Present Perfect Tense Module

This week, I reposted the module on the present perfect tense with a new look, in line with the other materials on the site. This should also make it more user friendly, especially on mobile devices.

You can access these materials here:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/presperfect

Sample screenshots:

Microlesson: HOPE and WISH

This microlesson uses visual examples to review the difference between HOPE and WISH.

See it here:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abn

Sample screenshot:

Microlesson: Thinking Positively

This microlesson features seven slides of vocab plus one quiz question. The topic is suitable for business English classes or B2+ level general English.

See it here:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abm

Sample screenshot:

Microlesson: Describing Fear

This week's microlesson is on the topic of fear. It covers the vocabulary phobia and terrified and discusses the usage of the words fear, afraid and frightened.

See it here:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abl

Sample screenshot:

Microlesson: Dealing with a Customer Complaint

This week's microlesson could be handy for Business English classes. The topic is: Dealing with a Customer Complaint.

See it here:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abk

Sample screenshot:

BITS - a Vocab Game

BITS is a game that I made targeting B1 level vocabulary (pre/intermediate). Just look at the clue and form the words by choosing the correct letter combinations.

Give it a try at the link below:

www.roadtogrammar.com/bits

Sample screenshot:

Microlessons: Past Tense of Modal Verbs

This week's microlesson is a review of a grammar topic: the past tense of modal verbs.

Click the link to see the activity:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abh

Sample screenshot:

Microlesson: Smart and Stupid People

Here is a set of eight words used to describe smart and stupid people.

The eight words are: intellectual, moron, genius, numbskull, bright spark, dimwit, brilliant, simpleton

If you have a smartboard, this makes a fun quickie activity to do with your students.

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abg

Screenshot:

Microlesson: Confusing Uncountable Nouns

Here is a set of seven uncountable nouns that often confuse learners (because they seem like they should be countable).

The seven words are: equipment, furniture, luggage, information, advice, work, homework.

If you have a smartboard, this makes a great review after teaching uncountable nouns. View it here:

www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abf

Screenshot:

Microlesson: Describing Charts

Here are seven words for describing charts, presented visually:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abe

Present this on your smartboard to students preparing for IELTS.

Microlesson: Why Do Some Uncountable Nounds End in -S?

Why do some uncountable nouns end in -s? Find out here:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/microlessons/index.html?&1&abd

Teachers, this would make a great short presentation on a smartboard when discussing this topic!

Business English Resources: Mock Meetings

Here are some more resources for Business English teachers.

The following page provides 32 topics that you can use for mock meetings. Each topic is realistic, but generic enough that the students need to technical knowledge to discuss them. The content is formatted so that it’s perfect for smartboards but can also be viewed on the students’ phones.

www.roadtogrammar.com/businessenglish/meetings2

And here is the same content in PDF format:

www.roadtogrammar.com/businessenglish/meetings2/R2G_Business_English_Mock_Meetings.pdf

Business English: Phrases for Business Meetings

This short slide presentation demonstrates that you can break a discussion down into language functions. When a learner is confident with each of these functions, he or she will be able to engage more confidently in business discussions and meetings.

http://roadtogrammar.com/businessenglish/meetings1/

Passive Voice Sentence Construction

This new activity offers learners a chance to practise constructing passive sentences.

Try it here:

http://www.roadtogrammar.com/passive/passive1/

Teachers' Guide to Social Media

I've spent a bit of time this year cultivating my social media and I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some of the things I have learnt. I should stress that everything here is based on my personal experience and I'm not some kind of social media expert. But then again, who is?

For my site, roadtogrammar.com, I experimented with the following:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• YouTube

I was also involved to some extent with a social media campaign for the e-learning company I used to work for, so some of my experience derives from there, too.

Let me start with my most important advice: use a separate account from your personal account. And, in fact, use a separate account for each of your interests, so if you are into baking, politics and teaching, set up a Twitter account for each one. I see a lot of teachers posting about politics and it really puts people off. Similarly, people who follow you for your baking recipes aren’t interested in IELTS tips.

My personal goals for social media were threefold: 1) to gain and interact with followers, just for the fun of it 2) to share discussions with other teachers 3) to promote my website. After some experimentation, I decided on the following format, which I could use for vocabulary and grammar tips: