ESL Resources for Teachers

Countless ESL resources for teachers are inputted into the widest electronic library to help make things easier for the educators. Teaching English has started to get more in demand since the concept of globalization erupted. However, though they are carefully conceptualized and creatively designed, all of them may not address the students' needs.

Prior Knowledge

Activities that tap the students' prior knowledge should be preferred. This makes the lesson much easier and more stimulating for them. For example, teaching the concept of family members to young learners can be facilitated with a traditional story, a fun comic strip or a popular anime about family. Letting them remember the months of the year can be linked to holidays in their own country.

One common mistake foreign English speakers bring into the classroom is they focus too much on their own culture. Though sharing it feeds the students' curiosity, it doesn't have to be teacher-centered all the time. The key to effective teaching is to know who your students are - from their conversational topics to their major issues.

Meaningful Repetitions

Many ESL resources for teachers encourage interesting ways of teaching vocabulary. Drilling, language modelling and reading lists are too exhausting and ineffective for students. Teachers must therefore initiate activities that are memorable enough for new words to be registered in the long-term memory.

Resources on how to implement thematic approach are quite useful as they state ways on how to have meaningful repetitions in the classroom. For example, in teaching food and restaurant lessons, the students can have a food shopping game or a survey of the most popular dish. In continuation, they can have a cooking class. This opportunity will also let them be familiarized with kitchen utensils, basic cooking terms and different ingredients.

Teachers' Development

Continuous professional development should be part of the entire package. Teachers must keep themselves abreast with the latest curriculum updates, teaching pedagogies and modern strategies. Since teaching ESL is a dynamic profession, experts have continually conducted studies and developed techniques that aid educators in the classroom.

Fortunately, many of them are readily available at your fingertips. Teachers must not miss them to enhance their knowledge and improve their skills. Whether it's just a one-hour online video on correct pronunciation through mouth formation or an e-book on the roles of native and non-native English speaking teachers, it can still help in simplifying lessons for the class.

Indeed, the Internet offers free instructional materials and significant ideas that are readily available in just a few clicks. What just needs to be done is to critically determine how useful, effective and applicable these ESL resources for teachers are to ensure maximum learning.