Add to Favorites
Contact Us
      Home ESL Activities ESL Curriculum ESL Games Students Testimonials

Year of the Rooster

WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT
FEBRUARY 9TH 2005?

The Chinese New Year, of course! We'll be saying goodbye to the Year of the Monkey and welcoming the Year of the Rooster. Throughout all of China and all the Chinese homes around the world it will be a time of feasting, fireworks and festivity! Extended families will gather together. In China, the restaurants will be overflowing with families that have booked their reservations months ago. Millions of people will fill the streets to see the dragon parades, set off firecrackers and watch the fireworks light the sky.

I love to celebrate the colorful Chinese New Year with my students. It brightens the month of February while getting my students talking and laughing. Some, finding they were born in the year of the dragon, take on an air of energy and strength, while others born in the year of the rat, become rather quiet until they find they have fine qualities and are usually successful in whatever they do. It's all great fun and can provide an opportunity to have the students describe their Chinese personalities verbally or in writing.

I've found that these activities have added new interest to my classes.

  • The students have written a paragraph describing their own personality and then
    compared it to their Chinese personality as outlined for the year they were born.
  • The students have brainstormed the names of famous people and found the year of
    their birth. They can then explain orally or write about how they are similar to or
    different from that person.
  • The students have worked with a partner who was born in the year of a different
    animal and discussed or written about each other's Chinese personalities.
The Chinese New Year is a wonderful chance to provide something different for your students. It can include art where the students draw dragons and describe their attributes or a discussion of the sounds and music of a dragon parade.

It's rewarding to make the week of February 9th a week of celebration in your classrooms.
Let's bring in the Year of the Rooster!

 
Chinese New Year Activity
Summary:

This is a fun series of activities centering around the chinese new year and chinese astrology. Activities involve personality characteristics, conversation activities, personalities of famous people. brainstorming adjectives, and a writing exercise.

MORE >>>

  • Complete package
  • Instructions for Teacher
  • All Handouts
  • Ready to use in the classroom
  • Saves Time
  • Thoroughly tested
  • Use over and over
  • 3 student Pages, 1 Teachers guide pages
  • 30 minute activity (+ -) group times vary greatly
  • Adobe PDF format
  • Download after purchase


    • Intermediate Activity -- Harvard sex controversy
    		 THANKS!

    The president of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers, is under fire today for his sexist comments suggesting women are not as good as men at sciences, engineering and mathematics because of genetic differences. He is being heavily criticized by his peers for suggesting that women have less innate ability than men to reason and rationalize. One female researcher, biologist Nancy Hopkins, walked out of Mr. Summers' presentation, and stated, "It's so upsetting that all these brilliant young women [at Harvard] are being led by a man who views them this way." She also said that if she had stayed, '"I would've either blacked out or thrown up."

    2-MINUTE DEBATES: Students face each other in pairs and engage in the following 2-minute debates. Students A are assigned the first argument, students B the second. Rotate pairs to ensure a lively pace and noise level is kept:

    (a) Men are more intelligent than women. vs. Women are more intelligent than men.

    (b) Women are better leaders than men. vs Men are better leaders than women.

    (c) Women are more mature than men. vs Men are more mature than men.

    (d) Men are more romantic than women. vs. Women are more romantic than men.

    (e) Men are better map readers than women. vs. But women are safer drivers.

    (f) It's the woman's job to stay at home and look after the husband, house and family. vs. There's nothing wrong with house husbands.

    (h) Men are more violent than women. vs. Women are more violent than men.

    (i) Men have easier lives than women. vs. A woman's life is easier.

    		Many thanks to BREAKING ENGLISH NEWS for this great activity.
    Got an Idea?
    Let us know -- send your article or idea, feedback, suggestions to
    brian@efl-esl.com
    NEW!

    Be sure and visit our NEW Photo Gallery -- Includes pictures from Brazil, Kiev, the Czech Republic, Spain and Budapest.

    A TRIP TO CANADA
    Summary:
    You have just had an exciting phone call! You are the winner of a contest sponsored by Air Canada! You have won a free flight to any point in Canada, return, two weeks' free car rental, and $1000.00 towards your expenses.

    MORE >>>
    NEWS! ACTIVITIES
    Is the classroom your passport to a new, exciting life?

    By Jennifer Sharples


    Idyllic locations, a laid-back lifestyle and lots of fun those are the images conjured up by some of the hundreds of ads for native English teachers. What a fabulous way to finance an escape from dreary old Britain to the exotic shores of South America, Asia or Europe, and all you'll have to do is teach English for a few hours a day to grateful foreigners.

    But before you throw up your day job think carefully and don't do it on a whim, advises veteran Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) expert Chris Gunn, whose experience ranges from teaching at universities in South Korea to co-ordinating summer programmes in Canada.

    Full Story >>>

    The Windfall


    Summary:
    Lou Wilson, the meanest man in town left all of his estate, approximately $950,000, to the city. The will said that the city was to spend the money in "some lasting way for the betterment of the citizens."
    That was when all the fun began! Everyone wants to spend the money differently.
    Students debate how to spend the money!
    MORE >>>
    BINGO!




    The Bathroom Vocabulary Enrichment Activity
    Favorite Sites THE BODY IN THE STUDY

    English to Go
    HUGE library of teaching resources. Fun, engaging, up-to-date resources based on ReutersŪ news articles

    Teaching English in Korea - ESL blog
    ESL blog: stories about teaching English in Korea, tips for teaching English.

    Got a favorite site? Let us know !

    		 Summary:
    The time is Christmas morning in the large house of the wealthy Lord and Lady Chudleigh in a small village in England. When the family woke up, Lord Chudleigh was found dead in his study, stabbed to death with a letter opener. A picture had been removed from the wall of the study, and behind it, to everyone's surprise, was a small safe. The door of the safe was open and the safe was empty.

    There are rumors that Lord Chudleigh possessed the famous Madipore Diamond, which was stolen from India during the Second World War. He had been an officer in the army in India. Although these rumors are persistent, no one has ever seen this diamond.

    MORE >>>
    FAMOUS PEOPLE ACTIVITIES

    Elvis Presley - Written text, brainstorming activities, exercises, paragraph writing and problem solving.

    Summary:
    This material includes: written text, brainstorming activities, exercises, paragraph writing and problem solving. It uses a topic of general interest to promote conversational English. MORE >>>



    Marilyn Monroe Activity uses a topic of general interest to promote conversational English.

    Summary:
    This material includes: written text, a brainstorming activity, exercises, a role-play and a crossword puzzle. It uses a topic of general interest to promote conversational English.
    MORE >>>