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

Announcements

<h1>Introducing Individual Student Assignments</h1>

<p>Great news, teachers!</p>

<p>As of today, you can now select which individual students receive specific assignments within any class.&nbsp;</p>

<h3><strong>Here&#39;s how it works:</strong></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>

<p>Only the selected students will see the assignment inside their class dashboard.</p>

<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>

<p>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!</p>

<p>All the best,<br />
Ben :)</p>

<p>Founder, CEO at Ellii</p>


Introducing Individual Student Assignments

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

For Students

<p>Have you always wondered why the Jewish <strong>Festival of Lights</strong> is sometimes written with an <em>H</em> and other times with a <em>Ch</em>? You are not alone!</p>

<p><strong>Hanukkah</strong> and <strong>Chanukah</strong> refer to the same eight-day festival. The <em>Ch</em>&nbsp;version is not meant to be pronounced like the &quot;ch&quot;&nbsp;in &quot;chin.&quot; It is actually meant to sound more like an &quot;h&quot; with a&nbsp;guttural&nbsp;throat clearing. The change in spelling serves as a reminder that the Hebrew word would be pronounced with a throaty &quot;h&quot; not a typical English &quot;h.&quot;</p>

<p>Ask your teacher to assign a lesson on&nbsp;Chanukah from our <a href="https://ellii.com/course/93/lessons" target="_blank">Holidays &amp; Events</a> section.</p>

<p><strong>Happy Chanukah! </strong></p>


Hanukkah or Chanukah?

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

Articles

<p>Today&#39;s Flashcard Friday post is all about <strong>Christmas Flashcards</strong>!</p>

<p>This week we worked on reorganizing ESL Library&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/20" target="_blank">Christmas Flashcard</a> set. If you already have the Christmas flashcard set printed, you may want to add some of the new images. While our old set was full of holiday nouns such as &quot;gift,&quot; &quot;bow,&quot; and &quot;mistletoe,&quot; the new set includes verbs such as &quot;buy,&quot; &quot;sing,&quot; and &quot;skate.&quot; You will also find places that people visit over the holidays, such as &quot;auditorium&quot; and &quot;shopping mall.&quot; And don&#39;t forget that you don&#39;t have to use our suggestions. You can build your own set. Visit <a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/63-how-to-create-flashcard-sets" target="_blank">the Help Docs page</a> post for instructions on customizing, saving, and printing your own personalized flashcard set using our library of images.</p>

<h4>Here are some fun games and activities to help review Christmas and holiday vocabulary using flashcards.</h4>

<h3>Tell me More</h3>

<p>Put all of the flashcards in a box. Have students take turns picking out a flashcard. If the student knows the word they chose, they can say it. If they don&#39;t know the word, they can ask others to help. Ask students what they know about this word. Is there anything else they want to know?</p>

<p>Have at least one student ask a question about each word. Students should pass the card to the person who is talking. No one should talk unless they are holding the card. (They can raise their hands to receive the card when they want to speak.)</p>

<p>For example, a student chooses the &#39;Rudolph&#39; card.</p>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>Student A:</strong> Um, it&#39;s a deer.</p>

<p><strong>Teacher: </strong>Yes, what kind of deer?</p>

<p><strong>Student B (raises hand and receives the card): </strong>A reindeer.</p>

<p><strong>Teacher: </strong>Right! Do you notice anything about this reindeer&#39;s nose. This is a special Christmas reindeer.</p>

<p><strong>Student C (raises hand and receives the card):</strong> It&#39;s Rudolph!</p>

<p><strong>Teacher: </strong>Yes. Does anyone have a question about Rudolph?</p>

<p><strong>Student A (raises hand and receives the card): </strong> Why does he have a red nose?</p>

<p><strong>Student C (raises hand and receives the card):</strong> Because he has to light the way for Santa&#39;s sleigh. Rudolph is a character from a children&#39;s story and movie.</p>
</blockquote>

<h3>Christmas Cookies</h3>

<p>Tell your students to pretend they are baking. The class is going to make Christmas cookies. Pass each student a flashcard. (Students should not show anyone.) Students get into pairs or groups and describe the cookie they are going to make. Partners guess the word. Tell students to describe the shape, colour of icing, size, and types of candies that they are using to decorate their holiday cookie. When a student guesses correctly, pass the &quot;baker&quot; another card.</p>

<h3>This is NOT a Christmas Ornament</h3>

<p>Draw a large Christmas tree (undecorated) on the board. (Or have an artistic student do this.) Hand out a flashcard from the set to each student. Students have to decide whether or not the flashcard they received could go<strong> on</strong>, <strong>under, or around</strong> a Christmas tree. Students take turns coming up to the front of the room to name their flashcard and tape it on or by the tree. If their flashcard does not go on, under, or around the tree, they must give it to you and explain what this card has to do with Christmas. Then they must draw an ornament of their choice and say what it is.</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<blockquote>
<p><strong>Student A</strong> (shopping mall card): I got the &#39;shopping mall&#39;. It does not go on, under, or around a Christmas tree. It&#39;s a place that you go to buy holiday gifts to place under the tree. (Student draws an angel. This is an angel. It belongs on a tree.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here are the cards from our Christmas set that would go on, under, or around the tree. Some others (such as airplane) may qualify as well (we have beaded helicopters on our tree!):</p>

<ul>
<li>angel ornamenet</li>
<li>candy cane</li>
<li>star</li>
<li>Christmas bow</li>
<li>Christmas gift</li>
<li>holly</li>
<li>dancing elves</li>
<li>Rudolph</li>
<li>snowman ornament</li>
<li>stocking</li>
</ul>

