Basic parts of a bicycle

It's been a long time since I created a tagging game, so it's about time I rectify that. Here's one on the basic parts of a bicycle. These are the answers. To play the game, click on the image.

1. bell
2. brake lever
3. stem
4. cable
5. top tube
6. brakes
7. spoke
8. fork
9. valve
10. flat tyre (puncture)
11. front reflector
12. down tube
13. saddle (seat)
14. seat post
15. seat post clamp
16. seat tube
17. tyre
18. chain
19. crank arm
20. pedal
21. rear reflector

If you need higher-resolution images, click on the following images.

Image by C. Pang

Image by C. Pang

Truth or Lie: Activity for any classroom

I recently responded to a blog challenge by a video recording of myself - you can see it by clicking here. Most EFL teachers are probably aware of the activity where students are asked to say some things about themselves, and the others are to guess if they're true or false.

I suggested taking this a step further and have the students bring video recordings of themselves saying those things.

But, you can take it yet another step further. Although this activity is popular in the EFL classroom, there's no reason why it can't be used in the other classes, too. The topic doesn't need to be personal; it could be on anything. Examples:

• What is a tangent, or an apex? (Geometry/Art)
• They could describe an animal or an ecosystem. (Science)
• They could talk about the rules of rugby. (PE)
• They could talk about countries, or climate. (Geography)

As you can see, the limit is the extent of your imagination! Try it and let us know!

Speaking lesson using close-up images

This lesson has been inspired by Ceri Jones' presentation in IATEFL Brighton 2011, or rather her interview, as I wasn't present in the conference, and her session wasn't recorded. For those of you who would like to watch the recorded interviews or sessions, they are available here: http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2011/.

Ceri's idea is basically to start off with a close-up. Speak about this, and gradually, extend the conversation away from the close-up, as though you're zooming out of the image. Ask questions based on the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste. I would recommend that you look at her blog to read about her ideas of using images in the classroom.

Although Ceri's idea is just to use the close-up, and that may be sufficient if you have a participative class, you may have to feed your class with parts of the wider image if imagination is lacking in an uninspired group. If you use a high-resolution image, you can start off by zooming in to the section you would like to start off with. Prepare this beforehand since it is better if no-one knows what the 'bigger' picture is to keep the element of surprise alive.

In any case, you should always run through your images before a lesson. I, personally, prefer shots which are slightly underexposed, but these may appear too dark in the class or some pictures may appear too bright. So, be prepared to make minor adjustments to adapt the images to each class.

Here, then, is a close-up image.

Ask them what the picture is. They may or may not be able to guess. If no-one is able to guess, show them the following image, or perhaps, give a few hints.

When they've guessed that it's an eye, here are some examples of questions you could ask:

Is it real?

Is it a photo or a painting?

Is it of a man, woman, or an animal?

What kind of animal? / Is the man handsome? /Is the woman pretty? (Here, you can elicit descriptive adjectives - height, weight, type of hair, complexion, etc).

The idea is to remain flexible; the goal is to get all the students to speak. If they are on a roll, don't stop them. You don't have to show the zoomed-out images.

Are they painted by a male or a female? Age? Are the subjects real of imaginary? Are the paintings side by side? Are they of a male or female? Imagine their hair, their mouths...

At this point, they are likely to have guessed that these are graffiti.

Discuss:

Are they a valid art form? Do you like them? Should they be controlled? Where should they be allowed/not allowed? How should offenders be punished? What type of people paint them?

You can branch out to general art. Do you like art? What kind? Do you draw/paint well? Who draws well? Have they got any work of their own to show the class?

So, are the two girls drawn side by side? What about the old lady (well, maybe it isn't an old lady; anyway, I'm referring to the figure in the background)? Are they all drawn by the same person? What makes you think so? Where do you think these graffiti are? Why do you think so?

