30 May 2014 / by Radmila Gurkova

FM - Unifying format criteria for TEFL activities. The cherry on the cake!

On debate: We need to unify format criteria when creating TEFL activities in order to create the perfect activity. The teachers creating activities and the ones correcting them have to use the same criteria.

We agreed to: Creating standards for activities.

Checklist with the most important bullet points to remember when creating TEFL activities. 

  1. TL definition: simplify explanation, not copy and paste from online dictionaries

  2. Put pictures in tables to avoid overlapping of text and image when doing web classes

  3. Length of texts: 1/2 page maximum for high levels, 1/3 page maximum for lower levels.

  4. Edit texts to make the suitable for the students levels.

  5. Font: Arial 16.

  6. For topics and other activities when possible, provide the URL link to the original source: could be a youtube link, a link to an online article, news, etc.

  7. When we create activities, we have to think of doing them for web classes and then adapt for the in-person ones rather than the other way round. With this in mind, remember to:

    1. Avoid instructions containing "cut the attachment"

    2. Limit the number of pages on attachments (some activities contained a SWOT analysis of more than 5 pages, way too long!



  8. Highlight TL in the text (use capital letters or bold type)

  9. Always double check the grammar point and make sure it corresponds to the issue-subissue

  10. Double check for spelling and typos


Creating TEFL activities can be time consuming and tiring unless you share! Learn more about how to create successful TEFL activities. Join the TEFL community.

14

June 2012
Are you an early riser?
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wROodqZT0qk Scientists in Britain have found that the average English person sleeps for seven hours and 21 minutes a night before they begin work at 8.50am. However the Germans – famous for RISING early get up before DAYBREAK to make sure their towels firmly secure their sun beds for a day LOUNGING by the pool...

14

June 2012
Vampires DO exist!
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sbkuvd3-G8 Have you heard of the recent news that Vampire skeletons have been found in Bulgaria with Iron Steaks through their hearts? Archeologists in Bulgaria have found two MEDIEVAL remains that they think are vampires. Piercing through their hearts were two Iron RODS that were supposedly to pr...

07

June 2012
No Pollution! No Cars!
by Radmila Gurkova
Have a look at this video... ...

07

June 2012
Is graffiti vandalism or street art?
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNkM3WUTAB0 Madrid has witnessed an increasing amount of Graffiti in the city recently. TAGS – are the names given to the graffiti we see – they are the initials of the artist and cover many walls, buildings and doorways of most cities, but not more recently so than in Madrid....

30

May 2012
Coffee is good for you!
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTLrKXl16ug A recent study lasting for over 14 years in America, involving more than 400,000 people found that coffee is good for you!People who were studied had been drinking more than six or more cups a day. All people were middle-aged ranging from 50 to 70 years old. Research fo...

29

May 2012
The Queen of Disco is dead!!!
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3zwUBtuieg&feature=related Donna Summer - the Queen of disco died recently at the age of 63. Suffering from Lung Cancer she became a LEGEND and a leading star of the seventies and eighties disco music. The woman who transformed the dance floor into a GLITTERING BALL...

29

May 2012
A Diamond Celebration
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSCm4QXcwnw On the 5th June this year the Queen will celebrate her Diamond Jubilee; 60 years as a REIGNING MONARCH.In 1977 the Her Majesty celebrated her Silver JUBILEE – which marked her 25th...

24

May 2012
Aliens - The truth is out there...
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI7Pb_VVqFo Commercial divers have stumbled upon an incredible find. A U.F.O! A group of divers in the Baltic Sea were making their final run to the bottom of the ocean with a ‘sonar fish’ - a sensor when it suddenly showed what looked like the shape of a U.F.O. The image was about 60 meters across, which is...

19

May 2012
Information is food!!
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A1LvXRnpVg JP Rangaswami – innovator and chief information officer for many leading financial businesses likes to think that food and information are the same thing and that energy and data are similar. He believes that monkeys can learn faster than humans because their brains are larger and their stomachs a...

19

May 2012
Mexican children speak out!
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze7T3eNhoRA Children in Mexico have assisted in making a publicity movie to help promote a serious point about the political climate in their country. The video shows street scenes of corruption, illegal immigration and mugging. Children play all the parts as adults and it has been labelled as a ''mockumentary...