Monday, December 17, 2007

Improving ESL Speaking Skills

One of my advanced ESL students told me today that she attended a professional conference last week. This was the third year of her attending this particular conference. She was very pleased to report to me that this was the first year that she spoke a lot to new people. She told me about the self-confidence she felt about speaking English and she attributed her comfort with English to our sessions.

ESL tutoring sessions are often without a specific way to assess student progress. I can often "see" or "hear" progress over several sessions, but it's not so easy for English language learners to notice this progress since it is so gradual. It's wonderful to have an event, such as a conference, for students to notice their progress. It's wonderful for them and it's wonderful for me to hear!

--end--

No comments: