Great Ways to Give Your TESOL Students Feedback
As a teacher, giving feedback to your students is one of the most important parts of your job. It shows them how they are going, and also answers the question, ‘Where to from here?’ Giving timely and constructive feedback has a major impact on learning progress and...
Teaching ESL to Children – Fun Activities For Young Learners
Keeping the attention of young children for any length of time is always challenging, whatever the circumstances. So, it’s a great idea for English language teachers who teach kids to always have a wide variety of fun activities and games at the ready – especially...
ESL Discussion Topics that will Make a Real Difference
If you’re looking for ESL discussion ideas for your classes, it’s quite an easy thing to do. There are a lot of sites on the internet that offer a variety of conversation topics. All you need to do is click on a specific topic that interests you and a page will pop up...
Can I be a TESOL Teacher if English isn’t my First Language?
Yes, you can. Three simple words, small in number but big on truth and certainty. If you’re reading this article, you’ve probably been contemplating a career as an English teacher. But you might doubt that you will be taken seriously as a non-native instructor, and...
Vocabulary Teaching Strategies for ESL Teachers
A primary objective for a language learner is increase their vocabulary – learning new vocabulary is an essential part of any ESL student’s language development. The process of acquiring a second language, such as English, can only occur effectively if students become...
Importance of Summative Assessment For ESL Students
In most educational contexts, summative assessment – to evaluate student learning by comparing it against course objectives at the end of a period of study – is firmly entrenched. In elementary and high schools, very few argue with the concept that grading students...
ESL Textbooks – The Importance of Cultural Content Analysis
Perhaps the best and fairest way to judge the quality of an ESL/EFL textbook that purports to be communicative is to critically examine the claims made by the authors of the book, with regard to its content and goals, and to ascertain to what extent these claims can...
Critical Thinking Activities for ESL Students
Critical thinking skills are fundamental for setting up ESL students for future success. It’s important for them to have opportunities to develop skills such as giving opinions, providing supporting evidence, debating ideas including rebuttal, negotiating,...
English as a Second Language Curriculum
There is a general misconception among some teachers new to English Language Teaching (ELT) that it’s perfectly reasonable to just rock up to a language school, get given a textbook, and walk into a classroom and start teaching. This approach – and it does happen in...
How to Motivate Students to Learn English
Out of all the important things that a TESOL teacher needs to be, do and think about, one of the most important is student motivation. Even if you have the best lesson plan in the world, the highest possible qualifications and years of experience, it will all fall...
Formative Assessment in the Classroom – For TESOL Teachers
What is Formative Assessment? Formative assessment is a range of procedures conducted by teachers that monitor student learning during the learning process. These procedures have a dual purpose: To help teachers check student progress and recognise where their...
How to Teach Essay Writing – to ESL Students
Let’s face it, having to write an essay for most people is a daunting prospect, even if it’s in your first language, let alone trying to write one in your second language. There are a number of barriers for ESL students to overcome that native speakers don’t have to...