Tour around the ELT conference circuit as our team shares conference highlights and session reviews.

Conferences

<h1>Classrooms of the Future</h1>

<p>The ESL&nbsp;Library team has just returned from Baltimore after the annual TESOL convention. 2016 was <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/comma-confusion-greeting-birthday/">TESOL&#39;s 50th anniversary</a>, and ESL Library played an important role as an Event Partner at the <strong>TESOL Classroom of the Future</strong>&nbsp;exhibit. During our Classroom of the Future presentation, CEO Ben Buckwold used our most recent <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/2120" target="_blank">Discussion Starters</a> lesson to showcase a paperless feature that is coming soon for ESL Library subscribers and online tutors. It was great to test out our work in progress with a live audience using one of our very own lesson&nbsp;plans.</p>

<p><img alt="TESOL 16" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2193/content_IMG_0006.jpg" /></p>

<p>Though this year&#39;s anniversary theme was <strong>Reflecting Forward</strong>, allow me to reflect back for a moment on our fantastic week at&nbsp;TESOL.</p>

<h1>Our Team</h1>

<p>Our team arrived in Maryland from Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. We were joined by our first official ESL Library Ambassadors &mdash;teachers who subscribe to our site and volunteered to share their enthusiasm about it in Baltimore. Throughout the week, we met attendees from all over the world, including this adorable librarian from Tanzania who won our hearts and our grand prize&mdash;an Apple&nbsp;Watch!</p>

<p><img alt="TESOL 16" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2194/content_IMG_5909.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">From left to right: CEO Ben Buckwold, Apple Watch winner Saida (librarian from Zanzibar Public Library), editor Tanya Trusler, writer Tara&nbsp;Benwell</p>

<h1>Baltimore</h1>

<p>Attending teaching conferences is a great way to explore the world. Here are some things we loved about&nbsp;Baltimore.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Little Italy</strong>&nbsp;&ndash; Now we know why they call Baltimore &#39;Charm City.&#39; This part of the city had delicious food and charming restaurants with meals that were big enough to bring some home for&nbsp;lunch.</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="TESOL 16" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2195/content_IMG_5920.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">We had numerous Compelling Conversations with TESOL pal Eric Roth&nbsp;(left)</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>The Inner Harbor&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>Though the air was crisp for April, the sun came out a few times, and we enjoyed a walk around the historic seaport. Tanya and I took a tour of the USS Constellation, the last all-sail warship built by the US Navy whose main mission was to disrupt the slave trade. We warmed ourselves up with some traditional crab soup at the T&iacute;r na n&Oacute;g Irish Bar &amp; Grill.&nbsp;Yum!</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="Baltimore tall ship" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2196/content_IMG_5937-1.jpg" /></p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Fells Point&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>After the conference we enjoyed hanging with locals and listening to live music. Bands played everything from La Bamba to&nbsp;Metallica!</li>
	<li><strong>The Gallery Mall&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>It was pretty convenient to have a mall attached to our hotel. Even though we&#39;re TESOL pros by now, we always forget something important, such as a mouse pad or extension cord. (Note to self: Remember packing tape next year. Fed Ex charged us $21 USD for two&nbsp;rolls.)</li>
	<li><strong>Uber&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>This was a convenient, informative, and inexpensive way to get around Baltimore. I can&#39;t wait to give the service a try here in&nbsp;Canada.</li>
</ul>

<h1>What we liked about the TESOL&nbsp;16 Convention</h1>

<ul>
	<li><strong>The location&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>As mentioned above, Baltimore&#39;s Inner Harbor was beautiful and&nbsp;charming.</li>
	<li><strong>The TESOL app&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>Last year we didn&#39;t open the program. This year, we saved the paper and didn&#39;t even grab a&nbsp;program.</li>
	<li><strong>The heat&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>Even though the Expo Hall was in the basement, we didn&#39;t freeze like we normally do at&nbsp;TESOL.</li>
	<li><strong>The sessions&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>With three of our own sessions and two booths to man, we only had time to attend a few sessions, but this year we picked the right ones! All of the teachers we spoke to seemed satisfied with the ones they attended as well. (Check out this review of <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/selfie-videos-ell/" target="_blank">Teaching English with Selfie Videos</a>.)</li>
	<li><strong>The ELT authors&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>We met and chatted with the lovely <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3nEFcTamts" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Sybil Marcus</a>, author of <em>A World of Fiction</em>, and my long-lost friend Jeremy Harmer (who I hadn&#39;t seen since IATEFL in Brighton back in&nbsp;2011).</li>
	<li><strong>The ice cream break&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;</strong>Our TESOL friend Sam delivered it to us, so we didn&#39;t even have to leave our&nbsp;booth.</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="TESOL 16" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2197/content_IMG_5863.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Above: Tanya and Tara pose with Twitter pal <a href="http://twitter.com/joemcveigh">@JoeMcVeigh</a> who starred in TESOL&#39;s The Wizard of Oz (a musical romp reflecting on 50 years of&nbsp;TESOL)</p>

<h1>What TESOL attendees loved about ESL&nbsp;Library</h1>

<ul>
	<li>The demo of our digital platform. Teachers can&#39;t wait until they can actually start using it in&nbsp;class.</li>
	<li>Our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2053" target="_blank">How to Tweet</a> lesson from our Writing in English&nbsp;section.</li>
	<li>Our small publishing team. &#39;There are only five of&nbsp;you?&#39;</li>
	<li>The NEW <a href="https://ellii.com/resources" target="_blank">Resource&nbsp;Section</a>.</li>
	<li>The Flashcard Library. (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbuvHnzfai8&amp;index=5&amp;list=PL0MvnNQjMzmbCk_AEw6JNaf8EoD5ATs5L" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">NEW demo&nbsp;available.</a>)</li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/pricing" target="_blank">Our affordable subscription price</a>. (Equal to a cup of coffee per&nbsp;month.)</li>
	<li>Our multi-teacher pricing. Administrators love that they can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zueU6MO_tIU&amp;list=PL0MvnNQjMzmbCk_AEw6JNaf8EoD5ATs5L&amp;index=7" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">manage sub-accounts</a> when teachers come and go from their programs and&nbsp;schools.</li>
	<li>The accessibility. &#39;Yes, teachers use ESL Library in&nbsp;China!&#39;</li>
	<li>The art in our lesson plans. We love it&nbsp;too!</li>
	<li>Sprout English. Teachers love that we have a sister site with materials for young&nbsp;learners. (Now merged with ESL Library.)</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="TESOL 16" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2199/content_IMG_5885.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Above: New subscribers from California Crosspoint High School</p>

<h1>What TESOL attendees want to see on ESL Library</h1>

<p>We love getting feedback from our long-term subscribers. After many years at the TESOL booth, I can even wave at these enthusiastic members from afar. Here are a few of their requests.</p>

<ul>
	<li>more lessons on social justice and civil rights (watch for an upcoming lesson on the Underground&nbsp;Railway)</li>
	<li>beginner-level materials that are graded for low-beginner rather than high-beginner</li>
	<li>digital lessons that can be used in an online tutoring scenario (Coming&nbsp;soon!)</li>
	<li>the option to drag flashcards into digital&nbsp;lessons</li>
	<li>videos</li>
	<li>support for using the flashcard library (check out our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0MvnNQjMzmbCk_AEw6JNaf8EoD5ATs5L" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">how-to&nbsp;demos</a>)</li>
	<li>visuals for practicing&nbsp;sequencing</li>
	<li>more <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons">Grammar Stories</a> (check out our newly designed&nbsp;section)</li>
	<li>the ability to have one subscription to ESL Library and Sprout English (We hear&nbsp;you!)</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="TESOL 16" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2198/content_Screen-Shot-2016-04-13-at-5.13.32-PM.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Above: New Sprout English subscribers, Rosanna and Ana. This program director made customized journals for her&nbsp;teachers! One of my most memorable moments of the week was spotting long-term subscriber Laura Jacob across the Expo Hall. When I caught up with her she had this to say about ESL&nbsp;Library&hellip;</p>

<blockquote>&#39;You are the future.&#39;</blockquote>

<p>Thank you Laura and all of the other great teachers we spent time with in Baltimore, including Eric, Ken, Stephen, and all of the ESL Library Ambassadors! And a big thank you to Ben for inviting us to tag along with him every year at TESOL and for being the best storyteller in ELT. We shared enough laughs to get us through until next&nbsp;year. <strong>See you in Seattle for TESOL&nbsp;17!</strong></p>


Baltimore Charms the ESL Library Team for TESOL 16

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Learn how to make the most of your Ellii subscription with tips from our publishing team.