<h3>Snowman</h3>

<p>Review Christmas vocabulary with a holiday game of Snowman! Invite a student to the front of the classroom. Have the student choose a flashcard from a hat, box, or gift bag. The student will count the letters from the word or phrase and place the same amount of lines on the board. Classmates will take turns shouting out letters to guess the word. Each time a letter is not in the word, the student at the front will draw part of the snowman. (Invite the student at the front to use as many details as they want, including snowballs, eyes, carrot nose, mouth, scarf, hat, or sticks for arms).</p>

<h3>Christmas Categories</h3>

<p>Place all of the cards on a rug or table and invite students to gather around. Tell students they need to work together to come up with a maximum of five categories (ex. decorations, traditions, activities) that all of the flashcards can fit under. After they organize the flashcards into categories, review their choices. Does everyone agree with the categories? Do some words fit in more than one place? You can also play Christmas Categories another way. Choose a flashcard and hold it up. Go around the room and have the students (one by one) say words that are related to it. When a student hesitates for too long or says a word that is not related, they&nbsp;are &quot;out&quot;&nbsp;of the game. Continue until only one student remains.</p>

<h3>Related Flashcard Sets for Talking about the Christmas Holidays</h3>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/5/flashcard_categories/36" target="_blank">Family</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/10/flashcard_categories/57" target="_blank">Dining Room</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/7/flashcard_categories/115" target="_blank">Winter Sports</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/13/flashcard_categories/41" target="_blank">Food Prep</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/17/flashcard_categories/99" target="_blank">Toys</a></li>
</ul>


Ideas for Using Christmas Flashcards 

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<p>Chances are you and your students will want to send a holiday greeting, so why not use web tools in class to create them?</p>

<p>Various web tools and apps allow your students to be creative while spreading holiday cheer. Also, multimedia greetings are a fun way to learn about various cultures and their holiday traditions, because often they provide backgrounds and sayings for <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1854">Christmas</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1856">Kwanzaa</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1857">Hanukkah</a>.</p>

<p>Additionally, language learners can acquire new vocabulary and apply the vocabulary in a fun way while practicing writing, listening, reading, and speaking skills. Many of these web tools have the ability for users to share their productions via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter!</p>

<p>These are the free tools I recommend. Some of them come as free mobile apps as well.</p>

<h2>Holiday Web Tools</h2>

<ol>
	<li><a href="http://animoto.com/" target="_blank">Animoto</a>&mdash;Upload images, choose a creative commons soundtrack from the library (many nice holiday tunes to choose from) and click a button to make a 30-second video. Sync your videos with your Animoto.com account, download videos for offline viewing, and make longer ones with an All-Access Pass. You can create your greeting online or use their free mobile app for the iPhone. Here is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVEpiv9K4z0&amp;list=UUCC3RDxws3dOmIWWoMS9lrA&amp;index=1&amp;feature=plcp" target="_blank">holiday greeting to you from me and Rosco, my pug</a>!</li>
	<li><a href="http://goanimate.com/ecards-free?utm_source=newsletter" target="_blank">GoAnimate</a>&mdash;Create holiday videos that are funny. Use your own pictures or choose from their database. Narrate the characters. Upload your video to Youtube.</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.smilebox.com/" target="_blank">Smilebox</a>&mdash;Create a beautiful photo slideshow using their website or iPhone app. Upload your images and choose from various holiday themed backgrounds and music. Embed this in your blog.</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.fotobabble.com/s/mobile" target="_blank">Fotobabble</a>&mdash;Quickly create and easily share talking photos in 3 steps (Snap or select or a photo, speak into the microphone to record audio, share with friends via email, Facebook or Twitter). Fotobabble is really easy to use and free with various holiday themed backgrounds. You can create your greeting online or use their free mobile app for the iPhone.&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="http://storybird.com/books/" target="_blank">Storybird</a>&mdash;This is a free site for creating beautifully illustrated digital stories. Students write the stories and choose the characters and background. Furthermore, the site allows collaborative tools and ways to share the story in a blog. There are several holiday themes.</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.mixbook.com/edu" target="_blank">Mixbook</a>&mdash;Collaborate on a photobook with friends. Create stories, photo journals, and more with your uploaded images. You can zoom in on photos, add holiday backgrounds, and embed this in a blog.</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.northpole.com/" target="_blank">Northpole</a>&mdash;Students create holiday e-cards, stories starring themselves, chat with Santa and the elves, play games, write Santa a letter that he replies to, and so much more!</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.voki.com/" target="_blank">Vok</a>&mdash;This application lets students create personalized avatars to use on wikis, blogs or websites. You can also e-mail these wonderful characters and choose from a variety of holiday characters and backgrounds. Students record their audio messages on a microphone or through the telephone.</li>
</ol>

<p dir="ltr">What apps and web tools do you love using to send your friends holiday cheers? Leave a comment below so that we can give your favorite apps a try!</p>


8 Ways to Wish Someone a Happy Holiday

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<p>Does your school district allow you to cover the topic of Christmas? In some cities, regions, and states, teachers are restricted from doing Christmas&nbsp;activities and lessons.</p>

<p>Some teachers are allowed to cover the holiday, but not celebrate it. In other schools, teachers continue to celebrate a secular version of the holiday with songs and parties. Do you have to be careful whether or not you say Christmas&nbsp;or Holiday&nbsp;break, party, or&nbsp;play?</p>

