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So here's another example of a short paragraph story which I've used to teach pronunciation of the past tense in English using regular verbs. Admittedly, it takes some thought to write one of these but the effort is worth it since the learners seem to enjoy this form of grammar in context. Normally, a passage would contain a mix of both regular and irregular verbs in English. However, when practicing the -ed, -d, -ded, and -ted endings pronunciation, these types of exercises can prove to be invaluable. A short paragraph story of this type is much more difficult to pronounce and causes the speaker to intently focus on the past tense verb endings. Try them, you'll see.
A Pacific Coast Trip
I talked to my family in the United States last week. They wanted to hear about when I traveled to the rain forest. My wife and I excursioned from Buenaventura and departed by boat. First we slipped and stumbled down a gangplank that tipped as we boarded the cargo ship. The vessel bobbed, rocked and ...

I hear that question very often. What I would like to ask you though is, what are you are prepared to do about it? How far are you willing to go? I mean how badly do you want it? How badly do you need it? The truth is most English learners don't.
But first, what is native-like English? Is it just good pronunciation? Is it mastering a certain English accent? Is it fluency? What is it exactly? Well, let us keep it simple and agree that native-like English is the level of proficiency at which you can communicate in the language at least as well as you do in your own mother-tongue. Assuming that you do not suffer from any speech impediments or brain damage, you are able to speak and understand English effortlessly in any situation that does not require expert knowledge in the subject matter.
Defining native-like proficiency in a foreign language seems to be quite complex, hence controversial. For me, however, it is rather straightforward. How do I know when someone speaks English like a ...

Okay, so you have read about Task Based Learning and you have been swayed at least enough to give it a go? Next step is planning your first TBL lesson and funnily enough, that's what's on the menu today!
Planning your lesson:
Okay, so before we get into the nitty gritty, it's important to understand that we are still after the same outcomes as with traditional teaching (PPP), so there is no need to throw the baby out with the bath water. We're not starting from scratch here.
What we are trying to do is move away from the traditional style of repetitive learning, which is not as useful for language learning, and move towards a style of learning where the students have to interact with each other, using the English that they have, in order to complete the task.
In running a class this way, you may have to deal with a couple of new things that you aren't used to.
That said, let's get in there and plan the lesson!
Step 1: Start mashing.
Traditionally, using PPP you'll operate in a linear ...

Believe it or not, teaching hasn't changed much in the last couple of hundred years.
The standard approach to teaching, relatively unchanged over the years, has been dubbed PPP or 'Presentation, Practice and Production'.
This is where I first show you what to do, so that you can see the skill being done competently. Then I'll slowly walk you through it while you do it, so that you can get some physical practice of the skill, while having me there to guide.
Then you'll practice the skill, and come back to me for feedback, and eventually, with enough practice, you'll move into production, where you're fully competent with the skill being learned.
Now I don't know about you, but if you said that sounds pretty good, and what's the problem, you'd be right!
Well, kinda right, but kinda wrong too.
You see, just like some foods just don't go together very well (haggis and ice cream for instance), also some teaching methods don't go together with some skills.
If I'm teaching you a physical ...

Students face many problems from study side. At starting, it’s about their career, then college, exams, placement, interview etc. But the biggest two problems are: which career to select and how to give interviews. No one gives coaching for these things. These things are to be done by the students only.
Many students have problems about their careers. They can’t choose their career easily. Sometimes, they select a wrong career and they have to pay for that wrong decision. A wrong decision can spoil life too. Though many students are willing to crack bank exams and make that field as their career.
To select right career, go for a career aptitude test. Whether your age is 16 or 60, no age is late for this test. Only choosing the right career can help you in succeeding in life.
After selecting career, the biggest next challenge is interview during placement. Students clear technical exam but face problem at the final step.
Interview tricks:
Find everything about the company, to which you ...

According to a 2006 report by the Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Culture, Science and Education in France, "ilingual education based on the mother tongue is the basis for long-term success." Citing many of the known and accepted benefits of bilingualism and biliteracy, the Committee makes the case that bilingual education should be supported whenever possible, to help minorities retain their native language - and moreover increase their potential for higher levels of academic achievement in the process.
Concerns that children who grow up with two languages will either fall behind academically because of it, or are at risk of not mastering either language well, have largely been disproved by research, the committee stated.
"The language which is the vehicle of instruction has a crucial role in that command of it is the key to classroom communication and consequently to pupils' acquisition of knowledge. A great deal of research has confirmed that types of education based on the ...

Today's 21st century learning skills require new and different abilities than were required 5 or 10 years ago. Our economy will be in jeopardy if we do educate our students in current 21st century skills.
Are we in the same place we were 5 years ago? Are we teaching how to properly email when most of our students are instant messaging? Are we adapting our 21st Century skills knowledge to a changing world?
Are we focusing on what we really need to focus on, which are critical thinking skills, and how to ask questions that require answers from several resources?
Are we teaching content instead of how to locate relevant accurate content? Are we creating groups in our class just for checking off on our teacher evaluation, "Yes I did that."
In reality groups are for our students to learn how to collaborate with others. Not just in their classroom, but across the globe.
We do not know what the next careers will be. We do not know where they will be or the job description. But we do know ...

Benjamin Bloom's Levels of Taxonomy was created for educators to plan effective instruction. Using the levels during lesson planning and creating assessments assists the teacher in reaching all modalities of learning.
Using Bloom's Taxonomy's helped me understand how thinking was classified. There were certain areas I wanted to reach when teaching a concept and the classifications or taxonomy helped direct my questioning techniques.
To direct the questioning of my lessons, I created questions from the verbs in the taxonomy classifications. If I wanted high, complex questioning I would use words from the analysis, synthesis and evaluation areas.
I always wanted my students to think deeper, use problem solving skills, discuss with peers and seek further information on the concept to be learned.
In my opinion, the foundational idea would be for students to learn a concept using Bloom Taxonomy's and transfer that knowledge to other concepts.
· Understand-Explain ideas/concepts
· ...

Oh no! My child is not reading on grade level! Is it their vocabulary? Vocabulary is essential to comprehending what is read. Is this hurting my child's comprehension? Learning how to read is essential to be successful in school and to achieve anything in life. Whether a child decides to attend a 4-year college, community college, technical college, or go into the military, reading is necessary.
So you ask, what is vocabulary, really? It is knowledge of a word that not only implies a definition, but also how the word fits into the world. As a parent, your child should be adding from 2,000 to 3,000 words each year to their reading vocabulary, according to Michael Graves, Vocabulary Book Learning and Instruction. I know you are thinking, WOW, how are they going to do that?
This would include words such as do, did, does, etc. That counts as three words. These are called word families.
There is a correlation between word knowledge and reading comprehension. If a student doesn't understand ...

Teaching English as a second language doesn’t have to be difficult at all. With the invention of modern technological facilities, life has been made much easier for language instructors. In the short discussion, we will be looking at how to make use of technology in ESL classrooms.
Our aim as English as a second language instructor is to help our students enjoy learning English so as to become effective speakers.
There are a few ways you can teach ESL with the aid of technology and achieve this:
 
1. Games
 
Everyone loves games. The old, the young, men and women are love playing games. This is because, games are usually associated with fun and anything “fun” stimulates the human mind. As an ESL instructor, there are now computer based games that focus on different aspect of English language which ranges from accent to spelling to correct applications, grammar and construction of sentences. When people are exposed to games that have been pre-programmed to achieve a specific goal, they ...