Project 366: The Third Week

Yes, that's right, 21 days have flown past and on the last count, 84 photos in my Project366 folder in Flickr - that's not counting those that didn't make it that far! Here's a selection from the third week.

Lesson ideas?

Divide class into seven groups, and randomly allocate 1 photo each (throw a dice, for example).  First, elicit all the words they can think of, words which, in their mind, they can associate with the image. Get them to explain later. You (and the students) may think, oh, we've got #3, the worst. What can we say?

That's where critical thinking comes into play. Water and tiles might come into mind, right? I can think of a multitude more: rain, raindrops, dew, transparent, wet, cold, lines, squares, geometry, wall, window, glass, damp, humid, blue, colourless, odourless, etc, etc... get the gist?

Then, use their image to describe a mini story either orally (can be spoken, sung, rapped...) or written (prose, poetry, lyrics...)

Review by asking a group to describe another group's contribution.

Compound Adjectives: To Hyphenate or not?

What are compound adjectives?

These are adjectives which are made up of more than one word, and there are many possible combinations.

Examples:

• adjective + noun: last-minute, shoulder-length
• noun + adjective: lead-free, goal-hungry

Very often, a -d or -ed is added to a noun to make it a past-participle construction.

• adjective + past participle: loud-mouthed, red-haired
 
• adjective/noun/adverb + present participle: evil-looking, awe-inspiring, never-ending
• number + noun: twenty-dollar, ten-kilometre

Whether these adjectives should be hyphenated or not is a difficult decision. The best advice would be to consult a good dictionary.

Generally, if there isn't any risk of ambiguity, or the compound adjective is a common one, hyphens aren't necessary.

Consider these:

He's just gone out for an early-morning run.
He's just gone out for an early morning run.

Both mean the same.

Brad is a Chinese martial arts practitioner.
Brad is a Chinese-martial-arts practitioner.

Is Brad Chinese or isn't he? Does he practise Chinese, Japanese or Indonesian martial arts?

However, there are certain compound adjectives that are always hyphenated, unless they can be written as one word.

• Numbers: fifty-dollar bill, one-man show, thirty-five-year-old woman, 21st-century technology
• Present participle construction (see above): good-looking actor, deeply-boring lesson
• Past participle construction (see above): tongue-tied child, old-aged pensioners
• Colours: yellowish-blue skirt, light-purple top
• Comparatives and superlatives: highest-ever inflation, lower-paid sector

These are general guidelines. When in doubt, consult a dictionary, or ask in Twitter with the hashtag #grammar. Be sure to follow me!

   

Blog Challenge: Compare & Contrast

This challenge has been suggested by Anne & Brad.

Although there are many personal photos in my collection that I can choose, I decided on these two, which weren't taken by me. And that's all I'm going to say about them!

What can you say? Add your comments below.

Adjectives with -ed and -ing endings, but how about relaxed and relaxing?

Most learners very quickly grasp the concept of the difference between adjectives ending in -ed and those ending in -ing. They would have been told that adjectives ending with -ed describe our feelings and those ending with -ing describe what cause the feelings in the first place.

Compare:

We were bored out of our minds in today's class.
Today's class was terribly boring!

Suzanne was terribly interested in what Pedro had to say.
Pedro was saying some very interesting stuff.

I was all right until he started explaining about learning theories, then I got totally confused.
I found his explanation of learning theories very confusing.

More often than not, these adjectives describe emotions and feelings. For more examples and activities, click here.

However 'relax' sometimes generates doubts.

Although we can say "I feel very relaxed working in here; it's got an extremely relaxing atmosphere" to mean I'm relaxed working in here because the atmosphere is relaxing, a relaxed atmosphere and a relaxing atmosphere can actually mean two different things.

Relaxed could mean informal, comfortable, cozy, lenient, easygoing, free from tension, calm while
relaxing refers to a feeling of physical or mental rest.

So, a relaxed atmosphere doesn't necessarily mean a relaxing atmosphere. Imagine a scenario where you work in an office where it's generally very relaxed - you can dress how you wish, working hours are flexible, managers' doors are always open, etc, but you may be an odd fish and actually find this way of working contrary to your perception of work, and, as a result, don't find working here very relaxing!

Do you agree? Can you think of other adjectives like this?

You might also like this: http://aclil2climb.blogspot.com.es/2010/04/adjectives-of-emotions-and-feelings-ed.html

Photos + Mind Map = Ideas on a Silver Platter

A few weeks ago, I suggested some ideas for a lesson based on a close-up image - if you've missed it, I suggest you read that first. Click here to read it.

I snapped this shot today, and I thought I'd share some more ideas with you all. Between this and the previous article, I think you'll get an idea how you can start your students speaking on any picture. Ask them to share a picture from their mobile phones, and build a lesson from that. If you use these photos & my ideas for a lesson, don't just stop at the end. Ask your class to bring a photo, preferably one they took, and invent a story around it. This can be done in groups. You can re-distribute the photos at random. When they've finished, they can tell the whole class their story, and, in the end, they can decide which group has invented the best story.

