Teaching ESL to Adults

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Meeting a New ESL Student
2007-10-24 05:47:00
I met with a new ESL student today to do a free Needs Assessment. I always offer a first free meeting to potential students. This gives me a chance to decide if I would like to work with the student and gives the student a chance to decide if he or she would like to work with me.The potential student I met today is a philosophy professor from Russia. He's a visiting scholar here in the States. I enjoyed talking to him a lot. I'm really fortunate to have a lot of students who are very interesting and with whom I can have interesting conversations.I look forward to working with this new ESL student.--end--
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Using "I was wondering if..."
2007-10-23 07:56:00
I read an email from a friend today. She started the email with "I was wondering if you made it to the show." I was a little confused by the email. I thought she hadn't read a previous email that said that I was at the show. I then thought about it awhile and realized she meant that in the past (the night of the show), she had been wondering if I was present at the show.It made me think about my ESL students and how such a phrase as "I was wondering if..." could be confusing. "I was wondering if" uses the Past Progressive tense. Yet, native English speakers often use this as an opening for a request. For example, "I was wondering if you could lend me $10." Another way this could be expressed is "Could you please lend me $10?" "I was wondering if..." is a way to "soften" a request. However, if a non-native English speaker hears this, he or she would be justified in thinking this is a past tense event.English is just a bit confusing.--end--
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ESL Students and Political Correctness
2007-10-21 05:17:00
As a private ESL tutor of adults, I feel that it's part of my responsibility to my students to answer questions and offer suggestions related to culturally appropriate expressions and terminology. This includes "political correctness." These things aren't usually part of my formal lesson plans. I just address them when they come up.Politic al ly correct expressions were part of one of my ESL lessons today with one of my advanced ESL students. We were specifically looking at the word "chick" when referring to girls and women. The first step here was to discuss what "politically correct" means and its abbreviation "P.C." We then talked about literal and slang definitions of the word "chick"; and we talked about the context in which my student heard this word being used.When I have a particularly advanced ESL student, I may spend some time going over the history or background of a particular term or expression or word. The trick here is to remember that most of my students want to impr...
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Great ESL or EFL Sites?
2007-10-20 03:38:00
As an ESL teacher, I'm always on the lookout for great ESL or EFL sites that I can use for lesson planning or to which I can refer my students.If you happen to run across any really great ESL/EFL sites, could you please forward them to me? You can use the "Comments" link below or the "contact me" link under the "ESL Website for Teachers" heading on the right side of this page.I'll be happy to post those sites on my blog and/or ESL website to let others know about the great ESL/EFL resources you send me.Thanks! I really appreciate it! And other teachers/students will too.--end--
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Teaching ESL to "Somebody" or "Someone"
2007-10-19 07:29:00
One of the small things some ESL students ask about is the difference between "somebody" and "someone." Is there any difference?According to Swan, there is no significant difference between these two words. He says that "someone" is more common and "somebody" is a little more informal.This is one those differences that it's really difficult to teach ESL students. A native English speaker will usually have a better feel of which to use in a given situation. Some one speaking English as a Second Language may have more difficulty hearing or knowing which sounds a little better.The difference in the meaning between these two words is really minimal, but it serves as an example of how the advanced use of the English language has to come from experience and maybe even an internalization of the language.--end--
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Favorite Movies as ESL Conversation Topics
2007-10-17 06:06:00
One of the easy conversation topics I use during my private ESL lessons with adults is my student's favorite movie or TV program. One student recently described her favorite movie to me. It was "The Shawshank Redemption." I haven't seen the movie in years, although I remember the setting and the main actors.I asked my ESL student if she remembered when the movie took place. She thought it was set in the 1940s or 1950s. I told her that it was significant that an African American man and a white guy would become friends at that time. She asked why.This topic opened the door for a conversation about "race relations" in the U.S. There's always something to talk about during ESL classes!It was interesting to me that my student was unaware of the history of segregation and legalized discrimination in the U.S.--end--
