Teacher Discussion Forums

Perhaps literature is considered passe by many of today's youth and young ESL teachers, but dismissing the value of quality literature is a terrible mistake. I often settle for introducing short excerpts of great writers or using vivid quotations to gently encourage reading literature. I also use a ...

Your book and chapter topic sound very interesting. You've focused on a practical problem facing many English language learners. When I taught adult ESL students, I often had them read articles on scams and create list of "top ten scams" and "ways to avoid being ripped off" in groups. The discussion...

Thank you for sharing this excellent discussion on a topic that has puzzled, even frustrated me. The CASAS, TOEIC, and Accuplacer all have advantages and disadvantages - and none really meets the actual needs for many employers. Focusing on a needs assessment and communication skills makes sense - a...

Context, teaching philosophy, and classroom atmosphere all play a key role. One effective technique is encouraging English students to “make good mistakes” as they expand their vocabulary, experiment with new sentence structures, and use English more in their daily lives. A good mistake, as I explai...

Harmony - Thanks for the link and suggestions. I keep wondering if students shop for a standardized exam depending on their weakness.

Have you seen any study on that consumer aspect of the higher education business?

Everybody has this problem. Perhaps your poll should have asked "Is anybody happy with the accuracy of their school's placement test?" Seriously, different placement tests produce different results and different problems. At least from the half-dozen I've seen used, none actually delivers what it pr...

Recently a friend asked me for my suggestions for three 18-hour workplace workshops on "vital workplace communication skills" for ESL students. The workshops have to also be open to native English speakers. Does anybody have some practical tips on what should be included? How would you structure it ...

While designed for intermediate-advanced ESL students, I found Dr. Petersen's book called Reading the News on the Internet quite helpful even for my international graduate students trying to decipher news articles. It includes a fantastic summary of common news idioms, an extensive collection of web...

One effective technique is encouraging English students, especially ESL students, to “make good mistakes” as they expand their vocabulary, experiment with new sentence structures, and use English more in their daily lives. A good mistake, as I explain on the first day of class, is a logical error th...

Perhaps I was less than clear. Let me see if I can clarify what constitutes a "good mistake", and why I consider making good mistakes essential to learning English. Let's take a common "good mistake" like using the word "he" for a woman. Now, the speaker recognizes that the correct pronoun for a wom...

As someone who has spent many long evenings reading and grading student papers, I can completely sympathize. When I started teaching writing classes, crammed with too many students, at Santa Monica Community College, I discovered the benefits of setting clear guidelines and following a rubric. I han...

And how does one become a writer for TOEFL?? Both questions interest me.

Good question. While I have never taught students younger than high school, and currently teach writing to undergraduate and international graduate students, I would suggest looking at Writing Great Paragraphs and Writing Great Essays. These practical, step by step books - which I used for intermedi...

What do English language learners need to succeed at work, in college, and in life? That's a tough question with few easy answers. How many adult ESL students want to improve their academic English language skills? How many ESL students need to improve their English skills to enter community college...

What do English language learners need to succeed at work, in college, and in life? That's a tough question with few easy answers. How many adult immigrants want to improve their English language skills? How many adult immigrants need to improve their English? Do current adult education programs pro...