In this section there are 2,124 articles that cover essential ESL topics such as how to teach grammar, use realia, and teach young learners. There are also a lot of lesson ideas and fun activities included in the articles. This ESL article, for example, is about teaching grammar and describes five great activities. It has been given five stars by other busy teachers so it obviously has useful content. Check it out for yourself or take a look at other articles that relate better to your questions or teaching situation.
There are a lot of dos and don’ts and tips and tricks that many teachers learn through teaching.
Our ESL Essentials section will help you master the basics of teaching English and will help you start teaching like a 'pro'. Every ESL Essentials article provides clear, to-the-point instructions that can be used with the students right away.
At the moment we have 2,124 ESL Essentials.
Sometimes that is the best way to learn but the experiences of others can also help you develop your teaching skills without having to make the same mistakes. If you have a great story or activity, feel free to submit your own article so that you can share your knowledge with others. We would love to hear from you!
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ESL Articles
View our latest knowledgebase articles that will help you become a better English teacher. Learn from
professional teachers and put a bit of your own creativity into it!
A part of the assessment of almost any class is “attendance and participation,” or similar wording, referring, in general, to how often the student attended class and how he or she beh ...
There are a number of issues in teaching academic writing and how it differs from the conversational register, or variety, of English which students are more used to.
Academic writing has differe ...
Over the past decade or so, corporations or corporate cultures have become increasingly involved in nonprofit entities, such as public education.
There is a belief corporations must know somethin ...
No other class benefits from visual aids more than a language class.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, including the right visuals for your students to look at can be the avenue to thousand ...
Teachers spend a lot of time marking students’ work.
Indeed, some would say teachers “nitpick" work, or look at work too closely for errors. However, students cannot depend on their t ...
Some classes are so quiet and unresponsive to each other that the teacher will greet any form of interaction with relief and encouragement.
Certainly when students begin to open up with each othe ...
You can’t speak American English without knowing the schwa sound.
The schwa sounds approximately like “uh” in the phrases “uh-huh” and “huh-uh.” It is tr ...
Most students, especially adult students, make at least a pretense of civility in the classroom, even if they don’t feel it.
The least enthusiastic students usually come into class, take ou ...
Every teacher wants a pleasant, enjoyable classroom.
Students do, too. But the perfect classroom doesn’t come without a little work. Here are seven ways you can make sure your classroom is ...
I remember going into a level one classroom one semester with certain expectations in mind.
Every time I had taught that class, students had some knowledge of English vocabulary even if they didn ...
Paper.
It fills our text books, our lesson plans, and even our trash cans. So many activities we do are dependent on paper. It’s true in all classes, but perhaps even more so in reading cla ...
Do your students love American movies?
My students always do. They often watch movies in either the theater or on television, either way expecting a double benefit. The first is that movies are e ...
When you are an English teacher and particularly when your students are absolute beginners, you may find that teaching in English is a real challenge.
How can you teach in one language when your ...
They put in hours of studying.
They take practice tests. They ask questions and diligently memorize English grammar. Your students do all these things for one reason: to get a good score on their ...
A classroom can be an intense and challenging place in which to work.
ESL classrooms, in particular, often bring into sharp focus the kind of cultural issues and socio-economic differences which ...
Are you looking for a go to list of activities you can use in speaking class?
Here are thirteen in-class discussion starters just right for two students at a time.
Try These Top 13 Go to Activ ...
Whether you are teaching at a large language school or you are offering English classes independent of a language program, you have to decide what you will teach your students.
Sometimes you can ...
Nobody likes making mistakes, but as a teacher, it’s great to remind your students that mistakes are an opportunity to learn, not to be embarrassed or regretful.
After all, they’ve em ...
I am a strong proponent of using authentic materials in the classroom at every level of instruction.
On a typical day you can find me carrying items such as magazines, books, menus, and letters t ...
Often teachers and students alike cringe at the notion of a group discussion.
It can be difficult to introduce the topic and get students organized into groups. And once that happens, the convers ...
There are some topics that make most teachers cringe at the idea of introducing in class.
The topic is too “dangerous” for a number of reasons: it is too controversial, at the more gl ...
What do our students need in order to be successful language learners?
Good language acquisition begins and ends with practice, but how can a student make progress if nobody else around them spea ...
Students bring varying experiences to topics as well as varying personalities and predispositions toward extroversion or introversion.
This can be seen in class discussion, where typically there ...
Are you feeling down because you have a larger class and that means more work?
Are you trembling at the thought that you might get the biggest class this semester? Large ESL classes have a lot to ...
Discussion groups are an integral part of most classes that are above the basic level in middle school and beyond.
Students are expected to discuss the course material, wrestle with it, and bring ...
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