The concept of uncountability is very difficult to understand and use correctly for learners of English. However, even the English sometimes need to count the things which are uncountable. To do this they count the containers the things are commonly packed in or they have a countable expression which is used with the given noun. Thus, they have one pair of trousers, two pieces of cake or a carton of milk. To master this you have to learn the containers by heart. To make it easier I have prepared a short video, a mind map and three games for you.
Containers – video
Watch the video and repeat the phrases with the native speaker.
ADVERTISEMENT:
[showmyads]
Containers – mind map
The following mind map visually maps the containers and their usage.
Once you have learnt the containers it is time to see whether you really know them. Play the following games and if you win you can be sure that you know the vocabulary.
Containers – games
The first game is the easiest one. You have to choose the correct container for the given phrase. If you succeed you will be given the chance to shoot a penalty. Can you score 10 times? No one ever has. BE THE FRIST ONE.
The second game is slightly more difficult. Your task is to choose the word which fits into the gap. You have to choose a noun which is commonly used with the given container. If you are successful then you can try to win the fencing duel.
The last game is the most difficult one. While in the previous games it was enough to choose a word, here you have to make it up. And in the meantime the invaders get more and more aggressive. Will you save the planet?
Containers – Teacher invaders game.
Follow us
Do you think that the materials at this site are useful? Would you like to be first to learn about our new posts? So follow us on TWITTER:
Follow @Zdendaa
A week ago I published a post on prepositions AT, IN, ON for time. Several students asked me if I could do something like that for prepositions AT, IN, ON but for places. So here you are. There is a mind map graphically explaining the usage of the prepositions and then there are 3 games to practise the grammar point. Enjoy.
Prepositions AT, IN, ON for places – MIND MAP
Here is a mind map, where I try to explain the difference between the three prepositions. I tried to make it as illustrative as possible, so I hope everything is clear.
ADVERTISEMENT:
[showmyads]
Like us to see the mind map.
[sociallocker id=”3501″]
Prepositions AT, IN, ON for places – GAMES
[/sociallocker] Here you can try three games to practise the grammar point. The first game is called penalty and your task is to choose the correct preposition and then score a goal.Prepositions AT, IN, ON for places – penalty.
The second game is called teacher invaders. Your task is to shoot the invaders and every few seconds complete the sentence with the correct preposition.
Prepositions AT, IN, ON for places – teacher invaders.
Are you looking for something quieter at the end? Try the quiz and if you complete more than 80% of the questions correctly you will get to play the game called Angry Finches.
Prepositions AT, IN, ON for places – cloze test and Angry Finches.
Follow us
Do you think that the materials at this site are useful? Would you like to be first to learn about our new posts? So follow us on TWITTER:
Follow @Zdendaa
Phrasal verbs are always difficult to learn. Even though they consist of two or three tiny words, which are easy to remember themselves, they can create so many different combinations that students quickly become totally confused. Moreover, the meaning of the phrasal verb cannot be deduced from its parts. Therefore the students do not know the verbs and refuse to use them.
I really like the programmes which BBC produced some time ago. They are called Face up to phrasals and they are several short, entertaining stories introducing 12 phrasal verbs each. However, they created nice stories and wonderful explanations and that was it. There were no activities to help you really learn the phrasal verbs. And here I stepped in and I created a mind map and several games to help your learn the 12 phrasal verbs.
Fred and Betty – the video
You can watch the video here
Phrasal verbs – mind map
Here you can see all 12 phrasal verbs in a mind map. Each verb contains a definition and examples of its usage.
ADVERTISEMENT:
[showmyads]
Phrasal verbs – games
I have prepared 3 games for you to practise the phrasal verbs. First of them is called hoop shoot and your task is to choose the correct phrasal verb which best fits into the gap.
Phrasal verbs – hoop shoot game.
The second game is slightly more difficult. You have to read the tasks carefully, as here you have to choose the wrong or correct option.
The last game is called invaders and it is the most difficult game. Your task is to shoot all the aliens and in the meantime complete each sentence with the correct preposition.
Phrasal verbs – invaders game.
Follow us
Do you think that the materials at this site are useful? Would you like to be first to learn about our new posts? So follow us on TWITTER:
Follow @Zdendaa
Many students have problems with the prepositions AT, IN, ON. Prepositions are such small words with nearly the same meaning that it seems that you can use any of them. But that is not true. If you want to sound well, you have to be careful with the prepositions. And believe me, it is not so difficult to use the prepositions AT, IN, ON for time expressions correctly. There are many clear rules and only a few exceptions.
Prepositions AT IN ON for time – mind map
Go through the mind map. Start at 1 o’clock and then go clockwise. There are the rules of usage for the prepositions AT, IN, ON.
At the end of the mind map you will see that if you use the words NEXT, LAST, EVERY or THIS, there is no preposition in front of these words. (You cannot say “ON NEXT FRIDAY”).
ADVERTISEMENT:
[showmyads]
Prepositions AT, IN, ON for time – games
If you want to really learn the prepositions correctly, you should practise them as often as and as much possible. Here there are three games to make your training more enjoyable. In the games there are 48 different phrases with the prepositions AT, IN, ON. If you finish all the games I am confident that you will know the usage of these prepositions fairly well.
