Teaching Tips
7 MORE No Prep ESL Games & Activities
Any ESL teacher knows the merit of having games and activities in an ESL classroom. Not only can these games and activities be used as a time filler or extra practice, but they can also be used for warm-up activities, breaking the ice, or adding a little fun to the...
Short Films for ESL Students
There are numerous ways in which you can use video clips and short films in your ESL lessons. Whether as a warmer to pique your students' interest or as a main activity for the class, using media can enrich your lessons and capture your students' attention. While you...
How To Support A Team Of Teachers
How To Support A Team Of Teachers There are few professions as important as teaching. Educating others is a great skill and important for shaping the future world, but life as a teacher is not easy, and it can be a tremendous amount of work. This is why it is...
How To Encourage Critical Thinking In Your Advanced ESL Students
When youâre an ESL teacher, you get to the stage when your students need to go further. Theyâve learned a lot of the basics and can have conversations in English, but you need to push them. And one of the best ways to do that is by encouraging critical thinking in...
The Easy Guide To Using Different Learning Styles In Your ESL Classroom
When youâre an ESL teacher, you need to be learning constantly. It isnât enough to just do the introduction course and teach forever based on what you remember from it. Instead, you should be looking for new tactics to engage your students and improve their learning...
The Best Ways To Use Technology To Support Your ESL Students
Technology is advancing rapidly. And if your students are younger than you are, which they probably are, most of them will use it as much if not more than you do. There are good and bad points to this. But one of the benefits is that you can use it to accelerate their...
Teaching ESL Writing Skills: 3 Activities That Work
Teaching ESL writing skills is just as important as teaching speaking, listening, and reading; however, most teachers find that it is more difficult to teach than the other skills and because speaking and listening take priority. Teaching ESL students writing skills...
5 Tips For Creating English Lesson Plans For Beginners
Any novice teacher would know that having English lesson plans for beginners, intermediate, and/or advanced students can be a saving grace. Even professional teachers whoâve been teaching ESL for a while will know that while you can teach without a lesson plan, having...
Teaching With an ESL Co-Teacher: Tips for Success
In many ESL classrooms, you many required to teach with a co-teacher. Often, the co-teacher will be a local. Their roles are varied and depends on the school you are teaching at; it can be to support you in the classroom, help translate when needed, help you with...
Why Video Games Are Good for Learning
In an environment that supports and encourages them, students may feel free to take intellectual risks because it is just a video game. This kind of teaching makes students confident and excited about what is coming.Recently, video games have fallen victim to...
How to Teach Children with Specific Learning Difficulties
For starters, itâs important to define what specific learning difficulties are. The three most common specific learning difficulties are dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Manifestations of specific learning difficulties can be visible in one or more areas. They...
Your Ultimate Guide to No-Prep EFL Activities and Games
Most (if not all) EFL teachers know the importance of incorporating games and activities in their learning English as a Foreign Language classrooms, and beyond that, it is crucial to have at least a handful of no-prep activities and games in your hat.Why, you may...
Games That Help the Development of Pre-Reading and Writing Skills
Students will soon be in classrooms, learning reading and writing, basic skills needed for education. Some do it smoothly and without problems, and some struggle and make mistakes. Learning to read and write begins long before going to school. Preparations have lasted...
The Differences Between Teaching Live and Teaching Online
Teaching, according to Britannica is âthe profession of those who give instruction especially in an elementary or a secondary school or in a universityâ. Teaching is a significant job that helps create an impact on the lives of others and its history can be traced to...
Teaching Adults English: Tips for Teaching Business English
Teaching Business English has some similarities to teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL); however, there are also some differences. If you are here, reading this article, you are on the right track as we are going to explore their similarities and differences...
5 More Games That Every TEFL Teacher Should Know
Whether youâre a newbie teacher or have been imparting your knowledge for years, you can always do with some extra games up your sleeve! Following on from our article âTop 5 games that every TEFL teacher should knowâ, here we have 5 more games that you can introduce...
