Lesson plans and other resources for your online beginners’ classes (CLB 1-4).
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THIS WEEK’S FEATURED POST
Week of Aug. 10/26
This lesson plan offers engaging activities for your first day of class, focusing on classroom rules, introductions, and cultural exchanges.
The plan includes lesson objectives, warm-up exercises, two short videos, and a range of…
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What’s on this page?
Groceries and grocery shopping
Lesson plans
Talking with the cashier
Learn the basic vocabulary needed to talk with a grocery cashier.
Groceries and grocery departments
Learn the basic vocabulary related to various grocery items and where to find them in the store.
Asking for help in a grocery store
Learn the basic vocabulary needed to locate items in a grocery store.
Following a recipe: Making vegetable soup
Learn the basic vocabulary used in recipes (especially common cooking verbs).
Resources
Links to useful external resources …
- Asian Language School: Local Chinese food demystified (Chinese and English translations of foods commonly eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.)
- Basic English: Breakfast lunch, and dinner (Video)
- CALP Portal: Cheesy potato soup (Read the recipe, and listen to the audio.)
- CCLB CNCLC: Blended Module – Grocery Shopping CLB 1L – 2L (Literacy) (A variety of classroom-ready tools for two levels. Includes vocabulary, audio exercises, and games. Available on Tutela, which is a free resource-sharing site for ESL teachers.)
- ISS of BC: Grocery shopping (Video and lesson.)
- Learning Chocolate: Grocery store vocabulary (Grocery store departments.)
- Catherine Porter: At the supermarket cashier (Available on Tutela, which is a free resource-sharing site for ESL teachers.)
- ESOL Courses:
- FluentU: 20 vegetables in Chinese
- Grammar Monster: Going to the supermarket (Vocabulary and three audio conversations with grocery staff.)
- Language Guide: Vegetable vocabulary
- Learning Chocolate:
- Food (Vocabulary and practice activities on a wide variety of food-related topics.)
- Kitchen actions
- VRabia Garewal: Vegetables CLB 2L SKill Building H5P (Tutela is free but requires a subscription.)
- Single Step English: How to speak with a supermarket cashier (Video.)
- TCDSB Adult Education: Shop for food CLB 1/2 (Available on Tutela, which is a free resource-sharing site for ESL teachers.)
- Top English: Cooking verbs (Video on cooking verbs.)
- Discussion questions:
- LearnHip: Conversation questions (Click on “Food” for questions on this theme.)
- The Internet TESL Journal Archives: Food & eating
Restaurants and take-out
Lesson plans
Ordering in a coffee shop
Learn the basic vocabulary needed to order coffee and other items in a coffee shop.
Ordering at at restaurant
Learn the basic vocabulary needed to complete an order in a restaurant.
Ordering pizza
Learn the basic vocabulary needed to complete an order for take-out or delivery, using pizza as an example.
Resources
Links to helpful external resources …
- Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab: Restaurants (Audio and listening exercises.)
- Discussion questions:
- LearnHip conversation question cards (Choose “Eating out” in the drop-down menu. Note: Sign up for a free LearnHip account to create customized sets of conversation cards.)
- The Internet Journal TESL Archives: Restaurants and eating out
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Click on the small right arrow at the top of this video to play the videos or go to the YouTube Food and Restaurants 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
Kathy Garnsworthy, the creator of ESL Directions, is an 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 an ESL teacher in Edmonton, Alberta, she specializes in teaching online classes of beginner ESL students.
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