Dear student,

A good language learner needs to have good language learning strategies. Instructors can guide you in the classroom
but you also need to systematically set time aside beyond the classroom in order to improve, or even maintain, your
current level. How much organised effort a learner puts in to their independent study dictates whether they are
maintaining or improving their level.

In order to improve your language ability you should do more than three hours of independent study per week. The
aim of this document is to provide you with useful suggestions in order to provide tasks that practice all language
skills and systems.

The following suggestions are by no means exhaustive and some of you may know other ways that are equally
effective for you. These suggestions should provide you with more variety of task type, however, and therefore keep
you more motivated to continue with your language practice and learning beyond the classroom. I have avoided any
reference to specific apps or sites as these come and go out of fashion. I do, however, refer to basic functions that
internet and smart technology have given us to date.

The document is divided into sections which relate to the language skills and systems. Sometimes a partner is
required, is optional or not needed at all but company is always preferable. There will be reference to other
documents that my language students have access to but are available on my webpage:
http://hollymarg.pbworks.com

In cases where you can use the same article or text in different tasks, please do! Revisiting tasks and texts from
different perspectives allows you to move forward with more depth of understanding and increases your chances of
learning something that will stay in your long term memory.

Correction, whenever suggested within task instructions, is best done on a later day- ideally the next day but certainly
not the same day of the task. You will be able to notice more things if you conduct cold correction like this.

Please do use the task record at the end of this document to keep track of tasks that you have done, particularly liked
doing and didn’t particularly like and why. Rotation is key here! Whatever area or skill you feel you need to work on
please use a range of tasks. The most important thing is that you find what works for you!

I hope that these tasks help you to study in a more constructive and systematic manner and that you will see progress
in the quality of your English as a result.

M. Horrigan

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 1

Contents
LISTENING...................................................................................................................................................... 4
A) Using subtitles .................................................................................................................................... 4
B) Dictation ............................................................................................................................................. 4
C) News articles....................................................................................................................................... 4
READING: ...................................................................................................................................................... 5
A) Newspaper articles .............................................................................................................................. 5
B) Novels ................................................................................................................................................ 5
WRITING:....................................................................................................................................................... 6
A) Diary .................................................................................................................................................. 6
B) Opinion piece ...................................................................................................................................... 6
C) Plays or film scripts .............................................................................................................................. 6
SPEAKING ...................................................................................................................................................... 7
A) Taboo ................................................................................................................................................. 7
B) Record yourself ................................................................................................................................... 7
C) Talk about ........................................................................................................................................... 7
D) Watching TV shows ............................................................................................................................. 8
PRONUNCIATION ........................................................................................................................................... 9
A) Speech to text ..................................................................................................................................... 9
B) Reading phonemic script ...................................................................................................................... 9
GRAMMAR .................................................................................................................................................. 10
A) Exam practice ................................................................................................................................... 10
B) Error correction ................................................................................................................................. 10
VOCABULARY ............................................................................................................................................... 11
A) Lexical inferencing ............................................................................................................................. 11
B) Parts of speech .................................................................................................................................. 11
C) Call my bluff ...................................................................................................................................... 11
TRANSLATION .............................................................................................................................................. 12
A) Songs and poems .............................................................................................................................. 12
B) Online translation tools...................................................................................................................... 12
C) Articles ............................................................................................................................................. 12
PAIR TESTING ............................................................................................................................................... 13
Appendices .................................................................................................................................................. 14
Appendix 1: Task record ......................................................................................................................... 14
Appendix 2: The Common European Framework (CEFR)............................................................................ 15
Appendix 3: Tense Table ........................................................................................................................ 16

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 2

 Appendix 4: Collocations ........................................................................................................................ 17
Appendix 5: Time and Tenses ................................................................................................................. 18
Appendix 6: Verb patterns ..................................................................................................................... 19
Appendix 7: Irregular verbs .................................................................................................................... 20
Appendix 8: The Colour Coded Phoncart.................................................................................................. 22
Appendix 9: Picture - Word combinations example .................................................................................. 23
Appendix 10: The ALTE Framework ......................................................................................................... 24
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................. 25

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 3

LISTENING

A) Using subtitles

For this type of task you need video with English subtitles that can be switched on and off. For lower levels the
subtitles should also be available in the student's native language as well. You can work alone or with a partner for
this task.