Top 5 Games That Every TEFL Teacher Should Know
Every TEFL teacher has their favourite games and activities that they use time and time again. There are many games which are better suited to certain age groups (or even certain nationalities!) but there are also games which can be adapted to suit any learner group....
Student and Parent Guide: What to Do Over the Summer Break
The upcoming summer break is an opportunity for all students to rest and "recharge their batteries" for the next school year. However, the excess of free time can have negative effects if it is not fulfilled in an interesting, but also a useful way. Taking a two-month...
How to Develop Student Self-Efficacy
Student self-efficacy is a fancy term which educators use when talking about studentsâ confidence and belief in their ability to learn something. A student with strong self-efficacy learns quicker and is more confident using English than a student who does not believe...
Why You Should Include Activities in Your Classroom Instead of Games
ESL classes are meant to be fun. Theyâre often an additional class that your students take outside of their regular school classes, so itâs good if you can make the classes fun and enjoyable for them. That way, they wonât mind coming to them during the hours they...
Discipline in the Classroom: 5 Things the Teacher Has to Know
Children and teenagers do not like discipline, and therefore often refuse to obey and follow the rules. To avoid the problem of poor discipline in the classroom, it is necessary to determine the rules of behaviour in the classroom. There is no teacher who hasnât faced...
Digital Stories in English Teaching and Learning
Digital stories represent an extremely effective tool in the English language learning. In combination with computer animations in younger classes, especially with students aged 7 to 10 years, acquisition of simple knowledge and skills is improved, as well as basic...
Top 5 Problems When Teaching EFL
Any classroom, whether you are teaching in Taiwan or Guatemala, has its set of challenges and problems when teaching EFL. If you havenât taught before and came across this article in preparation for teaching EFL, then this might sound scary: There isnât a way to avoid...
14 Things To Do To Improve Your Teaching
Getting your certification doesnât mean that you know how to teach, just like having years of experience doesnât mean you canât improve. Even though this sounds negative, you can view it in a positive light by knowing there are many fun ways to develop professionally....
Using Multimedia in Classroom Teaching
Today, it is normal that students in elementary school, high school, and university learn English. However, standard methods of teaching are often not enough. Can teachers successfully incorporate multimedia into their classes and if yes - how should they do that?...
Teaching English Online: The Beginner’s Guide, Part Two
In the first part of this article, we looked at the perks and pitfalls of teaching English online and introduced some different styles of classes you can use. Continue reading for more tips on how to build a successful online teaching career. Three Choices for...
Teaching English Online: The Beginner’s Guide, Part One
It's estimated that roughly 1.5 billion people are learning English as a second language (for everyday use) or as a foreign language (to use for pleasure, holidays or work). An increasing number of people are learning and practising their English online rather than in...
English Pronunciation: How to Teach It and Why
In todayâs world, English has become an international language that people from all parts of the world use to communicate with one another. To enable their students to use and produce this language effortlessly and smoothly, it is important that teachers include...
Using Real-World Materials in the Classroom
I love using real-world materials when teaching English. Authentic materials are plenty and easy to find. Whether it is news articles for reading lessons, realia (real-life objects) to make learning new vocabulary more memorable or playing the latest hit song for...
Teaching Tips for Challenging Students
We've all had students who were challenging in one way or another. Perhaps they're a bright child who feels bored in the classroom or someone at the other end of the scale who struggles to keep up. Maybe a child has trouble paying attention or just likes being the...
Setting Homework for Adult Learners
Homework isnât just for school children. Everyone can benefit from it, no matter the age. Read on for some tips on how to effectively set homework for adults. The benefits of homework are numerous, from consolidating knowledge, through giving students time to work...
Activities for Teaching about Animals
All TEFL teachers have their go-to topics when they get a class assigned at the last minute. It's good to have a few games and activities up your sleeve for when you need to teach at short notice, and if they have a similar theme, it comes across much better than as...
