What Does Success Mean? What Definition Works for You?
Sometimes the simplest questions create the best conversations. What does success mean? What definition are you using? How is that definition working for you? After a hectic summer teaching English and directing a private high school English program in Vietnam, I’ve been asking myself these questions quite a bit. I learned many lessons, deepened a close friendship with two old friends, met...
Read MoreStandardized Exams: Ends or Means?
We Just Want a High TOEFL Score! Students often need solid TOEFL scores to study abroad, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Naturally, this need – and ambition – often makes reaching a certain number on the TOEFL exam as the goal of their English studies. Unfortunately, sometimes these imperfect standardized exams – all attempts to measure...
Read MoreAttention, California English Teachers – Our CATESOL Conference Opens Thursday!
Time flies – especially when focusing on taxes, grading papers, and browsing the internet! Somehow, the calendar reads April 15. Everybody knows that this is America’s tax day. Yet California English teachers might also remember that April 16 marks the opening of our annual CATESOL conference too. For better or for worse, that also means I have less than 60 hours before presenting my...
Read MoreVietnam Embraces English Classes – and Looks for Communicative English Teachers
My recent trip to Vietnam to meet English teachers and lead a professional development seminar at the American-Pacific University, Vietnam lead to many wonderful moments and a few surprising conversations. Teaching English in developing countries always poses challenges, and Vietnam falls into that category. Lt me share a few selective details to provide a brief introduction to education...
Read MoreTeaching Interview Skills Vital for Adult ESL, University Students
How can English teachers encourage adult and university students to expand their language skills and improve their employment opportunities in a difficult economic climate? Personally, I’ve slightly modified my oral skills course this semester to provide greater emphasis on interviewing skills. Students interviewed each other for 10-15 minute videotaped mock job interviews for their first...
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