Trying something new
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Well it's been quite a while since I taught, before the Internet, but maybe something in the following will help.
I taught students of all ages from 4 to 44 in graded classes, in London and in Spain.London lessons (mostly 14-18 year olds) were usually structured to include new vocabulary and/or a bit of grammar; then reading (understanding) something pertaining to the new vocab/grammar; then writing answering questions proving their understanding; and some role play in pairs using it in speech.
Next lesson ought to very briefly go over the previous one to reinforce learning.We always used graded books and teachers gave out photocopies of extra material.
We used current newspapers(for more advanced students as you need a lot of vocab), local menus, and cinema adverts (from Time Out) for easier reading and understanding.Needs varied from mature adults studying for advanced qualifications, lots of young teenagers at school sent by parents to help with exams (25 enthusiastic spanish girls aged 10-13 crammed into a classroom), to children so young I reckoned the parents were using us as baby sitters cos they couldnt even speak spanish.
Main thing was to make a lesson both useful and interesting. Sounds easy.
Always speak English even if you can speak some Japanese/Spanish.
Smallest 'class' I ever had consisted of three earnest intelligent Spanish teenagers about 17 years old. It was also the most intimate & demanding as they truly wanted to learn and all three inevitably asked lots of advanced grammar questions and wanted pronunciation corrected (often things other teachers in the small school had failed to satisfy answering).
I recall they were sitting the International Baccalaureate and half way through the course asked for all the vocab in advance to learn - which I supplied (the sudden increase in workload was not welcome but was much appreciated; and why other teachers hadn't given it at the beginning I never found out). Needs!Although in Spain the spanish staff generally taught most grammar & writing I always kept my own TEFL grammar book with me - literally always. No teacher knows everything.
End of the day I was usually shattered but had to prepare for next day. I quit after a year and a half.
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I think you will find the tutoring to be an interesting experience. My wife tutored ESL for several years after she retired from her job. I asked her what advice she might have. She offered a few suggestions, some of which have already appeared in this thread.
Try to discern why student wants to learn - is it to make everyday activities easier, in which case familiarization with things like shopping, banking, hobbies, etc. may suggest particular agenda items? Do the students have children or other family members that they might share materials with, like student reading materials? One of my wife's students chose to work on reading a Harry Potter book because her son was also reading it. Do they read pretty well, but have trouble with spoken language? My wife said that some of her students learned to understand her well, but struggled with other speakers. She used podcasts to give them greater exposure to different speakers and accents. Would they like to go on outings to stores, restaurants, gas stations, public transit, or such to learn how to deal with activities in such places? What might they like to show you or explain to you that they know? Confidence in a subject can help conversation concerning it. Idioms can be a stumbling block because their literal translation often makes no apparent sense.
My wife's career as a teacher in an adult community corrections facility gave her some background in dealing with students who had limited language capabilities, but her ESL students fell into different category, being generally capable in their native language, but trying to absorb the complexities of English and how to use it in the USA.
I hope you enjoy this experience and find it rewarding.Big Al
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I think you will find the tutoring to be an interesting experience. My wife tutored ESL for several years after she retired from her job. I asked her what advice she might have. She offered a few suggestions, some of which have already appeared in this thread.
Try to discern why student wants to learn - is it to make everyday activities easier, in which case familiarization with things like shopping, banking, hobbies, etc. may suggest particular agenda items? Do the students have children or other family members that they might share materials with, like student reading materials? One of my wife's students chose to work on reading a Harry Potter book because her son was also reading it. Do they read pretty well, but have trouble with spoken language? My wife said that some of her students learned to understand her well, but struggled with other speakers. She used podcasts to give them greater exposure to different speakers and accents. Would they like to go on outings to stores, restaurants, gas stations, public transit, or such to learn how to deal with activities in such places? What might they like to show you or explain to you that they know? Confidence in a subject can help conversation concerning it. Idioms can be a stumbling block because their literal translation often makes no apparent sense.
My wife's career as a teacher in an adult community corrections facility gave her some background in dealing with students who had limited language capabilities, but her ESL students fell into different category, being generally capable in their native language, but trying to absorb the complexities of English and how to use it in the USA.
I hope you enjoy this experience and find it rewarding.Big Al
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Tutoring has its side benefits. I was the lucky recipient of a culinary goody from my Ukrainian student.
She baked this savory pastry with onions, potatoes, and chicken and brought it to our session this morning, which is at 11. I couldn't get home fast enough for lunch.
She said it's called kobete, and that it's Tatar in origin. It was a fairly large square and she gave me the entire pastry. Mr wtg and I split a quarter of it for lunch and I shared another quarter with some friends.
You can find anything on YouTube:
Link to video -
Tutoring has its side benefits. I was the lucky recipient of a culinary goody from my Ukrainian student.