5 Ways to Use the Power of Smartphones in your ESL Classroom
If you canât get your student to stop playing on their phones in the classroom, donât struggle with it. Embrace it and get students to use their smartphones to learn English in your classroom. Phones in the classroom are often viewed by those of us who teach as an...
Teaching English to Different Age Groups
In order to best enable children who want to learn or master English, English language classes should be adapted to the age of the students. English language classes are usually held in groups. This is true for children aged 3 to 5 years, that is, pre-school children....
How to Teach the English Alphabet
Teaching your students to recognise, read and write the English alphabet is one of the most basic roles of a TEFL teacher for young/new learners, but how to go about doing it? While teaching the ABC's may seem like a simple concept, many first time teachers get stuck...
Inter-Disciplinary Lesson Planning: English and Character Development
Inter-Disciplinary lessons are a hot potato at the moment â these days it seems like teaching one subject at a time just isn't enough, and that teachers are integrating elements from different subjects into their classrooms. Similar ideas are being introduced in EFL...
15 Simple Flashcard Games Your Kindy Kids Will Love
Whether your classroom is equipped with a computer and projector or not, laminated flashcards are a simple, old-school, and excellent tool to get your students engaged and learning. Perhaps the best thing about them is the unlimited ways you can use them! If you think...
How to Motivate Young Learners
Whether youâre a newbie or novice teacher, walking into an ESL class full of young learners can be a daunting experience. Not only can these little munchkins not speak your language but most of them canât sit still in a seat for 5 minutes, either! I used to dread my...
Explaining Abstract Concepts to Language Learners
People have a mental picture of a concrete concept, such as an apple, for example, but it's very difficult to present a visually abstract idea such as, letâs say, selflessness. Abstract terms use only the most general characteristics for the description of the object....
CLIL and Teaching English through Maths
When I first came across the acronym CLIL it didnât mean much to me. I thought hereâs another one of the many acronyms that the education sector seems to be full of. I decided to look up what it stood for and what I discovered was that CLIL is quite an exciting...
How to Use Video Clips in Your TEFL Classroom
Technology offers many great resources for language learning, but all too often we see teachers taking advantage or using media clips in the wrong way. How many of you know a teacher who happily plays clips of Mr Bean at every given opportunity, or will spend a whole...
Fun Ways to Set New Classroom Intentions for 2018
New Year's resolutions: love them or hate them? No matter what side of the line you stand on, you have to admit that the first of January is as good a date as any to set new intentions. For ESL teachers, this is the perfect time to freshen up your class environment...
5 Hands-on Christmas Activities
The period leading up to Christmas is a great time to bring some festive joy, music and games into your classroom. It is also usually an incredibly busy time of the year, so to help you out, below are some fun, hands-on Christmas activities to try out in your...
Holiday Special: Fun Activities for the Holiday Season
Itâs a fact that every child loves Christmas and New Year. This may be because everything is festive around this time of the year, but mostly because they get a ton of presents (which is becoming a cross-cultural phenomenon, too). Since the holiday season is upon us,...
Motivating Young Learners in ESL
Struggling to motivate your young learners in your ESL class? If so, read on for 10 tips on how to motivate your young learner students. Why Motivation is Important (for Young Learners Specifically)Teachers know that motivation in a class can make all the difference;...
Teaching Tips: Reducing Language 1 Interference
Language 1 (L1) basically means your first language or mother tongue. When students are nattering away in their first language, it makes it difficult for them (and their classmates!) to concentrate on learning English. This isn't such a problem if you teach in a...
11 Tips for Using Technology Effectively in Your ESL Classroom
Depending on where you teach, technology might be readily available for you to use in your ESL classroom. However, using it effectively, and not just for the sake of using it, is another thing altogether. Some teachers might also be too intimidated to use technology...
Teaching Tips: Activities to Get Them Moving
Have students that can't sit still? Well, don't make them! Here are a few activities to add into your lessons to get students up out of their chairs, moving around, and having fun while they learn. Whether you want an engaging warmer or are looking for a new game to...
