Tag: esl

Getting Back into Teaching English to Kids After a Break

For many teachers of English to children (ESL, EFL), the summer is a break from teaching.  Of course many teachers teach all year long, but for those of us who do have a break starting again can be a jolt to the system. A fun jolt, like a strong espresso in the morning, but it still takes some adjusting. Here are my top tips for getting things going in a great way!

5 Tips for Starting Teaching after a Break

  1. Go slow! If you have had a break, chances are your students have too. Do not rush the first lesson. Take things slowly, and have a fun review day with songs and games.
  2. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Even I forget the words to my own songs sometimes after a long break. Give yourself sometime to readjust to teaching. Laugh along with the students if any mistakes are made.
  3. Have Fun! Let’s not forget that teaching is fun! Take the first few lessons to establish the fun you can have in a classroom.
  4. Remember why you teach. We all teach for different reasons, but I believe that at the foundation of teaching is the want to help others. We want to help our students learn English. That idea is a great motivator!
  5. Try new things. It is great to try a few new things when classes start again. It could be a new song, a new game, or a new book. Do something fresh and exciting for you and your students.

Oh, and if you need some lesson plan ideas to get you started, check out the Dream English Teaching Tips Podcast here.

These are a few of my ideas, and I hope they help you get off to a great start! Or, if you did not have a break, give you some new ideas to keep things fresh. Have a great one!

New Video: Alphabet Actions for Children’s English Class

Learning the ABCs is a really important part of children’s English class (ESL, EFL). It is a good idea to teach the alphabet with books, games, activities, and of course songs! Here is my new Alphabet Phonics Song:

Give it a try in your classes. You can pre-teach the actions, or just play the video and have the students follow along.

Game Idea:

After singing the song, get your students in a circle. Toss a ball around saying the letter of the alphabet and action that goes with it. For example:

Teacher: A add (do the action from the video)
Student 1: B bounce (bounce the ball, or pretend to)
Student 2: C catch

You get the idea! Keep going until you get to Z. You may have to help the students a bit if they can not remember the letter or action. Give it a try, and have fun!

 

Matt’s Tube Episode # 3 Volcanoes! Learn about Volcanoes for Young English learners

While teaching English to children (ESL, EFL) it is important to teach as much about the world as possible. In this new episode of Matt’s Tube we learn about volcanoes!

Did you know that magma is the hot fluid inside the volcano, that becomes lava when it goes outside the volcano? Learn this and more cool things in this episode of Matt’s Tube!

Circle time! A quick tip for your Children’s English class

Circle time! A quick tip for your English class: Make a circle with your students and pass a flashcard around the circle. As the students pass the card they say the word on the card.

For example, pass an apple flashcard and each student will say “apple”, then they pass the card to the next student.

For more advanced students, try phrases like “it’s an apple” or ” I like apples.” Give it a try! This is a great confidence builder for your students. I hope this is helpful! Thanks, Matt

New Wild Animal Finger Family Video with Matt Mini Lesson for Kids English Class

I had a lot of fun making the Wild Animals Finger Family Song Part 2.  We sing about kangaroos, monkeys, zebras, giraffes, and bears! More below the video:

How to use the video in class:

Listen to Dream English Teaching Tips Podcast about this video. Click here!

Start by pre-teaching the vocabulary in the video: kangaroo, monkey, zebra, giraffe, and bear. Also teach the phrases, “Where are you?” and ” I see a monkey.” You can show flashcards with the animals and have your students repeat after you. Then, watch the video and sing the song with your students!

Mini Lesson about Wild Animals

Depending on the level of your students, you can do a few things with the mini lesson. Watch one time, the mini lesson is right after the song in the video. For younger students, have them just watch and listen. For older students, after watching ask the following questions:

  1. What animal can jump? (answer: kangaroo)
  2. What animal can swing from tree to tree? (answer: monkey)
  3. What animal has black and white stripes? (answer: zebra)
  4. What animal has a long neck? (answer: giraffe)
  5. What animal is a bit scary and says roar? (answer: bear)

These are just some ideas to get you started. As always, be sure to come up with your great ideas! Leave a comment on Facebook or Dream English Kids YouTube and let us know what you think about the video! Happy Teaching!

