I quite like using Cuisenaire Rods in EFL, whereas some of my colleagues observe the use as childish. I think the shape and colour of the rods appeals to the eye and to the willingness of the students to use them. Originally used to teach maths to young learners, they were adopted for language teaching. There are a variety of different uses, some of which I will discuss in a later post. One of my favourite activities is spelling out colours using the rods and getting students used to the different shapes of words and recognising which letters have tails. In the photograph below, the rods represent the colours blue, red, green, black and pink. The rods have been spaced out slightly for photographic purposes.
