. Interesting fact game.

2. Starburst game with travel-related questions (small groups). We used these: a) if you could visit any city or state in the US, where would you go/why? b) if you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go/why? c) if you moved to another country, what would you miss most about Ukraine?

3. American landmarks activity. The Auburn team left some of their supplies with me, and I was able to put them to good use! Thanks to Rachel and Mrs. Kinard. :) The class stayed in small groups. The Americans each took a map of the USA and photocopied pictures of landmarks from around the country (the Hollywood sign, Statue of Liberty, Mt. Rushmore, etc) and discussed their locations, significance, etc.

4. World map labeling. Each group is given a map of the world. Their task is to label as many countries, oceans, continents as they can (in English).

5. Each group is assigned a vacation destination and must create a packing list (Switzerland, Jamaica, Morocco).

6. This was a BIG winner: Each group pretends that they work for a travel agency. They must create a list of 5 Russian phrases that would be helpful for American visitors to know while visiting Ukraine. Then, the students had to teach the American in their group to pronounce one of the phrases. It was really funny and enjoyed by all!

***One extremely successful element of these group projects has been small group rotation. Most of the teams coming in have about 4-5 Americans working in a classroom. So, we divide the students into small groups and 1 American goes with each group. We usually keep one "point man" to help keep an eye on the clock and to keep things moving. I usually have the Americans rotate groups after every activity. This helps to keep things interesting and gives the students more practice with different accents and speech patterns.

Quick and Useful Ideas for Student-Led Projects

Here are some quick and useful ideas for English classes in colleges and universities here in Poltava:

1. Choose a basic theme and vocabulary. Example: Sports.

You can help tailor this lesson for several different ability levels fairly easily. Create a basic vocabulary list (basketball, fans, soccer, whistle, score). Then, add/take away some words to make it more advanced. You can specialize it a little by including words for equipment or verbs (swing, serve, spike, goggles, pom poms).

2. Create-a-clue/ Catchphrase

After going over the vocabulary words (either in large groups or in smaller groups- depending on how many Americans you have to work with), assign a few of the vocabulary words to each team. They must create definitions/ clues for each one. Once everyone has done this, have the teams take turns reading their clues, giving the other teams opportunities to guess which word they're describing. This is a good way to review the words.

3. Stand up if...

Create a list of statements that are agree/disagree or yes/no related. If the students agree, they stand up when you read the statement. If they don't, they remain seated. Examples: stand up if you play soccer. Stand up if you'd rather watch sports than play them.

4. Two-minute list

5. Jeopardy.

You can create your questions with two different ability levels in mind; that way, if you end up in a class with an ability level different than you'd anticipated, you'll be prepared to upgrade or downgrade.

6. Hangman

If you need to make it more complicated, you can use some of the specialized words you discussed, adjectives to describe sports, or use phrases instead of only words.

7. Starburst game. You can make the questions harder or easier, based on the class.

These are good activities that keep things from getting too stagnant and that you can tweak and modify, based on your needs. Most of them require very little prep and tend to be crowd-pleasers.

Mystery Night

Because the Auburn team and the Union team were only separated by one week, I had to be very creative when coming up with themes for our evening programs. I took a risk on the theme for Union Evening Program 1 and crafted a "mystery night." My original idea had been to create a Clue-type game (like, the board game- I love it!), but the more I thought about it, the more I decided that was a bad plan. My criteria for Union's evening programs were: a) minimal prep work, b) minimal supplies needed, c) would work well with a large group (50ish people), and d) would provide a good amount of English practice.

I started scouting on the internet and found this. I started tinkering with the idea and came up with the following plan:

1. I created a "crime" that was committed in Poltava. The crime? A Lada (Soviet-esque car that no Ukrainian would bother stealing- this added an element of humor for the Ukrainian students) was stolen and 9 Americans (the number of people on the Union team) were suspects.

2. 3 Ukrainian friends served as our "witnesses." They made up hilarious little stories (which they told in Russian) about what they had seen. The Americans' alibi was that they had been at a local pizza place eating dinner while the car was being stolen. We had a "waitress," a "passerby," and a "security guard" give testimony of what they had "seen."

3. After our witnesses spoke, I sent the Americans out of the room. Two things happened simultaneously:

a) The Americans were to make up a more detailed alibi (I had only told them that their alibi was that they had been eating at a pizza place).

b) The Ukrainians (broken into groups around tables) were to make up questions intended to crack the Americans' alibis.

The way this works is that the suspects have a few minutes to craft details for their alibi (i.e. what they ordered, what the waitresses were wearing, what the restaurant looked like) so that they all have matching alibis. While they're doing this, the Ukrainians (in their groups) were creating lists of questions.

