Present Progressive with Future Meaning

In addition to the two basic functions of the Present Progressive (to talk about something happening at this moment and to talk about something happening generally at this time), the Present Progressive verb tense can also be used to talk about the future.

For example:

Q. What are you doing tonight?
A. I'm having dinner with my mother.

Q. When is she coming home?
A. She is coming home this weekend.

This usage is similar to "be going to," which is also used with a Simple Future meaning.

Q. What are you going to do tonight?
A. I'm going to have dinner with my mother.

The meanings are the same and can be used interchangeably.

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Teaching ESL to the Elderly

The adult ESL students I work with as a private tutor have very specific purposes for improving their English language skills. Usually, the main purpose is to be able to advance in their jobs. This applies to ESL students living and working in the U.S., as well as those who are here for a year or so on a sabbatical (of sorts).

Elderly students who are no longer in the workforce have different needs and different reasons for studying English as a Second Language. In my experience, it's usually to be able to survive in an English speaking society. For whatever reasons, they are recent immigrants who often have not studied English in their home countries.

Doing a Needs Assessment with a student with little or no English language skills is very difficult. Obviously, there are some basic skills that the teacher can start with. I found this great website with information that can help ESL teachers and tutors, and other organizations working with recent immigrants. Here's their site: Coalition of Limited English Speaking Elderly.

Payment for ESL Lessons

When I take on a new student, I require that they sign an ESL tutoring contract and, at our first class, they must pay for that class and an equal amount that I hold as a deposit. I then apply the deposit to our last class together.

The other purpose of the deposit is to ensure that students keep their appointments or give me adequate cancellation notice. I require 24-hour notice for cancellation. If the student doesn't show up for class, then I apply the deposit to the missed class.

The other issue about payments for ESL lessons is whether to take checks or cash, or only one of the other. I allow my students to pay in whatever way is convenient for them. In over two years of private tutoring, I have never had a problem with receiving checks. Unfortunately, I had my first bounced check last week. This check was from a long-term student, so this was highly unusual. I guess it's just one more of the issues to deal with when you are self-employed. I'll be meeting with this student on Friday. Mistakes happen. We'll deal with it.

Prepositions of Place

Even for the most advanced ESL students, propositions can always use more practice. Many verbs are (usually) followed by certain prepositions. Some even entirely change the meaning of a verb by turning it into a phrasal verb.

ESL learners just have to memorize most prepositions, especially those that follow certain verbs (and even more so for those that create phrasal verbs). Some prepositions can be used interchangeably depending on the situation. This just adds more confusion for people learning English.

Prepositions of place, perhaps, are among the most consistent (that is, they have fewer exceptions). Prepositions of place are almost logical, if you can understand the preposition on its own.

To help reinforce students' learning of prepositions, you can always use ESL preposition worksheets. There's at least one at Free ESL Worksheets. This is a link to a page with worksheets on my ESL website.

Qualities of an ESL Teacher

If you're thinking about becoming an ESL teacher or tutor, you can ask yourself if you have the characteristics of a good teacher.

Here are the top 10 qualities or characteristics I think are essential for an ESL teacher or tutor.

1) Patient

2) Flexible

3) Curious

4) Empathetic

5) Intelligent

6) Cooperative

7) Knowledgeable

8) Enthusiastic

9) Resourceful

10) Genuine

Here’s a more thorough description of an ESL teacher.

Duties of an ESL Teacher

What are the duties of an ESL teacher? The primary duties of an ESL or EFL teacher are to prepare lessons plans and deliver those lesson plans to speakers of other languages (ESOL) who want to improve their English language skills. This is the most simplistic description of the duties of an ESL teacher.

Other duties will depend on the type of setting in which the students are taught. For example, are the ESL students at a university, at a primary school, at a non-profit organization, a private language school? The additional duties of ESL teachers will depend on the setting and will most likely be administrative tasks, such as taking attendance and participating in departmental meetings.

Here’s more information about the duties of an ESL teacher.

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What’s the Pronunciation Rule for “Walked”?

This question comes up a lot on internet searches. For native English speakers, it’s a pretty simple word. But the trick for ESL learners is that there are three possible endings for past tense verbs: /t/, /d/ or /id/. So which ending is right for this –ed ending word?

The short answer is “walked” is pronounced “walk/t/.”

Check out my English Past Tense Pronunciation page for the pronunciation rule for “walked” and other past tense words (or past participles).

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