Teaching ESL to Adults

Cambridge Offers CELTA Courses Online

2012-02-06T13:53:00.000-08:00

In September, 2011, Cambridge started offering CELTA courses online. Sort of.

The practicum component of the course must still be done at the center offering the certification.

If you opt for the online CELTA course, you can earn the same certificate as if you did the course entirely at a center. There is no difference to the award you will receive.

The online option allows a student to take longer to obtain the certificate and to work at his or her own pace. According to the Cambridge site, "courses run over a minimum of 10 weeks and a maximum of an academic year."

The online materials achieve the same objectives as face-to-face instruction, according to Cambridge.

Unfortunately, as of this date, there are no centers offering online CELTA in the United States.

If you need a completely online TESOL certificate, then you will need to consider a different type of certificate. See TEFL or CELTA: Which is Best? for further discussion.

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CELTA Offered Online This Year

2011-04-17T19:16:00.000-07:00

It looks like Cambridge is moving into education of the 20th century (maybe even the 21st). According to the Cambridge ESOL website, CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) will be available online starting in September 2011. Currently, it is only available in person at over 200 centers around the world (eight, in the United States, at this time). Here's a list of all CELTA course locations around the world.

The online CELTA course will have the same requirements as the face-to-face course (without attendance, of course). The only thing that will not be able to be done online is the teaching practicum. Six hours of assessed hands-on teaching practice will still be required.

I wonder if this opening up of the strict CELTA course requirements will raise the value of other TEFL/TESOL certification courses in the minds of those who favor CELTA over other certificates.

What do you think?

--end--

"The Time Goes Fast!"

2011-02-08T12:22:00.001-08:00

This is what one of my adult ESL students said yesterday when I ended our ninety-minute conversation class. We had met a few days before for a free ESL Needs Assessment that I always offer to potential students, but our meeting yesterday was our first conversation class together.

I always love to hear the English language learners (ELL) I work with comment on how fast the time flies when we work together. Comments like these let me know that the ELL is enjoying the class and, I believe, more easily getting the practice they want.

And, I guess I should mention that "time flies" since I haven't posted anything to this Teaching ESL to Adults blog in over a year! Time flies when you're having fun!

I continue to work with adult ESL students and I love it. I appreciate the many of you who continue to find, read and comment on my blog.

--end--

Accusation of Stolen ESL Blog

2010-01-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

As most of you know who have been following my ESL blog about my ESL tutoring experiences, as well as ESL tips, grammar tips, etc., I wrote back in September of 2009 that I discovered that someone had stolen my ESL blog. At that time, I filed a complaint with Google. Google researched my claim and took down the site that had stolen my material (they didn't even bother to change anything, the thief stole my blog word for word).

I have personally written each article in this blog based on my experiences teaching ESL, with the exception of a handful of articles from guest writers. You can identify those ESL blog entries because they will give credit to the author.

This blog with the URL of www.esl-tutor.com is the original site. I think if other unscrupulous people are stealing this content, you should be able to identify this because they will have a different URL.

Today, I received an email from an unidentified source accusing me of being the thief. Here is the content of that email sent to my contact page of my main website Teaching ESL to Adults:

"YOUR BLOG IS IDENTICAL TO ONE I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS. SHAME ON YOUR FOR YOUR PLAIGARISM!!!!!!!!!! IT IS UNPROFESSIONAL AND DISGUSTING.

AN ESL TEACHER IN COLORADO (You aren't forthcoming, so I see no need to be forthcoming with my identity, either!)
First Name: ESL Teacher
Last Name:
E-mail Address:
Country: United States
May I post your message on this website? (please choose one): Yes, it's OK to
post my message, name and country. (Due to spammers, I will never post your
email address.)"

Unfortunately, the email writer did not leave his or her email address (which I understand if he or she thinks I am the thief), so I hope he or she will read this post and perhaps get back to me with the URL of the actual plagiarizing ESL blog so that I may report it to Google.

I thank all my followers of this blog and my main ESL site. And I apologize for not writing every day as I did the first year of this blog. I've been spending more time on the main site, so you may want to follow that site for newer material.

Best regards,
Debra Garcia
ESL Tutor

Should You Get a CELTA or a TEFL Certificate?

2009-10-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

If you're considering getting a certificate to start teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), you've probably come across the TEFL vs. CELTA debate. Which certification is better? Which courses are better? Which prepare you to teach adults ESL/EFL and which prepare you to teach children? Which certificate do employers prefer?

Unfortunately, the answers to these questions take a lot of research and then most of the answers you find are subjective. If you ask someone with a CELTA, they're likely to say CELTA is better. If you ask someone with a TEFL certificate, they're likely to say TEFL is better. This is, of course, also dependent upon the student teacher's particular experiences at their particular TESOL certification course.

When potential EFL/ESL teachers write and ask me which I recommend, I cannot give a strong recommendation about which is best. (I can recommend my particular program, as I feel it did everything it promised and more.) I can only suggest factors to consider when making the TEFL or CELTA decision. You can read more about what to consider on my main website TEFL or CELTA page.

The one thing I strongly recommend is that after you've done your research, bite the bullet and just do choose a certificate and choose a course. Don't let the "paralysis by analysis" bug keep you from moving forward.
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Choosing the Best TESOL Certificate

2009-09-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

A TESOL certificate is one of the quickest and easiest ways to start a career teaching English as a Second Language or English as a Foreign Language. But with so many TESOL certificate programs to choose from, how do you choose the best one?

What type of certification is right for you? TESOL, TEFL, TESL, or CELTA? On-site or online?

Visit my Finding the Best TESOL Certificate page for tips on finding the right program for you and characteristics of the best TESOL certificate programs.
--end--

Using a Christian-Based ESL Curriculum

2009-09-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sally in the U.S. wrote this question about a Christian-based ESL curriculum. Unfortunately, she didn't give me an email address to answer her. Hopefully, she'll come back for the answer.

Sally writes:

"I will be teaching ESL to Spanish speakers through my church.
I'm excited, but nervous. I've never taught ESL.

I taught HS 20 years ago -- Media and English degrees.

I have just found your site and think it will help me. I'm open to any other
help anyone wants to offer.

We don't have a curriculum or supplies. We have thought it would be good to be able to use a biblical, Christian based, curriculum. I haven't been able to find one. Any thoughts?"

My response:

Dear Sally,

That's great news, and you're right, teaching ESL is exciting. It seems that churches and other non-profit organizations are great places for non-English speakers to get low-cost or free English classes. And it also seems that these organizations are often expected to provide services with limited or no resources! That's a shame.

What and how you teach will depend upon (1) the English level of the students, (2) their age, and (3) their purpose in learning English.

You didn't mention the specifics of the first two items, but there are tons of free resources online to address the first two issues. It just takes time to find them. However, I want to address the third issue in more detail.

One thing that ESL/EFL teachers, especially teachers of adults, need to ask themselves is WHY are these students taking this English class.

In your case, Sally, is it to get a deeper understanding of the Bible or of their Christian beliefs? Or is it so that they can get a job or make advancements on their current jobs? Is it so that they can take care of the day-to-day tasks of living in an English-speaking country? Is it so that they can feel better about themselves and have more confidence in their English speaking abilities? Is it to gain "survival skills?" Etc.

The teacher has to put the students' needs first. While it's fine to approach a class from a particular orientation, in this case a Christian orientation, the lessons should be something that the students can use in the "real world," in their day-to-day lives. The material and topics covered should be transferable to the students' lives outside of the church.

I don't know of any Christian-based curriculum, Sally. You may be the person to create such a curriculum. I would just suggest that you find a way for students to transfer the English skills that they learn with you into their day-to-day lives.

Best of luck,

Debra

Someone Has Stolen My ESL Blog

2009-09-03T08:42:00.000-07:00

Yep. Some unscrupulous person has stolen all the content from this ESL blog and posted as his or her own. Amazing.

You can see the thief's blog at http://www.teaching-esl-to-adults.blogspot.com. I guess he or she is a little behind, though. The last post the thief has as of today is only through February 1, 2009.

I've been writing this ESL blog since March 2007. For the first year, I wrote a post every day. It's a little disheartening to see that someone has stolen all of my work. But life goes on.

I've mentioned before how I advertise on craigslist.org and that I often get responses from scammers, people trying to steal money from other people. Now here's one more way for people to be dishonest.

With the internet there are just so many ways for unscrupulous people to behave. But there is a lot of good that can come from it, too. So I'll focus on that.

I suppose this world economic situation has people doing things that perhaps they would not normally do.
--end--

How Twitter Helps ESL Students Learn

2009-08-31T10:35:00.000-07:00

Besides advertising for ESL students online and my ESL blog and websites, I must admit that I'm a bit behind with all the social networking opportunities on the web. However, there is no doubt that English learning opportunities abound with the world wide web.

Here's a post by guest author Donna Scott on ways to use Twitter to help ESL students learn.

Donna Scott writes:

Twitter isn't just for bloggers or niche networking: it's also a great educational tool. From sharing links and study materials during your off time to encouraging students to keep up the conversation outside of class, Twitter has unlimited potential for learning. ESL teachers can turn to the microblogging platform for word games, quizzes, contests and vocabulary challenges. Here are different ways Twitter can help your ESL students learn more effectively.

Students can't go over 140 characters. This fundamental rule challenges students to use the phrases, vocabulary words and abbreviations that allow for the character restriction.

Extra space for learning materials. On Twitter, you can link to supplemental online education materials, upload videos and photos, and add music to your posts so that your students can continue learning even after class is over.

Set up private groups. There are lots of ways to create groups on Twitter, allowing you and your students to play word games and talk about assignments in a shared space that's also private from the general public.

It forces them to become a part of the greater conversation. Connect your ESL students with native English speakers by encouraging them to follow celebrities, news feeds, and industry insiders from the subjects they like to follow.

Track words. With Twitter, you can track words to find out all of the conversations that incorporate that word or key phrase. This is an excellent exercise for ESL students, as you can show them all the different meanings of a word.

It provides a central place for messages and announcements. If your class or school doesn't have a website or a private spot for you to make announcements online, Twitter is great for sending direct messages to your students and giving them free access to chats, extra material, and more.

Use polls: Ask your student to participate in Twitter polls (Poll Daddy has a Twitter feed, for example) to get feedback from them about lessons.

Create group stories. One student will start writing a 140-character story, and each student will take turns writing the next "chapter."