Teaching with Ellii

<p>March 1 is <strong>World Compliment Day</strong>! Here&rsquo;s an activity to&nbsp;try!</p>

<h1>Warm-Up</h1>

<ol>
	<li>Introduce your students to the word &ldquo;compliment&rdquo; (<em>a positive remark about someone or something</em>), and explain that it can be used as a noun and a verb. While you are looking at the word itself, explain the difference between <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/compliment-vs-complement" target="_blank">compliment and complement</a>. (I always tell my students that the one that means &ldquo;extra&rdquo; has an extra&nbsp;&ldquo;e&rdquo;.)</li>
	<li>Ask your students to identify different things that they praise people for (clothing, hair, job performance, talent, design, hard work). Can they remember the most recent compliment they&nbsp;received?</li>
	<li>Explain that giving a compliment is a form of small talk. It&rsquo;s a great way to <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/1749" target="_blank">start a conversation</a>. Students can give compliments to people they know or don&rsquo;t know. When we visit a friend or family member, it&rsquo;s nice to give a compliment as part of a greeting. My sister-in-law finds a way to compliment me every time I see her. She&rsquo;s so&nbsp;sweet!</li>
	<li>Explain that we often use the verbs &ldquo;give,&rdquo; &ldquo;accept,&rdquo; and &ldquo;take/can&rsquo;t take&rdquo; with the word&nbsp;<em>compliment</em>.</li>
</ol>

<h1>Teach Useful Expressions for Giving&nbsp;Compliments</h1>

<p>Teach your students some common expressions for giving a&nbsp;compliment.</p>

<h2>Appearance</h2>

<ul>
	<li>You look nice today.</li>
	<li>I love your new hairstyle.</li>
	<li>That color looks good on you. / You look good in&nbsp;blue.</li>
	<li>Your dining room looks&nbsp;beautiful.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Work</h2>

<ul>
	<li>You worked very hard on&nbsp;this.</li>
	<li>Nice work!</li>
	<li>Good job!</li>
	<li>This is excellent.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Talent</h2>

<ul>
	<li>You&#39;re a great artist.</li>
	<li>You&#39;re so good with&nbsp;kids.</li>
	<li>You have a lovely&nbsp;voice.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Food</h2>

<ul>
	<li>You make great cookies!</li>
	<li>You&#39;re such a good&nbsp;chef.</li>
	<li>This pasta is delicious.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Indirect</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Your son is a great actor.</li>
	<li>Your mom has the nicest&nbsp;garden.</li>
	<li>I loved your sister&#39;s book.</li>
</ul>

<h1><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2615-giving-receiving-compliments"><img alt="Giving and receiving compliments ESL lesson from Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3071/content_Screen_Shot_2023-02-27_at_9.03.46_AM.png" /></a></h1>

<p class="caption">Are you an Ellli member? Try this ready-made lesson on <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2615-giving-receiving-compliments" target="_blank">Giving &amp; Receiving Compliments</a> from our Functional English section.</p>

<h1>Teach How to Accept a&nbsp;Compliment</h1>

<p>Your students will also need to practice accepting a compliment. The best way to respond is with a simple thank you and a big&nbsp;smile!</p>

<ul>
	<li>Thank you.</li>
	<li><a href="http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/1798/what-is-the-purpose-of-using-the-word-why-in-why-thank-you" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Why, thank you!</a> <em>(with slight&nbsp;surprise)</em></li>
	<li>Thank you for saying&nbsp;that.</li>
	<li>I appreciate that.</li>
	<li>I needed to hear that. <em>(after having a bad day or feeling&nbsp;inadequate)</em></li>
	<li>You&rsquo;re so sweet.</li>
	<li>I&rsquo;ll tell her you said that. / She&rsquo;ll be happy to hear that. <em>(accepting&nbsp;indirectly)</em></li>
</ul>

<p>Explain that many people have difficulty accepting a compliment. They may respond in a <strong>humble</strong> way. They may also <strong>fish for</strong> more&nbsp;compliments.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Do you really think&nbsp;so?</li>
	<li>I don&rsquo;t think so, but thanks for saying&nbsp;so.</li>
</ul>

<p>Some people really can&rsquo;t take a compliment. They almost always respond to a compliment in a <strong>self-deprecating</strong>&nbsp;way.</p>

<h2>Examples</h2>

<h3>Example #1</h3>

<table class="dialogue">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>A:</th>
			<td>Your cookies are delicious.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>B:</th>
			<td>They could use a little more&nbsp;sugar.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Example #2</h3>

<table class="dialogue">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>A:</th>
			<td>Your presentation was great.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>B:</th>
			<td>Are you kidding? I was so&nbsp;nervous.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Example #3</h3>

<table class="dialogue">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>A:</th>
			<td>I like your glasses.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>B:</th>
			<td>These old things? I&rsquo;ve had them&nbsp;forever.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Practice Giving Compliments</h1>

<p>Now have your students practice. Write a setting on the board (e.g., birthday party, school reunion, wedding, funeral, hockey game, staff meeting). Tell your students to imagine themselves <strong>mingling</strong> with friends, colleagues, relatives, and strangers at this event. They should walk around and give each other compliments about appearance, job performance, talent, clothing, food, etc. They should also practice accepting&nbsp;compliments.</p>

<h1>For Fun!</h1>

<p>After practicing giving and accepting compliments, visit the <a href="http://www.worldcomplimentday.info/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Compliment Day website</a>, and have your students fill out a World Compliment Day award for a classmate or&nbsp;friend.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/14/flashcard_categories/16" target="_blank"><img alt="A certificate with a compliment written on it" height="auto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/250/content_Tara_Giving-and-Accepting-Compliments-in-English_Certificate1.png" width="320" /></a></p>

<p><a href="http://www.worldcomplimentday.info/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><img alt="A certificate with a compliment written on it" height="auto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/251/content_Tara_Giving-and-Accepting-Compliments-in-English_Certificate2.png" width="320" /></a></p>


