From time to time, I have noticed an interesting development in the space where face-to-face relationships bump into online relationships. In my extensive network are many people whom I know both on- and off-line. In some cases it was online first and then a personal encounter. In others it was the other way around. Some of the relationships are purely personal, others are largely professional. Some have become a blend of both.I have noticed that some of the people with whom I have both and on- and off-line relationship are competent at conducting a single relationship in two spaces. Others less so. In some cases, there is a strange split. There is one relationship going on online and another offline, and that it seems to be 'not done' to break that wall. So you might have an exchange of messages online in which something deep and tragic is shared, or a disagreement is aired but the next time you see each other, no reference will be made to he online conversation, and there seems to be no enhanced understanding demonstrated offline based on the revelation online.I recently had an experience that has puzzled and bemused me. Totally by chance, I discovered that I have been 'unfriended' on Facebook by someone I encounter face to face on a regular basis. Her behaviour towards me does appear to have shifted very slightly, but superficially the 'all is well' signals are being beamed bright and clear. She has given me no indication as to what the problem might be, which has left me unsure as to how I should behave toward her. I recently felt compelled to unfriend someone on Facebook that I have known since childhood, although we were never close. However, before doing so, I made it clear that it was due to her repeatedly aggressive behaviour towards my other FB friends on my page. She might not agree that I had just cause, but at least she knows what it was that caused me to reach this decision.In the situation where the boot is on the other foot, I am totally clueless, and it leaves me feeling disempowered and slightly bewildered.My relationship with my husband has many facets, but it is one relationship. We talk on the phone and continue that conversation when he gets home. I forward an email to him from the school, we exchange emails a few times, and then perhaps pick up the phone. We interact on Facebook, as we comment on photographs, one another's status updates and so on, and tease each other about that when we meet up. We connect in many spaces, but it remains one relationship. If he suddenly stopped talking to me, or touching me, the rest of the relationship would be affected. Of course, it would. And I would be looking to find out why. But here we have someone who is prepared to sever one aspect of a relationship and to continue the others as if nothing had changed, without discussing the action.In cases where people pursue two separate relationships with me, I have come to regard that as a sign of an inability to assimilate an online space into an existing relationship. An indication that there is a level of maturity still to be gained. By and large, this two relationship experience tends to be restricted to those for whom social media tools are little more than toys.I am struggling to formulate this as cogently as I would like, but I would be interested to learn whether others have had similar experiences.

You may or may not know that I have signed up for the 365 project this year. The plan was to restore a sense of balance after the disastrous tail end of last year skewed my perspective on the whole year. When I come to look back on 2011, if there is pictorial evidence of the wonders of some days and the total ordinariness of others, perhaps the bleak days will seem less significant. That's the theory, anyway.Initially, I set out just to capture a moment from each day, journal style. But then I saw the quality of some of the work in other people's projects and found myself trying to emulate their standards, when I had neither the equipment nor the skills to do so. After a few failed days of that nonsense, I reminded myself to 'run my own race' and went back to the photo journal idea. I chose to follow other members with the same sort of approach, to keep things in perspective.But yesterday, I surprised myself.I took my dog for a walk along the River Nene that runs through our town, and took photos as I went. If you're a Facebook friend, you can see the whole set. When I got home, I popped the camera card into my laptop to look at the photos and was really very impressed with the result. Even with just a little point and shoot (Kodak DX6490) my first picture of the day turned out to be as near perfect as anything I have ever done.The water looks wonderful. The swan is beautifully positioned and reflected. The pose is perfect - like something out of a fairytale. There is even, if you look really closely, a single drop of water that has fallen off the end of the bird's beak and landed with a sploosh in the river - that sploosh is captured exactly at the moment of landing.So there are two ways of looking at this.Either: I have no idea how I achieved that, so I learned nothing. This is entirely true.Or: I have stumbled upon evidence that I can actually do good work. Really good work. Knowing that I can, inspires me to try to do it again... only on purpose next time.A little accidental success goes a long way.