This post was contributed by Donna Scott, who writes about online colleges. She welcomes your feedback at DonnaScott9929 yahoo.com

Please let me know your thoughts on this article or if you have any other suggestions for how to use social media to teach ESL to adults.--Thanks, Debra
--end--

10 Conversation Starters for the ESL Classroom

2009-08-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

by Guest Author Karen Schweitzer

Getting adult ESL students to engage in conversation is a great way to promote classroom learning. The following article offers a list of 10 conversation starters to get things rolling in the ESL classroom.

1. What is your favorite thing to cook at home? Ask each student to name their favorite dish to cook at home. Encourage them to list the different ingredients and the different steps involved in making the dish. You can also ask students to use various words and phrases to describe how the finished meal tastes.

2. I've never… Ask one student to name something they have never done. For example: I've never been to New York. Afterwards, anyone who has been to New York or knows someone else who has traveled to this destination must tell a story about the experience.

3. If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be? Ask every student to state what type of animal they would be if they could choose. Then ask them to explain their choice to the class.

4. Where are you from? Ask one student to state the name of the city or town they live in. Encourage everyone else to ask the student one question about this city or town. For example: Where is the best restaurant? What is your town known for? How many people live in your city? If everyone in the class lives in the same area, you can change the question to: Where did you live when you were ten years old?

5. What is your favorite movie? Ask one student to name their favorite movie. Allow each student in the class to ask one question about the movie. For example: How long is the movie? Have you watched this movie more than once? Where were you when you first watched the movie?

6. Name three things in your bedroom. Ask each student to name three things that can be found at home in their bedroom. You can make this conversation game more difficult by not allowing students to repeat any of the three things mentioned by a previous student.

7. What was the last item you purchased? Ask each student to name the last item they purchased from a store. Then, ask the other students to ask questions about the item. For example: Where did you buy it? How much did it cost? Was it on sale?

8. Pretend you are only allowed to use one of the following items during the next year: a computer, a car, or a flushable toilet. Ask each student to choose which one of the three items they would keep for the next year if they had to make a choice. Then, ask them what made them choose that item.

9. What is your dream job? Ask one student to tell the class what their ideal job would be and why. Then, ask the rest of the class to name jobs that are similar to the original student's dream job.

10. Describe your first job. Ask each student in the class to describe the first job they received payment for. Encourage them to share as many details as possible about the type of work they did and the people they worked with.

Guest post from education writer Karen Schweitzer. Karen is the About.com Guide to Business School. She also writes about online colleges for OnlineColleges.net.
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Becoming Qualified to Teach ESL

2009-07-23T18:41:00.000-07:00

Gail from the U.S. writes: How do I go about becoming qualified to teach ESL to adults? I have taught English for 30 years to junior high school students. I am looking for something rewarding to do. I've always enjoyed working with ESL students in my public school.

Dear Gail:

Teaching ESL to adults is certainly rewarding. And it sounds like you have a great start. As for "becoming qualified to teach ESL," it will depend upon where you want to teach. Will it be as a private ESL tutor such as myself, in an adult school, in a non-profit? The qualifications required will vary depending upon where you want to teach.

Please take a look at my page How to Start Teaching ESL for a more extensive answer.
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AU Coupon Code: 879122

Should I Start Another ESL Forum?

2009-07-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

Does the Internet need yet another ESL forum? Here's why I ask. I receive tons of emails every week asking all sorts of ESL-related questions. Apparently, people aren't getting all the answers they need on the web.

Here are just two questions that I received today:

"Hi! I am a student who will be teaching English abroad for the next year and am interested in purchasing some of the books you describe on your blog. Do you know any place where I might find them cheaper than on Amazon? Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thank you!"

"I am an American living in New York. Is it better for me to take my teaching certification here in N.Y or to go overseas and study over there? I am confused as to which is a better option in regards to being prepared to start initially in the country I want to teach in (does this give me a better head start?) or to start here and find a job through the internet once the course is through. Please help. Thanks."

While I love hearing from readers, I find that answering these questions takes A LOT of time. Plus, I just don't always know the answers.

So here are my questions to my readers:

1. Do you think it would be useful for me to set up a forum on my main website Teaching ESL to Adults so that readers can ask me AND other readers ESL-related questions?

2. Or are there already enough ESL forums out there?

3. Would you visit and participate in a new forum on my website Teaching ESL to Adults?

Please use the "contact me" link to your right to get back to me.

Thank you for taking the time to tell me your thoughts.
--end--

ESL Students and Superbowl Sunday

2009-02-01T08:59:00.000-08:00

In addition to learning English, many of my ESL students are interested in learning about American culture. Well, today is one of those days that I (previously) wouldn't have thought about as "culture." But when you have nearly one out of three Americans watching the game, I guess you can't say this is not a part of our culture.

For some reason, native English speakers who otherwise don't care at all about football are suddenly transformed into hard-partying-fans on this special day. Is it really about the game? Or is it simply a day that brings us all together and gives us some sense of "oneness" and belonging? And how does it do that?

Whatever this day is to us as Americans, it is definitely a part of our culture. And as such, the customs around this day can be shared with our ESL students. It also serves as a starting point to ask our students about similar events in their home countries and we can encourage them to practice their English by telling us about such events.
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Mr., Ms., Miss, Mrs. for ESL Students

2009-01-27T15:21:00.000-08:00

The titles Mr., Ms., Miss, and Mrs. are often difficult for English language learners. And it's something so basic to native English speakers that ESL tutors and ESL teachers often take this for granted. Perhaps, I should speak for myself. I often take it for granted.

I usually notice that these titles are difficult for ESL students when they are reading aloud. This leads to an impromptu discussion about the pronunciation of each of these titles, as well as how to appropriately use them. (There's also an opportunity for a small reinforcement of the s/z distinction and voiced and unvoiced sounds.)

These titles can also lead to a mini-history lesson about the title "Ms." And even in how to address letters.

The two main points here are that for the ESL teacher or tutor, there are lots of ideas for lesson plans, and flexibility is important during a class.
--end--

Gung Hay Fat Choy! 2009

2009-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! The celebrations never end! This year is The Year of the Ox. We're just leaving my year, The Year of the Rat.

As I mentioned last year (I don't expect you to remember!), Spring Festival is one of the more (if not the most) important traditional Chinese holidays. It's also celebrated by other East Asian cultures and countries.

Holidays celebrated by ESL students, and in their home countries, provide great ESL conversation topics. Anything about which ESL students have a lot of knowledge are great conversation topics. People like to talk about things they know about. And there's an added pleasure, sometimes, in teaching another.

The task of the ESL teacher or tutor in a conversation class is to encourage the English language learner to talk by asking questions and showing their interest in what the speaker has to say.
--end--

Inauguration of Barack Obama

2009-01-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

Barack Hussein Obama became the 44th president of the U.S.A. today. For this ESL tutor, last night and this morning was like Christmas-time for a child. I could hardly sleep and then I woke up at 5 a.m. I was too excited to go back to sleep. This is a day I never thought I'd see. The challenges are great, but it feels like there is hope in the air.

I'll be meeting with an ESL student later today. Although we're supposed to focus on job interview preparation, it will be hard not to include some discussion of today's events. Of course, as a private ESL tutor, the student's requests and needs are primary, so we will be sure to continue with our planned class, for the most part.
--end--

The Best MLK Day Ever, So Far

2009-01-19T17:38:00.001-08:00

As the author of this ESL blog, I really try to keep the topics somehow related to ESL, EFL, or English Language Learners and I especially try to be helpful to other ESL tutors and ESL teachers.

And yes, Martin Luther King Jr. Day could be used as a conversation topic for ESL classes. This could lead to other ESL conversation topics such as race relations, racism, dreams, homogeneous and heterogeneous nations, American history and culture, "mutts," etc. In short, this day can be the starting point for many conversation and speaking topics in the ESL class. It's up to the imagination of the teacher.

However, since this is my ESL blog, I want to take the liberty just to write my own thoughts about this time in my life and in American history. In short, I'm stoked. The inauguration of our country's first African American president is something I never thought I'd see in my lifetime. And for it to follow the day that we celebrate the man who had "a dream" is awesome.

While my nation still suffers from inequality in many ways, we have achieved a part of Rev. King's dream. He said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

We are on the eve of the day when our future president was judged by the content of his character, rather than the color of his skin.

To repeat, I'm stoked!
--end--

CELTA and TESOL Comments

2009-01-13T10:32:00.000-08:00

Over a year ago I wrote an article called CELTA or TESOL for Private Tutoring. To this day, I continue to get comments from readers criticizing CELTA teaching centers and CELTA in general. Some of the emails have been quite strong and people have taken a significant amount of time to write their lengthy comments.

This blog and my site, Teaching ESL to Adults, are primarily for the benefit of ESL/EFL teachers and tutors, so I suppose this information from people who have studied for CELTA certification is useful to pass on to others. And the decision between CELTA and TESOL certification is an important one for the potential new ESOL teacher.

While the comments submitted have been critical of CELTA courses, I'm certain that there are many, many people who have had good experiences with their CELTA training. However, it seems to be human nature (or at least MY nature) that we take less time to praise something and more time to criticize.

Noteworthy to me is that there have been no complaints submitted against any TESOL certificate training programs. I know for myself, my TESOL training was some of the best training I've ever had and it thoroughly prepared me to start teaching English to speakers of other languages.
--end--

ESL Accent "Deduction"

2009-01-11T21:52:00.000-08:00

I recently received a response to one of my ads advertising my private ESL tutoring services. The potential student wanted help with "Accent Deduction." Of course, the proper term is "Accent REduction."

Not really much more to say about this...It's just one more of those things where word choice is important, but can sometimes be confusing for English language learners.
--end--

Reader Asks How To Start Teaching ESL

2009-01-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

An email from Eileen in the U.S. asks:

"I am new to Chapel Hill, NC. I want to return to teaching ESL (I taught at Berlitz in the U.K. many moons ago) and need to know whether I need to be certified, where to start, etc. I would appreciate any advice on what to do first. Thanks!"

The requirements for teaching ESL will depend on many factors, such as where you want to teach, the type of institution, students, etc. Please read my page on How To Start Teaching ESL to get more information to start teaching ESL.
--end--

"It Sure Has Been Cold Lately"

2009-01-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at one of the coffee shops I use as an "office," the owner/server started making small talk about the weather. (It was cool and drizzly.) As an ESL tutor, these seemingly inconsequential conversations are not wasted on me.

"Small talk" is one of the frequent areas of concern for many of my ESL students working as professionals in the U.S. Native English-speakers take this for granted. No big deal. But for English language learners, small talk can be a challenge.

Appropriate topics for small talk, how much small talk to make, when is it appropriate. All these are concerns for my ESL students.

