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English Detective # 111 Vocabulary Levels & Icebreakers August 07, 2018 |
![]() Icebreaker Games and Personality Vocabulary
If you teach ESL and need an icebreaker or two for a new class, I really like the suggestions from Cult of Pedagogy, especially because she considers the reluctance of teen students to seem different. She points out how that can lead to “safe” rather than honest answers if icebreaker questions seem too personal or “risky.” She proposes low-risk ideas that can still encourage students to begin to get to know each other. One of her suggestions can be adapted for use both as an icebreaker and a quick vocabulary exercise. Asking each student to choose one personality trait they feel they have—or that they value—can spark interesting discussions. There’s a good, fairly short, list of positive character traits at Teaching Made Practical. (There are also lists of synonyms students can choose instead of over-worked, vague descriptions like “nice” or “smart.”) To practice personality vocabulary (or find a shorter list of words specifically useful for job interviews and resumes), see EnglishHint’s Personality page. A quick Note-- & a Request for Feedback
I’ve been working to improve English Hints in several ways: adding more practice and linking between different skills, a new site design and more images, speed improvements (an ongoing project), site security (https) & GDPR-compliance. Let me know what you think—or if you see a problem or a need you would like addressed. Are there any topics you would love to read about (or practice vocabulary for) in English? You can just click ‘Reply’ to this newsletter to send your thoughts or suggestions. Warmly, Catherine Simonton, https://www.EnglishHints.com P.S. If you don’t like to open links in emails, you can go to the EnglishHinks Back Issues page and open them there. It’s https://www.englishhints.com/English_Detective-backissues.html A note if you get gmail: Have you missed any issues of English Detective? if you find English Detective in your Promotions box, you can move it to your Primary box (if you want) by clicking on it and dragging it there, then clicking Yes when asked if you want to always get it in the Primary box. If you are not already getting English Detective, you can subscribe by completing the form here. (It's free!) Also, you can reach me by mail at 1752 Driftwood Drive, El Centro, CA 92243, USA. |
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