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

Announcements

<h1>Introducing Individual Student Assignments</h1>

Great news, teachers!

As of today, you can now select which individual students receive specific assignments within any class.&nbsp;

<h3>Here&#39;s how it works:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Click on a lesson, video, or flashcard set in your Prepping or Teaching lane within any of your classes</li>
	<li>A modal will open with your assignment preferences for that lesson&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Click the &quot;Students&quot; tab in the top navigation of the modal</li>
	<li>Switch the setting from &quot;All students&quot; to &quot;Some students&quot;</li>
	<li>Select the students you want to assign the lesson to&nbsp;and remember to hit &quot;Save&quot; inside the modal before closing it</li>
</ul>

Only the selected students will see the assignment inside their class dashboard.

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C5BgjG7wtaI?si=I4waw7z14JkLaeer" width="640"></iframe></div>

We know that a lot of you have been asking for this feature for a while now. So thanks for your patience, and we hope it&#39;s a big help!

All the best, 
Ben :)

Founder, CEO at Ellii

Introducing Individual Student Assignments

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

Teaching with Ellii

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

Articles

This past weekend, Haiti was struck by an earthquake. Over 1,900 deaths have been reported so far and thousands more are injured. Tropical Storm Grace hit Monday night, adding to the devastation, delaying search and rescue efforts, and overwhelming hospitals that were already crowded. Sadly, as search and rescue operations resume, the death toll is expected to rise.

<h3>How You Can Help</h3>

On top of the struggles that already existed in Haiti including the COVID-19 pandemic, violence from gangs, increasing poverty levels, and the recent assassination of President Jovenel Mo&iuml;se, Haitians are now also grappling with injuries, homelessness, flash floods, mudslides, and the loss of loved ones as a result of the earthquake and storm. Haitians need our help. Here are some organizations providing aid in Haiti:

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://donate.redcross.ca/page/88246/donate/1?locale=en-CA&amp;_gl=1*o4v50c*_ga*MTY5Nzc3ODkyNS4xNjI4NTI0MTUz*_ga_376D8LHM0R*MTYyODk4NTQwNy40Ni4xLjE2Mjg5ODU0MzYuMA..&amp;_ga=2.166761662.147769486.1628985408-1697778925.1628524153&amp;_gac=1.20588874.1628985408.CjwKCAjw092IBhAwEiwAxR1lRg7aATOZdgaxY7JGXB9RBjVgqyjAcA31dOzUPkN7uNkKxa6u6h7M9xoCPSgQAvD_BwE " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Canadian Red Cross</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/massive-earthquake-devastation-haiti" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">UNICEF</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.worldvision.org/disaster-relief-news-stories/2010-haiti-earthquake-facts " rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Vision</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://donate.mcccanada.ca/cause/haiti-earthquake" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MCC</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>How to Approach the Topic of Haiti in the Classroom</h3>

Seeing, hearing, and reading about natural disasters can be distressing. Here are a few tips for discussing what&rsquo;s happening in Haiti with your students:

<ul>
	<li>Give students the opportunity to express their concerns and encourage them to ask questions.</li>
	<li>Be a good listener and acknowledge how they feel.</li>
	<li>Take action and do something positive together like making a donation, organizing a fundraiser, or writing an article that will raise awareness and that can be shared with students&rsquo; family and friends.</li>
	<li>Take some time together to learn about Haiti&rsquo;s history and culture.</li>
</ul>

Teachers, do you have other ways that we can help Haiti or other ideas for discussing Haiti in the classroom? Please let us know in the comments below.

How to Support and Discuss Haiti

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Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

Perhaps the most commonly asked question in English is this: &quot;How are you?&quot;

In North America, this question is often used as a greeting. As such, the person who asks the question does not always wait for or expect an answer. In fact, they may not even blink an eye&nbsp;if you give a classic answer like &quot;I&#39;m fine, thank you&quot; or &quot;I&#39;ve been better.&quot;

However, when you&#39;re in a&nbsp;conversation with a friend, classmate, teacher, neighbor, or coworker, your interlocutor may be genuinely interested in your state of being at the time. Yet many people struggle with their answer because they want to be grammatically correct&mdash;they don&#39;t know whether they should use &quot;good&quot; or &quot;well&quot; if things are going okay, or &quot;bad&quot; or &quot;badly&quot; if&nbsp;things have taken a downward turn.&nbsp;

When thinking about your answer, you may first want&nbsp;to consider&nbsp;these points:

<ul>
	<li>&quot;Good&quot; and &quot;bad&quot; are adjectives and can&nbsp;modify nouns or pronouns. When you&#39;re describing people or things, use &quot;good&quot; or &quot;bad.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;Well&quot; and &quot;badly&quot; are adverbs and can modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. When you&#39;re describing the quality of how something is done, use the adverbs &quot;well&quot; and &quot;badly.&quot;</li>
	<li>However, as&nbsp;with so many areas of&nbsp;English grammar, there&#39;s an exception. When talking about health, &quot;well&quot; can be used as an adjective.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2>So&hellip;is it &quot;I feel good&quot; or &quot;I feel well&quot;? 
&quot;I am good&quot; or &quot;I am well&quot;?</h2>

Actually, both words are correct in each sentence, though their meanings differ&nbsp;somewhat. We use &quot;well&quot; to describe our physical well-being, whereas we use &quot;good&quot; to describe our mood or disposition.

