May 26 is National Paper Airplane Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a paper airplane classroom competition! It’s a great way to teach comparatives and superlatives in ESL because it gets students to actually use the language……
The Endless Struggle To Pronounce -ED Endings in ESL Students of Latin-based languages (Portuguese, French, Italian and Spanish) often have trouble pronouncing -ED endings correctly. For these learners, the word “stopped” is pronounced ‘stop-ed.’ Why I Wrote The Pizza Pets…
They really do grow up fast, don’t they? One minute they’re walking awkwardly into class on the first day of school, and the next, the year’s over and they’re a completely different kid. The last days of school are a…
English verb tenses can be pretty cloudy, especially those “perfect” tenses, which are anything but perfect. It’s no wonder our students struggle with them. They mix forms, forget structures, and often feel like they’ll never be able to see them…
A classroom economy is one of the simplest ways to improve behavior, build real-life skills, and get students more invested in your classroom. When it’s done well, it doesn’t feel like “another system.” It just becomes part of how your…
When your students keep mixing up borrow vs. lend, they’re not just being careless—it’s actually a language pattern. Many languages—such as Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, and Mandarin—use one word to mean both “borrow” and “lend.” So when students speak English, they’re…
A classroom cookbook project is a delicious way to celebrate cooking, culture, and community. By sharing recipes, students are creating something meaningful that reflect their diverse backgrounds and personal experiences, . The result? A keepsake project that builds community and…
I often consult my tarot cards when I need to gain insight or make decisions. So imagine my excitement when I realized that tarot cards could also work well as an ESL speaking activity. Woot! Tarot cards are a novelty…
The 30-Day English Challenge is designed to improve your speaking, writing, vocabulary and reading, and boost your confidence and fluency. By completing a simple language task every day for 30 days, you’ll be on your way to better English… fast!…
My students know will and going to are both used for future tenses. But it’s often a challenge for them to choose the best one when speaking. Rather than focusing on forms, I’ve found it more important to focus on…
