I hadn’t been to an in-person TESOL event since 2019, and my experience in Tampa was celebration of sorts. I could once again see old colleagues and meet new ones. I gave and received hugs and handshakes. Smiles, business cards, and stories were also exchanged. I was very grateful to immerse myself in the convention experience for three straight days. I’ve changed a bit since 2019, and so has TESOL. It seems we are collectively embracing self-care and the need to consciously inject positivity into our instruction. (Check out my many affirmations on social media.) On the night before the confe ..read more

I’m still running from conference room to conference room (and sometimes from the TCC to the Marriott). It’s the last day of TESOL 2024. I wish there were three of me so that I could attend all the sessions I’m interested in, but sadly I have to make my final selections. I’m happy to say that even at this point I have plenty of takeaway. Just as important, I’ve connected with old and new colleagues. I’ve had some planned meetings and a whole bunch of unplanned conversations as well. Finding out where other people teach, who they teach, and what particular challenges they face strengthens my un ..read more

I’ll be attending the TESOL Convention this week. I hope to meet new and old colleagues in Tampa, Florida. Teachers, please come to my presentation on Thursday, 21 March, 13:00-13:45 US EST in Room 411. Let’s talk about Leveraging Instagram to Engage, Teach, and Inspire Activation. I’m excited to return to this in-person event, and I plan to share some convention highlights with you after my return home. Featured image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay ..read more

Some of my students are discovering how ChatGPT can assist them, but I’m pleased to see they are still keeping themselves in the driver’s seat, so to speak, generating their own writing and having the final say in what wording captures their meaning and desired tone best. For example, a student might feed an email into ChatGPT, requesting any necessary corrections and suggestions to improve the tone. The two versions are compared, and then some AI-generated words or phrases might be integrated into the original. Another student wrote out the content for a report and sought help from ChatGPT wi ..read more

Here’s a simple truth. Some people like grammar, and other’s don’t. Also, grammar can be learned directly or indirectly. So, should we teach it? Should students watch a grammar video or study a chart in a textbook? I’m all for learning a language through through conversation and authentic sources, including movies and books. They provide a meaningful context in which exposure to grammar patterns takes place. However, not every learner has an easy time making sense of the structures on their own. A direct explanation can confirm an understanding, erase a doubt, or sharpen one’s ability to appl ..read more

In my previous post, I explored different ways we create emphasis, and I included cleft sentences. The effort I put into making that list will pay off even more as I move forward to create a new YouTube lesson, which will offer students more examples to illustrate the patterns used for stressing words and highlighting ideas. However, I realized I don’t have a set of ready-to-use practice items for the two most common cleft sentences: IT-clefts and WH-clefts. Exercises that I’ve found online mix too many types of clefts, and I feel this could create confusion. If you’d like to have two sets of ..read more

Language is truly amazing because we often have multiple tools at our disposal. Think of all the ways we can ask a question. Imagine our friend had a job interview. – We might ask about it directly: How did the interview go? – We could use a tag question to broach the subject: The interview was today, wasn’t it? – Alternatively, we can use a negative question: Didn’t you have the interview today? – We may opt for an embedded question to sound less demanding: I was just wondering how your interview went. – If the topic is understood, a simple “Well?” could imply that we want to know the outcome ..read more

Sometimes what we need is a set of engaging discussion questions. An online search will bear fruit. I found a robust list of 95 Funny Hypothetical Questions compiled by Susan Box Mann. Some are intriguing though outlandish, for example (#2), “What would you do if you found out you could stop time?” Others wouldn’t be appropriate for the ESL classroom, especially ones with references to crimes. However, there are some true gems: (#21) “What would you do if you had two weeks free to do anything you wanted?” I recently turned to ChatGPT to generate some anecdotes for discussion at the B2 level. I ..read more

How does one get their fill of vocabulary? A few sips at a time. Trying to take in too much at any level doesn’t lead to great results. Private students usually come to me having already mastered words on the General Service List (GSL). They also know most of the Academic Word List (AWL), at least passively. One goal, then, can be to make higher level words part of their active vocabulary. Some students need more exposure to idioms and other conversational expressions to balance their comfort with academic English. Others wish to elevate their vocabulary and develop the ability to express the ..read more

Once again, my students have helped me learn my subject matter better. One private student is working on GRE vocabulary, and we recently practiced the verb “gloat.” With some browsing, we confirmed two collocations. Both The Britannica Dictionary and the Cambridge Dictionary list examples using “gloat over” and “gloat about.” (In fact, the latter also includes “gloat at,” which seems to be less common according to Google Ngram Viewer.) Then another student asked me which prepositions follow “start.” There are several possibilities, especially if you consider collocations such as “in the middl ..read more