Since &quot;badly,&quot; unlike &quot;well,&quot; can only be used as an adverb, the correct word to use in these two sentences is &quot;bad&quot;: &quot;I feel bad.&quot; &quot;I am bad.&quot; But, at this point, you may be asking why we can&#39;t use an adverb, especially in the &quot;feel&quot; sentence. The answer has to do with linking verbs.

<h2>What are linking verbs?</h2>

Linking verbs are verbs that do not show any action. Many grammarians call them &quot;states of being&quot; verbs. Rather than showing action, they connect the subject to&nbsp;information&nbsp;that further identifies, describes, or renames it. In other words, they connect the subject to its complement. A linking verb tells you what the subject is, not what it does.

<h3>Common Linking Verbs:</h3>

<ul>
	<li>all forms of the Be verb (when used as the main verb, not as an auxiliary)</li>
	<li>5&nbsp;verbs&nbsp;related to the senses (taste, feel, sound, look, smell)</li>
	<li>verbs such as seem, grow, become, turn, etc.</li>
</ul>

Linking verbs are followed by adjectives, not adverbs. Here are some examples:

<ul>
	<li>The pie smells delicious.</li>
	<li>The coffee tastes bitter.</li>
	<li>The band&nbsp;sounded good.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>The teacher became angry when the students laughed at him.</li>
	<li>Marcos seems sad today.</li>
	<li>Amir feels bad about his mistake.</li>
	<li>Suyin has been absent for three days. She must feel sick.</li>
</ul>

Notice in the last example that &quot;feel&quot; is followed by the adjective &quot;sick&quot; because it is describing how Suyin is. However, feel, along with taste and smell, is not always considered a linking verb.&nbsp;If you have a cold and a stuffy nose, you may say &quot;I smell badly.&quot; However, if you say &quot;I smell bad,&quot; you should probably take a shower. Likewise, if you feel bad, you are either sick or you have regret or remorse. If you feel badly, on the other hand, you have lost the ability to feel. Unless you are numb, you don&#39;t feel badly.

So, back to our original question: How are you? As previously noted, &quot;I am good&quot; is not only an acceptable answer, but also a correct one. But, as soon as you change the verb to a non-linking verb in your response, you must choose well: &quot;I am doing well.&quot; (The main verb is do in this sentence, which is not a linking verb.) If you say &quot;I am doing good,&quot; you are commenting on your philanthropy.

One final note: Don&rsquo;t use an&nbsp;adjective when you need an adverb to describe how something happened or the manner of it.

<ul>
	<li>The plane landed safely. (not safe)</li>
	<li>People drove more carefully (not more careful) during the rainstorm than they normally do.</li>
	<li>She plays the piano really well. (not good)</li>
</ul>

Hopefully, you can now answer the question &quot;How are you?&quot; with confidence. We welcome your comments below.

Good Vs. Well 

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This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and inspiring!

Keke never planned on becoming a teacher. She first worked as an actress and pursued a career in broadcasting; however,&nbsp;her plans changed in 2005&nbsp;when she got the chance to teach in Japan. She&rsquo;s now been a teacher for 14 years.

&ldquo;I have really enjoyed teaching. It is wonderful to teach students from all nationalities, backgrounds, and different age groups.&rdquo;

<img alt="A woman in a classroom writing on a whiteboard while students sit at their desks." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1669/content_Picture_for_ESLlibrary_8.jpg" />

Here, Keke is pictured teaching pre-pandemic.

Currently, she&rsquo;s situated&nbsp;in Guadalajara, Mexico and is teaching online. In addition to teaching English as a Second Language, she also teaches Spanish, American Sign Language, and Mexican Sign Language. Her students vary in level and age, ranging from elementary school age to adults.

Keke enjoys the flexibility that comes with teaching online. She loves being able to teach multiple languages to students all over the world. Most days, she teaches classes from morning until night.

&ldquo;The nice thing about teaching online is that I get to take breaks in between my classes which helps to keep my mind refreshed and active.&rdquo;

<img alt="A laptop showing a Zoom call with several students." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1670/content_Picture_for_ESL_library_6.jpeg" />

In this picture, Keke is teaching one of her online classes.

Keke is a big fan of ESL Library. Check out Keke&rsquo;s text response below to learn more about why she loves ESL Library and how she uses it with her students.

<blockquote>
💬 Hello!!!

My name is Kennyetta &quot;Keke&quot; Morales and I teach ESL and other languages online. I really enjoy using ESL library because it is so organized. Whether I am teaching a beginner&nbsp;or advanced ESL student, ESL Library has all the tools that I need to prepare my lessons in advance. Also, I think that it is great that I can give my students an <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/introducing-our-new-grammar-tests">assessment exam</a> to confirm what their level is before I actually start to teach my students. The assessment exam also gives me an opportunity to think about the needs of students and which materials will be appropiate for their level. ESL Library is one of the best online digital tools for teaching and I am so excited about using it.

