Rike Neville | Teaching Adult ESL

Free Talking: Getting Low-Level ESL Students to Talk

Free talking sessions in A1?! Getting low-level students to talk can be a daunting mission. They might be shy; they might not know what to say or how to say it. Because of this, sometimes, in our eagerness to cover all the required material, we neglect to give our students time to talk. I don’t… Read More
How Using Adjective Clauses Helps Power Up Their Writing

You’ve noticed something. Your students are at least intermediate, but their writing isn’t. Sure, they use adjectives, and they add prepositional phrases. You’ve done sentence stretching exercises with them. But they still write short sentences that are short on details and sans anything like adjective clauses. You dream of the day you grade essays with… Read More
3 Fun Speaking Activities for Comparative Adjectives

Your adult ESL students barely managed to politely smother their sighs and suppress the glaze from creeping across their eyes when they realized that today’s grammar lesson would be a review on comparative adjectives. You know they need the practice, and if pressed, they’re likely to admit it even if only in their heads. Still,… Read More
Back to School: It’s Still Thrilling but Different with Adult ESL

BTS. Back to school. Tell the truth; is it something you dread or welcome with an open heart? As a kid, I LOVED it! New(ish) school supplies, new teachers, new-to-me books…I was never nervous before the first day. Oh, no…I was passionately excited! I also loved spelling tests and homework. Yeah, I was that weird… Read More
Breaking Barriers: 7 Strategies for Supporting Adult ESL Students Facing Challenges on the Road to Fluency

The challenges adult ESL students face can be daunting, from limited study time to difficulty understanding native speakers. However, you can help them break down these barriers by providing strategies and support. Keep reading to explore seven effective strategies for supporting adult ESL students, from accessing resources to staying motivated and expanding horizons. Strategy #1.… Read More
4 Fun Past Progressive Activities for Teaching Adult ESL Students

Past progressive activities aren’t just to make grammar lessons fun. Understanding the Past Progressive Tense: An Introduction Did you know that the past progressive tense is a powerful tool for describing ongoing actions that took place in the past? That’s right! By using the past tense of “to be” (was/were) and the present participle of… Read More
10 Practical Ways to Teach the Alphabet to Adult ESL Students

Alphabet in adult ESL classes? Yes! So you’re teaching an adult ESL true beginner class, and the alphabet is one of your starting points. You know there are millions of resources and ideas for teaching the alphabet, but everything you find is made for children. Your adult students don’t need to use a finger to… Read More
Begging for Grades: Set Expectations

Listening to students begging for grades used to drive me nuts. If you teach ESL to university-bound adults, you already know that you don’t just teach ESL. You teach culture. Maybe it’s the importance of being on time. Perhaps it’s explaining that we prefer to blow our noses rather than sharply inhaling, repeatedly, throughout the… Read More
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
12 Exciting Ways to Use TED Talks with Adult ESL

Stop thinking TED Talks are just for high-level adult ESL students! I’ve successfully used them with students from high-beginner and up, and you can, too! I’m going to share with you twelve ways you can use TED talks to help your students develop their proficiency in the four language domains, make connections to their lives,… Read More
All About Me Worksheets for ESL Adults: Here’s Why You Should Use Them

All About Me worksheets for ESL adults help you design your class to meet their needs! I always loved that back-to-school time occurred more than once a year when teaching adult ESL, and once I stopped trying to decorate my classroom like I was personally representing all of Pinterest, I enjoyed it even more! Who… Read More
4 Fun Simple Past Activities for Adult ESL

Try these four fun simple past activities with your adult ESL students! Whether you are just starting out with regular verbs or have already started on irregular verbs, you’ll find a fun activity for your adult ESL students here. Sure, many of our adult students like the comfort and familiarity of worksheets, but most also… Read More
7 FUN Activities for Opposite Adjectives