1. Listen to a short video segment (about two minutes) without subtitles

2. Immediately write what you've understood in your language in about two or three minutes or tell a peer
who's present
3. Watch the segment again with subtitles in English
4. Discuss with partner if possible what you have understood
5. Watch the segment a final time with subtitles in your language if necessary

B) Dictation

For this type of task you need audio or video that is accompanied with a script.

1. Listen to a brief segment of about 40-50 seconds

2. Try to write every word as in a dictation
3. Rewind/listen as often as necessary
4. Check your text with a partner
5. Check your text with the original script

C) News articles

For this task you need a newspaper article and a partner

1. Choose an article based on its headline

2. Ask your partner to read the article to you
3. You can ask your partner to pause or rewind whenever you like
4. Take notes while you listen
5. When your partner finishes reading you must repeat what you have understood

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 4

READING:

A) Newspaper articles

For this type of task you need access to the internet or a translation app. A hard copy of the English article is best in
any case for your notes!

1. Find an article that interests you

2. Look at the headline and any related pictures
3. Write four or five things that you expect to find in the article. You can do this in your language if necessary
4. Read the article and check if your ideas are mentioned
5. Read it again for any new information
6. Write down, or discuss with a partner, what the text is about in as much detail as possible. You can do this in
your language if necessary
7. Copy the article and paste it into a translation site or app
8. Read the (usually pretty bad!) translation and see if there are any details you missed
9. Read the original article again and find any details you missed

B) Novels

For this type of task you need a novel you have recently read. You need to work with a partner.

1. Ask your partner to open the novel on any random page

2. They must read 10/11 lines out loud to you
3. You must then tell your partner what happened just before or just after the segment you hear
4. Read the segments before and after to see if you were right

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 5

WRITING:

A) Diary

For this type of task you need pen and paper.

1. Use a diary
2. Write in it for 15-20 minutes
3. Do this everyday for four consecutive days
4. Take two days off and forget about the diary
5. On the seventh day read your diary entries from that week
6. Rewrite the content correcting any errors that you find
7. Generally improve the quality of your writing with more discourse markers, complex sentences and verb
forms when possible

B) Opinion piece

For this type of task you need pen and paper, access to a computer word processing programme and keep an eye on
the time!

1. Choose an article or use one of the articles that you selected for Reading A task above
2. Decide if you agree or disagree with the article or a point that the writer makes in the article
3. Decide on four or five discourse markers you need to use in the text
4. Decide on four or five verb forms you want to use
5. Write 150-180 words in 20 minutes expressing your opinion
6. Check the quality of your writing online
7. Check the four or five discourse markers that you used. Are they used correctly?
8. Keep a note of any consistent errors
9. Review these errors

C) Plays or film scripts

For this type of task you need access to the script of any film or play. You can use pen and paper for this task.

1. Find a film script or play script online

2. The script can be in your language but better if it is in English
3. Read a scene from the script
4. Write a report of the scene in 150-180 words in 20 minutes

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 6

SPEAKING

A) Taboo

For this task you need to have a pen and paper and work with a partner.

1. Get a list of ten words that you know the meaning of

2. This list can come from your head or from a page of a novel, article or text book you have read
3. Do not tell your partner the words!
4. Take a minute or two to think on how you can describe each word without using the words in your
definitions-like the board game ‘taboo’
5. Take turns describing and guessing the words with your partner
6. A time limit of one or two minutes per turn might increase the fun!

B) Record yourself

For this task you need an audio recording device and a partner

1. Pick a topic to discuss with a partner

2. You both need to record yourselves (2 recording devices)
3. Have a two minute conversation with your partner taking equal turns to speak
4. Record yourself speaking
5. In a quiet place and alone listen to the recording and make note of any errors that you find
6. Check your notes with your partner on the next day or later
7. Correct the errors that you found together

C) Talk about

For this task you need pen and paper and a partner, or partners, to work with.

1. On a piece of paper make a list of one word topics (eg. Sport) and 5 words commonly associated to the topic
(eg. football, tennis, team, Olympics, win)
2. One person is told a topic
3. The person must talk about that topic for one minute
4. The person must try to include the associated words in her description but must not see those words until
the minute has ended
5. For every associated word used the speaker gets a point
6. There are no points for words that are not in a sentence
7. Take turns describing the topics
8. Consider recording yourself to listen to later in private.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 7

D) Watching TV shows

For this type of task you need to find a TV show that you like. This task needs a partner to work with you.

