A Fun Game for Kids. Quiz

This is a competitive game that challenges students' listening skills and their general knowledge of English. Divide the class into two groups. Write these numbers on the board:

100     200     300     400     500     600
100     200     300     400     500     600
100     200     300     400     500     600

These numbers are the scores for answering a question correctly. 100 point questions are the easiest, while 600 point questions are the most difficult. The students get to choose the difficulty of their question. If they get a difficult question correct then they score more points. If they get a question wrong, then the question is given to the other team to answer, so students need to be very careful when choosing the difficulty of their question. Then that other team gets to choose their next question. As teams choose the scores for their questions, cross off the scores on the board. There are a total of 18 questions in this example of the game.

The game might be difficult the first time it is played, but the students will quickly learn the answers and it will be easier the second time. New questions can be added to keep the game fresh and challenging. A small prize for the winning team will make the game more fun and exciting.

Here are some examples of questions. You might think some of these questions are easier or more difficult than the score I have given them.

100 points
Which African animal has a very long neck? Giraffe

Which orange root vegetable begins with the letter C? Carrot
Which country does pizza and pasta come from? Italy

200 points

Which part of the body do we put into a glove? Hand
How many sides does a triangle have? Three
What is the opposite of tall? Short

300 points

In which sport do you use a racket and a shuttlecock? Badminton
Which yellow citrus fruit has a sour taste? Lemon
What is the fastest land animal? Cheetah

400 points
How many legs does an octopus have? Eight

Which joint connects our arms to the rest of our bodies? Shoulders
In which country is the Eiffle Tower? France

500 points

In which continuent is Spain? Europe
What are the five vowels of the English alphabet? A, E, I, O, U
What is the capital of the U.S.A.? Washington D.C.

600 points
In which sport do you use a rod and bait? Fishing
What is H20? Water
What is the nearest star to Earth? The Sun

English Chit Chat. Directions Video

Here is my latest video on asking for and giving directions.

If you like this video, please click 'like' and subscribe to my Youtube channel.

Here's the script of the video:

In this video I will explain how to ask for and give directions. When we need to ask for directions, we often approach someone on the street and ask for their help. So we first need to get their attention. We can do this by saying 'Excuse me'. Then we can ask for directions. We can ask: How do I get to the library? Or: Could you tell me how to get to the library? Let's review the language we need to give directions.
Go up Oak Street.
Go straight for two blocks.
Turn right.
Turn left.
It's on your right.
It's on your left.

Let's get some practice. This person looks lost. Excuse me. Could you tell me how to get to the library? Sure. Go straight for two blocks. Turn right onto Fifth Avenue. It's on your left. Now listen to my directions and see if you can follow the directions and say the destination. What is the place I'm giving directions to? Start from here. Go straight. Turn right onto Fourth Avenue. Go down Fourth Avenue for two blocks. It's on your left. Where did my directions take you? Let's follow the directions again. Go straight. Turn right onto Fourth Avenue. Go down Fourth Avenue for two blocks. It's on your left. I gave you directions to the museum. Did you get it right?

Let's practice again. Go down Third Avenue for two blocks. Turn left onto Queen Street. Go up Queen Street for three blocks. It's on your left. Where did my directions take you? I gave you directions to the high school.

A Fun Game for Kids. Bingo

Bingo is a great game to play with children. It builds vocabulary, improves listening skills and it's fun. Students need a piece of paper and a pencil. First choose the vocabulary list that you want to teach to the students, such as buildings, jobs, fruit or animals (see below for a list of jobs). Ask the students to tell you the vocabulary that they know. Write the words on the board. Once the students have given you all the words that they know, you can add more words to the list. Choose words that are most relevant for your students, such as common animals in that country or the jobs of your students' parents. Be ready to help the students understand what each of the words are in their language - flashcards are a great way to do this.

