12 May 2008 at 12:51pm
Hello Readers,
This month's question comes from Grant, who is teaching in Guangdong Province in China.
Hello Mrs Rueckert! I'am an ESL teacher in Guangdong, China. I have been teaching for a year and a half. I'm an American. It seems here in China, if you don't make them laugh all the time, they don't seem interested in learning English. I've studied two languages and when I did, I was taught what the teacher gave me, interesting or not. I'm also 59 years old. Please give me some advice. Thank you.
Continue reading for the answer to this month's question ...
Lesson Plans - Guessing unknown words from context
10 May 2008 at 6:20am
Hello Readers,
If you have students who are constantly looking up words in their dictionaries during class, then you can probably appreciate how frustrating unknown words can be for students. The fact of the matter is that English is a living language, which means that new words are constantly being added to our language. What does this mean for speakers of English (both native and non-native)? Simply put, there will always be new words to learn. That being said, ...
Industry Events - Symposium on Second Language Writing 2008
8 May 2008 at 3:25am
Hello Readers,
Are you interested in learning more about how to teach writing to your students? Then this symposium might be for you. Taking place June 5th- 7th at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, the Symposium on Second Language Writing 2008 is a great opportunity for foreign language professionals to discuss issues relating to this theme.
The line up for this event ...
Recommended Resources - How to teach vocabulary
5 May 2008 at 3:12am
Hello Readers,
If you're interested in reading more about how to teach vocabulary, Scott Thornbury's "How to teach vocabulary", which is part of Longman's "How to ..." series, offers practical teaching ideas within a theoretical framework. In addition to theory, ...
Tips and Tricks - Vocabulary Notebooks
5 May 2008 at 2:56am
Hello Readers,
Do your students have a hard time remembering all the new words that they learn in your class? Are you students constantly confusing certain words for other similar words? What can you do about it? Well ...
Workplace Issues - Gossip
26 Apr 2008 at 4:51am
Hello Readers,
Few people can say that they've never participated in office gossip before. At the same time, I'd find it hard to believe that many people would say that they enjoy being gossiped about. So what is gossip? Why do we do it? Is there a place for gossip in the workplace? What can we do to stop it?
First, it's important to understand what the difference between gossip ...
Teacher Development - Becoming a learner
19 Apr 2008 at 5:43am
Hello Readers,
To help develop as a teacher, it's a good idea to step back from the front of the classroom every once in a while and put yourself in your students' shoes to see what it's like to be a student going through the learning process. How do you feel when a teacher calls on you in a language class to talk about a topic? Do you feel comfortable working with everyone in a group? Do you prefer to choose your own partner or to have the teacher choose for you? How do you ...
Living on a Budget - DVDs
15 Apr 2008 at 5:06am
Hello Readers,
I read an article in the paper this weekend about ways to save money. Tips included things like, don't buy a designer hand bag, rent one! Instead of eating out five nights a week, eat out four times! Instead of going to the salon twice a month for facials, go once a month! While these tips may be helpful to some, ...
Surveys- Class material
7 Apr 2008 at 5:35am
Hello Readers,
There are plenty of books, magazines, and websites that offer lesson plans for ELT teachers, but do you use them or do you write your own?
This month's survey ...
Recommended Resources - Teaching English lesson plans
2 Apr 2008 at 5:15am
Hello Readers,
Looking for free ELT resources available online? Perhaps you've already used all of your favorite lesson plans from another website offering free lesson plans online. Then it's time to check out Teaching English, which has teamed up with the British Council to provide free lesson plans online for ...
Q and A -Scrapbook Project
30 Mar 2008 at 3:38am
Hello Readers,
This month's question is from Walter.
Hi Carol,
I was surfing the internet for ideas for my ESL beginners class. This is the first time I teach a basic course for adults, and their first bimester will end in a few days. I want to put together a project so that they can be creative and apply all the vocabulary they learned over the last two months. At first I was thinking about a scrapbook, ...
Teaching Spots - North Korea
25 Mar 2008 at 12:35pm
Hello Readers,
North Korea may not be the most obvious place to start looking for a teaching job, but every once in a while, there are job opportunities available there. Living in North Korea is not ...
Lesson Plan - Job Interviews
22 Mar 2008 at 4:07am
Hello Readers,
If you're teaching adults who are interested in using English at work, this lesson plan on job interviews should prove to be a relevant and worthwhile lesson for your students. To start: ...
Industry Events-42nd IATEFL Conference
16 Mar 2008 at 7:20am
Hello Readers,
If you plan on being in or near Exeter (UK) the 7th to the 11th of April this year, then you might want to think about attending the 42nd IATEFL Conference. The plenary speakers ...