1. Agree with your partner which show you intend to watch for this task
2. Watch an episode of the TV show
3. Write notes on whether you liked or disliked the episode or not and why
4. Write notes on what you think will happen on the next episode
5. Meet with your partner and present your notes in a short oral presentation
6. Listen to your partner’s presentation and see if there are similarities or differences
7. Agree and disagree as normal
8. Decide together on what will happen in the next episode

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 8

PRONUNCIATION

A) Speech to text

For this task you need an audio recording device with speech to text software.

1. Find a segment from a text or poem that you like

2. Record yourself reading it aloud using the speech to text software
3. Make note of any words that are not transcribed accurately
4. Repeat the activity until the text is transcribed completely accurately

B) Reading phonemic script

For this task you need a good dictionary, access to text to speech software and the colour coded phonemic chart
(appendix 8).

1. When you find new words look them up in a dictionary ideally after you having done vocabulary task A
2. Decide how you think the word is pronounced
3. Remember that the stressed vowel is usually anticipated with a mark (eg. /in’kredibal/
4. Check the phonemic transcription of the words in the dictionary
5. Use the colour coded phonemic chart to establish the exact pronunciation
6. Type the word into text to speech software and check if your pronunciation of the words is accurate

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 9

GRAMMAR

A) Exam practice

For this task you need access to the web.

1. Look at the CEFR table (appendix 2)

2. Establish what exams are exactly at and directly below your target level
3. Look at the use of English or grammar sections if these exams
4. Work systematically through the exam practice tasks that you can find online
5. Keep a clear record of your errors and difficulties
6. Remember that revision will be provided by exams directly below your target level and that exams exactly at
your target level should push your use of English more
7. Be systematic in your records of errors and revise these frequently

B) Error correction

For this task you need access to the web, a partner or partners and pen and paper.

1. Using pen and paper write a weekly letter to your friend

2. Insert nine or ten errors into your letter but do not make these look obvious to the reader
3. Take a photo of your letter
4. Send it to your partner(s)
5. Tell them how many errors you have inserted
6. Wait two three days and then tell your friends what the intentional errors were
7. Ask them if they found any unintentional errors too!

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 10

VOCABULARY

A) Lexical inferencing

In many instances students believe that they cannot understand a text because there are difficult or new words. With
a little logical thinking, however, it is possible to understand the meaning of these words. An example is set out for
you here:

1. What is the word? ANCIENT

2. What type of word is it in the text? ADJECTIVE
3. Does it have a positive (+), negative (-) or neutral (=) connotation? +
4. Does it look like a word in your language or a language you know? ANCIEN- Fr.
5. What is a possible synonym/negative antonym? OLD/HISTORICAL/ NOT MODERN
6. Is there any part of the word that you recognize as a ‘root’ or affixation? NO
7. What do you think the word means based on the sentence it is in and the answers given to 1-6 above? THE
OPPOSITE OF MODERN/CONTEMPORARY. SOMETHING VERY, VERY OLD
8. Check the word in a dictionary now!

B) Parts of speech

For this task all you need is pen and paper. You can do this task alone or with partners.

1. When you find a new word and have established its meaning decide what type of word it is, a noun or a verb
etc.
2. Once you have established its word class decide what the other classes of that same word might be
3. Decide how each word would be translated into your L1 and/or L2
4. Check what the word classes actually are in a dictionary
5. You could involve a partner, or partners, in a little game using this task by giving each other words to classify
and see who is the ‘winner’.

C) Call my bluff

This is the name of a very old British quiz show. For this task you need to work with at least one other person.

1. Each person selects a list of five or six new words from a text
2. It is important that the words are new to you
3. Look the words up in a dictionary and be sure that you know the meaning
4. Devise three definitions per word, only one of which is accurate and the other two are plausible but
inaccurate
5. Take turns in spelling the words and providing the definitions
6. The object of the game is to guess which definition is correct
7. The winner is obviously the person who guesses the most correct definitions

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 11

TRANSLATION

A) Songs and poems

For this task you need access to the words of a poem or song.

1. Choose a poem or song in your language

2. Translate it literally into English
3. You could use a translation app or site to translate the text
4. Look at the original poem or song for features that have not transferred to the translated text
5. Rewrite the text trying to include the features of the original

B) Online translation tools

For this task you need access to the internet.

1. Choose a short text in your language

2. Copy and paste the text into 2 separate online translation tools
3. Compare and contrast the English versions that result
4. Create a final translation
5. Check the spelling and grammar

C) Articles

For this task you need a short newspaper article or segment from a novel in your language.