Giving & Accepting Compliments in English

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Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;What&#39;s the value of a present perfect perfectly learnt if you have no planet to live on?&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;@Marisa_C</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I was so pleased to discover that the topic for #ELTchat this Wednesday was related to Earth Day: <em>Going Paper-Light</em>. Such clever mods we have! One thing that surprised me from the chat was that many teachers still seemed to have a soft spot for paper-based lessons and learning. This contradicted what we heard at the TESOL convention in Toronto, where many teachers told us they wanted to be able to share our materials with their&nbsp;students on a digital platform to avoid so much photocopying. With more and more teachers (like #ELTchatter <strong>@juliacphang</strong>) teaching online and more and more students bringing mobile devices to class, we know that it is possible to teach English in an entirely paperless environment. But since this week&#39;s chat was about teaching in a &quot;paper-light&quot;&nbsp;classroom rather than a &quot;paperless&quot;&nbsp;environment, let&#39;s review some of the ideas and concerns related to reducing paper in the classroom.</p>

<h3>Ideas for Reducing Paper in the Classroom</h3>

<p>Here are some of the best ideas and resources #ELTchatters shared for reducing paper in the classroom.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>@tattoodaisy</strong> encourages her students to take pics of her whiteboard.</li>
	<li>A number of chatters recommend file sharing and note-taking tools, such as <em>Evernote</em>, <em>Google Docs</em>, <em>Doceri</em>, <em>WhatsApp</em>, and <em>Quizlet</em>.</li>
	<li><strong>@bealer81 </strong>recommends using a social network with your class. Use it for blogging, discussion forums, chatting, etc. <strong>@Marisa_C</strong> recommends Facebook groups.</li>
	<li><strong>@MarjorieRosenbe</strong> says she always laminates stuff that she reuses, which cuts down on photocopying.</li>
	<li><strong>@HadaLitim</strong> recommends taking the class outside.</li>
	<li><strong>@muranava</strong> says he has cut down on photocopying by dictating.</li>
	<li><strong>@tattoodaisy</strong> reminds chatters that it is possible to do a whole lesson based on one reading.</li>
	<li><strong>@SueAnnan</strong> says she gives students notebooks to <a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2165/content_Tara_Vocabulary-Worksheet.pdf" target="_blank">record vocab</a> in, which cuts down on excess word lists and handouts.</li>
	<li>A number of chatters recommend making and keeping reusable flashcards.</li>
	<li><strong>@IsmarAlabedi</strong> makes lessons in Powerpoint and shares.</li>
	<li><strong>@kaurgibbons</strong> challenges the teachers at her school to not photocopy for one lesson per week.</li>
	<li><strong>@tattoodaisy</strong> reminds chatters that using listening as a text cuts down on paper. <strong>@HadaLitim</strong> added that flipping the classroom also helps.&nbsp;</li>
	<li><strong>@muranava</strong> points out that teachers should take time to photocopy on both sides of the paper.</li>
	<li><strong>@kaurgibbons</strong> suggests bringing in authentic texts that already exist (newspapers, brochures, etc.).</li>
	<li><strong>@angelos_bollas</strong> recommends using audio feedback (e.g., Voicethread).</li>
	<li><strong>@joannacre</strong> says some schools cut down on paper waste by giving teachers a photocopy card.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Problems with Going Paper-Light</h3>

<p>A few #ELTChatters pointed out some concerns about going paper-light.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>@theteacherjames</strong> reminded us that not all classrooms are equipped with tech: &quot;A&nbsp;<em>paperless classroom is only possible if you&rsquo;ve got a realistic alternative, and not everyone has.&quot;</em></li>
	<li><strong>@MarjorieRosenbe</strong> said her students are used to recording vocab in written form: &quot;<em>Most feel they learn better that way.&quot;</em></li>
	<li><strong>@SueAnnan</strong> agreed with Marjorie: <em>&quot;I think I learn better when I write things down too.&quot;&nbsp;</em>(Ditto for me.)</li>
	<li><strong>@joannacre</strong> said that getting rid of paper doesn&#39;t always work as hoped: &quot;<em>I marked online but my sts ended up printing their essays with my comments.&quot;</em></li>
	<li><strong>@taw_sig</strong> has had a similar experience: &quot;<em>My students print my PowerPoints.&quot;</em></li>
	<li><strong>@FelicityParry</strong> noted that students learn best when they take their own notes: <em>&#39;&quot;I find students can lay out their notes in exactly the way they want to if it&#39;s on paper, which will inevitably help with recall.&quot;</em></li>
	<li><strong>@fielsted</strong> shared this research about <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Reading Brain in the Digital Age</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>Links to Paper-Light Ideas</h3>

<p>These handy links were shared on #ELTchat tonight: <a href="https://textploitationtefl.wordpress.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Using Texts to Their Full Potential</a> <a href="http://jasonrenshaw.typepad.com/jason_renshaws_web_log/2010/10/the-wandrous-whiteboard-challenge.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Wandrous Whiteboard Challenge</a> <a href="https://kaurgibbonsandteaching.wordpress.com/2015/04/16/writing-using-six-word-stories-and-fifty-word-stories-no-preparation-or-paper/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Using 6 Word Stories (no paper, no prep)</a></p>

<h3>In Summary</h3>

<p><strong>@theteacherjames</strong> had the last word&nbsp;and summed things up nicely:</p>

<blockquote>&quot;For me the best way to go &quot;paper[light]&quot;&nbsp;is to reduce pointless handouts, increase note-taking, and [use] sensible digital alternatives.&quot;</blockquote>

<p>There&#39;s an Earth Day challenge for you, teachers! If you want to read more, check out <a href="http://eltchat.pbworks.com/w/page/95456591/Going%20Paper-light">the full transcript</a>. See you next Wednesday, Tara (<strong>@tarabenwell</strong> / <strong>@ESLlibrary</strong>)</p>

<h3>About #ELTChat</h3>

<p>#ELTChat is a weekly Twitter chat about issues related to English language teaching. It is held every Wednesday on Twitter at 12 GMT and 9pm GMT. To join in, simply watch and use the hashtag #ELTchat. Here are a few more <a href="http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/2009/09/01/edchat-update-using-tweetdeck-for-hashtag-discussions/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">tips on participating in educational chats on Twitter</a>. And, if it&#39;s your first #ELTchat, like it was today for <a href="http://twitter.com/stella_maris05" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@stella_maris05</a>, be sure to mention it to the mods so that they can help you get some like-minded followers.</p>

<h3>Earth Day Materials on ESL Library</h3>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/2142" target="_blank">Earth Day Idioms Poster</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/1/lessons" target="_blank">Every Day is Earth Day: Lesson Collection about Environmental Issues</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/2199" target="_blank">Earth Day: Lesson Plan</a></li>
</ul>


#ELTChat Summary: Going Paper-Light in the Classroom

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<blockquote>&quot;Learning words is easy. The difficult part is retention.&quot;&nbsp;&mdash;Eli Hinkel</blockquote>

<p>At the <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/highlights-from-tesol-2015-in-toronto-canada" target="_blank">TESOL convention in Toronto</a> last month, I attended a packed session about vocabulary acquisition by <a href="http://www.elihinkel.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Eli Hinkel</a>. <em>Effective and Efficient Vocabulary Teaching for Academic Writing</em> was such a popular topic that the fire marshals came in to inform us that the room was over capacity. Fortunately, I had a front-row seat (on the floor with some other sardines) as this was a talk that I did not want to miss! The ESL Library publishing team is working diligently on a new <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons" target="_blank">Writing in English</a> section. We&#39;re also planning a new course focused on Academic English Vocabulary. Here are <em>5 Ways to Support Vocabulary Learning</em> based on Eli Hinkel&#39;s tips.</p>

<h3>1. Demand high</h3>

<p>When it comes to learning vocabulary, Eli Hinkel says she expects more from her students than most teachers: &#39;You have to be pushy!&#39; She admits that her students don&#39;t always like her at the beginning of a term, but says they often come back and thank her when they realize how many words they&#39;ve learned. Eli Hinkel suggests the following:</p>

