Teaching ESL to Adults Blog
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May 31, 2009, Resources for Middle School ESL Student
An anonymous reader in the U.S. writes: Hello: I know your site is about teaching adults, but I have not found anything about tutoring middle school ESL students. I have a 14-year-old middle school boy from China dumped by his parents to live with some relatives. He has been here now two months. He has been attending public school (6th grade) and is absolutely clueless. They are making him read 6th grade science textbooks about volcanoes and such and he can't even carry on a decent conversation. Like "Hi! How are you?" In addition he is very angry and not cooperative with school work in general. Please help me make this a productive summer for him. My response: Dear Anonymous, I hope that while he is in school he is being provided with ESL instruction. Without knowing all the info (location, finances, etc.), my best recommendation would be to get him a private ESL tutor. Depending on the area of the country, you could have luck with craigslist.org. Look under "Lessons." If I were you, I would also talk to the the school (for starters) and start finding out the resources available in your community. Best of luck, Debra Mar 19, 2009, Teaching ESL Verb TensesWhen teaching ESL verb tenses to adults, verb conjugation is only the beginning of the lesson. You also need to teach the functions of the verb tenses, as well as each form of the verb tense. Permalink -- click for full blog post Mar 16, 2009, Contact Teaching ESL to AdultsContact Teaching ESL to Adults if you have any questions, suggestions or comments about this site. Permalink -- click for full blog post Feb 15, 2009, How to Build a Successful ESL SiteAn Anonymous reader writes: Hello, I just completed my master's degree in education with a major in TESOL on January 16, 2009. I had originally wanted to teach ESL at a community college, but after sending my resume to several places and no calls for interviews, I'm thinking of tutoring adults in my home or theirs. I want to create a website to advertise my services to clients. I just don't know exactly what to write for the text and how to make sure that people see my website when they do a search. Do you have any advice? Thanks My response: Dear Anonymous, Congratulations on your degree! If you're serious about building a website that people will absolutely find in the Search Engines, I highly, highly recommend this program. It takes work to build a successful site where people will find you and your service, and ALSO from which you can make money. It also takes work to build a bad site where no one finds you. I've used SBI/Sitesell for two sites and am doing very well as far as traffic and income from my sites alone. Do a Google search for "teaching esl adults" or "teaching adults esl" and you'll find my site in a top position. My ESL site gets over 1,300 visitors four days a week (when teachers are looking for help). The point is, you can build a very successful site with all the tools this "program" offers you. Not only will it entirely help you build a site from scratch, but it will also tell you (along with your brain power) what to write, or rather, it tells you what people are searching for so that you can know what to write that will attract visitors from the Search Engines. However, it takes time and work. The cost is $299USD per year for EVERYTHING you need (and more). AND you can make money off the site itself for years to come. Sorry to sound like a sales pitch. I've just never found a product that works so well and for which I am so grateful. Best of luck to you and let me know if you have any questions. If you forget the URL for the program, you can go to the bottom of any of my pages and click on "Powered by Site Build It!"
Best, Feb 5, 2009, Voiced and Unvoiced Sounds in ESLOne of the first steps in teaching pronunciation to ESL students is teaching the concept of voiced and unvoiced sounds. This will help with past tense pronunciation and other pronunciation challenges. Permalink -- click for full blog post Feb 2, 2009, Teaching Titles to ESL StudentsMr., Ms., Miss, and Mrs. are all well-known titles for native American English speakers, yet they are often difficult for English language learners. And it's something so basic to native English speakers that ESL tutors and ESL teachers often take this for granted. I usually notice that these titles are difficult for ESL students when they are reading aloud. This leads to an impromptu discussion about the pronunciation of each of these titles, as well as how to appropriately use them. (There's also an opportunity for a small reinforcement of the s/z distinction and voiced and unvoiced sounds.) These titles can also lead to a mini-history lesson about the title "Ms." And even in how to address letters. The two main points here are that for the ESL teacher or tutor, there are many ideas for lesson plans, and flexibility is important during a class. Jan 26, 2009, Developing Best ESL Lesson PlansThe best ESL lesson plans are learner-centered and focus on the needs of the student. Every lesson plan should have a topic, objectives, tasks, and an evaluation. Permalink -- click for full blog post Jan 7, 2009, How To Start Teaching ESLEileen from the U.S. writes: "I am new to Chapel Hill, NC. I want to return to teaching ESL (I taught at Berlitz in the U.K. many moons ago) and need to know whether I need to be certified, where to start, etc. I would appreciate any advice on what to do first. Thanks!" Unfortunately, she did not provide me a return address, so I hope she'll check back here for the answer! Dear Eileen, Thank you for contacting me. I've written a page about How To Start Teaching ESL. You can read it by clicking the link below. Best regards, Debra Permalink -- click for full blog post Jan 5, 2009, Using ESL Cloze ExercisesESL cloze exercises and worksheets can be used for lessons, quizzes and tests. ESL cloze worksheets can consist of sentences, paragraphs or longer passages and can be used for any ESL grammar point. Permalink -- click for full blog post Jan 5, 2009, Make This an "Exclusive" ESL Site?An anonymous writer from the U.K. writes: "Hi, I am a newly qualified ESOL teacher and came across your website whilst browsing for similar websites. I think it is a great place to share ideas and resources and I personally believe it would be a good idea if you made a bit exclusive for members to register and use like many similar sites." My response: Hi U.K., Thank you for writing to me and congratulations on your new ESOL certification. Sometime in the future I may add a "members only" section of the site (perhaps for my ESL Tutoring Business e-book), but for now, I like having everything easily accessible to everyone.
