Teaching adult ESL with no materials or time?
Here’s what works when nothing else does.
Most recent posts:
- The Vocabulary Game that Flopped and How I Fixed It
You know that game where someone shouts out a letter and a category, and you race to think of a word that fits? My family used to play a version of it, and we loved it. Competitive, fast-paced, lots of laughing when someone blanked on an obvious answer. So naturally, I tried it with my… Read more: The Vocabulary Game that Flopped and How I Fixed It - Your Adult ESL Students Have Gaps and That’s Completely Normal
I need to tell you something that might make your day easier. You know those gaps your students have? The ones where you’re teaching present perfect and suddenly realize half the class is shaky on simple past? Or you’re doing passive voice and someone raises their hand to ask what a past participle is? Those… Read more: Your Adult ESL Students Have Gaps and That’s Completely Normal
Older Posts:
Minimal Pairs for ESL Pronunciation: What They Are and Why They Work
Afaf threw a pencil at me once during a pronunciation lesson. She missed on purpose (I think), but still. That’s what minimal pairs can do…
The Mixed-Ability ESL Classroom Fix Nobody Talks About
“Ming” finished his paragraph before I could finish writing the instructions on the board. He looked up, grinned, and pulled out his phone. Across the…
How to Assess Adult ESL Students in Intensive English Programs (IEPs)
I’ll be honest: when I first started teaching in an IEP (Intensive English Program), I had no idea how to assess my students effectively. I…
Future Perfect: The Future is Now, But the Past is Also Now
Future perfect activities require no time travel. I promise. Though for real, wouldn’t a time machine make this whole thing easier? You could just zip…
10 Practical Ways to Teach the Alphabet to Adult ESL Students
So, you’re teaching adult ESL true beginners, and you need to teach the alphabet. You know there are millions of resources and ideas for teaching…
Gestures: The Secret Language You’ve Been Missing
I’d been teaching Saudi students for almost a YEAR when I finally figured out that they’d been trying to tell me something crucial with a…
All About Me Worksheets: Why Starting Slow Gets You Further Faster in Adult ESL
I’ll never forget walking into my first intensive English program and watching experienced teachers hit the ground running on Day 1. Syllabus distributed, attendance checked,…
Practical Pet-Themed Activities for Adult ESL Classes: Tips and Ideas
Pets are everywhere in your students’ lives. Dogs on Instagram. Cats in memes. Coworkers talking about their rabbits. Neighbors complaining about barking. Rental applications asking…
4 Fun Simple Past Activities for Adult ESL
You’ll want to try these four fun simple past activities with your adult ESL students! Whether your students are just now dipping their toes into…
Three High-Impact Activities for Teaching Facts and Opinions in Adult ESL
“Teacher, this article says coffee causes cancer. But last week, different article says coffee prevents cancer. Which one is truth?” I looked up from my…
Teaching Frequency Adverbs: Strategies for Adult ESL Success
I will ALWAYS love… grammar. Okay, that’s a lie. I don’t always love grammar. Sometimes I love it. I often tolerate it. Rarely did I…
Conversational Visits: Why Your Students Need to Talk to Someone Besides Each Other
You know that moment when you assign a speaking activity and your students look at each other like “Again? With YOU?” Yeah. That moment. They’ve…
Linguistic Investigations: Teaching Students to Teach Themselves
I’ll never forget watching “Layla” lean over a pile of sentence cards, using her finger to separate them and making that little clicking noise in…
Check Out These Fun Summer Vocabulary Ideas for Your Adult ESL Classes
When schoooooool’s NOT out for summer…Well, across the country, students and teachers look forward to the school-free summer months, but for many adult ESL courses/classes,…
The Discussion Group System That Saved My Sanity
All right, picture this…you’ve carefully arranged your discussion groups ahead of time. You’ve balanced your chatty adult ESL students with the quiet ones, mixed high…
New? Start here.
Need lesson ideas now?
Teaching Specific Groups
Browse by Skill Area
Need Ready-to-Use Materials?
Browse my Teachers Pay Teachers store for printables, activities, and resources that save you hours of planning.