4. The Americans came back in and split up amongst the tables. I gave them about 4-5 minutes at each table before calling time and having them rotate (by the end, each table of Ukrainians had interviewed all of the Americans). The Ukrainians asked the same questions to each American, making note of whether or not their answers all matched.

5. After everyone had rotated to each table, I sent the Americans back out and took a vote of the Ukrainians, determining whether or not the Americans were innocent or guilty. Of course, they were guilty. :)

6. So, we decided on "punishments." Their punishments were to sing a group song ("I'm a Little Teapot"- complete with motions) and to try to pronounce an extremely difficult Russian word.

The whole thing went over very well! The Ukrainians loved it, and it seemed to break down awkward barriers between the American and Ukrainian students. I'd say it was a hit.

It's a head-scratcher, huh, John?

Dr. Fant, telling his side of the story.

Time to pay up, Americans! They were great sports about trying to pronounce their Russian word. Thankfully, I've been practicing that word for over a year now.

Staging the heist! Yes, that's a Lada.

Jeopardy

This is a definite winner in pretty much any class, and you can do it with pretty much any topic. I usually use it after I've covered a pretty good amount of vocabulary. It USUALLY takes few supplies; if you have access to a black/white board and writing implements, you can make it in no time.

1. Choose a theme (or several, if you want to use it as a major review), such as Transportation.

2. Choose the words/phrases/idioms that you want to use for the game (i.e. car, truck, gas station, bicycle, etc.). I suggest about 20 words.

3. Create definitions (it's best if you use the same definitions that you used when you first introduced the vocabulary) for each word (i.e. "a vehicle with 4 wheels that uses gasoline"- car).

4. Create categories (or just random category titles like Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue) and assign point values to the different questions.

5. My method of organizing the questions and answers is just to make a master list:

Red

100- A vehicle with 4 wheels that uses gasoline (car)

200- A large vehicle that flies through the air (plane)

6. Draw the grid on board. As the students answer questions, erase the value from the board (unless you have to MacGyver things a little...).

MacGyver-ed board.

7. Don't forget to keep score!

I have used this MANY times and all have been successful. It's super.

Building on the Student-y Type Lesson

I had a different group of students at the University today, so I ended up recycling my "student" lesson and changing it a little.

We still did the Starburst game and the idiom matching activity, but we also added Tic-Tac-Toe and a creative activity.

Tic-Tac-Toe:

We played the game normally, but in order to place their "x" or "o", each team had to provide the correct idiom in response to a prompt I would give them. Examples:

1. I overslept! (idiom = running late)

2. I shouldn't have waited so long to study. (idioms = to cram or all-nighter)

3. Next year will be my last year in school. (vocab = junior)

They really loved it and got into the strategy behind Tic-Tac-Toe.

After playing the game for a few rounds, we did a creative activity: since they are sophomores, I had them (in groups) make lists of advice that they would now pass on to freshmen. That turned out to be very FUNNY!

All about feelings

This past week, we did a similar activity in both the Intermediate and Beginner clubs. I just tweaked them a little bit to accommodate the ability levels. I had some matching cards (very much like the activity matching cards) with emotions/thoughts on them. The phrase cards were things like, "I feel sleepy," "I'm so confused," "I feel very happy today," etc. The picture cards were clip art pictures of faces depicting those feelings/ thoughts.

We spent time matching them and discussing them. As we discussed them, we brainstormed reasons behind the emotions. Why do you think he's confused? Maybe he's lost and needs directions. Why is he scared? Maybe he's on top of a building and is afraid of heights. I jumped in with some personal stories of being scared when I first moved to Ukraine and was alone. I explained the different situations that made me afraid and what I did to help overcome it. My mom had packed many decorated cards for me that were covered in Bible verses to remind me that I'm never alone and that God protects me and holds me when I'm afraid. It was a good practice for the students to imagine scenarios and put their thoughts into words. I think they thought I was crazy at first, asking them to make up stories, but they secretly had fun. :)

Student-y type lesson

I was in an advanced English lesson at one of the universities today. The particular group of students I was with today are actually a special group that has all of their classes (except Ukrainian history and Ukrainian language) in English. I decided to do a student-related lesson with them today.

We started off by going over names and playing the Interesting Fact game. This has always been a good ice breaker for me. It gets everyone talking and interacting with each other.

Next, I had made a set of matching cards (the cards written in purple ink were the words/idioms and the cards written in green were the definitions), using idioms (and a few vocab words) that might relate to students. Here are some of the ones that we worked with:

1. senior

2. junior

3. sophomore

4. freshman

5. skip class

6. running late

7. on time

8. ace a test

9. bomb a test

10. all-nighter

11. cram

12. a quick study

13. a know-it-all

14. a mental block

15. to catch up

16. to hit the books

There are tons more that could be used, but these are just a few. They really enjoyed racing to match them up. After discussing them, I divided them into groups and assigned each group 3 phrases to use in creating dialogues. They did an excellent job and enjoyed acting them out.