How to Deal with Children’s Learning Difficulties
At the beginning of their schooling, children suddenly become students â evaluated by their school achievements. School becomes the most important place in their lives and learning the most important activity. But what happens when a child cannot master the...
Teaching Tips from a Foreign Teacher of English
Teaching a language that was once foreign to you is an interesting experience. The fact that you once had to learn the language yourself makes it easier to empathise with your students. It also means you have a good idea of what might cause students difficulties, so I...
Four Great Ways to Increase Student Talking Time in Your ESL Class
Any good ESL teacher knows that an element of a successful class is a high student talking time, compared to a low teacher talking time. If you are new to teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, you might wonder why that is. Here are four reasons why student...
Brain Teasers Students Can Solve in Class
Test your logic by answering these questions, and have fun with your students! Don't worry, we've provided you with all the answers below, but no peeking, try to come up with a logical solution by yourselves and activate that grey matter. The brain teasers are divided...
What are Mind Maps and How to Draw Them
Drawing mind maps is a powerful graphic technique that increases the potential of our mind. Drawing these maps can be applied in every aspect of our lives to improve learning or clearly define the goals that are ahead of us. With advances in science and medicine, we...
Tips to Manage Your ESL Class
Classroom management is one of the elements of an ESL class that teachers, especially new ones, struggle with the most. If you think about it, managers in a company usually donât find that managing their staff is an easy task; thus, good people management skills are...
Cooler Activities for Winding Down
Whether you want something soothing to calm students down at the end of class, or are looking for something to get noisy students under control, a cooler activity is just what you need. Fun games and noisy tasks are all well and good, but sometimes what you need is an...
10 Tips Teachers Can Give Their Students to Help Them Study at Home
Children often fail to adopt healthy studying habits and take responsibility for their schooling, which is usually most noticeable when they move to secondary school. There is so much a parent can do, so it is important that the youngsters get proper guidance from...
Howâs Your Board Work?
There are teaching methodologies, activities, classroom management techniques, and learning styles to consider during each and every class. More often than not, thinking about board work often falls to the side. You may be thinking, what exactly is board work? Board...
Teaching Tips: Activities for Pair-work
Group activities are lots of fun, but for maximizing student talking time, you can't go wrong with some pair-work in the classroom. Smaller groups (and pairs) give more students time to talk and keeps students engaged so that you can monitor more closely. Try out some...
The Two Sides of Classroom Management for Very Young Learners
Being the teacher means having to play two roles simultaneously: the warm caregiver and the stern taskmaster. Knowing how to balance the two will mean the difference between a happy attentive class and chaos. During a kindergarten class - or any class full of young...
 6 Favourite ESL Games and Activities to Use in Your Classroom
In a learning English as a foreign or second language environment, games and other activities form a key part of your lessons. Any ESL teacher knows the value of using a few favourite ESL games and activities in the classroom. It is important to remember that...
Teaching Tips For a Naughty Student
There are naughty students in the world, and you're likely to meet more than one. Whether it's for attention, out of boredom, or just not knowing any better, some kids act out and get disruptive. So get prepared! Make every challenging student into a teachable moment...
Keep It Simple: No-Prep Games and Activities
It's always a good idea to have a few extra class activities prepared, but it's not always realistic. There are times when students finish planned activities too quickly and other times when you may unexpectedly take over for another teacher. But have no fear! We've...
6 Online ESL Resources Every ESL Teacher Should Use
Even the best teacher in the world can get a little overwhelmed at times. Lucky for us, we live in the Internet Age and there are resources available should we need a worksheet, a lesson plan, or an activity to bolster our lessons. Here are six great sites to add to...
Outdoor EFL Activities Your Students Will Love
When the weather warms up and the sun comes out, everyone wants to get outside. Here are some fun outdoor activities to supplement an EFL summer program and have some fun. The students may learn a little something, too. Summer is here! And that means it's time to...
5 Phonics Activities to Use in Your EFL Classroom
Teaching phonics to English learners is a fundamental skill that needs to be developed, and it should be part of all learning strategies. But that doesn't mean it needs to be boring. If you are an EFL teacher who needs or wants to teach phonics to young learners,...