If you saw a woman walking down the street with her skirt caught in her knickers, obviously as a result of a post-restroom-visit 'wardrobe malfunction', would you tell her? No? Why not? If the woman was your wife/mother/sister/daughter, would you tell her?What's the difference?If you overheard a stranger at a bus stop saying they were going to X place, and then noticed that they were about to get onto the wrong bus, would you tell them?If the harried mother in front of you drops her child's shoe, do you pick it up and return it to her? If someone is unknowingly making an absolute prat of themselves in public, can you sit there and laugh at them?If your best friend's spouse/partner is cheating on them, do you tell them?If you're in a conversation and someone makes cites a piece of information that you absolutely know to be inaccurate, do you contradict them?To me it's all the same thing. If you care enough about that person, you tell them. You overcome your own embarrassment, your own distaste for confrontation, your own cultural dictates and you let them know. If they choose to continue along that chosen path, at least you can be sure that they are making an informed choice.I am often told that I am argumentative. What people don't realise is that I argue because I give a damn. Seriously. I don't set out to be difficult. It matters to me. All of it. I want you to know that we have recently discovered that the earth is round, that it revolves around the sun, that learning styles are bogus, and that your fly is open. I want to perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on you when you're choking and I can't stand around and watch you embarrass yourself in public.So let's say I make a strong statement and you go off and mutter to your friends/colleagues about how misinformed I am, but you don't tell me how misinformed I am. When I find out about it, I am going to assume it's because you don't care enough to set me straight. To engage with me. To argue with me, even.Is my fly open?

Used from Pixabay, with permission under Creative Commons licence Jon Hird, materials writer and teacher trainer, discusses inductive and deductive grammar teaching, comparing and contrasting the two, and debating the pros and cons of their use in the classroom ahead of his webinar on the topic on April 28th and 30th. There are two main ways that we tend to teach grammar: deductively and inductively. Both deductive and inductive teaching have their pros and cons and which approach we use when can depend on a number of factors, such as the nature of the language being taught and the preferences of the teacher and learners. It is, however, perhaps generally accepted that a combination of both approaches is best suited for the EFL classroom. Some agreement exists that the most effective grammar teaching includes some deductive and inductive characteristics. - Haight, Heron, & Cole 2007. So what is deductive and inductive grammar teaching? In this blog, we will first take a look at the underlying principles of inductive and deductive reasoning and then look at how this applies to grammar teaching and learning. We will then briefly consider some of the pros and cons. Deductive and inductive reasoning Deductive reasoning is essentially a top-down approach which moves from the more general to the more specific. In other words, we start with a general notion or theory, which we then narrow down to specific hypotheses, which are then tested. Inductive reasoning is more of a bottom-up approach, moving from the more specific to the more general, in which we make specific observations, detect patterns, formulate hypotheses and draw conclusions. Deductive and inductive grammar learning These two approaches have been applied to grammar teaching and learning. A deductive approach involves the learners being given a general rule, which is then applied to specific language examples and honed through practice exercises. An inductive approach involves the learners detecting, or noticing, patterns and working out a ‘rule’ for themselves before they practise the language.  A deductive approach (rule-driven) starts with the presentation of a rule and is followed by examples in which the rule is applied. An inductive approach (rule-discovery) starts with some examples from which a rule is inferred. - Thornbury, 1999 Both approaches are commonplace in published materials. Some course books may adhere to one approach or the other as series style, whereas some may be more flexible and employ both approaches according to what the language being taught lends itself to. Most inductive learning presented in course books is guided or scaffolded. In other words, exercises and questions guide the learner to work out the grammar rule. The following course book extracts illustrate the two different approaches. The subsequent practice exercises are similar in both course books. Q: Skills for Success Listening and Speaking Level 3                        New Headway 4th Edition (Elementary) Which approach - pros and cons? First and foremost, it is perhaps the nature of the language being taught that determines if an inductive approach is possible. Inductive learning is an option for language with salient features and consistency