<ul>
	<li>800 words per term</li>
	<li>16 words per day</li>
	<li>10 words per lesson</li>
	<li>10-12 exposures of each word</li>
</ul>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/2173" target="_blank">Vocabulary Bank PDF</a></p>

<p>While doing further research about academic vocabulary recently, I stumbled upon <a href="http://itdi.pro/blog/2013/09/19/presenting-vocabulary-chuck-sandy/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">this fantastic post by Chuck Sandy</a> on how he reluctantly challenged his students to learn 500 words from the Academic Word List, and how his students became &#39;Vocabulary Masters.&#39;</p>

<h3>2. Increase the number of exposures</h3>

<p>According to Eli Hinkel, students need 10&ndash;12 exposures before a word enters their &#39;productive&#39; vocabulary. Hinkel says teachers can support students by &#39;chasing&#39; these exposures. Do whatever you can to expose students to the vocabulary repeatedly, including using <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/" target="_blank">flashcards</a>.</p>

<h3>3. Use shame motivation</h3>

<p>I cringed when Eli Hinkel used the term &quot;shame motivation,&quot;&nbsp;but it turns out this is just her cheeky way of describing a peer marking system that works well. Hinkel assigns daily quizzes or short writing assignments based on the vocabulary lists her students are working with. Instead of marking the papers, she has students hand their quizzes to each other. Eli insists that peer evaluation motivates student learning (not to mention saving marking time) because students don&#39;t want to look inferior in front of their peers. Hinkel also does a random check once in a while and asks students to hand in their quizzes. Eli Hinkel suggests the following:</p>

<ul>
	<li>5-minute vocabulary quizzes every other day (for new words, she prefers &#39;write the definitions&#39; rather than &#39;write an example sentence&#39;)</li>
	<li>5-minute writing assignments every other day (one paragraph on a specific topic, not &#39;free writing&#39;)</li>
	<li>peer review (not marked by a teacher)</li>
	<li>random spot checks (hand in to teacher for a mark)</li>
</ul>

<h3>4. Teach them how to use the dictionary efficiently</h3>

<p>According to Eli Hinkel, &#39;Teaching vocabulary is a waste of time. Learning vocabulary is the essence.&#39; While it&#39;s the teacher&#39;s job to demand that students learn a certain amount of vocabulary, the students ultimately have to take the responsibility of doing it. Hinkel asks teachers to teach students how to &#39;mine the dictionary.&#39; She says that too many students get intimated by long dictionary entries. Teachers should expect students to learn the first entry or the main use (usually in its noun or verb form), but not all of the additional entries. Personally, I recommend <em><a href="http://ninjawords.com/">ninja words, A really fast dictionary...fast like a ninja</a></em> to my students. There is a lot of blank space on the entry page, which makes it less intimidating. For very simple definitions, I like the <a href="http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>Oxford Learner&#39;s Dictionary</em></a>.</p>

<h3>5. Use an escalated learning system</h3>

<p>Eli Hinkel suggests that you gradually increase your expectations when it comes to vocabulary learning. First, require that students just spell the word: <em>&#39;People have to spell, because, if they don&#39;t, it looks like mud on their face.&#39;</em> Then they have to know the meaning. Next, they need to be able to write a sentence with the word that at least has a verb in it. After that, the sentence has to have a verb and a subject. Finally, the sentence has to be written in proper English with the vocabulary used in the proper context. If you ever get the chance to hear Eli Hinkel speak, be sure to grab a front-row seat! She&#39;s witty, wise, and full of teaching tips.</p>

<h3>Did you Know?</h3>

<p>Most of the reading-based lessons on ESL Library now have a vocabulary list for teachers to preview and review. The vocabulary lists, which appear on the information page when you click on an individual lesson (you&#39;ll also find <em>lesson description, level, estimated time required, # of pages, lesson tasks, level, grammar points</em>), can also be used to make your own 5-minute quizzes and writing assignments.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Related</h3>

<ul class="resources">
	
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/highlights-from-tesol-2015-in-toronto-canada" target="_blank">Highlights from TESOL 15 in Toronto</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/4-activities-for-reviewing-vocabulary/" target="_blank">4 Activities for Reviewing Vocabulary</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/4-ways-to-teach-new-vocabulary/" target="_blank">4 Ways to Teach New Vocabulary</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teach-english-with-quotes" target="_blank">5 Ways to Teach English with Quotes</a></li>
</ul>


5 Ways to Support Vocabulary Learning

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<h3>Building Bridges Without Crossing Borders</h3>

<p>Every March, the ESL Library team attends the annual TESOL convention. In recent years, the convention has taken us to many American cities, including Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Portland. This year the convention was in Toronto, Canada. This was convenient for our little publishing team. We didn&#39;t have to cross any borders (funny, since &#39;Crossing Borders, Building Bridges&#39; was the TESOL theme this year), and we were able to meet local subscribers and publishers to learn more about what Canadian teachers want and need. TESOL 15 was also an opportunity for us to welcome new and old publishing and teaching friends to our home and native land. As always it was a fun, educational, and productive week at TESOL. Here are a few highlights from this year&#39;s trip.</p>

<h3>What we loved about Toronto</h3>

<p>Our team came from as close as Waterloo and as far as away as Vancouver. It was much easier to find our way around this year, and we had no trouble using our cell phones.</p>

<ul>
	<li>The food. There was no shortage of delicious food this year. Our favorite restaurant was a Thai place called <a href="http://www.khaosanroad.ca/" target="_blank">Khao San Road</a>.</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="TESOL 15" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2208/content_IMG_0002.jpg" /></p>

<ul>
	<li>The convenience. It was a cold week in Toronto, and the indoor PATH came in very handy. We didn&#39;t even need coats!</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="Toronto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2209/content_IMG_5647.jpg" /></p>

<ul>
	<li>The view. We stayed next to The Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The view from the 39th floor at the Delta was spectacular.</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="Toronto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2210/content_IMG_6684.jpg" /></p>

<h3>What we loved about the TESOL 15 Convention</h3>

<ul>
	<li>The sessions. We attended useful sessions on teaching vocabulary, learning the <a href="http://www.language.ca/">Canadian Benchmarks</a> system, keeping young learners moving, and more. We also gave our own presentations about ESL Library and <a href="http://www.sproutenglish.com/">Sprout English</a>.</li>
	<li>The TESOL app. We didn&#39;t open the heavy book we received at the registration desk this year. Maybe it&#39;s time to go paperless?</li>
	<li>Free ice cream.</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="TESOL 15" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2211/content_IMG_0003.jpg" /></p>

<h3>What teachers loved about ESL Library</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Our booth. We matched our booth to our website design this year, and our creative efforts paid off. Even the TESOL organizers came by to offer compliments.</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="ESL Library Booth TESOL 2015" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2212/content_IMG_4057.jpg" /></p>

<ul>
	<li>The T-shirts. We wore colorful ESL Library tees to promote the cheerful and approachable nature of our team. This was a big hit!</li>
	<li>Our <a href="https://ellii.com/">new site</a>. The feedback was very positive, and it was a pleasure to showcase the redesigned lessons and features.</li>
	<li>The convenience. A number of enthusiastic teachers came by to tell us that ESL Library had saved their lives. Nicoya from the Applied Language Institute in KC, pictured below with our designer Robyn, told us she used ESL Library exclusively when her textbooks didn&#39;t arrive for six weeks.</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="TESOL 2015" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2213/content_IMG_4080.jpg" /></p>

