Teacher Discussion Forums

Hi -- It's hard to say how to make grammar fun without a specific grammar point in mind. Do you have one structure that you're going to be working on in the next month? Maybe someone could suggest a fun technique. I'll do my best, too. By the way, I think my website www.englishzoom.com might be fun ...

Seems like the floating is an essential part of this delightful scene; therefore, I like the commas. Commas can be used to set of non-essential information, as in Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the US, served during the civil war. I suppose there may be a context for this sentence in which t...

Sorry not to catch you in time for your class yesterday :( but here's something you might want to do. Find a story board (comic strip?), that is, a series of pictures that tells a story. A good one might be "For Better or For Worse". You could take a week's worth of them to do this activity. Ask stu...

Hi Duncan, You pose some interesting questions. Certainly, ESL instructors can at times be guilty of modifying their language to fit what the books say we should teach. I honestly don't think that's the case here. The rising tags seems to come naturally to me in some situations. Judging from the stu...

Hi -- Looking quickly, I saw only 3 things, and minor ones, at that. on the Student's side :arrow: on the Students' side (more than one student) recommand :arrow: recommend something such that I can speak :arrow: something so that Hope this helps Tom E nglish Z oom!!! Free Story-Based Grammar / List...

The discussion of rising tags has inspired me to think about how I use them myself. I find myself using rising tags frequently with my students, and I believe I'm just checking when I feel pretty sure that something is true. I don't think that I hope the statement before the tag is true. I don't ass...

To express the idea that it is possible that David saw the movie, it seems to me that people here in Toledo, Ohio USA may use any of the three below: "He may have seen the movie." "He might have seen the movie." "He could have seen the movie." In writing, I don't detect a difference. In speaking, ho...

Echidna wrote recently: I've found that many phrasal verbs are great for practicing linking Turned on -- turn_don break up -- brea_kup turn in -- tur_nin cut off -- cu_toff hang up -- hanng_gup heard about -- her_dabout (end of quote from Echidna) If you would like to have your students hear lots of...

You might want your students to check out www.englishzoom.com It's a content-based grammar / listening practice site. Grammar practice activities are related to a story, which your students can also read and listen to online. Activities include mixers, story boards, filll-in, and multiple choice act...

Hello teachers, If your students are trying to learn phrasal verbs (two- or three-word verbs), you might want to have them check out my free English practice website, English Zoom!! www.englishzoom.com It's a content-based grammar / listening practice site. Grammar practice activities are related to...

Maybe your students would benefit from http://www.englishzoom.com It's my *free* website (growing). Students learn a quirky story and then practice grammar with listening. The activities are based on the story. There's a complete collection of activities on phrasal verbs, and some on other structure...

Thanks again, Al. I'm thinking now I should mention on my homepage that WMP works just as well as RealPlayer. That's a good tip. People may not know it's installed on all Windows machines. Also, I appreciate the comment about the width of the page. I have kept small screens in mind. Cheers and Thank...

Thanks again, Al. I'm thinking now I should mention on my homepage that WMP works just as well as RealPlayer. That's a good tip. People may not know it's installed on all Windows machines. Also, I appreciate the comment about the width of the page. I have kept small screens in mind. Cheers and Thank...

Thanks, Al, for your feedback. I'm not a Windows expert at all; in fact, I'm often surprised how much I can do with so little knowledge. Windows Media Player is on my Dell but it's not the default. (I can't figure out how to make it the default, either.) However, when I give it a URL, for example, h...

For about a year now, I've been refining the design for my website at www.englishzoom.com My plan is to develop a non-commerical site where students can practice listening and develop their skills in grammar at the same time. The activities are content-based; students learn a quirky story and the gr...