ATTN: Newbie ESL teachers.
I have a story for you that should sound familiar.
My first six months teaching English in Korea were a disaster.
I had no training, and no idea what I was doing.
A blank sheet …
No one ever said teaching ESL was easy.
Memorizing verb tenses, understanding active vs. passive voice, taking in the culture, pronouncing the word “squirrel.”
How are you supposed to teach students these things, all while keeping your …
Know what my biggest mistake as a teacher was?
I was married to only one teaching methodology.
And just like any marriage, I needed to spice things up after a while.
When I started teaching some 20 years ago, my …
Teaching is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world.
There’s nothing quite like watching your students succeed. When they pass their exams, get promotions at work or start studying abroad, it fills you with a sense of pride.…
You’ve prepared a lesson you think is captivating.
You could talk about it all day. Maybe it’s about traveling with dogs, the health benefits of papaya or robotics.
After the reading and exercises, it’s time for your first conversation …
Sitting still in a classroom for hours on end can be difficult for students.
Many of the kids in your English class would rather be outside playing football, or—you guessed it—playing games and checking out apps on their phones.…
Remember back when you were a student, when lessons were taught using chalkboards and overhead projectors?
It’s amazing that we learned as much as we did using such Stone Age technology in the classroom. I remember scrambling to write down …
