You’ve probably noticed something about the conditionals worksheets that you find online or the conditionals exercises you see in most textbooks: boring. Even when an attempt has been made to make them interesting, it’s the same attempt. It’s like everyone got together to use the same sentences. What would you do if you won a …
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Quickly Prepping for Grammar Classes
Prepping for grammar classes during a time crunch has never been easy. Now many teachers are teaching online as well as in-person. Who has the time to prepare EVERYTHING needed for a grammar class? I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Sometimes, I used to let YouTube teach my class, and now …
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Beyond Basics: Teaching the Passive Voice for Adult ESL Success
Teaching the passive voice went from not on my radar to one of my favorite things to teach! When I first started teaching adult ESL, I didn’t even know what active versus passive voice was! I used both voices in speech and writing, but I didn’t know what they were called, and I certainly couldn’t …
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Color Vocabulary Made Fun: 3 Levels of Engaging Activities for Adult ESL
Teaching color vocabulary in the adult ESL classroom goes way beyond identifying basic colors like red, blue, green, or yellow. Teaching color vocabulary isn’t just about recognition; it’s a gateway to engaging language instruction, offering opportunities to practice grammar, expand vocabulary, and have meaningful conversations. This article is a guide for ESL teachers working with …
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How to Increase Student Engagement with Academic Vocabulary Part 2: Using Videos
I loved using videos in my vocabulary classes. No, not like during the last few days of school back in the late 80s and early 90s where the teacher would pop in a BETA or VHS tape and nap while you and your friends giggled and talked through an old movie. I loved using short …
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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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My Bad! Teaching Apologies: Adult ESL Apologizing Role-Play Activities for Real-Life Situations
For real-life English, try making adult ESL apologizing role-play activities part of your next lesson! Why Teaching Apologies Matters in ESL Apologizing is a crucial social skill that can make or break relationships—whether at work, with friends, or even with customers. For adult ESL learners, knowing how and when to say sorry (and sound natural …
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Theme Time: Hygiene in Adult ESL Speaking Classes: Helpful Tips, Fun Activities, and Cultural Considerations
Let’s talk about using the theme of hygiene in adult ESL lessons. As an English language teacher, creating engaging and relevant lesson plans for your students is one of your missions. One theme that is both practical and culturally relevant is hygiene. Not only does using the theme of hygiene in adult ESL classes offer …
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5 Innovative Ideas for Using Music in Adult ESL Classes
Music is a universal language that can bring people together and facilitate meaningful conversation. In an adult ESL class, incorporating music in adult ESL can be a fun and engaging way to improve language skills and foster a sense of community among learners. Here are five ideas for adding music in adult ESL classes: Share …
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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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The Intense Power of Minimal Pairs in Teaching Pronunciation to Adult ESL Students
If you want to tempt some of your feistier adult ESL students into throwing their pencils at you, introduce them to minimal pairs during some pronunciation lessons. Okay, so Afaf deliberately missed me when she pitched her pencil in my direction, but using minimal pairs in pronunciation exercises will certainly engage your students! What are …
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The Battle of B and P Sounds: Moving Toward Pronunciation Precision
If you’ve had the privilege of teaching students whose mother tongue is Arabic, you’re no stranger to their unique challenges when grappling with the b and p sounds. It’s the structure of the Arabic language’s sounds and those oh-so-subtle distinctions between the b and p sounds in Arabic that create significant challenges when it comes …
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