01 May 2015 / by Vincent Chieppa

How to... design paperless ESL activities





Be economical with word use and avoid excessive scrolling.  Make sure that the text is easy to read by using a clear typeface with a legible font size (on average between 14 – 16pt) and 1.5 line spacing. Also chunk longer texts in paragraphs.  Also remember to accompany your texts with visuals (e.g. images or video clips).  Remember that if you have text for reading to highlight the new target language in bold and/or capitals.



Tables should be numbered so that when teaching, both you and the students know exactly which cell you are referring to.  Also make sure that you randomise the table for activities where students have to match new target language with definitions/images.  This is also to ensure that students engage with the new target language rather than just no-effort reading from their part.

table



Remember to always use large images & rescale to keep quality rather than the opposite & be stuck with pixelated images.  Also try to save multiple images as a single picture when creating paperless ESL activities in order to ensure that you don´t lose picture integrity.



Keep in mind when using video clips in paperless ESL activities how appropriate the video is in terms of level, topic & the objective of the activity.  Aim for short & sweet – that is roughly 2 minutes.





When designing paperless ESL activities remember to apply the KISS principle & don´t forget that – as with most things – there are limitations and drawbacks to any tool:

https://youtu.be/HHEYtw4IMpY

07

November 2014
7 Questions for ESL Teachers to Change ESL Education
by Radmila Gurkova
My name is Liz Ward. I am an Australian teacher with over 30 ...

24

October 2014
7 Questions for ESL Teachers to Change Education
by Radmila Gurkova
My name is Bridget Berry. I’m American – I grew up right outside of Washington, D.C. in the state of Virginia. I graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor’s degree in English with a focus in secondary educati...

17

October 2014
7 Questions for ESL Teachers to Change Education
by Radmila Gurkova
We interviewed Virginia Roquero, a 22 year old recent TEFL graduate from Spain, whose education, due to a British mother and a Spanish father, has been developed in two languages from the very first day of life. Despite her youth, Virgi...

10

October 2014
Teaching ESL to Young Learners and Teenagers
by Radmila Gurkova
What are the best approaches and strategies to teaching ESL to young learners and teenagers? The question is relevant enough and  worth dedicating a lot of specific attention to. More than a list of tips, we teachers need to understand what is our youngest target audience is like: what defines young learners, pre-adolescents ...

19

September 2014
Teaching is Art and Art in Teaching
by Radmila Gurkova
A talented teacher is how we usually define a vocational teacher who connects with their students and conveys the message in a clear and engaging way. Having a talent for teaching is what we look for when choosing professionals for our ESL classes. We love teachers that have the talent of teaching a...

12

September 2014
Transmitting in the Classroom. What we can take from classical music.
by John Shepherd
Whether it be listening to a film director talking about his new blockbuster creation, or watching a protestor stand at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park and tell us about what is wrong with the world, we are transfixed by the same common denominator, passion. Used correctly, passion can transfix an audience, leave a crowd mesmerised...

05

September 2014
Learning environments for young learners in English
by Radmila Gurkova
...

15

July 2014
Become an ESL teacher in Barcelona, get this life!
by Radmila Gurkova
Becoming an ESL teacher in Barcelona and living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world is a dream of many people. Making it come true is not so difficult if you are a native English speaker and you love languages and working with people. You can take advantage of your English language and peoples skills and become en ESL teacher. ...

25

June 2014
Eleven great years teaching English. And counting...
by Radmila Gurkova
...

18

June 2014
Use the news in ESL activities. World cup inspiration.
by Radmila Gurkova
A great way of filling your ESL classes with a fresh air is choosing activities based on current news. Use the news in ESL activities is an approach that we will be displaying through examples of teacher friendly ESL topic activities prepared by our teachers. Based on breaking news and current events, the ESL activities based...