Teaching ESL to Adults Blog

Apr 30, CELTA Course Locations Around the World

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:47:16 GMT

Complete list of Cambridge CELTA Course Locations with contact information. Over 250 CELTA centres throughout over 50 countries. Updated May 7, 2012.

Mar 23, Will and Be Going To for the Future

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 03:01:17 GMT

Future Simple tenses include the uses of will and be going to. The general rules are Will is used for predictions and willingness. Be going to is used for predictions and prior plans.

Mar 23, Privacy Policy for Teaching ESL to Adults

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:35:32 GMT

Current Privacy Policy for Teaching-ESL-to-Adults.com. Your use of this site indicates acceptance of this privacy policy.

Mar 23, ESL Sitemap for Teaching ESL to Adults

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:31:13 GMT

An ESL sitemap with a list of all the articles in this website.

Mar 23, About Teaching ESL to Adults

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:55:30 GMT

Here's information about Teaching ESL to Adults and the ESL tutor behind the site.

Mar 22, Contact Teaching ESL to Adults

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 23:11:01 GMT

Contact Teaching ESL to Adults if you have any questions, suggestions or comments about this site. You can also contact me through Facebook on this page or at Facebook.com/teachingesltoadultscom.

Mar 22, Submit Your Site to Teaching ESL to Adults

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 22:33:27 GMT

Submit your site to Teaching-ESL-to-Adults.com for possible inclusion on my Resources page or other appropriate ESL or EFL for adults page.

Mar 22, Resources for Teaching Adults ESL or EFL

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:40:25 GMT

My personal list of websites and other resources for teaching adults ESL or EFL. All sites provide valuable help for teaching adults English.

Mar 22, ESL Present Tense Verb Worksheets

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 02:45:33 GMT

ESL Present Tense verb worksheets are a great teaching tool and can be used to reinforce conjugation, forms and functions. Cloze exercises are common handouts used for ESL and EFL quizzes and tests.

Mar 21, Using ESL Cloze Exercises

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 23:11:53 GMT

ESL 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.

Mar 21, Free ESL Worksheets for Beginners and Beyond

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:50:25 GMT

Free ESL Worksheets for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced English students. No membership required to download ESL and EFL handouts and printables.

Mar 19, Teaching Reading to ESL Students

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 23:46:36 GMT

Steps for teaching reading to ESL students and preparing effective reading lesson plans. Step-by-step list to engage students and effectively teach reading skills to English Language Learners.

Mar 19, Developing Best ESL Lesson Plans

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:49:46 GMT

The best ESL lesson plans are learner-centered and focus on the needs of the student. Every lesson plan should have a topic, objectives, study, activities, and an evaluation.

Mar 19, Best ESL Dictionary

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 20:29:00 GMT

The Best ESL Dictionary is Longman Advanced American Dictionary. Although not specifically an ESL dictionary, I use it regularly to teach my ESL students and I recommend it to all my advanced students

Mar 17, ESL Textbook Evaluation for ESL Teachers

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 01:39:42 GMT

ESL textbook evaluation and recommendations for ESL and EFL teachers and tutors. The best grammar and pronunciation books and dictionaries. I own and use all of these books regularly.

Mar 17, Changes to My Website Layout

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 00:21:59 GMT

You may notice changes to the layout of Teaching-ESL-to-Adults.com over the next couple of months. Rest assured they are changes that I'm making. (When I see changes to sites, I sometimes wonder if something "bad" is happening, like someone has hijacked the site or something.--But then maybe that's just me!) The primary reason I'm making the changes is that the incredible tool I use to make my site (SBI) is upgrading and making so many more options available to me to make an even more useful site. I will only make changes that I think will be helpful to my readers. Your feedback is always welcome.

Mar 15, ESL Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:28:38 GMT

Tips for teaching ESL Future Perfect Continuous verbs. The Future Perfect Continuous tense emphasizes the duration of an activity that will be in progress before another time or event in the future.

Mar 14, ESL Future Perfect Lesson Plans

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 23:10:23 GMT

Tips for Future Perfect lesson plans, verb conjugation, forms, and function. The Future Perfect is used to talk about an activity that will be finished before another time or event in the future.

Mar 14, ESL Future Continuous Verb Tense

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:48:52 GMT

The ESL Future Continuous is used to talk about an activity that will be in progress at a certain point in the future. The Simple Future can also be used with little or no difference in meaning.

Mar 14, ESL Future Simple Tenses

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 06:19:27 GMT

Teaching Future Simple Tenses involves teaching two versions of the tense, plus the Present Progressive tense used with a future meaning. Conjugation, form, and function must be taught.

Mar 9, ESL Past Perfect Lesson Plans

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:23:26 GMT

How to do Past Perfect lesson plans, including verb conjugation, form and function of this verb tense. The Simple Past is usually used by ESL students instead of the Past Perfect.