1. Translate without using a dictionary or grammar book

2. Check your finished translation with a dictionary and grammar book
3. Run the original text through Google translate and compare it to your text
4. Identify any ‘Italianisms’ in your own choice of words and syntax and correct these
5. Try to write a final version of the translation adding more ‘English’ phrases
6. Share your translations with other students if you feel comfortable doing it. You learn a lot from each other!

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 12

PAIR TESTING

This type of task requires a partner but can be done alone if you cover one of the ‘lists’ with a piece of paper. The
documents for this task type are in the appendices.

1. Get your partner to prompt you with a:

A) Base verb
B) Start of sentence
C) First part of collocation or fixed expression
D) Picture
E) L1 translation of a word or expression
F) Word or definition
G) Synonym or antonym

2. You shouldn’t look at the answers but you should respond by providing:
A) The past simple and past participle form
B) The end of the sentence using the correct verb patterning
C) The second part of the collocation or fixed expression
D) The word that the picture illustrates
E) The English equivalent
F) The definition or word
G) The antonym or synonym

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 13

Appendices
Appendix 1: Task record
DATE SKILL/SYSTEM TASK NOTE

23.4.2019 Reading A Difficult. Need help here.

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 14

Appendix 2: The Common European Framework (CEFR)

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 15

Appendix 3: Tense Table

Form Past Present Future Components

Simple He He works° He will work^ Subject *regular past, °3rd
worked* person singular 's', bare
infinitive^
REAL TIME

Continuous He was He is He will be Subject +'be'+ pres.part

working working working
Perfect He had He has He will have Subject +'have'+past part.
worked worked worked
Perfect He had He has He will have Subject +'have'+been+pres.part
continuous been been been working
working working

Form Past Present Future Components

unreal/3rd unreal/ possible/ 1st
conditional 2nd conditional
conditional
Affirmative He would He would He will work if… Subject +modal of possibility+
conditional have work if… bare infinitive^
worked if… (+past part) +if
UNREAL
TIME

Negative He He He won't Subject +modal of possibility +

conditional wouldn't wouldn't work + not + bare infinitive^
have work if/ if/unless… (+past part) +if/unless
worked unless…
if/unless…
1. …since 1995. 11. …when you called.
2. …when he was a student. 12. …the money is good.
3. …he were well enough. 13. … from 9 to 5.
4. …when you called. 14. …for 15 hours, he deserves the rest.
5. …for 30 years on his 50th birthday. 15. …, can I take a message?
6. …at 3pm tomorrow. 16. …for 15 hours yesterday.
7. …if he were sick. 17. …the strike were called off.
8. …for 15 hours, he needs a break now! 18. …like a horse.
9. …with that company before he graduated. 19. …as a tutor in a university.
10. …the strike is called off. 20. …there in 1997.
Adapted © Margaret Horrigan 1994

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 16

Appendix 4: Collocations

 alone  controversial
Absolutely  amazed  successful
 appalled Highly  effective
Utterly  beautiful  probable
 convinced  profitable
Quite  devastated  recommended
 furious  unlikely
Really  impossible  unusual
 miserable
 ridiculous

COLLOCATIONS
 undeserving
 devoted
 flabbergasted

 resent  cheap
Bitterly  regret Ridiculously  early
 disappointed  easy
Really  criticize  long
 complain  small
 cold  stupid
 oppose

 strong  well
Completely  fantastic Reasonably  priced
 different  happy
Really  amazed  good
 shocked
 surprised

 affected  Actively involved

 ashamed  Badly hurt
Deeply  care  Dead tired
 committed  Drop-dead gorgeous
 competitive  Fiercely competitive
 concerned  Fully aware
 divided  Happily married
 hurt  Perfectly normal
 moved  Pleasantly surprised
© M.Horrigan 2018

 offended  Pretty good

 regret  Quietly confident
 religious  Quite good
 shocked  Quite sure
 worried  Readily available
 unhappy  Ruggedly handsome
 saddened  Scared stiff

 unaware  shy
Blissfully  ignorant Painfully  thin
 happy  boring

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 17

Appendix 5: Time and Tenses

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 18

Appendix 6: Verb patterns

PAIR TESTING BOX: © OUP

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 19

Appendix 7: Irregular verbs

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 20

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 21
Appendix 8: The Colour Coded Phoncart

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 22

Appendix 9: Picture - Word combinations example

© OUP

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 23

Appendix 10: The ALTE Framework

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM © Margaret Horrigan 2019 24

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