Teacher Discussion Forums

As a new ESL teacher that will be entering the classroom in about 6 months to start student teaching, I was wondering what textbooks and materials others find the most helpful and accepted by ESL students? I ran across a series that cover almost all levels of proficiency that could be used at any gr...

With today's job market the way it is, I've been questioning my new career path and where it will lead me in 3, 5, or even 10 years from now. I spoke with a ESL Department Supervisor yesterday while getting my information packet for becoming a substitute teacher this school year and we discussed man...

I think this is a great idea for ELLs of all levels, and especially agree that graphic organizers and visuals should be provided to the students. I really like this idea because it could provide the Level 1s and those who are a bit less confident in their writing gain that confidence and learn from ...

I found those points to be the most important, as well. There have been so many instances where teachers get hung up on troubleshooting technological problems and lose sight of their objectives. It's also frustrating to the students, but they seem to move on after about 10 minutes and I think many t...

I feel the same way about giving formatted tests to ELL students and often wonder if they do more harm than good. Projects create a more relaxed environment where the students would be able to use their creativity and have freedom with the English language. The teacher could also control the project...

I agree with what has been said, but I still question how much altering will be needed to the tests from one year to the next. I think new teachers would need to adjust their tests more often for the first few years of teaching until they really get the hang of the units or lessons. However, I think...

That's is interesting to know, Sally! Also, I agree, a good balance of individual and group activities is essential for ELLs. I feel that, as a student pursing an ESL teaching degree, much emphasis is placed on having future students work in groups to develop speaking and listening skills; however, ...

I think the largest challenge in teaching adult ELLs is that their affective filters are very high and, in a way, they can be more sensitive to correction and exactness of the English language than other age groups. This might extend their "quiet period" and possibly trigger them to say "I can't" mo...

You could certainly make it work to your benefit in a couple different Adult Education settings. I would start out by seeing if Vocational schools would offer classes in Social Studies or Civics that lead ELL students to obtaining their citizenship. You could also see if there are any places or univ...

What a great idea to prepare ELLs for summer employment and beyond! I think this is a very nice end of the year activity as the students are a bit "checked out" by this point and thinking of summer anyway. Scholarship application is a great skill to have, as well. Have you thought about having them ...

Are there other ELLs at the school that she can pair up with? It sounds to me that she needs a friend base at school, which is vital for any student. Maybe when she meets new people, accompany her and just explain to the other students that she will have an accent because she is foreign. Another thi...

Hello, One good activity would be to create a crossword puzzle using vocabulary that is common, but would be challenging for beginners but a review for the intermediates and advanced levels. Maybe put the word bank on the board so the students could copy it in their notebooks, then go through and de...

Maybe if those shy students are paired up with students who are more talkative, coming out of their own quiet periods, or who are risk takers, it will encourage them to speak more. If the students are paired up instead of in a group of 4-6, it will encourage the shy ones to talk and it will give the...

Longshikong- I took a brief look at leaderinme.org and I agree that those 7 habits should be taught to elementary children because they are valuable throughout life, but I am unsure how eager schools would be to implement the program. Meaning, schools have a lot of other "things going on" and I'm su...