So when the coffee shop owner from Morocco started talking about the weather, it did not go unnoticed by me!
--end--

"Musical Offices" for ESL Tutors

2009-01-05T16:18:00.000-08:00

As a self-employed ESL tutor, I have several "small offices" all over my city. To some, they look like coffee shops. In fact, they are. I have different "offices" for each part of my self-employed life.

I meet my private ESL students at one particular coffee shop that is convenient to public transportation and local colleges (to make it easier for my students who are traveling or meeting me before or after classes).

The coffee shop doesn't mind me sitting and meeting with students for hours on end. They also have the right size tables and decent chairs. However, amazingly, they don't have internet access. I guess people would never leave if they had internet access.

I'm currently in another one of my "offices." In this office, I work on my website (Teaching ESL to Adults) and other projects requiring internet access.

It's tough being a self-employed ESL tutor. ;-)
--end--

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

I wish all my ESL students past and present (and all blog readers) a happy, prosperous and safe 2009.

With so much violence going on in the world right now, it's hard to focus on the good things, on the hope so many of us have for this coming year, for the world, and for Americans, for our country. I don't have any suggestions for focusing on the good things. But I do know from past experience, that life goes on.

For ESL teachers and tutors, students will still come to us with a desire to learn and improve their English. We will still take time to prepare lesson plans. We'll still look for ways to help our ESL students learn. Private ESL tutors will continue to look for new students. Teachers in public and private schools will continue to be underpaid. Life goes on.

May we all experience hope this year, and love and prosperity and happiness.

ESL Tutoring and the Economy

2008-10-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

A large part of my ESL tutoring is devoted to job interview preparation, as well as resume and cover letter writing. My students who are studying for their MBAs have been notably more concerned over these past few weeks.

A regular topic of conversation these days (usually small talk) is the devaluation of the currency of my students' home countries.

Our economic downturn is definitely reaching far.

I don't see that private ESL tutoring is taking a hit, yet. Students still visit from other countries and still want to take advantage of learning English while they are here in the U.S.

We'll see how long ESL tutoring holds out as a recession-proof industry.
--end--

Is 9/11 an Appropriate ESL Conversation Topic?

2008-09-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

It's hard for Americans not to recall the events of seven years ago. In so many ways, we are still recovering. But are the events and causes of this day appropriate for ESL class topics?

Last year, I made a comment to one of my ESL students from Europe. I said that the events of that day have not only changed life for Americans, but have also "impacted the whole world." As an educated American, I thought that was a valid comment.

My ESL student pointed out to me that that was indeed a very American perspective. Her opinion was that we Americans think that the whole world has changed due to the events of 9/11. However, it was her opinion that this was not so. That people in her country do not think about these events as particularly significant.

I won't go into the rest of the conversation we had. The question is whether this is an appropriate topic for conversation. I'd say it is. But we have to remember that in an ESL conversation class, the point is to get the English language learner to talk, whatever the opinion, whatever the perspective, whatever the topic.
--end--

Advertising and Growing an ESL Tutoring Business

2008-08-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

As most of my readers already know, the only advertising I do to get new ESL students is on craigslist.org. I usually keep two slightly different ads running at all times.

However, I've noticed that the last ad I placed was on July 5th. I haven't had a single opening since then. And as a couple of my regular ESL students are leaving at the end of summer, I have former students either returning to the country and/or ready to start taking lessons again, so there's no need to advertise for new students.

The ESL tutoring business is similar to other business in that it grows over time and less work is needed to grow the business. My business has grown and only requires a minimum of time to maintain the number of students I want.

So if you are new in your tutoring business, know that it will likely grow and pay off. It just takes some diligence and patience.
--end--

Raising ESL Tutoring Fees

2008-08-14T13:24:00.000-07:00

I recently raised my rates for private ESL tutoring sessions. I had put it off as long as possible, but with the cost of gasoline and the general cost of living increasing, I really didn't have another option.

Of course, I wondered how my higher rates would effect my ESL tutoring business and whether it would stop new students from contacting me. It didn't.

The students I had before my rate change are still paying the older rates. I didn't feel it necessary to increase these ESL tutoring fees.
--end--

Emails to ESL Students

2008-08-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's a good idea to proofread any email before you send it out. However, I feel it's particularly important to proofread emails to ESL students. Additionally, it's important to choose appropriate words according to the level of the English language learner.

The reasons for very clear and correct emails to ESL students are twofold: (1) to avoid confusion (especially about ESL tutoring meeting times), and (2) so that the ESL student doesn't pick up any bad or wrong habits (and to avoid their confusion about how English should be written).

--end--

The Olympics and ESL Students

2008-08-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

The Olympics are a great ESL conversation topic. I'm using it as a topic for all my private ESL students; and the topic is really a bit different depending upon the student.

General topics for ESL conversation include:

-the sports events at the Olympics

-the politics of the Olympics

-whether the Games have been held in your student's home country and what effect that had on the country

-medals won or not won by a country

-the Para-Olympics and disabilities in general

-country rivalries

-sports the ESL student likes to play

-physical education in schools

-the significance of 8/8/08

-etc.

As you can see, the Olympics are only a starting point for conversation and can lead to many topics. The great thing about the general topic is that it is something most students already know about and can therefore talk about without too much prompting (you usually don't have to pull teeth!).
--end--

Ask a Native Speaker to Review Your Sign!

2008-07-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

I saw a sign over a pizza joint yesterday. It said, "Minute Pizzas and Great Salads." This will be a fun slogan to present to some of my ESL students.

Of course, the owner's intention was to imply that you could get your pizza there quickly. But as native-English-speakers know, this word has two different pronunciations. Depending on the pronunciation, "minute" can also be an adjective which means very, very small or unimportant or insignificant.

I don't think that was the intention of the pizza joint owner!
--end--

Keeping Track of ESL Lessons

2008-07-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

When I first started privately tutoring ESL students, I didn't have a system in place for keeping track of my lessons and topics covered. This wasn't a big problem for the first few lessons and when I had very few students. However, as the number of students grew and time passed, I wasn't able to remember everything. Especially since some students study English with me for a long time. It hasn't been unusual for some learners to work with me for over a year.

At some point I realized that I needed to keep better track of what had been covered. I thought of a checklist of sorts, but that didn't work very well, as different students had very different needs.

I have always prepared a one-sheet lesson plan for every tutoring session. Even if it is just a conversation class. During class, I use this piece of paper to make notes to myself about what has been covered and what needs to be covered in the future. Having a lesson plan also shows the student that you are a professional and they seem to appreciate the time you take to prepare for class. I also have a folder for each student.

At a minimum, I've found that it's at least important to know how many lessons I've had with the student. So at the top of every lesson plan, I have the student's name, the lesson number and the date. For example:

John Smith
Lesson #6
July 19, 2008
You usually never know for sure how long you'll be working with a student, so keeping track of your lessons can be very useful. I think it's essential (for my own sanity, if nothing else!).
--end

ESL Geniuses

2008-07-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

So many of my ESL students over the years have been absolute geniuses. Of course, I didn't conduct any tests to verify this, but I think I'm right.

A lucky thing for me is that these English language learners have also been absolute joys to work with: very personable, considerate, kind, and open to learning.

Yet another one of the fringe benefits of being an ESL tutor.
--end--

Sick Days for ESL Tutors

2008-07-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Another disadvantage of being self-employed is that there is no sick leave! I’ve been under the weather for a few days and have had to cancel two days of classes with my ESL students.

As a self-employed ESL tutor, I’ve had to find other ways to supplement my income. Hence, my blog and websites. (Remember the old joke: What’s the difference between a large pizza and an ESL teacher? A large pizza can feed a family of four!)

I’ve found it interesting to note all the home-based-business opportunities out there that tell you you can set your own hours, make the income you want, etc., etc., etc.

Well, I suppose that is true for some, but what I’ve found to be more true for myself and others is that as a self-employed person, I’m seldom really not working. With websites, there is always more to do. More emails to answer. More pages to write. More corrections to make. More research to do.

Although being a self-employed ESL tutor does have some downsides (e.g., no sick leave, no vacation leave), I still would never trade it for a “real” j-o-b.
--end--

List of Irregular Verbs

2008-07-12T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've added an Irregular Verbs List to my main website.

This may be helpful for English language learners (and many native-English-speakers--including myself!) when using some verbs in the Simple Past and any of the Perfect tenses.

I'll try to turn it into a pdf so it's easier to print out just as soon as I remember how to do it!
--end--

ESL Tutor Scheduling Challenges

2008-07-11T11:05:00.000-07:00

Being a self-employed ESL tutor is very rewarding work. I've mentioned before how it enables me to "travel vicariously" and meet many incredible and interesting people from all over the world. It also helps me to continue to (partially) see my own country through non-American eyes. I really enjoy this part.

One of the more time-consuming and challenging parts of being self-employed, but still working with other people, is all the schedule juggling I have to do; and the time-consuming emails I have to write after I try to figure out everyone's schedule. Of course, if I did not have to depend upon my income from teaching ESL, I wouldn't spend so much time trying to juggle everyone's schedules.

Here's the text of an email I had to write today:

Hi ,

It looks like we might have a problem meeting twice a week. Currently, 11:30 is the only opening I have on Wednesdays. I've learned that all my Tuesdays appointments are booked, so no time there either. (Do you think there may be any possibility of rescheduling your EAC meetings? I know this is probably not likely.)

I can see you at 3pm on Thursday, the 17th. Please confirm if this time works, or if you need 3:30.

I have you confirmed for Thursdays (starting July 24th) at 1 p.m.

My schedule has just gotten crazy lately, so I'm sorry about my limited availability. I often have cancellations, so whenever I have one, I could let you know right away so you can decide if you would like to take the class."

This email was to a new ESL student. Usually, after we get started and establish a regular schedule, that schedule is good for a few months (until life circumstances change, such as a new semester begins, or a work schedule changes, etc.).

I should probably also point out that the above email was to a very advanced ESL student. For newer English Language Learners, my emails (especially around logistics) are a lot more succinct and direct.
--end--

Question about ESL Advertising

2008-07-10T12:46:00.000-07:00

An Anonymous teacher from the U.S. writes:

"Hi! I was reading on your blog that you have an ebook about setting up an ESL business. I'd be very interested to take a look at it. I've had my own business in a specific niche market for a few years now (teaching English to Japanese speakers, mostly businessmen) but I'm looking to branch out and create a dispatch service for ESL teachers in my area (New York city). Could you give me some pointers on advertising the business and recruiting students?

