esl lesson
How to Increase Your Exposure to the English Language
You have already proven that you are good at languages; after all, you learned yours pretty well, didn’t you? If you were able to learn one language, you are able to learn others.
Have you ever considered how you learned your language? When you think about it, you realize that you never learned it; you just started using it when you were around two years old. You started with a few words, but rapidly moved to employing whole sentences and communicating fully.
All this happened because you can hear. During your first two years of existence, you heard people talking all around you, and this was the decisive factor for you to start speaking. This is why, if now you want to learn English, you have to hear and listen to it as much as possible.
But, how can you constantly hear and listen to English if you live in a country where the language is not spoken fully? In fact, there are many ways to do it.
1. Radio
No matter where you are, there is always a radio station playing music or talking in English. Just consider the two major international networks: BBC World Service and Voice of America. Both of these have special programs for ESL students.
2. TV
The TV is probably one of the best resources to hear and listen to English, because it offers a visual backup that helps you understand what is being said. Most people now have access to TV with English-speaking channels; however, you can also watch programs on the Internet.
3. Internet
There are thousands of radio stations on the Internet, and you can also watch all kinds of videos in hundreds of sites. Soon enough, you will have TV channels available on the Web.
4. Music/ songs
We don’t have to tell you how much music there is in English. You can listen to music on the radio, TV, Internet, or get some CD’s. Practice writing down the lyrics, or download them from the Internet to follow while you listen to the song. Start with an easy one, maybe a slow tune, and chose a singer whose voice is clear. Some songs are difficult to understand even for native English speakers.
5. Movies
Around the world, many movie theaters show movies in English, with subtitles in the country’s language. Try to watch a lot of these movies; even if you have to read the subtitles, you are listening to the words in English.
6. Video
The great advantage of videos is that you can play them as many times as you wish. You can watch and listen to a certain part, or the whole movie, as much as you need to understand the subtleties of what’s being said. Equally, you can enable the subtitles or not; these can be an aid, but you should try to avoid them little by little.
7. Friends
Try to speak English with your friends who speak the language. Here you will practice your speaking as much as your listening, and it is very helpful to hear the language from someone who is right there, standing next to you. You can also chat on the phone, which is a much more difficult listening exercise than listening in person.
As teachers have most certainly told you in your ESL program, don’t worry if you don’t understand everything you hear. The important thing is that you hear the language. Sooner than you think, the understanding will come alone.
If you liked this article, tell all your friends about it. They’ll thank you for it. If you have a blog or website, you can link to it or even post it to your own site (don’t forget to mention www.englishlci.com as the original source).
The Adventure of Learning a New Language
Going into the classroom for an ESL lesson is very much like being in an airport. You’re sitting there, waiting to arrive at a new land, a place where you’ll face the adventure of being a stranger. Learning a new language is like being born again, re-inventing yourself.
What do I mean by this? When you speak a new language for the first time, you start building a new character. If you go back to your native language every time you speak English (that is, if you still think and feel in terms of your native language even when you speak English) you’re not actually speaking English. You’ll have to translate those feelings and thoughts all the time, which you’ll find hard, frustrating, and exhausting. Instead, let English run through you like water, like air, and like thunder, too. You did this once when you were a little child, but you don’t remember it. You discovered the power to invoke things by their names. A person, a dog: all you had to do was say their names, and they were there. For some other things, you had to wait: although you said morning in the middle of the night, the moon was still out and everybody kept sleeping. But at least you were able to remember the sun light and the taste of breakfast, and that’s because you knew the word morning in your native language. Those words will always have a unique place in your history, but that doesn’t mean you can’t know the world through another language. In fact, people who love learning new languages actually seek to rediscover the world constantly, to find its hidden magic.
