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:
I Found My Old Gratitude Post…And Then I Found What Came After
I’ve been going through all my blog posts, fixing where images exploded into huge sizes and formatting got weird after I changed my site theme…
Goal Setting for Adult ESL Students: Why “I Want to Learn English” Isn’t Enough
“What’s your goal for this class?” “I want to learn English.” Cool. Super helpful. That’s like saying “I want to get healthy” and then wondering…
Your Discussion Questions Suck…Here’s How to Fix Them
Nothing kills a discussion faster than asking “What do you think about technology?” and watching a room full of adults suddenly find their phones fascinating….
Tag Questions: 2 Fun Activities They’ll LOVE!
I had this all-male class once. Boisterous didn’t even begin to describe them, and their energy was exhausting at times, but also something I looked…
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…
4 Fun Plural Noun Activities for Adult ESL
Picture this: You’re teaching plural nouns. Again. You hand out worksheets. Again. Students dutifully fill in the blanks, turning cat into cats and box into…
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…
Your Adult ESL Students Want to Steal this Game from the Kids
Have you heard of the game I Have…Who Has…? It’s everywhere in elementary schools, but most adult ESL teachers have never heard of it, which…
Jobs and Careers: Making Adult ESL Speaking Practice Matter
Your adult ESL students probably already have jobs but want better jobs and careers. Or maybe they’re worried about keeping their jobs. They could be…
Gestures: The Secret Language You’ve Been Missing
I’d been teaching Saudi students for almost a YEAR when I finally figured out that they’d been trying to tell me something crucial with gestures….
Stop Teaching English Like It’s Only For Exams
Somehow, in every Intensive English Program I’ve taught in, practical English gets shoved aside. We rush through it, almost dismissively, trying to hurry students into…
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….
Springtime Activities That Channel Your Adult ESL Students’ Restless Energy
The days are (finally) getting longer and your adult ESL students have energy again. You know what I’m talking about. That fidgety, restless, can’t-sit-still energy….
Why Your Adult ESL Students Need Reflective Writing
I don’t remember why I asked the question, but I’d written it on the board: “What’s the most terrible sound you’ve ever heard?” Amara raised…
7 Great Ideas for Teaching Weather Vocabulary in Adult ESL
“Teacher, what is ice storm? Like hail, no?” Reem held up her phone, showing me a weather alert that had just lit up her screen….
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