lass for dates of birth, read aloud and discuss accuracy, don’t forget to research astrological sign meanings and origins, astrologers too)

• Fashion pages (These are chock full of outfits you wouldn’t be caught dead in, but you can have fun these any way)

• Top Ten Music Singles / Albums Lists (profile the artists, use songs for listening comprehension and vocabulary practice or lexis-building, grammar in context)

• Best-Selling Book lists (use book excerpts and reviews for reading-based activities, bio authors, etc.)

So again, don’t you dare get stuck in an English lang

Don’t you dare get stuck in an English language teaching rut. Here are some practical tips and ideas for using a TV guide in your English language teaching. They’ve all worked for me at one time or another, I’m sure you’ll get a boost out of some of them too.

The TV Guide

Whenever there’s an overview guide of what’s on the “telly”, you can work with using numbers and other high-frequency language functions in a cornucopia of ways such as:

• Telling the time

• Pronouncing years in English

• Movie / TV program types

• Discussion of actors and actresses

• Movie / TV program settings and plots

• Learner preferences – and why

Cinema / Movie guides are also a good basis for “complete the chart” and “cognitive pairs” exercises. Some periodicals also have cinema or film guide versions which list:

• Film titles and sub-titles

• Year of release and / or re-release in the case of remakes

• Days and times of showings

• Principal and support actors and actresses

• A brief plot synopsis

• A related photo, graphic or visual excerpt from the film

• Film background information

Photo Features

Visually-stimulating photo feature sections are rampant with description, vocabulary-building and discussion-provoking themes. In a magazine issue I reviewed for this article, one photo is of a Tibetan Mastiff that bore a litter of 16 pups and another photo of a greyhound attired in fashion designer clothes for doggies. Remember that these photos could also be scanned into digital form for use online, as an overhead projector transparency or inserted into a digital presentation for extra impact.

Fun Activities for the Readers

Diversions for readers of all ages appear in many periodicals. Here are a few starting suggestions for exploiting them with your learners. If you happen to be a non-native English speaker, they can help you build, develop and refine your English language skills too. Quite a number of periodicals contain activities such as:

• Word puzzles

• Spot the differences (drawings or photos)

• Trivia (these can be great fun – learners can even write some of their own)

• Crosswords Have you thought of working a crossword puzzle backwards? Take a solved puzzle and let learners write the clues)

• Word searches

• Horoscopes (poll the class for dates of birth, read aloud and discuss accuracy, don’t forget to research astrological sign meanings and origins, astrologers too)

• Fashion pages (These are chock full of outfits you wouldn’t be caught dead in, but you can have fun these any way)

• Top Ten Music Singles / Albums Lists (profile the artists, use songs for listening comprehension and vocabulary practice or lexis-building, grammar in context)

• Best-Selling Book lists (use book excerpts and reviews for reading-based activities, bio authors, etc.)

So again, don’t you dare get stuck in an English langu

ovie / TV program settings and plots

• Learner preferences – and why

Cinema / Movie guides are also a good basis for “complete the chart” and “cognitive pairs” exercises. Some periodicals also have cinema or film guide versions which list:

• Film titles and sub-titles

• Year of release and / or re-release in the case of remakes

• Days and times of showings

• Principal and support actors and actresses

• A brief plot synopsis

• A related photo, graphic or visual excerpt from the film

• Film background information

Photo Features

Visually-stimulating photo feature sections are rampant with description, vocabulary-building and discussion-provoking themes. In a magazine issue I reviewed for this article, one photo is of a Tibetan Mastiff that bore a litter of 16 pups and another photo of a greyhound attired in fashion designer clothes for doggies. Remember that these photos could also be scanned into digital form for use online, as an overhead projector transparency or inserted into a digital presentation for extra impact.