She baked this savory pastry with onions, potatoes, and chicken and brought it to our session this morning, which is at 11. I couldn't get home fast enough for lunch.
She said it's called kobete, and that it's Tatar in origin. It was a fairly large square and she gave me the entire pastry. Mr wtg and I split a quarter of it for lunch and I shared another quarter with some friends.
You can find anything on YouTube:
Link to video -
@ShiroKuro It is quite delicious!
How goes the tutoring?
It's going well.
My Ukrainian student is quite advanced. We continue to have conversations and I help her with a little bit of everything, including grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. Many of our conversations revolve around food and cooking! I baked a loaf of sourdough bread for her and her family a few weeks ago. The next week she asked for some starter so she could bake her own at home; apparently her kids wolfed down the whole loaf I made in a little over a day. She's really gotten into it and is baking her own at home now, though she needs a fresh infusion of starter. She transferred her starter to a glass container other than the Mason jar I had given her, and unfortunately when she was feeding the starter the container broke. She said it just had a round hole in the side of it. She had to throw out the starter for fear of glass shards. I'll bring her a fresh batch next week.
My Japanese student is also progressing well. We were doing some verb flash cards last week and that went very well. She learned a lot of new vocabulary.
The ESL and Literacy staff are really great. There are three people in the department. Each month, one of them does a session on teaching ESL students. They cover general topics and also provide a lot of information about online resources.
All in all, it's a great experience!
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What my Ukrainian student and her family are going through. Reuters reporting.
Nearly 200,000 Ukrainians in US thrown into legal limbo by Trump immigration crackdown
Our representative is quoted in the article. My student has already reached out to ask for his help in ascertaining the status of their re-parole applications, and she's asked me (as a voting constituent) to contact his office as well.
This is an excerpt from the letter she sent to our congressman's office office.
My family and I moved to the United States in March 2023, under the U4U program, legally and with all proper documentation. We are from Crimea—Ukrainian Crimea—which has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Those years of occupation were extremely difficult for my family. Schools and kindergartens forced children into Russian indoctrination; families were pressured to take Russian citizenship under the threat of losing access to education, healthcare, and employment. Ukrainian language and culture were suppressed, but we did our best to preserve them and to continue supporting Ukraine discreetly.
After 2022, everything changed dramatically. For even a small word of disagreement with the occupation authorities, people began receiving prison sentences of 5–15 years under Russia’s so-called “law against discrediting the military.” I never planned to immigrate, but the situation forced us to seek safety, fairness, and the rule of law. Moving to the United States was a very difficult decision, but we were ready for hard work and to contribute positively to our new community.
My husband is a skilled plumber and has received strong recommendations from his workplace. He also frequently provides his services for churches and charitable organizations such as the X. I received a WIOA grant from the Job Center to study at ITExpert School and make a transition into a new career. I am proud of my children as well. My older son, despite the language barrier, has been accepted into AP History, Honors Math, and Honors Physics, and he also participates in community service. My younger son is very friendly, helps his teacher with classmates who speak Ukrainian or Russian, and is a promising taekwondo athlete, already winning two gold medals and other awards.
Our family is determined to contribute fairly and fully to the U.S. community, economy, and society, always respecting law and order. All we ask is for your help in securing our legal status and work authorization permits sooner (since ours have expired), so that we can continue building our future here and giving back.
Thank you very much for considering this request.
Yea, these are the people who need to be deported.
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Well, good all around!!
Sometimes I feel somewhat guilty about not not doing something like what you're doing.
I might not be past the point of contributing to society by writing a book(s) if I get the resources.
I've said this before but I'd like to have an office/ study in place of a living room.
I've been asked to make a list of furniture I want.
A new full sized mattress is what I'll need first but a good desk and office chair along with a farmhouse table aren't far behind.
Dumb question, wtg-- but is there any linguistic similarity between Lithuanian and Ukrainian?
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Well, good all around!!
Sometimes I feel somewhat guilty about not not doing something like what you're doing.
I might not be past the point of contributing to society by writing a book(s) if I get the resources.
I've said this before but I'd like to have an office/ study in place of a living room.
I've been asked to make a list of furniture I want.
A new full sized mattress is what I'll need first but a good desk and office chair along with a farmhouse table aren't far behind.
Dumb question, wtg-- but is there any linguistic similarity between Lithuanian and Ukrainian?
@Daniel said in Trying something new:
is there any linguistic similarity between Lithuanian and Ukrainian
Turns out there is, at least as far as vocabulary is concerned. We talk about a lot of things, including food, and sometimes I'll say "this is the word in Lithuanian" and she responds "yes, yes, we have the same word in Ukrainian".
We haven't really talked about grammar but I think there are lots of similarities there, too.
Their Cyrillic alphabet is still a mystery to me. Lithuanian uses a Latin alphabet.
