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REVIEW:
‘NOT ONLY FUNNY IDEAS FOR CHRISTMAS’……..a webinar by Geoff Tranter….
A teasing title set the tone for a fulsome webinar, comprehensively covering a whole range of activities for Christmas lessons in the classroom. Geoff literally ‘stuffed the ELT turkey’, as it were, with crosswords, quizzes, quotations, songs, texts, debates, commercials, letters, games, and puzzles, all decorated with useful website addresses wrapped around the teaching tips gifts. All the skill area boxes were ticked as Geoff, just like Santa Claus, tried to provide something for everyone. He certainly succeeded in this.
For those teachers attending the webinar in need of inspiration and good ideas for Christmas-style lessons, they would leave it with a sense of fulfilment. I’m sure this was Geoff’s intention, as he raced through his repertoire of activities to try in the classroom. It was as though there was a gun put to his head, and he had to convey to his audience 100+ ideas in his webinar hour. However, he did dwell on some activities, enlarging the picture of what was possible with them. I really enjoyed his treatment of the famous Christmas carol, ‘the Twelve Days of Christmas’. I love singing the carol, as it involves a range of volume and speed demands. Playing with the lyrics, Geoff showed us a Trumpian version of the song, ideal for higher-level classes, and packed with discussion-provoking words. The overall song could be viewed as a summary of Trump’s one-term Presidency. Geoff extended the menu by suggesting that students, in groups, could compose their own versions of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’, with any theme they choose, and on completion, sing their song to the rest of the class. A demanding task, but a creative and worthy one. One concluding question which Geoff raised was: what would the targeted lady of the song, say, in reply to being given all these gifts? A natural task awaiting there.
Geoff loves quotations, so I was not surprised to see some in his package. One amazing one came from Geoff himself, when he stated that “History is taught in English, in Germany.” He would know – he lives there! The best quotation he gave us, was from Ogden Nash, who wrote the Christmas message: “Merry Christmas Nearly Everyone.” As with most items, you can easily Google ‘funny Christmas quotations’. Another item, Geoff proposed, was: ‘funny Church signs’.
One of the not-so-funny areas Geoff ventured into, was the issue of the widening gap between rich and poor, which blights Christmas somewhat. I have covered such a topic, over the years, via Dicken’s ‘A Christmas Carol’, a book, to which students always respond well. An essay I gave my students, was to argue if ‘the traditional Christmas message was being lost’. As Geoff suggested for this topic, a debate/discussion is a natural resort. Everyone can contribute some ideas as to how commercialism is taking over at Christmas time.
Other topics Geoff raised during the webinar, included: Christmas traditions in different countries, the origins of Santa Claus, bizarre Christmas laws, the most dangerous job in the world (Santa’s)..(in figures), and accidents on the roads - (a very serious issue in most countries). So, yes, the title was correct – not everything was based around humour.
The webinar had begun with the task, ‘List what you think of when you think of Christmas?’ A natural warmer, perhaps, but what does it achieve? Who interprets the answers? Sometimes, I think we are too bland with ideas for discussion. I can memorably recall an Indian student telling the class how he was invited to stay for Christmas, in his own country, with a Christian friend, and how enchanted he was by the experience. It led to a fascinating discussion, and students looked deeply into the meaning of Christmas. Students are always the best resource for interesting materials, and we should look more in that direction, even if we already do so.
In conclusion, I shall list below some of the useful websites mentioned by Geoff, as sources for material. I would recommend that those who missed the webinar should watch the recorded video. There were 38 participants, a good number, and nearly everyone enjoyed the session very much, judging by the comments made in the chat box. Lucyna Wilinkiewicz called the webinar ‘wonderful’; but I would not go that far. One or two aspects fell flat, such as the knock-knock jokes, and a long text related to the 12 days of Christmas, which Geoff read, without a visual of the text, - it was too long. Overall though, the session was very enjoyable and useful, with excellent visuals, and Geoff certainly made a good case of showing why we should include Christmas lessons in the syllabus. It was another category ‘ A’ presentation for us to file in the archives.
Websites:Wallpaper.cave.com/merry christmasslides/images…
www.christmas in the classroom.com/letters-to-santa/ (Primary level)
Santatracker.google.com/ (great for games)…
www.rd.com/list/bizarre-christmas-laws...
https://mindseyedesign.co.uk/family-friendly-christmas-quiz-downloads/
www.piktochart.com - for unusual Christmas traditions…
www.trueactivist.com/the-best-knock-knock-jokes-that-will-make-you-laugh-t2/22/
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