Tips and Tricks-Minimal Pairs
14 Mar 2008 at 2:53am
Hello Readers,
Do your students have a difficult time distinguishing between two similar sounds? (If you don't know what their pronunciation problems are, start compiling a list in class. Spending a few minutes each day focusing on their pronunciation would be a good start.) Perhaps they confuse the sounds p and b, l and r or s and z. If this is the case, then a quick and regular minimal pairs exercise could eventually improve ...
Basic Conversations - Introductions
2 Mar 2007 at 3:35am
This is a basic introduction between two people. You will hear it three times: first at a regular speed, then at a slower speed, then at the regular speed again. Robert: Hi, I'm Robert Chartrand. Bill: Hi. I'm Bill Pellowe. Nice to meet you. Robert: Nice to meet you, too. What do you do? Bill: I'm a university teacher. How about you? Robert: Me too! What university do you teach at? Bill: I teach at Kinki University. And you? Robert: Oh, I teach at Kurume University.
Basic Conversations - How long are you staying?
30 Jun 2006 at 9:11pm
Bill: Hi Robert! What's up? Robert: I'm going to the U.S. next week. Bill: Oh, really? I didn't know that. Where are you going? Robert: I'm going to Tampa. Bill: Where's that? Robert: In Florida. Bill: What are you going to do there? Robert: I'm going to visit my family. My grandmother lives there. Bill: That sounds nice. When are you leaving? Robert: On Saturday March 11th. Bill: How long are you staying? Robert: A couple of weeks. Let's practice. Where are you going? To Rock Island. Where's that? In Illinois. When are you leaving? On Monday February 2nd. How long are you staying? For a month. Where are you going? To Abbotsford. Where's that? In British Columbia, Canada. When are you leaving? On Thursday November 1st. How long are you staying? For four years. Your turn... You answer... Where are you going? Where's that? When are you leaving? How long are you staying there?
Basic Conversations - What kind of sports do you like?
3 Jun 2006 at 7:52pm
Bill: Robert, I have some tickets to the Hawks game. Do you want to go? Robert: Not really, Bill. I don't like baseball. Bill: Oh, do you like sports? Robert: Yes, of course. Bill: What kind of sports do you like? Robert: I like soccer. Bill: Well, that's the world's most popular sport. Let's practice. A: What kind of sports do you like? B: I like soccer. A: What kind of Japanese food do you like? B: I like sushi. A: What kind of books do you like? B: I like Harry Potter. A: What kind of movies do you like? B: I like action movies. A: What kind of cars do you like? B: I like sports cars. A: What kind of computers do you like? B: I like Apple computers. www.eltpodcast.com
Basic Conversations - The Weekend
19 May 2006 at 5:05pm
This is a basic conversation about the weekend. First, you'll hear it at a normal speed, then at a slower speed. Next, you'll hear some practice drills. Finally, you'll hear the conversation again at a normal speed. Robert: Good morning, Bill. How are you today? Bill: Good morning, Robert. I'm all right. How are you? Robert: Pretty good. Did you have a nice weekend? Bill: Not bad. I went to the movies on Saturday night. Robert: Oh yeah? What did you see? Bill: I saw the new Harry Potter movie. Robert: Did you like it? Bill: Yes, it was excellent! Practice A: I went to the movies. B: Oh yeah? What did you see? A: I went to a new restaurant. B: Oh yeah? What did you eat? A: I went shopping. B: Oh yeah? What did you buy? A: I went for a drive. B: Oh yeah? Where did you go?
Basic Conversations - Who did you talk to?
5 Mar 2006 at 10:51pm
Who did you talk to? Robert: I talked to someone interesting yesterday. Bill: Who did you talk to? Robert: I can't remember his name, but I was sitting on the train... Bill: Yeah... Robert: ...and this young man started talking to me. Bill: What did he say? Robert: He said that he was from Thailand and he was studying here in Japan. Bill: You mean he was a university student. Robert: No, he was a high school student. He had a uniform on. Bill: I see, so what did you talk about? Robert: Well, he said that he enjoyed living in Japan, but he did not have much chance to speak in English. Bill: How was his English? Robert: Pretty good. So, he asked me if we could chat while sitting on the train. Bill: That's interesting. It's not everyday that you meet a Thai student in Japan. Robert: That's right. Let's practice... I saw someone interesting last week. Who did you see? I went somewhere fun last month. Where did you go? I ate something strange. I don't feel so good. When did you eat it? I read an interesting book. What did you read? I have to go to England next week. Why do you have to go there? www.eltpodcast.com
Basic Conversations - Weekend plans
3 Mar 2006 at 1:21am
Weekend plans Robert: Do you have any plans for this weekend? Bill: I don't know. I might watch a video at home. And you? Robert: I'm going to meet some friends. Bill: What are you going to do? Robert: We might go sailing if the weather is nice. Bill: Sailing, wow! Do you have a sailboat? Robert: No, my friend has one. She goes sailing every weekend. Let's practice. A: We might go for a drive. B: A drive, wow! Do you have a car? A: We might go hunting. B: Hunting, wow! Do you have a gun? A: We might go surfing. B: Surfing, wow! Do you have a surfboard? A: We might buy a house. B: A house, wow! Do you have enough money? A: We might play some music. B: Play music, wow! Do you have a band? Your turn... You answer... What are going to wear tomorrow? What are you are going eat for dinner? Who are you going to meet later? When are you going to go home? Where are you going to go for your next vacation? How are you going to go home? www.eltpodcast.com
Basic Conversations - How often do you go skiing?
