Category: ESL Classroom Tips

Whether you are a brand new teacher or have been in front of the classroom for years, the first day of a new class is crucial. It’s important to put in some thought and planning to start a new class off on the right foot. Avoid these five mistakes not to make on your first day of class and your school year will be off to a great start.

Getting your students to give creative responses to questions can feel like pulling teeth. Even the shiest, quietest kid sitting in the back of the classroom has it within them to come up with unique insights and mind-blowing ideas. So why don’t they? Why does it feel like such a battle getting your students to do something as simple as make up a couple of sentences in a story?

If you’ve been thinking of teaching English in Taiwan or China, you’ve no doubt come across the term Buxiban. These schools are a huge part of English learning culture in Taiwan and China, and they also employ a huge number of English teachers. So, what is a Buxiban?

When you have a wide range of ages and English abilities in your class, it can be tough to come up with activities and lessons that are interesting to everyone. Material tends to be much too easy for some students, while completely going over other students’ heads, making it difficult to tailor lessons so that everyone is engaged and learning.

Introducing our latest teacher interview. This week we interviewed Stefanus who took the plunge and made his first steps into a teaching career by moving all the way to China to begin a teaching position. Read on to see what experiences he has had as a first time teacher in China.

Last week, I wrote about the unique challenges of teaching large classes. This week, the focus is on the other end of the spectrum, teaching small classes. At first, it might sound like teaching small classes is easier. After all, you’ve got only a few students to keep track of, and classroom management ought to be a breeze. But teaching just a few students can be surprisingly tricky.

Being in front of a classroom of ESL students can be intimidating under any circumstances. But when it’s a large class, and yourself facing twenty or more students, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

I was asked this month to write about the common grammar mistakes of my students, however I haven’t been a teacher for some time so I thought I would flip the mirror around on us adults. Below is a photo essay covering some funny and common spelling mistakes that adults have made. If we as adults cant get it right, then how do we expect our students to?