So, as you step into the classroom, start building a new memory based on the unknown. Look at the immediate surroundings, suddenly strange and wonderful. Things you took for granted are about to show you a new side, a new way of being said. But in order to let this happen, you’ll have to learn how to listen in English first. This means that you have to stop translating. Translating is like being still, motionless: the opposite of arriving at new land. And, as we already know, in order to get to a new land, you have to be in an airport first: noise, confusion, bustle. If you patiently listen to that noise, you’ll distinguish voices. This takes not only patience, but also time. That’s why good teachers insist so much that you only speak English while in an ESL class. It’s hard, but you have to do it slowly, step by step. When you feel tired, instead of translating, go back to your native language and rest. One day, you’ll remember something in English, and you’ll realize that you registered that experience in this new language. Suddenly, you’ll need English to refer to something in the past (and you would have to translate it if you wanted to say it in your native language!). That will be your first new memory, the first memory of a new speaker (listener) which is still you but at the same time is a new person.
ESL Lessons – Effective Lesson Plans are the Key
English as a Second Language (ESL) institutions have constantly engaged themselves in the activity of imparting knowledge to those who approach them. They provide an excellent platform, where it’s just not about learning but where you feel yourself turning into a completely new person by mastering yourself in English.
Have you ever thought about learning in a way that could be different and interesting? Where you are taught with pictures instead of lecture videos that are played, where your brain is put into constant action by quizzes and crossword puzzles? Now are you asking yourself whether there could really be such a place for learning?
Then, it’s my duty to inform you the answer is YES. Let’s now see how ESL lessons are able to do this magic!
ESL lessons are able to create this magic with their well-constructed and unique syllabus combined with an innovative style of teaching. An effective ESL program could be created with lesson plans, inspired by thousands of unique lesson plans contributed by teachers from all over the world.
ESL lesson plans for kids includes teaching through the use of materials like coloring worksheets, handwriting worksheets, crossword puzzles, and word search puzzles, text mazes for reading, flashcards, phonics materials, video lessons, self-grading exercises and drawing sheets. Can you think of any better way where your child will be happy about learning?
ESL lesson plans for adults include reading, listening, writing, speaking, pronunciation, and grammar activities, offered in three basic levels: Beginners, Intermediate, and Advanced Students.
The following are some examples of lesson plans commonly used in all three levels:
Living in English: This plan deals with everyday issues like employment, health, and recreation and is the most suited plan for teenagers and adults living abroad or those about to move.
Level: Lower to Upper-intermediate
Mini Debates: Here discussion and debates take place on current events, which certainly calls for a variety of reading and is expected to enhance the speaking skills of the participants.
Level: Upper-Intermediate
Everyday Idioms: It is a type of conversation practice in which ongoing stories are discussed through dialogues. Each lesson includes new idioms, comprehension task, and a dialogue.
Level: Lower to Upper-intermediate
Holidays: Under this lesson plan, people are asked to choose a specific holiday and activities like vocabulary development, framing idioms are carried out after a thorough reading.
Level: Beginner and Intermediate.
Business in English: This is indeed a very interesting lesson plan in which the exciting events in the business world are discussed whereby the floor is opened for debate as well.
Level: Upper-intermediate – Advanced.
Office Life: Here the students are given an option to experience the office setting in which case the students engage in business writing, negotiations, telephone conversations, and also learn to construct meaningful English sentences and phrases.
Level: Intermediate – Advanced.
Grammar Exercises: Under this plan, various grammar exercises like grammar practice worksheets, grammar stories, and easy grammar exercises are provided to enhance the grammar skills of the individual.
How To Choose The Best ESL School For You
If your friends think that you are a walking version of Wikipedia and keep asking you for definitions, tips, and counseling on all kinds of stuff, here’s a good way to surprise them with some very useful information.
Or, on the contrary, if you are the one planning to study English abroad and are looking for the right information so you don’t feel so lost, you will find below a set of tips that will make your day.
Here’s a list of tips on how to choose the best ESL school for you. There are hundreds of such programs being offered everwhere and for everyone. How can you know if the program suits your needs, or if they will fulfill the contract and not leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere? Just a few steps to follow and no big worries afterwards:
-Define your goals: This is the key issue here. You must be very clear about your objectives, what level of English you want to acquire, how long you are planning to take for that, where you want to go and why. Choosing the right ESL program has nothing to do with the nice colors of the website or the great name the Institute or University has. You are staying in a foreign country where they speak a language you don’t master, and with obvious cultural differences, so you’d better choose a place where you think you’ll feel comfortable.