If they haven't guessed already, now they should know that this is a skate park. At this point, whether you've arrived here just by using the first shot, or you've needed to use all the zoomed-out shots, you can start to discuss sports in general, and skateboarding, in particular.

What sports do you practise? How often? Who with? How many? Where? How long? What type of clothes do you wear? Do you have a break? How long? What do you do? What do you do after? Do you chill out somewhere with your friends? Where? What do you talk about?

If they go somewhere to eat/drink - what do you eat/drink? If this subject comes up, you can start to talk about food (remember the five senses). Examples: What's your favourite food? Describe it: colour, texture, taste, smell. Why do you like it? How often do you eat it?

What's your favourite meal time? Do you cook? Who cooks at home? Do you eat healthily? What is healthy food?

Why is there a fence covering the park? What is beyond the park? What is on this side? What's to the left/right? What time of day is it? How do you know? Do you think it gets busy?

Is this picture taken at the same time as the previous? Is this skate park in a city or in a village? What's the weather like?

As you can see, there are endless questions you can ask, and endless topics you can get the students to talk about. If there are too many students in the class, you can split them into groups and have them ask each other questions. Go around monitoring and helping.

Do visit Ceri's blog for more ideas on using images. For sources of image, look at my Useful Resources page, under Images. You can, of course, use our very own ELTpics in Flickr. There, you'll find photos taken by teachers for teachers under the Creative Commons licence. You can also join in the fun by contributing your own photos: tweet the link with the hash tag #eltpics.

Photos are invited for a new topic each week (normally on Sunday). If you don't know the topic, just ask the question with the hash tag, and someone will tell you. You can also contribute photos to older topics - just look at the sets page.

Related topics

Ideas for practising dialogue

Teaching students to ask questions

Teaching speaking videos

Using cartoon strips to practise speaking

Using Geocam to practise speaking

Setting Goals

For most people, running to catch the bus will leave them panting, struggling to catch their breath.

Then, there are dedicated joggers who run regularly to maintain their fitness, or to keep themselves slim.

Some of these get hooked to running to the extent that they start running marathons, which cover a distance of 42.195km. These are normally run on roads, and the world record of 2h 03:59 is currently held by Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia).

Well, I thought that was the maximum. 40km is a lot of distance to walk, let alone run, and I admire these 'marathoners' greatly. Running just one marathon in your life would have been seen as a fantastic achievement, don't you think?

But, for some people, running is like an addiction; they just can't stop running. They compete in several marathons annually, and they train whenever they can, covering enormous distances. Stefaan Engels recently became the first man ever to run a marathon every single day of the year! He almost didnt make it, suffering a swollen foot after 21 days of running. But, what did he do?

For two weeks, he 'ran' the marathons on a wheelchair! After that, he never stopped until he crossed the finish line in Barcelona last Saturday, 5th February, using up 25 pairs of shoes!

Then, I had a student who competed in triathlons, swimming 3.86km, cycling 180.25km, and, for dessert, throwing in a casual marathon! That was when I first heard of Ironman triathlons.

Our dear friend, Stefaan, by the way, holds the world record for competing in 20 triathlons in a year!

So, what's the limit, right?

Now, I have a student who runs ultra marathons! What's that? And I thought a marathon distance was almost superhuman! These ultra marathoners run marathons as part of their training!

"What are ultra marathons?" you may very well ask. Well, basically, they are anything more than 42.195km. But, that isn't the end of it. Most of these ultra marathons are run over treks, not roads, covering beaches, mountains, deserts, and what have you. Distance? Well, they speak of 50km as a piece of cake!

Takahiro Sunada (Japan) is the official world record holder of the 100km ultramarathon distance, with a time of 6:13:33.

This student of mine participated in the recent 'Maraton del Meridiano' in El Hierro, a gruelling run through varying altitudes, reaching the summit of Pico Malpaso at 1500m, and then running back down again. The winner, Francisco José Rodríguez de Paz (La Palma), completed it in 4:17:45.