<p>Does your school have a Christmas tree? There&#39;s&nbsp;a controversy in the US about whether or not state capitol trees should be called <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/us/wisconsin-christmas-holiday-tree.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"> Christmas or Holiday trees</a>.&nbsp;Why not share this article with your students to see what they&nbsp;think?</p>

<p>English language classes are often made up of many students who do not celebrate Christmas. Many of these students may still celebrate the holidays in their own ways.</p>

<p>Open up the conversation by discussing some real-life controversies related to the &quot;Christmas&quot;&nbsp;vs. &quot;Holiday&quot;&nbsp;debate.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&#39;The reality is, not everyone celebrates Christmas. If there were Christmas decorations everywhere, it would send a message to the non-Christmas children that the school is not equally theirs&mdash;that they belong there just a little less than the Christian children&nbsp;do.&#39;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Evonne Lack, Momformation Blog</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Do you agree with this&nbsp;statement? Why or why&nbsp;not?</p>

<h2>Discussion questions</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Should students be allowed to sing traditional Christmas carols at&nbsp;school?</li>
	<li>Should a city or state&#39;s Christmas tree be called a holiday tree? What about the tree at the White House or in a shopping&nbsp;mall?</li>
	<li>Should we greet each other with &quot;Happy Holidays&quot;&nbsp;instead of &quot;Merry&nbsp;Christmas&quot;?</li>
	<li>Should all religious holidays be banned in&nbsp;schools?</li>
	<li>Is it possible to learn about Christmas at school without celebrating&nbsp;it?</li>
	<li>Should elementary teachers avoid anything to do with Santa&nbsp;Claus?</li>
	<li>Should parents who have special religious concerns homeschool their&nbsp;children?</li>
	<li>What about the workplace? How should the holiday season be celebrated at&nbsp;work?</li>
</ul>

<h2>More debates</h2>

<p>Do your students need to practice stating and backing up opinions? Our <a href="http://ellii.com/courses/73/lessons/" target="_blank">Mini-Debates</a> section features a number of full-length lessons to give your students practice debating issues from the news.&nbsp;Each lesson comes with a warm-up, a reading, comprehension questions, vocabulary review, and debate&nbsp;topics.</p>

<h2>Related holiday lessons and activities</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/2346" target="_blank">Discussion Starters: Family Feuds (Int)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1946" target="_blank">Holidays &amp; Events: Christmas Lesson (Beg)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1854" target="_blank">Holidays: Christmas Lesson (Low Int &ndash; Int)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1853" target="_blank">Holidays: Christmas Lesson (High Int &ndash; Adv)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1904" target="_blank">Holidays &amp; Events: Boxing Day</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/20" target="_blank">Flashcards: Christmas</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/warm-ups-fillers/resources/2141-holiday-guest" target="_blank">Warm-Up: Holiday Guest</a></li>
</ul>


"Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays"? Let's Debate!

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<p>Language learners often struggle with acquiring new vocabulary and teachers often use flashcards to help them learn long lists of words. However, just memorizing a word and its definition is one of the least effective ways to learn vocabulary. The learner will soon forget the word or often use the word incorrectly. We can support learners in using flashcards to visualize the meaning of words through games and activities. The following tips and resources will help you engage your students with flashcards.</p>

<h3>Flashcard Games</h3>

<p>Games are great ways to review the definitions of words or assess learners. You can use a deck of flashcards to play common games, such as Charades, Taboo, Bingo, and Win, Lose, or Draw. Below are a few more games using flashcards. Try these games instead of a quiz.</p>

<ul>
	<li><em><strong>Card Collector</strong></em> Have your students line up at one end of the room and at the other end of the room throw your flashcards in a pile. You will need a whistle. Tell your students you will name a category and when you blow the whistle they must run to the end of the room and search for the words that fit that category. Whoever collects the most cards at the end of the game wins. Your category choices depend on the vocabulary you are reviewing. For example, if you are reviewing clothing you might say, &#39;Find clothing you would wear during the winter.&#39;&nbsp;Make sure to have the students tell you the reasoning behind their choices or give specific examples so that they visualize the context.</li>
	<li><em><strong>Who am I?</strong></em> Put your flashcards in a deck. Have each student choose a card without looking at it. After choosing the card, the student places the card on his forehead. No one is allowed to tell the student the word or picture on the card. When you signal, the students walk around and ask a variety of questions to find out who or what is on the flashcard.</li>
	<li><em><strong>Chain Story</strong></em> Put your students in a circle. Give each of them 10 beans. The first student draws a card from the deck and must use this word to begin a story. The second student draws a card and continues the story with the chosen word and so on until all the vocabulary words are used. If a student uses the word incorrectly, that student looses a bean. Those who end up with the most beans at the end of the game win.</li>
	<li><em><strong>Let Me Tell You Your Fortune</strong></em> Divide students into pairs. Student A draws five&nbsp;cards from the deck and places them down in front of student B. Student B must invent student&#39;s A fortune using these five&nbsp;words. Then they switch. Try giving the teams play money. For every word correctly used in a fortune, the fortune-teller gets paid.</li>
	<li><em><strong>Noah&#39;s Ark</strong></em> This game is adapted from the&nbsp;original game by Jason Renshaw. You are Noah. You are asking your students for help in deciding how to categorize the animals in the ark so that they all survive. Divide students into pairs. Give each pair a poster board. Instruct them to draw Noah&#39;s Ark and divide the bottom of the boat into three&nbsp;areas. Each pair takes a deck of animal cards and decides which animals will go in each room for Noah to have a successful voyage. They will have to think about each animal&#39;s food preferences and habitats. They should write down the explanation for their choices.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Tips</h3>

