We use the well-known pangram to practice typing: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. We use well-known tongue twisters to practice tricky sounds:She sells seashells by the seashore. Why not use well-known speeches to practice oral expression? I’ll list three. #1 – I recommended Steve Jobs’ commencement speech in an older post….
Category: Listening
Using and Discussing Humor with ELLs
In an earlier post, I shared questions and vocabulary tasks for some of my favorite TED Talks. Another talk I liked enough to use in come of my lessons is “The Skill of Humor” by Andrew Tarvin (2017). His view of humor is encouraging for those who are shy or otherwise hesitant to crack a…
Tried and True Tasks for TED Talks
TEDS Talks have provided plenty of food for thought for a general audience and a wealth of material for the ESL classroom. Perhaps you have a list of your own favorites. If so, please share! Every so often I have a private student who has the proficiency, time, and interest to work some of these…
Off to the Races with the Headless Horseman
This week I adapted Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” for my YouTube audience. The one-hour livestream features a read-aloud session where I take the time to explain vocabulary. The original text, published in 1820, is available online thanks to the Project Gutenberg. However, that text is long, detailed, and not very accessible to…
Building Confidence and Accuracy with Irregular Verbs
Recommended listening tasks to build confidence and accuracy with the simple past forms of irregular verbs. (PDF inlcuded)
Understanding Other ELLs: An Overlooked Listening Skill
With so much attention on understanding fast speech in movies, TV shows, and other authentic sources, there’s an area of listening comprehension that may not receive the attention it deserves: the speech of language learners. Students tend to focus heavily on listening to native speakers and non-natives with advanced proficiency. As a result, they may…
TESOL 2019 Highlights: The Playful Side of Poetry
Did you know it’s National Poetry Month? I feel fortunate that I was among the attendees at one of the last sessions of the TESOL 2019 convention because the topic was…yes, poetry! Quite a number of us decided to attend The Uses of Poetry in the ESL Classroom at 5:00 p.m. on the final day….
TESOL 2019 Highlights: Ludicrous Lawsuits That Engage Learners
TESOL is in full swing, and I’ve attended a number of informative sessions. I’ll do my best to share valuable take-away over the next few weeks. Let’s start with the well-thought-out approach to listening and speaking presented by Takako Smith of University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Takako teaches within PIESL (Programs in English as a Second Language). In…
Getting Reluctant Readers to Read
Not every student loves to read, but there are benefits missed by not including any reading in one’s studies. Of course, some degree of reading is unavoidable, for example, one has to read a homework assignment or a short email announcement. But extended reading? That has to be a conscious choice. Let’s see if we…
Moving with the Times: A Cool Movie Clip-Based App
I’ve been recommending YouGlish as a listening and pronunciation tool for quite some time. It’s wonderful to hear different speech models and consider the various contexts a word or phrase is used in. However, the search results don’t include movies, TV shows, or music videos. What if there were a similar app that did include…
TESOL 2018 Highlights: Online Tools for ELLs
Visiting the Electronic Village at the annual TESOL convention is a must for me. Even a single visit can result in the discovery of a few different resources. The title of one presentation this year immediately caught my attention: Three Powerful Online Tools for Skills Development. The presenter, Silvia Laborde of Alianza Cultural Uruguay-Estados Unidos…
TESOL 2018 Highlights: Engaging Learners with the Latest News
My annual TESOL experience wouldn’t be complete without running into colleagues all over the convention center. Hugs and updates are exchanged, and I sometimes even pick up interesting tips in passing. Lucky for me, I ran into Eric Roth of University of Southern California. He had just visited the Exhibit Hall and told me about…
English with Jennifer 