Thank you ESL Library!

Language teacher, 
Keke Morales
</blockquote>

For Keke, the most challenging part about being a teacher is convincing her students that they are capable of learning English and that doing so will open doors for them.

&ldquo;I do my best to remind them that they can reach their goals but that it will not happen overnight. If they are determined to succeed, they can reach their goal of learning ESL.&rdquo;

The most rewarding part is seeing her students progress.

&ldquo;It brings joy to my heart and it makes me want to continue to teach as many people as I can&nbsp;and inspire them to never give up on their hopes and dreams. Being a teacher is a rewarding field even though at times it can be very challenging, but once you see the impact that you can have on the lives of others,&nbsp;you will never regret becoming a teacher.&rdquo;

Want to share why you love ESL Library and how you use it in your classroom? <a href="https://www.videoask.com/fw0f8td5x" target="_blank">Tell us here.</a>

Teacher Feature: Keke

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These posts are written for learners of English themselves. Find learning tips and ideas for learning English.

For Students

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/1676/participating.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<h2>7 Reasons to Participate in Language Class</h2>

You already know that class participation is important. But do you know why it&#39;s important? Here are 7 reasons to participate!&nbsp;

<h3>1. Boost Your Energy</h3>

Participating in a language class&nbsp;may seem like a scary thing to do. Your heart starts beating&nbsp;faster and you start&nbsp;to sweat. But&nbsp;after&nbsp;you&nbsp;ask&nbsp;or answer&nbsp;a question, you will feel a rush of energy. If you get tired or bored in class, participating will help&nbsp;you stay alert.&nbsp;

<h3>2. Set the Focus</h3>

When you are an active participant, your teacher can&#39;t help but get to know you. The more you participate, the better your teacher will understand your needs. This means your teacher can help you&nbsp;focus on language targets&nbsp;and content that you want and need to learn.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
&quot;The future belongs to you, but it can only belong to you if you participate and take charge.&quot;

&mdash;Kofi Annan
</blockquote>

<h3>3. Increase Your Confidence</h3>

The first time you answer a question, you may worry you&#39;ll get it wrong. The next time, you may still feel a bit nervous, but you&#39;ll gain confidence each time you give it a whirl. Before long, you&#39;ll be comfortable speaking up in class, and your&nbsp;bravery will start to&nbsp;carry over into the real world.

<h3>4. Make&nbsp;Your Teacher&#39;s Day</h3>

Nobody wants&nbsp;to talk to an empty room.&nbsp;If you feel uncomfortable asking a question, imagine how your teacher&nbsp;feels when nobody responds (or if the same student responds every time).&nbsp;Make your teacher&#39;s day by being an&nbsp;active participant.&nbsp;

<h3>5. Learn Faster</h3>

The&nbsp;purpose of learning a language is to communicate, not to observe. The more you practice using the language, the quicker you&#39;ll pick it up. Your active participation will&nbsp;rub off on others in your class too. This will make your language class a setting that is more like the real world.

<h3>6. Get Better Grades &amp; Results</h3>

Participation improves memory retention. When you remember what you learn, you score better on assignments and tests. Some teachers also give participation marks.&nbsp;

<h3>7. Use Your Time Wisely &amp; Get Your Money&#39;s Worth&nbsp;</h3>

Are you paying for language classes? Money can be a big motivator. Don&#39;t waste your time and money by zoning out or coming to class late or tired. Raise your hand and voice and get your money&#39;s worth!

<h2>How to Participate in an Online Class</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Turn on your microphone.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Turn on your webcam.</li>
	<li>Ask questions in the chat room.</li>
	<li>Answer questions in the chat room.</li>
	<li>Share feedback/gratitude.</li>
	<li>Offer to help your teacher.</li>
	<li>Offer to help a classmate.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Sentence Starters&nbsp;</h2>

<ul>
	<li>I have a question about...</li>
	<li>I might know the answer to that.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>I think I can help you with...</li>
	<li>I&#39;m confused about...&nbsp;</li>
	<li>I really liked that activity.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Thanks for helping me understand...</li>
	<li>I need to learn more about...</li>
</ul>

<h2>Vocabulary &amp; Expressions</h2>

<ul>
	<li>alert: awake</li>
	<li>can&#39;t help but: to be unable to avoid</li>
	<li>give something a whirl: to try</li>
	<li>carry over: to continue to exist or apply in a new situation</li>
	<li>make someone&#39;s day: to cause a person to have a good day</li>
	<li>pick something up: to learn&nbsp;</li>
	<li>rub off on: to transfer to other people</li>
	<li>get one&#39;s money&#39;s worth: to receive the value of what you paid</li>
</ul>

<h2>Time to Participate&nbsp;(Leave a Comment)</h2>

Should participation be an important part of a student&#39;s overall score in a language class? Why or why not? What participation mark (%) would you give yourself for your last language class?

Participating in Language Class

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

Conferences

Have you heard about the <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/esl-talk/id1548652844" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ESL Talk podcast</a>? As described on their Apple Podcast page, ESL Talk is &ldquo;a podcast for English teachers by English teachers.&rdquo; In each episode, the hosts and their guests discuss various teaching topics, methods, and approaches specifically pertaining to ESL teachers. Here are some key takeaways from their episode on flipped&nbsp;learning.

