Teaching adult ESL with no materials or time?
Here’s what works when nothing else does.
Most recent posts:
- Teach Vulgar Vocabulary to Your Adult ESL Students
C’mon. You know this. Your adult ESL students are not living in a sealed, expletive-free terrarium. They’re at work, on public transit, watching TV, scrolling social media, and hanging out with native-speaking friends. They hear things. They just don’t always know what those things mean, or whether the person who said it was being friendly or terrible. - 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.
Older Posts:
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…
2 Vocabulary Games That’ll Get Even Your Skeptical Adult ESL Students Excited
The first time I announced we were playing SWOOSH!, my student Saleh crossed his arms and said, “I didn’t pay for this class to play…
5 Smart Ways to Use Music in Adult ESL
Using music in adult ESL classrooms gets reactions. Even the grumpiest student with their arms crossed and their hood up is still listening. And when…
When Your Best Student Is Also Your Most Incomprehensible
I’ll never forget the day I realized I was having a real conversation with Shimin. No paper, no pencil, no charades. Just two people talking,…
How to Support Your IEP Students When Everything Feels Like Too Much
One of your adult ESL students walks into class late again. She’s got her toddler with her because childcare fell through. Another student is checking…
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…
Teaching Frequency Adverbs: Strategies for Adult ESL Success
I will ALWAYS love… grammar. Okay, that’s a lie. I don’t always love grammar. Sometimes I love it. I often tolerate it. Rarely did I…
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…
Teaching Idioms: Why Your Adult ESL Students Need Idioms…Even If You Think They Don’t
I was sitting in my graduate program class, getting my M.Ed. in TESL while teaching full-time, when one of my international student classmates got visibly…
How Role Plays Help Adult ESL Students Survive a Dentist Visit
A dentist visit can be a nerve-wracking experience when you speak the same language. Now imagine sitting in that chair when you don’t speak the…
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…
Talking about Hygiene in Adult ESL Speaking Classes: Helpful Tips, Fun Activities, and Cultural Considerations
Hygiene isn’t glamorous. I get it. Talking about it can be really uncomfortable. But it’s super practical, especially for adult ESL students who are still…
Talking about Etiquette and Manners in Adult ESL: Beyond Grammar and Vocab
Have you ever thoroughly disgusted someone without meaning to? Just going about your normal day, doing something completely ordinary, and suddenly everyone’s staring at you…
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 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…
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