Best, Jan 3, 2009, Qualifications for an Excellent ESL TeacherAn anonymous reader from Canada writes: "Hi, You have done a lot of preparatory work with very useful information! I am not a teacher but have always been interested in teaching. Lately, I have thought about a second career and thought about teaching ESL to adult students. Can you share with me what you think are qualifications that would make an excellent ESL teacher. I feel I have a lot to offer students. I have not attended teachers' college although I have an undergraduate degree in business. Going to teachers college is not in my plan as I am in my early fifties." My response: Dear Reader in Canada, Thank you for writing. You certainly don't need to return to college, but studying for a certification in teaching ESL will provide you with a lot of useful information and tools to specifically teach ESL. Plus, it will give you even more credibility in getting students. Of course, there are going to be different qualifications depending upon where/who you want to teach. Please read these three pages on my site for more info.
Duties of an ESL Teacher Let me know if you have any specific questions. Good luck and Happy New Year, Debra Jan 2, 2009, Happy New Year to AllI wish all my readers a very Happy New Year. My hope for the new year is peace and prosperity for all. And my other hope is for our continued hope for the future. Blessings to all. Dec 17, 2008, Submit Your Site to Teaching ESL to AdultsSubmit your site for inclusion in my list of quality resources for teaching English to adults. Permalink -- click for full blog post Nov 20, 2008, CELTA Course Locations Around the WorldComplete list of Cambridge CELTA Course Locations with contact information. Over 250 locations throughout over 50 countries. Permalink -- click for full blog post Sep 11, 2008, 9/11 as an ESL Conversation TopicIt's hard for Americans not to recall the events of seven years ago. In so many ways, we are still recovering. But are the events and causes of this day appropriate for ESL class topics? Last year, I made a comment to one of my ESL students from Europe. I said that the events of that day have not only changed life for Americans, but have also "impacted the whole world." As an educated American, I thought that was a valid comment. My ESL student pointed out to me that that was indeed a very American perspective. Her opinion was that we Americans think that the whole world has changed due to the events of 9/11. However, it was her opinion that this was not so. That people in her country do not think about these events as particularly significant. I won't go into the rest of the conversation we had. The question is whether this is an appropriate topic for conversation. I'd say it is. But we have to remember that in an ESL conversation class, the point is to get the English language learner to talk, whatever the opinion, whatever the perspective, whatever the topic. Sep 11, 2008, Irregular Verbs ListA wonderful anonymous reader wrote to me to highlight an error on my Irregular Verbs List (Thank you!). This is a particularly important page to get right because many teachers have written to asking if they can use the page for their students. (I hope you all caught the error, too!). I think it's all good now. If anyone else finds an error on this or any other page, please use the contact page to let me know. Thank you all so much. Permalink -- click for full blog post Jul 12, 2008, Irregular Verbs ListIrregular verbs list of common English verbs. Great for use with ESL/EFL students. This is a comprehensive list of irregular verbs. Permalink -- click for full blog post Jul 4, 2008, Tennis Player Makes ESL ErrorI really love tennis. It's the one sport I never tire of watching. Wimbledon has some extra excitement this year as the Williams sisters will be competing against each other in the finals. So how is this related to ESL or English? Check out this part of an AP article. "After Dementieva ended her loss to Venus with five consecutive groundstroke errors, she was asked about the final and said she couldn't imagine facing a sibling, adding, 'For sure it's going to be a family decision.' That was interpreted by some as a comment similar to what Dementieva said in 2001 following a loss to Venus in the quarterfinals of a tournament at Indian Wells, Calif., setting up a Williams-Williams semifinal. Asked to predict the outcome, Dementieva said then: 'I don't know what Richard thinks about it. I think he will decide who's going to win.' Dementieva's comment Thursday was relayed by a reporter to Venus, who said: 'Any mention of that is extremely disrespectful for who I am, what I stand for, and my family.' Later, Dementieva issued a statement through the WTA saying English is not her first language and clarifying her comments: 'What I meant was it is a unique situation for a family to be in, to be playing for a Grand Slam title.'" I can totally understand how Dementieva could make this mistake. I can only imagine some of the pressure players feel when they have to address the press in their non-native languages. Jul 2, 2008, Differences Between EFL and ESLDifferences between EFL and ESL primarily relate to where English is being