General Notes about my English lessons and life in Viet Nam.
Author: Thay Paul's notes
London-born English teacher, now living and working in Sai Gon, Viet Nam.
I want to use this site to post lesson notes, extra work, helpful links as well as general notes about my time in SE Asia and Viet Nam. I also want to give real classroom experiences and how to deal with real classes of noisy, unmotivated and resistant students. Additionally, I'll be posting links to films, publishing plays and stories, and introducing friends who work in the arts.
Now that you have had a little time to “Wake up, wake up,” time to move on to a new story.
We have a writing activity for students to practise telling a story, using ‘signpost language’, adjectives, adverbs for the Top Cats, and to see if they can remember their grammar.
Let’s go ! Here are five pictures; what is the story ?
Time for a word bank
Signpost words
First / next / then / after / afterwards / finally
Nouns
business man / library / champagne / private jet
Adjectives
lazy / poor / bored / tired / furious / strict / hard-working / over the moon (very, very happy) / rich
Verbs
sleep / scream / study / graduate / relax
Now, start writing … and good luck !
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you
Intro: How do you say these words ? By the end of the lesson, with the help of Oasis, you’ll be saying, singing, them like a native English-speaker.
Verse One: In English, we speak very quickly, we combine word sounds and ‘swallow’ other letters. When you hear the song, listen … these words are pronounced like this …
Needa lit’al timeta way cup,
Needa lit’al timeta way cup, way cup
In Standard English, I teach you to pronounce the ‘t’s clearly and precisely, but in natural spoken English, many people ‘swallow’ the sound. Best way, as usual, is to practise.
Verse Two: I will show you a video by the band Oasis.
Oasis were a band of five musicians. They were from Manchester in north England. First, watch this video:
Tell me a story about the video
Who is the main subject ?
Where are they ? What are they doing ?
How do they look ?
How about the other people in the video ?
How do they feel and why ?
What do they do ?
DO NOT START WITH PRONOUNS
Remember to use new, exciting adjectives.
Look at your class notes.
Chorus: Plug in, turn up the amp to 11 and Rock ‘n’ Roll !
Let’s hit the effects pedals and get some wonderful words, amazing adjectives.
Fivehandsome, young musicians live in a tower block. They are …
What are they doing, what are they wearing ?
What is the problem ?
Tell me about the neighbours
And don’t forget to sing,
Needa lit’al timeta way cup, way cup
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
Today we are going to use all our English skills to create a wonderful story. We shall use adjectives, adverbs, perfect grammar and show off our amazing vocabulary.
Are you ready ? Let’s Rock ‘n’ Roll !
Oasis were a band of five musicians. They were from Manchester in north England. First, watch this video:
Tell me a story about the video.
Who is the main subject ?
What are they doing ?
How do they look ? Where are they ?
How about the other people in the video ?
How do they feel and why ?
What do they do ? What do they look like ?
There is so much to write about, so plan your story before you start writing.
WILF (What I’m Looking For):
A strong start, tell me about the main subjects.
DO NOT START WITH PRONOUNS
Remember to use new, exciting adjectives. Look at your class notes.
What are they doing and how – use adverbs.
Here’s some brilliant words to make your story glorious:
irritating // annoying // thoughtless //
spyhole // letter box // dart board //
neighbours // tough guys // lady in a sari
tower block (a tall apartment building)
TOP CATS – some new expressions
Can’t hear myself think
The noise drives (the neighbours) crazy
The walls are paper-thin
If your work is sub-standard, you will have to sing this song in front of the whole class … so be brilliant !
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
You now have a word bank of adverbs. Let’s start to use them … correctly.
We’ll keep it really simple, ça va ?
Remember – never start with a pronoun (he, she, it, they etc). Say what the subject is then what they are doing, then HOW they are doing the verb – use an adverb.
1) The tall man is hiding …
a) easily b) mysteriously c) greedily
2) The Korean girl is looking at her friend …
a) well b) calmly c) angrily
3) The talented musician plays his guitar …
a) very well b) nervously c) politely
4) The man in the white T-shirt eats …
a) greedily b) carefully c) honestly
5) The funny man rides the bus …
a) seriously b) dangerously c) beautifully
Now … your turn
Write sentences about these photos. Top Cats, I expect amazing adjectives, perfect grammar and creative thinking.