Many thanks."

Hi Anonymous,

Thank you for contacting me. I'm currently working on the e-book and am glad to let you know as soon as it is finished. I'll probably send a draft out to a few people for free if they are willing to give me comments and critique the book.

As for advertising, I only use craigslist.org. It should be useful in your area as well. You may also want to look at the "advertising/marketing" section listed under "Article Topics" on this blog.

Good luck!
Debra
www.esl-tutor.com
www.teaching-esl-to-adults.com

ESL Textbooks for Beginners

2008-07-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

An Anonymous teacher from Portugal writes:

Hi. I'd like to know what's the best coursebook for Portuguese students, who are learning English (100-150h) for the 1st time? Can you suggest the one you consider the most adequate and effective?

Dear Anonymous,

Thank you for contacting me.

I have used a few series of books out there for classrooms, such as Focus on Grammar and New Interchange. They are both adequate. As for effective, I'd say they are as effective as any other books. It depends on how you use them and what supplemental material you use.

These are ESL textbooks for adults. You didn't mention if you're teaching children or adults. I don't have any recommendations for children.

If you're teaching one-to-one, then see my ESL Textbook Evaluation page for the books I use.

Good luck,
Debra
www.esl-tutor.com
www.teaching-esl-to-adults.com

Happy Fourth of July

2008-07-04T12:17:00.001-07:00

Here's another American holiday to discuss in a conversation class. However, since the point of a conversation class is to get the ESL (or EFL) students speaking, this topic could be a launching point to hear about holidays in your students' home countries.

"Excuse Me" in Writing and Speaking

2008-07-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned before that I advertise for new ESL students on craigslist.org. I never put my phone number in the advertisement, just my email address. If potential students want to contact me for English lessons, they have to email me first.

I received an email inquiry today with an interesting greeting. The writer wrote, "Excuse me" as his greeting. I've received hundreds of email from English language learners and this was the first time I've read this introduction.

Of course, a more appropriate email opening is something like "hi" or "hello" or "good day" (although emails with "good day" are usually from scammers), etc.

I was thinking about this "excuse me" email greeting and although it's not conventional, it really does seem to a polite way to begin an email. I receive so many emails from potential students, people who have viewed my websites, friends, family, businesses, and on and on. I get a little overwhelmed with all the email sometimes.

So "excuse me" just seems like a fair greeting. (Of course, I am not recommending this greeting in emails. It's more appropriate for speaking situations. And if I end up working with this person, it will be something we discuss.) It just seemed right today.
--end--

"Water" and English Language Learners

2008-06-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Many of my adult ESL students have a problem being understood when they say the word "water." They have found it frustrating when they try to order a glass of water at a restaurant. And "water" is just one of those words that is very hard to avoid using!

"Water" is such a simple and common word for most native English speakers, but it really has a lot of complex sounds for English language learners. The "t" is the universally difficult sound to pronounce in this word as it is pronounced as a quick "d" by native speakers (I'm talking about American English, here). The "w" is also difficult, as is the "er" sound.

I had a recent experience with this word that I found more interesting than usual due to my experiences with my ESL students.

I spent a few days with a native English-speaking two-year-old child who supposedly has a speech development delay. He's seeing a speech therapist. The adults around the child were trying to help him out by breaking up certain words into syllables and encouraging him to repeat the words. One of the words was "water."

The interesting thing to me was that when the adults broke up the word into two syllables, they said "wa-ter." The "t" was stressed as a very strong "t" sound. I'm sure the child will eventually pick up the common way to say this important word the American English way, but I'm not sure if the strong emphasis on the "t" sound is helping him at this time. Because of my experience with adult English language learners, I would have said "wa-der," with a "d" sound.

I just find language acquisition at any age and level to be fascinating. In my next life, I'll spend more time studying this subject (as well as becoming a forest ranger).
--end--

How Much to Charge for Group ESL Lessons

2008-06-12T12:24:00.000-07:00

It's easier to decide how much to charge ESL students in small groups after you've determined your hourly rate for ESL lessons. Students usually want to work in a group to get a reduced rate (otherwise, most English Language Learners seem to prefer working one-on-one with a private ESL tutor). You are not likely to get students in a small group to each pay the same amount as the individual rate.

However, you should definitely charge more for the group ESL lesson than you would normally charge for an individual student. It does, or at least it can, take more preparation time for a group of ESL students than an individual student, and you are offering your services to more people. You should be compensated for your work.

There is no hard and fast rule about how much to charge, but a good general rule is to charge individual students in a group two-thirds of your hourly rate for individual ESL lessons. So if you normally charge $30 per hour and you have two or more students, you would charge them each $20 for the hour lesson.
--end--

Locations for ESL Tutoring Sessions

2008-06-05T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here’s a list of the most commonly used locations for tutoring sessions. This list is by no means exhaustive.

1. Tutor’s home
2. Tutor’s office
3. Student’s home
4. Student’s office
5. School libraries
6. Public libraries
7. Senior centers
8. Community centers
9. Coffee shops
10. Recreation centers

Do you know of any other locations good for teaching private ESL students? If so, please share them with us. Thank you.
--end--

E-book on Starting an ESL Business

2008-06-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

Almost on a daily basis, I receive emails from folks asking questions about teaching ESL to adults. Some of the questions are about teaching methods or grammar--most of those questions I answer with links to certain pages on my ESL website.

I also receive many questions about the business part of running an ESL tutoring business. And lots of questions about how to get started. I usually write back to the questioner and sometimes write the answer here in my blog if I have the permission of the asker to publish his or her question.

I've decided to try to put all these questions and answers (and a lot more) in an e-book about how to start an ESL tutoring business.

I'll be referring to all the prior questions I've received, but I'd like this book to be very thorough. Please contact me with any questions you might have about starting and running an ESL tutoring business.

If your question is addressed in my book, you'll get a free copy!

Thank you,
Debra

Giving and Receiving Gifts

2008-05-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

I consider it a part of my responsibility as an ESL tutor to address cultural issues and especially cultural differences that enable my ESL students to understand "American culture" a little better. As most of my ESL students are very advanced, I don't often make culture the main topic of any lesson. Of course, it invariably comes up. There isn't really any way to avoid it! The student usually brings the topic to class.

The depth of our discussion about culture depends on the topic and the interest of the English language learner. I'm often able to explain the origin of many aspects of "American culture," the "why" of what we do, and a bit of history about the custom. To further our conversation practice, I also elicit information about the customs in the student's home culture.

Last week, a student stumped me by asking me the "why" of something we Americans do. She wanted to know why we often ask when receiving a present, "Should I open it now?" First, I was able to confirm that, yes, we usually do ask this question. However, the "why" of it was something I couldn't definitively answer. I speculated that it has something to do with economics and embarrassment. That the receiver of a gift doesn't want the giver to feel embarrassed about the cost of the gift, whether it is a costly or an inexpensive gift.

I'd love to hear some suggestions from other people familiar with American culture as to why we ask, "Should I open it now or later?" And I also welcome non-Americans to share their customs around receiving gifts in their home countries.
--end--

ESL, Human Rights, and Same-Sex Marriages

2008-05-15T12:19:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those days in the blogosphere where bloggers around the world are encouraged to write something in support of human rights. This is a particularly noteworthy day for human rights in the state of California.

Today, May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court overturned a ban on same-sex marriages in the state of California. This means that it is now legal (actually, it goes into effect in 30 days) for people of the same sex to legally marry each other in the state and to enjoy the same rights, privileges and responsibilities as married couples of opposite genders.

I believe that this is an issue of human rights as it is an issue of equality. And in the United States, where we are supposed to have a separation of church and state, the Supreme Court's decision helps to clarify this separation.

This is certainly an ESL conversation topic I will be addressing with my conversation students in the next couple of days.
--end--

ESL Students and the Electoral College

2008-05-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

This is an exciting time in American politics. I had never thought that there would be an opportunity in my lifetime for a woman or an African American to possibly be the president of the U.S.

For my ESL students who are visiting from other countries, they are having a great opportunity to experience this time in American history (although, I realize that this may be my ethnocentric outlook!).

These days I find myself not only being an ESL tutor, but also a "civics" teacher. And one of the most difficult things to explain is the Electoral College, delegates, and superdelegates, etc. I must admit that I've had to review some of what I learned years ago in high school (and I don't think we learned about superdelegates back then!), and I find that it's still very difficult for me to explain and for my advanced ESL students to understand.

Such is American politics.
--end--

Needs Assessment or "Wing It"

2008-05-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

An anonymous reader writes:

Hi there, What are your suggestions on the initial assessment of new students? Do you have a particular type of assessment that you give students or do you "wing-it?"

Love you site -- what a resource!

My response:

Hi Reader,

As a starting point, I use a Needs Analysis form I've adapted from various other Needs Assessment forms I've run across in previous teaching jobs. I've hesitated to post it to my sites because I really do also wing it depending on the student, and I haven't edited the form I use to reflect this.

Since I usually work one-on-one with very advanced English language learners, they are usually able to articulate what it is they want to work on. Mostly, I listen to what they say and how they say it and then take notes on what I think needs to be improved. This helps me to be able to tell my potential student how I would proceed in working with them. If they want to work on their writing skills, I ask them to send me a writing sample before our first class, and I analyze that before we meet.

My first meeting with potential students is always free as I do a Needs Analysis to determine their strengths and challenges. It also gives us both a chance to decide if we would like to work together, with no obligation.

Another reason that it's important to have a "form" is that it lets potential students know that you're a professional. I've had numerous students comment on the fact that the process is very professional. They seem to appreciate this and want to work with me more.

Good luck,
Debra
Teaching ESL to Adults

My ESL Tutor, the Tour Guide

2008-04-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the duties of an ESL tutor go beyond the typical job description of a tutor. I happen to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world. My ESL students come here to study English and/or to study at the local universities. While they're here, they also like to do some sightseeing.

Some of my entire ESL lessons have been sessions about local, statewide and even national sights. Sometimes I feel a little guilty about talking about all the wonderful places I've been in the U.S. and making recommendations or planning travel itineraries. The English part of the lesson falls to the wayside. But I guess this is part of the flexibility of the ESL tutor. And, especially in private ESL tutoring, the English language learner is ultimately in control of the lesson. If he or she wants information or recommendations about where to travel and what to see, I'm pleased to provide the info.

Visit this page on my website for a more traditional list of the duties of an ESL teacher.
--end--

What is "Metalanguage?"