Then ask the students to randomly choose six words from the board (or any number you want) and write them on their pieces of paper. Once every student has done this, slowly call out words from the list. Say each word twice, so that all the students can hear. As you call out the words, write down or check off all the words on a piece of paper. Don't check them off on the board as this is a listening activity. Tell the students that the first person to cross off all of their words should shout BINGO! Then ask the student to read out their words, so you can check that you did indeed say those words. That child is then the winning. A small gift to the winner motivates the children and makes the game even more fun.

One way to make the game more difficult and to keep it fresh and challenging is to ask questions instead of calling out the vocabulary words, for example: Who flies a plane? or Who works in a library?

Here is a list of jobs which you can use. Add other jobs that you think are relevant to your students.

teacher
police officer
fire fighter
doctor
chef
pilot
nurse
waiter
dentist
librarian
bus driver
baker
farmer
mail carrier
mechanic
professor
accountant
civil servant
veterinarian
salesclerk
photographer
fisherman
flight attendant
hair dresser
butcher
soldier

English Chit Chat. Commands and Instructions Video

Here is my latest video on commands and instruction, also known as imperatives.

If you like this video, please click 'like' and subscribe to my Youtube channel.

Here's the script of the video:

Let’s start with commands. We use commands when we want to tell someone to do something.

For example: open the window.

If we add ‘please’ at the end then this becomes a polite request. Open the window, please.

However, when you want someone to do something, it is better to form the request as a question, and not to use an imperative.

Such as: Can you turn the volume down, please?

We also use imperatives when giving instructions on how to do something. We do not need to use polite language when giving instructions, because we are helping the other person rather than asking for something.

For example, here are instructions on how to bake a cake: first measure the ingredients, then mix the ingredients…

You would also use imperatives when giving directions on how to get somewhere. For example: go straight for two blocks, turn right onto Fifth Avenue.

English Chit Chat. Student Book 2

I am currently working on the second book of the English Chit Chat series. Here is a sneak peek inside of the new book. This new book will cover new topics and grammar points, building on what was learnt in the first book. I hope to publish it around the beginning of 2018. There are Youtube videos to accompany the book that are posted in this blog.

English Chit Chat. Countable and Uncountable Nouns Video

The grammar of countable and uncountable nouns.

This video describes how to quantify nouns with lots of examples. A shopping list is made for the ingredients to cook lasagna.

If you like this video, please click 'like' and subscribe to my Youtube channel.

Here's the script of the video:

Let's start my looking at these nouns. Which ones are countable and which ones are uncountable? These nouns are countable.Notice that each of these nouns take the plural s. We often talk about countable nouns in the plural, for example: I like doughnuts and Do you have any eggs? Countable nouns take the article in the singular, for example, an egg and a banana. These nouns are uncountable. It would be difficult or impossible to count these things. These nouns do not take the plural s, nor an article. We often add another noun to count these nouns, such as a bar or piece of chocolate. A spoonful of sugar. A loaf or slice of bread. A cup of coffee. A grain or bowl of rice. We can also measure these nouns, for example, one grams of sugar. 200 millilitres of coffee. With money we usually talk about countable units of currency, such as ten dollars and 50 cents.

Let's look at how we quantify nouns. For apples we might ask 'How many apples are there?' 

There are a lot of apples.

There are a few apples.

There are some apples.

There aren't many apples.

There aren't any apples.

We can say the number amount of countable nouns. There is an orange. The are two oranges. For milk we might ask 'How much milk is there?'

There is a lot of milk. Note: we would never say there is much milk.

There is a little milk.

There is some milk.

There isn't much milk.

There isn't any milk.

As an example I'm going to make some lasagna. It's my favourite food from Italy, but I'm not sure if I have all the ingredients.To make lasagna I need a lot of beef, a few onions, some garlic, a lot of tomatoes, one carrot, a lot of milk, a little flour, some cheese, a lot of butter and a lot of pasta sheets. Let's check the fridge. I think I'll need to make a shopping list. I have a lot chicken, but I don't have any beef. I should buy a lot of beef. I only have one onion, so I should buy one more onion. I have some garlic, but I don't have many tomatoes, so I should buy a lot of tomatoes. I have a lot of carrots, but I only have a little milk, so I should buy a lot of milk. I have flour and pasta sheets in the cupboard, so I don't need to buy any more. I have some cheese, but I don't have any butter, so I should buy some butter. That will give me all the ingredients I need to make lasagna. Now tell your partner what food is in your fridge at home. Be sure to use the correct grammar we have learnt in this video. 

