Try these four fun simple past activities with your adult ESL students! Whether you are just starting out with regular verbs or have already started on irregular verbs, you’ll find a fun activity for your adult ESL students here. Sure, many of our adult students like the comfort and familiarity of worksheets, but most also …
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Participial Adjectives: 3 Quick Tests to See if They’re Sneaky Verbs
So, you’ve already explained participial adjectives to your adult ESL students who kept saying “I’m boring” when they meant “I’m bored.” The problem? They want to know how they can tell when the words are verbs and when they are participial adjectives. You can quickly identify them in sentences, but you’re not sure how to …
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The Past Perfect Tense: A Pain in the Past, but a Necessity for the Present
Some adult ESL teachers might be wondering, “Why do I need to know the past perfect tense? Can’t I just stick to the present simple?” Well, the past perfect is an important verb tense in English, and it’s time to embrace it (or at least try to understand it). Not sure what it is or …
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Stop Giving Number Vocabulary the Short Shrift!
I glanced at the page for number vocabulary. Numbers were listed in order, and there were some blank lines. I dismissed it entirely and turned the page. My students know how to count, I thought, so what’s the point of a lesson on number vocabulary? Was there really a point to having them listen to …
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3 Legitimate Reasons Commonly Confused Words Often Confuse Us
Do your students ask for your advise in learning vocabulary? Its a common question, right? You might want to take a brake in your lessen to insure your students have a through knowledge of commonly confused words. But first, what causes this confusion? Exactly why are commonly confused words so confusing? While some of the …
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How to Teach Academic Vocabulary: A Helpful Guide for New Adult ESL Teachers
Teaching academic vocabulary can intimidate new adult ESL teachers. Maybe you don’t know how to teach academic vocabulary. You need ideas, strategies, and resources, and if you are lucky, all that is provided to you in abundance. However, if you are reading this, that’s probably not the case for you. Luckily for you (though not …
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3 Powerful Reasons to Incorporate Conversational Visits in a Speaking Activity
What are conversational visits? Simply put, conversational visits are when one or more of your students visits another classroom to practice speaking in English with another teacher’s students for a specified ESL speaking activity. You can freshen up just about any speaking activity when you incorporate students from a similar level in another class. But …
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12 Exciting Ways to Use TED Talks with Adult ESL
Stop thinking TED Talks are just for high-level adult ESL students! I’ve successfully used them with students from high-beginner and up, and you can, too! I’m going to share with you twelve ways you can use TED talks to help your students develop their proficiency in the four language domains, make connections to their lives, …
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Practical Pet-Themed Activities for Adult ESL Classes: Tips and Ideas
Are you ready to add some excitement to your adult ESL classes? Look no further than our furry, feathered, and scaly friends! Incorporating pet-themed activities into your lesson plans is a surefire way to engage your students and make your classes a hit. Not only are pets a common topic of interest for people of …
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Create Listening Labyrinths Using Minimal Pairs: a Step by Step Guide
I love to create listening labyrinths because they make fantastic informal assessments of students’ ability to discern the difference between two sounds. The icing? Students love them! Let’s say you have students who often use a short i sound when they need a long e sound (and vice versa). Here’s what you do: Here’s how to create listening labyrinths. Before …
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Pronunciation Truly Matters!
Some of my most vocal students harbored a deep belief that they spoke English rather flawlessly, at least when it came to pronunciation. They would often complain about their classmates’ accents. They’d even protest at having to work with a partner who they couldn’t understand easily because of the classmate’s accent. I know this because …
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Short I and Long E Sounds: 4 Engaging Activities for Adult ESL Pronunciation
Short I and Long E sounds require clear pronunciation for effective communication and building confidence in adult ESL speakers. Conquering these sounds may present challenges, but none of us want our students to confuse “beach” with “bitch,” right? The thing is, drilling is effective but boring. So how about some activities for Short I and …
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