The months of the year are a fundamental aspect of the English language and have practical applications in everyday life. In this article, let’s discuss why we need to teach this topic to adult ESL students (and not just sing a song to memorize the order). I’ll provide examples of real-life situations where this knowledge is necessary and offer ideas for fun ideas to teach it.
The importance of the months of the year
Teaching the months of the year to adult ESL students is necessary for several reasons. One of the most obvious is the ability to express and comprehend dates accurately. This is essential for making plans, setting appointments, and keeping track of important events. This requires them to correctly use the year’s months to convey the desired information accurately.
In addition to the practical application of understanding dates, knowing the months of the year is also necessary for discussing and understanding events and news articles that reference specific dates. This is also needed to discuss current events, as many news articles reference particular dates and months.
Overall, teaching the months of the year to adult ESL students is an essential part of any English language curriculum. It serves as a foundation for understanding time and calendar vocabulary and has practical applications in everyday life.
Now that we have established the importance of understanding the months of the year, let’s look at some specific examples of how students might use the months of the year in everyday life.
The months of the year in real-life situations
Booking a hotel room: When booking a hotel room, it is often necessary to provide a specific date of arrival and departure. To do this, students will need to use the months of the year correctly. For example, “I would like to book a room from July 1st to July 4th.”
Making a doctor’s appointment: When making a doctor’s appointment, students will need to provide a specific date and time. In order to do this, they will need to use the months of the year correctly. For example, “Can I make an appointment for Monday, September 12th at 2:00 pm?”
Discussing current events: Many news articles and discussions about current events will reference specific dates and months. To understand and participate in these conversations, students will need to understand the months of the year. For example, “Did you see the article about the election that happened last November?”
Planning a trip: When planning a trip, students will need to consider various factors such as travel dates, weather, and events that are happening in the destination. In order to do this, they will need to use the months of the year correctly. For example, “We should go to Europe in June because that’s when the weather is the best, and there are lots of festivals happening.”
Keeping track of important events: Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, or other special occasion, students will need to use the months of the year to keep track of important events. For example, “My sister’s birthday is in December, so I need to remember to get her a gift.”
Now, you probably think, “But students already know the months of the year by the time they are at the point where they can read news articles and discuss current events.” Exactly! But to get to that point, they have to begin at the beginning with basic vocabulary, like the months of the year.
Fun ideas for teaching the months of the year to adult ESL students
Learning the months of the year doesn’t have to be a dull, repetitive task. By providing real-life examples of how this knowledge can be used and incorporating fun, interactive activities into our lessons, we can bring the months of the year to life for our students.
Calendar scavenger hunt
One idea is to create a calendar scavenger hunt, where students search the classroom or school for items or information related to each month. This helps with memorization and allows students to connect the months and the world around them.
Snowman game
Try playing a variation of “Snowman” with students guessing the month instead of guessing letters to spell the month. Here’s your prep: create a list of clues varying in complexity for each month of the year.
To play, choose one of the months and read the most challenging clue first. Allow students time to guess. With each wrong guess, you build the snowman by drawing it on the board. Start with the largest snowball for the bottom and work your way up, adding features to the snowman such as buttons, eyes, carrot nose, top hat, scarf, and stick arms. After an incorrect guess, read the next most challenging clue, and so on, until students have either guessed the month or the snowman is complete.
Personalized calendars
You could also have students create their own personalized calendars, incorporating the months of the year, important cultural events or holidays, and days of personal significance, such as birthdays. This allows students to apply their knowledge creatively and meaningfully while giving them a useful resource for future reference. In fact, you can use information from this to create the next activity.
Matching game
Create a months-of-the-year matching game where students match cards with the names of the months and corresponding images or events. This is a great way to review and reinforce learning in a fun, interactive way.
To do this, write each month of the year on a large card or half a sheet of paper. Have the students hang them on the walls around the classroom (in order) in a gallery style. Then give them images related to months or cards with text describing holidays, special events, student birthdays, and so on. To personalize this, use information from the student calendars created in the previously mentioned activity. Students will work together to match these images and text cards to the correct months of the year and hang them with each month’s name.
Use music
Incorporate songs about the months of the year into your lessons. You could have students create their own songs or find and learn existing ones. As existing ones have been created for children, you might prefer to learn the song yourself and then teach it to them rather than show them a YouTube video full of childish imagery and childish voices. This can be a fun and engaging way to review the names of the months and their order. If your students are really into singing, encourage them to work together to create their own YouTube video of themselves singing it.
In conclusion, teaching the months of the year is a crucial aspect of any English language curriculum for adult ESL students. But fear not; by approaching this topic in a creative and engaging way, we can turn even the most month-challenged students into calendar prodigies. So let’s get learning because who knows what kind of disasters could befall us if we don’t know when International Talk Like a Pirate Day is?
Keep reading more about teaching adult ESL!
- 5 Quick Tips for Engaging Days of the Week Activities
- Stop Giving Number Vocabulary the Short Shrift!
- Gestures: The Secret Language You’ve Been Unaware of
- Free Talking: Getting Low-Level ESL Students to Talk
- 2 Basic Hacks for Successfully Winning Over Adult ESL Students
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