<h2>What is flipped learning?</h2>

In the traditional way of teaching, homework is assigned and expected to be completed at home after a teacher has given a lecture on the corresponding topic assigned. The flipped learning approach flips this traditional teaching style on its head. This method gives more power and responsibility to the students. In the flipped learning approach, homework is assigned before the class. This homework activity allows students to learn at their own pace beforehand and prepare questions ahead of time. During class, students can then practice what they&rsquo;ve learned and get more timely&nbsp;feedback.

<h2>Applying flipped learning in the&nbsp;classroom</h2>

To apply flipped learning in the classroom, you would first assign a reading, an activity, or a video to be completed prior to the beginning of the class. This homework assignment will set the stage for the class. Then, begin your class by facilitating a task that will check your students&rsquo; understanding of the homework material assigned to them. This task can also be used to address any questions your students may have. Just be careful not to repeat the whole homework lesson. Once this check-in task is complete, you can move to the main&nbsp;activity.

A speaking activity was recommended by the podcasts hosts as an oral task gives you the opportunity to provide feedback promptly and continuously throughout the&nbsp;class.

<h2>Give your students choices</h2>

The main activity should also involve a choice. Giving your students choices will allow the learner to pick a topic that they&rsquo;re interested in and passionate about. This will build their confidence, improve their motivation, and put your students at ease.&nbsp;

<h2>In summary</h2>

With the flipped learning approach, the teacher becomes the facilitator. The teacher simply provides the tools and instructions for the students. Then, the students take control and learn by using while the teacher monitors and offers timely and thoughtful feedback.

Teachers, have you applied flipped learning in your classroom? Let us know in the comments&nbsp;below!

Key Takeaways from ESL Talk Podcast on Flipped Learning

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This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and inspiring!

For as long as she can remember, Sidney has always&nbsp;wanted to be a teacher. She&rsquo;s been teaching for 18 years now. Two years ago, Sidney&rsquo;s passion for teaching led her to make the switch to ESL. Currently, she teaches adults ranging from literacy to the beginner level in Virginia, United States.

Sidney teaches her adult students in the evenings. Prior to the pandemic, she taught in a classroom and created lessons that were as interactive and multisensory as possible. When COVID-19 hit, Sidney had to pivot and figure out how to teach in an online environment.

<blockquote>
&ldquo;ESL Library was a real godsend to me. Prior to discovering it, I had to scan lessons into my computer each day. This was not so bad in itself, but I could not interact or write on the scanned document during teaching. Most of my students are working mothers, so I particularly enjoyed sharing videos and more diverting types of learning that kept them engaged even though they were very tired.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

Check out Sidney&rsquo;s text response below to learn more about why she loves ESL Library and how she uses it with her students.

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="camera *; microphone *; autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; display-capture *;" height="600px" src="https://www.videoask.com/ai6nwjj7lyn3ehgek3vxg8hzh6vhyhcczb0cmh04" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px" width="100%"></iframe></div>

For Sidney, the most challenging parts about being an ESL teacher are communicating concepts and serving students&rsquo; needs on different levels.

<blockquote>
&ldquo;I may have students who can hold rudimentary conversations but who are not sufficiently proficient for the intermediate class alongside students who cannot read in any language.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

Despite these challenges, she finds being a teacher rewarding.

<blockquote>
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s the relationships I form with my students.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

Her advice for aspiring teachers?

<blockquote>
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be afraid to trust your instincts or implement new vehicles to learning.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

Want to share why you love ESL Library and how you use it in your classroom? <a href="https://www.videoask.com/fw0f8td5x" target="_blank">Tell us here.</a>

Teacher Feature: Sidney

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The <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar/sentence-constructions/parts-of-speech">parts of speech</a> can be a tricky concept to grasp for ESL learners. In fact, there are even native English speakers who have trouble remembering the difference between a <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar/prepositions">preposition</a> and a <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar/sentence-constructions/conjunctions">conjunction</a> or an <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar/adjectives-adverbs">adverb and an adjective</a>! But as confusing as they can be, the parts of speech are fundamentally important to understanding how English grammar works. Here&#39;s a suggestion for a fun activity to practice this vital concept.

<h1>What is a gap-fill story?</h1>

A gap-fill story (also known as &ldquo;Mad Libs,&rdquo; the popular game created by Leonard Stern and Roger Price) is essentially a fill-in-the-blanks game that often produces wonderfully silly results. The name of Stern and Price&#39;s game itself is actually a play on words. It comes from ad lib, which means to improvise or spontaneously make something up. Ad lib itself is a shortened form of the Latin expression ad libitum, which roughly translates to &quot;as you desire&quot; or &quot;at one&#39;s pleasure.&quot;

<h1>How does it work?</h1>

The concept of the activity is not complicated. You simply take a short story or text (maybe about the length of a paragraph), remove some words, and replace them with new words. The result? A very silly and sometimes nonsensical new text that has little or nothing in common with the original version. It is possible to buy pre-made Mad Libs booklets to fill in, but I&#39;ve found that having students make their own can serve as a wonderful opportunity to practice composition skills.

