Introduction This e-book is written as a practical 'how-to guide' for anyone who is interested in setting up and/or running an English club for students of English as a second or foreign language. It can also be used by anyone who is currently running an English club. It is primarily written for teachers of English as a second or foreign language, perhaps working in private language schools, state schools or universities. However, anybody in contact with English language students (e.g. library staff, administrators, volunteers) could potentially benefit from this too. Indeed, during my research I have learned of several highly successful English clubs run by non-teachers. I am sure there are hundreds (if not thousands) of them out there around the world. So although I refer to the moderator of an English club as a ‘teacher’ throughout, there is no reason why a nonteacher cannot use this book as well and run a highly successful English club. An English club is a teacher-led meeting of students of English as a second or foreign language held on a regular basis, once a week or once every two weeks. English clubs are different from regular English classes in a number of fundamental ways. Therefore, in my view, it is clear that English clubs warrant some sort of treatment of their own within ELT. However, to my knowledge there are (until now) no commercially available resources out there for someone interested in setting up or running one. This is the first reason why I have decided to write this book. The second reason is that as a practicing English language teacher myself, I have simply always enjoyed being involved with English clubs. While I love regular teaching too, English clubs have always seemed somehow a bit special to me. A good English club has an instinctively appealing sense of fun and community which both participants and moderators can benefit from. This book is based on original, qualitative action research; interviews with students and teachers, testimonials, plus first hand observations of many different English clubs. Fortunately, it seems that the teachers and students I’ve talked to have as much passion as I do! I am currently based in Almaty, Kazakhstan where English clubs are particularly popular; and I’ve talked to many students and teachers locally during the course of this research. However, I have also collected testimonials from teachers and students based in Ukraine, Lebanon, Brazil, Turkey, the UK and elsewhere. Some of these teachers have provided detailed case studies of English clubs they have been involved with. Several of these are published with permission in this book. The result of all this research, I hope, is that instead of just expressing my own personal views, this book is enriched with authentic voices from a variety of different people working and studying in different contexts. The book is divided into two sections. Part 1 (Chapters 1-4) draws heavily on the above-mentioned action research to provide practical advice on setting up and running an English club.
In Chapter 1 I sketch out the four key principles of a successful English club. These principles are derived from my conversations with other teachers and also with English club students. These key principles are that an English club be 1. 2. 3. 4.
Learner Centred Fun Social Free from learning objectives
In Chapter 2 I discuss the range of different English clubs out there and the different places where an English club can be held. Lastly, I draw on practical examples to discuss ways of promoting and organizing an English club effectively. In Chapter 3 I discuss the benefits and opportunities which an English club can provide for teachers and learners. I discuss some of the professional development opportunities for teachers. I also discuss the reasons why conducting English club without any specific learning objectives or outcomes can be liberating. Furthermore, I discuss the intercultural communication aspect of a successful English club which can make it so rewarding above and beyond regular English classes. In the final part of the first section of the book, Chapter 4, I discuss the particular problems and issues an English club can throw up which are not applicable in the case of regular English classes. I describe some of the problems which you might encounter in and discuss possible solutions. These problems can involve such things as the differing levels and ages of students who might come, students’ unrealistic expectations and issues thrown up by not knowing how many people will come week to week. In Part 2 of the book I present fifteen English club ideas along with teacher’s notes. These will hopefully lead to exactly the fun, learner-centred English clubs which I discuss in this book. There are nine activity pages based around themes and six task-based activities which can be done over a number of sessions.
Music and Memory Level: Pre-Intermediate to Advanced. Materials: Pens and paper. Mobile phones which play music and/or devices connected with the internet, roughly one for every 3/4 students is best. Number of students: This probably won’t work well with groups of less than four. Procedure 1. Play one or two minutes of a song for the students which reminds them of a happy time in your own life. Then explain why that song gives you such happy memories. For example, when I did this at an English club I played 'Wake Up Boo' by The Boo Radleys, a song which reminds me of the summer of 1996. It was a very happy time in my life because the weather was very good that summer, I had a lot of fun with my friends, I had an amazing summer holiday in Switzerland and it was also the last time that England had a good football team! 2. The students must each individually prepare a short presentation of a song which reminds them of a happy time in their own lives. It could be a particular afternoon, a holiday, a school term etc. Or it can remind them of a particular person who they were happy with. This typically takes about 15 or 20 minutes. The song can be in any language and in any style (but, of course, the presentation must be in English). In the presentation the students should give the following information. - the name of the song and the artist - an explanation of the style of the music (if it's not obvious) - an explanation of who or what it reminds them of - an explanation of where and when this happened or where and when they met this person - the connection between the event and the piece of music (e.g. they heard it on the radio, in a disco etc) The students can find their piece of music on their mobile phones or on the internet (e.g. YouTube). Students should also have access to resources to help them with their presentations, e.g. dictionaries, translation software, thesauruses etc.