taught. TEFL is taught in a non-English speaking country. TESL is taught in an English-speaking country. Permalink -- click for full blog post Jun 28, 2008, Shamelessly Posting Some PraiseLinda from Spain writes: "I just wanted to let you know how absolutely great I think your site is! I have, actually, been teaching ESL for around two years. As an Englishwoman with a decent education, but not the qualification, I was asked to teach a group of people who could not afford classes. As you say, it has been the most amazing and rewarding experience. During these two years I have relied a lot on the internet to research topics and to refresh my memories (my education was a long time ago!), but your site, which I only discovered this weekend, is far and away the best, the most practical and original. (I was so tired of exercises which presumed that the student, learning the present tense of a verb, had previously swallowed whole an English dictionary, for example! or supposed that they had a knowledge of "Western" cultures.)
I am about to embark on an online course, get a qualification and, hopefully, do this for a living, inshallah! I have no doubt that I will be returning to your site for tips and advice very soon!" Thank you, Linda, for your kind words. It's emails like this that make it all worthwhile. --Debra Jun 2, 2008, Book on Starting an ESL Tutoring BusinessI've decided to write an e-book about how to start and run an ESL tutoring business. I'll be referring to all the prior questions I've received, but I'd like this book to be very thorough, so I need your help. Almost on a daily basis, I receive emails from folks asking questions about teaching ESL. Some of the questions are about teaching methods or grammar--most of those questions I answer with links to certain pages on my website or my stand-alone blog at www.esl-tutor.com. I also receive many questions about the business part of running an ESL tutoring business. And lots of questions about how to get started. Please use link below ("permalink") to send me questions you might have about starting and running an ESL tutoring business. If you send me an original question, you'll get a free copy!
Thank you, Permalink -- click for full blog post Jun 1, 2008, Duties of an ESL TeacherDescription of the duties of an ESL teacher in universities, community colleges, non-profit organizations, K-12, adult schools and private tutoring. Permalink -- click for full blog post May 26, 2008, About Teaching ESL to AdultsHere's information about Teaching ESL to Adults and the ESL tutor behind the site. Permalink -- click for full blog post May 24, 2008, Free ESL Worksheets for Beginners and BeyondFree ESL Worksheets for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced English students. No membership required to download ESL cloze exercises. Permalink -- click for full blog post May 20, 2008, One Reason Americans Wait to Open GiftsLeeann in the U.S. writes: "I think that we ask 'Should I open this now?' to when receiving a gift to save the giver the immediate awkwardness of expecting a positive reaction. It's like asking someone to read a poem or story and then standing over them,waiting for their reaction. It may be unfavorable. By asking, 'Should I open this now?' it gives both people an 'out' to let thereceiver open the gift in private and if the immediate reaction isn'tfavorable, then they can at least soften the blow. That's what I think anyway. :) Leeann" Thanks for the response, Leeann! It makes a lot of sense! May 19, 2008, "Should I Open It Now?"I consider it a part of my responsibility as an ESL tutor to address cultural issues and especially cultural differences that enable my ESL students to understand "American culture" a little better. As most of my ESL students are very advanced, I don't often make culture the main topic of any lesson. Of course, it invariably comes up. There isn't really any way to avoid it! The student usually brings the topic to class. The depth of our discussion about culture depends on the topic and the interest of the English language learner. I'm often able to explain the origin of many aspects of "American culture," the "why" of what we do, and a bit of history about the custom. To further our conversation practice, I also elicit information about the customs in the student's home culture. Last week, a student stumped me by asking me the "why" of something we Americans do. She wanted to know why we often ask when receiving a present, "Should I open it now?" First, I was able to confirm that, yes, we usually do ask this question. However, the "why" of it was something I couldn't definitively answer. I speculated that it has something to do with economics and embarrassment. That the receiver of a gift doesn't want the giver to feel embarrassed about the cost of the gift, whether it is a costly or an inexpensive gift. I'd love to hear some suggestions from other people familiar with American culture as to why we ask, "Should I open it now or later?" And I also welcome non-Americans to share their customs around receiving gifts in their home countries. You can use the "contact" link on the navigation bar to the left to write to me. May 3, 2008, ESL Search EngineUse our ESL Search