<ul>
	<li>Our new filter system.</li>
	<li>The <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons">Grammar Practice Worksheet</a>s. Teachers love the new format and wide variety.</li>
	<li>The <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons">Writing Section</a>. &#39;Yes, we have Academic English materials!&#39;</li>
	<li>The new <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/">Flashcard Library</a>. It was so easy to demo this section this year.</li>
	<li>The price. Teachers and administrators love that <a href="https://ellii.com/pricing">ESL Library is only $55</a> per year. &#39;And that&#39;s for everything?&#39;</li>
</ul>

<p><img alt="TESOL 2015" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2214/content_IMG_0008.jpg" /></p>

<h3>What teachers want to see on ESL Library</h3>

<p>One of the most important reasons to attend the TESOL convention is to talk with teachers face-to-face. Here are some of the requests and suggestions we received this year.</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="http://www.language.ca/">Canadian Benchmark</a> materials</li>
	<li>Materials on punctuation</li>
	<li>More beginner-level materials like our new <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons" target="_blank">Barack Obama (beginner)</a></li>
	<li>Academic Word List lessons</li>
	<li>The option to print with Canadian/American spelling</li>
	<li>Better options for using ESL Library with online students</li>
	<li>More <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/75/lessons">Living in English</a> lessons (update older ones)</li>
	<li>Interactive lessons with student access</li>
	<li>The ability to comment on our blog as a signed-in ESL Library member</li>
</ul>

<p>I looked back at last year&#39;s post and was happy to see that we made many things happen after <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-portland">TESOL 2014</a>! In fact, 2014 was probably our most productive year. Share your own requests in the comments below, and help us build the site that teachers need.</p>

<p><img alt="TESOL 2015" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2215/content_IMG_0004.jpg" /></p>

<p>Our team from left to right: writer Tara Benwell, designer Robyn Shesterniak, editor Tanya Trusler, and CEO Ben Buckwold</p>

<p><strong>See you next year in Baltimore!</strong></p>


Highlights from TESOL 2015 in Toronto, Canada

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<blockquote><p>&quot;Good quotes are timeless. It&rsquo;s as if someone just ahead of you on the path of life is turning back to give you a helping hand&hellip;&quot;</p>
<p class="attribution">&mdash;Rolf Gates</p></blockquote>

<p>We&#39;ve been doing a lot of spring cleaning at ESL Library. This includes redesigning, updating, and editing many of our older lessons plans. In the warm-up section of most of our newly designed topic-based lessons, you will find a quote. Quotes contain memorable bites of English that your students can explore in detail. Here are five ways to use quotes while teaching English.</p>

<h3>1. Practice pronunciation</h3>

<p>Choose a student to read the quote out loud to the class. Correct any <strong>pronunciation</strong> or <strong>intonation</strong> errors. Explore&nbsp;<strong>word stress</strong> and <strong>sentence stress</strong>. Have your students practice saying the quote with emphasis. You could also practice saying the quote in a variety of ways. Try speaking quickly, slowly, or in unison. Our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/82/lessons/1469" target="_blank">Maple Syrup</a> lesson includes the following quote from Buddy the Elf. In the Christmas movie, <em>Elf,</em>&nbsp;Will Farrell speaks very quickly when he says the following:</p>

<blockquote><p>&quot;We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup.&quot;</p><p class="attribution">&mdash;Buddy the Elf</p></blockquote>

<p>If you come across a quote from a speech, movie, or TED Talk, why not try to find an audio clip? Here is a great <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS8MegEiKLk" target="_blank">clip</a> of this famous Will Farrell scene. In addition to helping with pronunciation, a&nbsp;quote may inspire your students to watch a full movie or listen to a full speech or song.</p>

<h3>2. Deconstruct sentences</h3>

<p>Deconstructing sentences can be a dull task when you use <em>See-Spot-run</em> sentences. Why not use interesting quotes to practice sentence dissection? Challenge your students to deconstruct the quotes that you come across in your ESL Library lessons. Here&#39;s a quote from our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1401" target="_blank">Robin Williams</a> lesson:</p>

<blockquote><p>&quot;You&#39;re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn&#39;t lose it.&quot;</p>
<p class="attribution">&mdash;Robin Williams</p></blockquote>

<p>Can your students identify each part of speech? What else can your students find in this sentence (e.g., a contraction, a modal in the negative form, the passive voice)? Can they rewrite this sentence in the active voice? First they&#39;ll have to discover who or what <em>gives</em> a person this &#39;madness.&#39; That should spark some discussion, too.</p>

<h3>3. Review grammar and usage</h3>

<p>Before you begin an ESL Library&nbsp;lesson, look at the quote to see if there is a mini lesson that you can teach inside it. &nbsp;Can you spot any common errors? When my students use &#39;one of the&#39; in a sentence, they often incorrectly follow it with a singular noun. In our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons/1430" target="_blank">Niagara Falls</a> lesson, you will find this quote by Nik Wallenda:</p>

<blockquote><p>&quot;It is one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world. Who wouldn&#39;t want to walk across it?&quot;</p>
<p class="attribution">&mdash;Nik Wallenda</p></blockquote>

<p>Check for tips on&nbsp;common errors in the Teachers&#39; Notes at the end of our lessons. For example, in our revised <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/97/lessons/1477" target="_blank">Hockey</a> lesson, we included Mario Lemieux&#39;s famous quote:</p>

<blockquote><p>&quot;Every day is a great day for hockey.&quot;&nbsp;</p>
<p class="attribution">&mdash;Mario Lemieux</p></blockquote>

<p>This quote gives you the opportunity to review the common error <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/everyday-vs-every-day" target="_blank">every day vs. everyday</a>.</p>

<h3>4. Explore informal language (idioms, phrasal verbs, slang)</h3>

<p>Explore the literal and idiomatic meaning of words and expressions that you find in quotes. For example, in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1944" target="_blank">Gender Inequality</a> lesson you will find the following quote by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg:</p>

<blockquote><p>&quot;We must raise both the floor and the ceiling.&quot;</p>
<p class="attribution">&mdash;Sheryl Sandberg</p></blockquote>

<p>Use this opportunity to teach the expression &#39;glass ceiling&#39; (<em>an invisible barrier</em>). What did Sheryl Sandberg mean by &#39;raising the floor&#39;? Don&#39;t just rely on dictionaries to provide definitions and explanations. Challenge your students to look up words and expressions from quotes in context by searching for the word online. For example, according to this <a href="http://www.eryceyl.com/blog/2013/06/17/dont-just-raise-the-bar-raise-the-floor-too/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">article</a>, raising the floor means &#39;to increase the knowledge, skills, abilities, and capacities of the folks doing the work.&#39;</p>

<h3>5. Assign a follow-up writing task</h3>

<p>If your students write journal entries for homework, invite them to comment on the quote from a lesson you used.&nbsp;You could also challenge your students to find a related quote on the same topic (maybe they can find a better one). They could also research the person who was quoted and find out more about the context. For example, in&nbsp;our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1253" target="_blank">Bullying</a> lesson we include a quote from Taylor Swift. Challenge your students to&nbsp;find out how Taylor Swift has been bullied by her peers.</p>

<blockquote><p>&quot;If they don&#39;t like you for being yourself, be yourself even more.&quot;&nbsp;</p>
<p class="attribution">&mdash;Taylor Swift</p></blockquote>

<p>Please share your <a href="http://thewritequote.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">favorite quotes</a> in the comments below!</p>