<h2>For example&hellip;</h2>

Here&#39;s a very basic piece of text to use as a starting point:

<blockquote>
One rainy Thursday night, Michelle was sitting in the living room with her pet rabbit, Mortimer. She was reading her favorite book, The History of Cheesemaking, and snacking on some carrots. Suddenly, there was a loud noise. Michelle jumped off the couch where she was sitting and ran out of the room to find the source of the noise. She did not find anything. When she returned, the door was locked. She could hear Mortimer laughing. &quot;More carrots for me,&quot; he said.
</blockquote>

Now, let&#39;s take this story and make it silly. Remove some of the words and make a separate list that includes each word&#39;s part of speech. Be sure to number each blank space so it corresponds with the correct item on your list to avoid confusion. The result should look something like this:


One (blank #1)1. Thursday night, (blank #2)2. was sitting in the (blank #3)3. with her pet (blank #4)4. , (blank #5)5. . She was reading her favorite book, The History of (blank #6)6. , and snacking on some (blank #7)7. . (blank #8)8. , there was a (blank #9)9. noise. (blank #10)10. (blank #11)11. the (blank #12)12. where she was sitting and ran out of the room to find the source of the noise. She did not find anything. When she returned, the door was locked. She could hear (blank #13)13. (blank #14)14. . &quot;More (blank #15)15. for me,&quot; he&nbsp;said.

<div class="whiteBox">
<h3>List:</h3>

<ol>
	<li>adjective</li>
	<li>proper noun (female name*)</li>
	<li>noun (the name of a room in a house)</li>
	<li>noun (animal)</li>
	<li>proper noun (male name*)</li>
	<li>verb ending in -ing</li>
	<li>noun (food &ndash; plural)</li>
	<li>adverb</li>
	<li>adjective</li>
	<li>proper noun (same name as #2)&nbsp;</li>
	<li>verb (past)</li>
	<li>noun</li>
	<li>proper noun (same name as #5)</li>
	<li>verb ending in -ing</li>
	<li>noun (same food as #7)</li>
</ol>
</div>

*If you prefer not to worry about pronouns, you can just put &quot;name.&quot;

Now, the fun part! Give&nbsp;the list to a partner and have them write down an appropriate word for each item. Make sure you don&#39;t show them the story. If you do, they might try to find words that make logical sense, which would make the result more predictable. Here&#39;s an example of some of the words they might come up with:

<div class="whiteBox">
<ol>
	<li>adjective: cheap</li>
	<li>proper noun (female name): Belinda</li>
	<li>noun (the name of a room in a house): closet</li>
	<li>noun (animal): cobra</li>
	<li>proper noun (male&nbsp;name): Archibald</li>
	<li>verb ending in -ing: snorkeling</li>
	<li>noun (food &ndash; plural): tempura vegetables</li>
	<li>adverb: unfortunately</li>
	<li>adjective: public</li>
	<li>proper noun (same name as #2): Belinda</li>
	<li>verb (past): vacuumed</li>
	<li>noun: rock</li>
	<li>proper noun (same name as #5): Archibald</li>
	<li>verb ending in -ing: painting</li>
	<li>noun (same food as #7): tempura vegetables</li>
</ol>
</div>

And now, the final step. It&#39;s time to take this new list of words and plug them back into the original story. Still keeping with the same example, here&#39;s the result:

<blockquote>
One cheap Thursday night, Belinda was sitting in the closet with her pet cobra, Archibald. She was reading her favorite book, The History of Snorkeling, and snacking on some tempura vegetables. Unfortunately, there was a public noise. Belinda vacuumed off the rock where she was sitting and ran out of the room to find the source of the noise. She did not find anything. When she returned, the door was locked. She could hear Archibald painting.&nbsp;&quot;More tempura vegetables for me,&quot; he said.
</blockquote>

Well, I warned you that it would be silly.

<h1>Resources</h1>

If you&#39;d like to try a simpler form of this activity with your class, perhaps as a warm-up, you can skip the part where each student&nbsp;writes their own original text. There are plenty of blank gap-fill stories that can be downloaded and printed from the internet. Just type &quot;ad lib game&quot; into any search engine, and you&#39;ll see thousands of results. And, if you&#39;re teaching digitally, there are also online versions of the game!

<h1>Hot Tip</h1>

I recommend putting students in pairs and giving each student a different story to have their partner fill out. Students can practice their speaking by taking turns asking each other for words. (&quot;Give me a plural noun.&quot; &quot;Give me an adverb.&quot;) Afterwards, you can ask for volunteers to read the results out loud!

Make Your Own Gap-Fill Stories

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Did you watch <a href="http://www.tesol.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">TESOL International Association</a>&rsquo;s webinar&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-N28JGQmz4&amp;ab_channel=TESOLInternationalAssociation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Cup of Coffee with TESOL Experts: Work-Life Balance</a>? If you missed it, don&rsquo;t worry&mdash;we&rsquo;ve got you covered. Here are some key takeaways from the TESOL coffee chat.

