Welcome to our series of Teaching Tips. We will share some quick tips on teaching aspects that many teachers struggle with. We want to keep things short and practical, so that you can implement our ideas easily.
Without further ado, let’s start with the first Teaching Tips topic:
Do you ever come across a lesson with a great topic but it’s just not challenging enough for your students’ level? Not to worry, we have a few ideas on how to use a lower-level lesson with your advanced students.
Take advantage of the authenticity
Whether it’s a video, a podcast, or an article, we always use authentic materials. So, even if the tasks seem too easy, use the main resource and everything connected to it: comments, discussions, excerpts, etc. Whatever the level, students can always benefit from some authentic English!
Brainstorm synonyms
If you think the vocabulary in a lesson plan is too simple, use it as a starting point. You can always ask students to brainstorm synonyms, paraphrase sentences using more complex structures, or make sentences negative by replacing the words with antonyms.
Add extra speaking/writing tasks
If you think discussion questions in the lesson are too simple, make students do them in writing. Or complicate the activity by making students come up with additional questions on the topic.
Use it as a revision
A lesson doesn’t always have to be about learning new things. Sometimes, it’s merely an opportunity to hone your students’ skills or to give them a chance to re-explore a topic they love. To make it more controlled, prepare a short vocabulary or grammar list from a previous lesson and encourage students to use them throughout the discussion.
Enjoy teaching with ESL Brains!
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