Rike Neville | Teaching Adult ESL

Time Clauses: This is How to Make Them Fun

Time clauses are a surefire way for your adult ESL students to lengthen their sentences while enhancing the meaning. Is your students’ writing is full of short, choppy sentences? Introduce time clauses as a sentence writing hack. Time Clauses AKA Adverb Clauses of Time Time clauses are just one of several types of adverb clauses. …
Read More about Time Clauses: This is How to Make Them Fun

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 …
Read More about Tag Questions: 2 Fun Activities They’ll LOVE!

Why Aren’t You Teaching Grammar Vocabulary?

No math teacher would try to teach math without using math terminology, right? So why don’t grammar teachers teach grammar vocabulary by using it right from the start? You’re not teaching little kids. Your students already have quite a few tools in their kit and can use what they already know about their own language …
Read More about Why Aren’t You Teaching Grammar Vocabulary?

5 Fun and Educational Health-Themed Activities for Adult ESL Classes

If you like using themes when teaching adult ESL vocabulary or speaking classes, hold onto your kale smoothies and consider “health” for your next theme. It’s relevant and practical as health impacts everyone. Students can learn healthcare, nutrition, and exercise terms. You can explore cultural perspectives on health with your students. Most importantly, because we …
Read More about 5 Fun and Educational Health-Themed Activities for Adult ESL Classes

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 …
Read More about Teaching Body Vocabulary: Building a Strong Foundation for Adult ESL Learners

Teaching Time: Fun Ideas for Incorporating Time into Adult ESL Classes

Teaching time vocabulary and expressions but want some practical and engaging ideas for this theme? Adult ESL teachers are accustomed to teaching time expressions in grammar classes and even in some speaking classes, but time is an essential element of everyday communication. Expressing and understanding it is crucial for making plans and appointments, which is …
Read More about Teaching Time: Fun Ideas for Incorporating Time into Adult ESL Classes

Exploring Cultural Differences in Adult ESL Classrooms: Why it Matters

Cultural differences in adult ESL can create a rewarding and enriching experience for both the teacher and the students. Indeed, the opportunity to learn about and explore cultural differences in the classroom is one of the most interesting aspects of teaching adult ESL. Understanding and acknowledging these differences can lead to a more inclusive and …
Read More about Exploring Cultural Differences in Adult ESL Classrooms: Why it Matters

Discover Two Ideas for Cultivating Insightful Discussion Questions for ESL

Did the dropped pin echo in your speaking class? Was that a heavy sigh, a set of rolled eyes, or the clink of students mentally disengaging? Cultivate lists of discussion questions for ESL that are tailored to the needs of your adult learners, and you’ll rarely have a quiet moment again. So where do you …
Read More about Discover Two Ideas for Cultivating Insightful Discussion Questions for ESL

The Amazing Power of Role Plays in Adult ESL

Role plays made this happen: A giant voice roared out of the young woman many never even noticed was in the classroom. She gestured as if she were teaching a class on how to gesture. She moved with the definition of stage presence. Was this the same shy, quiet student who literally couldn’t bring herself to say, “Boo!” …
Read More about The Amazing Power of Role Plays in Adult ESL

Sh/Ch: 3 Must-Have Methods for Successful Pronunciation Tweaks

The pronunciation of sh/ch is a bigger problem than you might think! Whenever I heard teasher, I knew to look towards one of my Saudi students, not the ones from Korea or Spain or but sometimes one of the students from the Ivory Coast. These were the students who would ask where they could find …
Read More about Sh/Ch: 3 Must-Have Methods for Successful Pronunciation Tweaks

The 5 Best TH-Pronunciation Activities for Adult ESL

Why do we need TH-pronunciation activities? The voiced TH and the unvoiced TH are two of the most difficult sounds for many of our adult ESL students because these rare phonemes simply don’t exist in many languages. /θ/ is even rarer than /ð/. Imagine going your entire life never making a specific sound and then …
Read More about The 5 Best TH-Pronunciation Activities for Adult ESL

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 …
Read More about The Intense Power of Minimal Pairs in Teaching Pronunciation to Adult ESL Students

Join the Newsletter!