Mar 8, ESL Teaching Ideas for Past Continuous

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:30:07 GMT

Teaching ideas for Past Continuous or Past Progressive verbs include conjugation, form, and functions of the tense. ESL and EFL teachers must first teach the past tense of the helping verb “to be.”

Mar 7, Forming Simple Past Tense Verbs

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:09:22 GMT

Conjugating and forming simple past tense verbs for ESL and EFL students. Functions of the Simple Past tense.

Mar 6, ESL Present Perfect Lesson Plans

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 23:38:35 GMT

Present Perfect lesson plans should focus on verb conjugation, verb form and, especially, the functions of the verb tense. The Present Perfect has three functions in English grammar.

Mar 5, English Verb Tense List

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:58:40 GMT

Here's the verb tense list you need for teaching ESL or EFL. The basic verb tenses are Past, Present and Future, but there are a total of twelve English verb tenses that need to be taught.

Mar 2, Using Tongue Twisters for Pronunciation Lessons

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:47:39 GMT

How to use tongue twisters for pronunciation practice and to teach English language learners minimal pairs and vowels sounds.

Feb 29, Teaching Voiced and Unvoiced Sounds to ESL and EFL Students

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 22:35:00 GMT

Teaching the concept of voiced and unvoiced sounds to ESL and EFL students helps with pronunciation challanges, especially with past tense pronunciation. Vocal chord vibration is the key.

Feb 26, English Past Tense Pronunciation of -ed Endings

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 02:23:20 GMT

English past tense pronunciation is often challenging for ESL or EFL students. Regular Simple Past Tense verbs have three endings: /id/, /t/ and /d/.

Feb 14, Differences Between EFL and ESL

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:09:24 GMT

Differences between EFL and ESL primarily involve the students who are being taught and the country where English is being taught. ESL is taught in English-speaking countries.

Feb 6, TEFL or CELTA Certificates

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:39:00 GMT

TEFL or CELTA, which certification is best? Factors to consider when deciding between a TEFL or CELTA cerficate to begin your career teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

Apr 18, New CELTA Locations in U.S.A.

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 02:11:01 GMT

Cambridge CELTA courses can now be taken in Los Angeles (specifically in Torrance), California and Seattle, Washington. This makes a total of eight locations across the U.S. where CELTA can be studied. See the link below for a full list of CELTA course locations in the U.S. and around the world.

Oct 25, Hopefully, this disjunct is OK

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:44:42 GMT

Peter H. from the U.S. took exception to something I wrote on the home page of this website. While I disagree with him, the issue raises a great point about how the English language is ever-changing and constantly evolving (although some would disagree with this positive outlook!). Peter's comment and my response follow. Peter's comment: "Hopefully, it will save other ESL and EFL teachers and tutors a lot of time....." "Hopefully" is a dangling adverb in this sentence, intended to mean "I hope..." I guess there's little hope (!) of reversing this insult to English, as it has become so firmly established! My response: Hi Peter, Thank you for taking the time to write. While I certainly do not claim to speak "The Queen's English" or anything like it, I will have to disagree with you on this one. I don't think the English language feels insulted by my use of this disjunct (at least I hope not!). I believe that the current state of the ever-changing English language accepts this usage of "hopefully." You can also see a longer response about my thoughts on English, as well as another instance where someone else might agree with you about my use of English here: "Speak Like the Natives. Welcome to English as English is used! Hopefully, I didn't ruin your day! And I do hope (uh oh, started with a conjunction!), that none of my words here have caused any additional grief. I really do appreciate your passion and the time you took to write. Best regards and take care, Debra

Oct 12, Please and Thank You

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:35:48 GMT

Probably 100% of the ESL students I've met know the word "please." It's one of the first words English language learners are taught. "Thank you" is right up there, too. When teaching students how to make requests and the various different ways to do so, I always tell them, "just add 'please' to your request and you don't have to worry about your request being in perfect English." So here is my request to my readers who ask me for resources or ideas: please write "please" in your request. I don't mind responding to the several emails I get every day, sometimes I even enjoy it, but I'm getting a little persnickety about the word "please." So if it wouldn't be too much to ask, I'd greatly appreciate adding the word "please" to requests for information or help. Thank you! (Incidentally, many of my ESL students have mentioned that they think Americans say "thank you" a lot. Hmmm.)

Oct 9, Contacting Teaching ESL to Adults

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:41:10 GMT

I love to get your ESL questions and comments. Please remember that if you want a response from me, you must fill in your email address in the contact form. Otherwise, there's no way for me to get back to you (and I'm sure you're probably thinking I'm a flake for not responding!).

Sep 30, TESOL Certificate Course Criteria

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:37:15 GMT

Criteria for choosing the best TESOL Certificate course to help you start teaching English as a second or foreign language.