-Search for local agencies (using your mother tongue): This may sound a bit too logical, but believe me, there are many people who make the mistake of contacting agencies in the “target” language and they can’t understand all the implications of the trip, stay, or contract. A source of bad times is when you don’t understand all the rules of the game.
-Ask all the important questions: Wherever you go they will give you lots of information, flyers, pamphlets, catalogs, and testimonies telling you how wonderful job they do. Just concentrate on the vital things for your trip and life in the foreign country:
• Costs: How much the total program is, how much you need to carry with you; find out if there are extra costs.
• Housing: Is it included in the program? If so, where, and under what conditions?
• Meals: How many meals does the program include a day? (if any) For the whole period?
• Cost of living in general: General information about the cost of things there, just in case you have to stay on your own means for some time.
• Activities and support provided: Will you be alone or become part of a group? Can you do other things apart from studying? Do you have to pay extra for that?
• Extent of health insurance and others: What if you have an accident or need to be admitted into hospital? What if you need an urgent visit to the dentist?
-Establish direct contact here with the person who’s receiving you there at the agency (get all details): Don’t accept a “we’ll contact you there” for an answer. You need to know who to resort to in case of trouble. He/she is going to be the only contact with your mother country at the beginning, so you’d better feel confident about him/her.
-Contact people who have been there: Look for real, live testimonies, not the typical “I went there and my life changed forever” sentence. Find two or three people who have undergone this experience. They are the ones who can give you the best advice on what to do, what to avoid, and what to expect.
There. A few tips to get a nice ESL school and not die in the process. They will be of much use to you as they have been for many people. Now, you can show off among your friends about how clever and well-informed you are, and your popularity will increase for sure.
Now, if you’re preparing that trip to an English-speaking country to learn, you probably feel less insecure about all the aspects to consider. So, follow the tips and good luck there! By the way, remember to check your passport before leaving!
5 Ways To Practice English Without Noticing
Probably the most common sentence in relation to English is: “I simply don’t have time to study”. Said by 9 out of 10 students, it is an excuse they believe firmly and which keeps them content for not making much progress. Mothers complain about lack of time, so do students, executives, secretaries, lawyers, taxi drivers, and every person trying to learn English.
You may not have time to memorize 500 verbs in one day, or have a complete ESL class on the web, or search in the dictionary the meaning of all words beginning with “E”…but there are bits of time here and there that pass unattended, and that can really make the difference, if you know how to use them for your benefit.
Spare time to study? Where???- You may say.
Easy: on your way to (or from) work or school. During some recreational activities, and almost every activity that you perform everyday. Here are a few tricks :
1. Listening to music: On the subway, on the street or wherever you go, you see hundreds of people, earphones on, listening to music. Join them! Pick up your Mp3 player or Ipod, choose a group or singer you like (singing in English, of course) and, there you go. 30 minutes a day will do marvels to your pronunciation and vocabulary. Even better if you get the lyrics of the songs you like (available on the web). Repeat them until you know them by heart. Extra time invested: none.
2. Watching movies: TV, cinema, DVD, everything is valid here. The trick? The movie has to be in English. Start with subtitles in your language, then, as you feel more confident, switch to English. You may be lost at the beginning, but your ear adapts quickly, so be patient. Vocabulary, new expressions and sentence-recognition increasing like by magic. Extra time invested: none.
3. Browsing the web (in English): Ideally, use your browser in English. Do the same with your Facebook, My Space, and MSN accounts. Search for information in English first, then your language. Read the comments in Youtube!. Your vocabulary, common expressions, and sentence structure will stay in your mind without your noticing. Extra time invested: Just the time to switch everything to English.
