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:
8 Fun and Interactive Modal Activities for Adult ESL Grammar
Years ago, after hearing a co-worker complain about how much they hated teaching modals, I decided right then to make it one of the most…
4 Fun Simple Future Grammar Activities for Adult ESL
Teaching the simple future isn’t really that simple. Sometimes teachers, especially those new to adult ESL, mistakenly believe that because a verb tense is called…
Conditionals Worksheets: 6 Quick Ways to Make Them FUN!
I was scrolling through a teacher Facebook group the other day, and someone had posted a photo of their student’s answers in a conditionals grammar…
6 Exciting Subject-Verb Agreement Games & Activities for Adult ESL
Subject-verb agreement has a reputation for being dry, tedious, and the grammatical equivalent of watching paint dry. And if we’re being real, that reputation is…
Two Ways to Teach Pronunciation in Adult ESL Classes
“Socks.” That’s what the presentation showed. A nice, innocent picture of socks. “SEKS!” my new Saudi student yelled out, loud and enthusiastic, so proud he…
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 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…
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…
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…
The Task Card Library: Your Secret Weapon for Success in Your Adult ESL Classroom
I once taught multiple classes at the same time with students at completely different levels in each class. It was a bit of a nightmare….
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…
I Don’t Regret Letting YouTube Teach My Grammar Class That Day
I hit play on the YouTube video, turned to face my class, and said, “Take notes. You’ll need them.” Then I sat down at my…
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…
Teaching ESL Grammar When You Don’t Know Grammar
“Teacher, why is past participle here?” I stared at my student, then at the textbook, and then back at my student. I had no idea…
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…
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