Teaching adult ESL with no materials or time?
Here’s what works when nothing else does.
Most recent posts:
- Hey TpT Buyers, Are You Leaving Perks on the Table?
Teaching adult ESL and getting great resources from TpT? Here are some TpT tips for buyers that you might not know but really should. - 6 Reasons to Switch Off the Slideshow and Pick Up the Flashcards.
I know…I know. You went through all that trouble learning the new apps. You’ve got your Canva templates, your carefully curated Google Slides, those PDF presentations you purchased from your favorite adult ESL seller↗ on TpT. And here I am, telling you to go back to…gussied-up index cards. Made of paper. Don’t click away. Hear… Read more: 6 Reasons to Switch Off the Slideshow and Pick Up the Flashcards.
Older Posts:
Tag Questions: 2 Fun Activities They’ll LOVE!
I had this all-male class once. Boisterous didn’t even begin to describe them, and their energy was exhausting at times, but also something I looked…
Teaching The Present Progressive Tense: Because the Past Tense is So Yesterday
So you’re teaching present progressive? As a native English speaker (if that’s what you are), you’ve been using this tense your entire life without thinking…
Teaching Adult ESL in Intensive English Programs: The Real Pros and Cons Nobody Tells You About
It’s 10 am on a Monday. Your intermediate reading class has 15 students from 9 different countries. They’ve already been at the language school since…
Teaching Adult ESL: Real Talk for New Teachers
Many teachers who are new to adult ESL are not new to teaching and/or not fresh out of university. Perhaps you’ve decided the field you…
Summarization: The Reading Strategy Your Adult ESL Students Need, But Nobody Taught Them
I’ll never forget the day I brought in a stack of university textbooks to show my reading class what was eventually waiting for them. Fahad…
7 Fun Activities for Opposite Adjectives
Years ago, I had this quirky Korean student who assigned friendship and enemy status to words when he couldn’t remember the English term he wanted….
Task Cards: Why Aren’t More Adult ESL Teachers Using These?
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…
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…
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…
Sh/Ch: 3 Ways to Help Your Students Stop Saying “Teasher”
I’ll never forget the day one of my Saudi students accused a classmate of “sheating” off of them. Except it wasn’t just the sh/ch mix-up…the…
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…
Stop Selling Academic Vocabulary. Start Selling This Instead.
My co-workers and I used to hash out the same problem over and over: How do you convince students that passing the TOEFL or IELTS isn’t…
Winter Activities for Adult ESL Students: Why You Need In-Class Snow Days
Winter happens whether we acknowledge it in our classrooms or not. And sure, we could pretend it doesn’t exist because we’ve got Chapter 7 of…
How to Stop Homework from Devouring Your Time
Stacks of homework papers used to sit on my table, glaring at me. Menacing little goblins. A good teacher would have graded all that already,…
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