and simplicity of use and form. The basic forms of comparative adjectives, as shown above, is an example of this. Conversely, teaching the finer points of the use of articles (a/an, the) inductively, for example, would most probably be problematic. The metalinguistic tools that the learners will need to accomplish the task is also a factor. However, the learner-centred nature of inductive teaching is often seen as advantageous as the learner is more active in the learning process rather than being a passive recipient. This increased engagement may help the learner to develop deeper understanding and help fix the language being learned. This could also promote the strategy of ‘noticing’ in the student and enhance learner autonomy and motivation. On the other hand, inductive learning can be more time- and energy-consuming and more demanding of the teacher and the learner. It is also possible that during the process, the learner may arrive at an incorrect inference or produce an incorrect or incomplete rule. Also, an inductive approach may frustrate learners whose personal learning style and/or past learning experience is more in line with being taught via a more teacher-centred and deductive approach. While it might be appropriate at times to articulate a rule and then proceed to instances, most of the evidence in communicative second language teaching points to the superiority of an inductive approach to rules and generalizations. - Brown, 2007 Nevertheless, while there are pros and cons to both approaches and while a combination of both inductive and deductive grammar teaching and learning is probably inevitable, an inductive approach does seem to be broadly accepted as being more efficient in the long run, at least for some learners. Would you agree with this? If you’d like to join Jon Hird for the free webinar discussing this topic at length on April 28th or 30th, register below or follow the link for further details.     References Brown, H.D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching. Pearson Longman. Haight, C., Herron, C., & Cole, S. (2007). The effects of deductive and guided inductive instructional approaches on the learning of grammar in the elementary language college classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 40, 288-309. Thornbury, S. (1999). How to Teach Grammar. Pearson.Filed under: Grammar & Vocabulary Tagged: Grammar, inductive grammar deductive grammar, Jon Hird

Fancy livening up your classroom with some ready-made video activities? This is the third in a series of four articles in which Keith Harding and Rachel Appleby share ideas for using the stunning new International Express video material. Each unit of the course features a video directly related to the unit topic. Here, Keith offers some ideas for using the clip from Intermediate Unit 4 - Mercedes-Benz Museum, which focuses on making comparisons. Watch the video Before you watch As with any listening or reading text it is important to prepare and predict, in order to maximise the learning potential from the video. Here are some ideas to get your students started before they watch the video. 1. Museums Students in pairs/groups describe museums in their city/country, and talk about their favourite museum. Questions to ask include: a. What do they like about their favourite museum? b. Why is it better than other museums? (This will help to elicit practice of comparatives) c. Do they know any unusual museums, e.g. for particular products and brands? Plan a ‘Museum of Brands’ Elicit some top-of-the-range brands from the students, for example, Rolex, Apple, Nike, Mercedes Benz (prompt to elicit this one if necessary) In groups, students decide what they would exhibit in a ‘Museum of Brands’ and what they would call each of the galleries. 2. Pre-teach vocabulary This exercise is taken from the video worksheet that comes with the International Express Teacher’s Resource Book DVD. All the worksheets are also available for free here. You just need your Oxford Teacher’s Club log-in details to view them. Vocabulary: What do the words in bold mean? The story is based on a local legend. The prototype of the vehicle used a piston engine. He is a real football enthusiast. He goes to every game. My father collects a lot of Beatles memorabilia, like albums, posters, and concert tickets. Phone companies need to have cutting-edge technology to be successful. The documentary on deep-sea diving gave us a glimpse into life in the ocean. The book gives us an insight into life in South America. While you watch To maximise the learning opportunities, you need to set tasks for the students to focus on. Remember tasks can be graded to the level of the learners, even if the content is not. This will involve the teacher in using pause, rewind, and sound-off facilities. 3. Silent play on fast-forward Play the whole video on fast-forward with the sound down. Students write down what they see, then compare in groups and then watch again on normal speed. 