Teacher Discussion Forums

I'm trying to figure out how to start an ESL class for people looking to learn English in my community.

I'm not trained to teach English, but I'm fairly fluent in Spanish, I've assisted informally w/ESL classes and there's a great community center down the street from me. I'm wondering if there's an ESL instructor in Los Angeles who'd be interested in teaming up w/me to start a class at that center. I assume it's a fairly rigorous process, and I'm hoping that the ESL Cafe is a good place to get informed.

Can anyone help me out?

Thanks. I hope this is the right forum for this posting; if not, please steer me in the right direction.

Stan Holt

I can't help you, but you should also advertise on teachers.net

They have an ESL bulletin board there that is mostly frequented by ESL teachers in the states.

Hi Stan,

Have you polled the neighborhood to see if there is a demand for English classes? If so, the community center, if it is staffed, may well be interested in helping you get started.

If the classes will be free to students, be prepared for much of their motivation to be social, but that's not necessarily a detriment.

If you personally are interested in teaching this class, it can be done. You'll have to learn as you go, but there are study materials for you to help a great deal. I'd particularly suggest that you start with The Lexical Approach, by Michael Lewis, published by LTP in London. It's a little hard to find in the U.S.A., but can usually be ordered by any big bookstore like Border's or amazon.com.

Good luck.

Larry Latham