<ul>
	<li>If your students journal or blog, have them draw a flashcard each day and incorporate that vocabulary word in their journal entries.</li>
	<li>Have students design flashcards on the computer and save them for future use.</li>
	<li>Have your students invent a card game for a unit&#39;s flashcards.</li>
	<li>Make it a class goal to learn a certain number of words per month. You can list new words on a word wall or place them in a blog or wiki.</li>
</ul>

<p>How do you use flashcards?</p>

Flashcard Fun! Ideas and Resources for Using Flashcards in the Language Classroom

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<h3>Some Americans are more interested in shopping than eating turkey.</h3>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/2547">Black Friday</a> is now being called <strong>Black Friday weekend</strong>. It refers to the weekend following American Thanksgiving when millions of people flock to the shopping malls and stores. Black Friday shoppers are looking for bargains and deals as they begin their Christmas shopping.</p>

<p>Did you know that some people skip Thanksgiving altogether and camp out in front of large box stores? Some stores are planning on opening on Thursday night to extend the long shopping weekend. In fact, according to some shoppers, Black Friday lineups have turned into a social event and a &quot;tradition.&quot;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Are you looking for something to talk about in class today? Check out this CNN article and video&nbsp;<a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/22/pf/black_friday/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2">Black Friday: Stores could see record number of shoppers</a>.</p>

<p><strong>Here are a few questions to get your students talking after reading the article: </strong></p>

<ul>
	<li>Why do you think shopping on Black Friday is expected to rise by 10% from last year?</li>
	<li>Do you think stores should open on Thanksgiving night?</li>
	<li>What are &quot;box stores&quot;?</li>
	<li>Why does the article mention Occupy protestors?</li>
	<li>What does &quot;hard-core&quot;&nbsp;mean?</li>
	<li>What is Cyber Monday?</li>
	<li>Where do you think the term &quot;Black Friday&quot;&nbsp;came from? Take a guess!</li>
</ul>


<blockquote><strong>&quot;I&#39;ve been doing this with my friends for about 10 years,&quot; Casillas said. &quot;Black Friday has become more of a tradition than Thanksgiving.&quot;<br />
&mdash;</strong><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/22/pf/black_friday/index.htm?hpt=hp_t2">Joe Casillas to CNN</a></span></blockquote>

<p>Does this comment surprise you? What does it say about humanity?</p>

<h3>Related Materials</h3>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/3392">Black Friday (Low Int)&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/2547">Black Friday (Int)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1245">Consumerism</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1904">Boxing Day</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1223">Chain Store vs Mom and Pop</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/98/lessons/1250">The Occupy Movement</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/86/lessons/1683">Online Shopping</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1859">Thanksgiving (Low Int &ndash; Int)</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1858">Thanksgiving (High Int &ndash; Adv)</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/92">Thanksgiving Flashcards</a></li>
</ul>

Is Black Friday Taking over Thanksgiving?

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<p>Are you going to be talking about Halloween in your language classes this month? Regardless of the level you teach, your students probably need to learn or brush up on most of the vocabulary surrounding this holiday. Even if your students aren&#39;t living in a country that celebrates Halloween, this is a fun holiday to cover. Who doesn&#39;t like dressing up or eating candy?</p>

<p>We have a fun <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/46" target="_blank">Halloween</a> flashcard set that you can pair with your lessons and activities. It includes&nbsp;words like zombie,&nbsp;graveyard, and haunted house.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are some activities you can do with our collection. You may want to print the cards out with <em>and</em> without the words on the bottom so that you can try some of the different suggestions. It will also be fun to have a flashlight and some spooky music on hand!</p>

<h2>What&#39;s the difference?</h2>


<p>Print out full-page versions of the following flashcards:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Trick or Treat /Trick or Treating</li>
	<li>Pumpkin / Jack &#39;O Lantern</li>
	<li>Ghost/ Skeleton</li>
	<li>Haunted House/ Graveyard</li>
	<li>Witch/Witch on a Broom</li>
</ul>

<p>Hold the cards up and have students shout out differences about them.&nbsp;For example: <em>The witch on the left is stirring her pot. The witch on the right is riding her broom.</em>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Spooky Chain Story</h2>

<p>Gather in a circle and have students work together to tell a chain story. Each student must tell one line of the story. Each time a student takes a turn, hand out (or post on the board) one flashcard from the collection. The student must use that word in his/her sentence. When there are only two or three cards left, make sure the last few students know that they are going to have to wrap up the story.</p>

<p>After telling the story, analyze it. Did it have a beginning, middle, and an end? Did it have conflict? Did it have main characters? Where did the story fall apart (if it did)? If the story fell apart, try again! Remind students that a good story needs conflict. The situation must get worse for the main character!&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Tip: Play some spooky music and turn out the lights. Use a flashlight to light up the flashcards.</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Correct the Flashcards</h2>

<p>The ESL-Library system allows you to change the default type that appears under the flashcards. You can make a set with all of the wrong words. Then have your students cut the words off (or cross the words out) and write the correct word. Or, have students practice making corrections out loud. For example: &quot;<em>This card says it is a witch, but it is actually a skeleton. A witch flashcard would show a lady in a black dress with a pointy hat.&quot;</em></p>

<p>If your students are practising certain tenses, write sentences under the flashcards with&nbsp;the wrong tense and have students correct them. Or, add blank lines that students have to fill in.</p>

