ESOL Queen

  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...