5 Ways to Teach English with Quotes

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<p>Your students may hate taking exams, but I bet they <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-reasons-why-english-learners-love-idioms/" target="_blank">love learning idioms</a>! Here is a list of 7 exam tips full of idioms and everyday expressions to <strong><em>lighten things up</em></strong> before exam&nbsp;time.</p>

<h1>Tip #1</h1>

<h4>Know the test format inside and&nbsp;out</h4>

<p>When you <strong><em>know something inside and out</em></strong>, you understand it completely. That stressful feeling inside usually results from the fear of the unknown. If you know exactly which types of questions to expect, you will feel more relaxed on test day. This will help you perform better on the&nbsp;test.</p>

<p>Visit official websites for TOEIC, TOEFL, or whichever test you are taking, and learn the exact format for each section and&nbsp;question.</p>

<h1>Tip #2</h1>

<h4>Be prepared for Murphy&rsquo;s&nbsp;law</h4>

<p><strong><em>Murphy&rsquo;s law</em></strong> suggests that <em>anything that can go wrong, will go wrong</em>. Here are some things that can go wrong on test&nbsp;day:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Your pen will run out or your pencil will break (bring&nbsp;extras)</li>
	<li>Your eraser will break or run out (bring an extra&nbsp;one)</li>
	<li>You&rsquo;ll need to use the washroom (don&rsquo;t drink too much&nbsp;water)</li>
	<li>You&rsquo;ll get thirsty (bring&nbsp;water)</li>
	<li>Your phone will ring (turn off your&nbsp;devices)</li>
	<li>Your nose will run (bring&nbsp;tissues)</li>
	<li>Your stomach will growl (eat a high-protein&nbsp;breakfast)</li>
	<li>Your mouse batteries will die (bring&nbsp;batteries)</li>
	<li>Your pants will feel too tight (dress&nbsp;comfortably)</li>
</ul>

<p>All of the above will cause you to lose concentration. For the best results, prepare for the<strong><em> worst‑case&nbsp;scenario</em></strong>.</p>

<h1>Tip #3</h1>

<h4>Don&rsquo;t let examiners pull a fast one on&nbsp;you</h4>

<p>When someone <strong><em>pulls a fast one</em></strong> on you, they try to trick you. The writers who develop tests know <strong><em>every trick in the book</em></strong>. (<strong><em>Take my word for it.</em></strong> I used to be&nbsp;one.)</p>

<p>When you are using practice materials, don&rsquo;t just study the correct answers. <em><strong>Take note</strong></em> of all of the common <em>distractors</em> that exam writers&nbsp;use.</p>

<p>Here are some common distractors (incorrect answer choices, aka&nbsp;tricks):</p>

<ul>
	<li>opposite of the correct&nbsp;answer</li>
	<li>close to correct, but not&nbsp;correct</li>
	<li>contains a key word from the text or&nbsp;listening</li>
	<li>common misconceptions</li>
	<li>common usage errors</li>
	<li>true facts that do not answer the&nbsp;question</li>
	<li>draws on personal experience rather than information&nbsp;provided</li>
</ul>

<h1>Tip #4</h1>

<h4>Read each question with a fine-tooth&nbsp;comb</h4>

<p>When you read something<strong><em> with a fine-tooth comb</em></strong>, you read for detail. Though some parts of an exam require you to skim and scan, it is important to read <strong><em>every single word</em></strong> of the instructions or questions. Don&rsquo;t make assumptions. Make sure you know exactly what the question or section is asking you to&nbsp;do.</p>

<h1>Tip #5</h1>

<h4>Find the meat and&nbsp;potatoes</h4>

<p>Another expression for the main idea is <strong><em>the meat and potatoes</em></strong>. Whether you&rsquo;re taking the IELTS, the TOEIC, or the TOEFL, you will have to read and listen to many paragraphs. Paragraphs always contain a single main idea. Before test time, become an expert at finding the main idea in everything you read and&nbsp;see.</p>

<h1>Tip #6</h1>

<h4>Go with your gut</h4>

<p>When you <strong><em>go with your gut</em></strong> you use your human instinct. Your first instincts are often correct. When it comes to multiple-choice questions, eliminate the answers you know are wrong. The process of elimination allows you to choose the best remaining answer based on your <strong><em>gut&nbsp;feeling</em></strong>.</p>

<h1>Tip #7</h1>

<h4>Dot the i&rsquo;s and cross the t&rsquo;s</h4>

<p>When you <strong><em>dot the i&rsquo;s and cross the t&rsquo;s</em></strong>, you check for errors. When possible, <strong><em>double-check</em></strong> your answers and proofread your writing. This doesn&rsquo;t mean you should <strong><em>second-guess</em></strong> yourself. If you answered C for many answers in a row, don&rsquo;t be tempted to change your&nbsp;responses.</p>

<p><strong>Break a leg!</strong><br />
Tara</p>

<h1>Glossary</h1>

<h4>Idioms and Everyday&nbsp;English</h4>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>break a leg</th>
			<td>good luck</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>lighten things up</th>
			<td>to make a stressful situation feel less&nbsp;stressful</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>know something inside and&nbsp;out</th>
			<td>to understand something&nbsp;completely</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Murphy&rsquo;s law</th>
			<td>the idea that anything that can go wrong will go&nbsp;wrong</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>worst-case scenario</th>
			<td>the worst possible situation or&nbsp;outcome</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>pull a fast one</th>
			<td>to trick someone</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>every trick in the&nbsp;book</th>
			<td>every joke or way that exists to fool&nbsp;someone</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>take my word for&nbsp;it</th>
			<td>you should believe me (I&rsquo;m a credible&nbsp;source)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>take note</th>
			<td>to notice</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>with a fine-tooth&nbsp;comb</th>
			<td>in detail</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>every single one</th>
			<td>each one (do not leave anything or anyone&nbsp;out)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>the meat and&nbsp;potatoes</th>
			<td>the most important part(s), the&nbsp;basics</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>go with your&nbsp;gut</th>
			<td>to follow your instincts</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>gut feeling</th>
			<td>a strong feeling about something or&nbsp;someone</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>dot the i&rsquo;s and cross the&nbsp;t&rsquo;s</th>
			<td>to check one&rsquo;s&nbsp;work</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>double-check</th>
			<td>to check one&rsquo;s work&nbsp;again</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>second-guess</th>
			<td>to doubt oneself</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>


Break a Leg – 7 Exam Tips for English Learners

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<p>Our team was very sad to hear the news of Maya Angelou&#39;s passing this week. Our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons">Famous People</a> section is full of readings about inspiring activists, writers, speakers, and musicians, and Maya Angelou was one of those amazing figures who was famous for being all of the above. Every year, we feature our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1375">Maya Angelou</a> lesson plan at least once or twice. Sometimes we feature her for Black History Month (She is in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1393">Black History Jigsaw</a> lesson plan), and we&#39;ve also featured her for her birthday.</p>

<p>Did you know that Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928, 40 years before the death of <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1324">Martin Luther King Jr</a>? After the death of Dr. King, Maya Angelou refused to celebrate her birthday for quite some time.</p>

<blockquote>&quot;I couldn&#39;t believe that this great man, this great dream, this great dreamer, this person who dared to love everybody, could be killed.&quot; <strong>&mdash;</strong>Maya Angelou</blockquote>

<p>In honor of Maya Angelou&#39;s life, we&#39;ll be featuring our redesigned <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/1375" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Famous People lesson plan</a> this month. We also encourage you and your students to get to know Maya Angelou better through her poetry and quotes.</p>

