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:
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…
How to Teach Academic Vocabulary: A Helpful Guide for New Adult ESL Teachers
You’re staring at a list of academic vocabulary words you’re supposed to teach, and you have no idea where to start. No curriculum. No materials….
5 Powerful Reasons to Read Aloud in Adult ESL Classes
Picture this: “So, what is the significance of the color gold in this story?” (pause to look at glassy-eyed students) “Anyone?” (pause again…was that a…
2 Ways to Get Adult ESL Students to Try New Strategies
I used to stand at the front of the classroom, waiting. Just…waiting. I’d asked a simple comprehension question about the text we’d just read. The…
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…
Stop Teaching English Like It’s Only For Exams
Somehow, in every Intensive English Program I’ve taught in, practical English gets shoved aside. We rush through it, almost dismissively, trying to hurry students into…
Jobs and Careers: Making Adult ESL Speaking Practice Matter
Your adult ESL students probably already have jobs but want better jobs. Or maybe they’re worried about keeping their jobs. They could be negotiating salaries,…
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…
Teaching Home Vocabulary to Adult ESL Students: Why It Matters More Than You Think
I once had a student who labeled everything in his home with sticky notes to learn vocabulary. Not unusual, right? Lots of language learners do…
Study Habits: The One Question That Changes Everything
Half defiant and half remorseful, Faisal handed me a mostly blank paper with seemingly random words shoved into something vaguely resembling sentences. This was an…
The Amazing Power of Role Plays in Adult ESL
Role plays made this happen: A giant voice roared out of the young woman many never even noticed was in the classroom. She gestured as…
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! I’m about to admit something embarrassing. When…
Talking Tickets: How to Get ALL Your Adult ESL Students to Participate in Discussions
Omar would not shut up. I mean that literally. The guy came from a family of twelve siblings, and apparently the only way to get…
Telling Time in Adult ESL: Not Just Reading Clock Faces
“But everyone has a phone now.” You think this every time someone mentions spending class time on telling time, right? And look, I get it….
Teaching Money and Budgets: The Topic Your Students REALLY Care About
Money affects everyone. How else will we pay our rent, buy our groceries, pay our bills, and pay off our debt? Money affects retirement savings…
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