Thursday, March 26, 2015

New Teaching Position - Week of March 23



This Week's Worldwide Jobs

The following jobs have been added to the TEFL.com database during the past 7 days. To view the complete announcement, click on the job title link (when online).

Austria 1, Bulgaria 1, Burma/ Myanmar 4, Cambodia 2, China 100 +, Colombia 4, Costa Rica 1, Czech Republic 6, Ecuador 1, Egypt 1, France 5, Germany 8, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 6, Hungary 1, Indonesia (incl. Bali) 14, Italy 35, Japan 9, Kazakhstan 3, Kuwait 3, Kyrgyzstan 1, Malaysia 3, Mexico 1, Morocco 1, Netherlands 2, North Korea 1, Oman 4, Poland 4, Portugal 4, Qatar 2, Romania 1, Russian Federation 24, Saudi Arabia 33, Singapore 3, Slovakia 2, South Korea 7, Spain 31.

Our TESOL Certificate Course can help you secure one of these teaching positions!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Aisle, I'll, or Isle?



Today, I was reading a recipe online and the writer was telling readers where they could find ingredients. She said in one sentence, “You can find it in the isle with the canned fruit.” This is incorrect so I thought this would be a good topic for my blog.  

A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning, and may differ in spelling. 

Aisle, I'll, and Isle...

These three words are often confused and especially for non-native speakers because they are all pronounced the same but have completely different meanings.

The noun aisle refers to a passageway or to a part of a church divided from the nave. For example, the aisle of a movie theatre or airplane.

“Would you like a window or an aisle seat?”

I'll is the contracted form of I will or I shall.

I’ll see you tomorrow!”

The noun isle refers to an island or a peninsula, especially a small one.
“The movie was filmed on the Isle of Capri.”

Circle the correct answer quiz: 

1. (Aisle – Isle – I’ll) be there by ten o’clock.

2. Look in (aisle – isle – I’ll) number three near the vegetable section.

3. Our flight goes to the (Aisle – Isle – I’ll) of Mann on Friday morning.

4. Okay, (aisle – isle – I’ll) speak to the teacher about Sam.

5. (aisle – isle – I’ll) be right back, Sue!

6. Someone dropped their ticket in the (aisle – isle – I’ll).

Dr Robert

Look for the answers in my next post...

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Exploding Text!

Exploding Texts
 
Taking short bits of texts and expanding them in different ways is a fun activity that will help students improve both their grammar and creative writing skills.

Here is an example of an exploding, telescoping or expanding text:

He is a boy.

He is a nice boy.


He is a nice boy who comes from London.


He is the nice boy from London who helped me with my project.


He is the nice boy from London who helped me with my science project.


He is the nice boy from London who helped me get an A on my science project.


Source: http://esl.about.com

Monday, March 9, 2015

7 Useful ESL Websites Every Professional ESL Teacher Should Have Bookmarked

For teachers looking for useful ESL websites with educational material to use in the classroom, we want to provide some links to help you increase your productivity in 2015!

1. ISLCollective.com

ISLCollective.com, a site financed by donation only, offers a huge user-fed database of ready-to-rock lesson plans with colorful pictures and illustrations. Free registration and a fast search interface make it a great site to frequent when you need supplemental material or a last-minute lesson.

2.  breakingnewsenglish.com

Breaking News English features a new lesson every two days on – you guessed it – a breaking news story. A story scales a variety of difficulties (word counts) with a staggering 26-page PDF version or a two-page mini lesson version. You can also find listening (various speeds and accents), vocabulary and spelling quizzes.

3. ITESLJ.ORG

Discussion questions out the ying-yang for conversation classes
This site has other lessons but the true jackpot is the bonanza of general discussion questions for conversation classes here. Each topic has well over 15 questions to burn up any one-hour conversation class without a problem. Copy, paste, print, ask, discuss, correct, class finished.


4. yourenglishsource.com

Discussion questions out the ying-yang for conversation classes
This site has other lessons but the true jackpot is the bonanza of general discussion questions for conversation classes here. Each topic has well over 15 questions to burn up any one-hour conversation class without a problem. Copy, paste, print, ask, discuss, correct, class finished.


5. busyteacher.org

Another community-contributing powerhouse
Another mind-blowing compilation of print & teach lesson plans. Look in their “More” menu for some unique things like a word search maker, flash card builder and other ESL website reviews. They advertise their own premium content a lot but still there is so much for free, Who cares?


6. usingenglish.com

Perfect for bringing fresh current events into your classroom activities
Beggars can’t be choosers. Well, here they can! Every idiom under the sun is cataloged for search with a simple regular English definition for students. Teachers can compile handouts like idioms used in Australia or idioms about animals. Plus you can use the site’s keyword search to access what you like.


7. englishvideo.com

Listening practice made fun and interesting for students of all levels
This site plays a YouTube video and provides a multiple choice quiz right beside the video. Submit answers and the site returns a score instantly. Register and create your own quizzes with online video content. Your students can email you their results right from the website also.



For more information on any of these sites, click on the links shown above or go to:


http://yourenglishsource.com/useful-esl-websites/

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Whenever vs. When Ever



It’s interesting that two-word phrases like “any place,” “a lot,” and “all right” are often squeezed into nonstandard one-word forms like anyplace, alot, and alright, but one-word wherever is often written incorrectly as “when ever.”

As a relative conjunction introducing a conditional clause, whenever means “at whatever time, no matter when.” 

Here are some examples in which whenever is used correctly:
Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.—Mark Twain

Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go.—Oscar Wilde.

Whenever I turn on my computer, the screen says “Monitor going to sleep.”
Here are examples of whenever incorrectly written as two words:

Incorrect: Journalists are like dogs, when ever anything moves they begin to bark.
Correct : Journalists are like dogs, whenever anything moves they begin to bark.
Incorrect: She smiles at me when ever I see her.

Correct : She smiles at me whenever I see her.
Incorrect: The computer crashes when ever I try to game.

Correct : The computer crashes whenever I try to game.
The words when and ever are written separately when the sense is “when, if ever?” 

Here are some examples of when ever used correctly:

When ever will you get over your fear of cats?
When ever will you have this chance again? 
When ever will they learn to not put stuff up there?
When ever did these feelings start? 
When ever are you going to clean the house?
When, Ever, Is a Murderer Anything but a Murderer?
If your intended meaning is “every time that,” write whenever

Monday, March 2, 2015

Hundreds of New Teaching Jobs Posted!



This Week's Worldwide Jobs – March 2, 2015

Where is the need for English teachers the greatest? Look at how many China needs right now! Also check out Indonesia, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Spain...

Austria 1, Brazil 1, Bulgaria 1,  Burma 2, Cambodia 2, China 100+, Colombia 2, Cyprus 2, Czech Republic 9, Ecuador 1, France 4, Georgia 1, Germany 5, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 5, Hungary 2, India 1 Indonesia 17, Ireland 2, Italy 34, Japan 10+, Kazakhstan 4, Kosovo 1, Kuwait 2, Kyrgyzstan 1, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 2, Malaysia 1, Mexico 1, Myanmar 1, Netherlands 1, Oman 3, Poland 1, Portugal 5, Qatar 2, Romania 3, Russian Federation 13, Saudi Arabia 21, Singapore 5, Slovakia 3, South Korea 5, Spain 42, Taiwan 1.

What a great opportunity to travel, learn a new language, a new culture and help hundreds...many be thousands of students and adults learn to communicate in English!

Start with our TESOL or TEFL course: http://www.teachesl.org/tesol.html

Four to six weeks from now, you could be on your way overseas!