1-Word New Year’s Resolutions for ELT
It’s the new year, and a great time to reflect on the previous year while planning for the next in the form of New Year’s resolutions. Though we don’t need a special occasion to set a goal, the...
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5 No-Prep Activities Using Photo Apps
We’ve all had those moments in class: We need to fill a few minutes, break the ice with newly formed groups, personalize the lesson, or just plain change pace when things aren’t working. A lot of...
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5 Things to Talk About in ESL Class
Sometimes the biggest challenge in a speaking class is running out of things to talk about! This month, I’d like to share some ideas that get the conversation going. These activities are all...
View Article4 Ways to Celebrate Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month: Start With...
In 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives recognized April as the National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month. Bilingual and multilingual learners are one of the fastest growing student...
View Article6 Tips for Teaching Impromptu Speaking
ELs are often called on to speak extemporaneously in content classes. They might be asked to outline a scientific process, explain a literary term, or compare two historical events. Having to speak...
View ArticleDecember Holidays: 5 Writing Activities
Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Solstice, Christmas, Ōmisoka, New Year’s Eve…with abundant holidays and traditions involving food, gifts, and socialization, December offers teachers many opportunities to engage...
View Article3 More Easy Improv Warm-ups for Speaking Classes
Last month, I wrote about four simple, silly improv warmups to get students active and engaged. This month, I’d like to continue with three more: Diddy-Diddy-Dum, Energy Circle, and Five Things. All...
View Article6 Ways to Build Fluency in Second Language Writing
What Is Fluency in Writing? When asked what their goal is in learning a language, many learners say they want to be fluent in both speaking and writing. In everyday discussions, we often think of...
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Aligning Ice Breakers to Lesson Objectives: 5 Fun Activities
Those of us who have been teaching adult ESL classes for a long time know that starting the class on time is almost impossible. Our students have jobs, families, and other responsibilities, making it...
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7 Virtual and Face-to-Face Activities for the First Week of School
As we go back to school this fall, many teachers are faced with changing school policies because of the COVID-19 pandemic. School districts that originally planned to go back full time to their...
View ArticleFinding Audiences Beyond the Classroom
Why do we write? For my dissertation, I spent a year observing high school English language classes and talking with the students and teachers about writing. One thing that struck me in these...
View Article9 Ways to Do Retrieval Practice in the Classroom
In a recent article for TESOL Connections, I provided an introduction to retrieval practice. This is a technique where students pull information out of their long-term memory without referring to...
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Make Some News! Current Events for ELT
Contemporary news stories and current events can be a great context for English classes. The relevance and currency of content can increase interest and engagement and having students create their own...
View ArticleOn Campus and Beyond: From Speaking to Writing, Part 1
I have just finished teaching a summer ESL course entitled “Cross-Cultural Talk”—a speaking class that focuses on language fluency at a low-intermediate level of language proficiency. Because I always...
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Learning English Through Lyrics
I thought it might be fun to start this blog out with a song. As most English teachers know, music can be a great way to engage learners to listen extensively and intensively. Music can make learning...
View ArticleEarly Childhood Classroom Environments with Big Impact for ELs
Regular readers of my blog have already been introduced to Karen Nemeth, author, consultant, and a nationally recognized expert on early childhood education. Although her blog is written about the...
View ArticleProblem (Tech) Solved: Budget Restrictions 1
Once upon a time, it was determined that a book we were using in one of my classes, selected before my arrival I might add, was not a good fit. The goal of the class was to prepare students for...
View ArticleLinguicism Simulation Classroom Activity
As my previous blog discussed, linguicism, or linguistic discrimination, happens more often than many are aware—in society as a whole, in local communities, and even in school classrooms. Because it...
View ArticleTeaching Empathy to Children Through Storytelling
As English learners enter school this year, one of our most important jobs as teachers is to help them adjust to the American classroom. It is important to make our ELs feel welcome and accepted. With...
View Article4 Icebreakers to Make Conversations Flow in ESL Classrooms
Another school year is about to begin, but even though it’s still summer your classroom may be a cold place. Your new students won’t know who you are or how the school works, and the returning students...
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