If you prefer to use photos taken by others, you can find more like these in our group ELTPics in Flickr. You can join us in Twitter. Upload your photos with the hash tag #eltpics, and one of the lovely lady moderators will add them to the sets.

I've decided to relay my ideas in the form of a mind map this time. In fact, you can, if you wish, do the mind-mapping activity from scratch with the whole class. Just use my prompts whenever you're stuck. To use this mind-mapping tool, see here.

Photo 1

To zoom in on the map, use your scroll dial, or click on the '+' or '-' sign on the top left. You can then drag the image left and right. If you prefer, click here to see the full version.

Photo 2

Photo 3

Photo 4

If you've used these photos/ideas, please share your experience with others. Perhaps, you even get your students to share their thoughts and feelings.

Related posts:

How to create an interactive mind map for use in the classroom

Speaking lesson using close-ups

Ideas for practising dialogues

Comic strips for dialogue

Using Geocam for speaking

Superlative Adjectives Online Game (Zondle)

A simple game on 10 superlative adjectives. Don't forget to type 'the' in the answers, for example, 'the best'. You can play other versions of this game at the site itself by following the instructions in the next paragraph.

To play my other games, go to Zondle's web site, click PLAY, then MY TEACHER, then type in this user name: acLiLtocLiMB.

If you have any problems, please leave a comment.

Comparative Adjectives Online Game (Zondle)

A simple game on 10 comparative adjectives. You can play other versions of this game at the site itself by following the instructions in the next paragraph.

To play my other games, go to Zondle's web site, click PLAY, then MY TEACHER, then type in this user name: acLiLtocLiMB.

If you have any problems, please leave a comment.

Alone or Lonely? Have you got to be alone to feel lonely?

If I say I'm alone, I mean that there isn't anyone else with me.

She's alone in the house tonight as the rest of her family has gone out.

I like to be alone sometimes.

Sometimes, we use 'on my own' instead.

You shouldn't go out on your own at this time of night.

These following sentences are all correct:

Sheila prefers running on her own.

Sheila prefers running alone.

Sheila prefers running by herself.

If I say I'm lonely, however, I feel unhappy because I'm alone, or because I have no friends.

Wikipedia: One way of thinking about loneliness is as a discrepancy between one's desired and achieved levels of social interaction.

So, you could be in a room full of people, but yet feel lonely because no one is talking to you.

Sarah feels very lonely after her husband left her.

Lonesome is a synonym for lonely, although it's more common in US English.

Remember Elvis? Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight?

Listen to this tremendously moving song by Ben Harper.

Using Geocam in the classroom

Geocam has, at the moment, over 1000 cameras stationed throughout the world, constantly streaming images to your computer. You navigate around Geocam as you would in Google Maps. See the image above. Since it's streaming live, it's perfect as a tool to get students speaking in the present continuous. Be warned that since it's streaming images, you'd need a decent internet connection.

Of course, you don't have to restrict yourself to the present continuous. Students can practise the simple present and adjectives by describing the image. You can always ask them to choose the location themselves.

You can work on simple past by freezing a couple of images and asking them to compare the differences. See below.

You can practise predictions (future or past, depending on the point you freeze the images) as in the picture below:

What do you think they had been doing/are going to do? (Actually, the baby had to pee!)

It can also be used to demonstrate differences between countries, such as the time, the weather, etc.

If you have other interesting ideas on how to use Geocam in the classroom, please do share them with us here. 

I stumbled upon Geocam @ Ana Maria's Blog

    

Open or opened? Welcome or welcomed?

When do we use 'open' and when do we use 'opened'? Do we say 'You're welcome' or 'You're welcomed'?

These questions often pose problems to even advanced learners, let alone beginners. I've also seen teachers making mistakes with these.

The reason for this confusion is that the adjective form of some verbs is exactly the same as their verb form. "Open" and "welcome" are two examples. Look at these following sentences:

There's a shop around the corner that is open for business 24 hours a day.

Who left these windows open?

He was slumped in his armchair, fast asleep, snoring with his mouth wide open.

'Open' in the above examples is used as an adjective. However, in the sentences below, it is used as a verb. Remember that both the past tense and the past participle of 'open' is 'opened'.

Do you mind if I open this window?

The school gates are opened at 8.25. (Passive form)

The shop around the corner first opened in 2009.

'Welcome' is used in the same way:

You know that your friends are always welcome here.

You are welcome to that last piece of cake; I'm too full.

Everyone is welcome to attend tomorrow's meeting.

'Thank you!' 'You're welcome!'

'Welcome' in the above sentences is used as an adjective. These below use it as a verb:

They all welcomed the new proposals put forward at yesterday's meeting.

Visitors to this hotel are always so warmly welcomed. (Passive form)

I always welcome comments from my readers.

