Leslie Said:

I am a high school esl teacher,piease what are the best topics for esl conversational classes?

We Answered:

The important thing is for the students to want badly to express what they are thinking, so they forget about translating and just try to talk in the foreign language. To do that, you have to choose stuff that matters to THEM. Why not have a class where they generate 40 topics they would like to be able to talk about and you write them on the board. Then each class you bring related vocabulary and conversation is on one of their topics.

Another way is to have them cut a story from the newspaper each day, and discuss the story or its topic.

Another is to do show and tell, and have people bring in something to talk about--an obsidian rock from their vacation spot, a fishing rod, their iPod, etc.

Try word games that require complete sentences, like the one where you sit in a circle and tell a story, each person contributing one sentence and passing the story to the person on the right. This can be hilarious. "Gossip" is also a good game, since it encourages good pronunciation.
Enjoy!

Linda Said:

What does a high school ESL class in the US look like?

We Answered:

Our students come to ESL class every other day as an elective. The classes are divided first by grade and then by a combination of ability level and mother tongue. A typical class might have three students from Korea, two students from Iran and one from China, all of whom speak very little English and all of whom are in the same grade. The time in the class is used to support them in their other academic subjects, which is why the teacher-student ratio is never more than 1:8 (and it's usually closer to 1:5). Students use the tutorial time to do their classwork (which takes longer because of the linguistic barriers) and get help from the teacher (who has to be familiar with both the English language and the curriculum in each class at that grade level). The types of things you would teach in an EFL course (abroad) like grammar and pronunciation appear infrequently and usually in one-on-one instruction, not whole-class instruction.

Approximately 25% of the students in my school are ESL, and all academic subjects (save foreign language immersion programs) are taught exclusively in English.

Julie Said:

Fun classroom games for middle school ESL students?

We Answered:

I'm looking for the same thing ~ I teach ESL for middle school students as well. I've found that they really like Hangman and 7-up (even though it has nothing to do with English).

Julian Said:

Is it better to go to graduate school for ESL or to just to get a TEFL certification?

We Answered:

In general you'll need a degree and a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate to get a visa and work.

The degree can be in almost any subject as it is usually required for the visa only so you will find teachers with a degree in Engineering or Sociology. Having said this, to help get the job it's obviously better to be English or language related, for example a degree in English literature.

The TEFL certificate can be taken either in-house or online at your own pace which is a much cheaper option (see http://icalweb.com).

Melissa Said:

I'm subbing for high school ESL long term & need names of chapter book that would be good for them.?

We Answered:

The Book of Mormon, Third Nephi, it tells about Jesus Christ and His great love for all people, especially wonderful people like you!

Sonia Said:

What is best school for esl certificate?

We Answered:

A 100-hour online TESOL/TEFL certificate would get you an entry-level job in China and almost anywhere in the world.
CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL, and TESL Canada are the most reputable accrediting institutions of TESOL/TEFL courses because many colleges and universities offer their courses and because they include teaching practice.

Allan Said:

Brand new middle school ESL student, any suggestions on integrating her into the classroom?

We Answered:

when I was in middle school our country was flooded with
refugees from Laos and other asian countries.
my teacher asked for student volunteers to team up with
the new student , she would give us a hall pass and we would
walk around the school pointing out objects or people doing things and we would tell them what it was and have the new student repeat it.
Here is an example I would point at a door knob and say door knob and I would have the new student repeat the word.
Teaming the students up together also helps create a friendship bond that helps the new student to become a part of their new environment.