The first game is called Teacher invaders. You should shoot all the Invaders and after some time you have to fill in the correct preposition in the sentences. Good luck.
Prepositions AT IN ON – Teacher invaders game.
The second game, HOOP SHOOT, is slightly easier as you have to pick the correct option and then stop the sliders in the center of the basket.
Prepositions AT IN ON – Hoop shoot game.
The third game is a more of a traditional quiz. Read the text and complete it with the prepositions AT IN ON. If you get more than 70% of your answers correct you will get to play the game called Indiara. Good luck!
Prepositions AT IN ON – Cloze test.
Follow us
Do you think that the materials at this site are useful? Would you like to be first to learn about our new posts? So follow us on TWITTER:
Follow @Zdendaa
When I was preparing the lesson on Clothes I knew that at the same time the elementary students will have to learn the present continuous tense. And as I had a little time to spare I prepared the following activities for them to learn this grammar point.
Present continuous tense Mind map
Once again I present the tense using the following mind map where I try to explain the form and basic usage of the tense.
Advertisement:
[showmyads]
Present continuous tense games
Now that you know the theory it is time to use it in the games. The first two games – Penalty and Hoopshot – test your knowledge of the form and of the usage of the present continuous tense. The third game test your ability to form the verbs with -ing ending in the correct way.
So good luck and you can play:
Present continuous tense – penalty game.
Present continuous tense – hoop shoot game.
Verbs with -ing ending – teacher invaders game.
More games
If you are an elementary student trying to learn English the following games and mind maps might be useful for you.
As I mentioned above our previous post deals with CLOTHES and can find there a video, mind map and four games to practise this vocabulary set.
Then you should certainly try our post dealing with past simple tense. There is a mind map explaining the usage and form of the past simple tense. Moreover, there are several games where you can learn the past forms of irregular verbs. So, do not hesitate and try our Past simple post.
If you think that you need to learn or practise more vocabulary, there is a post dealing with food. There is a mind map with the pictures of different kinds of food and then there are games where you can practise what you have learnt.
Follow us
Do you think that the materials at this site are useful? Would you like to be first to learn about our new posts? So follow us on TWITTER:
Follow @Zdendaa
I like teaching adverbs to students because it is very simple, there are only a few exceptions and you can see that they have learnt something immediately. Adverbs are an easy grammar point and students can use them in the same lesson and feel that they achieved something.
ADVERT:
[showmyads]
Forming adverbs – infographic
Forming adverbs – games
Adverbs – half a minute game. You have 30 seconds to put the letters into the correct order to create the right adverb.
Adverbs – Teacher invaders. Your task is to shoot all the invaders but from time to time you have to form an adverb from the given adjective.
Adverbs – Penalty game. In this game you should choose the correct option to complete the sentence. If you get it right you will have a chance to shoot a penalty.
Adverbs – Hoopshoot game. Choose the correct option and then score.
I hope you enjoyed the lesson and that your knowledge of adverbs is much better than it was a few minutes ago. If not look at the links section, too.
Forming adverbs – links
Here is a great video explaining what adverbs are. I believe it can be used for teaching English as ESL too. Enjoy.
Phrases to ask for advice and for giving advice are incredibly useful for normal life. Students should be able to express their needs and I believe this post will help them with this.
If you go through all the activities here, I am sure that you will learn these phrases in twenty minutes. However, to make this knowledge permanent it is necessary to practise the phrases for asking and giving advice at least once in the following week.
ADVERTISEMENT:
[showmyads]
Here you can see a mind map which should help you remember the phrases better.
And to practise all the phrases there is the storyboard game:
If you like this post, you can re-tweet it here:Tweet
My pre-intermediate students are confused by all the different verb patterns. So the last two weeks I spent designing a mind map that would help them. It is in no way a comprehensive description of the grammar, but I feel quite happy about it. Looking for some rules I discovered that the pattern verb + to + verb is much more common than verb + verb-ing.
So my advice to my students is: “If in doubt, use TO + verb.” I hope this mind map will help you understand the verb patterns too.
ADVERTISEMENT
[showmyads]
To practise the verb patterns you can try the following games.
The first game is called Penalty Shootout. Your task is to choose the correct answer and then score a goal. To be able to play the game, you need to download the file and then open it in Acrobat Reader by Adobe.
To practise the verb patterns you can play the following game. Its name is En Garde. Your task is to choose the correct answer and then stop the target as close to the centre as possible. Hopefully, you will be faster and more accurate then your opponent. The game is in Flash and will play only if you download the file and open it in Acrobat Reader by Adobe.
Enjoy.
If you like this post, you can re-tweet it here:Tweet
Past simple is one of the most important English tenses. Scott Thornbury once wrote that he would sacrifice all the perfect tenses and other grammar if he could teach past simple properly. I agree with him, because if the students could you this tense, then I would probably forgive them everything.
Basic English grammar rules – infographic
ADVERTISEMENT:
[showmyads]
Basic English grammar rules – online quiz
During the week more activities on Past simple tense are coming. Watch out for them.
To be the first to learn about our latest games and activities follow us on TWITTER:
Follow @Zdendaa
To learn this difficult tense you first have to learn the past participles. Regular verbs just add the ending -ed but you have to memorise the irregular ones. Here is a mind map which might help you memorise the irregular verbs first
(more…)