Category Archives: materials writing

“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 →

Posted in authentic materials, Business English, ELT, lesson plans, materials writing, one-to-one, speaking, teaching higher levels, vocabulary | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in authentic materials, ELT, intermediate, lesson plans, lesson starters, materials writing, Uncategorized, useful links, vocabulary | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Starting lessons in a new way

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Svetlana Urisman

the right beginning of the lesson always sets the right mood for the rest of it, doesn’t it? So recently I got a little tired of just informal chit-chat during the first minutes of my one-to-one lessons, and it got … Continue reading →

Posted in ELT, intermediate, lesson plans, lesson starters, materials writing, teaching higher levels, teaching lower levels | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

learning grammar through context

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Svetlana Urisman

putting grammar into context. Recently I’ve been struggling (not for the first time, obviously) to find some nice way to teach/ revise a grammar topic, and by “nice way” I mean something different from exercises (which are great, but mostly … 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 →

Posted in authentic materials, Business English, HR, materials writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

what will your life be like in 5 years’ time? Premier League Stars interview + lesson plan

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Svetlana Urisman

I decided to take part in the Premier Skills Lesson Plan competition, having chosen an interview about the future (the interview features 4 players: Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Ivar Ingimarsson and Sun Jihai). Here is my try, with grammar and … 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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“8 secrets of success” TED-talk lesson plan

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Svetlana Urisman

here is the lesson plan based on the TED talk by Richard St John that I referred to in my previous post about my teaching in a field. Hope you’ll find it useful. The talk itself conveniently takes only 3 minutes, … Continue reading →

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the most (?) unusual place to teach English

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Svetlana Urisman

Have you ever taught English (or any other language) in the middle of a field? I have – now I can put a tick in “ELT experiences list” 😉 it’s been some time before I published anything here. Well, the … Continue reading →

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May holidays and an emotional worksheet

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Svetlana Urisman

In my country the first 2 weeks of May are not really very busy: first there is the Labour day (1.05), then the is the Victory Day (09.05), and in between a lot of people take some days off. As … Continue reading →

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