ESOL Queen

Today some of my students taught me how to say "Merry Christmas" in their languages:     I love teaching my students about Christmas at school and using it as a chance to find out about festivals and traditions in my students' own countries.  Many of my ESOL students are very familiar with Christmas as they celebrate it in their home countries. However, for a lot of my students from the Middle East and Sudan Christmas can be a completely new for them:  "Who is this man with a red coat and white beard? Why is my child dressed as a shepherd in their school play? Why are there green trees with lights in every shop and building?" These are just a few questions that my students often ask! There are many great Christmas resources out there. Two of my favorite videos to show students are: The Nativity Story for ESL students:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swmOqAcFP80 Mr Bean's Christmas:  Mr bean Episode 6 FULL EPISODE 'Merry Christmas, Mr bean' - YouTube...

 I've been asked by a few Primary and secondary School teacher's recently about resources and materials for EAL students (English as an Additional Language) who have just started school in the UK and have low English levels. Whilst I am not an EAL specialist, I do think absolute beginner (low literacy) ESOL materials can be relevant to both teenagers and adults. For primary school children there are a lot of other great resources out there as well.  Do you teach EAL or ESOL? What websites do you use? Please post in the comments box below 😀 Here are my best free websites if your students have low/ zero literacy skills in English or their first language: Teach ABC English  https://www.teachabcenglish.com/ Shaw English Phonics  https://shawenglish.com/tag/phonics-2/ Scottish ESOL Literacy  https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/33697.html New to ESOL  https://esol.excellencegateway.org.uk/content/etf308 Bogglesworld ESL  https://bogglesworldesl.com/phonics.htm ...

It's been a long time in coming, but I have been so excited to go back to face-to-face teaching this week. Sure, there have been a lot of challenges, but it has been fun as well. My students are so happy to see each other in person (rather than on Zoom) and know that we are taking every precaution for their health and safety. So what's changed? Firstly, we have very strict rules for wearing face coverings, hand sanitizing  and keeping a 1 meter difference at all times. Everyone is temperature checked when they arrive (if they are above 37.5 we will send them home) and asked if they have any Covid-19 symptoms (a new continuous cough, high temperature and loss of taste or smell). We must cover our faces when in communal areas such as the hall and toilets, but we are allowed to uncover our faces when sat in the classroom (as all  the chairs are 1 meter apart). I have been provided with a face shield, which I wear in the classroom when I am near students. I have used this a lot wh...

  TEFL vs ESOL Teaching: I’m often asked what are the main differences between teaching TEFL and ESOL in the UK? After all teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) sounds pretty similar to teaching English as a second language (ESOL), doesn’t it? I’ve spent several years working for both the TEFL and ESOL sectors in Plymouth, UK. I’ve taught in two private TEFL language schools and also at an ESOL school. Nowadays, I tend to teach ESOL students from September to June and then in private TEFL school in July and August  [1] .   Generally, I would describe the main difference between TEFL and ESOL in the UK, is that students in private TEFL language schools come to learn English for a short period of time (either for a holiday or course) with the intention of returning to their home country afterwards or going on to study at a university in the UK. The ESOL sector, on the other hand is for students who have moved to the UK permanently. This could be because they...

I have been introducing my ESOL students to important places in the UK via virtual tours. This is a great way to find out about places without having to worry about money, transport, accommodation etc. (particularly during Covid 19). Just by clicking on a virtual tour places can become a lot more real to students and some of the tours do make you feel like you are actually there! These tours are also a great prompt for students to talk about important places and buildings in their own countries and to write about places which mean a lot to them. They might be able to show your virtual tours from their countries as well 😀 Here are my two latest tours for places to visit in South West England and also for places in London. South West England:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/10ycesie4Sd3SNujlyrqhChj1IBcG4TC6/view?usp=sharing    London: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uIIU4o16TyJQbnyw9k2jLUhivUQcpY8I/view?usp=sharing

Today I took my students on a virtual tour of Plymouth using this fantastic map from Plymouth University. https://virtual.plymouth.ac.uk/#s=pano526 Some of my students discovered important places for the first time and new activities to do with their children. Unfortunately not all the places are open during Covid-19 lockdown, but they enjoyed finding out new information about these places and ways to visit in the future.  I've also uploaded some of my best ESOL Plymouth resources which can be used with Pre-Entry, Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3 students. Let me know what you think in the comments section below :)  Plymouth Places and Virtual Tour PowerPoint: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P0jRGuxKbKq8gEkw80_sEUSj7Q3YI_mR/view?usp=sharing Plymouth Tourist Research and Matching Activity: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12xE6z459HR61jWTVTp54BpVxNkZwNcSx/view?usp=sharing Plymouth Pre-Entry Reading Activities: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iIK_0cdE7CPlF3FObWqBzpmonwlglF61/view?u...