English Chit Chat. Telling the Time Video

A description of how to tell the time in English.

This video teaches how to tell the time using analogue and digital clocks. It also describes time expressions. At the end of the video there is a listening activity, so have a pencil and a piece of paper ready.

If you like this video, please click 'like' and subscribe to my Youtube channel.

Here's the script of the video:

In this video we will learn how to tell the time. At the end you will need a piece of paper and a pencil to do a listening activity. To ask the time we can say 'What time is it?' When the minute hand is on the hour, we use o'clock. It's twelve o'clock. It's one o'clock. When the minute hand is in the first half of the clock we say the minutes past the hour. For example: It's quarter past twelve. When the minute hand is in the second half of the clock we say the minutes to the next hour. For example: It's quarter to one. Let's look at some more examples. What time is it?

It's twelve o'clock.

It's five past twelve.

It's ten past twelve.

It's quarter past twelve.

It's twenty past twelve.

It's twenty-five past twelve.

It's half past twelve.

It's twenty-five to one.

It's twenty to one.

It's quarter to one.

It's ten to one.

It's five to one.

It's one o'clock.

We can also tell the time by saying the hour first and then the minutes.

It's ten oh five.

It's ten ten.

It's ten fifteen.

It's ten twenty.

It's ten twenty-five.

It's ten thirty.

It's ten thirty-five.

It's ten forty.

It's ten forty-five.

It's ten fifty.

It's ten fifty-five.

It's eleven o'clock.

To describe what part of the day it is, we use time expressions.

From about 4 a.m. to 11:59 a.m. we in the morning.

From 12 p.m. to about 5 p.m. we say in the afternoon.

From about 5 p.m. to about 10 p.m. we say in the evening.

From about 10 p.m. to about 4 a.m. we say at night.

To get some practice, let's look at different times around the world.

What time is it in Los Angeles? It's three o'clock in the morning.

What time is it in Paris? It's one o'clock in the afternoon.

What time is it in Seoul? It's nine o'clock in the evening.

What time is it in Sydney? It's ten o'clock at night.

English Chit Chat. Past Continuous Video

A story using the past continuous for English learners. The video begins with an explanation of how we use the past continuous.

If you like this video, please click 'like' and subscribe to my Youtube channel.

Here are some warm-up questions to answer before watching the video:
1. Do you believe in aliens? If so, what do you think they look like?
2. Have you ever seen something strange in the sky? If so, what did you see?
3. Would you like to travel in space? Why, why not?

Here are some questions to answer after watching the video:
1. What was Brian doing when he heard a strange noise from outside?
2. How were the aliens communicating with Brian?
3. What did the aliens want?
4. What was Brian doing when his alarm clock began to ring?

Brian's Alien Adventure

It happened one night last summer. My parents were visiting a friend’s home, and I was at home alone. I was taking a nap, when I heard a strange noise from outside. I went into the garden and couldn’t believe what I saw. Three spaceships were hovering over my house.

I was looking up at the UFOs when a beam of light came down and surrounded me. I was lifted off the ground and floated up into the spaceship.

I was trapped inside the spaceship! I was very scared. In the darkness, I could see the reflection of big eyes that were looking at me. They came forward into the light: they were aliens! But I wasn’t afraid anymore. They didn’t talk to me, but I heard their thoughts. They were communicating with me by telepathy. I understood that they were friendly. They wanted to learn about our planet and the creatures that lived there.

We were travelling through space, past the moon, and the Earth was soon just a tiny dot of light in the distance. I was talking to the aliens by thought, and they soon learnt everything I had ever known. Suddenly I felt very tired and I lay down and fell asleep. I was dreaming of distant worlds when I heard my alarm clock begin to ring. I was back in my own bed at home! Was it all just a dream?