Need Blog Advice

[TeacherMichelle]

Hi Everyone,
I am an EAL teacher in Canada and have recently started a blog for students. I'd really like it to be a helpful place where students can review what they have learned and hopefully learn something new too. However, I am finding it very difficult to write blog posts at an English level that will be understood by my students. I have been debating allowing students to access the blog in their own language, but this may be counter-productive. Any advice? Thanks

Blog Addy: http://www.steppingstoneslearning.blogspot.com

[englishbiz]

Hi Everyone,
I am an EAL teacher in Canada and have recently started a blog for students. I'd really like it to be a helpful place where students can review what they have learned and hopefully learn something new too. However, I am finding it very difficult to write blog posts at an English level that will be understood by my students. I have been debating allowing students to access the blog in their own language, but this may be counter-productive. Any advice? Thanks

Blog Addy: http://www.steppingstoneslearning.blogspot.com

It is always a challenge to write at an appropriate level for students who are learning English as a second language. One thing that may be helpful is to first eliminate all phrasal verbs from the text. Another might be to just keep sentences as short as possible. If you have some feed-back method to review the blogs with your students regularly you can see if the level is too low, or just right, and then start to feed longer sentences and a few useful phrasal verbs. Then review with the class and repeat.

Good luck with the blog!

[TeacherMichelle]

Those are some really useful suggestions! Thanks!

[englishbiz]

One of the biggest issues for adult learners is that since many have had no small amount of textbook style instruction over the years, they still have many gaps in what seems to be the "simplest" English, as in phrasal verbs.

I think, however, that this is not limited only to those learning English but to many other languages as well.

For students who have made Canada their home coming from other countries, they often have concerns with things like using the telephone, or interacting with clerks in stores etc. Have you considered focusing your blog on some of those situations?

Mark Groenewold

[TeacherMichelle]

Yes, settlement and life in Canada is a big part of what we do in the classroom. I had originally planned on doing more blog topics based on this theme, but then realized that a lot of my students are temporary foreign workers who end up back in their countries after their visas expire. I would like them to be able to learn transferable skills that they can take back to their countries.

Maybe once a week I could have some sort of "scenario" (at the supermarket, etc.). What do you think?

[Rp]

Hi Michelle, if your students are temporary, then how long is their stay here [ I'm a Canadian also ]? I am intuiting that they are here on work visas, so if that is the case maybe the best approach is to develop your blog around life skills [ such as shopping, taking the bus etc. ] and their work environment.

Developing language skills around their work environment would be beneficial to both them and their company, as it would reinforce the language.

If a student visa, then maybe around the subject matter.

What engine do you use to develop your blog? Many have comment sections which would allow for your students to write questions and responses and your replies would provide feedback to them and yourself.

[Rp]

Say Michelle, are you teaching LINC?

[danielwelsch]

I have my own blog (http://madridingles.es) that I do in Spanish with examples and English. I've also considered going all English, using a very simplified vocabulary. At this point I know what kind of English that Spanish people are more likely to understand. But if you're teaching people from different linguistic backgrounds it's more difficult.

Good luck, update us when you make any progress...
Daniel