Hunt and Gather

Over the summer you probably took a break from your business English lessons. Chances are, you went on a trip, perhaps to an English-speaking country. Although you might have been far away from your students, you may have been on the look out for new material — a magazine, a menu or some other bit of tangible memorabilia that will provide a bit of mileage in the classroom.

Where do you find new material, ideas, topics, activities and information for your students? One place that motivates me is the town I grew up in, Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s one of the “Twin Cities” (the other is St. Paul) and a beautiful town. I was there this past July visiting family, updating my English and swatting mosquitoes.

One special thing about Minneapolis is its neighborhoods and their quaint corner shops. One of these shops at the intersection of 5Oth and Xerxes is called Hunt and Gather . The shop is fantastic and I love the name. Their collection of antique and vintage “stuff” will take you back to your and everyone else’s childhood in very little time.

As a teacher, I love tapping into my students’ experiences and memories. Sometimes I do this with conversation questions aimed at the past (What’s the first thing you saved money for? What was your first job like? Which job interviews do you remember best?).

I see it as a way to get students to talk about something that they feel passionate about and connected to. To me, the more emotionally attached the student is to the subject, the higher the interest and the greater the learning.

Personalizing and humanizing teaching is an area that I’m very interested in. An activity that I’ve been doing for years is called “This reminds me of…” (from Grammar Games, Mario Rinvolucri). It’s a great way to practice a core prepositional phrase and ad lib speaking. Simply bring in a few photos, postcards, or magazine photo clippings — let your students choose one, and talk away starting with “This reminds me of…”.