How to Teach The Four Seasons in Your EFL Classroom
We talk about the weather A LOT, so it's useful for students of all ages to have the skills to discuss weather and the seasons in a variety of contexts. Here are some tips on teaching the seasons to EFL students. The four seasons are a fun EFL topic for both students...
Tips for Teaching Elementary EFL Students
Teaching EFL to students in elementary school is a unique experience. The students develop so much from year to year, it can be difficult to set specific rules, but there are some general pointers that will make their English lessons far better. Most resources on the...
Tips and Strategies for Mixed-Ability Classes
While it can be frustrating for both teachers and students, mixed-ability classes are an inevitable part of EFL teaching. Since we can't prevent them, we need effective strategies for teaching mixed-ability classes. Here are some tips from a veteran English teacher....
The Last Resort: How to Not Panic When Classes Go Wrong
Not all lessons are smooth sailing, but that's no reason to give up. Even after you lose control of a class, it's always possible to get them back on track. Good classroom management means staying flexible. There are plenty of reasons why your TEFL class might end up...
4 Great Activities To Help Your Students Practice Their Summer Vocabulary
Summer is almost here. And along with sunny days and warm weather, we also have fun seasonal language to discuss. Make summer vocabulary fun with some exciting themed activities. With summer on its way, it is the perfect excuse to teach your EFL students some seasonal...
Mixed-Ability Classes: Factors, Challenges and Advantages
As an EFL teacher, it is seldom that you have a class of students who have the same language learning levels. As such, it is well known that mixed-ability classes are the norm and not an exception. If you are new to teaching, you might be wondering what is meant by a...
Top Tips For Teaching Writing: Games and Ideas to Turn Your Lesson From Boring to Brilliant
Teaching writing is an important part of any curriculum, but it's rarely the most popular part of the class. Here are a few ways one experienced teacher makes writing lessons more fun and more effective. I'm sure you remember this from your school days â students...
Top 5 Tips for Teaching Business English
Business English is quite different from your typical general English class. Though itâs the same language, itâs a different type of English. Business English involves different types of skills and subtleties that arenât usually present in other classes. Teaching...
Simple Teaching Tips (That Are Easy to Forget)
Whether you have been teaching for years or are new to the TEFL game, there are so many things to think about when you have a job teaching English. From the moment you step into the classroom (or before) to the moment the class ends (or after) there are dozens of...
Teaching Grammar: How Important Is It Really?
Teaching grammar is challenging for teachers just as learning grammar is challenging for students. Though grammar may sometimes feel like a chore, it's an important part of language learning, so it's best to make it as fun and engaging as possible. Thereâs a lot of...
Adults Want to Have Fun, Too! – Games for Beginners
What do you think teaching an adult class is like? Is it dry, stuffy, and dull? It doesn't have to be! Adults benefit from fun (and even games) as much as younger learners. Kids are easy. Sing a few songs, act silly, play lots of competitive games, and voila! Of...
Dictation Activities for English Learners
There lots of activities we can use to improve our students' reading, listening, and writing. Or we can do dictation activities, which manage to combine all three. Do dictation activities have a place in your lesson? Absolutely. As a teacher, you have so many class...
Another 8 Practice Drills for EFL Students
Is there such a thing as too many EFL games? We don't think so. Anything that gets the students engaged and learning is fair game. Here's another 8 activities that you can add to your regular rotation. We have another set of EFL practice drills to liven up your...
4 Egg-tastic EFL Activities To Try In Your Classroom This Easter
Can you believe that Easter is just around the corner? It feels like just yesterday the clock struck twelve on the New Year. Easter is one of the best times to engage your ESL learners with a range of fun and exciting activities while helping them learn more about one...
Lesson Planning: From Winging It to Writing It All Out
There are as many ways to plan a lesson as there are lessons. Here are some types of lesson planning from a teacher who has prepared and taught her fair share of classes. Lesson planning is one of the most fundamental skills of teaching. Whether youâve taken a CELTA...