<h2>Keeping a healthy work-life balance in online environments</h2>

In this webinar, the expert panelists discussed the following question: how can we keep a healthy work-life balance in virtual environments? A healthy balance is incredibly important for your mental health, while an unhealthy one can lead to stress, anxiety, depression, and even dissatisfaction with being a teacher. In this chat, the expert panelists provided four tips for achieving a healthy work-life balance.

<h3>Enjoy the flexibility that comes with working from home</h3>

Working from home provides flexibility that many people didn&rsquo;t have before. Take advantage of this and take short 15-minute breaks when you need to. Schedule your breaks and use a timer if you find it hard to actually take a break.

<h3>Rely on your colleagues or network</h3>

Lean on, learn from, and work with other teachers. Working from home in the middle of a pandemic can be isolating. Talk to each other! Create a community and share experiences, tips, tools, and resources.

<h3>Rely on your students and try to involve them</h3>

Designate one student to be your student helper for the week. For example, you could ask one student each week to lead a discussion or give a presentation. This will help reduce your work load and give your students the opportunity to learn and gain leadership skills in a different way.

<h3>Use technology wisely</h3>

From time to time, make sure to disconnect from technology. Take technology breaks when you need to and set limits for yourself if that helps you recharge and stay focused.

<h2>In summary</h2>

Pay attention to your body. If you&rsquo;re tired, it&rsquo;s okay to take a break. If you&rsquo;re feeling burnt out, it&rsquo;s okay to turn off your computer and your phone.

Teachers, what do you do to keep a healthy work-life balance? Let us know in the comments below!

Key Takeaways from A Cup of Coffee with TESOL Experts: Work-Life Balance

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I invite you to read the following sentence aloud: The chef added cherries to the Christmas pudding.

Did you notice that all the bolded words begin with &ldquo;ch,&rdquo; yet each makes a different sound?

When two letters represent one sound, the combination of letters is called a digraph. The digraph &ldquo;ch&rdquo; makes three different sounds in English.

This can be confusing for language learners since there are no spelling or pronunciation rules to follow. The origin of these words, however, can be a guide.

<h2>CH = /TCH/</h2>

The digraph &ldquo;ch&rdquo; is most commonly pronounced as /⁠tch⁠/ (written as /⁠tʃ⁠/ in the International Phonectic Alphabet, or IPA). Most of the words with this sound come from Old English and are Germanic in origin. Examples include child, church, and each.

Some words of French origin, like challenge and chance, also use the /⁠tch⁠/ sound. This is because in Old French, words with &ldquo;ch&rdquo; were pronounced /tch/.

<h2>CH = /K/</h2>

In words of Greek origin, &ldquo;ch&rdquo; is usually pronounced as /⁠k⁠/. The word character, for example, comes from the classical Greek kharaktēr (meaning&nbsp;&ldquo;engraved mark&rdquo;).

More examples of words with the /⁠k⁠/ sound are anchor, chaos, echo, mechanic, orchestra, psychology, school, and stomach.

<h2>CH = /SH/</h2>

In words of French origin, &ldquo;ch&rdquo; can be&nbsp;pronounced as /⁠tch⁠/ or /⁠sh⁠/ (IPA: /⁠tʃ⁠/ or /⁠ʃ⁠/).&nbsp;

The city name &quot;Chicago,&quot; for example, is thought to have come from the French-Canadian form of the Miami-Illinois word &ldquo;shikaakwa,&rdquo; or &ldquo;smelly onion.&rdquo; Algonquin people are known to have named natural landmarks after plants that grew in the surrounding area.

Other examples of words from French with the /⁠sh⁠/ sound include brochure, champagne, chef, fuchsia, machine, mustache, parachute, and quiche.

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3173">Pronunciation Rules: Hard &amp; Soft C</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3170">Pronunciation Rules: Hard &amp; Soft G</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3180">Hard &amp; Soft C Word Cards</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3137">Hard &amp; Soft G Word Cards</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/hard-soft-g-c">How to Pronounce Hard &amp; Soft G &amp; C</a></li>
</ul>

Pronouncing the Three "CH" Sounds

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This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and inspiring!

Danny never planned on becoming an English language teacher. He was actually working in radio broadcasting when he started teaching English classes to adults through a community outreach program.

&ldquo;This was the turning point for me. I finally found my true calling.&rdquo;

Danny has been a teacher for 10 years now. Currently, he teaches in Cuenca, Ecuador. His students are anywhere from pre-kindergarten age to the ninth grade with levels varying from pre-beginner to high-intermediate.

For Danny, a typical day starts with a hot cup of coffee and ESL&nbsp;Library. With his coffee in hand, he checks his students&rsquo; progress and looks for patterns. Based on his findings, he creates appropriate exercises.

<img alt="On the left, a screenshot of some study notes with some terms highlighted. On the right, a screenshot of a video call with Danny and his students" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1583/content_WhatsApp_Image_2021-05-20_at_2.47.17_PM.jpg" />

Here is a screenshot of Danny teaching his students online.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced Danny to adapt. Due to a lack of funding, he was laid off. Luckily, ESL&nbsp;Library was there to help. Watch the video below to see why he loves ESL Library and how he uses it with his students.

