At the CoTESOL conference last weekend, Constance Leonard shared several games. Here are some of them for you to try out in class or with your individual student. Mime an adverb Brainstorm about 10-15 adverbs (such as happily, sadly, etc.) and write them down. Have a student go to the front of the class and […]
Teacher Tip – Reading
Interactive English is a four-skills textbook. However, as students progress, they may want extra work on their reading skills. Extensive reading, done outside of class, can be a great way to increase reading skills. One thing to remember is that students should already know at least 80% of the words in the text they are […]
Teacher Tip – Summer is here!
Summer vacation is upon us and this means many of our one-on-one students will now have their kids at home during regular class time. Some students (and some tutors) prefer to take a break over the summer, but if you can find a way work around this, there will certainly be learning gains. Here are […]
Teacher Tip – Getting your students to speak
Many of our adult ESL students are hesitant to use their English. They are afraid they will not be understood, or they are embarrassed by their pronunciation. Here are some tips for helping your students overcome their fear of speaking. Create a warm atmosphere. Whether you are teaching a group or tutoring one-on-one, the first […]
Teacher Tip – Talking about the future
Interactive English introduces the future in levels 4a and 4b. Students are often confused about when to use the different future structures, so here are a couple of ideas for practicing them in one-on-on and group settings. Will vs going to for plans vs decisions made at the moment. Bring in a couple of pictures […]
Teacher Tip — Make a Game out of It
One way to make our classes more dynamic and provide for extra practice is to include game-like activities. This can easily be accomplished by using material from the book. Concentration (the Memory Game) can be played in multiple ways, and works well in both one-on-one and group situations. If you are teaching single students, you […]
Teacher Tip – Working with Low-Literacy Learners
When working with non-literate or low-literacy learners, it’s important to take one step at at a time. Make it relevant. Tie the topic to your student’s real life. think about how it is related to their children, their job, etc. Start teaching the alphabet beginning with the student’s first name. Once that is mastered, move on […]
Teacher Tip: Practicing do and does
These two common words can be very challenging for our students to learn. Part of the reason may be that they do not have an equivalent in many other languages. An additional difficulty comes from the fact that most plurals are formed by adding “s”, yet the singular form is does (with an s) and […]
Teacher tip: Easy activities for the last few minutes of class
Help! I’ve finished my lesson and I have 5 minutes left. What can I do? Try one of these quick activities that require no advanced prep time. 1) Penny for your thoughts Take a penny (or any coin) and look at the date. Have students talk about what they were doing that year. If they […]
Tuesday Tips: Fun with Dictation
Dictation can be a fun way to practice English at many different levels. Here are three ways to incorporate dictation into your classes. 1) Phone Number Dictation Dictate your phone number very quickly. Then have students actually call you to see if they got it. This activity can also help students learn the rhythm we […]
