Chris Cotter
Chris's latest writings
How to Teach Speaking in the ESL Classroom
Mastery of English as a second or foreign language (ESL or EFL) comes down to the speaking ability of the student. He/She may write well, for example, do well on tests, or even have near-native pronunciation skills. Unfortunately, if the student also can't express ideas or instructions smoothly in a conversation, few would call him/her proficient. We use English to communicate information, and that generally... (posted by Chris 1 year 38 days ago.)
Mastery of English as a second or foreign language (ESL or EFL) comes down to the speaking ability of the student. He/She may write well, for example, do well on tests, or even have near-native pronunciation skills. Unfortunately, if the student also can't express ideas or instructions smoothly in a conversation, few would call him/her proficient. We use English to communicate information, and that generally... (posted by Chris 1 year 38 days ago.)
The First Step: Warming Up Your ESL Students
How much time and energy do you give warm ups? Do you place more importance on selecting the right grammar and vocabulary to teach? How about worksheet preparation? A lot of teachers give less emphasis on warm up activities, arriving in class with only the idea of a fun activity. Yet, the warm up is just as critical to a successful lesson as the right grammar, vocabulary, and types of activities for additional... (posted by Chris 1 year 47 days ago.)
How much time and energy do you give warm ups? Do you place more importance on selecting the right grammar and vocabulary to teach? How about worksheet preparation? A lot of teachers give less emphasis on warm up activities, arriving in class with only the idea of a fun activity. Yet, the warm up is just as critical to a successful lesson as the right grammar, vocabulary, and types of activities for additional... (posted by Chris 1 year 47 days ago.)
A Few Tips for ESL Listening Activities
Most ESL students will say that listening is difficult, if not actually admit that this is their weakest skill. The difficulty comes down to two main points. The first stems from the fact that the pace, choice of vocabulary, phrases, and grammar, and the inflection or intonation is completely determined by the speaker. The listener has only one chance to catch the meaning of a word or phrase. Comparisons can be... (posted by Chris 1 year 51 days ago.)
Most ESL students will say that listening is difficult, if not actually admit that this is their weakest skill. The difficulty comes down to two main points. The first stems from the fact that the pace, choice of vocabulary, phrases, and grammar, and the inflection or intonation is completely determined by the speaker. The listener has only one chance to catch the meaning of a word or phrase. Comparisons can be... (posted by Chris 1 year 51 days ago.)
How to Pair Up ESL Students
A key component to the effective ESL classroom comes with pairs. Students need as many opportunities to work in pairs as possible to improve accuracy and fluency, and to make their language production more automatic. In addition, the teacher needs to reduce his/her speaking as much as possible, and that definitely means allowing students to work together rather than individually report information to the teacher. The former... (posted by Chris 1 year 52 days ago.)
A key component to the effective ESL classroom comes with pairs. Students need as many opportunities to work in pairs as possible to improve accuracy and fluency, and to make their language production more automatic. In addition, the teacher needs to reduce his/her speaking as much as possible, and that definitely means allowing students to work together rather than individually report information to the teacher. The former... (posted by Chris 1 year 52 days ago.)
Copyright 2012 IcoLogic, Inc.
Generated live.