Fluency is a critical element of communication and is often a basis for how language levels are judged. Signposting is a technique which makes speech more fluent. Words or phrases that link speech together to make it coherent, and give the listener an indication of where our verbal communication is headed, are considered signposts. Does […]
Carving out more in-class time for student-centered conversation in the past year has had my students progress more quickly as they spent more time speaking, rather than just studying the language. Confidence and experience are essential for developing fluency, and in a safe environment, students’ overall progress can improve significantly. Since doing this in my […]
I’ve always wondered how an adult who is learning a new language felt when surrounded by the unfamiliar. Although I’ve once experienced the difficulty and hardship of learning a new language and acclimating to a brand new environment as a child, it doesn’t compare to the emotions and experiences felt by an adult learner. Having […]
No, this is not a blog about Sherlock Homes. It’s about investment, a termed coined by linguist Bonny Norton.[1] Bonny Norton is one of my favourite linguists. She takes a critical, post-structuralism theory approach to explain how adults become engaged (or disengaged) with their own second language (L2) learning. For those of you who are […]
Of recent, it is becoming increasingly clear that more and more ESL students entering our classrooms are expecting a rapid transmission of information, structured presentations, concrete outcomes, a course syllabus, and direction from teachers. Such expectations are not new; they come with most formal classes. Such expectations, common in traditional classroom settings, coming from Adult […]
A great song lyric from Rod Stewart’s Forever Young Listening to Irfan’s voicemail message, my mind darted back to a November morning in 2007 when he and his older brother Arman walked into my class. They stopped, stared, and smiled. They said hello and sat down. They pointed to their names and addresses on the […]
Like many of you, I have taught pronunciation from some books. You know, the ones that have the schematic diagrams of where the tongue is supposed to go. I’ve even seen some teachers have mirrors in their classroom so the students can see the acrobatics going on in their mouth. Does this method work? I […]
Recently, a colleague stopped me mid-rant and asked: “How many hours a week do you spend looking for plagiarism?” The question made me realize that I don’t know, but it’s a lot. In the EAP course I teach, students are required to write 2 essays each month. The essays need to be at least 750 […]
The TESL Ontario Blog Project was created because of the TESL Ontario members’ strong community engagement. In 2013, members made it known that they wished to have a forum to share resources and learn from others’ experiences. Since 2014, we’ve been making it happen. Our Vision To provide resources for TESL Ontario members by TESL […]