4. Recognising difficult or technical vocabulary As you would expect, the video contains several terms relating to vehicle transport. Understanding lexical sets of technically-related vocabulary and the differences in meaning between the different items is an important skill for the professional adult learner. Play the video in sections and ask students to write down the names of any vehicle types they hear. They should identify the following: motor car horse-drawn carriage automobile limousine convertible roadster sports car rally car (‘rallying’ on the video) Formula 1 racing car lorry (lorries) police car ambulance fire engine Check students’ answers, and ask them to give a definition of each type. 5. Numbers and names ‘bingo’ Design a bingo card for each student with numbers and names, including ones from the video, but other distracters as well. Students tick off the numbers/names when they hear them. When they have completed a line of three (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) they shout bingo, stop the video and check. Here are two examples: Example 1: nine 60,500 Rolls Royce Karl Benz Daimler AG one million euros Formula 1 Ferrari300 SL Example 2: a million 16,500 Porshe 1954 seven Mercedes Simplex 13 300 SL convertible After you watch Follow-up tasks and activities will help to reinforce the language and will also provide the opportunity for more communicative and interactive language practice. 6. Practice vocabulary work on different forms of transport, and different brands and products 7. Conduct a survey of class members or any other accessible group (e.g. work colleagues, teachers and staff in school). Example questions could be: a) Which museums have you visited? b) Which is your favourite - or least favourite - and why? c) What factors are important for you in a museum? Examples could include admission cost, interesting displays, interactive exhibits, a good cafe. d) Use the results to plan a group outing. 8. Plan and present an idea for your own museum a) Use the results from the survey (task 8) if available. b) Decide the theme for your museum. For example, it could be a museum of your own life, with photographs, objects from your past and from your present working life. c) Design the plan of the museum. d) Present to the rest of the group. I hope you enjoy trying out some of these activities in class!Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Multimedia & Digital Tagged: Adult Learners, Bringing Online Video into the Classroom, EdTech, EFL, ESL, International Express

For the past few months, I have been winding up my business, while also looking for a 'proper' job. The business was officially/legally wound up yesterday. But I am still hunting for alternative employment.Since I am not currently working in the field of L&D, it strikes me as being somewhat hypocritical to keep sharing my perspectives here. I don't feel as if I have anything to offer the practising L&D professional from here, and I would feel rather like the couch potato yelling advice at the honed athlete on the screen.Things advance so quickly in this field, that my firsthand experience will quickly be outdated.So, for now, I am putting this blog on hold. Should the day ever come when I am back in the saddle, you will no doubt see me back here again.I'd like to thank you for your company on my journey. Particularly those who have stuck by me since the very beginning, those who comment here, on Facebook and on Twitter... and those of you who email me or phone me to give me a blast when I say something you don't agree with. It has all been a rich and exciting learning tapestry. Happy hunting.

In January we asked over 450 teachers from around the world to vote for the biggest writing challenge they face in their classroom. Since then we’ve dedicated a month to each of the top three challenges with a series of webinars and blog posts from some of Oxford’s top teacher trainers. During our survey we also received some fantastic comments from teachers telling us about other problems they’ve encountered with writing. Join us as we take on 3 extra challenges raised by teachers like you. In this blog Gareth Davies addresses the first of these challenges: ‘My students complain they don’t have any ideas’. Any writer will tell you about the curse of the blank page. A blank page is the writer’s nightmare, it stares at you, providing evidence to the world that you have not written anything, that your ideas have dried up. If established writers have this problem, it is no wonder that students complain that they don’t have any ideas when asked to write. Writers often just try to get something down on the paper, anything, to give the impression that the process has started. Different writers use different tricks. For example if I am writing a factual piece like this, I will write My mother said that… on the top of the page. If I am writing fiction, I tend to describe the weather, It was a hot and sticky night… These prompts give the illusion I have started writing and remove the blank page factor. Later when I have completed the piece, I erase my prompt sentence because it is no longer needed but the prompt has got the creative juices flowing. (I did it with this blog, look at the start of this blog post and add in My mother said that…, see it works.) Would this work with your students? Would getting a prompt down on paper help them to create their piece of writing? Try it. Another useful trick is coming up with questions to