Engine for an ESL word search on the Teaching ESL to Adults website. Or search Google for more ESL, EFL, TESOL information. Permalink -- click for full blog post Apr 30, 2008, Teaching Reading to ESL StudentsHere's a list of steps for teaching reading to ESL students. How to prepare ESL reading activities. Teaching ESL reading comprehension and ESL beginning reading. Permalink -- click for full blog post Apr 18, 2008, Using Tongue Twisters for Pronunciation LessonsHow to use popular tongue twisters for pronunciation practice and to teach English language learners minimal pairs and vowels sounds. Permalink -- click for full blog post Jan 29, 2008, New ESL Teacher Starting Private TutoringAndrea from the U.S. writes: Hello! I am a college student majoring in TESOL. I'd like to do private tutoring out of my home after I graduate in December. Do you have any good advice for someone who is interested in doing this? I've been doing an internship in a high school and will be going overseas for student teaching in the summer. I've found I am better at one-on-one instruction. Anyway, I'll be visiting this site more often, as it seems very helpful! Hi Andrea, I'm not sure if you were looking at ESL Tutor or Teaching ESL to Adults . On the ESL Tutor site, you can look at the list or Article Topics for things like "self-employment" or "meeting locations," etc. Incidentally, I don't recommend teaching out of your home; too many horror stories. Check out the Article Topics list and if you have any specific questions, please feel free to write again. Good luck,Debra Jan 28, 2008, Teaching "N," "L" and "R" to ESL StudentsPenny from the U.S. writes: Please help! I am a former French teacher volunteering to teach English to foreign adults. My Chinese lady cannot pronounce the nasal "N" as in nose. She says "L" instead. Is there some way to help her hear and say the sound? Hi Penny, Thank you for your email. L, N (and ng) and R are really difficult for Asian language speakers. I've even read that they (some Asian language speakers, Japanese, I think) cannot actually hear the difference. In my experience, I don't spend time training them to hear it, but rather, to say it. What I do is use pronunciation books that have pictures of what their tongues, breathing, lips, etc. need to do to make each sound. I highly recommend the pronunciation book I refer to on this page ESL Textbook Evaluation. It has great drawings (I can't even figure out what some other books are trying to show), and explanations. It also shows you which sounds to teach first (e.g., N, then L, then R). Good luck, Debra Jan 28, 2008, How to Correct Consistent ESL ErrorsBen from Canada writes: Hi, I have been teaching one-on-one English classes to adults for a while. My classes are usually conversation based with some focus on form. One of my current students is a native French speaker and he has recurring problems with using have/has, do/does, and plural 's'. I correct errors and give him a lot of feedback; however these problems have become somewhat fossilized. I was wondering if you had any advice about how to stop students from making these same errors over and over again. I thought of getting him to write down the error when I correct him, but I am unsure whether this will disrupt the flow of the class too much. Thank you for your time.
Hi Ben, I have the same problems with many (if not all) of my students. The "s" (either added or dropped) is particularly troublesome. I haven't found any magic key for these three recurring errors. I understand what you mean about not wanting to disrupt the flow. Depending on the purpose of the class, I often don't correct errors each time they're made, but take notes and then review errors every ten minutes or so. I find that some students are more willing to work on specific problems (and actually make changes) if we discuss they "why" of it, or the importance of getting the "s" right or the "do/does" right. I often use humor to stress the importance. Also, if we decide that we are going to specifically work on a particular problem, I get the students' permission/buy in up front and let them know I am going to correct them each time they make the specific error we're working on. I think that by interrupting the speaker each time an error is made, then we can break that neural connection in the brain and start trying to build a strong and correct connection. If you learn of any other suggestions, please let me know! Debra Nov 2, 2007, Best ESL DictionaryThe Best ESL Dictionary is not specifically for ESL. The best is Longman Advanced American Dictionary. I recommend it to all my students. Permalink -- click for full blog post Sep 27, 2007, Useful ESL Acronyms and AbbreviationsMost ESL teachers know what CELTA stands for (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), but do you know what DELTA stands for? Check out this list of helpful ESL acronyms, abbreviations and terms for the answer. Permalink -- click for full blog post Sep 19, 2007, How Much Do ESL Teachers Make?This ESL joke gives you a general idea. Q: What's the difference between a large pizza and an ESL teacher? A: A large pizza can feed a family of four.
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