13 Feb 2006 at 5:46pm
Bill: How was your weekend? Robert: It was great. I went skiing. Bill: How was it? Robert: It was fun. Do you ski? Bill: Yes. Robert: You should come next time. Bill: That sounds good. How often do you go skiing? Robert: About once a month. Let's Practice A: I went to the movies. B: How often do you go to the movies? A: About twice a month. A: I baked a cake. B: How often do you bake cakes? A: About once every two months. A: I went running. B: How often do you go running? A: About three times a week. A: I had to work. B: How often do you work? A: Five days a week. A: I visited my parents. B: How often do you visit your parents? A: Once a year. Find more at www.eltpodcast.com
Basic Conversations - I do not know how
27 Jan 2006 at 12:27am
First, you'll hear this a basic conversation at a normal speed, then at a slower speed. Next, you'll hear some practice drills. Finally, you'll hear the conversation again at a normal speed. Robert: Hi Bill. What's happening? Bill: Not much. How about you, Robert? Robert: Well, actually, I want to go to the art museum this afternoon, but I don't know where it is. Do you know where it is? Bill: Which one? There are a few art museums in Fukuoka. Robert: I want to see the Napoleon exhibit. Have you heard about it? Bill: Ah, sure. That's the Fukuoka Municipal Art Museum. It's in Ohori Park. Robert: So, how do I get there? Bill: That's easy. Just take the subway to the Ohori Park station. Walk through the park, and it's there. You can't miss it! Robert: Do you mean that I have to walk to the other side of the park to get to the musem? Bill: Yes, that's right. It doesn't take long. About ten minutes or so. Robert: OK, I think I understand. Thanks. Bill: You're welcome. Let's Practice: A: I want to buy a suit, but I don't know where to shop. Do you know a good shop? B: Yes, I like to buy suits at Fukuyama. You should go there. A: I want to bake a cake, but I don't know how. Can you help me? B: Sorry, I don't know how. You should buy a cook book. A: I want to see a dentist, but I don't know who to see. Do you know a good dentist? B: Yes, my dentist is good. I'll give you his number. Find more at www.eltpodcast.com
Basic Conversations - Where do you usually go?
20 Jan 2006 at 12:16am
First, you'll hear a basic conversation at a normal speed, then at a slower speed. Next, you'll hear some practice drills. Finally, you'll hear the conversation again at a normal speed. Bill: Where do you usually go on your vacation, Robert? Robert: I usually go to Canada in the summer. Bill: What about the winter vacation? Robert: I like to stay here in Japan in the winter. Bill: Don't you want to spend Christmas in Canada? Robert: I do, but it's just too cold. Bill: I know what you mean. Practice A: Where do you usually buy clothes? B: I usually shop on the Internet. A: Don't you want to try on the clothes first? A: Where do you usually study? B: I usually don't study much. A: Don't you want to pass your tests? A: Where do you usually go on the weekends? B: I usually stay home. A: Don't you want to go out? A: Where do you usually eat lunch? B: I usually eat lunch at a restaurant. A: Don't you like the cafeteria?
Basic Conversations - What are you reading?
16 Jan 2006 at 11:36pm
First, you'll hear this a basic conversation at a normal speed, then at a slower speed. Next, you'll hear some practice drills. Finally, you'll hear the conversation again at a normal speed. Bill: What are you reading? Robert: A spy novel. Bill: How is it? Robert: It's good. Do you want to borrow it when I'm finished? Bill: Sure. Thanks. Practice: A: What are you eating? B: A tuna sandwitch. A: How is it? B: It's delicious. A: What are you listening to? B: A podcast. A: How is it? B: It's great! A: What are you watching? B: A movie. A: What movie? B: I don't know. A: How is it? B: It's boring. Find more at www.eltpodcast.com