More About: Movies , Topics , Favorite , Conversation , Favor

Blog Action Day and Teaching ESL
2007-10-16 08:17:00
Today is "Blog Action Day." Millions of bloggers all around the world are writing something about the environment today.The topic of the environment is something that has come up in many of my advanced ESL conversation topics with my students. It's often difficult to separate discussions about the environment with discussions about politics, so we usually take on both topics.Most of my conversations about the environment have been with my Chinese students. China has such a large population and is developing economically at a very quick pace that it is easy to find topics of conversation related to the environment. Most advanced ESL students are familiar with the term "global warming." (George, repeat after me, "global warming is real.") It's a useful term to make sure that ESL learners know because it is such a part of our world today.--end--
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Total Physical Response and ESL
2007-10-15 06:12:00
I'm often asked how I can teach beginner ESL students English if I can't speak their language. I tell them about TPR (Total Physical Response ). This is a great method to teach beginner ESL students.TPR for teaching ESL involves the teacher using his or her body to teach English. A simple example would be walking into a classroom and saying "good morning," and using body language to let the ESL students know to also say "good morning."If I wanted to teach ESL students what "stand up" means, I would stand up and say stand up at the same time.In short, in TPR the ESL teacher uses his or her body and/or props and the target language at the same time.--end--

Teaching Nouns to ESL Students
2007-10-14 07:33:00
Ask almost any native-born American what a noun is and they will answer, "It's a person, place or thing." We are (almost) all taught this starting in grammar school. It's not until we are young adults and in college that we are taught that a noun is a "person, place, thing, idea or concept," for example, love or beauty.I heard one adult speaker giving a lecture the other day and she said that a "noun" is something that you essentially can see or feel, that is, it's a tangible object. She said that the other things that we call nouns, like "love" are actually verbs that we are using as nouns. I found that somewhat interesting, but I still think intangibles, like ideas and concepts are nouns in their own right.--end--
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Courts and Courtroom Interpreters
2007-10-11 21:56:00
I had to show up for jury duty again today. I was in the pool of potential jurors; not actually selected to serve on the jury. The judge and lawyers agreed on twelve people before my name was called, so I have been excused. That means that I can now freely talk about everything I saw in the courtroom.It was a criminal trial. The defendant was a Vietnamese man in, perhaps, his 40s. He was a small and thin man, missing some teeth. He appeared to be poor. The suit jacket he wore was faded and ill-fitting. He wore headphones into which a certified interpreter said in Vietnamese all that was being said in the courtroom.The courtroom interpreters are certified persons. They generally have met high standards to gain certification. I don’t doubt that they do a good job.However, mistakes can be made. Just as people using only English, for example, may repeat something someone else has said and make a mistake in doing so.So it was very interesting to me that the rules applied in court with ...
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Using Slang for ESL Speakers in Court
2007-10-11 07:45:00
I've had a recent experience as a juror in a courtroom. I happen to live in an extremely diverse area of the U.S. People from all over the world make their homes here. And even though some ESL speakers may have even gone through college here, there is still some vocabulary, especially slang or idioms, that they may not know.Native English speakers are often not conscious about what vocabulary may be unfamiliar to ESL speakers. The judge in my courtroom gave a very long lecture (one hour) about the court procedures. When an ESL speaker was in the jury box being asked questions by the judge, she said that she was concerned that she may not be familiar with some terms. The judge told her that if she did not understand something, she should speak up. "This is no time to be a wallflower," he said.It stuck me that the word "wallflower" is not something commonly taught to English Language Learners. I wonder if the juror knew what the judge meant. I'm sure she got it from the context, but...
