Reduced Pronunciation: Gonna

Posted by on Dec 30, 2014 0 Comments

What are you gonna do on New Year’s Eve?

Though speaking quickly in another language can seem overwhelming at first, learning common language reductions (such as whacha, wanna, or gonna) can give students confidence in their speaking and listening abilities. My students always enjoy practicing reduced pronunciation—we’d have a lot of laughs together even when they’d get tongue-tied. Two things help learners feel more confident when practicing reduced pronunciation: guided practice with lots of modeling and handy tips to help them, and plenty of encouragement along the way. Remind students that even though reductions may sound like a whole other language at first, practicing reduced pronunciation means they’ll be able to better decipher quick, natural speaking when listening to native speakers, and they’ll sound more natural when speaking, too. (more…)

What Are You Going to Wear? Party Plans Pair Activity

Posted by on Dec 29, 2014 0 Comments

What are you going to do for New Year’s Eve? Are you going to go to a party? What are you going to wear? I’m going to hang out with my family and my best friend. We’re going to stay home in our pyjamas and play games (probably some Heads Up!). It’s going to be so relaxing and fun!

January is the perfect time of year to practice using “be going to.” Try this week’s Spotlight lesson and help your students learn how to express future plans in English. Then try this fun pair activity in class. (more…)

How to Make a Paper Snowflake

Posted by on Dec 17, 2014 0 Comments

The holiday season is upon us! Whether or not you live in a country that’s cold this time of year, snow is forever linked to Christmas because of the many Christmas carols and movies of Santa Claus in the North Pole. Paper snowflakes, hanging from the ceiling or taped onto windows, are a common sight!

Have you ever made paper snowflakes with your students or children? I remember doing this activity in class every year as an elementary school student, and I’ve also done this craft many times with my students. It’s a fun, easy way to decorate a home or classroom for Christmas, and because of the listening involved (following instructions), it can be educational, too.

Print out the handout (optional) and read the instructions out loud as your students follow along (more…)

Do You Want to Build a Snowman? Christmas Toy Vocabulary Game

Posted by on Dec 12, 2014 0 Comments


Are your little English learners crazy about the movie Frozen? If you teach children or have children, the hit song Do you want to build a snowman? is probably stuck in your head. We’re having some fun with Christmas puzzles and games this week on Sprout English. Here’s a fun way to turn your students’ obsession with Frozen into a vocabulary game!

1. Tell your students they are going to pretend to be elves. The elves are going to build some toys. (more…)

Funny Videos for Practicing Reflexive Pronouns

Posted by on Dec 11, 2014 0 Comments

Have you ever watched America’s Funniest Videos with children? Little people laugh the hardest when other kids have funny accidents. After they laugh themselves silly, kids often want to make sure the people in the video are okay! Did he hurt himself?

Funny videos can be used for practicing vocabulary and usage related to Injuries, Sprout’s Spotlight theme this week. If you want to try teaching with this theme, follow these 3 steps: (more…)

Reflexive Pronouns

Posted by on Dec 09, 2014 0 Comments

We have a new Spotlight lesson on Injuries this week, and reflexive pronouns and injuries go hand in hand. We say he cut himself, she burned herself, and he hurt himself, to name a few examples. Whether you’re using our Injuries lesson or simply teaching reflexive pronouns, we’ve got some tips for you below!

Reflexive Pronouns

FORM: Reflexive pronouns include a mix of possessive adjectives (my, your, our) and object pronouns (him, her, it, them) + “self.” Use “oneself” (not “one’s self”) for the general third person singular pronoun. (Scroll down to “English Pronouns” for a review of the five main types of pronouns.) (more…)

Silent E, Evil E, Magic E: Videos and Songs

Posted by on Dec 04, 2014 0 Comments

I’ll never forget the day my son came home and told me all about how evil the letter ‘e’ can be. He taught me that the letter ‘e’ sometimes goes at the end of words and makes the vowels say their names. How rude! While I remember learning about Silent ‘e’ (worked for me), I’ve since learned that there are many other names for this trickster of a letter, including Evil E and Bossy E.

Are you using Sprout English’s Spotlight Phonics lesson in class this week? Have you reviewed Tanya’s pronunciation tips? Here are some fun songs and stories to share with your learners to get these rules to stick!

Evil E

“Say it Vowel! Say your name!”
Young kids act out a funny play with letters and demonstrate how ‘e’ hops over other letters and makes the vowel in front say its name. Evil E is bit of a bully, isn’t he?

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Silent ‘e’ Words: Pronunciation

Posted by on Dec 02, 2014 0 Comments

Do your students have difficulty with the pronunciation of short and long English vowel sounds? There are some spelling rules that can help young learners recognize when a long vowel sound is needed. One such rule involves the final, silent ‘e’ in a word, and this is the focus of this week’s Spotlight lesson: Silent ‘e’ Words 1.

This lesson is one of four involving four-letter words with a silent ‘e’ ending. There are 11 pages of spelling and writing practice in the first lesson, but what about audio? Listening and oral repetition is essential for a good pronunciation lesson. The teacher can certainly model the words, but it’s a good idea to have another source for listening practice too. (more…)

How to Set the Table: Prepositions of Place

Posted by on Nov 25, 2014 0 Comments


When I was a child, I had two important jobs before a family feast like Thanksgiving. The first job was to help make the stuffing. The second was to set the table. I’ve passed these holiday feast duties on to my own kids, and I hope they will do the same.

Setting the table before a feast can be a lot of fun if you’re bringing out “the good dishes.” We use my mom’s silverware, which is kept in a special case lined with red velvet. It’s the same silverware I set the table with as a child, so it’s even more meaningful when I see my own kids marveling over the butter knives.

Have you thought about teaching your students how to set the table in English? Thanksgiving is the perfect time to teach vocabulary related to the dinner table. Bring in a few real items from home, or ask a few of your students to bring in a piece from home, such as a spoon, a cup, or a dinner napkin. (more…)

Practicing Superlatives: Make Your Own Animal Records Book

Posted by on Nov 20, 2014 0 Comments


For a bedtime story last night, my son chose a book that he had picked out at the library: The Natural History Museum Book of Animal Records by Mark Carwardine. We were proud to find out that we knew quite a few animal records already, such as the longest migration for a mammal (gray whale), or the most dangerous shark to humans (bull shark). We laughed ourselves silly in the Birds section, where we found records for the worst walker (hummingbird), the most bossy (kea), and even the strangest nesting material (mockingbirds in Ecuador snatch hair from passing tourists).

If your students are practicing superlatives with this week’s lesson plan, why not create your own Animal Records book? Include the most amazing facts you can find in the library or on the Internet. (more…)