How to Encourage Shy Students in the TEFL Classroom
Whether your language classroom has five students or fifty, the chances are that you have at least one shy learner who finds it difficult to speak. Perhaps this student is just a little bit shy and isn't keen on taking the lead, or perhaps they suffer from a serious...
Additional Skills That Young Language Learners Need
It's impossible to break education down into its isolated parts. When we are teaching English - especially to young learners - we are actually teaching many other skills at the same time. So what should we focus on as our sneak something extra into our lessons for...
5 Ways to Make Learning Fun and Interesting
Teaching is more than just communicating ideas. It's just as important to make learning fun. While some teachers do this naturally, others need some help keeping the class engaging and interesting. Whichever type of teacher you are, here are some ideas that are sure...
5 English Practice Games for Reading and Writing
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] It's just not possible to have too many English practice games at your disposal. They assist in both learning and retention by engaging students in a positive way. Here are 5 English games to helps students practice their reading...
8 Tips for Teaching English One-on-One
While it may seem simpler than teaching large classes, teaching English one-on-one has its own challenges. There aren't nearly as many students to contribute to the class, which means that the bulk of speaking, reading, and writing falls on just one student. It can...
Another 7 Drills for Language Learners
Make sure to use a variety of drills for language learners. Here are a few more handy drills to add to your repertoire to keep your students happy, engaged, and progressing. Drills for language learners make up a large part of most EFL teachers' days and with good...
11 Language Drills to Help Your Students Practice
Language drills produce the maximum amount of language by the maximum amount of students in a concentrated time. Thus it is the most efficient, effective means of initially practising target language while producing confidence and competence in students. Language...
Teaching Phonics: Acting Out Sounds
Teaching phonics can be more than just drilling. While flashcards and charts of sounds have their places, sometimes it helps students to get up out of their seats and move around a bit. Teaching phonics gets a lot easier with some variety. It's possible to put down...
Why Do We Play EFL Games in Class?
EFL games play a huge part in students' educational journeys. Many young EFL learners spend a lot of time every day in school and then attend additional classes in the evening. Therefore, when they come to us, and in order to keep them coming back to us, we need to...
Teaching EFL Students Writing
Most teachers cringe at the thought of teaching a grammar lesson, but that feeling is intensified when it comes to teaching writing. This is especially true when working with EFL students or teaching a lesson that incorporates writing in the final activity. The reason...
9 More EFL Warm-up Activities to Start Your Class Off Right
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It's always a good idea to have some EFL warm-up activities in your back pocket We recently published 5 Warmers to Switch Studentsâ Minds to English. It barely scratched the surface of all the short, fun activities that can be done...
Top Tips for Creating Awesome Teaching Materials
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Making worksheets for English lessons is one of those things that some teachers love and some hate. Most language schools provide textbooks and a structured syllabus for teachers to follow, but even with top quality resources,...
5 Great Christmas-Themed Vocabulary Activities
Christmas is just around the corner, and that means it is time for some festive Christmas ESL activities in the classroom. If you are teaching in a country which doesn't celebrate Christmas, this is the perfect opportunity to teach your kids about your culture while...
3 Differences between Teaching Children and Adults
Teaching is a skill unto itself, but teachers need to modify their styles to accommodate their students. One of the most critical factors in determining a student's abilities is their age. Even when teaching the same material, there are major differences between...
How To Teach Grammar Effectively
A grammar lesson can make students and teachers alike cringe, whether it is in a regular class or during observation by fellow educators. Worst is the latter as you can expect quite a lot of comments. We all have different ways of teaching grammar...
How to Motivate Teenagers to Learn English
Teaching teens English isn't as scary as it sounds. You just need to know how to motivate teenagers to learn English. It's certainly challenging, but it's not impossible. Many teachers ask themselves how to motivate teenagers to learn English, but motivation is a...
