Cambly Pro students may want self-study materials outside of the Cambly classroom as part of their language learning journey. You may already have ideas for resources or activities to recommend that can help students improve their English between lessons with you, and you are welcome to suggest your favorites. If you’re looking for additional options, below are some ideas for self-study outside of the Cambly classroom that don’t require any prep and connect to a student’s learning plan.
Imagine you are suggesting self-study activities for Yusuf, an upper intermediate Cambly Pro student who plans to attend a British university next year as an undergraduate to study chemistry. The learning plan you developed with her during your kickoff conversation has the following items to focus on:
- Expanding general academic vocabulary (e.g., “analyze,” “establish”)
- Expanding field-specific vocabulary (e.g., “catalyst” or “alkaline” for chemistry)
- Practicing rhythm and connected speech
You might suggest your Pro students try…
Reading books, the news, or other articles related to the student’s interests
Upper intermediate and advanced learners may be able to read texts written for a native-speaking audience; lower proficiency learners can find texts for their reading level through Cambly Daily News or sources such as Voice of America or graded readers.
🎓Yusuf might try reading news articles that relate to new developments in the field of chemistry. He could jot down the academic vocabulary words he doesn’t recognize so that you can review them together in the next lesson.
Watching movies, TV shows, YouTube videos or TED talks
Advanced learners may want to watch these without any support; intermediate learners may want to watch with closed captioning on so they can read the dialogue in English as they listen.
🎓Yusuf could watch YouTube videos about campus life in Britain and practice repeating what college students say, paying attention to the rhythm.
Listening to music or podcasts
Students can read the lyrics to their favorite English songs as they listen; more advanced students can listen to podcasts that connect to their interests or learning goals.
🎓Yusuf could listen to his favorite English-language bands or artists just to keep English as a part of his daily routine.
🎓Or, he could try to write down the lyrics he hears as a listening exercise.
Keeping a vocabulary journal
Learners of any level can keep track of new words they encounter in your lessons or from other sources to study on their own. They can also seek out new words through online lists that match their learning goals, such as the Academic Word List.
🎓You might suggest that Yusuf study five new academic words a day on the days when he doesn’t have a lesson with you to continue building his academic vocabulary.
Talking out loud
Students can practice pronunciation and speaking on their own by talking out loud to their pets or themselves. They can narrate tasks as they do them, say their plans for tomorrow, complain about their workday, anything that gets them talking!
🎓Yusuf lives with his parents and sister. His sister is also studying English, so you could suggest that he and his sister have one conversation each day about any topic they want (or you could assign one discussion question per day).
🎓If Yusuf is too shy to speak in English with his sister, he could say his answers out loud to himself in the mirror or to his cat. He could also record himself speaking and listen to it to evaluate his own rhythm and connected speech.
Writing
Students can write anything that helps them meet their goals. Beginners can write their shopping lists or to-do lists in English; more advanced proficiency students can write essays or reports to share with you in the classroom.
🎓In college next year, Yusuf will need to do a lot of academic writing, so you could give him topics to write essays on for his future general education classes.
🎓You could also ask him to watch a chemistry experiment on YouTube, and then write a description of what the scientist did in the style expected for scientific academic writing (e.g., using the passive voice: “The results were measured…”).
🎓Yusuf could also practice producing a written summary of an article he read related to chemistry, using the academic vocabulary he has been learning with you in class.