Teaching adult ESL with no materials or time?
Here’s what works when nothing else does.
Most recent posts:
- 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 - I Found My Old Gratitude Post…And Then I Found What Came After
I’ve been going through all my blog posts, fixing where images exploded into huge sizes and formatting got weird after I changed my site theme when I found this “gem” from September 2017: “3 Ideas for Inspiring Shared Gratitude in the Classroom.” I cringed while reading it. Not because it’s badly written or because the… Read more: I Found My Old Gratitude Post…And Then I Found What Came After
Older Posts:
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…
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…
5 Steps to Make Causative Verbs Relevant to Your Adult ESL Students
Ever walked into your classroom after getting your hair done and had a student greet you with “You cut your hair!”? You smile because you…
4 Fun Past Progressive Activities for Teaching Adult ESL Students
Did you know that the past progressive tense is a powerful tool for describing ongoing actions in the past? Okay, yeah, that sounds dramatic. But…
Clothing Vocabulary: Your Adult ESL Students Know “Shirt” and “Pants.” Now What?
I watched Carmen stand in front of the class, gesturing frantically at her sleeves while trying to explain why she needed to return a shirt….
Teaching Time Clauses to Adult ESL Students: Make It Fun with Photo Captions
You know how some of your adult ESL students write everything in these tiny, disconnected bursts? I’m talking about short sentences with no flow…just fact…
3 Fun Speaking Activities for Comparative Adjectives
Your adult ESL students barely manage to politely smother their sighs and suppress the glaze from creeping across their eyes when they realize that today’s…
4 Fun Plural Noun Activities for Adult ESL
Picture this: You’re teaching plural nouns. Again. You hand out worksheets. Again. Students dutifully fill in the blanks, turning cat into cats and box into…
Teaching Animal Vocabulary in Adult ESL
“This is for children. I don’t want it.” Nasser crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, looking at me like I’d just suggested…
Giving Directions in ESL: Getting Lost Without the Right Vocabulary
Picture this: Your student Mahmoud has been in the country for six months. His English is pretty solid in class. He can talk about his…
3 Ideas for Inspiring Shared Gratitude in the Classroom
Have you ever worked at a place where people had genuine (not coffee-induced) smiles in the mornings? Where people asked about your weekend and listened instead of…
How I Got Students Excited About Grammar Worksheets
“Worksheet time!” I call out, waving a small stack of freshly-copied papers. Students begin smiling as they put away their phones and sit up, talking…
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 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…
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