This very same student will attempt to run the Transgrancanaria Ultratrail, starting in Playa del Inglés on Saturday midnight (5th March), running along the beach to Maspalomas, then crossing the mountains, finishing on Las Canteras Beach some time on Sunday evening. Distance? Ahem... 123 kms.

So, what makes these people tick? Why do they punish their bodies so? Most of them, when asked, say it's to test themselves, to see what their limits are, so to speak. It's a question of setting goals, and to work at achieving them.

Stefaan Engels, who, incidentally, was an asthmatic when he was a young boy and who was actually discouraged by doctors to participate in sports, said, "if I can get somebody to run five or 10 kilometres, or get involved in any sport, I will have succeeded – because I know how good sports makes me feel, how important it is to a person’s life.”

What is your next goal?

Barcelona vs Real Madrid: CINCOmentarios

If you can handle a heated debate, there's plenty of scope for discussion on this one.

NO COMMENT

The only English version I managed to find:

Sports: Play, Do, or Go? Dustbin Game

Learners often have problems with which verb to use with sports and games. We use either go, do or play with most sports, but how do we know which to use?

Generally, with competitive activities, we prefer 'play'. Under this category, we include all ball sports (football, handball, volleyball, golf, rugby, etc). Also included are table games such as cards, chess, table tennis, snooker, and bingo. We use play with badminton and computer games, too.

Note that we use 'play' with 'game': Would you like to play a game of chess? But, we say 'do an activity': What kind of activities do you do at the weekend?

For most recreational activities, or a non-team sport which does not involve the use of a ball, we prefer 'do'. Examples are aerobics, athletics, gymnastics, weights (weightlifting), martial arts (karate, judo, etc), yoga, exercise.

For sports which you can practise individually, we prefer 'go'. When we use go, we add '-ing' to the word. Eg, we say, 'go swimming'. Examples for this category are jogging, windsurfing, horseriding, fishing, dancing, snorkelling, etc.

Are you ready to put yourself to a test? Drag the sport to the correct dustbin. The score at the bottom left is the time you take, so the lower it is, the better you are.

Sports - Double Puzzle

There are quite a few free websites which allow you to create your own activities, and one of those is Puzzlemaker. Here, you can make your own puzzles, such as Word Search, Double Puzzles, Maths Squares, Cryptograms and Mazes. The only price you pay is a link to the website at the end of the document. As an example, I've created a double puzzle on sports. 

First, you unscramble each of the clue words. Then, using the circled letters, unscramble these for a hidden message.

Before printing it, think carefully before you do it. Do you really need to? If you have a projector, you can beam the document up, and have a competition to see who is the quickest to solve the puzzle. Have a look at this other activity, too: http://aclil2climb.blogspot.com/2010/09/name-these-sports.html

This document can also be downloaded from Scribd.

Sports - Double puzzle

View more documents from Chiew Pang.

Name these sports

Do you know your sports? Click on the image to test yourself in a simple point-and-click game.

If you want to see your name appear on the scoring sheet, you'll have to register before playing. Remember your nickname & password for all my other games which are hosted on Purposegames.

Either way, please leave a comment, stating your score (percentage and time).

World Cup 2010 Trivia Quiz

Do you remember much of the world cup in South Africa? Or do you remember only Waka Waka and the vuvuzelas?

Quiz has been prepared using ProProfs Quiz Maker.

World Cup 2010 Trivia » Create A Quiz

Rugby Union: Quiz on rules and the World Cup

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


Thanks goes to Nestor, Nico, Pablo y Alejandra for their contribution.

Image by: Michel Béga

Click here for a 36-piece jigsaw puzzle

Click here for a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle

Physical Education (PE) and CLIL

My heart's still beating fast and I'm sweating like a pig. Strange, that, isn't it? Sweating like a pig? But, pigs don't sweat, do they? Well, maybe it's more to do with our BO when we sweat a lot, since pigs supposedly smell bad, rather than the sweating itself. There are other animal idioms, such as 'eating like a horse' and 'drinking like a fish', which also do make you wonder if they make much sense.

