Consumer Product Reviews: A Popular, Practical ESL Speaking Activity
Let ESL Students Give Product Reviews in the New Year! Do you let your English students write and deliver product reviews? Consumer reviews help ESL students develop research skills, use critical thinking, and share their consumer choices. The giving and receiving of gifts has become a central feature of Christmas, Hanukkah, winter solstice and New Year celebrations. We live – for worse or for...
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 MoreLet’s Talk About the American Elections, Voting, and Democratic Values in English Class
Who makes the rules? Who chooses the rulers? Can citizens peacefully replace ineffective, unpopular leaders? Yes, we can! In the United States of America, voters enjoyed their opportunity to hire and fire their President. People voted, machines counted the votes, and millions of people around the nation smiled, laughed, and felt hopeful again. Senator Obama, as so often, captured the power and...
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...
Read MoreWhy Teach About Solzhenitsyn in English Classrooms?
“Own only what you can always carry with you; know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1918-2008), Russian writer and Nobel Prize winner Alexander Solzhenitsyn, an exceptional writer of rare courage, died today. English teachers, lovers of literature, and people of conscience will find his long obituary in the International...
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