Clue Hunters Context Clues

Students identify definition and antonym context clues through a 'nonsense word' hook and substitution strategies. The lesson focuses on building confidence in guessing word meanings from surrounding text.

Lesson #1
inWord Detectives Unlocking Meaning

You might also like

Linking and Intrusion Slides
Unsticking Sounds Worksheet
Speech Lab Teacher Guide
Linking Answer Key

The Speech Lab

This sequence targets the mechanical difficulties of understanding natural, fast-paced English. Students explore phonological rules like linking, elision, and assimilation to decode authentic, fluid speech patterns found in campus social life.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Shadowing Slides
Shadowing Mastery Guide

Shadowing Natural Speech

Students engage in a 'shadowing' technique, repeating audio immediately after hearing it to internalize the rhythm and flow of connected speech. This active processing reinforces their ability to predict and process sound streams.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Podcast Analysis Organizer page 1

Podcast Analysis Organizer

A detailed student evidence log for the final podcast project, providing sections for analyzing intent, vocal forensics, and bias check.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Reading Between the Lines Slides
Speech Act Investigation Worksheet
Instructor Briefing Teacher Guide

Pragmatic Power

This sequence guides intermediate ESL students through the nuances of pragmatic meaning in English. Students will learn to decode indirect speech, sarcasm, hedging language, and emotional undertones in academic and social contexts to improve their listening comprehension and communicative competence.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Grammatical Reductions Slides
Grammatical Reductions Worksheet
Reduction Answer Key

Grammatical Reductions

Focusing on function words, this lesson tackles common reductions like 'gonna,' 'wanna,' and weak forms of auxiliary verbs. Students analyze unscripted interviews to catch these reductions in context.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Media Critic Project Guide page 1

Media Critic Project Guide

A guide for the final project where students select a podcast episode, analyze its intent and bias, and present their findings, including a checklist and a performance rubric.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Lecture Roadmaps Slides
Signpost Scavenger Hunt Worksheet
Signal Script Guide Teacher Resource

Lecture Logic

This sequence equips intermediate ESL students with the linguistic and cognitive tools needed to navigate university lectures. It covers discourse markers, hierarchy of information, identifying tangents, note-taking systems, and synthesizing long-form academic speech.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Assimilation Slides
Assimilation Worksheet
Assimilation Answer Key

Assimilation and Sound Changes

Students learn how sounds influence their neighbors (e.g., 'hand bag' becoming 'hambag'). The lesson uses minimal pair discrimination and dictation exercises to train ears to recognize words despite phonological changes.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Media Critic Launch Slides

Media Critic Launch Slides

Slides for the final project launch, introducing the media critic mission, criteria for analyzing podcasts, and methods for citing audio evidence.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
The Lecture Hall Slides
Listening Mastery Assessment
The Lecture Hall Teacher Guide

The Lecture Hall

Students participate in a university-style mini-lecture simulation. They apply all learned strategies—signpost identification, Cornell note-taking, and synthesis—to capture information and complete a formal assessment.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny
Elision Slides
Elision Detective Worksheet
Elision Answer Key

Elision and Disappearing Sounds

This lesson covers the phenomenon of elision, where sounds (particularly /t/ and /d/) disappear in rapid speech. Students practice listening to high-speed dialogues to identify words that have been 'swallowed' by the speaker.

Lenny Avatar
Lenny