ESL News and views from the English world
Subscribe
ESL Lesson Plan
ESL Lesson Plans, Teaching Locales, Tips, Tricks & Budgeting Advice for Novice & Veteran ESL Instructors
Q and A - Do I have to make them laugh all the time?
Hello Readers,
This month's question comes from Grant, who is teaching in Guangdong Province in China.
Hello Mrs Rueckert! I'am an ESL teacher in Guangdong, China. I have been teaching for a year and a half. I'm an American. It seems here in China, if you don't make them laugh all the time, they don't seem interested in learning English. I've studied two languages and when I did, I was taught what the teacher gave me, interesting or not. I'm also 59 years old. Please give me some advice. Thank you.
Continue reading for the answer to this month's question ...
Lesson Plans - Guessing unknown words from context
Hello Readers,
If you have students who are constantly looking up words in their dictionaries during class, then you can probably appreciate how frustrating unknown words can be for students. The fact of the matter is that English is a living language, which means that new words are constantly being added to our language. What does this mean for speakers of English (both native and non-native)? Simply put, there will always be new words to learn. That being said, ...
Industry Events - Symposium on Second Language Writing 2008
Hello Readers,
Are you interested in learning more about how to teach writing to your students? Then this symposium might be for you. Taking place June 5th- 7th at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, the Symposium on Second Language Writing 2008 is a great opportunity for foreign language professionals to discuss issues relating to this theme.
The line up for this event ...
Recommended Resources - How to teach vocabulary
Hello Readers,
If you're interested in reading more about how to teach vocabulary, Scott Thornbury's "How to teach vocabulary", which is part of Longman's "How to ..." series, offers practical teaching ideas within a theoretical framework. In addition to theory, ...
Tips and Tricks - Vocabulary Notebooks
Hello Readers,
Do your students have a hard time remembering all the new words that they learn in your class? Are you students constantly confusing certain words for other similar words? What can you do about it? Well ...
Workplace Issues - Gossip
Hello Readers,
Few people can say that they've never participated in office gossip before. At the same time, I'd find it hard to believe that many people would say that they enjoy being gossiped about. So what is gossip? Why do we do it? Is there a place for gossip in the workplace? What can we do to stop it?
First, it's important to understand what the difference between gossip ...
Teacher Development - Becoming a learner
Hello Readers,
To help develop as a teacher, it's a good idea to step back from the front of the classroom every once in a while and put yourself in your students' shoes to see what it's like to be a student going through the learning process. How do you feel when a teacher calls on you in a language class to talk about a topic? Do you feel comfortable working with everyone in a group? Do you prefer to choose your own partner or to have the teacher choose for you? How do you ...
Living on a Budget - DVDs
Hello Readers,
I read an article in the paper this weekend about ways to save money. Tips included things like, don't buy a designer hand bag, rent one! Instead of eating out five nights a week, eat out four times! Instead of going to the salon twice a month for facials, go once a month! While these tips may be helpful to some, ...
Surveys- Class material
Hello Readers,
There are plenty of books, magazines, and websites that offer lesson plans for ELT teachers, but do you use them or do you write your own?
This month's survey ...
Recommended Resources - Teaching English lesson plans
Hello Readers,
Looking for free ELT resources available online? Perhaps you've already used all of your favorite lesson plans from another website offering free lesson plans online. Then it's time to check out Teaching English, which has teamed up with the British Council to provide free lesson plans online for ...
Q and A -Scrapbook Project
Hello Readers,
This month's question is from Walter.
Hi Carol,
I was surfing the internet for ideas for my ESL beginners class. This is the first time I teach a basic course for adults, and their first bimester will end in a few days. I want to put together a project so that they can be creative and apply all the vocabulary they learned over the last two months. At first I was thinking about a scrapbook, ...
Teaching Spots - North Korea
Hello Readers,
North Korea may not be the most obvious place to start looking for a teaching job, but every once in a while, there are job opportunities available there. Living in North Korea is not ...
Lesson Plan - Job Interviews
Hello Readers,
If you're teaching adults who are interested in using English at work, this lesson plan on job interviews should prove to be a relevant and worthwhile lesson for your students. To start: ...
Industry Events-42nd IATEFL Conference
Hello Readers,
If you plan on being in or near Exeter (UK) the 7th to the 11th of April this year, then you might want to think about attending the 42nd IATEFL Conference. The plenary speakers ...
Tips and Tricks-Minimal Pairs
Hello Readers,
Do your students have a difficult time distinguishing between two similar sounds? (If you don't know what their pronunciation problems are, start compiling a list in class. Spending a few minutes each day focusing on their pronunciation would be a good start.) Perhaps they confuse the sounds p and b, l and r or s and z. If this is the case, then a quick and regular minimal pairs exercise could eventually improve ...
Newsfeed display by CaRP
