What Three Tips Would You Share with Novice ESL / EFL Teachers?
What three tips would offer new a ESL/EFL teacher? Hall Houston, author of Provoking Thought: Memory and Thought in ELT, posed this question to several prominent English language trainers and teachers last year. Sean Banville, Russell Stannard, Chia Suan Chong, Nik Peachey, Scott Thornbury, and myself replied. (Naturally, I feel grateful to be included with these far more notable and...
Read MoreSpeaking Together to Write Academic Definitions
“The beginning of wisdom is in the definition of terms.” Socrates (469 BCE–399 BCE) , Greek philosopher Getting students to speak can be a challenge, especially in ESL courses focused on academic writing. Flexibility remains essential. How does one, for instance, teach the difficult task of writing formal academic definitions in a communicative style? The challenge becomes more...
Read MoreCATESOL Accepts Presentation on Informational Interviews
How can English teachers help adult, college, and university students expand their network of professional contacts while improving their interview skills? What practical speaking exercise includes both off-campus interviews and classroom presentations? How can ESL teachers add informational interviews to their oral skills curriculum? What are informational interviews, anyway? What makes them...
Read MoreRedefining Success – and Staying Optimistic
Sometimes we have to redefine success in our English language classrooms. Sometimes we disappoint ourselves, sometimes our ESL students disappoint us – and sometimes school administrators disappoint us. ESL and EFL teachers, often underpaid and overworked, have to deal with high expectations, numerous classroom frustrations, and stay focused on improving student skills. Working with mixed...
Read MoreWorksheet – or Cheat Sheet – for English Teachers to Observe Conversations and Lead Class Discussions
What do you do while students are having conversations or talking in pairs? Do you have a “formula” for taking notes? Do you focus more on fluency or accuracy? Many English teachers, especially novice ESL instructors, talk more than ideal – and allow their English students to talk too little. Ironically, many ESL instructors make this “good mistake” because they are...
Read More
