Teaching Websites and Resources I use in my own classes

Teaching Resources for ESL Teachers

A quick post about some resources from around the Internet  that I use for my own classes when I'm in need of a bit of inspiration.

Classroom Resources for ESL Teachers

ESL Speaking-  The ultimate site for ESL speaking games and activities, as well as ESL textbook recommendations.

Breaking News English - My go to site for any kind of current events ESL conversation or ESL discussion class. I like the short 2-page mini lessons, but they also have full lesson plans here.

ESL Writing -Also a great site for lesson plans specifically for ESL writing classes. My favorite ones actually are the ESL listening lesson plans, which are perfect for an hour-long class.

Speaking Activities That Don't Suck- Lots of ready-to-go speaking activities and games for ESL classes that you don't have to put a lot of thought into. Perfect if you get a last minute class thrown at you and you're in a bit of a time crunch.

Presentation Expressions -If you teach presentations or public speaking, you'll want to check out this site (and also buy yourself this book: Speaking of Speech: Basic Presentation Skills for Beginners).

Business English Pod -My favorite site for business English and interview preparation. They have paid content, but much of it is free and you can probably get by with just that for your lessons with a bit of preparation by you.

ESL Trivia and Word Puzzles- I love to do a warm-up brain-teaser at the beginning of every class and this is the best book I've found with puzzles and trivia geared specifically to ESL students. The stuff around the Internet either has language that is too difficult or is geared to kids.

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Cigarette Prices in Korea to Double: Lesson Plan

This lesson plan is for a 1.5 hour "News Club" discussion class.  I'm actually excited to talk about it; the topic should be pretty interesting to everyone.

Cigarette Prices Lesson Plan

Student Ridiculousness: a Small Rant

Yesterday, I taught an advanced level class where the students are preparing for internships in various locations around the world.  I'm covering the "general English" portion by doing discussion/listening/reading about various topics (that are interesting to me!) like Korea's aging society or workplace discrimination.

There were only 4 students in class yesterday and three of them were excellent, participating in class and trying to figure out new vocab and phrases and actually thinking about the issue and coming up with some constructive responses.

But, one of the students kept looking at her desk and not really participating, at all.  Her answers consisted almost exclusively of "yes," "no" and "I don't know."  When pressed for more details, she would just giggle.  I casually walked over to check out what she was reading and it was some kind of English grammar book, that was almost all in Korean.  And I thought to myself, how bizarre because it seems to me that her time, in a class of only 4 students, with a native English speaker would be far, far better spent actually interacting with that native speaker and the other students.  Like she's going to America in about 3 months, where she will have to actually interact with real, live English speakers on a daily basis.  I just don't get it.  Like really don't get it.

Check out this book about how to get a University Job in South Korea

The best possible class you could ever imagine

Think about the ideal situation for a class that you could teach.  It's interesting to think about and the reality that most of us find ourselves in is perhaps quite different.  Thankfully, in my current job, most of the classes that I teach meet many of these "ideal class criteria."  And, there are plentiful overtime opportunities at my uni that allow me to choose extra work that I find interesting.

Anyway, here are my top 10 ideal class criteria.  What are yours?

1. Class size= 10-16.  Any less can get boring and become too small if a few people drop-out for whatever reason.  Any larger can be hard to manage sometimes in terms of admin/grading, etc.

2. Student Motivation=high.  This usually is because the class is a voluntary one of some sort.

3. Student age=adults.

4. Class content= not conversation.  Basically anything is more interesting to me than basic conversation, even TOIEC prep classes.

5. Class content=something I haven't taught before.  I like the challenge of it and it's always good to add new courses to the resume.

6. Admin= hands-off.  Ideally, I could teach whatever the students need, however will best help them.  Teaching a certain page on a certain day, or covering a certain amount of material for a test isn't ideal.

7. Class format=structured.  I like lesson plans.  Students like a teacher with a plan.  My worst nightmare is a class which consists of "free-talking."  It's not really a class-it's just a waste of time.

8. Class time=between 10am and 7pm.  Earlier is tough, as is later due to tiredness (students and me!).

9. Book=optional.  It's best if I can choose it myself or design my own.

10. Multimedia.  I teach using various things including: PPT, podcasts, videos, Internet, smartphones, etc.  I would struggle a bit to teach in a classroom not set up for this.

Ideal classes can be found in Korean Universities.  Check out this book about how to get a University Job in South Korea

Minimum Wage in Korea Lesson Plan

This is a speaking/reading lesson plan for advanced level students.  My class is 2 hours but you could adapt it for shorter or longer, especially if the students read the article before coming to class. 

Should the Minimum Wage be Increased lesson plan.  It's based on this article in the Korea Herald.

"Goose Fathers" and Studying Abroad Lesson Plan

This is for a 1.5 hour, advanced level discussion class.  It could be easily adapted into a longer class with some additional activities, such as looking at a relevant Youtube video or listening to a related podcast of some sort.  

Korean students studying abroad lesson plan

North-South Korea Unification Lesson Plan

I just put together a little lesson for my 1.5 hour "news club" discussion group for advanced level students.  I adapted an article from the BBC for length and difficulty.  This topic was a suggestion from one of the students and I also though it would be quite interesting.

North and South Korean Unification Lesson Plan.

If you want to get a University Job in South Korea, check out this book.

Youth Unemployment in Korea lesson plan

A little lesson plan that I made up for my "News and Current Events Discussion Club" that I have at my school.  The students are quite high level.  Youth Unemployment Lesson Plan.

Good days and high-level students

Some days are fabulous at work, and other, well not so much.  Although I really can't complain this semester as I'm mostly teaching 3rd and 4th year English majors who are reasonably good at English and usually do their homework, etc.  Today was one of those really fabulous days.  Even though Friday is my day off, I got asked to do some overtime preparing students for an overseas internship in the USA.  Motivated students/fluent-ish in English/small groups/ high pay/ interview preparation/ business English.  Yes, I will most definitely work on my day off. 

And then after 3 hours doing that, I have a little "News Club" in my school's Global Zone, which basically means that I choose a current events topic or article and discuss it with 4-8 students for 1.5 hours.  An interesting topic of my choice (I use Breaking News English), mostly International Trade/Economics/ law/accounting majors who actually have opinions about things and are good at English?  Yes, I will most certainly do that one too!  I'm thankful to have such good students, especially since I spent a lot of years talking weather and hobbies and family at a very basic level.