Building Confidence in Children Learning English as a Second Language Let’s assume you’re teaching rhyming words to your Children’s ESL EFL class. Some of the children are interested in your rhyming words lesson but others aren’t participating. Perhaps they are shy, frightened or unfamiliar with some of the sounds. It’s important to understand why many […]
When ESL beginners learn to answer questions with positive answers they progress without too much difficulty. The negative answers, however, are more complex because the pattern is different with the use of “to be” and “to do”.
Experienced teachers know that control is key to success with many different types of classes. It seems that each group develops a personality of its own. Some groups have their energy needs under control – they are ready and eager to learn throughout most lessons. This type of group is the dream of all teachers! […]
In teaching ESL classes in different countries, we found that students enjoyed working in small groups. Usually, they needed something to spark their imaginations, so that they could try out their English skills. We found that picture activities are good for this.
When beginning students enroll in an ESL class, they are likely to come in with quite a bit of anxiety. They want to learn English, but many of them will be worried that it will be too difficult, or that they will appear stupid in class. If the teacher can recognize this, and show the […]
When you are teaching an ESL class, have you ever stopped and looked at the students’ faces? What do you see? Are the students sitting up, eager to see what comes next, or are they all slouched down with a glazed look in their eyes?
Most classes have several students who are more advanced than the others. They learn easily, their assignments are finished quickly, and they can be a behavior problem if they are bored. Teachers are required to meet the needs of children with a wide range of abilities with very different needs. There are a finite number […]
It is important to remember that everyone has an accent. If we travel from the West Coast of Canada to Toronto, we immediately notice the difference in the people’s accents. If we travel on to Newfoundland, there are some remote communities where we wouldn’t be able to understand a word spoken. It is the same […]
The order in which the verb tenses are introduced can make the structure of the English Language easier for the students to understand. Whereas pre-teen and early teen children learn a language by listening and repeating what they hear, without any need to think about grammar, this facility seems to fade as everyone gets older. […]
Many students are concerned about learning the tenses of the English language. They have likely heard horror stories about the irregular verbs and the many exceptions to the rules. It is scary unless a method for approaching the tenses in a step by step fashion is introduced. Let’s start at the bottom and a pyramid that shows the similarities […]