Lesson plans and other resources for your online beginners’ classes (CLB 1-4).
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THIS WEEK’S FEATURED POST
Week of Dec. 15/25
Teach your beginner ESL students about preparing for a traditional Canadian Christmas and encourage them to share their own cultural traditions.
The lesson includes interactive vocabulary activities, a short video, and reflection questions to…
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Focus on content: Renting an apartment
Watch this short video to learn vocabulary needed to speak with a landlord about renting an apartment. This video is part of the “Renting an apartment” lesson plan.
My family
Lesson plans
Learning family names
Learn the English names for members of your family.
Talking about life events
Learn basic vocabulary related to family history by talking about grandmothers’ lives.
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- Life events and family histories
- Adele’s ESL Corner:
- My family (fill-in-the-gaps story)
- Ruth’s family (story with comprehension questions)
- Sue’s family (story with comprehension questions)
- Adele’s ESL Corner:
- Discussion questions:
My home
Lesson plans
Rooms in my house
Learn the names and functions of some main rooms in a house.
Finding an apartment
Learn the basic vocabulary needed to read classified ads for apartments and to speak with an apartment manager.
Renting an apartment
Learn the basic vocabulary needed to talk with a landlord about renting an apartment.
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- ISS of BC video lessons and teacher’s guides:
- Learning Chocolate: House (Many vocabulary activities on a house theme.)
- Settlement at Work: LINC classroom activities: 1 and 2. (Scroll down the page to find LINC 1 and 2. Each text also has audio files and learning objects. Find the “At home in our community and the world” section in each document.)
- Tutela: Housing collection (Includes resources related to housing, especially about dealing with landlord and tenant issues. Tutela is a free resource-sharing site, but you will need to create an account to access resources.)
My garden
Lesson plans
Asking for help at a garden centre
Learn how to ask basic questions at a garden centre.
Alberta garden flowers
Learn the names of some Alberta flowers.
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- British Council/LearnEnglish Teens: The garden (Vocabulary-based lesson plan.)
- 7ESL Learning English:
- English Vocabulary: In the garden vocabulary in English video
- ESL video: Kayo’s vegetable garden
- ESOL Courses:
- LanguageGuide.org: Vegetables
- LearnHip: Sounds of summer slideshow quiz
- My Canadian English:
- Rabia Garewal: Vegetables CLB 2L SKill Building H5P (Tutela is free but requires a subscription.)
- Discussion questions:
My neighbourhood
Lesson plans
Talking about my community
Learn the vocabulary to describe your community.
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- Algonquin College. (2009). LINC classroom activities: LINC 2 (A pdf resource. Scroll to “At home in our community and the world, ” “Community and government services,” and “Family & relationships.”)
- Learning Chocolate: Community (Vocabulary and practice activities.)
- Toronto Catholic District School Board: Home and Neighbourhood CLB 1/2 (An H5P series of activities on Tutela. Tutela is free but requires an account.)
- Discussion questions:
- LearnHip: Conversation cards (Scroll to “Towns and cities.”)
- The Internet TESL Journal Archives ESL conversation questions: Community
At school
Lesson plans
Parent-teacher interviews
Learn the vocabulary needed to participate in a parent-teacher interview.
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- British Council, Learn English Kids: School subjects word game
- CCLB: CLB 3 4 Module Communicating with a Child’s School (This resource is on Tutela — a free information-sharing site for ESL teachers. You do need to create an account.)
- Learning Chocolate: School subjects
- Sanook: Subject guessing game video
- Septster 147 videos:
- Settlement.org (both of the videos below are available in multiple languages):
At the library
Lesson plans
Getting a library card
Learn the vocabulary needed to obtain a library card (as well as about library services, e.g., ESL classes).
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- ABC Education: Library words video (Basic vocabulary related to libraries.)
- International English Teaching: At the library video (Video with some comprehension questions.)
- Learning Chocolate:
- Library (General library vocabulary.)
- Library activities (Verbs related to libraries.)
- Lingoneo: At the library (Listening and comprehension activties.)
Clothes and clothes shopping
Lesson plans
Trying on clothes
Learn how to ask basic questions about colour, fit, and size in a a clothing store.
Buying clothes
Learn the vocabulary you need to buy clothes in a clothing store.
Returning and exchanging clothes
Learn the vocabulary needed to to return or exchange clothes in a clothing store
Winter clothing
Learn the names of clothes you need to keep warm during a Canadian winter.
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- Clothing:
- Anne-Marie Kaskens, Svetlana Lupasco, Margaret Stasiak (Toronto Catholic District School Board): Shop for clothes 1/2, Colour and size (This resource is on Tutela, a free resource-sharing website for ESL teachers. You will need to create an account to access this resource. Do numbers 1 (“Looking for clothes vocabulary”), 3 (“Reading a receipt”), and 5 (“Do you have a different colour?”))
- ESOL Courses: English words for winter clothes and accessories matching exercise
- Games to Learn English:
- Bubbles (Click on the bubbles to make sentences. Click on “Wearing.”)
- Clothes (Dress the manequins in spring, summer, winter, formal, beach, and student clothes.)
- Falling English: Move the clouds to form sentences. Click on “Wearing.”)
- Fast English (Audio and images help students to practice vocabulary for different kinds of clothes. Click on “Clothes 1” and “Clothes 2.”)
- Fast phrases (Practise sentences that include different kinds of clothing. Click on “Wearing.”)
- Hangman (Play the classic Hangman game with clothing vocabulary. Click on “Clothes 1” and “Clothes 2.”)
- Vocab game (Image and text matching game. Click on “Clothes 1” and “Clothes 2.”)
- Many Things:
- Things people wear 1 (Various vocabulary games. Scroll down the page to find this entry.)
- Things people wear 2 (Various vocabulary games. Scroll down the page to find this entry.)
- My Canadian English:
- Winter in Canada, Clothing (Video.)
- Winter in Canada, Clothing (Google slides.)
- Clothing stores:
- British Council, Learn English: Shopping for clothes (Audio and tasks.)
- ISS of BC: How would you like to pay? (Video and related activities.)
- Learning Chocolate: Clothing (Vocabulary on many aspects of clothing.)
- Rick Hulbert: CLB 1-3, Problems with clothes shopping (This resource is on Tutela. The site is free, but you must create an account.)
- Clothing discussion questions:
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Keep readingHOME AND COMMUNITY YOUTUBE PLAYLIST
Click on the small right arrow at the top of this video to play the videos or go to the YouTube Your Home and Community Playlist.
COMMUNITY AND NEIGHBOURS WORDWALL ACTIVITIES
Wordwall is a very useful interactive lesson-creation site. If you sign up for a free Wordwall account, you will be able to see our “Community and neighbours” folder, which includes ESL Directions activities that you can add to your lessons.
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ABOUT ESL DIRECTIONS
ESL teacher, movie buff, constant reader, and former editor and communications pro. Now a graduate of the Teaching English as a Second Language program at the University of Manitoba and a TESL Canada certified ESL teacher in Edmonton, Alberta, I specialize in teaching online classes of beginner ESL students.
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