What is CLIL?
CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning and refers to teaching subjects such as science, history and geography to students through a foreign language. Learn more here.
CLIL teaching tips
Practical advice and ideas from Keith Kelly on using video in class, and from Carol Read on integrating CLIL into the Primary Classroom. This section also features a CLIL factsheet and some useful tips and suggestions for helping students learn and practise vocabulary.
TKT: LOTS and HOTS: Lower Order Thinking Skills and Higher Order Thinking Skills
In the second article of her series on language for CLIL, Kay Bentley explains what 'Lower Order' and 'Higher Order' thinking skills' are and how they should be taught.
Skills: teaching phonics: sounds and symbols
Phonemes can be difficult for learners and teachers. Here are a few ideas that could help teachers as well as learners become more comfortable when working with phonemes.
Advice on Teaching English spelling
An article offering suggestions for teaching English spelling from Pauline Taylor.
Teaching English spelling: Useful Activities
An article offering suggestions for teaching English spelling from Tim Bowen.
Skills: teaching phonics: schwa
The schwa – the only phoneme with its own name – is important for learners to recognise and produce as it is the most common vowel sound in English. Here are some awareness-raising and practice ideas.
Storytelling and drama
In this extract from 500 Activities for the Primary Classroom, Carol Read tells us how to incorporate story-based lessons and drama activities into the English-language classroom.
Young learner topics: Beginning, middle and end
An activity about the structure of well-known stories, available at three different difficulty levels.
Teaching young learners: How to use stories in the classroom
The first article in this series offers practical tips for using stories with young learners.
First day: First lesson games
A selection of games and activities to use in your first lesson with your young learners. These activities are intended to help students familiarize themselves with you, the classroom and each other.
Teaching Tips: Content-based Primary Activities
Excellent activities to help integrate content-based material into the Primary classroom
Teaching young learners: How to use music and movement in the classroom
The second article in this series offers practical tips for using movement and movement with young learners.
Teaching approaches
This article by Olha Madylus contains advice and suggestions for activities that can be used to teach general topics.
Weather
Olha Madylus offers a selection of teaching ideas and activities on the theme of weather.
First lessons: Name games
Many new language courses kick off in September and October. If it's the first time the class has met, learners will need a chance to learn each other's names. Here are a few unusual games to try.