After that, we played the Starburst game. These were the questions we used:

red: What is the most important lesson that you've learned?

yellow: What is your main goal in life?

pink: Who is someone that you've learned an important lesson from? What lesson did you learn?

orange: If you could give advice to a college freshman, what would it be?

These questions sparked good discussions. Overall, it was a good lesson.

Draw-a-question

I use this a lot as a warm-up activity; it gets students talking without having to put too much brain power into it. I usually use it more with Beginners or Intermediates, but you can most definitely adjust the questions for Advanced students or to complement a particular theme.

The basic principle is this:
1. Write questions on strips of paper and fold them up.
2. Mix them all up in a bag or hat or some other container.
3. Have students draw one.
4. Go around the circle so that everyone can answer.

Simple and effective.

Idea from Jaclyn!

Jaclyn posted this comment and idea yesterday. I hope to try it soon!

I'm always taking from you, so here's a fun activity I did today with my Int/Adv class: We read an article on personality last lesson, so we continued the theme today by discussing several words that describe personality or character traits. Then the class helped me make a list on the board of heroes and celebrities. We agreed that heroes and celebrities are famous or well known people, but yet they are very different. Then we wrote wrote another list in "t-chart form" of words that describe heroes and words that describe celebrities. I supplemented the lesson with other vocab and questions. Fun stuff!

Thanks, Jaclyn!

When the semi-Beginners show up on Intermediate night...

Wednesday is usually Intermediate English Club night...this week, however, it apparently became high-Beginner night. Needless to say, the lesson plan that I had carefully crafted immediately became null and void. Thankfully, I had my Mary Poppins bag of supplies and my trusty Ira (now, unfortunately, most of you do not have a trusty Ukrainian friend at-the-ready...which is why I'll share her ideas here.).

I had some word searches in my bag. There are about a bazillion free websites where you can create your own word searches and crossword puzzles. I make fairly liberal use of those sites, and students really seem to enjoy the puzzles. The puzzle we used last night was an "Activities and Sports" puzzle. After giving them several minutes to go through and find as many as they could, we went around the table and defined/ described the activities listed. They did a really good job trying to describe how to play different sports, etc. At that point, Ira suggested that we do an activity that she does with her students (she's an English teacher in a public middle school). We taught these phrases:

1. I enjoy...

2. I am interested in...

3. I don't mind...

4. I can't stand...(if I were going to do it again, I'd probably change this one to "I don't like...")

5. I hate...

We gave each student a slip of paper. They wrote the sentences and filled in the blanks with activities. We told them not to write their names on them, had them fold up the papers, and we each drew someone else's. After reading through the list, everyone guessed whose paper they had. It went really well and opened up opportunities to correct word order or tense.

After we officially ended English club, we ended up sitting around for a while and just talking about things we like or don't like. It was really fun.

ALSO: I just added a new link to the sidebar. It's a site full of ESL games, contributed to by ESL teachers around the world. Some are not so exciting and some are SUPER! I'll list my top favorites in another post, but go ahead and have a look. Maybe you'll find some inspiration!

Last week's beginner club...I forgot to post this one

Last week, I pulled out some old matching cards that I had leftover from a volunteer team that came last March. Half of the cards have phrases on them and half have pictures (clip art) that correspond to those phrases. They made them by printing out the phrases and clip art pictures and attaching them to index cards. The students then work to match the correct phrase with the picture. Here are the phrases that they used:

1. Ride bikes

2. Get ice cream

3. Go for coffee

4. Order a pizza

5. Go to McDonald's

6. Go to church

7. Study together

8. Take a walk or a hike

9. Go to the park

10. Go shopping

11. Take a camping trip

12. Go to the movies

13. Ice skating

14. Play soccer

15. Bowling

16. Play video games

17. Listen to music

We started by each person drawing a card (we ended up doing this a couple of times because there were more cards than people). We then went around and let everyone practice reading the phrases/words and discussing what they meant (as well as any discrepancies between American English and British English). Then, I divided them into groups to match the cards.

After matching the cards, I paired them up and gave each pair a role-play to read through. They aren't very advanced beginners at all, so it took a little while and a lot of practice.

Role-play 1:

1: What did you do last weekend?

2: My family took a camping trip.

1: What did you do on your camping trip?

2: We slept in the forest and went for a hike.

Role-play 2:

1: What will you do today?

2: I am going shopping.

1: What are you shopping for?

2: I am going to buy a new hat.

Role-play 3:

1: What did you do for lunch today?

2: I ate at McDonald's for lunch.

1: What did you eat?

2: I had a hamburger and french fries.

