Writing-to-Learn Activities
Many of you are probably familiar with writing-to-learn (WTL) activities—“Short, impromptu or otherwise informal writing tasks that help students think through key concepts or ideas presented in a...
View ArticlePlease Don’t Stop the Music! Using Music in a Writing Class
As many of us know, music is a great tool for teaching English. It provides wonderful grammar exercises, opportunities for practicing listening skills, and topics for class discussions. Moreover,...
View ArticleESL Classroom Routines
Several years ago, when I was doing my teaching practicum in my MATESOL program, I had the opportunity to teach a community ESL class. Most of my students were immigrants who were taking the course in...
View ArticleHappy New Year! Two New Year Classroom Activities
Celebrating the start of a new year has always been a favorite holiday of mine. During this time of year, in most countries I’ve lived in, regardless of religion, a country’s true culture rings through...
View ArticleFour Tips for Teaching English Through Music
One effective method of teaching language to your ELs is through music and songs. It is remarkable how quickly children pick up words and sentences and remember them for a long time when music is...
View Article6 Activities to Teach ELs About U.S. Independence Day
Do you need some activities for your ELs during the last week of school, or are you teaching ESL summer school this year? Try these six activities for teaching ELs about U.S. customs for Independence...
View Article5 Back-to-School Activities Supporting Student Diversity
In a previous blog, Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment for Pre-K-5 ELs, I wrote about how teachers can alleviate many fears experienced by English learners (ELs) who are new to the United...
View ArticleCombining Content-Based Instruction With Career Goals in Secondary School
High school is the time when many young people start considering different careers. Those who are more interested in science take better notes of what happens in labs, while the aspiring artists and...
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Literature in ELT: Integrating Literature into Language Learning
A Guest Post by Sybil Marcus Sybil Marcus has lived and worked on four continents. She taught ESL at the University of California at Berkeley Extension and at the Summer English Language Studies on...
View ArticleTeaching Culture: Festivals of Light Around the World
The diversity in many classrooms provides a starting point for children to begin to understand and value the many distinct cultures of the world. What better way to do that than to feature a unit on...
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Emoji as a Second Language?
Depending on who you ask, the emergence of emoji might be a sign of a burgeoning new language or else harbinger of a coming linguistic dark age, or maybe just. Although 40% of Instagram posts now...
View Article3 New Year’s Activities
Happy New Year! It’s a great time to start a new semester with a holiday-related activity that would help your students to get to know each other and practice English. I thought I would share a few...
View ArticleMovie Day: 3 Ways for ELLs to Get the Most Out of Films
Anyone who grew up in the American school system has memories of watching movies in class. Maybe the teacher wanted you to see a different historic period or understand a play or novel the class was...
View Article4 Ways Art Can Make Your Activities More Interesting
The neat thing about visual art is that it’s hard not to have an opinion when you see it. What makes it good or bad? How does it make you feel? What does it remind you of? Anyone who sees a picture...
View Article8 Flag Day Activities for Elementary-Age ELs
One of my favorite June lessons is based around Flag Day, which is celebrated in the United States on June 14th. Flag day is an opportunity to teach ELs about the U.S. flag at the end of the school...
View ArticleCreating a Classroom Community: 5 First Day Activities for ELLs
How long does it take learners to form a first impression of a new class? One study found that students rated professors after attending just two weeks of class roughly the same as their final course...
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...
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 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 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...
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