ESL activities

Incorporating the 4 C’s into Chinese classrooms

As 21st century skills become a hot topic in the world of ESL, teachers regularly face the challenge of integrating the 4 C’s (creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and communication) into an often already busy curriculum and perhaps more importantly, the challenge of making them accessible to their students. This is where culture, or more… Teaching skills, ESL activities

Top 10 grammar mistakes in Hong Kong (part 2)

Continuing on from our part 1 article which highlighted five major English grammar problems faced by Cantonese speakers, here are another 5 common problems, with some explanations and teaching ideas to address them in class. 6) Can you cooking? / play tennis is fun What's the problem? Cantonese speakers have… All categories, How to..., ESL activities, Teaching skills

Beyond single words: working with meaningful lexical chunks

As a brand new teacher, I found myself teaching supply to a class of eight year olds. I had just completed a Cert TESOL a month prior, but I still didn’t have an overwhelming bank of ‘go to‘ vocabulary activities to draw from. The games that I remembered from my own childhood were “I Spy” and “Hangman”, so I decided to give… All categories, Teaching skills, ESL activities, How to...

Top 10 grammar mistakes in Hong Kong (part 1)

Users of English from different language backgrounds have specific issues with language for a variety of reasons. Sometimes patterns of grammar or pronunciation get carried over from their first language (L1 transfer issues), and sometimes a feature exists in English that is not present in their first language. This article… All categories, How to..., ESL activities, Teaching skills

Phonics, phonetics or phonology? What’s the difference?

Informed pronunciation teaching is a challenge for new and experienced teachers. It involves a minefield of technical knowledge, confusion over accents and varieties of English, and when related to reading, involves a lot of fighting against the horrible spelling rules that English has held onto over the centuries. To get things straight, it is… All categories, Certificate courses, Teaching skills, ESL activities, Careers in TESOL

5 essential websites that every English teacher needs

As a Cert TESOL tutor, I work with trainee teachers every day who upon finishing the course go out to teach in the real world. One of the biggest challenges facing new teachers in particular is planning. Whilst experienced teachers may have a bank of readily available lesson planning ideas which they can select from quickly and… All categories, How to..., TESOL Masters, Five ways to, ESL activities

Using authentic materials in the ESL classroom

Using authentic materials in an ESL classroom provides many benefits for learners. Exploiting them in class can give learners a sense of achievement, show language in a realistic context, and offers opportunity for real communication. Unfortunately, many learners assume that they are incapable of coping with authentic texts or materials as these… All categories, ESL activities, TESOL Masters, How to...

All I want for Christmas is a Christmas tree: ESL Christmas activities in Asia

Teaching in Asia is full of surprises. One of the most surprising things is how many students write “Christmas tree” at the top of their Christmas wish list. This helped me understand just how different our cultures are from East to West. Even though Christmas may not be celebrated at home in many parts of Asia, young learners still have a huge… All categories, How to..., Careers in TESOL, ESL activities

TEFL Masterclass: creating meaningful classroom interaction

The language that we use with our students, and the language that they use with each other at different points of a lesson, is fundamental to English language education. This article aims to outline some of the features of the interaction which happens in language classrooms in order to find ways that we can maximise the quality of communication… All categories, Teaching skills, How to..., ESL activities

Breaking the myths around communicative language teaching

Nowadays, English is an international language and used throughout the world. The ever increasing need to develop one’s communicative competence is often something learners struggle to do. Outdated methods and a focus on grammatical proficiency tend to inhibit improvement. Though grammar is a significant aspect of language learning it… All categories, Careers in TESOL, ESL activities, Teaching skills

5 Halloween activities for young learners

Halloween is just around the corner and is the perfect time to do some festive-inspired activities with your young learner classes. As holidays go, Halloween is one of the most fun, paying homage to all things weird and wonderful, such as ghosts, ghouls and goblins. Here are five of my favourite activities to have a wail of a time with your… All categories, Theme based learning, ESL activities, Teaching skills

The culture of knowing: the dangers of assessing product over process

In high-schools the world over, there is a common tendency for teachers and their students to put a disproportionate focus on results; weekly assessments, end-of-term tests, mock exams, final exam results… there always seems to be another test or assessment looming on the horizon. A real and present danger of this situation, however, is… All categories, Teaching skills, ESL activities, Careers in TESOL