<h3>Poetry</h3>

<p>Listen to Maya Angelou recite the poem <em>Still I Rise</em>. Have your students look up five words that they are unfamiliar with. Encourage them to try to write their own poem using these five words.</p>

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<p>If the the language in the poem above is too mature for your learners, use the poem<a href="http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/alone" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> &#39;Alone&#39;.</a></p>

<h3>Quotes</h3>

<p>As a poet, author, and speaker, Maya Angelou was known for her powerful use of words. In a recent interview, she said that when her time came to leave this earth she&#39;d probably be busy writing music, or a poem, or an autobiography. In our redesigned lesson plan, we included one of our favorite Maya Angelou quotes:</p>

<blockquote>&quot;If you don&#39;t like something, change it. If you can&#39;t change it, change your attitude.&quot; &mdash;Maya Angelou</blockquote>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


In Memory of Maya Angelou

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<p>The Red River Press team had a fantastic trip to Portland, Oregon, for the annual TESOL convention. In fact, on our flight home, in the middle of a game of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jotto" target="_blank">Jotto</a>, CEO Ben Buckwold revealed that it was our most successful TESOL trip to date! In addition to our two product presentations, we had valuable chats with teachers, subscribers, and other exhibitors. The positive feedback we received from those who toured <strong>ESL Library</strong> and <strong>Sprout English</strong> helped confirm that our little team is certainly on the right track. We returned home to Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Toronto inspired to make big things happen. Here are some highlights from our trip! (Scroll down for video.)</p>

<h3>What we loved about Portland</h3>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The mild <strong>weather</strong>: Despite the rain, it was much warmer than Winnipeg and Toronto! Everything was green instead of white.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>food</strong>: We enjoyed Peruvian, Indian, Thai, and Japanese cuisine, as well as a home-cooked meal from one of our TESOL exhibit pals. Thanks, Nancy! If you&#39;re ever in Portland, check out Andina, Pok Pok, and Saucebox. (And no, we never made it to Voodoo Doughnuts. Shame on us!)</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>weirdness</strong>: Statues of gourds on every corner! So many bridges...</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>vibe</strong>: Portland felt a lot like Vancouver. Nobody was rushing around in business suits. The cherry blossoms were out!</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>hospitality</strong>: Servers, cab drivers, and hotel staff were pleasant and helpful. </span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Powell&#39;s Books</strong>: One hour before closing is not the best time for a couple of language nerds to enter a city of books. We&#39;ll be back!</span></p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p>What we loved about TESOL</p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>teachers</strong>: We met so many interesting people from around the world, including people we have known for a long time through <a href="http://twitter.com/ESLlibrary" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, but have never met in person.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The complimentary <strong>transportation</strong> passes: We used the train and the bus, and saved our feet from too much walking after hours at the booth.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>Oregon Convention Center</strong>: The session rooms were easy to find for once! The food was decent, too.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>free wifi</strong>: We didn&#39;t have to search around for hot spots! We were connected at all times inside the convention center. Coming from Canada, this was very handy for our team.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>sessions</strong>: Even though we were at the booth most of the time, we caught a few excellent presentations by brave teachers and authors. More on these soon...</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Our booth neighbors: Whether we were sharing snacks, or choosing raffle winners for each other, it was great to have <strong>Brain Pop</strong> nearby!</span></p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p>What teachers loved about ESL Library</p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The business <strong>hours</strong>. Our site is available 24/7.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>accessibility</strong>. You can access our sites worldwide, including in many countries where teaching resources are very limited.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The nice <strong>price</strong> for conference attendees. (They deserve it for taking time out for PD! Many spend their own money to go.) </span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>convenience</strong>. Many teachers came by just to tell us how many hours we save them. </span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The <strong>subject</strong> matter. We cover topics that many textbooks don&#39;t.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The customer <strong>service</strong>. Our office replies to every inquiry. We take requests and fill them, too!</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Our kid sister site for teachers of young learners. It was <strong>Sprout English</strong>&#39;s big debut!</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Our free <strong>podcasts</strong>. Teachers loved that students don&#39;t need a log in code to listen.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Our giveaways. This year we gave away four <strong>iPod shuffles</strong>! </span></p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p>What teachers want to see on ESL Library</p>

<ul>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Academic English</strong> materials</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Materials for <strong>absolute-beginner adults</strong></span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">More <strong>digital materials</strong>/apps that students can use in a computer lab or on tablets. (This is coming very soon. We showed a sneak preview to a few subscribers, and they told us that this was exactly what they needed!)</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">An easy way to <strong>search</strong> for materials based on level (A new version of our site should be ready by summer. It has fantastic search functionality. You&#39;re going to love it! We do.)</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">More <strong>stories</strong> for English learners.</span></p>
	</li>
	<li>
	<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">The option to <strong>sign up for both</strong> Sprout English and ESL Library with one log in. (We&#39;re thinking about it.) </span></p>
	</li>
</ul>

<p><span style="font-size: 16px;">Next week we&#39;ll be blogging about our trip to New York City for the <a href="https://shortyawards.com/6th/esllibrary" target="_blank">Shorty Awards</a>! Wish us luck. </span>&nbsp;</p>

<p>PS - In case you were wondering, I won that game of Jotto! Bring on the word games. Stay tuned for a review about an awesome session I attended at TESOL 14.</p>


Highlights From TESOL 14 in Portland

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<p>The Winter Olympics is coming up and ESL Library has a ready-made flashcard set to help you teach and review related vocabulary with your language learners. Our <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/7/flashcard_categories/114" target="_blank">Winter Olympics Flashcard</a> set features all of the sports from this year&#39;s Olympic Games. You will also find flashcards for medal ceremonies. Check out our entire <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/7/flashcard_categories" target="_blank">Sports &amp; Athletes</a> section, where you will find vocabulary images for <strong>equipment</strong>, <strong>clothing</strong>, <strong>athletes</strong>, <strong>actions</strong>, and the <strong>Summer Olympics</strong>!</p>

<h1>Vocabulary Review Ideas</h1>

<p>Here are some ideas for using our Winter Olympics flashcards in the classroom. Add your own ideas in the comments below!</p>

<h2>Drawing</h2>

<p>Print out a few sets of the Winter Olympics flashcards. Put students in groups or pairs and have them take turns drawing and guessing the images on the cards. Make this activity more fun and competitive by having students draw with their eyes closed! Or make it active by having students race to the board to draw. There is also a fun guessing activity (&quot;Go for Gold&quot;) in our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1890" target="_blank">Winter Olympics</a> lesson.</p>

<h2>Cold Seat - Brrr</h2>

<p>Put your class in two groups. Place two captains in chairs facing away from the board. Paste a large-sized flashcard (Did you know you could choose the size when you print the cards out?) on the board. The rest of the class has to get their team captain to guess the word by talking about it. You can decide whether or not gestures are allowed. The first captain to guess correctly gets out of &quot;the cold seat&quot;&nbsp;and gets a point. A new captain is chosen. For fun, play this game outside with students all bundled up!</p>

<h2>Spelling Bee</h2>

<p>Pull out a card and have students try to spell the word. Each time students spell the word correctly, they get a point. Make it active by requiring students to stand up and do jumping jacks while they spell!</p>

<h2>Pronunciation Bee</h2>

<p>Just like a spelling bee, but students have to pronounce the words properly as you hold up a card.</p>

