Teacher Discussion Forums

I would hold a meeting with all the English teachers and tutors as well as the department head to clarify your role in the school. Everyone has to be on the same page. Failing that, you may want to sound the dept. head of the English dept. and ask her/him for advice but be firm in your stance that y...

I wish I could use a television/VCR but our local library doesn't have one for public use.
Thank you for your suggestion though.
I am enjoying working with a younger child. We will be going to a local store to work on vocabulary tomorrow and I am looking forward to it.

...and in a public library setting so I can't use most of the multi-media stuff. :( I love working with computers, videos, and songs. What material can you suggest to help this kid learn English? She is a beginner and has just moved into the country. Her parents speak advanced English but are not co...

Lorikeet, Thank you so much for your detailed reply. I did a disappearing act once more because I'm steeped in exam prep. Sorry! I have printed out your post so I can keep it for future reference. The course starts next year. The students aren't going to be in a business envrionment but your scenari...

Roger, My students are from various cultural backgrounds. Some are learning English as a FL and some as a SL. So, I can't be more specific about this. As for needs-assessment, I do understand the importance of it and shall do it. But I can't wait to assess my students (on the first day of class) and...

Norm and Roger, I apologize for leaving the discussion so abruptly. I was caught up in other duties which prevented me from posting here. Anyhow, I've been asked to teach an Advanced Communication Skills course. I am assuming that this is largely an oral communication course with some writing thrown...

I must be a terrible teacher because I formally assess my students every week. By that I mean, paper-pencil tests. I assess them through other ways throughout the week. I think tests provide me with accurate information whether my students are "getting it" or not. Sometimes, students are shy about a...

A huge part of the TSE is listening comprehension. Perhaps you might want to focus on that and assess her regularly to see she is following. Inundate her with music, recordings, etc. with American accents. (I'm assuming that's the accent being used in TSE.) I agree with dduck on assessing her weakne...

I have been absent from this board for a long time. Didn't realize that my education would be hindrance to my daily posting activities. :lol: I am in need of urgent assistance from you brilliant folks. I have to come up with a 10-item multiple choice test. I have decided it will cover Present Tense,...

I came across a book titled, "English for medicine" for low-intermediate learners. Its published by Cambridge UP. You might want to check out their website.

Try Oxford UP. They have several readers. And they have a website.

It really depends on what level you will be teaching. Most basic ESL texts have information about body parts, making appointments with doctors, telephone conversations with receptionists. Of course, these are all from the perspective of the patient and not the doctor/nurse/healthcare professional. I...

I agree with all of you to some extent, but I agree most with strider's comments. The idea of a conversation class has to begin with a needs-analysis. I don't think I really want to talk about the axiological implications of the Iraq war in a Business English class, but I may have to talk about the ...

I taught Business English at a continuing ed. program but it didn't run too well due to lack of advertising and needs. I have been constantly asked to teach another course but I come up with blanks. The most popular courses are "Idioms," "Conversation," "Grammar," etc... I was thinking of introducin...