3. Let the students take turns to give their presentations to the group; they should play a minute or two of their song as an introduction to their presentation. After each presentation the other students and the teacher have the chance to ask appropriate follow-up questions. Notes: This activity will last an hour or more depending on the number of students involved. This is my favourite activity. Variations and follow-up Preparation of the presentation can alternatively be set as homework beforehand. Ask the students to do a presentation of a song which instead reminds them of a sad time in their lives or of a song they listen to when they feel sad (it is important to stress to students here that they don't have to talk about anything they are not comfortable with). You could ask students to make notes on each presentation. The notes could then be compared to the actual presentation notes for accuracy as a note-taking exercise. If students hear a song they like but which they haven't heard before, (as frequently happens) they can look up that song after the lesson. Note: You may want to pre-teach some vocabulary which students might need to complete the task at the beginning of the session.
Status Updates In this activity students create narratives based on status updates or tweets on social networking sites.
Level: Pre-Intermediate + Materials: Paper, pens, all students will need access to the internet Number of students: 4+ Procedure 1. Distribute a list of about 20 social network status updates, or tweets that you’ve sent in the last year. Include the date of each one. Try to have an evenly spread set of dates across the year, maybe one or two for each month and try to use reasonably short status updates. Facebook has an activity log which you can use to find your past status updates. As an example, here are a few of my own Facebook status updates from summer 2012. July 9th
going back to the land of rain, and warm beer, and cricket...
June 29th
I have a lot to learn. On a very steep learning-curve at the moment.
June 8th
it gave me absolutely no pleasure today to be 'the bad guy'...but it had to be done
Check the meaning of new words and phrases, e.g. ‘steep learning-curve’ with the students. Ask them to discuss in pairs and make notes on the meaning of each status update or message. 3. Ask students to create a story of your year using the status updates or tweets and also using what they know about you personally if anything. This can either be written down first or it can be done as an oral story-telling exercise (just with notes). Students must explain the meaning of each status update and show some kind of link if they can with one message and the next. Students should also have access to resources to help them with their stories, e.g. dictionaries, translation software, thesauruses etc. 4. Each group presents their story to the class.
5. Most adult learners (even in developing countries) up to the age of 40 will have a profile of their own on a social networking site. Ask the students to find 20 messages from their own social network profiles. Ask them to prepare a presentation re-telling their story of the last year of their life using these twenty messages. Notes: The task of choosing twenty messages from the students’ own social network accounts could be set for homework for the next English club. The activities shown here could also be set as writing tasks. Status updates or tweets are authentic language and can provide ample scope for language work and analysis.
Love A series of simple activities based on the theme of love. Level: Pre-Intermediate + Materials: Paper and pen Number of students: 4 + Procedure 1. Explain to students that the ancient Greeks made a distinction between three kinds of love. Brotherly Spiritual Romantic Ask students to, in small groups, discuss this and try to write a definition for each type of love. Can they add any more types of love to the list? 2. Students discuss the following questions in small groups. There is a fine line between love and hate. Do you agree or disagree? We all have just one ‘soul mate’ in life. Is love at first sight possible? When the students have finished discussing in small groups, initiate a whole group discussion. 3. Write a list on the board of people or things which people sometimes profess to love. The students must discuss whether it is possible to love each one. You can use this list or come up with your own ideas. Is it possible to be in love with…? a book a famous person you’ve never met
a song a pet
a hobby a teacher
an idea a car
4. Ask students to discuss the following questions in small groups. Have you ever had a secret crush on someone? Why didn’t you tell him/her how you felt? Has anyone ever had a secret crush on you do you think? What were the signs? How do you know if someone likes you? When the students have finished discussing in small groups, initiate a whole group discussion. Variations and follow-up You could move on to discuss dating and finding love. One activity I like involves telling your students that you are going out on a date that evening. Tell them a bit about the man or woman you are meeting. Ask them to work in groups to create a list of dating tips for you, e.g. buy her a bunch of flowers, be yourself etc. You could follow up this session by discussing hate. According to a communication expert, asking people about what they hate is almost guaranteed to get them talking (Bayley and Mavity, 2004).
This was a sample of the forthcoming e-book English Club, by Thomas Ewens. What will you get in the full book? • • • • •
four chapters with illustrations nine English club activity pages six English club task based activity ideas a full bibliography an English club poster template