A Tip To Start Your New English Class!

I’ve been getting many emails asking my advice about how to start new classes with young learners of English. My advice: Keep it simple!

I like to start my classes by introducing myself, then learning the names of my students and saying hello to each student.  For example, “Hello, Sally. Hello, Bobby.” This helps the students feel comfortable.

Next, I do some simple action warm-ups like clap your hands, wash your hands, jump, spin etc. Then we practice counting from 1 to 10 with our fingers and flashcards. Counting is a great place to start because many young learners have already heard the numbers in English.

Finally we sing “Let’s count 1 to 10“ A great song to start a young learners English class. I also make sure to smile a lot, and I do not push the young students to speak at first. They will begin to speak naturally when they are ready. Slowly but surely!

I hope this is helpful happy teaching. Thank you, Matt

Podcast: Listen to these tips on the Dream English Teaching Tips Podcast here!

Let’s Count 1 to 10 Free Song Download: http://www.dreamenglish.com/numbers

Matt’s Tube Episode #1 Wild Animals, Learn with Songs and Skits

I’m excited to introduce a new show called Matt’s Tube! Great for young learners of English (ESL, EFL) Each show will introduce topics like Wild Animals, Vehicles and more. Students can learn the words through vocabulary practice songs, and skits. Have a look at the first Episode here:

I hope you find this useful in your classes! If you have any ideas for the show you would like us to hear, please put a comment on the video or on the Dream English Facebook page. Thanks for watching! Matt

 

New Winter Clothing Song for Young Learners of English Plus Video and Free MP3 Song Download!

Brrr! It’s cold! I LOVE saying, “brr, brr, brr” in classes. The young students always laugh and smile. When it’s cold we have to bundle up in our hats and jackets. I made this fun song to teach young learners of English (ESL, EFL) the target language of “put on my jacket.” Learn how to teach below the video!

How to Teach the Winter Clothing Song

I start teaching this song by pointing outside (if there is a window) and saying, “brrr, it’s cold!” and make it look like I am really cold. A bit of acting skills come in handy here. You can see how I do this in the video above. Then I use flashcards to show the winter clothing items in this song: hat, jacket, gloves, scarf, boots. Or you can show real clothing items.

Next, I use the target language of the song and say, “hat, put on my hat” and act like I am putting on my hat. I have the students follow along and repeat the vocabulary if they are ready. Remember, it is not necessary for young learners to repeat and say the language right away.  I do not like to rush my young learners. Let them ease into the language in a fun and natural way.

Fun Tip: I always say, “brr, brr, brr” after saying each phrase like this, “put on my jacket, brr, brr, brr” The kids always laugh at that.

Then simply play the song and sing along with your students, or watch the video and sing along. It’s that easy! Kids will follow along soon enough. Download a Free MP3 of the song here. Happy Singing!

Jobs and Occupations Song For Children’s English Class And Free Song Download

Learning about jobs and occupations like doctor, teacher, firefighter is an important part of English for young learners (ESL, EFL). The Dream English Jobs Song teaches us about important people we might see every day. More below the video!

Key Words: doctor, teacher, pilot, firefighter, pirate
Target Phrase: I see a teacher.

How to teach: If you have been using Dream English, many of your students may already be familiar with the phrase, “What do you see?” Use flashcards to teach the target vocabulary. MES English has great ones. Then ask your students “Who do you see?” and have them answer. You can watch the video before one time to get the students familiar with the song. Then either download the free song and sing it in class, or watch the video. Be sure to do all of the actions with the song!

This song may be a bit different than other jobs songs. I made this in order for children to be able to identify people they might see in books, or in their daily life. You can download a free mp3 of this song here. Full lyrics are in the video description on YouTube. Happy Singing!