Point of Input

   Activities to start your school year on the right foot!  Part B: How to recycle last year's material                                         By Maria-Araxi Sachazian  In this second part of our blog devoted on the first lessons of the school year, we are going to see how we can use the material form the previous coursebook.  Activities with Flashcards The teacher chooses the topic on which the class will work. In this case we will choose food. The teacher chooses the flashcards on which they will work, including different categories of food. The class revises the vocabulary and then students play a variety of flashcard games such as a)     The vanishing flashcard : Students close their eyes and teacher removes a flashcard b)    Pass the flashcard: the students pass the flashcard around as long as the music plays. When the music st...

  Activities to start the school year on the right foot. Part 1: Activities up your sleeve! By Maria-Araxi Sachpazian, Managing Director Input on Education  Based on the webinar delivered in September 2022 for IATEFL POLAND Part 1: Activities up your sleeve! The first days of the school year are a source of great stress and anxiety for teachers. They offer great opportunities, but they are also fraught with complications. Two factors stand out as one looks at those days: unpredictability and a lot of repressed feelings of sadness for the summer gone by, experienced by learners and teachers alike.  Here is a SWOT analysis of what those first days can offer us and the threats they pose.  It is important for teachers to use the first week of classes to build rapport with the learners and foster bonding among the learners. It is also essential to set the tone for the lessons to follow. Therefore, it makes sense for teachers to outline the factors that can cause unpre...