Contents
=> “Personalized Alphabet Poster Project, Part I” - Poster Project
=> “A Tale of 3 Smiles?” - observations
=> ETs in Russia, 100th Issue and Prizes
=> In the Next Issues

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Personalized Alphabet Poster Project, Part I
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Here is a simple Project activity for students. Students can work alone or in pairs. The task is to make a list of words from A-Z. These should be words that the students like for their sound or meaning. In this way, the A-Z list is a reflection of the students’ interests and personality. After all, in a way we are defined by the words we use.

This is not an activity to be completed in a single night. Students need at least a week.

Students will make an A-Z poster. The poster will list one favorite word per letter of the alphabet. Students should provide enough information so that others can understand the meaning of the word: to do this they might use pictures or drawings, a definition, their own sample sentences, or quotations featuring the word. (Just search on the Internet for the word and “quotation”).

Also students should list at least one runner-up: a second-place word. The runner-ups don’t have to be defined. On the contrary, they are meant to provoke curiosity and to encourage more research and learning. Sometimes withholding information can be a better way of learning than simply providing it.

The finished posters can go up in the classroom or out in the hall, where they can be studied outside of class time.

This activity works for all levels. Basic learners choose basic words. Advanced learners may choose funny or little known words.

For younger learners, break the assignment into two or three stages. For instance, after one week students will make a poster of words from A to I (that’s 9 words). The next week they can do J to Q, and so on.

Kevin’s A-O list
I’ve made my own word list, as an example, and for the for those people who subscribe to ETs in Russia not for classroom ideas, but just for the amazingly interesting texts and opportunities for vocabulary development.

I chose words that are
(a) practical and common, but generally not found in textbooks
(b) words that are funny or intrinsically interesting
(c) words that I just like

Most of the words are low register: slangy or informal.

Absentminded (adj) = describes people whose minds are absent. Forgetful. Absentminded Kevin is always losing his keys.
Runners-up: arcane, abuzz

Ballyhoo (n) = commotion, shouting, uproar.
Runner-up: butterfingers. (A kind of person. Can you guess what kind?)

Cattywampus (adj or adv; slang) = askew or awry. “The camera wouldn’t work ‘cause someone stuck in the film all cattywampus.”
Runner- up: So many cool C adjectives: crafty, cozy, crooked, cockamamie

Dinky (adj, slang) = small, insignificant, or of little consequence. “My parents gave me a dinky allowance.”
Runners-up: defenestrate (a cool word, but never used); Dersu Uzala (the name of a person and a great Russo-Japanese film).

Echo (n and v) = the reflection of sound waves; an imitation. “The sound of a kiss is not so loud as a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.” - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Runners-up: enticing, enigma.

Farfetched (adj) = Difficult to believe. “The film was great, but the premise–that squirrels could form their own government–was a little farfetched.
Runner-up: fluffy (of course).

Hex (n and v) = a spell. To cast a spell. “A witch–or sometimes a pretty girl–can cast a spell on you.”
Runner-up: hush-hush (adj)

Icky (adj, very slangy) = yucky, disgusting, offensive. If you leave a glass of milk on the counter for two weeks, you can’t drink it. It’s too icky.
Runners-up: incognito, incubus

Junky (adj, slang) = worthy of being thrown away; of poor quality. “He bought a car really cheap, but it’s pretty junky.”
Runners-up: Joe Blow, John Q. Public (these names generally mean the same thing).

Killjoy (n) = a spoilsport, a wet blanket, a sourpuss, a party pooper. In other words, someone who spoils the fun for everyone else.
Runners-up: kaleidescope, kooky, kissable, kittenish

Lullaby (n and v) = a soothing song intended to lull a child to sleep. Isn’t the word lullaby soothing? From the poet Langston Hughes’s “April Rain Song”:

Let the rain kiss you.
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

Runner-up: lycanthropic

Meadow (n) A field with flowers. The word has a nice sound, doesn’t it?
Runners-up: micro miniskirt

Newfangled (adj) = different from what people are used to. The opposite of old-fashioned. “My mom can’t get used to these newfangled telephones you can carry in your purse.”
Runners-up: nutty, namby-pamby

Off the wall (adj) = very unconventional or unexpected. “British comic group Monty Python is said to have an off the wall sense of humor.”
Runners-up: oops, ouch

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A Tale of Three Smiles?
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You’ll remember in ETs in Russia #94 we compared Russian and American smiles and the cultural differences behind them. Well, today I was speaking with Guillermo, owner of the Blue Rock Shoot café, where I bring my computer to work every day. Guillermo is from Mexico. He said it’s hard for him sometimes, because Americans aren’t always friendly. He compared this with Mexico where most people on the street smile and say hello, call you amigo, and are willing to talk to you if they don’t know you.

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ETs in Russia, 100th Issue and Prizes
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Though we have published ETs in Russia forfour and a half years (making it the longest-running, and–dare I say?–regular journal for Russian teachers of English in the world. Still, here are some truths about the the publication:

Many–in fact–most of the activities you read in ETs in Russia have never been tried in a classroom setting. In theory, they should work. But we don’t know for sure, because we spend more of our time creating materials than testing them in the classroom. The sheer volume of activities in English teachers in Russia makes it, in fact, almost impossible that our small staff–Kevin and Mr. Poosheesty–could try them all.

We would like to have the 100th issue of English Teachers in Russia & Elsewhere consist soley of users input about the success or falure of ETs activities.

Send a description of how you used a specific ETs in Russia activity in the class and if it worked. We would be happy to read about how an activity did not work, or how the teacher adjusted it to fit her/his own style and class. If you are a student and your teacher used an activity, we’d love to hear that as well.

Your description doesn’t need to be long, only 50 words or so, though longer if you like.

Remember, we particularly want to hear about a specific activity, though we will not refuse not general comments on how interesting the texts are, and how cute Kevin’s eyes are. We are also interested in hearing from those who don’t use any activities, but still subscribe. Has the e-journal been of help even though you don’t use the activities? In what way?

Ets in Russia #100 will consist of excerpts of your anecdotes and illustrations.

The first 10 respondents–and any whose excerpts are printed–will receive a CD ROM featuring all of ETs in Russia, or an audio CD of great classroom songs. Make sure to supply your mailing address with your submission.

Copyright 2006 by Kevin McCaughey & I.M. Poosheesty