In my latest YT video I attempted to talk about politics without really talking politics. Hopefully, I succeeded. I gave a brief overview of the two major political parties. ELLs who have watched the lesson report that they picked up some vocabulary and gained a better understanding of U.S. political parties. But in addition to…
5 Ways to Make Feedback on Writing a Positive Experience
Online teaching is not always done in real time. Some of my private instruction is now given through written assignments. Students submit drafts and I provide feedback. We don’t schedule live lessons, so that mainly leaves us with written communication: email, comments, and track changes on documents. You may wonder how effective this instruction can be and…
Getting a Handle on a Common Verb
How many meanings does the verb get have? Hmm. Quite a lot, right? I had to consult a dictionary to make sure I wasn’t forgetting any. A student on Facebook asked me about the many uses of this verb. Actually, first he asked about the different meanings and then he asked about usage. If the verb…
Tricky eVocabulary
While correcting a student’s text yesterday, my attention was drawn to how vocabulary has developed around computers and the Internet. Words like cookies and sleep have new meanings. Also, today we need to be clear about our request for an address; we may need a street address, an email address, or a web address, depending on the…
Student Stumper 45: Do “whatsoever” and “at all” have the same meaning?
QUESTION: Do whatsoever and at all have the same meaning? SHORT ANSWER: They can often be used interchangeably, so that suggests they have the same meaning. It might be more accurate to say we often use these words the same way. Both whatsoever and at all allow us to emphasize a negative statement. LONG ANSWER: This…
Making Discoveries: An ESL Story
I first crossed paths with Walton Burns at a TESOL convention. We’re both members of the Materials Writers Interest Section, and it turns out that we have quite a bit more in common, especially in the roundabout way we discovered our professional calling. Walton may not have planned to become an English language teacher or…
Using Quantifiers Correctly Most of the Time
Quantifiers can cause confusion for a few reasons. 1. First, students have to recall which expressions go with which nouns – countable or uncountable. We say a good number of students but a great deal of difficulty. 2. Second, there’s the matter of register. Many is more suitable for formal English than a bunch of. 3. Third, meanings overlap and can…
What You Can Count On: Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable and uncountable nouns seem even trickier at the more advanced levels. That’s when students encounter a good number of words that have both meanings. Take truth, for example. We often use it abstractly, but it’s possible to talk about the truths that are self-evident, right? The best thing to hold on to is a set of guidelines….
Using Grammar: Putting the Pieces Together
I’ve been stumped by some pretty good questions over the years. The inquiries in my Student Stumper category usually target some aspect of the language that I need to consider further before responding. But lately the questions I’ve been asked by learners aren’t specific. In fact, they’re extremely broad. These questions challenge me in a different way….
Is It Possible to Form Good Study Habits with an App?
My previous post prompted reflection on how good study habits are formed. I shared ideas on long-term change as described by B. J. Fogg in his TEDx talk “Forget Big Change, Start with a Tiny Habit.” In theory, it certainly sounds plausible that a new habit can become automatic if it is closely tied to an…
How Good Study Habits Are Formed
Whether students are enrolled in a course or studying independently, language progress largely depends on how much they invest and how consistent they are with good study habits. However, before habits are established, a learner needs to develop awareness and add a dose of realism to their aspirations. What exactly are their language goals? I’ve…
Teaching How Less Is More in Writing
Words allow us to build beautiful creations. Particularly in writing, which affords us more time for consideration, we put our thoughts together like a jeweler. The artist picks and chooses elements and strings them together. We do the same with words, hooking them together with grammatical structures. In the end, both the jeweler and the writer make a statement….