5 Fun ESL Games For Engaging Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic learners have just one of many learning styles you'll come across, but they often need a little extra help. Make sure your class suits all learning styles by adding a few special activities that are fun for everyone. Have you ever had a student who just...
6 Tips for Teaching English to Adult Learners
Walking into class and meeting students can be easy, but teaching them can be something of a complex and arduous process. If youâre green to teaching and find it challenging to engage students, then here are some tips to help you the next time you walk into your...
5 EFL Warm-up Activities to Switch Students’ Minds to English
Using a warm-up activity is a great way to get students in the zone. They are fun and engaging, but they also help students make that cognitive shift from their native language to English. Adding EFL warm-up activities to a class is essential. If you teach English in...
How to Use Authentic Texts in Class
Knowing how to use authentic texts in class is like having a secret weapon against boredom and routine. The use of real-world examples of English benefits students' fluency while providing a welcome break from potentially monotonous coursebooks. Most TEFL teachers are...
Classroom Management in the EFL Classroom
Classroom management is a challenge for all teachers. Even the most experienced teachers find it difficult to keep a class on track. Here are a few ideas to help maintain order in your next class. Many good teachers have arrived in the classroom on their first day,...
Teaching English to East Asian Language Learners
East Asia is one of the biggest markets in the world for English language learning and one of the most daunting for language teachers. Aside from the far-flung geographical location, another thing that puts people off teaching in East Asia is the popular stereotype of...
7 Scoring Methods for an EFL Class
Games are an important part of many classes, and there are as many scoring methods for an EFL class as there are games to play. What's more, adding a new scoring method to a familiar game or activity can make it fresh and engaging again. Even basic tasks can be...
Teaching Teens EFL
Working with early-teenaged students can be frustrating. Many of your old tricks wonât work, and they may wreak havoc on your old ideas for scoring systems. Donât despair! Teaching teens EFL is certainly challenging, but it's not impossible. They simply have...
Conversation for Adult EFL Students
A conversation stage should be seen as an integral part of virtually all adult lessons. Conversations will range from the very guided session with low-level students to freer and less structured chats with higher levels. The teacher needs to bear in mind the level...
How Assigning Homework Improves Your University ESL Class
Homework is a staple of core classes in universities. In the ESL classroom, it can be a valuable motivational tool. Here is how one English teacher used homework to elicit more enthusiasm and participation from his students. You can do this in your classroom, too....
Top 7 Basic Teaching Tips for ESL Teachers
Teaching is a valuable and rewarding profession. It can be a challenging career path, however, so it can be helpful to get a few tips from teachers who have blazed the trails for you. Here are some top tips for teachers new and old. Teaching is one of the most...
A Fair Reward System in a Class of Young Learners
Itâs helpful to learn what reward methods have worked for other teachers. In this experience-based how-to, a former ESL teacher lays out the steps he took to craft a reward system uniquely suited to his class of eight to nine-year-olds. Young ESL learners need to...
Top Teaching Tips for First-Time Teachers
It's the start of a new school year all over the world. Students are nervous, but so are teachers. No one is more scared of the first day of school than a new teacher. Here are some tips for first-time teachers. You can do it! So here you are â you've gone and...
3 Fun Creative EFL Art Activities for Your Classroom
EFL art activities are a fun way to supplement English learning with language-based tasks that engage the senses in a fun and interesting way. Though not all programs have built-in time for arts and crafts, these activities fit nicely into vacation classes, summer...
7 Phonics Games and Activities for Kids
Phonics skills are the foundation of good reading, but there's more to phonics than drills and memorization. Here are a few fun games to make phonics fun again (or the first time). 1. Hunt the Flashcard Hide flashcards of letters/clusters around the room, then shout...
5 Alternative Methods for Teaching Language
The PPP method is great for your Shane English Schools' SPEC books, but what happens when your students are more advanced? There are a number of alternate methods that can engage and interest your students. These methods can be used with upper-level classes within the...