answer in the text. If I have a list of questions that need to be answered, then I have a place to start. This can easily be applied to the classroom. For example, if the students have to write about a famous person or a town, then put the name of the person / town on the board and ask them to think of things they would like to know, remember to encourage them to write WH- questions. Write their ideas on the board and now you have a bank of ideas for what to write. Alternatively put your students in groups of 5. Ask each student to write the place / person they want to write about at the top of a piece of paper. Then pass that paper around their group. Each student has to write a different question about that place / person. When the student receives their own paper back, they will have 4 questions to answer in their text. I’ve used the idea of a person or place here, but this can work well with a film or book review or describing a holiday etc. Follow this up by asking the students to write a short response to only one of the questions. I sometimes suggest this takes the form of a tweet or a text message so it is only 140 characters long. They then swap this with another student or pair who read it and write a reply that includes a question about what they have read. The students now have to rewrite their short text including the answer to that question. Do this again with a different question; soon your students find they have too many ideas for what to write in their final piece. By the way, this also demonstrates to students that writing is not just a school discipline, but it is a means of communication. Finally when you mark the written work, you can write questions eliciting further information that you would like to know, how much does this cost? Why did she go to Hollywood? etc. This encourages students to see their writing as a first draft that they can improve by adding the extra information. It also shows them that you were interested in the content of their work and not just the mistakes they made. Of course this doesn’t have to be your job. You could ask students to pass their first drafts to another group who read it and ask the questions, thus developing their critical capacity. In my previous blog post on writing I suggested that as teachers we often throw our students into the deep end with writing tasks. When we ask them to speak they often only have to say one or maybe two sentences that are quickly forgotten but when writing they have to build whole texts that are there in black and white for all to see. I hope these ideas will help you to lead your students from the shallow end, helping them build confidence and gain ideas so they can approach the choppy waters of writing with confidence.Filed under: Professional Development, Teenagers Tagged: Professional Development, Solutions writing challenge, Teenagers

A rare emergence from hibernation for me, which just goes to show how strongly I feel about this matter.I have just received the weekly newsletter from my younger son's school. Said son is in the throes of exams for the lower sixth form (the first of two years of non-compulsory further education which serve as a springboard for those who wish to go on to higher education).The very first article in the newsletter focusses on the kids the year ahead of my son. In other words, those in the upper sixth. It includes the following:Students seeking work or higher education places after Sixth Form have never before found the competition so tough. More students across the country are competing for fewer available places and many of our students must obtain A grades in a number of subjects (even A* in some cases) for university entry.Our recent experience is that universities will not bend the requirements if students miss a grade. The need for students to revise really thoroughly has never been so vital.It's all about grades! Other things get taken into consideration, sure, but only if you get the grades in the first place.My son's results earlier in the year were very worrying. His teachers were at a loss: his homework is always submitted on time and is always 100% correct. But his exam results didn't even qualify for the word 'disappointing'. 'Terrifying' would be closer to the mark. We are currently spending a fortune on private tutors in attempt to help this boy learn some exam skills, so that he can reproduce under exam conditions the levels of competency he demonstrates in the classroom. If he doesn't succeed at that, his lifelong career dreams will become even more difficult to achieve.How can this be education?William Nicholson wrote a trilogy called Wind on Fire. The first book starts off in this utterly ludicrous society in which people take regular assessments all the way through their lives. Where they live, what clothes they wear and every single factor of their lives is governed by the cumulative assessment scores of the family.It is frightening how close we are to that. And I feel quite literally sickened as the parent of two sons who don't 'play the exam game' with any great skill. Nor can I help them there, because I have never been great shakes at it myself.What kind of a dysfunctional society are we inflicting on these kids? And at what cost?