<h2>The Haunted House</h2>

<p>Print out a large version of the Haunted House flashcard on your board or wall. Hide the other cards around the room. Decide which of your students will be&nbsp;&quot;brave&quot;&nbsp;and which of them will be &quot;scaredy cats.&quot; Whisper this word in their ears or write it out on small cards and hand it to them secretly.</p>

<p>Tell students to walk around the room pretending they are in a haunted house. Each time they find a card they have to scream or shriek. The other students will ask: &quot;<em>What&#39;s wrong? What did you see?&quot;&nbsp;</em>The person who found the card has to describe the card and exaggerate.</p>

<p>For example, &quot;<em>I&nbsp;saw a black cat! It walked past me and now I&#39;ll have bad luck forever.&quot; </em>or<em> &quot;I</em><em>&nbsp;saw a skeleton! It rattled its bones at me. I think it&#39;s my dead uncle!&quot;&nbsp;</em>The brave people will say things like, &quot;<em>Don&#39;t worry, it will be okay&quot;&nbsp;</em>or, <em>&quot;I&#39;m sure you just imagined it</em>.&quot; The scaredy cats will say things like, &quot;<em>Oh, no. I&#39;m scared. Don&#39;t leave me alone in here!&quot;</em></p>

<p>As you are playing, teach your students some new phrases to express bravery and fear:</p>

<ul>
	<li>I&#39;m afraid.</li>
	<li>I&#39;m scared.</li>
	<li>I&#39;m petrified.</li>
	<li>I&#39;m not worried.</li>
	<li>It&#39;s not a big deal.</li>
	<li>You don&#39;t scare me.</li>
	<li><em>That </em>scared you?</li>
	<li>That&#39;s nothing.</li>
	<li>Don&#39;t worry about it.</li>
	<li>You&#39;re exaggerating!</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<p>Tip: This game could get loud, so use it on a Friday afternoon or when there are no tests going on in classrooms nearby.</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Missing Flashcards</h2>

<p>Work together as a class to brainstorm all of the types of costumes you typically see on Halloween. If your students aren&#39;t familiar with the holiday, allow them to do some research online. Witches, skeletons, zombies, monsters, and clowns are typical. What about princesses and bumblebees?</p>

<p>Which costumes are not in the ESL Library flashcard collection? Have each student create one flashcard to go with your collection. Share your ideas with us! You can add your list in the comments below and we&#39;ll consider adding these items to our collection for next year.</p>

<h2>Trick or Treat</h2>

<p>Give each student a turn to be a trick-or-treater. Tell the student to go outside the classroom door. Out in the hallway, give your student a flashcard of a costume. The student should close the door and yell <em>trick-or-treat</em>!</p>

<p>Allow one student to answer the door. The student who answers the door has to guess which flashcard the other person has. He can ask three yes/no questions before taking a guess. If he can&#39;t guess, another student can come to the door and ask three more questions.</p>

<p>Here are the ten costumes from our current collection. Feel free to add more of your own pictures from magazines etc. if you have more students.</p>

<ol>
	<li>ghost</li>
	<li>pumpkin</li>
	<li>witch</li>
	<li>zombie</li>
	<li>cowboy</li>
	<li>wizard</li>
	<li>pirate</li>
	<li>black cat</li>
	<li>monster</li>
	<li>skeleton</li>
</ol>

<h2>Flashcard Field Trip</h2>

<p>Do you live close to a store that sells Halloween costumes? Why not take a walk with the flashcards! Wait until Halloween Day or the Friday before. Give small groups of students a set of flashcards. They must try to find as many of the items that are on the cards. When they find something they can write information about it on the back of the appropriate flashcard. For example:<strong>&nbsp;</strong><em>&quot;We<em>&nbsp;</em>saw a sticker of a black cat in the store window.&quot;</em><br />
<br />
When you&#39;re back at school, have the groups compare what other groups found. If you&#39;re working with children, make sure each group has a parent volunteer or supervisor. If you don&#39;t have helpers, do the activity as a whole class. Were there any flashcards that they could not find real life versions of?</p>

Flashcards for Halloween Activities and Games

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<p>Towards the end of October and the beginning of November, several countries celebrate by wearing costumes. In Mexico,&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dia de Los Muertos</a> is celebrated and in mostly North America, Halloween is celebrated!</p>

<p>In most countries there are celebrations with costumes, fun customs, and great treats. For this reason, I enjoy having Halloween lessons with my language learners even if that is not a holiday celebrated.</p>

<p>This holiday is a great way to compare the way fun festivals are celebrated in various countries. Moreover, we have a lot of fun while learning! I hope these ideas will be useful in having some fun this month with your students.</p>

<h2>Discussion Starters</h2>

<ul>
	<li>If you have students from several countries, have them survey or interview each other about similar festivals and celebrations. This tends to generate a lot of discussion.</li>
	<li>Have students use a Google form to survey others online or through email about festivals that are similar to Halloween and discuss the results in class.</li>
	<li>Have students bring in pictures of their families, pets, or themselves dressed up in costumes. Play a guessing game where the students have to guess which picture belongs to which student. Then have the student discuss the picture&#39;s location, event, and so forth.</li>
	<li>Show images of several costumes throughout history and have students guess what the occasion may have been. You can collect several costume pictures from various countries on the Internet to show on a projector. Some festivals in which people dress in costumes include <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mardi Gras</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Carnival" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carnaval</a>, Dia de los Muertos, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_in_Germany,_Switzerland_and_Austria" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Fasching</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_of_Venice" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Carnevale di Venezia</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Purim</a>.</li>
	<li>Show a collection of pet costumes. This is sure to make your students laugh. You can even have a debate on whether it is ethical to dress pets.</li>
</ul>