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe src="https://www.videoask.com/ax2hc5nilg6jqy1fmgcyptjn977szamh8035tmu1" encrypted-media *; fullscreen *;" width="100%" height="600px" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px"></iframe></div>

For Danny, the most challenging part about being a teacher right now is finding students to teach.

&ldquo;In Ecuador, COVID-19 has impacted the national economy severely. Hundreds of parents have lost their jobs and can&#39;t afford education, and private English classes for them are out of the question.&rdquo;

The most rewarding part though is hearing students use the language.

&ldquo;Seeing them grow in the language and want to use the language. It is rewarding to hear them improve their pronunciation.&rdquo;

Want to share why you love ESL&nbsp;Library and how you use it in your classroom? <a href="http://www.videoask.com/fw0f8td5x" target="_blank">Tell us here</a>.

Teacher Feature: Danny

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What do you do when you see or hear a new word in English?&nbsp;Your English teacher probably&nbsp;encourages&nbsp;you to write the new word down or use it in a sentence. I urge you to go a few steps further.

The word&nbsp;URGE can be used as a mnemonic&nbsp;device (memory trick). Each letter in this word&nbsp;can help you remember new vocabulary.

<h2>U Is for Understand</h2>

The more you understand about a word, the more likely you are to remember it.&nbsp;To really get to know a word, you need to study it and record your findings. Here are some good things to learn about a word:

<ul>
	<li>spelling</li>
	<li>part(s) of speech</li>
	<li>pronunciation&nbsp;</li>
	<li>collocations (words that often go together)</li>
	<li>synonyms / antonyms</li>
	<li>formality</li>
	<li>prefix / root / suffix</li>
	<li>meaning(s)</li>
	<li>origin</li>
</ul>

I urge you to create your own <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/2966">vocabulary cards</a> to help you really get to know new words.&nbsp;Ask your teacher for a copy of the <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2151/print">Basic IPA Chart</a>&nbsp;to help you add&nbsp;the pronunciation note. Here is an example of a vocabulary record for a new word.

<blockquote>
<h2>urge&nbsp;\&#39;ərdʒ\</h2>

The word &quot;urge&quot; can be a noun (n.) or a verb (v.).&nbsp;

As a verb, it means to strongly persuade someone.

<ul>
	<li>I urge you to try this method for learning new vocabulary.</li>
</ul>

As a noun,&nbsp;it means a strong&nbsp;need or desire.&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>My student from France has an urge to move to Canada.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

Synonyms of the verb&nbsp;are persuade or encourage. Antonyms are deter or discourage.

Synonyms of the noun are need, longing, or craving.

Some related words are urgent&nbsp;(adj.) and urgency (n.). These words relate to things that require immediate attention.
</blockquote>

<h2>R&nbsp;Is for Relearn</h2>

According to science,&nbsp;it is very easy to forget&nbsp;new words! You need to relearn a word&nbsp;soon after you first learn it if you don&#39;t want to forget it. Relearning information in a slightly different way each&nbsp;time also helps you remember it. Here are some ideas:

<ul>
	<li>review new vocabulary cards daily (then&nbsp;weekly/monthly after you think you know the&nbsp;words&nbsp;well)</li>
	<li>write&nbsp;an additional example sentence&nbsp;or synonym&nbsp;each time you review a word</li>
	<li>look up your new word in a different dictionary each time you review it</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">Related Resource

<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/128/resources/3675"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/128_Study-Skills.png" /></a>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/128/resources/3675">Study Skills</a></h2>

Learn about The Forgetting Curve in this&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/128/resources/3675">Real-World Reading </a>resource. Ask your teacher to assign this lesson!
</div>

<h2>G&nbsp;Is for Google</h2>

Google your new word and&nbsp;look at the results in different filters (Images, News, Videos).&nbsp;Try to&nbsp;find the word in news headlines.

<img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1606/content_Screen_Shot_2021-07-02_at_2.12.12_PM.png" />

Warning: You may find adult content. I urge you NOT to filter to Google images with kids nearby.&nbsp;

<h2>E&nbsp;Is for Everywhere (and Everyone)</h2>

If appropriate, use&nbsp;your new word everywhere you can.&nbsp;Tell everyone you learned a new word and teach it to anyone who is unfamiliar with it. Don&#39;t be surprised if you start to see and hear your new word everywhere you go.&nbsp;

<h3>Leave a Comment</h3>

I urge you to invent a&nbsp;mnemonic device every time you&#39;re trying to remember something.&nbsp;In fact, you can even&nbsp;use the URGE method to&nbsp;learn and remember the word mnemonic. Please use the comments to share a word you recently learned. What tricks did you use to remember it?&nbsp;

&nbsp;

How to Remember Vocabulary

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<h1>The Sound of Thunder</h1>

While sitting on the tour bus traveling the 70-kilometer (43.5-mile) distance from El Calafate, the nearest town to Los Glaciares National Park, I was full of expectation, wonder, and anticipation. Leonardo, our amazing tour guide, did not help very much with those feelings since listening to him so lovingly describe the Perito Moreno Glacier made me want to get there even faster! Luckily, time flew by, thanks to the beautiful views streaming by my window and Leonardo&rsquo;s comforting and steady voice relating interesting information and fun&nbsp;facts.