2008-03-31T20:03:00.000-07:00

When English language teachers (and other languages, too) talk about "metalanguage," they primarily mean the "language" used to talk about the target language. A simple example would be if I say "present perfect progressive sentence" to talk about the form and functions of a sentence like "I have been studying English since I was a child."

Using metalanguage is an easy way for teachers (and others) to talk about a language. It's not a great idea to use metalanguage to teach English language learners. It's better to go directly to the target language. For example, if I'm teaching the Simple Present, I would use and elicit the target language. I might ask, "What do you do every morning?" In this case, I am hoping to get something like, "I eat breakfast." I am using the Simple Present, rather than talking about the Simple Present.

I do use some metalanguage when I am teaching advanced ESL students. They usually know all the names of grammar parts, and so it saves a lot of time to use the shortcut of metalanguage.
--end--

Making Assumptions about ESL Knowledge

2008-03-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

I was tutoring an advanced ESL student today. He's a doctoral student at one of the top universities in the U.S. He asked me to primarily help him with his writing skills. I always focus on the areas my advanced students want to focus on, as opposed to beginning ESL students who need me to guide the directions of our ESL lessons a lot more.

Some small thing came up today about pronunciation. I started talking about the many vowel sounds English has, yet we only have five vowels (sometimes six with the letter "y"). I wrote and said, "a, e, i, o, u." He asked me to repeat the vowels. He said that this was the first time he'd heard a native speaker say the vowels.

I usually try not to make assumptions about what English language learners know or don't know. I'll often ask about something just to make sure. I never thought to ask about something as basic as the vowels. I learned that I still make certain assumptions and need to be even more conscious.
--end--

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's Day is one of many holidays celebrated in the United States. I have to admit that this is not one of the holidays about which I know much. What I do know is probably part myth, part reality, and part childhood pranks.

As a tutor teaching ESL to adults, I am often able to use holidays as conversation topics. I can also use some holidays to discuss certain aspects of American history and culture. Of course, this has me doing most of the talking.

The best holidays are those that are also celebrated in my students' home countries or those American holidays that are similar to those celebrated in their home countries. This gives the English language learner an opportunity to talk about a subject with which they are familiar.
--end--

Words Used by Native English Speakers

2008-03-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

One of my ESL students gave me a topical Chinese medicine for sore muscles. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to read the directions, but my student assured me that the directions were also written in English. Indeed, they were.

In fact, the directions were very well written in perfect English. My experience with products made in non-English speaking countries is that the directions are often a little "off." The grammar or spelling or word choice is usually off.

I was impressed by the very clear and grammatically correct English used for the directions. The one thing that was a clear sign (to me at least) that the directions were not written by a native speaker was the use of the word "sportive." The directions said something like, "for use on sore muscles caused by sportive injuries." Yes, sportive is a legitimate word. And any native English speaker will understand the use of this word. However, a native speaker is going to use the word "sports" in this instance.

Word choice is often one of the things that my advanced English language learners are particularly interested in. They want to know how the "natives" speak. Teaching this type of vocabulary is often a lot easier for native English tutors than for English tutors whose first language is not English.
--end--

"There" vs. "Over There"

2008-03-11T15:17:00.000-07:00

I hear many ESL speakers use "over there" when "there" sounds like the better option to me. If I hear it consistently from a student (or even from a friend whose native language is not English), I will try to offer a correction or suggestion.

My difficulty with this particular choice of words is that I myself do not have a clear handle on the reason(s) that one choice should be made over the other. I haven't seen this explained in any of the ESL textbooks I use for my ESL students or for my own reference. It's one of those slight differences that I can discern as a native speaker. I know in the particular situation which is better, but I can't give a generalization of why one is better. So I've just had to try to give examples of when to use which.

If I find something definitive or if you have any suggestions for me, I'll be sure to offer them here.
--end--

Help with Writing College Essays

2008-03-10T16:56:00.001-07:00

For ESL teachers teaching writing, the teaching isn't only about grammar and punctuation. It may not even be about teaching structure or how to do an outline first. Sometimes, helping ESL students is about helping them to think about the answer to a question they may not have thought about before. Sometimes, being an ESL tutor is like being a psychotherapist.

I was recently helping two young community college students with a writing assignment for their English class. One student was nineteen years old and the other was twenty years old. The question for which they had to write an essay was something like, "What matters in life at any given time and what really matters in life are often different things. Write about three things that really matter. Give details. How have these three things helped to shape your moral world view." Although these are not the exact words of the question, they are very close.

The first thing I thought about this question was that the question was not written very well. This becomes particularly apparent when you start to take the question apart and try to answer it. Such a question is particularly difficult for English language learners.

In addition to helping my ESL students with an outline, the grammar, vocabulary, etc., I also had to ask probing questions of my students about their values and what really matters to them and why. Initially, they had no clue what to write about. After several of my questions, they came up with some answers. Then we had to come up with the "why" for the answers.

The students' answers to the teacher's question took quite a while to develop. As an ESL tutor, it was part of my job to help the students develop the answers (and of course, to help them to express their ideas in English). I also was very conscious of not imposing my views or moral judgments on the answers they had.

Overall, this was a very challenging writing assignment for both the ESL students and their tutor.
--end--

International Women's Day

2008-03-08T15:20:00.001-08:00

Happy International Women's Day to my ESL students, and to all.

I find it interesting that all of my students studying English (both male and female and no matter what country they are from) know what day today is. I suppose it shouldn't be surprising. Probably more interesting is the contrast: only about half the Americans I know are aware of the day.
--end--

Writing and ESL College Students

2008-03-07T17:52:00.001-08:00

About a quarter of my ESL students at any given time are attending university or community college. These English language learners tend to need help writing papers for classes. The challenge for me as an English tutor is the limited time with which we have to work and complete the paper.

College ESL students who have sought out my service as an ESL tutor have wanted help in completing their papers and not specifically to learn grammar, vocabulary, and all the other typical topics covered in ESL classes. Of course, they often need these things as well, but the most important thing is the looming deadline and getting the paper completed.

As an ESL tutor, I find that I have to find a balance between suggesting the way something should be written (for the sake of expedience) and honoring the words, intentions, and ideas of the student.

For me covering the general topic of "writing" has been a challenge, especially when the English language learner is still struggling with the English language. It also takes a lot more time and so I find that I have to limit the number of students I take on who want to improve their writing. Of course, "improving writing" is different from helping with a paper that has a deadline of next week. We can take longer for "improving writing," generally, and veer off onto other topics (grammar, vocabulary, etc.) when needed.
--end--

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

2008-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to my Asian ESL students and everyone else. This Spring Festival is one of the more (if not the most) important traditional Chinese holidays. It's also celebrated by other East Asian cultures and countries.

While it is important and useful for ESL students to learn about holidays in the English-speaking countries in which they live, I believe it's also important to learn about holidays celebrated by English language learners in their home countries.

PLUS, holidays are excellent conversation topics for ESL classes. They are a great opportunity for ESL students to use their knowledge and to share it with others.
--end--

Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Today is "Super Tuesday" in the United States. That means that a large number of states in the U.S. will have their primary elections today to determine which two candidates will run for the U.S. presidency. This is a particularly historic day as it is the first time in American history that an African American man and a white woman are running for the Democratic nomination for the presidency (Shirley Chisholm, an African American democrat ran many years ago--and Angela Davis has run a few times--but these were more symbolic).

Many of my adult ESL students are surprised by some things about this election. One of the things that surprises the majority of my students is that this is regular work day. In many other countries, people are given the day off to vote. They are also surprised that it's such a big deal to us that a woman is running as many other countries have already had women leaders, even though they are supposedly less "progressive" than the U.S.

I'm surprised, and pleased, to see so many of my students are interested in our primary elections.

In any case, please don't forget to vote today, if you can!

New ESL Teacher Starting Private Tutoring

2008-01-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

Andrea from the U.S. writes:

Hello! I am a college student majoring in TESOL. I'd like to do private tutoring out of my home after I graduate in December. Do you have any good advice for someone who is interested in doing this? I've been doing an internship in a high school and will be going overseas for student teaching in the summer. I've found I am better at one-on-one instruction. Anyway, I'll be visiting this site more often, as it seems very helpful!

Hi Andrea,

I'm not sure if you were looking at ESL Tutor or Teaching ESL to Adults . On the ESL Tutor site, you can look at the list or Article Topics for things like "self-employment" or "meeting locations," etc. Incidentally, I don't recommend teaching out of your home; too many horror stories. Check out the Article Topics list and if you have any specific questions, please feel free to write again.

Good luck,
Debra

"Speak Like the Natives"

2008-01-28T10:29:00.000-08:00

A couple of days ago, I was chastised by someone who read one of my blog entries. She was "flabbergasted" by the fact that I call myself an "English language tutor." You can read her full Comment and my response here: Expressions for Physical Descriptions (look at the Comments section of the blog entry).

I was reminded of a college professor I had for a Research class in the mid 1980s. He was an older gentleman who had "old-fashioned" ways and ideas. Although it was a Research class (with papers and statistics and such), he would often take the opportunity to tell the class what he felt about the issues of the day.

One class, he went on a tirade about how we should only use the generic "he," "his" and "him" in our research papers. He told us how he felt about the use of "he/she," "s/he," or even "he or she," and other such variations to include the female in our writing. He believed that the masculine pronoun should continue to be used in all cases and that what the "women's libbers" were trying to do to the English language was ridiculous. I have some thoughts that his concerns were not solely about "the English language." He may have had some issues about the changes in the world that were occurring around him.

If one studies the English language (through formal study or merely through observation), one will notice that the English language is changing (maybe even "evolving" in some cases). It is not a static language. If it were static, dictionary writers would not be adding new words every year. Nor would they provide "Usage Notes" (as Longman's does) about the changing language. (See His, Hers or Theirs.

ESL students need to be taught Standard American English (in the U.S.) so that they will succeed in school and work. However, English language learners also need to be taught English as it is spoken and as it is used by native English speakers.

Many of my advanced English students have intensively studied English grammar in their home countries. Many have told me that they did not understand what people were saying and they had trouble making themselves understood when they first came to the U.S. After living in the U.S. for a while, they caught on, but mostly by context. However, they were not able to replicate the English words, expressions, reductions, etc., that they heard.

My students who are professionals are able to do their jobs effectively, but when it comes to making small talk and hanging out with their colleagues, they feel lost. It's as though the native speakers are speaking some other form of English. It is at this point that many English language learners turn to me. They want to "speak like native speakers." They want to fit in. They know formal English. And now they want to learn to speak as their colleagues do.