<h2>Activities</h2>

<ul>
	<li>Host a Trick or Treat event between classes. Have the younger kids dress up in costumes while the older kids pass out healthy treats. Kids receive the treats if they say, &quot;Trick or Treat!&quot;</li>
	<li>Here is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treating" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a bit of history about this custom</a>.</li>
	<li>Here are <a href="http://www.schooltube.com/video/70212d532fa14c57b0a6/TrickorTreat-Safety" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">safety tips</a>. This video could be a good way to start a discussion.</li>
	<li><a href="http://genkienglish.net/trickortreat.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Trick or Treat song and video</a> by Genki English.</li>
	<li>Students can send a <a href="http://sendables.jibjab.com/personalize/204158/monster_rap?jjchannel=halloween" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">funny e-card where there friends are dressed up</a> in costumes rapping!</li>
	<li>Students can host a Halloween party with different stations of activities. Have students get into groups. Each group can be in charge of determining an activity, setting up the station, and organizing it. Some suggested activities include creating jack-o-lanterns, bobbing for apples, or a bean bag toss.</li>
	<li>Break students into groups and host a haunted house for the rest of the classes and parents.</li>
	<li>Have students read ghost stories and create their own.</li>
	<li>R.L. Stine&#39;s Goosebumps series is specifically written for adolescents and is not too scary. Check out the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.scholastic.com/goosebumps/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website with games, audio clips, and more</a>.</li>
	<li>Here are&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ego4u.com/en/teach-in/cultural-studies/halloween" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">some ghost stories with activities</a> specifically catered to English language learners.</li>
	<li>Have students Skype with another country and ask questions about their festivals or how they celebrate one of the festivals mentioned. You can find classes in these countries through&nbsp;<a href="http://www.epals.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EPals</a>.</li>
</ul>

<h2>More Lesson Plans and Resources</h2>

<ul>
	<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Background history about Halloween</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://bogglesworldesl.com/halloween_worksheets.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Halloween activities, games, and worksheets</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/halloween/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tons of Halloween resources, activities and games</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons" target="_blank">Beginner and Intermediate Halloween Lesson Plans from ESL Library</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.eslkidstuff.com/HalloweenGames.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Halloween Games to Play in Class</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.ego4u.com/en/teach-in/cultural-studies/halloween" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Halloween stories, activities, and more</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/halloween.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Online Halloween quizzes and lessons</a> by Sue Lyon-Jones</li>
	<li><a href="http://iteslj.org/questions/halloween.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Internet TESL Journal Halloween Questions</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/halloween/games.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Halloween Online Games for Kids</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/21/flashcard_categories/46" target="_blank">Halloween Flashcards from ESL Library</a></li>
</ul>


Horror-fied! 20+ Ideas & Resources for Halloween

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<p>I remember in my first years of teaching English I often struggled with providing speaking opportunities for all my students. I had to overcome a few obstacles, which included getting all my 20+ students to speak in one class, motivating them to speak English versus their native language, and encouraging shy students to speak. Another problem was finding a way to assess the speaking in order to prepare my students to successfully complete the speaking portion of their tests. Throughout the years, I have collected resources that have helped me motivate my learners to speak English.</p>

<h3>Tips and Resources for In-Class Dialogue</h3>

<p>Set up your classroom to encourage dialogue.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Two desks or chairs facing each other is great for pair work.</li>
	<li>Chairs in a circle is great for whole class discussions.</li>
</ul>

<p>Divide students up in pairs or groups and walk around the class and take observation notes discreetly to be shared later when you provide feedback. Give feedback afterwards so you do not interrupt the flow of the conversation.</p>

<ul>
	<li>Provide these written notes to each student privately so the student isn&#39;t embarrassed in the class.</li>
	<li>You can also point out general errors during whole class feedback.</li>
</ul>

<p>Have students record themselves having the conversation with either their cellphones or provide them recorders.</p>

<p>Have students suggest topics they would like to discuss in order to ensure they have an interest in the topic.</p>

<p>Play games or use icebreakers to add some fun!</p>

<p>Have students provide the vocabulary and materials to spark the conversation! These are a few ideas:</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/2010/11/29/animating-your-lessons-with-some-drama-20-resources/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Animating Your Lessons</a></li>
	<li><a href="http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/2010/10/23/teaching-unplugged-with-a-student-interaction-whiteboard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Teaching Unplugged With A Student Interaction Whiteboard</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://teacherrebootcamp.com/2009/10/current-events-lesson-for-english-language-learners/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Current Events Lesson for English Language Learners</a></li>
</ul>

<h3>Suggested Tools</h3>

<p>These free tools helped my learners improve their speaking skills! Click on the links to discover ways learners used the tools!</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="http://www.skype.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Skype</a>&nbsp;- Check out <a href="http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/2010/08/22/learning-beyond-walls-21-skype-resources/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">21 Skype Resources</a>. Skype in guest experts your students can interview, or Skype with other classes around the world!</li>
	<li><a href="http://blabberize.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Blabberize</a>&nbsp;- Free tool for students to add mouths and dialogue to images.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Chatbots</h3>

