Contextual Resources

A double lesson Power Point with Level 1 and Level 2 reading and writing questions. The lesson explores the controversy around violent music and the relationship between music and behaviour. You Tube links  add detail and context to the debate in an engaging and thought provoking way. Lesson 1 focuses on the Reading exam with Level 1 and Level 2 questions that can be displayed on the board to reduce printing. Texts A and B explore the two sides of Drill music and its influence on young people.

Social Media - AI behind the scenes slides exploring: how many people use social media and the algorithms running behind the scenes; the fact that we are being 'watched' and the concept that 'if you're not paying for the product, then YOU are the product'. Slides also explore DeepMind, Google Autocomplete and the idea that smartphones are making us dumber. 

What is Anime, why is it so popular and what can we learn from it? Slides for L1 and L2 English learners to find out more about Anime, review writing and similarities between popular culture from other countries, and what's distributed in the West, while building their English skills.

Editor's note

Slides (with short texts. images and videos) that explore the connection between stress and social media, social media addiction and the life we portray via social media.  This resource combines reading, writing and speaking and listening tasks to expand key vocabulary and encourage deeper critical thinking.  Maths skills are embedded through the reading and interpretation of line graphs.

Editor's note

Texts, video and image stimuli to develop and promote speaking and listening discussion to address the question 'Is it good to listen to music while studying or working?'

Activity to be tutor led and therefore delivery can be adapted to suit learner audience to include more analytical discussions about purpose, tone, language and textual features and similarities between sources.  

Suits ESOL students at Entry 3+.  It creates plenty of scope for  further work e.g.

A reading, writing, listening and discussion task. The topic is skills at risk and the older generation. Comprehension questions focus on the gist. The grammar focus is passive voice verbs. Learners will discuss and write sentences about their skills, and will write about traditional skills that are in danger of dying out.

Two PowerPoint resources for discussion that can feed into Level 1 or 2 Functional Skills for English, Speaking & Listening.

Editor’s note
Also covers research, reading and writing. Great for prompting discussion among 14-19 year olds.

These lesson activities are based on scenes from David Lean’s 1984 film, A Passage to India. Topics relating to culture, integration, separation, race, ethnicity, identity and humanity can easily be raised and discussed via the materials and the film scenes. There are many ways of using this original material and the suggestions are just activities that have worked with L2 and [even] L1 students.

Uses the call-and-response song “Knock on Wood” from “Casablanca” to discuss superstitions (touch wood), opposites, emotions, and contracted words.

Two pages, the first of which has the vocabulary and song lyrics printed out for students, the second is the teacher’s lesson plan. Teachers will either need a “Casablanca” DVD or access the song clip from YouTube.