Yes, it is important to ensure that non-native (and native) English speakers know formal English. However, from my experience, it is also important that English language learners now how to "speak like the natives."

Teaching "N," "L" and "R" to ESL Students

2008-01-27T17:21:00.000-08:00

Penny from the U.S. writes:

Please help! I am a former French teacher volunteering to teach English to foreign adults. My Chinese lady cannot pronounce the nasal "N" as in nose. She says "L" instead. Is there some way to help her hear and say the sound?

Hi Penny,

Thank you for your email. L, N (and ng) and R are really difficult for Asian language speakers. I've even read that they (some Asian language speakers, Japanese, I think) cannot actually hear the difference. In my experience, I don't spend time training them to hear it, but rather, to say it.

What I do is use pronunciation books that have pictures of what their tongues, breathing, lips, etc. need to do to make each sound. I highly recommend the pronunciation book I refer to on this page ESL Textbook Evaluation. It has great drawings (I can't even figure out what some other books are trying to show), and explanations. It also shows you which sounds to teach first (e.g., N, then L, then R).

Good luck,

Debra
ESL Tutor
Teaching ESL to Adults

How to Correct Consistent ESL Errors

2008-01-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

Ben from Canada writes:

Hi, I have been teaching one-on-one English classes to adults for a while. My classes are usually conversation based with some focus on form. One of my current students is a native French speaker and he has recurring problems with using have/has, do/does, and plural 's'. I correct errors and give him a lot of feedback; however these problems have become somewhat fossilized. I was wondering if you had any advice about how to stop students from making these same errors over and over again. I thought of getting him to write down the error when I correct him, but I am unsure whether this will disrupt the flow of the class too much. Thank you for your time.

Hi Ben,

I have the same problems with many (if not all) of my students. The "s" (either added or dropped) is particularly troublesome. I haven't found any magic key for these three recurring errors. I understand what you mean about not wanting to disrupt the flow. Depending on the purpose of the class, I often don't correct errors each time they're made, but take notes and then review errors every ten minutes or so.

I find that some students are more willing to work on specific problems (and actually make changes) if we discuss they "why" of it, or the importance of getting the "s" right or the "do/does" right. I often use humor to stress the importance. Also, if we decide that we are going to specifically work on a particular problem, I get the students' permission/buy in up front and let them know I am going to correct them each time they make the specific error we're working on. I think that by interrupting the speaker each time an error is made, then we can break that neural connection in the brain and start trying to build a strong and correct connection.

If you learn of any other suggestions, please let me know!

Debra
ESL Tutor
Teaching ESL to Adults
--end

Essay Outline for ESL Students

2008-01-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

I'm meeting with an ESL student I met a couple of months ago. At that time, we worked on a Personal Statement for college admission. Today, we're meeting to go over how to write an essay. This particular questions comes up over and over again with my ESL college students. So I decided to make a printout of the Outline I recommend that students follow.

Here it is:
Simple Outline
I. Introduction

II. Point A

III. Point B

IV. Point C

V. Conclusion
Detailed Outline
I. Introduction
     A. What is the paper about (thesis statement)
     B. What are the points that will be covered
     C. Transition sentence to Point A

II. Point A (Topic Sentence)
     A. Sub-point a
     B. Sub-point b
     C. Sub-point c
     D. Point A conclusion and transition to Point B (one sentence)

III. Point B (Topic Sentence)
     A. Sub-point a
     B. Sub-point b
     C. Sub-point c
     D. Point B conclusion and transition to Point C (one sentence)

IV. Point C (Topic Sentence)
     A. Sub-point a
     B. Sub-point b
     C. Sub-point c
     D. Point C conclusion and (possible) transition to Conclusion

V. Conclusion (different types are possible)
     A. Summary of Points (and/or)
     B. Your recommendation

Of course, this outline will probably require an explanation for the writing student, as it is a guideline and will have to be adjusted according to the type of paper the student is writing. It's easier to explain this to your ESL writing student in person.
--end--

Expressions for Physical Descriptions

2008-01-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

As I was walking to meet a new ESL student today, I was wondering what she would look like. The majority of my students are and have been Asian. After I write a description of myself to them, sometimes they write back with a description of themselves. It's usually something like, "I'm Asian and have black hair." As you can imagine, this description isn't the most useful, but I usually can tell who a new student is when they walk through the coffee shop door.

Today's new student was from France. She didn't provide me with a physical description, but I wasn't too worried. Just curious. Like I said, I can usually tell a new student the moment they walk through the door because they look like they are looking for someone.

I mentioned yesterday that I used to write that I have "olive skin." I also (a long time ago) used to write that I had "salt and pepper" hair. While this is also an expression, it's easier to figure out than "olive." So I was thinking about the whole description, "salt and pepper hair with olive skin." I amused myself by thinking about what this would look like in a literal sense.
--end--

Consciously Choosing our Words

2008-01-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

I meet my adult ESL students in a coffee shop. For our first meeting, I send an email with the address and detailed directions to the coffee shop. I also send a brief description of myself.

I used to say that I had "light olive" skin. This is a typical expression used in the U.S. to describe someone with "light brown" skin. It's such a typical expression that I never gave it a second thought, until one day...

I met a new ESL student and he told me that he wondered what I would look like because he had no idea what "olive skin" would be like. I've changed the wording of my physical description in my intro email!

It just served to remind me that no matter how conscious I am of the English language and all it's aspects, there are some parts of our language that are so internalized that we don't even give them a second thought.

"Slow Children at Play"

2008-01-20T21:56:00.000-08:00

One of the things I try to impress upon my adult ESL students is how intonation and all it's components are just as critical as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc. Knowing what words to stress in a sentence and when to pause are important in making oneself understood.

I was reminded about the importance of pauses when I saw a sign today that said, "Slow Children at Play." If you've paid attention to this typical sign over the years, you may have noticed that the words have been spaced differently than they used to be. Now, the "slow" is separated from "children" so that it's not read as "slow children" (possibly meaning children with learning difficulties). With written English, it's easier to show the pauses where they need to be. With spoken English, we need to use the pause to make ourselves understood correctly.
--end--

Limiting Use of Modals with ESL Beginners

2008-01-13T22:30:00.000-08:00

I make it a regular practice to teach modals to my intermediate and advanced ESL students. I describe modals as those words that give "feeling" or extra meaning to verbs. I also explain how they can be used to sound generally more polite, especially when making requests.

However, I limit my teaching of modals when I work with beginning ESL students. Although, I may suggest that they memorize certain phrases like, "May I have a cup of coffee."

I'm thinking about modals tonight because I was watching my all-time favorite reality show, "Amazing Race." In short, this is a TV show about pairs of people racing around the world. I love this show because it's yet another way for me to travel vicariously.

Tonight, the teams were in Taiwan. Only one of the teams had a member who spoke "Chinese," so most of the others were stumbling along and looking for help from the locals without speaking the local language. One team member asked for directions by saying to a local, "Would you be able to show us?" The American was obviously trying to be polite by using the modal, "would." However, I thought that a more simple way to say this in English would be something like, "Please, show us," or even, "Could you please show us."

When speaking to beginning English language learners (not necessarily when teaching, but just when communicating), native English speakers need to find a balance between being polite and the use of modals.
--end--

ESL Writing Students

2008-01-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Most ESL schools are notorious for not paying their ESL tutors for lesson preparation time. As a private ESL tutor, I have a little more control over the types of students I accept and how much time I spend preparing lessons (of course, when an ESL teacher or tutor is starting out, he or she spends a lot of time on lesson preparation).

Working with ESL students who want to improve their writing skills will almost always take longer than working with students who, for example, want to improve their speaking skills.

To do a good job of teaching students, I have to spend a significant amount of time correcting writing assignments for students. To maximize my time as a private tutor, I find that it's more efficient for me to limit the number of ESL writing students I take on.
--end--

Intonation for ESL Speakers

2008-01-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before that most of my adult ESL students are advanced level English speakers. They know the rules of English grammar better than me! Yet, when it comes to speaking and listening skills, my students always have room for improvement. Many come to me saying that they want to improve their pronunciation.

I use a three-pronged approach to teaching adult ESL students "pronunciation." Often, when they come to me and say that they want to work on their English pronunciation, they say that they want to learn how to say different words correctly. Well, this is indeed one of the prongs. The other two are specific sounds and intonation.

To me, intonation is perhaps the most important part of pronunciation. I believe that even when someone does not say a word or sound correctly, I (the listener) will still be able to understand the student if the intonation is correct, or nearly correct. On the other hand, perfect word and sound pronunciation with "terrible" intonation is not going to communicate the message of the speaker correctly; not even for a native English speaker.

After I show my ESL students how intonation can totally change the meaning of a sentence (using the "red hat" exercise: "I did not say you stole my red hat"), then they start to see the importance of intonation. Often, just the initial awareness of intonation and the "music" of English will help a student to improve his or her speaking skills dramatically.
--end--

Stressing the Outline for ESL Writing

2008-01-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

Several of my adult ESL students want to improve their writing skills for college courses. Most are very advanced English language learners, although some have only intermediate writing skills. Working with intermediate students to improve their writing skills can take quite a while because of all the potential English grammar errors (and word choice, syntax, etc.).

When working with these students, not only do all of the above components of English have to be addressed, but also how to structure a paper. I've mentioned before that much of what I teach about how to structure a college paper, I learned in high school. It's solid advice.

As I work with one particular student who is very advanced (she started studying in the U.S. at the beginning of high school), I'm finding that I have to stress the outline part of the writing process to help her to become a better writer. It's tempting to rush this process, but it's really essential.
--end--

Difference Between "Hear" and "Listen"

2008-01-02T15:27:00.000-08:00

Many of my ESL students are confused about when to use the verb "hear" and when to use the verb "listen." I wonder if this may be because in other languages (at least Spanish--escuchar), the same word is used for both English words.

"To hear" is used when a sound comes to your ears. For example, I hear loud music coming from next door. Or, I hear the dog barking outside. Or, I hear the baby crying.

"To listen" is used when a person wants to hear something and is paying attention to it. For example, I am listening to a wonderful new CD. Or, I am listening to my brilliant ESL tutor's explanation about verb tenses.

Compare, "I was listening to some music when I heard the phone ring." Here, I am actively listening to some music and the sound of the phone ringing was a sound that came to me without my taking any action.