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English for People in the Medical Field
2007-10-10 06:21:00
Hospital English is a great site with materials for medical professionals studying English and resources for their teachers and tutors. The site helps with vocabulary, patient counseling models and contains healthcare professional articles, flash cards and lesson plans.If you're an ESL or EFL instructor and you work with medical professionals, this is a must-see site.--end--
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CELTA or TESOL for Private Tutoring
2007-10-08 04:26:00
Really, anyone can call themselves an ESL tutor or teacher and find private clients. There are no licensing requirements (that I'm aware of) as there are, for example, lawyers. Of course, it is certainly a better selling point to actually have some training in teaching ESL.One way to get training to teach ESL to adults or to children is to take a certification course. When you start to look into certification courses, you find that there are two main certifications: CELTA and TESOL.CELTA stands for Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults. TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Possession of either of these certificates shows that the ESL teacher has been through a certificate training program and has been taught the necessary "tools" to teach English.So which certificate is right for you? Personally, I have a TESOL certificate. Although I had the option of studying for either certificate, I chose the TESOL because that was the ESOL certificate ...
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"Grown Ups" and Appropriate Vocabulary
2007-10-07 07:39:00
Appropriate word choice not only depends on the situation or circumstances, but also on the age of the speaker. For example, it's a good idea to teach adult ESL students that "grown up," when used as a noun, is really appropriate only when talking to children, or when it is used by children, or when somehow being used in reference to children. The appropriate term for adults to use is "adult."It would be really strange to hear an adult talking to another adult, and referring to another adult or adults, and use be using the term "grown up."--end--
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Teaching "Appropriate" Vocabulary
2007-10-06 03:42:00
One of incidental things to teach ESL students about vocabulary, whether it is slang or idioms or individual words, is the appropriate use of the vocabulary. There are some English words or expressions that are appropriate among your close friends, but they may not be appropriate in the work place or in other situations. For example, circumstances "required" me to teach the expression, "I gotta take a leak" to one of my adult male students. I was sure to let him know that this is something that he should only use in very special circumstances.ESL teachers should always be on the lookout for appropriate, and especially inappropriate use of words by their students. ESL students certainly learn new vocabulary outside of the classroom, but they may not have someone to guide them in the appropriate use.--end--
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English for Love or Money
2007-10-05 05:41:00
I've had a lot of young adult ESL students in the past few years. Many have been working towards advanced degrees in business. I've had a good number of CPAs and aspiring CPAs and other business majors. I ask them about how they came to their career decisions. Most have very logical reasons, primarily around making money and creating a good life for their future families.I'm currently working with a PhD student. She's working on a PhD in business. She used to work as a CPA in Korea. Now she wants to become a professor. She's in her early 30s. She told me today about how she really did not like being a CPA. She didn't care for the business world, but she didn't really feel there were any alternatives.I think that for people from many countries outside of the U.S., there seems to be fewer options. I think that Americans are becoming more comfortable with non-money making alternatives for careers, and are desiring more to be "happy" in other ways. Maybe that will be one of our f...
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Forgetting English Grammar
2007-10-04 04:49:00
Currently, all of my ESL students are advanced and want to work on their speaking and conversation skills. We only occasionally need to review any grammar points. Mostly, we are focusing on accent reduction, pronunciation and general speaking skills.I hope that I don't forget all that I have learned about grammar and teaching English grammar!--end--
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Becoming an ESL Teacher
2007-10-03 00:59:00
Are you thinking about becoming an ESL tutor or teacher? Do you know where to get started? Are you wondering what your options are? Where to teach? What kind of ESL positions are out there?Check out the Duties of an ESL Teacher to see if teaching ESL is something you want to pursue.Teaching ESL to adults has been one of the most rewarding careers I've had. Is it right for you?--end--

Selling Out and Sounding "American"
2007-10-02 06:30:00
I met with a potential new ESL student the other day. He primarily wants to work on his speaking skills. He said he's tired of people in his office not being able to understand him. He's fluent in English. English was taught along with his native language in his country, so he's been speaking English since he was a kid. He also went to college and graduate school in the U.K.The main problem is his accent and pronunciation. But an interesting thing was his insight about not wanting to let go of his accent. He had some emotional attachment to it. He felt almost as if he'd be selling out if he sounded "more American ." And yet, he wants to take private ESL lessons to help him with his English.This was just a reminder to me that learning to communicate effectively in English isn't only about English. There may be a lot of other things going on that can get in the way of improving one's English. The ESL's tutor or teacher's awareness of this may help him or her to be a better teac...