<p>There are several chatbot sites that are great for English language learners. The student simply types in the dialogue and the chatbot will respond.</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="http://www.innocentenglish.com/for-kids/chat-bot-introduction.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BELL</a>&nbsp;- A female chatbot that responds to messages typed in by children and adults. Read Anne Hodgson&rsquo;s article on her experience talking with Bell, <a href="http://www.spotlight-online.de/language/grammar/the-chatbot-and-i-grammar-and-pragmatics" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Chatbot and I: Grammar and Pragmatics</a>. In this article,&nbsp;she has you examine if the conversation is human-like or robot-like.</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.eslfast.com/robot/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ESLFast</a>&nbsp;- Students can speak with Tutor Mike, a male bot, or the female shopping bot. There are many dialogue examples on the right side of the website. English language learners can listen and read the various dialogues for various situations.</li>
	<li><a href="http://www.elbot.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Elbot</a>&nbsp;- This is a robot that chats with students. Click on the red button on his stomach to chat with him.</li>
</ul>

Yakkity Yak! Talk Back! Tips and Resources for Improving Speaking Skills

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<p>It&#39;s that time again for many of us worldwide to start the new school year!</p>

<p>This time of year is very exciting, but it also comes with new challenges.</p>

<p>One of the most important challenges of the school year is <strong>how to engage parents</strong>.</p>

<p>Engaged parents make decisions and have a say in what happens in the classroom and with the curriculum. Engaging parents was something I often struggled with for many years.</p>

<p>Here are a few practical ways to get your parents to become partners.</p>

<h3>Begin the conversation</h3>


<p>Instead of having parents sign a syllabus with difficult language, try sending a personalized email.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>I use a blanket email that I copy and paste</strong> but the first two sentences always says something along the lines of, &#39;Dear Mr./Mrs. Doe, I really enjoyed meeting Johnny who is very bright and made me laugh.&#39; I always try to send a positive message for every child. This way, the first communication you have with the parent is positive versus negative.</li>
	<li><strong>Include information and links to your wiki page</strong>, school website, your contact information, where they can find homework, your meeting hours, schools supplies needed, and other important dates or information.</li>
	<li><strong>Use headers</strong> like I am using in this post for easy navigation.</li>
	<li><strong>Try translating with Google </strong>if you know the parents of your English language learners have trouble understanding. I often will begin the email with &#39;I&#39;m sorry if this isn&#39;t translated so well. I used Google.&#39; Parents really get a kick out of this and love me for the effort.</li>
	<li><strong>At the end of the email, ask the parents to respond with answers</strong> to questions like what is the best time to contact them and how they would like to help. If the parents have a question, they are more likely to respond back.</li>
	<li><strong>If the parent doesn&#39;t have email, then send the printed letter home</strong> with the child that asks for the best way to contact them.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Set up an online parent community</h3>

<p>Set up a community for your parents to communicate with you and other parents. You can easily do this with Facebook.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>These communities allow parents to post updates</strong> to calendars, share resources, find homework, and so much more. <span new="" roman="" style="font-family: Georgia, " times="">These social networks can be made private so that only students and parents have access.</span></li>
	<li><strong>Try posting a resource every week</strong> or month that will help parents with their own English.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Keep parents active</h3>

<p>Partnerships work best when we help each other.</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Let parents make decisions.&nbsp;</strong>Ask parents what they think would make the curriculum better. Then try to implement the suggestion. In the past, I have had parents add Wiki content such as song lyrics or YouTube videos. I have had parents suggest an activity for a book or a game.</li>
	<li><strong>Invite parents to volunteer and help.&nbsp;</strong>I have had parents decorate the classroom or update the calendar in our online community. I have had parents organize fundraisers to get computers or other needs in the classroom. I have had parents be in charge of the activity of the month or resource of the month. Parents have organized field trips or have been guest speakers. Just like students, parents often need to know how they can help and be assigned roles so they feel like you value them and their ideas. Every parent can help in some way to improve the learning environment.</li>
	<li><strong>Invite parents to a workshop</strong>. Invite parents to a special workshop night and serve food! Food entices people to come.&nbsp;I like to do this after the first few weeks in order to go over what technology we will use in the classroom, games we will play, rules, and more. I talk to parents about their concerns with their children posting online and we come to an agreement on&nbsp;what will be published.</li>
</ul>

<h3>Share your ideas</h3>

<p>I hope these ideas will help you begin the school year right with your language learners and their parents! Whether your students are toddlers or teenagers, these ideas have worked for me! What are your favorite ways to engage parents?</p>

Tips for Engaging Parents this School Year

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<p>Many English language teachers worldwide have upcoming holidays or a summer/winter break. These breaks provide educators the opportunities to engage in fantastic online professional development that is inspiring and motivating! Tweet with some of your favorite ELT authors, attend a webinar with teachers worldwide, or read some great English language teaching blogs. Social media provides us with incredible opportunities to choose the way we want to develop professionally. You can choose the topic, the medium, and who you want to learn from. You can choose the way you like to learn, because social media provides us with several multimedia experiences, such as webinars, LMS, live video, and more. The experience is usually dynamic and motivating because you are learning with others around the world! Additionally, you will be developing your&nbsp;Personal/ Passionate Learning Network (PLN).</p>

<p>Don&#39;t know where to start, well here are a few ideas:</p>

<h3>Free Programs</h3>

<p><a href="http://teacherbootcamp.edublogs.org/30-goals-2011/">The 30 Goals Challenge</a>&nbsp;- Over 5000 educators have participated in the 1st and 2nd editions of this global challenge for educators with the premise of getting you to complete 30 professional development goals by 2012. These are short-term goals, such as guest posting, changing your classroom environment, providing effective feedback, establishing an online presence, and more.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.integrating-technology.org/">Integrating Technology for Active Lifelong Learning (IT4ALL)</a>&nbsp;- provides free online workshops on Moodle for Teachers (Orientation, Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced), Professional Electronic Portfolios (PEP), WebQuests, Facilitating Online Classes, Grant Writings, TESOL, Integrating Technology and using Web 2.0 in the classroom.</p>

