Preparing materials – Page 2

Mining reading passages for collocations 2

In an earlier post we mined a reading passage from a coursebook series for collocations for the students to do some work around those collocations prior to the reading activity. This time I am going to use the same reading material to share a few ideas on other types of activities that we can take to the language class for the students to do after they have read the passage.

Mining reading passages for collocations 1

Today we are going to ask Claude to generate collocations (clusters of two or three words that commonly appear together in spoken and written English more frequently than they would occur by chance) aligned with reading passages from coursebooks or the web. The aim is to use this material for both communicative activities and raising awareness of collocations before the reading task.

Class debates 2

This is the second blog post on how we can get Gen.AI to create content for debates in the language classroom and then how we can use that material when we see our students later on and how the lesson could unfold. The potential is endless!

Dice-rolls grid

A dice-roll grid is a table with 6 rows and 6 columns and a total of 36 cells representing the outcome of a roll of two six-sided dice. The 6 rows and 6 columns correspond to each die’s roll. Dice-roll grids are often used in board games and speaking activities in the language classroom. Students roll a die twice to get the coordinates for the task. Gen. AI can create these grids in a split second, ready to be printed or copied and pasted into a digital document for later classroom use.

Emojis

Today I want to share with you a series of activities involving the use of emojis. Not only are they great fun but –most importantly- they also have great value from a language practice standpoint. Last but not least: Gen.AI will whip up this material in a flash, ready to be used and enjoyed in the language classroom.

Mind maps

Mind maps are visual records of information that allow learners to see how words, concepts or ideas relate to each other. In most instances teachers in the ELT setting make use of mind maps for brainstorming purposes.

In our case, we are going to ask ChatGPT to generate text-based mind maps to prepare materials for the class.

Creating stories: find the differences

Today we are going to ask ChatGPT to create two short stories with 5 small differences, tailored to an A2 language level. Students will be working in pairs to exchange information in order to identify the differences. We will be copying and pasting the texts, then printing copies for use in the language class.

Escape room

Today we are going to design an escape room activity with the help of Chat GPT to find inspiration, ideas and a few text-based tasks, which will save us time in the process. We will still need to create cards –whether with or without technology-decorate the classroom, hide clues, and so on. However, Gen. AI can, once again, provide a good starting point and save us precious time by offering a theme and a handful of ready-made tasks.

From reading to listening passage

Today I’m going to create a listening activity for the students containing key vocabulary from a reading passage that they have already read and worked on either in class or at home. The idea is to provide further exposure to a specific topic and targeted language in different ways.

For and against essay

Today I want to create a model of a “for and against essay” using Gemini for a class of advanced learners. Then, we can make copies for the students and, in class, focus mainly on how the essay is organized and on the use of interesting linking words for the students to write their own essays on a different topic.