4. Using TV as background noise: Do your housework, take a relaxing bath, play a game online, or do your paperwork with the TV on…in English (a TV series, a movie, a talk-show, anything will do). The purpose? Familiarizing with an English-spoken environment. Do this exercise daily, and in a week you’ll be recognizing not only words, but complete sentences, which you can easily insert into your already-learnt lexicon. Extra time invested: none.
5. Using the words around you: Switch to English in all the gadgets you use: cell phone, Ipod, laptop, alarm clock, remote control, EVERYTHING. You know how they operate already. Adapting to the new language will be extremely easy. Other options: Read the English version of operation manuals, food content lists, and anything with a readable wrapping on. Important vocabulary is hidden everywhere in these everyday necessities.
So, there you go. All you need is to make good use of the time you’re wasting everyday. Your brain will be working faster, your language will be improving by the minute and your mood will be better, as you will have fun and learn at the same time. No excuse now to stop making progress with your English, don’t you think?
5 Things to Avoid During Your ESL Class
Have you ever wondered why some people don’t seem to make any improvement in their English level? Even though they have been studying for years?
If you asked them, they would probably complain about the teacher, first, then the system (methodology), the schedule, their hearing capabilities, the time, and of course, the language itself. Very few people, not to say, no people at all, would admit that they are responsible to a great extent for their lack of progress when taking on an ESL course.
Why is this so? There are always certain acquired behaviors that prevent you from grabbing all the contents in an ESL program. These are repeated maybe unintentionally, but they do create a specific kind of atmosphere during the class, that would not only bother your teacher and classmates, but also distract you completely from your main goal: learning.
That special kind of atmosphere refers basically to the set of interrumptions and distractors that you can add systematically to your class, and which your classmates (if any) can also add on their parts. The result is usually a class with ups and downs, very few moments of deep concentration, a lot of frustration, and a few exercises to be done more or less successfully.
If asked about the factors taking part in this “sabotage” to your learning, many teachers would be able to pinpoint clearly what these factors are, and they would also agree that these can not only make your learning slower, but they could also prevent it completely. Here is a list of the things that you need to avoid if you want to make the best use of your ESL class.
What to avoid:
- Late arrivals: If your class starts at 8:00, don’t show up at 8:20 or you’ll lose up to 30% of your lesson (60’ class). If you arrive this late every class and you took up a 60 hour-course, how much real benefit are you wasting? You do the math.
- Interruptions: Cell phones can be your worst enemy here. Constant ringing, bleeping, and vibrating distract you considerably. It’s even worse if you answer, because your mind will travel to the issue that originated the call, and stay there, for sure. This is like going out of the room, walking for one block and coming back. How much concentration do you have left when you rejoin the class?
- Ignoring corrections: If the teacher corrects you, apply that correction immediately. There’s no point in saying “OK” and continue with the sentence. “OK” will not replace the term when you need to say something similar again. If the teacher makes you repeat, you repeat. Repeating helps you remember.
- Eluding note-taking: Paper was invented for some reason. There’s a whole mental process behind writing what you need to remember. Your ideas become clearer, more organized, and you have a good memory-helper afterwards.
- Leaving exercises incomplete: Saying: “OK, got it” is not the right way to exercise what you are learning. This is like trying to master a joystick: you need to practice, practice, and practice until the structure and your mind are fully synchronized.
Make sure the next time you attend your ESL class you start applying these tips. Maybe not all of them at the beginning, but do make the effort. You will notice the difference immediately.
As for your phone calls, you usually turn the cell off when in a meeting, why not pretend the class is an important meeting too? Not only your teacher and classmates will be grateful, so will your nervous system, as you will be more in control of your personal life. And your English will probably give you a nice surprise sooner than you think.
English Corner: The Chinese Social Occasion Made for English Students
There are English students eager to practice their skills all over the world. China is not the exception. This wonderful country has amazed the world with its meteoric economic double-digit growth during the past couple of decades, along with a fantastic display of organization and skill during their 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Its accelerating opening to the economies of the rest of the world has made it a necessity for the diligent and ambitious Chinese (this description suits practically the whole population) to acquire at least an acceptable level of command of the English language.
