ESL Jobs Forum

[tlon7]

First, I want to plug Dover publications, which is a U.S. publisher that publishes classic and modern literature in editions that range from $1.00 to $4.00 American dollars. They are great bargains and are cheap because the company doesn't advertise, and they publish material in the public domain. You can, for example, buy The Dubliners by James Joyce for $1.00. They are also available in the United Kingdom at Amazon.UK [url]www.inthetext.com [/url]They are very good for advanced ESL students because you can write in the margins easily because of the paper stock, and since the books are so cheap, no student will worry about having them lose their value. I have about 12 of them recommended on my website www.inthetext.com

Also, for a good exercise in description for intermediate levels, divide the class into two groups: one will be the witnesses, the other the investigators. Arrange before hand to have a 'crime' commited in the classroom. You can arrange this with another teacher. Before the crime is committed, have the investigators, turn their heads while the witnesses observe. The 'criminal' runs into the classroom, commits his/her 'crime' then runs out. The investigators have to ask the witnesses to describe what happened and what the criminal looked like. In this case they really HAVE to ask because they don't know.[url][/url]
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www.inthetext.com : trying to put the human back into humanities education

[eric18]

Dover editions are affordable, thin, and durable. They are excellent choices - especially for the budget conscious.

You can also have students co-create course materials by assigning them to find articles and write concise reviews for daily homework. I often require students to find materials on an assigned topic, fill out a worksheet, and bring the articles to class. They then discuss their articles in small groups. This multiskill activity can be either a supplement or main assignment.

Here's a worksheet that I use to get my students - who come from many different countries - talking about their hometowns.

Talking About Your Own Hometown!

Student Name:
Class:
Teacher:
School:
Date:

Please find an article about your hometown in English that you would like to share with your classmates. Read the article, clip the article, and be prepared to talk about the article.

Title:
Author: Length:
Publication: Publication date:

What's the main idea?


How many sources were quoted?


Where there any illustrations? What kind?


What did you learn in this article?


What was the most interesting part for you? Why?


Write down 5 new vocabulary words, idioms, or expressions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

How would you rate the article 1-10? Why?



Why did you choose this article?

Enjoy!
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Shalom

Eric
eric@compellingconversations.com

"In America, nobody says you have to keep circumstances somebody else gives you."
Amy Tan, Asian-American writer