It’s 10:30 am. Your students have been in class since 8 am. They’ll be here until at least noon, maybe longer. Or maybe you teach night classes, and the nights know exactly how many days it is from the winter solstice. Your students are exhausted. You’re exhausted. Everyone’s energy is gone. You need something that […]
I once taught multiple classes at the same time with students at completely different levels in each class. It was a bit of a nightmare. How do you keep everyone engaged when one student needs help with basic present tense while another is ready for conditionals? How do you give individualized attention when every single
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
You know that moment when you assign a speaking activity and your students look at each other like “Again? With YOU?” Yeah. That moment. They’ve been paired up with the same classmates for weeks (months?), and the spark is gone. They know each other’s stories. They’ve heard each other’s opinions on everything from weekend plans
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 children’s games.” Fair point. But you and I know games can have educational value. That’s why this happened… Fifteen minutes later, that same Saleh was on his feet, screaming “NO!
I used to think TED Talks were only for my advanced adult ESL students. You know, the ones who could already hold their own in academic discussions and didn’t need me hovering nearby with vocabulary flashcards. Then one semester, I had a high-beginner class that was dying of boredom. The textbook was putting them to
Most adult ESL teachers have a solid collection of worksheets. But task cards? Most have never even heard of them. And I can’t stop thinking about how adult ESL teachers are missing out on them. Task cards are huge in K-12 education. Walk into any elementary classroom and you’ll probably trip over a dozen sets.
Let me tell you about my (first) year of disasters in South Korea. There was the time I insisted on buying a fish at the grocery store despite three increasingly frantic workers trying to stop me. I thought they were being weird about foreigners buying fish. Turned out the fish was deadly poisonous if you
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
“Ask someone a question. Any question.” Rashid pulled out a wooden block, checked the number, then grinned at the guy next to him. “Have you ever peed in a swimming pool?” Dead silence. Then Tan started laughing so hard he nearly knocked the tower over. Within seconds, the whole class was debating pool etiquette in
