After a long absence I am back to the blog. In fact, I am piecing together a series of articles for the new esl teacher or tutor. I plan to offer practical advice and information for the rookie tutor or teacher to handle their new esl students individually or in a classroom setting. There is more to teaching than putting together a lesson plan, as you may have or most likely will soon find out. Anytime you are mixing more than one culture together and trying to communicate, there will be complications. These do not have to be negative complications, but a new tutor or teacher would be wise to be aware of them and have a plan to overcome them.

General themes of the articles that you can expect to see here in the coming days and weeks will be “What they didn’t tell you when you signed on”, “Classroom management”, “How to teach”, “Happiness is when we all get along”, and Resources and Checklists.

Hopefully you will tune in to see what I am sharing and please feel free to add your own experiences and advice in the comments.

Talk to you soon!

Technorati Tags: classroom management, esl teaching, esl tutoring, teaching resources

The more people to contribute to a site like this, the better it gets, so I encourage you to go there now and see what you can give and take to this site, ESL Handouts.

Technorati Tags: esl curriculum, esl resources, esl tutor, esl tutoring

What is even more incredible about this is that the service is offered absolutely FREE! From the owner herself, Diane , we have the following information:

1. Tutors can sign up for free or for a paid, premium membership with more exposure ($29/year).

2. Basic tutor listing are limited to listing availability for one subject, but premium tutors can list as many subjects as they cover.

3. Students and/or their parents search for tutors for free on the site, and ther is no need for anyone to sign up–just search for a tutor and click “Contact this Tutor”.

4. All tutors get leads from students via email.

5. Tutors can work face to face or online, and they negotiate their own rates and don’t have to pay TutorMatch anything. TutorMatch is not involved after the lead is passed on to the tutor.

Now, this sounds like a pretty good deal to me. For free or a minimal expense you have an opportunity to expand your business to anywhere in the world. Does it sound like a good opportunity to you too? I signed up myself today.

Let me hear your input on this. Take charge of your ESL tutoring business, and have fun!

a

If

Technorati Tags: esl tutoring

This is good advice for whatever you teach. If you are running out of ideas or a class is especially difficult, it is tempting to want to talk about anything or teach anything to just fill in time. However, you really do need to stop and consider why you are teaching what you are. Reannon goes through a list of 10 songs that we typically learn as children in our own native speaking culture, but that really do not seem to have a real purpose for an ESL tutoring session. It is important to then collect as many ideas and resources BEFORE entering a classroom or tutoring situation so you can draw upon them when you need to fill in time. She gave a list of 7 children songs that she thinks are relevant and the lessons that they teach. Feel free to borrow these ideas as useful tools for your own resource collection. They are the following:

1. The Hokey Pokey (In/Out, Body Parts)
2. Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
3. The Walking Song (Actions)
4. The Rainbow Song (Colors)
5. The Colors of Our Clothes (Colors, Clothing)
6. The Hello/How Are You Song (Greetings)
7. One Little, Two Little, Three Little Fingers

If you are like me, you may not know all of these songs, but understand the idea behind it and can think of others I could use in my own tutoring situations.

I guess one of the main points of all preparations and resources is to have fun and don’t be afraid to get a little crazy. Kids will love you for it, and it will help you be a little more free and creative in all your other teaching exploits.

If you want to follow along with more of what Rannon’s blog has to say, you can track her at http://reannon-takenbythewind.blogspot.com/2008/06/when-wheels-on-bus-have-long-since.html .

Technorati Tags: esl for children, esl resources, esl tutoring

By now you may have taken a peek at the You Tube videos and other brief questions and answers that have been posted on this blog, and many of them deal with the topic of teaching and managing children. (If you haven’t looked at some of the other posted materials, I highly encourage you to do so.) A lot of esl tutoring is about teaching children, so it is very important that you prepare yourself for doing this.

Many times people who try their hand at ESL tutoring prefer to work with adults. Especially for the many that have no children of their own yet, the fear of working with energetic and easily distracted students keeps them from realizing the incredible rewards that teaching children can offer.

Once again, ESL guru George Stocker, in his article “Teaching ESL to Children” offers some great tips for that very subject.

When working with children, it may seem that they have no attention span at all. It is important to be patient, playful, and remember that children are NOT simply short adults. Stocker recommends to:

1. Involve children in hands-on activities. From my own personal experience working with children, I agree that the best learning takes place by getting the student up and out of their chair—singing songs and playing games.
2. It is also important to avoid talking for long periods of time. This is a sure way to put the kids to sleep. When sleeping, they do not learn.
3. Keep the children talking to you and others, working in groups is a good idea. If you are in a private ESL tutoring situation, you can still make this work by actively engaging the student in conversation.
4. Review. Do this in many ways and forms. Quizzes, games, and other activities can make review seem like fun.
5. Make sure that the student feels safe to make a mistake without judgment. This is especially true with cultures that do not allow a student to make a mistake without feeling shame.

