Once in a while I read something and I find myself thinking, ''Now, why didn't I think of that?''. Well, Richard Gresswell had such an idea. He started a blog, called it ELTBITES, and challenged us: ''Describe an activity that requires no more than the teacher, students, and possibly making use of the board, pens, and paper. Describe the activity ...

This is a good an excuse as any to listen to a good song, and, at the same time, be reminded of the suffering the great nation had to endure earlier this year. Why not use this video as a springboard for a class discussion on natural disasters, for example? You might like to read this post on activities using songs.

I recently responded to a blog challenge by a video recording of myself - you can see it by clicking here. Most EFL teachers are probably aware of the activity where students are asked to say some things about themselves, and the others are to guess if they're true or false. I suggested taking this a step further and have the students bring video ...

This challenge has been suggested by Anne & Brad. Although there are many personal photos in my collection that I can choose, I decided on these two, which weren't taken by me. And that's all I'm going to say about them! What can you say? Add your comments below.

I've always loved this song (written by Jagger/Richards, and released on the Stones' Let It Bleed album towards the end of 1969), and, as you probably already know, I'm very fond of Playing for Change, too. They are good enough reasons for me to link it here in this blog.But how can we use it in our lessons, you might ask. Well, think about it and ...

You can tag the dog, but can you wag the question? Watch these two hilarious videos, and my question may become a little clearer. Reading Idioms Part 12 may also help.UK version:US version:The main issue, as you've probably noticed, is that of question tags (in both versions). In the US version, one of the girls constantly mixes up idioms - this ...

Some of you may already know that we have a Twitter ''group'' which goes by the hashtag #eltpics, and each week we have a 'theme', this week's being Every Picture Tells a Story. These pictures here form part of my contribution to this theme. If you would like to share your photos, read through Sandy's post on how to join us. In recent weeks, I've ...

Image by Kylie Barker This is my response to Sandy Millin's challenge for the 3000th ELTPics Image: What would you do with this picture in your classroom? Those of you who had been following the last few posts would have seen my digital mind maps done with the help of Bubbl.us. Unfortunately, the free version only allows a miserable three saved ...

A few weeks ago, I suggested some ideas for a lesson based on a close-up image - if you've missed it, I suggest you read that first. Click here to read it.I snapped this shot today, and I thought I'd share some more ideas with you all. Between this and the previous article, I think you'll get an idea how you can start your students speaking on any ...

Watch this interview with Nicky Hockly during the IATEFL 2011 Brighton conference. First, just watch and listen. Then, click on the image above, and review all the questions. Watch the video again, but, this time, attempt to answer all the questions. Teachers: if you would like to use this activity for your students, you can ask them to enter your ...