It's the most wonderful time of the year once again. The time to be jolly, spend time with your loved ones, and of course, give presents. It's so wonderful that most of the time we forget about the dark side of it - increased waste production. In this Christmas oriented lesson, we look at the… Continue reading Have yourself a sustainable little Christmas
Tag: joannaesl
Videoconferencing software
Once you decide to work online, you are faced with one of the most important questions. What is the best video conferencing software out there? The choice is endless and it seems that every day, it gets bigger. My platform of choice is Zoom, but I adapt to the students and academies I work for.… Continue reading Videoconferencing software
The Christmas Countdown
If you live and teach in one of the European countries, it's almost impossible to avoid Christmas-themed lessons. A year ago, when I worked at an academy in Alicante, I was asked to prepare a short Christmas video or project with some of my younger groups. With my Movers group (ages 7-9), we spent about… Continue reading The Christmas Countdown
Technical language vs. ESL
ESL teachers are expected to know all about the language. Of course, we have no problems explaining grammar, preparing for the exams and of course, going over the most commonly used vocabulary. What happens when you have to teach something you have no expertise on? Should ESL teachers have any other educational background to be… Continue reading Technical language vs. ESL
How to teach irregular verbs?
Teaching ESL as an afterschool activity is often seen as a job in which your primary task is to entertain and keep the students engaged. More often than not, teaching and testing aren't the main focus of the class. Some topics are quite difficult to make fun, especially if they are complex and essential. Irregular… Continue reading How to teach irregular verbs?
Where do babies come from? – question forms
The other day, I was preparing a C1 level lesson plan on question forms. It's an exam preparation group, so we follow a coursebook. As always, I started the preparation by checking the approach in the teacher's book and as always, I decided to put a spin on it. I thought of a class that… Continue reading Where do babies come from? – question forms
The oversaturated market of ESL teaching
The Internet is full of websites for potential ESL teachers. There's an ever-growing demand for English teachers, but the market is so oversaturated that it seems almost impossible to stand out from the crowd. Demand for ESL teachers in Spain is constantly growing. Unfortunately, so is the number of teachers fighting to get the students.… Continue reading The oversaturated market of ESL teaching
The problem with Halloween
It is my last post of October, and even though I had fun with all my themed lessons, a few questions stood out to me. What if I don't like teaching themed classes? What if I don't like teaching Halloween? To all those questions I say - fair enough. You shouldn't teach anything that doesn't… Continue reading The problem with Halloween
A bad date – teaching using anecdotes
Last year, for the first time ever I was given the opportunity to teach C1 level students. This year half of my students are of this level, which gives me a lot of chances of developing my way of teaching and revising advanced grammar. Even though teaching advanced students comes with many challenges, it feels… Continue reading A bad date – teaching using anecdotes
Halloween Escape Room
If you want to have a fun and relaxing class, look no further. I've got something just for you! Your teenagers will love this Halloween-themed escape room style class. All you need to do is monitor the answers and make sure that your students don't get too heated in this instalment of spooky classroom activities!… Continue reading Halloween Escape Room
