scripts/yl_lesson_timer.py reads this table. Type: stir (lively, movement, voice) or settle (calm,
seated, focused). Ages are years. Minutes are typical; activities can be shortened. Keep the column order.
| Activity | Type | Ages | Minutes | Language | How it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hello song | stir | 3-8 | 3 | greetings, names | Same song every lesson with actions; learners wave to friends by name |
| Weather and date routine | settle | 4-9 | 3 | days, weather | A helper chooses the weather picture and says the day; class repeats |
| Simon says | stir | 4-10 | 5 | body parts, actions, imperatives | Do the action only when "Simon says"; learners take turns as Simon |
| Flashcard flash | settle | 3-9 | 5 | new vocabulary | Show cards quickly, half-hidden or flipped; learners shout the word, then whisper, then say it in a silly voice |
| Run and touch | stir | 4-10 | 5 | vocabulary, colours | Cards on the walls; teacher says a word; learners run (or point) to it |
| What's missing? | settle | 4-10 | 5 | vocabulary | Cards on the board; learners close eyes; remove one; who knows what's missing? |
| Action song | stir | 3-8 | 4 | target chunk with actions | Song with gestures; sing faster and slower; learners lead |
| Chant with clapping | stir | 5-10 | 4 | sentence patterns, rhythm | Chant the target sentence to a beat; change the word each round |
| Story time | settle | 3-10 | 8 | language in context | Picture book or story cards; predict, repeat refrains, act out key moments |
| Act out the story | stir | 4-10 | 7 | story language | Groups act a scene; class says the repeated lines |
| Colouring dictation | settle | 4-9 | 8 | colours, numbers, objects | "Colour the big ball red"; learners colour; check by comparing with a partner |
| Draw and guess | settle | 6-11 | 6 | vocabulary | A learner draws slowly on the board; class guesses in English |
| Musical cards | stir | 4-9 | 5 | vocabulary, questions | Pass cards while music plays; when it stops, learners say their word or answer a question |
| Bingo with pictures | settle | 5-11 | 7 | vocabulary | Picture bingo grids; teacher says words or definitions |
| Find your partner | stir | 6-11 | 5 | questions and answers | Learners have half pairs (picture/word, question/answer); mingle to find their partner |
| Board game | settle | 6-12 | 10 | target structure | Simple dice game; each square has a prompt to answer |
| Hot potato question | stir | 6-11 | 5 | question forms | Pass a soft ball; when the music stops, answer the question |
| Craft with language | settle | 4-10 | 12 | instructions, colours, shapes | Make a mask, puppet or card following step-by-step spoken instructions |
| Puppet dialogue | settle | 3-8 | 5 | short dialogues | Teacher's puppet talks to learners; then learners talk to the puppet |
| Traffic lights | stir | 4-9 | 4 | listening, yes/no | Green = run on the spot, yellow = walk, red = freeze; teacher calls words |
| Memory (pelmanism) | settle | 6-12 | 8 | word-picture matching | Cards face down; turn two; say the word to keep the pair |
| Word chain | settle | 8-12 | 5 | vocabulary, spelling | Next word starts with the last letter of the previous word |
| Treasure hunt | stir | 6-12 | 10 | prepositions, objects | Clues around the room ("It's under the chair"); teams find objects |
| Mini book making | settle | 7-12 | 12 | sentences about themselves | Folded paper book with one sentence and a drawing per page |
| Interview a friend | settle | 8-12 | 8 | questions, likes | Simple survey with a grid; report "Ana likes cats" |
| Goodbye song | stir | 3-8 | 3 | farewells | Same song every lesson; learners wave and say goodbye |
| Quiet reading corner | settle | 7-12 | 8 | reading | Picture books and graded readers; learners choose and tell a partner one word they learned |
| Freeze dance with words | stir | 3-8 | 4 | vocabulary | Dance; when the music stops, freeze like the word called (cat, tree, robot) |
academic-english-eap-course-planner
Plan English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses: pre-sessional, in-sessional, foundation, IELTS preparation and discipline-specific EAP, with syllabus strands (academic reading, lecture listening and note-taking, essay and report writing, paraphrase, summary and synthesis, referencing and plagiarism, seminars and presentations, academic vocabulary, critical thinking), a 10-week pre-sessional outline, exit assessment, IELTS-CEFR alignment and academic style (formality, hedging, cohesion, reporting verbs). Estimates study hours and weeks to close an IELTS gap from overall or per-skill scores (IELTS rounding, minimum per skill, priority skills, feasibility before a deadline), and checks learner texts for contractions, informal words with academic alternatives, unhedged claims, 'you', And/But/So starts, rhetorical questions and missing citations.
