Practice Might not Make Perfect, but it Does Help ESL Students in Job Interviews
More Practical Job Interview Tips for ESL Students, Teachers from Q Blog During these difficult economic times, English teachers should take every possible opportunity to focus on job interview skills. As blog readers know, I’m a big fan of both videotaping practice interviews and having ESL/EFL students conduct research for possible jobs with information interviews. The Q group, an...
Read MoreLooking for An ESL Book to Improve Speaking Skills? SMDP Recommends Compelling Conversations!
Santa Monica, California attracts artists, scholars, busboys, maids, actresses, models, sales people, mechanics, and film directors from around the world. Naturally, this upscale, coastal city provides many adult education classes, private language classes, and hosts English as a Second language workplace programs. The local newspaper, The Santa Monica Daily Press (SMDP), also covers immigration...
Read MoreWhat Are Reasonable Standards for Listening Comprehension and Speaking Skills for ESL Students?
Tough question! Context, as ever, matters. Looking for a clear, detailed chart to evaluate the speaking skills of your students? Check out the practical chart with ten categories for listening comprehension and speaking skills developed by the United States Office of Refugee Resettlement and revised by the Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning. Where did I find it? As so often, I went to...
Read MoreAnother Five Star Amazon Review!
Allow me to brag for a moment. Another five-star review for Compelling Conversations: Questions and Quotations on Timeless Topics showed up on Amazon. Consider me pleased! Here’s the entire Amazon review: 5.0 out of 5 stars A wholesome learning resource!, December 4, 2008 By Erika Villafane “Erika” (Miami, Florida USA) – See all my reviews When compelling conversations...
Read MoreHow democratic is your ESL classroom?
Who gets to speak in class? Whose ideas count? Who chooses the assignments? How do students receive feedback? Do students have a chance to conference with their instructors? Can YouTube be a valuable source for homework assignment? Do you want your students to become self-directed – or autotelic – in their studies? Here’s a quick checklist that ESL teachers that I created for a...
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