Anyway, I digress. Why is my heart beating fast and why am I sweating like a pig, you're probably asking. Is it that I've just struck the Euromillions, or have I been hit by the 'thunderbolt', as in when Michael Corleone met Apollonia?

From a cLiL to cLiMB

Well, not quite so. I've just given my first PE lesson as a CLIL subject, that's all.

PE is probably one of the best subjects to be taught in L2. As most teachers and students know, listening skill is primordial to fluency in a language. Babies spend their early years merely listening before they utter their first word, and on a personal level, I spent my first two years in Las Palmas hardly understanding what people were saying, but when my ears began to interpret the input correctly, my tongue started feeling grateful.

In PE, if the students don't understand what I say, I simply repeat the words with a physical demonstration. They follow. After repeating a few times, they will soon be able to do the exercise without the need for my demonstration. Obviously, we try to do this in the other subjects, too, but it isn't always possible or easy to achieve. Imagine demonstrating the conquest of the Barbarians of the Roman Empire, or the structure of cells, and you'll catch my drift. Doing it in PE comes naturally.

What's more, I started recalling words which have long been buried in the cobwebs of my mind... such as duck walk and piggyback!

And, not to mention it's a fun way of shedding the extra kilos!

Singapore rocks F1 again! Reading comprehension

Read the short text and answer the questions that follow.

Last year, we saw the first Formula 1 night race being inaugurated amidst the bright Singapore night, and we saw how fortune smiled on Alonso making him the surprise winner in spite of having a lacklustre Renault under his control.While it's doubtful whether Alonso can turn the wheel of fortune to his favour again, we can be sure of yet another fascinating inauguration. Formula 1 now wants to present not just a grand sporting event, but a grand entertainment package: this year, the sounds of the engines roaring at more than 300 km/hour will not be the only noise that cuts across the Singapore night skyline, but spectators will also be rocking to music from the likes of people like ZZ Top, Simple Minds and Beyoncé.

F1 ROCKS™, stretching from 24-26 Sep, will be broadcast around the globe. Would we see Schumi trying to sweat excess baggage off, or Alonso bopping with Hamilton to Beyoncé?

Now, answer the following questions.

1. The English language has quite a few idioms with the word 'fortune', two of which were used in this post. What are their equivalents in your language?

2. Very often, we don't say what we mean directly, but we used metaphors and other means, and you'd need to read between the lines to see the hidden meaning. Could you explain what I was trying to say or refer to when I wrote the following?

a. 'the noise ... cuts across the ... night'
b. 'Schumi trying to sweat excess baggage off' and
c. 'Alonso bopping with Hamilton...'
d. '... the bright Singapore night'

Courageous or suicidal? Man plunges 186 feet!

Isn't it masochistic madness? Tyler Bradt, a young 22-year-old American, has been receiving tremendous media coverage after he ran the 186-foot (equivalent to almost 60 metres) Palouse Waterfalls in Washington State in a kayak. In waterfalls, the run is the linear distance from where the stream flows at the top of the waterfall to its base, and in water sports, going down the run is called running it. When Bradt ran The Palouse Waterfalls, risking life and limb, he broke the previous world record of 127 feet, held by Brazilian Pedro Oliveira. However, in an interview, Bradt said that reclaiming the world record (he had held the record prior to Oliveira) hadn't been his motivation, but rather "to help people understand that the only limits that exist are the ones you create".

He says, "I would rather risk my life than risk not living my life."

What drives people like Bradt to achieve feats which mortals like us would faint simply at the mere thought of it? I'd love to hear your comments!

To know more about kayaking and running waterfalls, just google it. In case you haven't noticed it, I've made things easier for readers of this page by incorporating a Google search bar on the top of the left column.