Click here for presentation handout: Hidden Grammar Handout TESOL 19 There’s more to grammar than discrete rules about verb tenses, articles, and modals. When we channel Diane Larsen’s Freeman’s view of language as a complex, adaptive system, we can start to see grammar as any system of organization, […]
We may assume that our conversations are spontaneous, but the truth is speakers fall into patterns. We especially fall into these conversational grooves in situations that we experience over and over. The patterns exist because they are comfortable and allow us to connect with each other along easy […]
Thunder claps, lightning strikes, and rain begins to fall as Jane and Margaret approach the bus stop. They are two students, one a model child with good grades, the other a bit of a misfit who doesn’t clean her room or get her homework done on time. But […]
Summarizing often feels like one of the hardest skills for ESOL students to master (and for ESOL teachers to teach). Some of this may happen because we expect too much from students too soon. There are many strategies out there to teach summarizing, but in the end, it […]
We love our daily work teaching students and writing, but every once in a while we get a chance to stop and feel very grateful for our decision to become English language teachers. This burst of gratitude happened to us last week when we had the opportunity […]
A monologue is a short speech given by a character in a play. Sometimes the character is alone in a room, but not always. Because a monologue is designed to be spoken, not read, it is an ideal text for working on pronunciation and intonation in meaning-driven ways. […]
“Language is about managing relationships,” said Stephen Pinker in a 2007 TED talk entitled What our Language Habits Reveal, and in his presentation, Pinker points out that to socialize, you have to satisfy two conditions, “You have to convey the actual content,” and “You want to express the […]
In both theatre and English language classrooms, participants investigate language, work to achieve interpersonal goals and improve through rehearsal or practice. Consequently, it may be helpful for teachers to take a page from the director’s playbook when it comes to supporting students’ efforts to ‘perform’ successfully. One […]
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey dumped a trillion gallons of water on Houston, Texas. Familes were separated, homes were flooded, and people were stranded on rooftops and in attics. Houston was not the only city affected that year. Around the world coastal cities coped with devasting floods, and people […]
What if it turns out we are taking language much too seriously? In Language Play, Language Learning, Guy Cook writes about play as education or training. Play teaches skills and flexibility, he writes, and in human society, it helps people create and maintain socially agreed on rules. Games […]