Lysette Taplin, an ELT Editor for Oxford University Press, Mexico and experienced English language teacher, discusses the educational value of games in the English language classroom in celebration of Children’s Day in Mexico. Kids have amazing imaginations. This is why they have some really great ideas. And sometimes, these ideas become wonderful inventions. Did you know that kids invented the Popsicle and waterskiing? Did you know that a kid also invented earmuffs? And who invented the trampoline? A kid! George Baez, "From Dreams to Reality"[1] Universal Children’s Day (http://www.un.org/en/events/childrenday/) aims to promote the welfare of children everywhere and to encourage understanding between children all over the world.[2] In Mexico, this day is celebrated on April 30. Many schools in Mexico celebrate Children’s Day by hosting special events and festivals which often entail story-telling, games and more. Children love playing and games are a great way to promote communicative skills in the English language classroom. So, why not celebrate our kids with fun-filled games which also foster language development. They are highly motivating and create an enjoyable and relaxed learning environment which encourages active learning, collaboration as well as creative and spontaneous use of language. Task-orientated games engage students and give them a meaningful context for language use. They focus their attention on the task itself rather than the production of correct speech, and the competitive nature keeps students interested and concentrated as most learners will try hard to win. The advantage of using games is that they are student-centered and can integrate all linguistic skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. For example, when reading a dialogue from a story or play, project it onto the board, erasing some words or phrases. Have students work in teams to write the missing words. Encourage students to think of the funniest or most interesting captions to complete the gaps. Then, have teams vote for the funniest options. This activity promotes reading and creative writing while at the same time practices speaking and listening skills as students must understand what others are saying and express their own ideas. A running dictation game also gets students out of their seats and involves the four skills. Prepare and print a short text and place it at the front of the classroom. Have students work in pairs or small groups and decide on who will be the writer and who will be the runner. If students are working in small groups, have the non-writers take turns being runners. Tell the runners in each team to read the text and memorize as much as possible before returning to their team and dictating what they read to the writer. Tell students that the text must be as accurate as possible, including correct spelling and punctuation. With advanced groups, you can add italics, bold, parenthesis, etc. to make the text more challenging. Once teams have finished writing, hand out a copy of the text for them to check their work. This is an excellent and motivating game that can be adapted for both younger and older learners. Games to practice new or recycled vocabulary can help students learn and retain new words more easily. Chinese Whispers is a simple but effective game that gets students to practice correct pronunciation while reinforcing vocabulary. When playing this game, I usually split the class into two teams to add a competitive element. Tell the teams to stand in a line and ask a student from each team to come to the front of the class. Whisper one vocabulary item to them, or alternatively show them a picture or flashcard without letting the rest of the class see. Have them go to the back of their team’s line and whisper the word to the student in front of them. Tell the last student in each line to say the word aloud. Students love this game and find it hilarious when words get distorted as they pass down the line. Games encourage students to interact and communicate and to be more sympathetic towards one another, thus fostering understanding. While of great educational value, games are a fun distraction from the usual routine of language learning. They create a relaxed learning environment where real learning can take place and can also reduce students’ fear of speaking in a foreign language, which improves communicative competence. I believe games can and should be central to language teaching and can be used at any stage of the lesson. Many traditional games, such as Hangman, Pictionary, Bingo, Memory, Charades, Battleships, etc. can all be adapted for the ELT classroom. Kids love to play, and fun, exciting games will engage them in communication, making them forget about the language challenges they face. References: [1] Baez, George. "From Dreams to Reality." Ed. Justyna Zakrzewska. Step Inside 3. Mexico: Oxford University Press, 2014. [2] Unicef, Universal Children’s Day: Celebrating children and their rights, UNICEF Malaysia, 2012. Date of access: 08/04/2015. http://www.unicef.org/malaysia/childrights_universal-childrens-day.htmlFiled under: Pre-school Children, Young Learners Tagged: Children, Games, games for the classroom, Gamification, Gamified Language Educational E-tivities, Interaction, LUDIC PEDAGOGY