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Reading Recommendations for ESL Learners
2007-10-01 07:42:00
My ESL students often ask me for recommendations for books to read. I always recommend books by John Grisham. Many of my students have already seen movies that were made based on his books, so they are indirectly familiar with him.I find that John Grisham books are an "easy" read. He's a great storyteller. This makes it easier and more compelling for ESL learners to read for pleasure and indirectly benefit from being exposed to how English is written.--end--
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ESL Idiom: Plugging Along
2007-09-30 05:17:00
Idioms are a very important part of the English language. If ESL learners aren't taught idioms, they will be limited in their understanding of English. Unfortunately, idioms, expressions and slang are endless. The problem is where to start!I often try to teach my ESL students idioms that are related to their careers, or are otherwise somehow relevant. There are also every day idioms that can be used by anyone. "Plugging along" is one such idiom."To plug along" could also be considered a phrasal verb. It is often used when responding to the question, "How are you?" or "How have you been?"My response to "How are you?" can be "plugging along" or "I'm plugging along." It means that I'm doing fine, nothing is new. I'm just living my life as usual."Other idioms or expressions with "plug" include "unplugged." This has become a way of saying that music is being played acoustically, without electricity (like an electric guitar). And other one: "I'm all plugged up." I'll let you figure ...
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Helping ESL Students Improve Speaking Skills
2007-09-29 04:56:00
Most of my private ESL students are very advanced. These students primarily want to improve their speaking skills. They are frustrated with having to repeat themselves to their colleagues. Some try to handle this frustration by sticking to written communications and avoid face-to-face discussions.After doing an initial Needs Assessment, I decide on the best approach to help my ESL students to improve their speaking skills. Whatever I decide on as the primary focus, I usually draw from three main topics:(1) Specific sound pronunciation,(2) Word pronunciation,(3) Intonation.This is not to say that there are not other factors in improving one's English speaking skills. There is also vocabulary development (including idioms, slang, reductions, consistent use of contractions, etc.). I use the above three topics when native speakers have trouble understanding my students.Specific sound pronunciation includes how to make specific sounds of letters. For example, the "th" is often difficult...
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Talking about Small Talk
2007-09-28 05:41:00
Many of my advanced ESL students ask me about "small talk." Small talk is the short conversations we have with other people when we first see them or first meet them. Small talk topics include the weather, sports, and traffic. Sometimes "chit chat" is also considered small talk.The purpose of small talk is to break the ice and for people to get comfortable talking to one another. Sometimes it's just a cultural norm that people take part in.Many of my students make the mistake of saying "small talks." It's always just "small talk," without an "s." The verb to use is "make." For example, "It's often common for people meeting each other for the first time to make small talk."It seems like a fairly simple thing for native English speakers to do, but making small talk is one of the topics that ESL teachers should teach their ESL students so that they can feel more comfortable with their English speaking skills.--end--
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Subject Lines for Business Emails
2007-09-27 03:03:00
One aspect of business English that I teach my adult ESL students is how to write effective emails. In addition to the regular challenges of writing business emails, my students also have to learn about the tone of an email. This is actually important for all email writers, especially when writing business emails.Another thing that I believe is very important is an effective "subject" heading. The subject heading should be succinct and convey the main topic of the email. The reader should be able to look at the subject line and decide if the email is of interest.One mistake that many people make, not just ESL learners, is to send an email by hitting the "reply" button from an old message, but not changing the subject line. For example, I may have received an email from an ESL student with the subject heading "My writing sample." I respond to the student about the writing sample (no need to change the subject heading here), but then the student uses this email and simply hits "reply"...