CLOSE

Although close exists as an adjective, as in 'We can walk to the cinema from here; it's quite close', when used to mean 'shut', the past participle form is used.

This shop is closed on Mondays.

Who left these windows closed?

Adjectives of Emotions and Feelings: -ed vs -ing endings, quiz, crossword, jigsaw

Here are a few activities to help you learn adjectives which describe emotions and feelings. If you still get confused with the -ed and the -ing endings, remember that you are interested in something, but it's the thing itself that is interesting.

Examples:

The students were confused by his confusing explanation.

I'm excited about my new job. I think it will be exciting!

Click here to start the quiz. Provide a valid email and the results (along with the correct answers) will be automatically mailed to you.

Click here to start this online crossword puzzle. Don't forget to come back here when you've finished to report your score in the comments section.

Click here to play the 32-piece jigsaw puzzle.

Click here for the 64-piece jigsaw puzzle.

What is the difference between classic and classical?

There is a lot of confusion between the use of these two words, and quite understandably so!

Classical generally refers to something related to a specific time in the past when the thing we are talking about was at its best, or was the most characteristic.

The most common expression where classical appears in is undoubtedly classical music.

European classical music, strictly speaking, refers to the music of the years between 1730 and 1820, although the term 'classical music' did not appear until the early 19th Century. Beethoven (1770-1827), Mozart (1756-1791) and Haydn (1732-1809) are examples of classical music composers.

Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), Dvořák (1841-1904) and Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) were actually composers of the Romantic era (1815 - 1910).

However, if you asked me who my favourite classical  music composers are, I'd say Dvořák, Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky. In other words, most of us use the term 'classical music' to refer more to the style, form and instrumentation of the music rather than merely the period.

Likewise, expressions such as classical Latin, classical Sanskrit, and classical Chinese all refer to its form of a certain period. Of course, classical is used to refer to other things like dance, costumes, poetry, etc, and they will all refer to a particular historical period.

On the other hand, classic refers to something which is very good, something which is very typical, or something with a timeless quality.

"They are a classic case of keeping up with the Joneses syndrome" means they are a typical example of that syndrome.

"The Godfather is now widely accepted as a Martin Scorcese classic" means that this film is a masterpiece of Martin Scorcese's.

"My favourite music art form is classic rock." Classic rock generally refers to music around the hippie era (mid 60s to early 70s), although it could loosely refer to rock music which is 'old', but which is still popular.

Perhaps in time to come, classic rock will be termed as classical rock, but for now, classical rock is used to refer to the form where the two genres combine, as in Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra.

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives, Basic Explanation + QUIZ!

When we are comparing two objects, we use the comparative form:

    Peter is taller than Paul.

When we are comparing between more than two objects, we use the superlative form:

    Jane is the tallest girl in class.

We form the comparative by adding '-er', and the superlative by adding '-est' to the adjective. Note also the use of the definite article, 'the' for superlative comparisons. See my post on when the definite article is not used here.

One-syllable adjectives

If an adjective ends with an 'e', just add '-r' or '-st':

    large - larger - largest

If it ends with a vowel and a consonant, double the consonant before adding the '-er' or '-est':

    hot - hotter - hottest
    thin - thinner - thinnest

Two-syllable adjectives ending with '-y'

Change the 'y' to an 'i' before adding 'er' or 'est':

    happy - happier - happiest
    funny - funnier - funniest

Adjectives with three or more syllables

For most other two-syllable and longer adjectives, we add 'more' to form the comparative, and 'most' to form the superlative:

    Shelly is more generous than her sister.
    He is the most interesting person I know.

Important Exceptions

Here are a few common irregular adjectives:

    good - better - best
    bad - worse - worst
    many - more - most

Now put your general knowledge to the test, and try this quiz:

Superlative adjectives without the definite article 'the'

We've always repeatedly told our students, 'Don't forget the definite article when using the superlative!' so it wasn't all that surprising when one of my students, Saulo, asked me the other day, 'Isn't that sentence wrong? Isn't it missing the definite article?'

I don't remember the exact sentence in question, but it isn't important. I'll explain the rule anyway.

When we are comparing between three or more objects, we normally use the superlative with the definite article:

New York is the most exciting city in the world. (We are comparing New York with many other cities).

Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world. (We are comparing Usain Bolt with all the other men in the world).

My boss is the most generous person I know. (I'm comparing my boss with all the other people I know).

However, when we are comparing one object with itself, we do not use the definite article, 'the'. This is best illustrated with examples:

New York is most exciting in spring. (We are comparing New York with itself, albeit at different seasons, so we DON'T say New York is the most exciting in spring).

Usain Bolt is fastest when he is running with very fast runners. (We are comparing Usain with himself, not with other runners: we compare him when he's running with fast runners and when he's running with slower runners).

My boss is most generous when we make a big sale. (Again, I am comparing my boss at different times, so the definite article is not used).

Well, Saulo, I hope this little explanation has clarified your doubts!