P.S. I love the dictionary, Longman Advanced American Dictionary because it knows that students get these two words confused (and many others) and if offers examples of the differences.
--end--

Happy New Year to Readers and ESL Students

2008-01-01T23:02:00.001-08:00

It's interesting to me how "we" celebrate January 1st as the New Year. I guess what's more interesting to me is that so many of my ESL students celebrate the New Year according to the Lunar Calendar. It just seems to make so much more sense. Or at least many of my ESL students are so clearly able to explain to me the significance of the New Year according to the Lunar Calendar (or the "Chinese New Year" as most of my students call it).

Anyway, I wish all my ESL site readers and my ESL students a very Happy New Year.
--end--

Goodbye to ESL Tutoring for 2007

2007-12-31T17:37:00.000-08:00

I had my last adult ESL student of the year today. What a dedicated student to want to meet on New Year's Eve!

Actually, all the students I've had this year have shown great dedication on their journeys to become better English language speakers. This is one of the great things about working with adult ESL students; they are usually there because they want to be. I said goodbye to some students with whom I had worked over a year (and I still miss them!) and said hello to a lot of new students.

ESL tutoring, for me, has been one of the more rewarding opportunities I've had over the years. As a private ESL tutor, I don't have the advantages of things like sick leave or health care benefits, but I do have the opportunity every day to interact with wonderful people, and to travel vicariously and cheaply!

I look forward to another year of working with dedicated and interesting English language learners.

Goodbye 2007.
--end--

Teaching English Writing Skills

2007-12-28T20:58:00.001-08:00

Some of my adult ESL students are university students. Often, the number one priority for these students is improving their writing skills. They are no longer taking ESL courses, but are taking non-ESL courses and are expected to perform/write as native English speakers.

I find that I use the information I learned in high school (a long time ago!) about writing a paper. The same info I learned in my English courses is still the classic way to write a paper (Introduction, Body, Conclusion, topic sentences, etc.).

For ESL students who are working on their writing, I have them write something between classes and send it to me before class. It often takes quite a while to review the paper on my own time. I'm not only looking for structure, but also for grammar tenses, prepositions, etc.

Working with the student during our regular lessons to review the writing assignment often runs over our scheduled time. I try to keep this in mind when I give the writing assignment. I find that two pages are about the maximum I can cover with my ESL students in an hour-and-a-half lesson. And that's assuming there aren't too many student questions!
--end--

Politically Correct Holiday Greetings

2007-12-27T21:59:00.000-08:00

On December 25th, I received an email from a former adult ESL student of mine. She had lived and worked in the U.S. for less than one year. She's now back in her home country.

The subject line of the email was "Merry Christmas." I have to admit that in this time of being overly politically correct, it was kind of nice to hear from someone who hasn't been influenced by our culture and the extreme end we've moved to in the last couple of years. (And I used to be one of those people who were slightly offended by store clerks wishing me a "Merry Christmas.")

And just to make sure I address the title of this entry, the "politically correct" expressions we now use in the U.S. include "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings." "Happy Holidays" is used equally for a spoken or a written wish. "Seasons Greetings" if more commonly used as a written expression.
--end--

CYA and ESL

2007-12-26T22:24:00.000-08:00

Many of my adult ESL students are working professionals or business students. In a recent lesson with a student of mine who is a CPA, we were talking about vocabulary related to business keeping accurate records. The phrase "CYA" came up. It stands for "cover your ass."

It was great when a week later my student came to class and told me that she'd heard this expression a couple of times in the last week. I don't think that this was the first week that people in her office used the term, it was just that she wasn't familiar with the expression before our ESL lesson. After our lesson, she was more in tune with the word and now she hears it when it's said.
--end--

New Vocabulary for ESL Tutor

2007-12-25T18:33:00.000-08:00

Along with millions of other folks, I went to a movie theater today. I saw "Juno." In a review I read, it was called the "Little Miss Sunshine" of this season. I think "Sunshine" is actually a little better, but I highly recommend "Juno" to all. Enough of my movie reviews!

The interesting thing about "Juno" was all the vocabulary that was new to me! A teenager in Minnesota was the main character, and although I could tell what was going on from the context, there were quite a few new words for me. They were words and expressions that I would have to research in order to teach to my ESL students.

Fortunately for me, all of my ESL students are adults who will very likely never need to know this new vocabulary. However, it highlights the fact that the most useful things for any learner to learn (whether the subject being learned is a language or any other subject) are those things that are pertinent to the student's life.
--end--

Using CL to Teach Vocabulary

2007-12-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

Craigslist.org is very popular in the area in which I live and teach. In fact, I do all my advertising for new ESL students there (it's free!). You can find anything you want there.

For an ESL teacher/tutor in an area in which Craigslist.org is popular, it's also a great resource to teach life skills (how to find a job or an apartment) and especially useful for teaching acronyms and abbreviations and other vocabulary. I stumbled across this fact last week when a student asked me what "420" meant. He was looking for an apartment and found the phrase "420 friendly" in several advertisements. This isn't the sort of thing taught in most ESL classes!

In addition to developing lesson plans to deliver in class, ESL teachers and tutors can also ask students to bring back new words or expressions they find in some of the ads. However, you need to be careful that all students have internet access before giving such an assignment.
--end--

Improving ESL Speaking Skills

2007-12-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

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--

ESL Teachers Using Students' First Language

2007-12-16T21:40:00.000-08:00

Generally, ESL teachers are now trained to speak only English to their ESL students, regardless of the level of the English language learner (this usually requires using TPR for beginners). Since ESL students are from all over the world, this is fairly easy to do since the ESL teacher usually doesn't know all of the languages of his or her students. However, it's not uncommon for an ESL teacher to speak at least one other language at least to some extent.

When I have students whose first language is Spanish, I refrain from using my Spanish speaking skills. When a student has trouble expressing himself or herself because he or she does not know a particular word or phrase, then I encourage the student to use other words. And when I use a new word or expression that the student does not know, I also try to explain with other words.

Occasionally, I find myself "cheating" and using the Spanish word for a new English vocabulary word, but I do it rarely and only if I feel it's necessary (due to time constraints, etc.). However, I still believe it's best to try to stick to English for the benefit of the student.
--end--

ESL Students Taking Notes

2007-12-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

As a private ESL tutor, the majority of my students are advanced English language learners who primarily want to work on their speaking skills. And as a teacher and a human, I like to think that some things I say are noteworthy! So it pleases me when my students take notes about corrections I make or new vocabulary (words, phrases, idioms, etc.) I offer.

In fact, although there are all different types of learners (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, etc.), I tend to have a lot of faith in the technique of writing things down to help you remember them in the future, no matter what the student's preferred method of learning. I will occasionally recommend to a student that he or she take notes; not extensive notes, just reminder notes, at least. The majority of students follow my suggestion, but not all students do.

I think that it's important to remember that learning really is about the student more than about the teacher. So the compromise I make (with myself) is that I take notes during our sessions (it's like writing important points on a chalkboard, but I use a yellow pad of paper) and offer them to my students at the end of our lesson. I do this for both students who take notes and students who don't. Hopefully, this helps my ESL students. I know it makes me feel better!
--end--

Nouns, Adjectives, Adverbs and ESL

2007-12-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

Many of my ESL students tell me that they want to improve their vocabulary. One of the tricks I teach my students is how learning/knowing one word can often lead to two or three other words.

For example, if I start with the word "thought" and I know that it is a noun, I can guess that adding "ful" to the end of the word may give me an adjective, "thoughtful." In this case, adding "ful" works to make another word. Adverbs can often be formed by adding "ly" to the end of the adjective, "thoughtfully."

Another example is the word "care"." "Careful" and "carefully" follow the same rules as above and form two new words.

Of course, there are many exceptions and this doesn't always work. This just one more tidbit to teach ESL students to help increase their vocabulary.
--end--

ESL Students During Winter Holidays

2007-12-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

You would think that the ESL tutoring world would slow down in December. At least I used to think so. However, since my first year of private ESL tutoring, I have consistently had many inquiries from new students. I have three appointments with potential students already set up for next week.

Of course, it's holiday time and most "working stiffs" usually get a little time off for the winter holidays. The life and schedule of self-employed people is certainly flexible, but there is always the offset of no income.

So, just a note for self-employed ESL tutor working in the U.S., December is actually a good month to develop your ESL student base.
--end--

ESL Student Cancellation Policy

2007-11-30T19:40:00.000-08:00

As a self-employed ESL tutor, I have a 24-hour notice cancellation policy. I require that all my students either email or call me at least 24 hours in advance if they are going to miss one of our regularly scheduled ESL lessons. If they don't give me the required notice, they are required to pay for the scheduled lesson.

The way I enforce this policy is by having ESL students pay a deposit at our first lesson. I hold the deposit until our very last class together, or I use it if a student misses a lesson without giving me notice.

In all the years I've been teaching, I think there have only been one or two students who I've had to enforce this policy with. One of my students actually gave very short notice several times and he was aware of what he was doing and paid for the missed classes. I think it was easier for him since his company paid for his lessons. I actually can't remember any other ESL students missing classes without notice who didn't have a really good reason for missing class.

Although I set it up as a strict policy, I do make exceptions when the student has a good reason for not giving notice (e.g., a sick child, a car breaking down, etc.).

I also don't charge students for missing a class when they are sick. I actually prefer that sick students not come to class. The amount of money I'm out for that one class is small compared to the amount I'd lose if I caught a virus from a sick student.
--end--

ESL Website Deception?

2007-11-29T21:25:00.000-08:00

I referred to an ESL site yesterday that has games. After trying to figure out the Magic Gopher game, I explored the site a little more. On the front page of www.learnenglish.org.uk, there's a "Test Your Level" section. It tests ESL speakers on grammar and vocabulary, etc.

I took a couple of the tests and I know I got everything right (they were simple tests for native English speakers). Interestingly, for every test I took, my result showed that I'm at an "upper intermediate" level. Well, I know that everything was right. They don't let you go back and check your answers; you just have to keep taking more tests to see how you do.

I thought it's a bit unfair to test ESL speakers and then give them results that show that they are at a lower level than they truly are. The results page tells you to practice your grammar by looking at the materials on the website. I just think it's not very honest to give you inaccurate results just to get you to look further into their site.

Aside from that, some of the materials are good. It's a British English site, so be careful if you're trying to learn/teach American English.
--end--

Game on An ESL Site

2007-11-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

I don't know how this is specifically related to teaching English as a Second Language, but it's on an ESL site and it's quite fantastic.

If you know how it works, please let me know.

Here's the link to an "ESL game."
--end--

Teaching ESL During the Holidays

2007-11-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

Things sometimes slow down in the ESL tutoring world during the Thanksgiving holiday. Sometimes I wonder if it's because of the teachers and tutors or because of the ESL students. The American Thanksgiving holiday is not something that's celebrated by many of my ESL adult students. For a few, it's a time to take a four-day weekend and head to Vegas.

