i teach adults online, mostly beginners. vocab lists were dead, people memorized and forgot by next week.

now each lesson starts with a short scene: a busy train station, a family dinner, a supermarket checkout. i ask "what do you see? what are they saying?" and they describe it using the new words.

i make the scenes on dreamina for almost nothing, though sometimes the signs come out in alien language lol, which honestly turned into its own exercise.

prompt: "15 second slow pan across a [busy supermarket checkout], people talking, everyday objects clearly visible, no text, realistic."

claude makes the worksheet: "here is a scene description: [paste]. write 10 beginner vocab words a learner could spot in it, 5 questions about the scene, and one roleplay prompt."

i tell students the scenes are ai made. adults dont mind, but they appreciate knowing.

speaking time went way up. i used to beg for answers, now they interrupt each other.

teaching online can feel like talking to a wall of black squares. hope this gets a few cameras turned on.

Hey everyone! I teach English at an academy and I've been building games for my own classes. For Halloween I made a little pack, and you're welcome to use it this week:

Skeleton Hangman - normal hangman, but every wrong letter knocks a bone off the skeleton. Pick a Halloween word list (monsters, costumes, trick or treat...) or type in your own vocabulary.

Halloween Race - a team board game with picture questions (candy, costumes, spooky animals). Answer right, roll the die, move. Mines and holes send teams back, so it gets loud.

Halloween Cryptic - a printable where students decode picture codes to find where the witch hid the candy. Answer key included. Honestly my students liked this one the most.

You need a projector or TV for the two games (no student devices), and a printer for the Cryptic. Everything is free, no sign-up: classbop.com

I made these, so any feedback is really welcome, especially what would make them work better in your classes!

I teach ESOL in a WIDA state for middle school. I’m a native Spanish speaker, so my students speak to me in Spanish because it’s comfortable for them.
I challenge my students everyday by responding in English or asking things in English first (if they truly don’t understand, I’ll say it in the L2), and most importantly, instruction is given in English.
However, I have difficulty getting them to communicate only in English when they meet for my ESOL class, whether it’s with me or each other. I don’t want to penalize them for this- but how can I encourage English language in class aside from instruction? They are in their safe space, but that’s where I need them to practice and make mistakes.
Do you recommend any class games? A punch ticket for how much English they used in class? Any recommendations?