<h2>Experts</h2>

<p>Gather all of the sports cards from the Winter Olympics set. Have students choose a card out of a box. During the Olympics, ask your students to become experts or reporters on the sport they chose. They can share news related to their sport&nbsp;and tell the class who wins gold, silver, and bronze. The expert can also share any rules related to this sport. This activity can also be done in pairs. Choose a time each day during the Winter Olympics to have students report on their sport.</p>

<h2>Yes, Coach!</h2>

<p>Use the <strong>Olympics</strong> and <strong>Sports Actions</strong> cards to play charades. Have students take turns coming to the front or center of the space to choose cards and model the action (be the &quot;coach&quot;). The other students have to copy the movement of the coach with the card AND try to guess the action word. Whoever guesses first gets to be the next &quot;coach.&quot;</p>

<h2>Olympic Memories</h2>

<p>Use all of the flashcards from both the Summer and Winter Olympic sets. Hold up one card. Invite students to share any memory they have about the sport or a related athlete. Encourage them to start with the phrase: &quot;I remember when...&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;That reminds me of ...&quot;</p>

<h2>Shout the Verb</h2>

<p>Use the <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/7/flashcard_categories/88" target="_blank">Sports Equipment</a> set. The student who picks the card must complete the question: What can you do with a&hellip;? The other students shout actions. (See <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/7/flashcard_categories/87" target="_blank">Sports Actions</a> set here.)</p>

<ul>
	<li>hockey puck (shoot it)</li>
	<li>helmet (wear it)</li>
	<li>target (hit it)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Predictions</h2>

<p>Use the cards to practice making predictions about the Olympics. Which country will get the most gold, silver, and bronze medals? Which country will win the relay? Who will carry the Olympic flag? Simply pull out a random card from the set and ask your students to make a prediction about it. Or get your students to practice asking the questions.</p>

<h2>Preferences</h2>

<p>Use the cards to practice stating preferences. Which sports do your students prefer playing? Which sports do they prefer watching? Why do they prefer one sport over another? Pull out two flashcards at a time and have students practice stating which one they prefer and why. You could add the Summer Olympics flashcards in for this game.</p>

<h2>Olympic Village</h2>

<p>Tape a sport/athlete card to the forehead or back of each student. Have students walk around the Olympic Village trying to guess who they are. They have to ask each other questions, such as &quot;Do I compete on a hill?&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;Do I race indoors?&quot;&nbsp;The first to guess correctly gets gold, the second gets silver, the third gets bronze. Use boxes or baskets to make podiums for the winners to stand on as they watch the rest of the class play.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/116/lessons/2532" target="_blank">Superlative Adjectives</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2612" target="_blank">Winter Olympics</a> (Word Bank)</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1890" target="_blank">Winter Olympics</a> (Holidays &amp; Events)</li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/7/flashcard_categories/114" target="_blank">Winter Olympic Flashcards</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/olympics-singular-or-plural/" target="_blank">Olympics: Singular or Plural?</a></li>
</ul>


Ideas for Using Winter Olympics Flashcards

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Discover what's new or coming soon, including upcoming lessons and resources and product feature updates. 

Announcements

<p>The Red River Press team is proud to announce that <a href="http://facebook.com/ESLlibrary" target="_blank">ESL Library&#39;s Facebook Page</a> just passed 100,000 likes! We&#39;re not exactly sure what this means, but we like it, and we think it means you like us!<br />
<br />
The best part about having so many teachers liking our Facebook Page is that we can connect with teachers from all over the world. Our #1 goal for having a social media presence is to interact with teachers to find out what they want and need. The ESL Library team is made of teachers who know how demanding the job is. We take requests and love feedback, so don&#39;t be shy! If you love ESL Library, we want to know why. And if you want something new, tell us that, too!<br />
<br />
In celebration of reaching 100,000 &quot;likes&quot; we asked our Facebook friends to tell us what they love about teaching English. &nbsp;We received over 75 responses and 15,000 views in just a few hours. The responses were incredible, and it was difficult to pick a winner. We all decided that Nadia L&#39;s response was perfect, and fit for the holidays.</p>

<p>Nadia received a free subscription to ESL Library for 2014. Please stop by our page to read why Nadia and other teachers love teaching English (Dec 17).<br />
<br />
<em>Thanks for your support, friends! See you on Facebook!</em> &nbsp;</p>


ESL Library's Facebook Page Hits 100,000

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Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

<h3>Sweet!</h3>

<p>Are you looking for a fun holiday craft idea that combines English learning and vocabulary practice? Why not have your students build a gingerbread door for your classroom?</p>

<p>You will need:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Large brown boxes (or brown craft paper)</li>
	<li>White paper (for snowflake icing)</li>
	<li>Colorful paper or wrapping paper/magazines for decorations</li>
	<li>Tape, glue and/or staplers</li>
	<li>Scissors</li>
	<li>Christmas music to motivate your ESLves</li>
</ul>

<p>1. Show your class a picture of this gingerbread door, or find some other examples online. Ask your class to give you some <strong>adjectives </strong>that describe this door. Then ask your class what <strong>nouns</strong> (materials) they think will be needed to complete this craft? (Have the materials ready to go.)</p>

<p>2. Next, work together to brainstorm all of the <strong>verbs</strong> your class will use to transform your classroom doorway (or gymnasium doorway if you&#39;re having a Christmas concert) into a gingerbread house. <strong>Examples:</strong> measure, cut, paste, trip, design, decorate, glue, tape, adjust, create, color, etc.</p>

<p>3. Divide your classroom into teams of elves.</p>

<ul>
	<li>architects</li>
	<li>bakers</li>
	<li>snow patrol</li>
	<li>candy makers</li>
</ul>

<p>4. Ask each group to define their role in words and write it on the board. Challenge them to use the adjectives, nouns, and verbs they came up with in the first few steps. <strong>Examples:</strong></p>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>Architects:</strong> Our job is to <strong>measure</strong> the doorway and build the frame of the gingerbread house. We also need to build a roof.</p>

<p><strong>Bakers:</strong> Our job is to make <strong>sweet</strong> treats to place on the house. We need to bake (out of paper) cupcakes, cookies, and gingerbread men.</p>

<p><strong>Snow patrol:</strong> Our job is to <strong>cut out beautiful</strong> snowflakes for the icing. We need to make enough snowflakes to trim the roof. (Why not hang some from the ceiling too?)</p>

<p><strong>Candy makers:</strong> Our job is to <strong>decorate</strong> the house with <strong>tasty</strong> candy. We need to make candy canes and lollipops and other treats.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>5. Put your elves to work! Give them a deadline. If they don&#39;t finish in time, you can invite some elves to help make the house sweeter during breaks or after school hours. As your students are working, play some Christmas music in the background. Ask them what they are working on.&nbsp;If one team finishes their job ahead of another, have the efficient elves join other teams.</p>

<p>6. (<em>Optional)</em> Assign team points on the board when the elves use Christmas vocabulary! Check out our <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/20">Christmas Flashcard Set</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/holidays-events/december-holidays">December Holiday Collection</a>.</p>

<p>7. Invite other classes or teachers to view your door when it&#39;s done! Have the students and teachers ask questions about it to review <strong>superlatives</strong>.</p>

<ul>
	<li>What was the hardest part?</li>
	<li>Which team worked the hardest?</li>
	<li>Whose job was the most fun?</li>
	<li>Which sweet looks the most delicious?</li>
	<li>Which is the prettiest snowflake?</li>
</ul>

<p>8. Take a picture of your gingerbread door and share it with ESL Library at hello@ellii.com We&#39;ll share it on our <a href="http://facebook.com/ESLlibrary">Facebook page</a>!&nbsp;</p>


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Tara Benwell