18 July 2016 / by Marjan Van Rij

Some tips for your English students during summer break

Have you already made plans for this summer? Going to the beach, the mountains or visiting family? What about your EFL or ESL students? Will they keep on studying English if they're not going abroad? It might be a good idea to give them something to do, right? Therefore I've listed here some activities to keep them busy in a easy way without you having to check any homework. So let the progress continue of your English students during summer break!
Cooking recipes

Give your students some cooking recipes in English which they can try out during summer break. Make sure that you give them everything in English: the grocery list and instructions. You can find recipes on the web with videos, with instructions (in American English or British English) or you can give them one of your own favourites. Here are two of mine: Chicken pot pie & scones. You can even take it to the next level and let your students organize an English evening in which they can play some charades, cook a lovely dinner and only speak English with eachother.
Ted Talks

A great platform for short interesting videos is Ted.com. Your students can search for any topics they like and watch a short (or longer) video about it. This website offers them full transcripts or subtitles in any language they prefer. Of course, it depends on your students which one will be best. That's why I recommend you to have a look beforehand and already select one or two videos for your students to watch. Some of my personal favourites are Why I keep speaking up & What makes a good life.
Lyrics training

A helpful tool to practise listening which English students can use on their own can be found on lyricstraining.com. Students can select the language of the songs and browse for any song they want to practise with. They're able to choose their own level (beginner, intermediate, advanced or expert) and listen to lyrics while doing a fill in the gap activity.

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February 2012
Both either neither
by Radmila Gurkova
We use Both/Either/neither for two things: Both Films are good Neither film is bad I don't mind seeing either film Listen carefully to the video - Both of the earths Poles.... Both of ......is always followed by the/those/th...

24

February 2012
all or the whole......?
by Radmila Gurkova
All/the whole..........? The whole We usually use the whole...

24

February 2012
I am able to understand English
by Radmila Gurkova
Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience, because it is often used like "can" and "could", which are modal auxiliary verbs. Structure subject + be + able + infinitive Be able to can be used with all tenses: I am able to drive.....

24

February 2012
Friday Fun: The History of English #8
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbvumrknAKs&feature=relmfu The series about the history of the English language continues with more examples of how English has changed over time. This video includes details about American English. It may be something that people are a lot more common with, especially with the impact of American 'movies' ...

20

February 2012
Words are made of letters
by Radmila Gurkova
Made is the past tense of MAKE Make in this case means - produced or shaped as specified It is made of gold ...

20

February 2012
Did you win?
by Radmila Gurkova
TO WIN Definition To be first in a contest, a race or something similar To gain victory ...

20

February 2012
I actually think that Pigs are cute
by Radmila Gurkova
first 30 seconds of the video For Spanish speakers actually is a false friend. It does not mean right now, nowadays it means in reality. Adverb: Really. This time he actually applied for the job. It is also used when something someone has said is surprising ...

20

February 2012
A lot and Allot - Confusing words
by Radmila Gurkova
Confusing words? A lot & Allot A lot Usage: As a noun and an adverb - A large number, very, many For example: A lot of people think that the economy is getting worse. I have a lot of CDs. A lot of planning went into it. ...

17

February 2012
Willy Wonker and a boat made of chocolate
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5U_jW-OQS0 A man in France made a boat 3.5m long boat out of chocolate and sailed it in a port in Northern France. The boat turned around two or three times and then broke apart. It carried three passengers or sailors! The boat weighed 1.2 tons and reached a speed of 15km/h. It took a team 1.5 ...

17

February 2012
185 things to do with a Pig
by Radmila Gurkova
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRETz2F-heQ Christien Meindertsma, author of "Pig 05049" decided to take a look at the afterlife of this pig and find out how many parts of this animal were used and for what. It resulted in at least 185 non-pork products, from bullets to artificial hearts. In Denmark there are 16 million people ...