The Perito Moreno Glacier stands in the glacial lake named Lago Argentino, and from the surface of these waters the glacier&#39;s walls can reach up to 70 meters (230 feet) high. Like me, you might not be able to grasp this scale while appreciating it from the walkways, which always happens when facing a panoramic view. But if you get closer on a boat cruise, you&rsquo;ll feel very much like an&nbsp;ant!

<img alt="View of the Perito Moreno Glacier" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1599/content_Lucia_Sound-of-Thunder_01.jpg" />

View of the Perito Moreno Glacier, taken from the walkways. Photo by Lucia Padilla, April 2021

Another fun fact about the glacier is that the water in Lago Argentino looks blue or turquoise from far away, but when you get close enough, you will be surprised to see that it actually has a milky color. This is due to the mineral particles that are so tiny they cannot settle on the bottom, and consequently they remain suspended in the&nbsp;water.

Also, if you like adventure, there are incredible trekking tours where you can walk on top of the glacier (which I highly recommend). And if you think this experience couldn&rsquo;t be any cooler, just wait! Did you know that you can bring along your empty bottle or canteen and fill it up with glacier water? Yep, it is completely safe to drink and is delicious&nbsp;too!

<img alt="View of the Perito Moreno Glacier and Lago Argentino" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1600/content_Lucia_Sound-of-Thunder_02.jpg" />

Right side view of the Perito Moreno Glacier, when the sun reflects on Lago Argentino, making the water look turquoise. Photo by Lucia Padilla, April 2021

There are a lot of things that I&rsquo;ll take away from this trip&mdash;one being how lucky we are to have such beauty in our world and how much more appreciative we should be. But maybe the most important thing is what Leonardo reminded us of before we got off the tour bus.

Right when we were about to see the glacier in all its glory for the first time, he told us of the importance of taking mental pictures before digital ones. And, funnily enough, while he was saying that, I was in the middle of taking my phone out of my pocket in preparation. I was about to see this wonder through the lens of my camera first without even thinking about it! And then the bizarreness of it hit me&mdash;that someone has to remind us to not just see nature, but experience&nbsp;it.

<img alt="View of the Perito Moreno Glacier from the coast" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1601/content_Lucia_Sound-of-Thunder_03.jpg" />

Left side view of the Perito Moreno Glacier, taken from the coast. Photo by Lucia Padilla, April 2021

So, when I stepped off that bus, I made a new resolution that I hope to keep from now on for all my trips: I will experience nature with my own eyes first before looking through a lens. And to tell you the truth, at least on this trip, it was so easy to do! Such powerful immensity in front of my eyes demanded that I be present and connect with my surroundings. It was at that time, in that moment, that I closed my eyes and heard the sound of&nbsp;thunder.

What does this sound mean? Was a storm coming?

This constant sound of thunder in the air is a friendly reminder of how this glacier is very much alive. There are always large chunks of ice breaking away from the glacier. This is called ice calving. If you are lucky enough to see ice calving, you will witness the most incredible show the glacier has to offer. So keep your ears open for this sound of thunder because it means ice calving is probably about to occur!

<img alt="View of the Perito Moreno Glacier from a boat" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/1602/content_Lucia_Sound-of-Thunder_04.jpg" />

Left side view of the Perito Moreno Glacier, taken from the boat cruise while crossing Lago Argentino. Photo by Lucia Padilla, April 2021

This magical glacier is the only one in the world that keeps growing every day (approximately two meters, or 6.6 feet, per day). So regardless of how many ice chunks it loses, it will recuperate the same amount of mass&nbsp;lost.

As the Perito Moreno Glacier advances, every three&nbsp;to four&nbsp;years it will reach its maximum growth, and thousands of tourists will flood the walkways of the Los Glaciares National Park to witness the most incredible ice calving&nbsp;of all, known as la ruptura (the Rupture). I have never seen it in person, but there is always a lot of media coverage from Argentina&rsquo;s local news, and we can almost always watch it live from our homes. And I can tell you it&#39;s an amazing&nbsp;spectacle!

<h2>Related</h2>

<div class="whiteBox">New

<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/3696"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/117_Glaciers.png" /></a>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/3696">Glaciers</a></h2>

We have a new <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/117/lessons/3696">Glaciers</a> lesson in our Discovery section!
</div>

<h2>References</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/perito-moreno-glacier-collapse-video-argentina-patagonia-spd" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National Geographic &ndash; Why This Massive Glacial Arch Collapses Like Clockwork</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.patagonia.com.ar/El+Calafate/524_Glaciar+Perito+Moreno+datos+t%C3%A9cnicos.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patagonia &ndash; Glaciar Perito Moreno, datos t&eacute;cnicos</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-glacier-idUSTRE51259Y20090203" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Reuters &ndash; Defiant Argentine glacier thrives despite warming</a></li>
	<li class="external-link"><a href="https://elpais.com/internacional/2018/03/12/solo_en_argentina/1520859059_206125.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">El Pa&iacute;s &ndash; La rotura del Perito Moreno, uno de los mayores espect&aacute;culos del mundo, fue de noche y sin p&uacute;blico</a></li>
</ul>

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