actfl-proficiency-curriculum-mapper
Map world language curricula to the ACTFL framework: proficiency levels (Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Superior, Distinguished with sublevels), functions, contexts, text types and accuracy, proficiency vs performance, the three modes of communication (interpretive, interpersonal, presentational), the 5 Cs World-Readiness Standards, backward-designed thematic units with Integrated Performance Assessments, typical programme targets and FSI time estimates. Looks up approximate ACTFL-CEFR-ILR equivalences with what each level can do, and checks a unit map for missing modes, rehearsed skits mislabelled as interpersonal, translation or word lists as interpretive tasks, and units without an integrated performance assessment.
adult-literacy-esl-lesson-builder
Build lessons for adult ESL learners who are developing literacy (LESLLA learners: pre-literate, non-literate, semi-literate, literate in a non-Roman script): learner profiles and sensitive initial assessment, principles (oral language first, known to new, systematic phonics with adult-relevant text, repetition, classroom skills, respect for experience), a lesson routine (oral warm-up, review, new grapheme, blending, segmenting, decodable text, writing, functional literacy, Language Experience Approach), a phonics sequence for adults, sight words, functional literacy targets (forms, signs, medicine labels) and portfolio assessment. Checks whether a reading text is decodable with the letter-sound patterns and sight words taught so far, catching untaught digraphs, listing non-decodable words with the untaught part, and suggesting the most useful next patterns.
authentic-material-lesson-adapter
Turn authentic material (news articles, podcasts, videos, songs, menus, timetables, adverts, social media posts, forms, infographics) into language lessons by grading the task rather than the text. Selects texts for interest, relevance, exploitability, coverage, cultural load and rights; finds the 4-6 words to pre-teach, words to gloss on the page and words learners can ignore, plus names and cultural references to explain, with reading time by level; and builds a lesson shape (lead-in, pre-teach, gist or scanning, graded detail task, language focus on chunks and register, response) with task ideas per material type and level from A1 to C1. Covers copyright, fair dealing and fair use, Creative Commons and attribution.
can-do-statement-writer
Write and review can-do statements for language courses, units, lessons and learner self-assessment, CEFR or NCSSFL-ACTFL style: action (observable verb) + text or situation + level-specific conditions, learner ('I can') and descriptor ('Can') versions, progressions of one activity from A1 to C1, and coverage of reception, production, interaction and mediation. Includes a verb bank by mode and level and condition and text-type banks. Lints statements for teacher-centred phrasing, knowledge instead of use (learn, know, understand the passive), missing context, two skills in one statement, vague quality words, grammar items as outcomes, overlong statements and missing modes in a set.
cefr-aligned-syllabus-builder
Build language course syllabuses aligned to the CEFR (A1-C2, plus levels, Companion Volume 2020): entry and exit levels, guided learning hours and course length (with an L1-distance adjustment), syllabus type (topic, functional-notional, task-based, skills-based, multi-strand), unit-by-unit can-do outcomes, grammar from a core inventory by level, vocabulary, functions, pronunciation, balance of reception, production, interaction and mediation, recycling and assessment points. Checks a syllabus for units without can-do statements, core grammar for the level not covered, items above the course level, skills missing from most units and units with no vocabulary or functions.