ESOL Queen

It's that time of year again when my students are frantically preparing for their Entry 1 ESOL and Functional Skills exams in a few weeks time.  The vast majority of my learners find writing in English extremely challenging, particularly if they come from low literacy backgrounds or their first language has a different alphabet like Arabic or Kurdish. I have tried to create activities that focus on "practical" situations that my students may face (e.g. writing a text message to their teacher). However as the exam topics are not always that relevant my students everyday lives (sending a postcard is a very Western concept!) some of the worksheets have been created specifically to help my learners prepare for activities they may come across in ESOL and FS Entry 1 writing exams. Each of the worksheets follow the same pattern. There is an example text, questions to answer, a "think of" / "choose" section where students need to use their own ideas, a templa...

 I've created two new PowerPoints for zero/ low literacy students to use on Zoom, this time focusing on colours and clothes (using British English). I have tried to break up the vocabulary into simple phonics patterns (CVC/ CVCC etc.) and to use words relevant to my students everyday lives.  I have struggled to find adult appropriate and phonics friendly materials for very low English learners who have zero / low literacy skills which uses British English. Whilst there is a lot of amazing American resources out there, I do feel it is important to familarise my students with British English words, as that is what they are most likely to encounter when shopping in Britain. Therefore, I have decided to include words like "jumper" instead of "sweater" and "trousers" instead of "pants".  Do you struggle with the differences between British and American English when teaching low level/ beginner English? What approach do you take? I'd love to re...

I have recently made a writing work book for my Entry 1 class who really need to practice their writing in order to progress to Entry 2. The workbook has 8 different texts covering letters and e-mails. Each text has an example, a framed writing activity and space for students to write on their own. There are also some correction activities at the end.  Feel free to download by clicking on picture. Let me know what you think in the comments box below 😀 

I really love the build up to Christmas lessons at my school, as there are so many great opportunities to find out about important days and festivals in my students' own cultures. I am so blessed to teach students from over 20 countries currently and know learners from over 50 places (from Argentina to China and every country in between!).  From my experience students love to share about their own cultural traditions and celebrations. It is a great opportunity for them to learn from each other and to learn about important celebrations in the UK, It is also a good time for students to practice making comparisons between cultures. Just the last week I discovered the Egyptian Christmas is on a different date to the Polish one and that the Kurdish New Year (Naroz) is different from the UK! Here are some of my Pre-Entry and low Entry 1 Festival activities (click on the pic to download):   Here are some of my Level 1 and 2 Festival writing worksheets (click on the pics to downloa...

I have been very busy teaching my Entry 1 students writing skills over the last few weeks in preparations for their Entry 1 ESOL and FS writing exams.  Enabling ESOL students to write at Entry 1 can be a challenge, as some literacy concepts such as writing postcards and letters can be quite alien to learners. Writing postcards especially is a very British/ Western activity and these days so much communication is now done online digitally (when was the last time you handwrote a note rather than send a text message?). One of my students pointed out today that she doesn't need to worry about spelling when she e-mails her boss as the computer checks everything automatically! Therefore, I try hard to familiarise my students with as many different types of written text as possible and encourage them to write about places they are familiar with using the name of another friend in the class to write to.   As with my previous Entry 1 worksheets, the first page is designed as an ex...

I've been spending a few classes teaching my low/ zero literacy class how to read and say the date in English recently. We've done several activities looking at days, months and ordinal numbers vocabulary. I have been trying to think of creative ways to make this language really meaningful and personalized to my students (particularly in terms on engaging in the literacy element). Therefore, I made two worksheets looking at birthdays and expiry dates for foods. I will also add my Ordinal Number PowerPoints and worksheets below. The birthday worksheet was very interesting as many of my students could only tell me their own or their children's birthdays, but not any other family members. This really showed me how "birthdays" are not necessarily celebrated in some countries or hold as much importance as they do in Western countries like the UK. Therefore a few of the later activities in the worksheet can be adapted to each student. My birthday worksheet is here: The ...