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Write it Like a Native English Speaker
2007-09-26 06:01:00
I worked with one of my ESL students today on her writing. She didn't really make too many mistakes in her writing samples, but she wanted to "write like a native speaker." I think that there are certain things that many native speakers will say, generally, the same way. However, depending on what is being said, there is great variation in the way that native English speakers speak and write.If the way an ESL learner says something is not wrong or awkward, I try to encourage them to have more faith in the way they are communicating. Of course, this is something that is more likely to happen with more advanced ESL learners.--end--
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Formula to Make Mild Complaints
2007-09-25 00:31:00
"Complaining" is, unfortunately, an everyday occurrence, and therefore, it may be considered a survival skill for ESL students.Here's a "formula" for mild complaints that I've recently taught my ESL students:The thing about _______________________ is (that) _____________________.Here are a few examples:The thing about English grammar rules is that there are so many exceptions!The thing about delicious food is that it is usually fattening.You can teach this to adult ESL students by writing the formula for them and then giving them some written or spoken examples. It's usually hard for ESL learners to come up with the two parts themselves, so you can start the complaint by saying, for example, "The thing about my husband is that _________________________." This example seems to work very well for my married students!--end--
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ESL Speakers and Understanding Humor
2007-09-24 06:17:00
One of the more difficult things for ESL speakers to master is humor. Aspects of the English language (or any language, for that matter) that make humor difficult include: different definitions for the same word, different stress on a word can make the meaning different, vocabulary limitation, grammar tenses, etc. Just about all the things that an ESL student must learn to read, write, speak and understand English are necessary for ESL learners to, for example, understand a joke told in English.However, in addition to the language itself, there are also cultural references that the ESL student must know and understand to be able to understand a joke or other humor.When an ESL speaker does finally start to understand humor in English, then he or she will know that he or she is making progress.Of course, I'm not addressing the fact that different people, even speakers of the same language and from the same culture, just may not agree about what is funny.--end--
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Tipping Etiquette for ESL Students
2007-09-22 20:36:00
One of the cultural differences that many of my ESL students have to deal with in the U.S. is the concept of "tipping." "Tipp ing" is when you pay a service worker (waiter, waitress, parking valet, doorman, haircutter, etc.) an amount above the regular cost of the service they perform. The most common tipping scenario for most people is tipping a server (waiter or waitress) at a restaurant. The standard tip amount for servers is 15 to 20%.Apparently, in some countries, like Korea, food servers are not tipped. The gratuity (another word for "tip") is included in the cost of the food. I suppose servers in other countries may be paid more than the servers in the U.S. Americans are very, very familiar with the custom of tipping in restaurants. We learn this in childhood from observing our parents in restaurants.Some of my ESL students accept this custom and "when in Rome..." I had one ESL student who was in the U.S. for over a year and he still only grudgingly paid tips.The topic of tipp...
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Difficulties of ESL Editing Work
2007-09-22 03:01:00
One of the ways that ESL tutors can supplement their income is by offering their editing services to ESL and other students. As a private ESL tutor, I don't advertise to do English editing work. However, at least once a month, I receive an inquiry about an editing job.I believe I've mentioned in the past that editing is not one of my favorite things to do. Actually, I love editing. I'll gladly do it for free for friends. I just don't usually like doing it as a paying job.More often than not, people asking for my editing services will say things like, "It doesn't need much editing; just a few grammar problems." Or, "You don't have to correct too much; I just want it to sound like a native English writer."While I (think I) understand what people are trying to convey when they tell me that their paper won't need much work, I often feel that people don't really understand what goes into editing a paper. For example, even if there are only a few necessary corrections, I still hav...
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ESL Speakers Using the Past Perfect
2007-09-21 00:51:00
The Past Perfect grammar tense is one of the past tenses that my ESL students regularly avoid using. It is one of the more difficult tenses for students to master because it includes a helping verb, plus a past participle. And if you add an adverb, keeping the order straight is always a challenge.The Past Perfect tense is used to talk about the past when there are two past tense events, or one past tense event and a particular time in the past. For example, "I had given up before she arrived."I think the other reason that ESL speakers avoid using the Past Perfect tense is because you really can express all that you need to express by using the Simple Past plus words like "before" and "after."Learning the Past Perfect just allows an ESL speaker to more fully learn and use the language.--end--
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