5 Tips for Teaching Very Young Learners
Teaching very young learners is challenging at the best of times, especially if you are working in an unfamiliar language. There are no shortcuts to a happy, engaged class, but there are things that the teacher can do the make the learning experience better for...
Teaching Reading: 20 Activities after Reading
Teaching reading does not end with the story. Here are some fun reading activities for building comprehension and improving retention. Having fun activities after the reading assignment is also a great way to reward reluctant readers. Add these 20 activities to...
Teaching Reading: 9 Tips for Reading Classes
Teaching reading is one of the most important things a teacher can do. Reading is a core language skills, and it's absolutely essential that young learners establish a good foundation. Being important does not mean being serious, however. It's possible to make the...
Teaching Reading: 14 Pre-reading Activities
Reading is a core skill for any language student, so it's important to follow the entire process. Students start learning before the reading assignment actually begins, so it's important to have effective pre-reading activities. Not only will this get the students...
The PPP Method in Detail: Production
The PPP method's production phase is the third and final stage. It often includes games and activities give students some structure while using target language.A language production game/activity is one that allows the students to freely produce the language that has...
The PPP Method in Detail: Practice
The second phase of the PPP method is practice. This is where the students' learning becomes more active. Through drilling and practice, students begin to use target language (TL) independently and fully commit new information to memory. This is where real learning...
The PPP Method in Detail: Presentation
At Shane English Schools, we use the Present-Practice-Produce method (PPP method) of teaching. The following are some things to remember when presenting language and grammar to young learners. Not familiar with this method? Click here for an overview of the PPP method...
What Is the PPP Method of Teaching English?
The Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP or 3P) method is popular among new EFL teachers because it is straightforward and easy to implement. In fact, the PPP method follows common sense and does not require much advanced pedagogy. Most people have used some...
Active Games for Young Learners
Sometimes, classes just have a little extra energy. Thatâs especially true this time of year. As summer vacation approaches, students find it harder to contain their excitement. Teachers are also distracted by end-of-the-year administrative work, and students sense...
EFL and Autism Spectrum Disorder: How to Make It Work
In recent years, there has been a distinct rise in autism spectrum disorders, also called autistic spectrum disorders or ASD. The exact cause of this rise is still under debate, though genetics, waiting until later in life to have children, and lifestyle changes are...
ESL Activity Idea â Play Your Cards Right
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] This is an ESL activity idea using one of the English classâs most valuable tools: flashcards. This post uses animal flashcards as an example, but the activity is adaptable to a variety of topics. It is best suited for nouns,...
Classroom Management in a Nutshell
Classroom management is an essential part of any teacher's job. It can also be one of the most difficult parts, depending on a million little factors. What is Classroom Management? Classroom management is a term used by teachers (and their managers) to describe the...
Extra Reading and Writing Activities: Poster Notes and Custom Story
It can be a challenge constantly coming up with reading and writing activities. Here are a few popular idea from a former Shane teacher. Importance of Extra Reading and Writing Activities To really build on the fundamentals, itâs good to have a variety of extra...
How to Teach Private Classes: Adapting Course Books
Many teachers wonder how to teach private classes using EFL course books to help provide lessons with an overall structure. However, as most course books are intended for use in a group, these will usually need to be adapted in order to meet the needs and interests of...
Phonics Games: Phonic Families Race and Phonic Bingo
Whole-word memorisation techniques should form part of our studentsâ approach to learning new vocabulary. However, as over 70% of the English language is phonetic, it is important to remember that when we teach the phonics stage in our classes that we are providing...
Using Songs with Adults
Now, we all know the merits of using songs in kidsâ lessons, but there is potential to go beyond the likes of âTouch Your Headâ and âWe Like To Walkâ. Music should not just be thought of as being exclusively used in your kidsâ lessons since there is also a time and...
Task-Based Learning in a Nutshell
Task-Based Learning (TBL) is a common form of language education based on use of language in a natural, effective way to complete concrete tasks. The theory behind the Task-Based Learning (TBL) method is that learners are more likely to acquire language naturally if...
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