Teacher Discussion Forums

Great question!

Did you get any answers? What school did you decide to teach at? What has been your experience so far?

Congratulations on taking the big plunge, traveling across the Pacific, and being in China during this exciting time!

My pleasure.

By the way, I suspect several other ESL Cafe folks will be glad to read your survey when you finalize the language.

Good luck!

Thank you!

That's a very nice, concise, and vivid approach. I'm going to borrow that idea.

Thanks for the tip. I will check it out.

Good discussion. I enjoyed the reading tips. By the way, the best grammar texts - in terms of accessibility and clarity - that I've found remain the Grammar in Use series and Communicative Grammar. I also prefer to only teach grammar as a supplement to reading, writing, and speaking. Many students s...

This topic has probably already been discussed, but it comes up in a very wide range of ESL classes - at least in the United States. How do you teach the difference between “make” and “do” in your English classrooms? What do you do? What do you make? What’s the difference, anyway, between “make” and...

What makes you smile? What's your favorite song? What's your favorite color? How do you prepare for a test? How do you relax? Do you have a favorite English word? Can you turn a bureaucratic requirement into a communication tool to express personal ideas and build classroom community? Absolutely. Ta...

You seem to have fallen into what I consider a "good mistake" for English teachers - feeling the need to pretend to know more than we do under the guise of "classroom management." Content is king, and they know more about international business than you do. That's not a challenge, but an invitation....

Thank you for sharing your evolving website with us.

"Well begun is half done," as the Greek proverb goes.

How do you teach the difference between “make” and “do” in your English classrooms? What do you do? What do you make? What’s the difference, anyway, between “make” and “do”? These simple words cause lots of confusion for English language learners. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time teaching a ...

How do you teach the difference between “make” and “do” in your English classrooms? What do you do? What do you make? What’s the difference, anyway, between “make” and “do”? These simple words cause lots of confusion for English language learners. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time teaching a ...

Adult education, at least in the United States, remains the distant step-child of public education. The quality and funding for all public education in the United States remains a profound problem. If you want to become an administrator, your prospects of finding a satisfying fulltime job increase. ...

Like you, I believe that a simple survey of adult students would lead to far more accurate placements - especially if the placement exams only test passive skills and grammar. Of course, many adult education programs do not even use placement tests during peak registration periods in Los Angeles. I'...

Harry - Thanks for the compliment and the information. The unblocking of Wikipedia and the BBC counts as real progress. More voice, more perspectives, and more information help people make more rational, evidence-based decisions. A useful primer for English language students in China might be the Ne...

Websites devoted to literature are almost endless. So your request is very reasonable, but it's also complicated by China's electronic wall. If they block Charles *beep* and my little website, how can people outside of China make sensible suggestions? Can they access the Library of Congress? The Voi...