Role-play 4:

1: What did you do today?

2: I spent time with my friends.

1: What did you do with your friends?

2: We went ice skating!

Each pair read their own role-play, and then we kept swapping until each group had been able to read each of the role-plays.

Swine flu! Week 2

I promise that I'm not obsessed with the Swine flu; I've just learned that it's often a really good idea to reiterate previous lessons. I did this for both the Intermediates and Beginners.

Intermediates
1. Review last week's terms by doing a "worksheet race." I divided the class into two groups and gave each a worksheet to complete, based on what we covered the previous week.

1. I have such a terrible _____________! My head has been hurting all day.

2. I need another tissue. I have a _____________ nose.

3. My throat hurts because of my _____________.

4. I’m very hot; I think I have a _____________.

5. Let me take your ______________ to see if you have a ______________.

6. I’m so _____________ today. All of my muscles are hurting and sore.

7. I hope the doctor doesn’t give me a ______________. I’m so afraid of needles!

8. I think I have a ______________. These are my symptoms: my nose is ___________, I have a ______________ (very hot), and a ____________ (throat).

9. I can’t breathe through my nose. I’m _____________.

10. In America, people say, “Bless you!” when you ______________.

11. Most children don’t like to take their ______________ when they are sick.

12. My mother always reminds me to take my _______________ to prevent becoming sick.

Word bank:
Sneeze

Congested

Temperature

Runny

Fever

Vitamins

Symptoms

Headache

Cough

Achy

Shot

Cold

Medicine

2. Check together and correct.
3. I reused the role-plays from the previous week's Beginners' class. The Intermediates read through them and translated them. THEN, I gave them the assignment of writing their own role-plays. For this, I divided them into 3 groups and assigned them topics for their role-plays: a) a student who feels sick with a fever and aches at school b) a patient with congestion and a cough at the doctor's office and c) a small child with a runny nose and a fever who wants to go outside (and his mother won't let him). They did a great job!
4. We reviewed the quotes from last week, focusing on the Bible verse. I had the students translate it again, and we discussed how this can be a part of our lives.

Beginners
1. We started reviewing by playing Hangman. After each word was guessed, we reviewed what they meant and used each in a sentence.
2. We, again, used the role-plays from last week. However, this week, I gave them the role-plays with some of the words removed. I divided them into two teams, and their task was to fill in the blanks with the correct words.

“I don’t feel good”
Child: I don’t______ good. I don’t think I should go to school.
Mother: What doesn’t_____ good?
Child: My_____ hurts, and I’m hot.
Mother: Let me take your______…No, you don’t have a______. You need to go to school.
Child: I don’t like school.
Mother: I know, but you’re not_____. Have a good day at school.

“Doctor”
Patient: I think I’m______.
Doctor: Tell me what is wrong.
Patient: I have a fever, a headache, and a_____ nose.
Doctor: I’m going to give you a_____ to make you feel better.
Patient: Thank you.
Doctor: I’m also going to give you some________ to take for 10 days.

3. After checking the answers, I assigned each group a few "sick" vocabulary words to create sentences with. We checked and corrected as we went along.
4. To wrap up, we reviewed the verse from last week, reviewing vocabulary from the verse, translating, and discussing what it meant. Some of the students had even taken time to memorize the verse!
5. We finished with candy. :)

Swine flu! For Beginners...

I taught my beginners English club last night, and instead of creating an entirely different lesson plan, I just modified the "sick" lesson from the intermediate class. I cut down the vocabulary for the spelling game to more basic words. We discussed and translated all of the "sick" words into Russian or Ukrainian and talked about how you would use them correctly in a sentence.

We also worked on some role-plays. I was really fortunate and two girls from church who speak EXCELLENT English came to help with English club last night. I divided the class into two groups, putting Ira with one and Olya with the other. In their smaller groups, they read through each role-play, translated it, then worked on performing it. After they practiced in their groups, they performed and translated it for the whole group. Here are the role-plays they worked on:

"Doctor Visit"

Patient: I think I’m sick.

Doctor: Tell me what is wrong.

Patient: I have a fever, a headache, and a runny nose.

Doctor: I’m going to give you a shot to make you feel better.

Patient: Thank you.

Doctor: I’m also going to give you some medicine to take for 10 days.

“I don’t feel good”

Child: I don’t feel good. I don’t think I should go to school.

Mother: What doesn’t feel good?

Child: My head hurts, and I’m hot.

Mother: Let me take your temperature…No, you don’t have a fever. You need to go to school.

Child: I don’t like school.

Mother: I know, but you’re not sick. Have a good day at school.

After the role-plays, we discussed one of the "quotes" from the intermediate class:

{7} Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. {8} It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. –Proverbs 3:7-8

Homework? Memorize the verse for next week!