4 Oct 2008 at 3:44am
Hello Readers,
You may have noticed four letters that have become increasingly more prevalent: CLIL. But what do these letters stand for and what does it mean?
CLIL, or Content Language Integrated Learning, is ...
Tips and Tricks - Photocopiables
19 Sep 2008 at 4:24pm
Hello readers,
For many EL teachers, having photocopiable resources readily available to them would be considered a treat. Having original photocopiable resources might then be considered unthinkable.
If you've ever had to make a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy ...
Living on a budget - frequent flyer miles
7 Sep 2008 at 9:15am
Hello readers,
As the economy continues to fall, every little bit really does help. As many ESL teachers live and work abroad, one way to save is...
Recommended resources - Crossword puzzles
30 Aug 2008 at 4:32am
Hello readers,
Are you looking for a quick and easy way to create worksheets that look professionally designed? If you've ever taken the time to manually create a crossword puzzle about a topic for your students, then chances are you've only done it once. The time spent on creating such things could probably be better spent elsewhere. However, if you...
Recommended resources - Phonetics builder
23 Aug 2008 at 10:45pm
Hello readers,
If you've ever tried to add phonetic symbols to your worksheets, you may know how difficult that can be. Instead of writing them in by hand or cutting and pasted each as separate images, there is a simple solution...
Q & A - Teaching small Business English classes
9 Aug 2008 at 11:40am
Hello Readers,
If you've ever taught small classes, Business English or otherwise, you might have encountered a similar problem as this one:
Dear ESL Lesson Plan,
I have a small Business English class that is particularly difficult to plan for (two young women & their older boss who is one of the CEO's of their company). There is one young woman who comes regularly but the other two students are inconsistent. There are activities that I want to do with the students, but...
Teaching Tips - How to involve students in correcting mistakes
3 Aug 2008 at 12:56pm
Hello Readers,
If you're interested in making your classroom more learner-centered, you may have already thought about placing more responsibility on your students in regards to error correction.
Here's a simple way ...
Surveys - Have you ever used an electronic whiteboard?
26 Jul 2008 at 3:31am
Hi Readers,
One of the newer pieces of technology coming in to the ESL classroom is the electronic whiteboard. At many schools, this is becoming as common as the cassette recorders. Of course, there are plenty of other schools ...
Q and A - Evaluating students
19 Jul 2008 at 7:31am
Hello Readers,
This month's question is coming from Heather, a teacher who is teaching Korean students over the Internet.
Dear Carol:
One of the things I am supposed to do is to evaluate the performance of the student at the end of the lesson. I have a difficult time with this and so I have been trying to find some key phrases and words which I can compile into a list. My goal is to be able to have words and phrases encompassing the different problems associated with pronunciation and intonation that I may see which I can draw from quickly as I attempt to give them a helpful evaluation.
Unfortunately, ...
Teacher Development - Fillers
16 Jul 2008 at 4:47am
Hello Readers,
One of the best lessons I ever learned was that lessons should be taught according to the students' needs and not just to the lesson plan that was written. In other words, your lessons might run longer or shorter than planned. If it runs longer, it may just be a matter of assigning some of the work as homework, cutting some of the activities, or continuing them in the next class. If it runs short, however, then ...
Living on a budget - free online dictionary
10 Jul 2008 at 2:26pm
Hello Readers,
Having a dictionary to hand when preparing classes can be very useful. Unfortunately, a heavy dictionary is one of the last things many people think of to pack when embarking on a trip abroad to teach ESL, especially now that airlines are starting to tighten up their weight restriction policies.
Fortunately, few schools are in the same position they were in ten years ago ...
Surveys- How many hours a week do you teach?
30 Jun 2008 at 11:17am
Hello Readers,
I'm curious to know how many hours a week you teach on average. While many university contracts include a maximum of 10-12 hours of teaching per week, quite a few private language schools ...
Q and A - Getting a job in China
22 Jun 2008 at 3:56pm
Hello readers,
This month's question is from Dan and is about getting a job in China.
Ms Rueckert,
I read your articles on the Internet and was impressed with your experience in China. My wife and I are drawing near retirement (early next year) and are looking for meaningful ways to continue to make contributions to Education. I have a BSEd, a MA in Psychology, and a MS in Logistics. My wife has a BA in Psychology and a MSEd. We both have 10 years plus of College Faculty and Administration experience now.
I know you are a busy lady, but could you possibly refer us to sites, companies, or agencies that could give us information about teaching in China?
Dan
Answer: ...
Industry Events - TESOL Symposium on Keeping Language Diversity Alive
11 Jun 2008 at 4:47pm
Hello Readers,
If you're planning on being in or near Alice Springs, Australia in the beginning of July, then you might want to consider attending the TESOL Symposium on Keeping Language Diversity Alive, which will take place on July 9, 2008.
The topics and featured speakers for this conference ...
Tips and Tricks - Correction techniques
7 Jun 2008 at 10:27am
Hello Readers,
For new teachers, there is a tendency for either over-correcting or under-correcting students' mistakes; finding the right balance is often something that simply comes with time - and training. Another problem is knowing how to make corrections. But before we get into that, it's important to understand the difference between ...
Basic Conversations - Introductions
2 Mar 2007 at 5:35am
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?
1 Jul 2006 at 12:11am
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 10:52pm
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 8:05pm
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?
6 Mar 2006 at 12:51am
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 3:21am
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 7:46pm
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 2:27am
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 2:16am
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?
17 Jan 2006 at 1:36am
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