Although, I do have one student who has a kindergarten-aged child who insists on all the traditional trimmings. Since he's only five or six years old and has only learned about the basics of the trimmings in class, his mom takes certain liberties in preparing the meal. They have a traditional American Thanksgiving with some Chinese flavor.

Another thing I've noticed over the last few years of tutoring ESL students privately is that I've traditionally gotten several new students in the month of December. I assumed when I started out that December would be a really slow month. I expected January to be a bigger month, but it's never worked that way. Strangely, December is the busy month.
--end--

Teaching ESL with a Spanish Surname

2007-11-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

I have a few ESL students whose first language is Spanish. I also happen to have a Spanish last name. I don't put my full name in my ads on craigslist, but I usually do use my last name when signing my first email responding to an inquiry from a potential student. Occasionally, Spanish-speaking students are concerned that I may not be a native English speaker.

When they meet me, they discover that I am a native English speaker and we then have a small discussion about how the southwestern part of the United States actually used to belong to Mexico and that there are many, many people in this part of the country whose families have been here for generations.

Just as a tip to other ESL tutors doing advertising, if you have a distinctly "ethnic" name, it may be useful to emphasize in your ads that you are a native-English speaker (although, I include this in my ad and people still have questions) and/or initially do not use your last name.
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Americans Saying Thank You

2007-11-18T20:15:00.000-08:00

A couple of ESL students with whom I've worked over the years have mentioned to me the fact that Americans say "thank you" a lot. Since I've heard this from English language learners from more than one part of the world, I tend to think that this could be a true generalization about us.

I'm reminded about this as I'm watching my all-time favorite reality show, "Amazing Race." Every one of the teams consistently says thank you to the cabbies (taxi cab drivers) and other people who help them.

I think that it's true that "thank you" does go a long way in the U.S., as well as "please." So these are two expressions I always be sure to teach the use of to my ESL students. They are useful "survival words."
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List of Reduction Sentences for ESL

2007-11-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

"Reductions" are those reduced forms of words that native English speakers use when speaking. They are a major reason that non-native speakers say that American English is so difficult to understand, or that we talk too fast.

I try to help help my students become familiar with common reductions. I have a list I found online called, "WEINSTEIN'S (1982) HIGH-FREQUENCY REDUCED FORMS." Even though it's from 1982, it's still the same way native American English speakers speak. In addition to the list that we go over, I also write some sentences in this "nonsense" language (how American English is really spoken) and ask them to tell me how they would be said in Standard American English. Here's a list of sentences I use for one of my exercises.

Yer gonna wanna give ‘er ‘er medicine before ya leave.

Didja wanna hava glassa wine with dinner? (this is also useful for teaching the concept of "distancing" by using a past tense for a present situation)

I dunno.

I hafta go-ta work tomorrow.

Willya go-ta the store fer me?

Whatcher name?

Whadja do last night?

Whaddaya doin’?

Whacha doin’?

Does ‘e love ‘er?

Teaching ESL students about reductions particularly helps them in improving their listening skills.
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ESL Students and Leaving Voicemails

2007-11-14T15:46:00.000-08:00

I've had a few ESL students who are reluctant to leave voicemails. For some, they think that their English isn't good enough. For some of us who are old enough, we can probably remember back to when it was just plain awkward to leave telephone messages on answering machines. So maybe we can appreciate our students', or other ESL speakers', reluctance to leave voicemails.

The only time that I insist that students call me (and possibly have to leave a voicemail) is when they are potential new students who I haven't met or who haven't been referred to me. This is just for the sake of safety. It helps me to get a little bit of a feel for the person I may be meeting. I meet my students in a public space, so I have less of a safety issue than someone who meets new students in a private location.

This is just one of those safety tips I want to mention for private ESL tutors.
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Using Upper Case Letters in Emails

2007-11-13T20:42:00.000-08:00

Many of my adult ESL students want to improve their business ESL skills. This includes speaking and writing skills for a specific purpose.

Writing effective emails is one of top priorities for most of my students. As I've mentioned before, we often review emails they've written in the past week and make corrections. I don't only look at grammar issues, but just as important, we review the "tone" of the emails.

One of the things I rarely have had to mention to my ESL students is how WRITING IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS (OR UPPER CASE LETTERS) is equivalent to shouting or yelling at someone. If you're teaching business ESL for emails, I'd recommend mentioning this to students just in case.
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ESL 099 on Yahoo Answers

2007-11-11T22:46:00.000-08:00

I got another "Best Answer" on Yahoo! Answers. The question wasn't too tough, but I guess most things aren't tough when you're familiar with them.

The question was, "Does anyone know what does ESL 099 mean?" Written correctly, the question would be, "Does anyone know what ESL 099 means?"

My answer was, "Usually, something like 'ESL 099' is the name of an English as a Second Language course at a community college or university (in the U.S.).

Depending on the school, a level '099' course is probably one of the beginning level courses for the school. That does not mean that it is a beginning level ESL course (for absolute beginner English Language Learners), but that it is one of the school's courses for ESL students to help bring them up to speed to succeed in other college courses."
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Enjoying ESL Lessons

2007-11-10T18:53:00.000-08:00

One of the really cool things that happens for me (and I think my ESL students) is when we are at the end of a lesson and I start to use language to indicate that the lesson is coming to a close (for example, "Do you have any plans for the weekend?") and my student says, "Are we finished already?"

My adult ESL students are often surprised at how quickly our one-and-a-half hour lessons go by. (Here's another teaching opportunity for expressions like, "Time flies when you're having fun.") It makes me feel good that my students enjoy our lessons together and that they go by so quickly for us both. These are also the lesson I really enjoy.
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New Intermediate Student and Grammar

2007-11-08T16:17:00.001-08:00

I'm excited to have a new adult ESL student who is at an intermediate level. Most of my students lately have been very advanced ESL students. While this is enjoyable in a lot of ways, having more to teach is even more exciting.

With my advanced ESL students, mostly we practice conversation skills and sometimes pronunciation. Only occasionally do we need to review grammar points.

With most intermediate ESL students, grammar review is also a part of our lessons, although the review is more extensive than for advanced students. I actually like grammar and enjoy teaching it.

I look forward to refreshing my English grammar teaching skills.
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Using Craigslist to Advertise for ESL Students

2007-11-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

As a private ESL tutor, I continue to find my students through posting free advertisements on craigslist.org. My postings have allowed me to earn a living teaching ESL to adults for quite a while now.

The effectiveness of craigslist.org depends on the area of the U.S. you are in, or even the area of the world--as it is now available in many cities around the world. I'm fortunate to live and work in an area where a huge percentage of the population, including English language learners, knows about craigslist.org.

I would love hear about other options ESL tutors use to find students. Please send me any ideas you have and I will be sure to post them so that they may be useful to other tutors.
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ESL and Tone of Voice

2007-11-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

One of the things I bring up with my adult ESL students is "tone." The words that we actually use when we communicate with someone in person only make up a small percentage of what we communicate. Body language and the tone of voice we use can be much more revealing. In fact, I believe I've read that body language actually makes up something like 90% of what we communicate (I think the percentage is smaller, but it is something near this).

Our tone can also convey what we truly mean. If I scream, "I'll do it," to someone who asks a favor, the listener probably will think that I am angry and don't really want to do "it." Or "I'll do it," in the proper tone can convey a true willingness to do something.

The same goes for questions. The tone of a question can convey many different feelings or thoughts. For example, if I yell, "Who did this?," probably no one will want to "take credit." If I say it in a very appreciative tone, the doer will probably get the impression that the thing he or she did is appreciated.

Tone is very important in our communications and can convey our true feelings. Different cultures have different "tones." As ESL teachers and tutors, we may want to make sure that the tone our students use truly conveys what he or she intends.
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My Favorite ESL Books

2007-11-02T17:06:00.000-07:00

If you're a new ESL teacher or tutor, you may be wondering about the best ESL reference books and ESL textbooks out there. If you work for a school, hopefully they will have a library of books you can use for your students and ESL reference books for yourself. The type of ESL library you can expect will often depend on the budget of the school and whether it's a private language school or a public school.

If you're a private ESL tutor, then you will have to build your own library. I've added to my ESL blog photos and links to the ESL books I highly recommend and have in my personal library.

If you click on the photos of the books, you will go over to Amazon. They have used copies of most of these books. I highly recommend used copies and hitting your local used bookstores to save money.

However, although I've found some really great reference books, I've never found the ESL books I've listed here at used bookstores. I think that once an ESL teacher gets a hold of these books, he or she probably never lets them go!

For more information about these books and others, you can read my ESL Textbook Evaluation page on my website.
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Correct Spelling and ESL Students

2007-11-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

During private ESL lessons with my adult students, I usually take any opportunity I can to provide "real life" learning. I think I've already written about helping my students to write checks properly and safely.

Another thing that often comes up when my students write checks for ESL tutoring fees is the spelling of the word "forty." More than half of my ESL students over the years have written "fourty." That makes perfect sense, since "four" is spelled with a "u."

This unnecessary change is just part of the English language.

Today, as I deposited some checks at my bank, I found it interesting that the bank teller (a native-born American and native English speaker) commented that whenever she sees "forty" she immediately thinks to herself that the checkwriter doesn't know how to spell. Then her next thought reminds her that it is correctly spelled without a "u."

Just another way that English is not logical, even to native English speakers.
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Halloween Jokes for ESL Students

2007-10-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

I have a list of silly Halloween jokes. Since I teach ESL to adults, this list of Halloween jokes is not usually an integral part of any of my lessons. However, if we have time during our lesson, and if the moment seems right, I pull out the list.

The great thing about some jokes is that they provide an opportunity to introduce new vocabulary, idioms and slang. For example, one of the jokes is:

Q. Why shouldn't witches lose their tempers?
A. Because they will fly off the handle.

Here's an opportunity to teach my ESL students two new ways to talk about someone becoming very angry:

(1) to lose one's temper,
(2) to fly off the handle

Another joke:

Q. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A. Frostbite.

This allowed me to teach two new vocabulary words to most of my ESL students: (1) frost, and (2) frostbite.

Humor is one of the more difficult things for English language learners to understand. So much of our humor is based on cultural references and wordplay. It's a great way to teach vocabulary and, also, for an ESL student to know that he or she is really making progress (at least in some areas).

Of course, humor is subjective. Even if someone understands everything about the joke, he or she may still not think it's funny. That's another story...
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