University students in Beijing and other cities are the most interested and motivated to learn and practice. If you happen to be around Beijing, and have some free time, don’t miss the opportunity to cooperate with this interesting group of English students. You will enjoy their company, get an inside look at their culture, and they will be very happy to get practice time with a fellow English student or an English speaker. Almost every university organizes an “English corner” which refers to the practice of getting together every day in a designated “corner” of their campus and basically engaging in a mingling session where they will practice English with anyone they find.
The English corners sessions at Beijing Normal University and Beijing Foreign Studies University, for instance, are quite famous for their crowds and nice international environment. You don’t have to be a university student to attend, so, while the crowds are composed mostly of Chinese students and Chinese people looking to practice English, there are many foreign attendees who are after a nice conversation and ambiance. The mix is cosmopolitan and very interesting; it also makes for a perfect setting to use English in a real-life situation, even though everyone there knows most of the speakers aren’t native or even fluent, which makes it very relaxing.
These kinds of sessions can be found elsewhere in the world, at any ESL school, and are extremely useful and enriching to an ESL or EFL student. English schools in the USA encourage these sorts of gatherings as an integral part of the learning experience.
TOP 4 WEBSITES TO STUDY ENGLISH
“I need the language, but I don’t have the money to pay for a private course”…these are the words that you usually hear from most people when you ask them about their English level. “Why not use the web?”- can be a perfect reply to this. People still don’t seem to be aware of all the good things available on the internet. If you dare to mention the web to them as an option for studying on their own, some might simply look at you, puzzled, waiting for some explanation. “Internet is more than games, news, videos, and chat, you know?”, you could add, so as to give them more information. “There are lots of free courses, exercises, games, and different ways to practice on your own”. This being said, some people might continue looking at you, this time with a “yeah-sure” face…still not getting the picture. What could you do in this case? Give up. Or, to avoid any further objections or displays of disbelief, you could hand them this short list of the best sites to study English for free…They will love it, for sure. In general, there are so many similar websites offering more or less the same, but these are certainly the best available. So, if you or anybody wants to practice out of school/work hours, or wants to have a complete ESL class for themselves and not pay a dime…this is the chance:
WWW.USALEARNS.ORG : Nice website! Carefully graded exercises which include video, audio, clear pronunciation, and simple explanations. When you enroll for a (free!) course you feel like you’re participating in a real class!
WWW.TALKENGLISH.COM : Good for practicing with simple dialogs and pronunciation. The dialogs are integrated in the same page as the explanation, so there’s no need to start downloading, or open a different tab or window. Nice and quick. Good for remembering most common sentences.
WWW.ELLLO.ORG: Yeah, it’s three Ls, not two. This is a special website. It contains podcasts with real, normal speed conversation. The topics are prepared, but the pace and pronunciation are natural, so they become a very good way to train your ear. The website has specific exercises, games, songs, and lots of other activities. You are bound to like it!
WWW.OMPERSONAL.COM.AR: This is the one with the best score. All kinds of exercises, but really meaning ALL KINDS …audio, movies, quizzes, jokes, grammar, pronunciation, and a lot of free courses to start from zero. It also contains a complete list of verbs and verb tenses, and all the material comes with the corresponding translation into Spanish, so finally you know all the time what you’re saying. Simply a must!
It can happen to you that after handing in this little list, the person you gave it to returns and says that he/she is enrolling in a Language School next week…(”group course” and “special ESL program” are usually the words they use). Don’t worry. Maybe he/she will get so enthusiastic about his/her course that he/she won’t pay attention to a word about websites and online exercises…Not even to the part where you said it was for free…Remember, it’s their loss. And don’t start wondering what you’re going to do with those valuable tips…just keep the list at hand. You may find sooner than you think that you have some free time after all, and you could do an exercise or two per day, to at least maintain your English level…better than playing solitaire, of course…Wanna try?
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