<h3>Real-Time Events</h3>

<p>You can attend several free conferences, webinars, Twitter chats, and presentations online with your PLN! These usually last one hour, but many conferences also offer free all day live streaming of their keynotes.</p>

<p><a href="http://edupln.ning.com/forum">The Educators&rsquo; PLN Ning Live Chats with Guest Experts</a>&nbsp;- The Educator&rsquo;s PLN is a great place to interact and learn from other educators. Join us for free live chats with various authors. In the past we featured Alfie Kohn, Howard Rheingold, Diane Ravitch, Chris Lehmann, Steve Hargadon, Jim Burke, and others.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.futureofeducation.com/">Future of Education</a>&nbsp;- Join Steve Hargadon live as he interviews some of the greatest minds in education. Past guests included Sir Ken Robinson, Alfie Kohn, Diane Ravitch, and more!</p>

<p><a href="http://live.classroom20.com/index.html">Classroom 2.0 Live Events</a>&nbsp;- Every week, attend a free webinar with an expert in a field or listen to some great authors speak live and ask them questions.</p>

<p><a href="https://join.secondlife.com/?lang=en-US">Attend Second Life Live Events</a>&nbsp;- Second Life has several educational groups that meet weekly for free conferences, talks, workshops, and more.<a href="http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/?lang=en-US"> Download the software</a> and register for free.</p>

<p><a href="http://eltchat.pbworks.com/">#ELTchat</a>&nbsp;- Join several language teachers every Wednesday to discuss various topics you get to vote for and suggest.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cybraryman.com/chats.html">Education Chats on Twitter</a>&nbsp;- Find out the dates and times of educational conversations that occur on Twitter.</p>

<p>What are your favorite ways to learn online? Did I miss any other great professional development opportunities?</p>


What Will You Learn? Free Professional Development Opportunities for English Language Teachers

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<p>In many countries, students are taking a break for the summer. Yes, we want our students to enjoy their time away from classes, however, we don&#39;t want them to lose the language they&#39;ve acquired. Learning a language requires continuous practice and the best practice is always outside the classroom within a context. One way to motivate students to practice their English in a fun way is to get them to do it while they play! I can guarantee you that every one of your students will find time to play this summer, online and offline! The trick is getting your students to use English while playing their games. These ideas have helped me motivate my students to play games outside the classroom.</p>

<h3>Find Out Your Students&#39; Gaming Habits</h3>

<p>Use one of your class discussions to explore your students&#39; gaming habits. Have them break up in groups or pairs and discuss how much time a week and month they spend playing games, if these games are offline or online, what devices they play on, if they play online games, and what kind of games they like to play. Some of your students will love word games, others may like war games, and others make like active games. Some of your students will prefer playing outdoors and others will be glued to their PS3s or mobile phones. Take a poll to find out how many play games using technology and how many still play outdoor games or board games. This will be an interesting lesson that sparks a lot of discussion, while revealing how you might be able to integrate language learning into your students&#39; gaming habits. If you collaborate with classes in another country, you can compare results with this class and discuss the cultural and societal differences.</p>

<h3>Engage Parents</h3>

<p>Conduct a parent workshop to teach parents how to help their children play the games and reinforce the language at home. I invite parents to a free workshop where I serve delicious snacks so they will come. Then we talk about their concerns with their children using various technologies and we talk about how I will use technology to encourage their children to practice English.&nbsp;I ask for their ideas of games their children like to play and what games they play with their children offline. We then talk about various ways they can play with the children online and offline and use English.&nbsp;I also tell parents that I would like their children to blog about their game play or post on a social site (if they are teens) to encourage them to continue playing the game. After all, children love to tell their friends what they are up to and what games they are playing.</p>

<h3>Encourage Game Play for Young Learners</h3>

<p>Parents are very important in motivating very young children to play games. I suggest to parents various board games, card games, jump rope games, clapping games, travel games, and more ways to play and use English. The parents also let me know what games they already play with their children and we talk about ways to introduce some English into these games. If your students have access to the Internet, students are able to play online games you suggest in a wiki, blog or website. Moreover, in a wiki or blog, the parents can automatically receive updates to their email accounts.</p>

<h3>Encourage Game Play for Teens</h3>

<p>If your students have access to the Internet, students are able to practice English in a fun way through online games. They can play the games you suggest in a wiki, blog, website, or social forum. I prefer social forums such as Edmodo, Facebook, or Twitter. The trick is finding what social networks your students are already active on and creating a private, safe group. If you work with teenagers, then you can have them create a private Facebook group where they update their status, post their scores, write notes about tricks they learned for certain levels, and overall what games they recommend others play. You can easily and quickly add your gaming suggestions, interesting articles about the games, tips you find, or walkthroughs that will encourage your students to read in English and apply the language to their game playing. Also, you can list links to polls and encourage them to post pics of levels they reach and so forth. You can have them chat with each other when they need help from another student about the various levels they are playing and how to pass them. Language is social and helps in getting your students interested in speaking English through their game playing.</p>

<h3>Encourage Game Play for Adults</h3>

<p>Adults also play games. They often love games such as Scrabble, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, or Bingo. Encourage the adults to host a weekly game night where they try playing English games such as charades, Apples to Apples, Clue, Taboo, Family Feud, Twister, Monopoly, or other English language games with the family. In this way, you also support family time or time with friends and many of the adults will thank you for this. Many will also play games on their mobile devices.</p>

Tips for Getting Students to Play Games and Learn This Summer

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