Category Archives: authentic materials

NEW Year Resolutions: how to keep them? WORKSHEET

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Svetlana Urisman

It’s that time of the year again! All those Christmassy and New-Yeary (is there even such a word?) topics are on the rise and getting a lot of traction. But having discussed all my favorite things and done all my … Continue reading →

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“the Apprentice” as a business English resource

Posted on June 16, 2018 by Svetlana Urisman

On the lookout for some video material for your Business English students, but have run out of the coursebook resources? Want them to watch and discuss smth (and it better be authentic) but series or TED talks are not exactly … Continue reading →

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Jennifer Aniston, Emirates and an English lesson

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Svetlana Urisman

Tailoring your teaching to each and every student is fantastic, no doubt. And I am a big fan of course. But isn’t it nice to have something up your sleeve, something that would work for everyone? It’s not often the … Continue reading →

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Using authentic interviews in class

Posted on May 13, 2017 by Svetlana Urisman

I love using interviews at my classes! Do you? I think they are just what you need to practice speaking, tenses, word order, and at the same time they let you make the lessons fun (obviously, depending on the interview … Continue reading →

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Retelling the text without noticing it, a trick?)

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Svetlana Urisman

 I’ve been a firm believer in deep and profound work with texts for a long time. No need to repeat that it (and “texts”, obviously can stand for listening/ videos) has tons of benefits, acquiring vocabulary from the context and … Continue reading →

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A Direct TV commercial to teach narrative tenses

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Svetlana Urisman

Coming back to post about a commercial (or rather, a series of commercials) that can be used as a tool to train (or refresh) narrative tenses. The good thing about this commercial is that it describs and follows a chain … Continue reading →

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(authentic) resources for an HR English course

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Svetlana Urisman

I’ve recently finished teaching a one-to-one HR English course (which lasted, on and off, about 18 months), and I feel it would be good to share some materials I’ve been choosing, using and sometimes creating. The situation The course started … Continue reading →

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Used to and other patterns – rethought and put into practice

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Svetlana Urisman

In the morning today I had a chance to see how my substitution table from the previous post worked. I knew my student would still be struggling with all the 4 patters (get used to, be used to, used to, … Continue reading →

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Intermediate+ speaking and reading worksheet:How to learn a new language: 7 secrets from TED translators

Posted on March 18, 2015 by Svetlana Urisman

If you ask me, I like to reflect (and inspire my students to do the same) on learning languages and what works and what doesn’t, so I’m always happy to offer to my students such opportunities. Here is a worksheet … Continue reading →

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business&office buzzwords: article and worksheet

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Svetlana Urisman

Last year I came across a real gem of an article – at least it looks like one from an ESL teacher’s perspective. I am sure it was not the use the author of the article had in mind, but … Continue reading →

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