ESOL Queen

Hi everyone, I have finally found some time to upload onto my blog again! I have recently been using Chat GPT to make some resources for my Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills English students. This technology is great for providing me with relevant texts at the appropriate English level for my students and for giving me Functional Skills style questions based on the texts. I had a lot of fun typing into Chat GPT tasks like, "Give me a biased text on online banking in the UK" and "Give me an instructional text on how Easter is celebrated in the UK". Check out the results in these worksheets below: Banking and Financial Literacy Functional Skills Level 1 and 2 Easter Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills Reading Culture Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills Reading Do you teach Level 1 and 2 Functional Skills? What resources do you use for teaching reading? Let me know in the comments below 😃

Hi everyone, Thank you so much to everyone who has visited my blog, shared my resources and spread the word about my blog! What started as a small lockdown project in 2020 with just a few views each month has now expanded to over a 1000 visits per month, which is really exciting! I often receive many requests to edit my resources. Unfortunately, with the restrictions on Bloggler I can only upload resources via Google Docs, which makes access to 'edit' documents a bit tricky, as it would mean everyone could edit at the same time. If anyone knows a solution to this, I would be really grateful for ideas 😀  Whilst, I will do my best to respond to you, I currently do not have a lot of time to answer all the requests due to my current work commitments.  However, you can find the majority of my resources on the website ISLcollective under the name of Squeen , with the options to download and edit as you wish.  You can access my materials here: English ESL worksheets, activities...

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 can't believe it's nearly Easter already. This term has gone so quickly teaching online, but I can't wait to go back to face-to-face lessons after the Easter holidays.  Here are two of my latest PowerPoints for zero/ low literacy Pre-Entry ESOL learners looking at Easter and Ramadan. This year in the UK Easter is on Sunday 4th April 2021 and Ramadan is roughly between Monday 12th April and Wednesday 15th May (depending on the moon).  My students come from very mixed backgrounds (mainly Middle Eastern and European) and they love finding out about each other's cultures. These PowerPoints are designed to give students the language to describe the festivals they might be familiar with and to share how they celebrate them.  Each PowerPoint consists of vocabulary colour coded to show the phonic patterns, videos, matching activities and spelling activities. Each PowerPoint should last about 2 hours on Zoom, depending on your class. I hope you enjoy using them, just click...

 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 😀 

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 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 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 ...

 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...

I've used Twitter a lot recently- particularly to connect with other ESOL organisations and to share my resources. In my Twitter 'Home' I've started following many useful sites with Tweets aimed at my students, whether its a simple grammar explanation or useful set of vocabulary and idioms. Therefore, I have made a worksheet aimed at Entry 2+ with instructions for how to join and use Twitter.  It is possible that some students may already use Twitter in their own languages, so I have included instructions for how to change your language. I've also listed some good organisations for students to follow. If you can recommend any more organisations or people I can suggest to my students, please leave me a message in the comments below. Here's a link to my worksheet 

Introducing ICT to Asylum Seeker and Refugee Women This year I had the privilege of introducing a small group of asylum seeking and refugee women to ICT skills for the first time. These ladies have had little or no experience with using laptops or computers and were desperate to learn. Some of them had very little English and low literacy (zero beginners) and others could read and write quite well (Entry 1+). None of these ladies knew anything about computers and had not had the opportunity to learn before- they may have spent years living in a refugee camp or been denied access to ICT education. None of these ladies had an e-mail address, but they were desperate to have one and learn how to use it! First of all, we started the classes by learning basic computer skills and how to type. My students were used to do everything with one finger on their phones, so they tried typing everything with just their index finger (this proved quite time consuming). I was able t...

Check out my new Entry 1 Grammar worksheets: Be with I and You in + - and ? https://drive.google.com/file/d/15KuOryO4Hud5XzON25exm5Sfk3-pVKpQ/view?usp=sharing Be with He, She and It in + - and ? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1clFwyph3GgdHxavi53n1jhfh2DZQyHiC/view?usp=sharing Be with We and They in + - and ? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n6-xfCa3B7gzIyfXW7CXj7iDsMhZI5JV/view?usp=sharing Wh- Questions: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11c8o8jvF4xcLGmyfNTNwNZw3vAo6Fwm5/view?usp=sharing Wh- Questions and answers using be : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CWNOpGW35nNI021_i6lVUO3YDH8DdTlI/view?usp=sharing Present Simple Verb Examples and Activities: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jOMMbGew0iMmnXdESquw1JJdefq6w_PM/view?usp=sharing Be and Present Simple Word Order: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PSN0qkocrsMPULq63V4MY5-plk2Kf08K/view?usp=sharing

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

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