Rike Neville | Teaching Adult ESL

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! When I first started teaching adult ESL, I didn’t even know what active versus passive voice was! I used both voices in speech and writing, but I didn’t know what they were called, and I certainly couldn’t …
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Tag Questions: 2 Fun Activities They’ll LOVE!

I didn’t even know what tag questions were until I had to teach them! I wasn’t always a grammar goddess (she says modestly). The first time I had to teach a grammar class, I nearly puked (the night before, the morning of, and during the class). I’m still not sure how I made it through it. Native …
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Teaching The Present Progressive Tense: Because the Past Tense is So Yesterday

So you’re going to be teaching the present progressive? As native English speakers, it’s easy to take our knowledge of grammar for granted. We may not explicitly know the rules, but we’ve been using the language for so long that it feels natural to us. However, when it comes to teaching grammar to adult ESL …
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Teaching Body Vocabulary: Building a Strong Foundation for Adult ESL Learners

Body vocabulary is a crucial aspect of language learning, particularly for adults studying ESL. This was brought home to me on my third day hospitalized in a foreign country where I couldn’t speak the language. The nurses kept asking me questions I couldn’t answer, and they had to resort to bringing in patients from other …
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How to Increase Student Engagement with Academic Vocabulary Part 2: Using Videos

I loved using videos in my vocabulary classes. No, not like during the last few days of school back in the late 80s and early 90s where the teacher would pop in a BETA or VHS tape and nap while you and your friends giggled and talked through an old movie. I loved using short …
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Stop Giving Number Vocabulary the Short Shrift!

I glanced at the page for number vocabulary. Numbers were listed in order, and there were some blank lines. I dismissed it entirely and turned the page. My students know how to count, I thought, so what’s the point of a lesson on number vocabulary? Was there really a point to having them listen to …
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Eco-Minded Conversations: Using Environment Discussion Questions to Engage Your Adult ESL Students

Why use environment discussion questions? As an adult ESL teacher, you have the opportunity to engage your students in meaningful discussions about a variety of topics, including the environment. Discussions about the environment can be especially beneficial for your adult ESL students because they can help to improve their language skills, expand their knowledge about …
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Jobs and Careers: Creative Conversations in the Adult ESL Classroom

Incorporate real-world themes and topics, such as jobs and careers, into your lessons to make them relevant and engaging for your adult learners. Jobs and careers can be a particularly useful and relevant theme. Most adults can relate to and have experience with it, and it also provides numerous opportunities for speaking practice and vocabulary …
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Improving Speaking Skills when Grammar & Vocabulary AREN’T the Problem

One of my Chinese students, let’s call her Hui, had an IELTS score that would make someone think two people took it. She did well on each portion except the speaking, which she bombed. Completely. For a while, I suspected that she clammed up entirely and didn’t say a word. No matter the exact reason, …
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4 Surefire Strategies for Refining R/L Pronunciation

When you teach Korean, Chinese, or Japanese students, you know you’re going to run into R/L pronunciation blunders. Before I knew about this common pronunciation error, I wondered why I kept hearing people talk about eating lice. I assumed it was a cultural dish because I hadn’t yet trained my brain to immediately switch r/l …
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The Intense Power of Minimal Pairs in Teaching Pronunciation to Adult ESL Students

If you want to tempt some of your feistier adult ESL students into throwing their pencils at you, introduce them to minimal pairs during some pronunciation lessons. Okay, so Afaf deliberately missed me when she pitched her pencil in my direction, but using minimal pairs in pronunciation exercises will certainly engage your students! What are …
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Why Adult ESL Students SHOULD Neutralize Their Accent

Try telling an adult ESL learner who has been here for years and still struggles to be understood that reducing accents isn’t necessary. It may be PC to accept everyone no matter how they pronounce English words, but non-native speakers live in the real world. And c’mon…what image do you get in your mind when …
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Teaching Noncount Nouns: Tips & Strategies for Adult ESL Success

Spook Up Your Lessons with a Spooktacular ESL Halloween Activity for Adults

Teach Idioms to Adult ESL Students with Fun Strategies

Dear Past, Hello Future: Another New Year

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Beyond Basics: Teaching the Passive Voice for Adult ESL Success

Tag Questions: 2 Fun Activities They’ll LOVE!

Teaching The Present Progressive Tense: Because the Past Tense is So Yesterday

Teaching Body Vocabulary: Building a Strong Foundation for Adult ESL Learners

How to Increase Student Engagement with Academic Vocabulary Part 2: Using Videos

Stop Giving Number Vocabulary the Short Shrift!

Eco-Minded Conversations: Using Environment Discussion Questions to Engage Your Adult ESL Students

Jobs and Careers: Creative Conversations in the Adult ESL Classroom

Improving Speaking Skills when Grammar & Vocabulary AREN’T the Problem

4 Surefire Strategies for Refining R/L Pronunciation

The Intense Power of Minimal Pairs in Teaching Pronunciation to Adult ESL Students

Why Adult ESL Students SHOULD Neutralize Their Accent