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
I will show you some photos and I want you to write a short piece using adjectives, adverbs and some creative thinking.
Please, Thay Paul, give us an example.
OK, look at the above photo. What adjectives describe the subject ?
The lady is: Asian / beautiful / cute / healthy / intelligent / kind / popular / young
She has: long, black, wavy hair.
She wears a (an) light blue / comfortable / expensive / fashionable dress.
Where is she and what is she doing ?
She is at work, in a bright / clean / modern office. Maybe she is at home in her quiet / new apartment.
She is working on a (an) expensive / fast / new laptop. Her work is difficult / easy / important.
How does she work ?
She is smiling, so maybe she works quickly, or happily or well. Maybe she has finished and can now relax.
So what’s the story ? Let’s use present tense (verb 1).
A beautiful, young, Asian lady is working happily on her new laptop. She has finished her difficult, English homework so she feels fantastic.
How many adjectives did I use ?
Where did I put the adverb ? After the verb ‘work’. Here I used the continuous form (verb + ing). So, put the adverb after a verb (Verb 1, Verb 2 or verb + ing).
Now … your turn
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
What a fantastic week – two gifts from two gifted students.
First up, an incredible piece of art from Top Cat Ruby who is around ten years old. I shall certainly have this framed.
Next, a gift from a student I no longer teach but whose classroom is near to mine (so they can hear the music I play loudly). Teachers absolutely need throat pastels, and I’m always telling my students to avoid sugar so I was over the moon with this gift from Class Captain Mina.
Thank you Top Cat Ruby, thank you Captain Mina … and not forgetting my irreplaceable TA Ms Huong, and her present:
However, Ms Huong probably gave me these to shut me up ! Regardless, thank you all so much.
Take a look at the man in the photo. He is very happy – can you think why ? Maybe he is watching football and his team, Mexico, scored. He is shouting.
How is he shouting ? Happily ? Quietly ? Loudly ?
those three words are adverbs of manner – that just means how someone does something.
In our picture the man shouts loudly.
We take the adjective loud and add -ly
Let’s make that into a better sentence.
Are you ready Top Cats ?
I want three adjectives, a verb and then an adverb of manner. Also, give me a reason
Ça va ?
EXAMPLE: The handsome, young, Mexican man is shouting loudly because his team scored a goal.
Lets build a library of adverbs. Take these adjectives and make them adverbs. Be careful with words that end in ‘y’.
The young lady is from Korea – what is the adjective ? What is she doing, where is she, and how does she feel ? Let’s move on
I don’t think this man is very happy. What do you think ?
To whom is she speaking ? Does she want us to be noisy ? Is the phone call a secret ?
The Japanese band Tricot. They play guitar so …
Do you think riding a motorbike like this is a great idea ? Be careful, Keanu.
If he did this in MY class, what would I do ?
Bye bye – see you next week.
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
An activity where you have to listen, read and collect information. Also you will learn about different cultures and legends.
Today we are going to learn about some of the gods of ancient Egypt. First, where is Egypt ?
Egypt is in Africa. The adjective is Egyptian.
What ancient buildings can you see in Egypt ?
The Pyramids: the largest one was built about 2,500 BC (about 4,500 years ago).
The creature in front is called the Sphinx. What kind of animal is the Sphinx ?
The Sphinx has the face of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird (maybe a falcon or eagle).
Animals were very important. What animals can you see in this picture ?
We are going to focus on four Gods:
Thoth // Bastet // Ra // Anubis
Vocabulary
Pharaoh / ibis / jackal / Nile River / beak
Pyramids
Sphinx
Tomb
Funeral mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. He lived 1341 – 1323 BC
Hieroglyphs
Write your name (English or Viet) using hieroglyphs.
Look at your handout and follow the instructions. You have to identify the four Gods and colour them.
The British Council ‘LearnEnglishKids’ page has some excellent resources and free print-outs.
Now, some music for ambience:
Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.
Some gifts from students last night. I do tell the younglings not to eat sugar and junk food BUT if it’s a gift, all bets are off !
Little Eva once gave me a two-bar KitKat, now I’ve been upgraded to the full four-finger bar. I had it after work. and it was delicious. Thank you Little Eva, and Tommy for the Dynamite sweet.
Thay Paul's Notes 