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:
Emotion Vocabulary: What Happens When Students Can’t Name Their Feelings?
I’ll never forget “Pablo” telling me, completely deadpan, that he felt “very boring” during our class discussion about emotions. He meant bored. But honestly? His…
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…
Three Grammar Games Guaranteed to Get Them Speaking
I’m standing outside my classroom door, pretending to check my phone while I eavesdrop on my adult ESL students, and I hear Subin telling Ahmed,…
Stop Pre-Teaching Vocabulary All the Time!
None of my professors EVER told us to stop pre-teaching all the vocabulary (they were huge fans of that method), but I’m telling you to…
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…
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…
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…
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…
5 Smart Ways to Use Music in Adult ESL
Music is one of those magical classroom tools that almost everyone reacts to. Even the grumpiest student with their arms crossed and their hood up…
How to Create Everyday Role Plays Your Adult ESL Students Truly Need
Let me tell you about my (first) year of disasters in South Korea. There was the time I insisted on buying a fish at the…
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…
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,…
Why Aren’t You Teaching Grammar Vocabulary?
No math teacher would try to teach math without using math terminology, right? You wouldn’t expect a physics teacher to explain gravity without ever saying…
Dear Past, Hello Future: Another New Year
Updated January 2026. Another year has passed, remarkably fast and excruciatingly slow both in turns and at the same time. Time is a weird concept…
My Bad! Teaching Apologies: Adult ESL Apologizing Role-Play Activities for Real-Life Situations
Apologies can be uncomfortable, right? Different cultures apologize differently. Some are known for apologizing for everything (looking at you, Canada). Some barely apologize at all….
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