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Giving your corporate classes the best approach
Teaching in today’s EFL corporate classroom requires a “Cool Corporate English Consciousness”. Because of the great emergence of multinational companies and globalization there has been a surging demand for corporate English training all around the world (English has long ago been established as the standard language for international business). (more…)
How to Use Podcasts for Listening Comprehension
What is a podcast?
The Internet is a learning tool that can no longer be ignored by ESL instructors without forsaking an interesting, effective teaching resource. There are near endless teaching materials on the Internet, most focusing on reading and writing. There are significantly fewer listening resources, but one that I have used to great success is the podcast. A podcast is a media file (.mp3, .wma, .mp4) uploaded to the Internet by (more…)
Going Beyond John and Mary: How to Use In-Depth Role-Playing
Paired Readings
Any ESL instructor who has been in Japan for more than a year is familiar with the short A-B conversations in which student A asks a simple question which is replied to by student B. These scripted conversations involve simple scenarios, such as visits to Tokyo Tower and plans for the weekend. They are considered to be English learning through role-playing, but in fact they are introductory exercises in dialog reading. (more…)
Implications of unique English forms found in Japan for teaching
Even foreigners who have only been in Japan a short time will have had a chance to notice that, for a country where few people have a good command of serviceable English, the English language is everywhere. Even the cashiers at some McDonald’s outlets can be heard to call out “one burger please” to the kitchen staff. (more…)
Using bingo to teach a variety of lesson points
If variety is the spice of life, as they say, then a variation of this age-old favorite will fit the bill when lesson ideas are running a bit short. Its beauty is that it’s in the form of a familiar game, while being versatile enough to enable you to practice and reinforce a wide range of language and skills. The example given here is designed for teaching street directions, but any other topic can be adapted to the same concept. (more…)
Methods and Materials for Conversation and Writing Tutors
How do you effectively teach English to a struggling private student? What will you actually do for 60-120 minutes together? How will you make the lessons meaningful enough that your client feels satisfied and wants to retain you for future lessons? (more…)
A technique to give responsibility, and make English purposeful
This technique is probably an extension of what many Business-English teachers have already been doing for a long time when they teach meeting skills, though with a special emphasis on the chairperson’s role. This method can, however, be applied to a much wider range of situations and classes. (more…)
The value of fluency in teaching young learners
I’d like to share with you my experience with teaching young learners. Perhaps it may spark some thoughts for you in your context.
I believe that the role of the EFL teacher is to encourage, motivate, stimulate and even lessen the anxiety of learning a foreign language, all the more so for young learners. And I think that correcting speech in the case of young learners (more…)
Even beginner learners can be creative in the way they use language
When the National Curriculum for Modern Foreign Languages in Britain was first devised, it included a whole area called “creativity”. No one could quite decide what this was or how it should be delivered. That strand was taken out and was added back in as an extension of other areas of the curriculum. Still, most people were unsure how (more…)
Kiss disciplinary problems goodbye
Why does it always seem that there is always one child hell-bent on undermining your authority and making the classroom his/her personal three-ring circus? Take heart, I have here the solution to your classroom woes and sorrows. Keep in mind, however, that this is no magic formula that will solve your classroom control and discipline problems with the snap of a finger; the real key is (more…)