Opposite adjectives quickly double your adult ESL students’ vocabulary and make learning (and teaching) definitions a snap. Years ago, one of my Korean students had this quirky habit of assigning friendship and enemy status to various words to convey the meaning he wanted. When he couldn’t think of the word for mustard, he mentioned ketchup’s… Read More
Getting into the Nitty Gritty of Practical English for Adult ESL

Somehow, in every Intensive English Program I’ve taught in, practical English is always relegated to the lowest level classes, the beginners. Even then, we rushed through it, almost dismissively, trying to hurry them into higher levels of English–the level they need to master to pass those English proficiency exams to get into university. It’s like… Read More
Discussions: How to Ensure All Your Adult ESL Students Participate

Wouldn’t you love to have discussions in ESL classes where everyone not only speaks, but takes turns, listens, and invites others to speak? The thing is, we’ve all had that student, the one who dominates every conversation. We’ve also had the one who never speaks at all. Passive vs. Overbearing Why are some students so… Read More

Improve Your Grammar Lesson with Fun Speaking Activities!

I think these English classes are a waste of time and money. We don’t get to practice speaking enough. -unnamed student I overheard a student say that, though, thankfully not my student. Truthfully though, after doing a mental review of my classes, I could see that my own classes were part of the problem. I …
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Guide Them into Understanding Coordinating Conjunctions

This is for all you adult ESL teachers out there trying to get your students to use coordinating conjunctions other than “and”. I didn’t know about the due date, and I missed class the day you explained it. One of my classmates told me it was today, and I thought since I missed class, tomorrow would …
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7 FUN Activities for Opposite Adjectives

Opposite adjectives quickly double your adult ESL students’ vocabulary and make learning (and teaching) definitions a snap. Years ago, one of my Korean students had this quirky habit of assigning friendship and enemy status to various words to convey the meaning he wanted. When he couldn’t think of the word for mustard, he mentioned ketchup’s …
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Emotion Vocabulary: Why It’s Important and How to Teach It

Emotion vocabulary is not often taught in adult ESL classes, but it should be! As language teachers, we know that vocabulary is crucial to communication. But beyond just naming objects and actions, our students also need to have a rich emotional vocabulary. After all, being able to describe and express emotions accurately is essential to …
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5 Quick Tips for Engaging Days of the Week Activities

Wondering why you should incorporate days of the week activities for adult ESL classes? Yes, the days of the week are such a simple concept and only seven words. If you’ve ever learned the terms in another language, you’re probably wondering why adult learners even NEED time to study the days of the week, right? …
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One Fun ESL Speaking Game for Adults

Beginner-level adult ESL students LOVE to play games, but their low English proficiency can seem limiting when you’re trying to come up with something engaging but practical, fun but not a time-waster. (Don’t teach beginners? Keep reading because this game is easily adapted for all levels!) Playing the ESL speaking game I have…Who has…? is a …
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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 …
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12 Exciting Ways to Use TED Talks with Adult ESL

Stop thinking TED Talks are just for high-level adult ESL students! I’ve successfully used them with students from high-beginner and up, and you can, too! I’m going to share with you twelve ways you can use TED talks to help your students develop their proficiency in the four language domains, make connections to their lives, …
Read More about 12 Exciting Ways to Use TED Talks with Adult ESL

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 …
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The Battle of B and P Sounds: Moving Toward Pronunciation Precision

If you’ve had the privilege of teaching students whose mother tongue is Arabic, you’re no stranger to their unique challenges when grappling with the b and p sounds. It’s the structure of the Arabic language’s sounds and those oh-so-subtle distinctions between the b and p sounds in Arabic that create significant challenges when it comes …
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Create Listening Labyrinths Using Minimal Pairs: a Step by Step Guide

I love to create listening labyrinths because they make fantastic informal assessments of students’ ability to discern the difference between two sounds. The icing? Students love them! Let’s say you have students who often use a short i sound when they need a long e sound (and vice versa). Here’s what you do: Here’s how to create listening labyrinths. Before …
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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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