In January we asked over 450 teachers from around the world to vote for the biggest writing challenge they face in their classroom. Since then we’ve dedicated a month to each of the top three voted for challenges with a series of webinars and blog posts from some of Oxford’s top teacher trainers. During our survey we also received some fantastic comments from teachers telling us about other writing challenges they’ve encountered. Join us as we take on 3 extra challenges raised by teachers like you. In this blog Olha Madylus addresses the first of these challenges: ‘My students find formal writing challenging and keep using informal vocabulary’. Maybe this is something you have experienced? Teenage learners in particular can struggle with formal writing. They rarely use formal vocabulary even in their first language, and don’t see the relevance of formal writing. However, for most teenagers this will prove an important skill when they come to take their end of school exams. Beyond school, formal writing will also be useful in a number of contexts, such as essays, job applications, reports and letters. Firstly students need to be made aware of the difference between formal and informal English (I am sure they will understand this in their L1). Secondly they need to appreciate when either is appropriate to use and finally they need opportunities to practise both. Awareness-raising Write or project two example sentences like this on the board: After careful consideration, Michael Morris decided to purchase the vehicle, as he had decided the price was reasonable. Mike bought the car because he thought it was an ok price. Ask students to work in pairs and answer the following questions Do you think the sentences were said or written? Who do you think said or wrote the sentences and why? How would you translate each sentence into L1. Which words in each sentence are synonyms or near synonyms? (consideration=thought, purchase=buy, reasonable=ok etc). Clarify the terms formal and informal, using L1 as needed. Give out large pieces of paper to groups of about 4 students and ask them to divide the paper into two sections and write formal at the top of one section and informal on the other. Ask students to brainstorm their ideas about when we use each kind of language (they should use their experience of L1 as well as English). Prompt them as necessary. Hopefully they will have ideas like this. You can show them this on a slide, so they can compare their ideas. Formal Informal Usually written Spoken in official, public and smart situations like speeches Usually spoken in everyday, personal conversations, films, games, talk shows Written in songs, dialogues in stories, texts, emails Then ask your students to come up with three ways in which the language is different. They can look back at the original two sentences. Compare their ideas to your list and add any they have which are not included here. Formal Informal Usually planned, edited Usually spontaneous Official, academic Conversational Longer sentences Shorter sentences Longer and less common words More commonly used words Some words are only used in writing Some words are only spoken Grammatically correct May include some grammar mistakes Reader often not known to the writer Listener usually known to speaker Needed in exam tasks  Not appreciated in exam tasks Using language appropriately A. Show the students the following dialogue: A: Hi! What’s up? B: Nothing much. How are things? A: Not bad. Take it easy. B: You too. See ya later. Ask students to discuss The relationship between the speaker (friends) Their age (teens or young adults) The tone (informal) Now ask your students to ‘translate’ the dialogue so the speakers are (a) strangers (b) older and the tone is formal. It will look something like this: A: Hello. How are you? B: I’m fine. How are you? A: I’m very well, thank you. Have a good day. B: You too. Good bye. Ask pairs of students to practise reading out the dialogues with the correct voices and body language. They can do such short and focussed ‘translation’ tasks from informal to formal and formal to informal from time to time to remind them of the differences. B. When preparing students to write a formal letter you could do a task like this, which helps them think about and distinguish appropriate language to be used in the task. Dear Sir Hi there To consider To think about Firstly To begin We regret to inform you I’m sorry to say I wish to enquire I want to ask Consequently So However But We have pleasure in announcing I’m happy to say Sufficient Enough Then they could (a) take the formal words and phrases and write sentences which include them so the tone is formal throughout or (b) create a dialogue using the informal phrases or (c) when writing the formal letter try to include as many of the formal words or phrases in it.Cut up the cards and give a set to each group of 3 or 4 students. Ask the students to work together and match the formal to the informal equivalents of the phrases or words. Next steps Make sure your students practise both formal and informal English in class and constantly think about why they use different levels of formality. They can practise informal English by writing and acting out dialogues or sketches, writing songs in speaking tasks. They can also create posters and collect new vocabulary phrases in three categories - formal, informal and slang. It’s all English but they should be aware of when to use it and why.Filed under: Professional Development, Teenagers Tagged: EFL, Professional Development, Solutions writing challenge, Teacher Development, teaching english writing, teaching writing, Teenagers