Sep 30, Accredited TEFL and TESL Courses: Does Accreditation Matter?

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:07:46 GMT

Accredited TEFL courses may not be better than non-accredited courses. The accrediting agency must be carefully reviewed to determine the standards being met by the school being accredited.

Sep 29, Christian-based ESL Curriculum?

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:30:14 GMT

I received this message from Sally in the U.S. Unfortunately, she did not supply an email address for me to answer her. Hopefully, she'll come back to my site for the answer.

Sally writes:

"I will be teaching ESL to Spanish speakers through my church. I'm excited, but nervous. I've never taught ESL.

I taught HS 20 years ago -- Media and English degrees.

I have just found your site and think it will help me. I'm open to any other help anyone wants to offer.

We don't have a curriculum or supplies. We have thought it would be good to be able to use a biblical, Christian based, curriculum. I haven't been able to find one. Any thoughts?"

My response:

Dear Sally,

That's great news, and you're right, teaching ESL is exciting. It seems that churches and other non-profit organizations are great places for non-English speakers to get low-cost or free English classes. And it also seems that these organizations are often expected to provide services with limited or no resources! That's a shame.

What and how you teach will depend upon (1) the English level of the students, (2) their age, and (3) their purpose in learning English.

You didn't mention the specifics of the first two items, but there are tons of free resources online to address the first two issues. It just takes time to find them. However, I want to address the third issue in more detail.

One thing that ESL/EFL teachers, especially teachers of adults, need to ask themselves is WHY are these students taking this English class.

In your case, Sally, is it to get a deeper understanding of the Bible or of their Christian beliefs? Or is it so that they can get a job or make advancements on their current jobs? Is it so that they can take care of the day-to-day tasks of living in an English-speaking country? Is it so that they can feel better about themselves and have more confidence in their English speaking abilities? Is it to gain "survival skills?" Etc.

The teacher has to put the students' needs first. While it's fine to approach a class from a particular orientation, in this case a Christian orientation, the lessons should be something that the students can use in the "real world," in their day-to-day lives. The material and topics covered should be transferable to the students' lives outside of the church.

I don't know of any Christian-based curriculum, Sally. You may be the person to create such a curriculum. I would just suggest that you find a way for students to transfer the English skills that they learn with you into their day-to-day lives.

Best of luck,

Debra

Jul 13, Do We Need Another ESL Forum?

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:17:16 GMT

I receive several emails every day asking all sorts of questions.

Here's a sample of what I received today:

"I work in Graduate Medical Education and have encountered very bright international physicians. However, their English skills are marginal, especially reading and comprehension. International graduates who are new to this country are also very hard to understand, especially in the rural south. Because of their advanced level of education IMG's often pretend to understand what they hear and comprehend what they read. That can be a problem in a patient care setting. Any suggestions?"

"I am an American living in New York. Is it better for me to take my teaching certification here in N.Y or to go overseas and study over there? I am confused as to which is a better option in regards to being prepared to start initially in the country I want to teach in (does this give me a better head start?) or to start here and find a job through the internet once the course is through. Please help. Thanks."

While I love hearing from readers, I find that answering these questions takes A LOT of time. Plus, I just don't always know the answers.

So here are my questions to my readers:

1. Do you think it would be useful for me to set up a forum on this website so that readers can ask me AND other readers ESL-related questions?

2. Or are there already enough ESL forums out there?

3. Would you visit and participate in a forum on this website?

Thank you for taking the time to get back to me by contacting me through the "permalink" below.

May 31, Resources for Middle School ESL Student

Sun, 31 May 2009 03:45:18 GMT

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, Teaching ESL Verb Tenses

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 16:09:30 GMT

When 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.

Feb 15, How to Build a Successful ESL Site

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 23:30:54 GMT

An 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,
Debra

Feb 2, Teaching Titles to ESL Students

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 02:42:13 GMT

Mr., 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 7, How To Start Teaching ESL

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:34:11 GMT

Eileen 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

Jan 5, Make This an "Exclusive" ESL Site?

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:43:27 GMT

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,
Debra

Jan 3, Qualifications for an Excellent ESL Teacher

Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:32:37 GMT

An 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

Description of an ESL Teacher

How to Start Teaching ESL Let me know if you have any specific questions. Good luck and Happy New Year, Debra

Jan 2, Happy New Year to All

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:13:48 GMT

I 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.

Sep 11, 9/11 as an ESL Conversation Topic

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:32:18 GMT

It'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, Irregular Verbs List

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:12:58 GMT

A 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.

Jul 12, Irregular Verbs List

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:17:34 GMT

Irregular verbs list of common English verbs. Comprehensive list of irregular verbs for use with ESL and EFL students.

Jul 4, Tennis Player Makes ESL Error

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 04:33:15 GMT

I 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.