ELT365 · Day 186 — Information-gap activities
Idea — An information gap means each learner holds something the other needs, creating a real reason to communicate. The gap forces negotiation of meaning, the…
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ELT365 · Day 180 — Staging a receptive skills lesson end-to-end
Idea — A complete receptive lesson has five clear stages: lead-in, pre-teach blocking vocab, gist task, detail task, follow-up. Remove any stage and comprehension or motivation…
ReadELT365 · Day 185 — Transactional and interactional speaking
Idea — Speaking serves two broad purposes: transactional (getting something done — buying, asking directions) and interactional (building rapport — chat, small talk). Learners need practice…
ReadELT365 · Day 179 — Choosing the right sub-skill for your lesson aim
Idea — Match the sub-skill to the aim. A lesson on scanning should not start with an intensive comprehension task — that is a different skill…
ReadELT365 · Day 184 — Controlled to freer practice
Idea — Practice moves along a cline: controlled (drills, gap-fills) builds accuracy with heavy support; freer (role-play, discussion) builds fluency with little. Most lessons should travel…
ReadELT365 · Day 178 — The follow-up task: text to learner life
Idea — The follow-up task connects what learners read or heard to their own experience. It ensures the lesson ends with the learner as subject, not…
ReadELT365 · Day 183 — Fluency versus accuracy
Idea — Accuracy work prioritises getting form right; fluency work prioritises keeping going. Mixing the two — correcting hard during a fluency task — usually kills…
ReadELT365 · Day 177 — Using images as a pre-listening scaffold
Idea — Images activate schema and emotion before learners hear a word. A photo of the speaker, the setting, or the topic gives context that reduces…
ReadELT365 · Day 182 — Productive skills: getting language out
Idea — Speaking and writing are productive skills — learners generate language rather than receive it. Both need accuracy (correct form) and fluency (smooth flow), and…
ReadELT365 · Day 176 — Transcription tasks: a tool, not a crutch
Idea — Transcription — writing out what you hear word for word — is powerful for raising phonological awareness, but overused as a main listening task…
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