Stressing the Outline for ESL Writing

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"

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

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

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

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

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

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--