 I've been back to face-to-face teaching with my ESOL students for nearly 2 weeks now. It has been really fun, although slightly strange with all the social-distancing and Covid-19 rules. One of the challenges my students have faced is accessing updated Covid-19 information in their own languages (particularly if they have low level English). They have also been unsure what to do if they, a family member or someone they live with has Covid-19 symptoms or what the rules are for self-isolating.  So I made several enquiries on Twitter and Facebook to other ESOL teachers and refugee organizations and was sent these very useful links in response:  https://www.walsallforall.co.uk/post/covid-19-translatedguidance https://www.covid19.nhs.uk/   https://www.doctorsoftheworld.org.uk/coronavirus-information/      This information is as up to date as I can find from 6/10/20. I have made some basic posters for my learners here: The second poster also has information...

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...

My Journey of Teaching Illiterate and Low Literacy Adult ESOL Pre-Entry Learners: I have been teaching Pre-Entry (Absolute Beginner) adult learners for the last 3 years and have to say it is one of my favourite ESOL levels  [1] . This is because you see students make an incredible amount of progress in a short time, and because you are helping students to make their first steps in understanding English. This year, in my low Pre-Entry class I was presented with a new challenge of teaching students with zero or very low literacy in their first languages as well as in English. These students had never been to school before or had little or no access to education in their home countries. Some of them could read a little Arabic or Farsi, but really struggled understanding the English alphabet, as it is in a completely different script. I also taught a student from Guinea whose first language had no written form and was only spoken. This wasn't on my Cert-TESOL course...

Check out my latest Pre-Entry resources uploads. These materials are designed for adult ESOL learners who have zero or low literacy in English: Question flash cards:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/16mRGP-KtkHNBE65wUyXFVUazHkogWASF/view?usp=sharing Question and answer flash cards:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rM4RtF6FP9nd3XJlbHcbxH8CH86Zw9-1/view?usp=sharing   Form filling example and activity:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SW_VQNjShrtSMjrBEtIhSDqq3wg9gsqO/view?usp=sharing   Form filling vocabulary and matching activities:   https://drive.google.com/file/d/1u_yev7m9xe2y46YGxaXKl3gW8eQT8HFQ/view?usp=sharing        All about me reading and writing activities: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K1JhWArlWZFTR8yPiRsy4Cod_OEm9Oh8/view?usp=sharing

A lot of my students ask me how they can learn English with their children, particularly during lockdown. Here is a list of different activities I have found: Read Free E-books:      https://freekidsbooks.org/   Listen to Children’s stories:          https://www.storylineonline.net/library/?fbclid=IwAR1O2Nm1LIeHrdRwT9EBGyT1p8iZ6wqrSS3gHEtrYCpKtlUKIEzi7cZ8fUg Quizlet- Play English vocabulary and grammar quizzes:          https://quizlet.com/gb/topic/languages/english/ Play English games online:         https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/          https://www.eslgamesplus.com/           https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/fun-games         http://www.koalatext.com/public/index.php/lessonsv2/1/13   Make an E-book story book with your child:         https://bookcreator.com/on...

I'm often asked how ESOL class levels compare to general teaching levels in TEFL. This is a very "rough" guide based on the classes I teach and my experience of teaching ESOL learners... Please note that other language schools and organisations may use slightly different terms and their interpretation of levels may vary. [1] [2] A student’s level ESOL Level CEFR Level What this means: (in an ESOL context). Pre-beginner/ Zero beginner       Pre-Entry A1 (very low) These students are absolute beginners.  They may be completely illiterate in their L1 or use a language with a different alphabet like Arabic or Farsi. Equally, they may have some literacy, but do not know a lot of vocabulary or be able to communicate in English.   Beginner Entry 1 A1 These students have some basic understanding/ experience of Englis...