Fun Activities for the Readers

Diversions for readers of all ages appear in many periodicals. Here are a few starting suggestions for exploiting them with your learners. If you happen to be a non-native English speaker, they can help you build, develop and refine your English language skills too. Quite a number of periodicals contain activities such as:

• Word puzzles

• Spot the differences (drawings or photos)

• Trivia (these can be great fun – learners can even write some of their own)

• Crosswords Have you thought of working a crossword puzzle backwards? Take a solved puzzle and let learners write the clues)

• Word searches

• Horoscopes (poll the class for dates of birth, read aloud and discuss accuracy, don’t forget to research astrological sign meanings and origins, astrologers too)

• Fashion pages (These are chock full of outfits you wouldn’t be caught dead in, but you can have fun these any way)

• Top Ten Music Singles / Albums Lists (profile the artists, use songs for listening comprehension and vocabulary practice or lexis-building, grammar in context)

• Best-Selling Book lists (use book excerpts and reviews for reading-based activities, bio authors, etc.)

So again, don’t you dare get stuck in an English lang

ally-stimulating photo feature sections are rampant with description, vocabulary-building and discussion-provoking themes. In a magazine issue I reviewed for this article, one photo is of a Tibetan Mastiff that bore a litter of 16 pups and another photo of a greyhound attired in fashion designer clothes for doggies. Remember that these photos could also be scanned into digital form for use online, as an overhead projector transparency or inserted into a digital presentation for extra impact.

Fun Activities for the Readers

Diversions for readers of all ages appear in many periodicals. Here are a few starting suggestions for exploiting them with your learners. If you happen to be a non-native English speaker, they can help you build, develop and refine your English language skills too. Quite a number of periodicals contain activities such as:

• Word puzzles

• Spot the differences (drawings or photos)

• Trivia (these can be great fun – learners can even write some of their own)

• Crosswords Have you thought of working a crossword puzzle backwards? Take a solved puzzle and let learners write the clues)

• Word searches

• Horoscopes (poll the class for dates of birth, read aloud and discuss accuracy, don’t forget to research astrological sign meanings and origins, astrologers too)

• Fashion pages (These are chock full of outfits you wouldn’t be caught dead in, but you can have fun these any way)

• Top Ten Music Singles / Albums Lists (profile the artists, use songs for listening comprehension and vocabulary practice or lexis-building, grammar in context)

• Best-Selling Book lists (use book excerpts and reviews for reading-based activities, bio authors, etc.)

So again, don’t you dare get stuck in an English lang

Here are a few starting suggestions for exploiting them with your learners. If you happen to be a non-native English speaker, they can help you build, develop and refine your English language skills too. Quite a number of periodicals contain activities such as:

• Word puzzles

• Spot the differences (drawings or photos)

• Trivia (these can be great fun – learners can even write some of their own)

• Crosswords Have you thought of working a crossword puzzle backwards? Take a solved puzzle and let learners write the clues)

• Word searches

• Horoscopes (poll the class for dates of birth, read aloud and discuss accuracy, don’t forget to research astrological sign meanings and origins, astrologers too)

• Fashion pages (These are chock full of outfits you wouldn’t be caught dead in, but you can have fun these any way)

• Top Ten Music Singles / Albums Lists (profile the artists, use songs for listening comprehension and vocabulary practice or lexis-building, grammar in context)

• Best-Selling Book lists (use book excerpts and reviews for reading-based activities, bio authors, etc.)

So again, don’t you dare get stuck in an English lang

lass for dates of birth, read aloud and discuss accuracy, don’t forget to research astrological sign meanings and origins, astrologers too)

• Fashion pages (These are chock full of outfits you wouldn’t be caught dead in, but you can have fun these any way)

• Top Ten Music Singles / Albums Lists (profile the artists, use songs for listening comprehension and vocabulary practice or lexis-building, grammar in context)

• Best-Selling Book lists (use book excerpts and reviews for reading-based activities, bio authors, etc.)

So again, don’t you dare get stuck in an English language teaching rut. Try some of these practical tips and ideas for using any TV guide in your English language teaching. They’ve all worked for me, let me know how they work for you. E-mail me at lynchlarrym@gmail.com and if you’re nice, I’ll send you a free copy of my e-book, “The Foreign Language Learner’s Startup Guide” by return e-mail.