If you are a new ESL tutor or one with experience, it is still a good idea to review these tips and analyze your own tutoring techniques to see if anything needs to be adjusted.

Working with children who speak your language is already exhausting, so it is even more of a mental and physical drain to take on ESL tutoring jobs with children. In my own personal experience, however, I have found that ESL tutoring and teaching with children has made me feel rewarded and loved, and made the whole career worthwhile. No one can show enthusiasm and love for your efforts like a child, and you are certain to see amazing progress along the way.

You can read more of Stocker’s article at http://EzineArticles.com/?Teaching-ESL-to-children&id=99735 and get more ideas from his website www.esl-storybooks.com .

Technorati Tags: esl teaching, esl tutor, esl tutoring

Today I approach the topic of ESL tutoring from a different perspective.  Instead of information on how to set up your business or get started, I have an article giving an idea for how to teach your classes.  If you find this article interesting and want to apply the principles to your own tutoring methods, I encourage you to also take a look at the product advertised to the right of this blog.  The book can be an invaluable resource for you to create some role-plays and meaningful conversations.  Here is the article–enjoy!

An article by George Stocker entitled “ESL Role-Play” talks about how using role plays can make learning a language less frustrating when trying to make a transition from the classroom to real-life situations.  While books are an excellent resource for vocabulary that is relevant for the “real world”, role-plays allow students to practice in a non-threatening environment with different personalities that they may encounter outside the four walls of the classroom.

Stocker gives some excellent ideas that an ESL tutor or teacher can use to create a role-play around.  Lovers’ problems, traveling, and debates on current affairs and politics are classic favorites.  No matter what the topic chosen, however, Stocker has the following useful tips:

1.      The more engaging the better.  It is suggested to prepare for the role-plays by assigning students personality cards and have mini practice sessions before the actual event.

2.      Sketch out the various routes the debate could take so that you can avoid surprises and know how to help guide discussions

While role-plays take more effort and imagination to play out, they are well worth the effort.  They can last half an hour, an hour, or even extend a whole year.  Students tend to remember what they learn a lot more, gain valuable skills in communicating in a foreign language, and have fun.  Often the lesson follows the students outside the building as well.

As an ESL and academic tutor myself, I find that the lessons that keep the students most engaged and interested are the ones that take a little more planning and imagination from myself, but also make the student believe they are spending so much time and money learning a language for a reason—to communicate effectively who they really are and what they believe in.  Mere grammar lessons make language learning a very dull process indeed.

I believe Mr. Stocker did an excellent job offering this suggestion for ESL tutoring and teaching.  You can read the whole article and get links to other of his materials at the following site: http://EzineArticles.com/?ESL-Role-Play&id=99731  His website is www.efl-esl.com

Technorati Tags: esl tutoring

A tutor should be patient.  Students only progress at the rate at which they progress.  Even if you are bored silly, you must stay with a topic as long as the student stays engaged with it.  Also, students may be late, not diligent to study, or other things that will test your patience.

A tutor should be flexible.  Not every student learns the same way.  You will have to learn a variety of ways to teach a concept.  Also, sometimes you may have to take a student at a time that is not very convenient to your own schedule.

A tutor should be curious.  If you still have the desire to learn, you will transfer your curiosity to your students and they will learn much more.

A tutor should be empathetic.  A lot of ESL tutoring is based on relationship.  There are many struggles ahead for the ESL student as they learn a language and just live life.  You are bound to become a person they confide in.

A tutor should be intelligent.  Even if you aren’t as educated as some of the people you tutor, you will have to appear competent in your field to be respected and well paid.

A tutor should be cooperative.  You will be more successful if you help other students and teachers be successful.  Share your ideas and resources.

A tutor should be knowledgeable.  Never stop learning or getting more materials and ideas for your students.  New methods and resources are being developed all the time.  Be on the cutting edge of your field!

A tutor should be enthusiastic.  Whatever you are, your students will follow.  If you look bored, they will be too.

A tutor should be resourceful.  Use the internet, use others, use books, use your own ideas.

A tutor should be genuine.  Don’t pretend to be someone you are not.  Your students need to learn from you, not a phony.  Don’t keep students that you are not compatible with.

I hope this list gives you some food for thought.  ESL tutoring is very rewarding and can be as interesting as you make it.  Consider carefully if you think this is the career for you, and then go for it.  You can do it!

Technorati Tags: esl teacing, esl tutor, esl tutoring

I have been a self-employed academic and ESL tutor for over 10 years. I love the freedom that being self-employed allows. I have a 2-year-old daughter and tutoring allows me to schedule clients around taking care of her. As an ESL tutor, you have the chance to set your own schedule and priorities. If you live in an area where there are a lot of international students, you should not have much trouble finding your place in the marketplace.

Of course, if you are considering being an ESL tutor, I am assuming that you are qualified. Mostly, this means that you speak English—usually a native speaker for the big bucks. You should have a good grasp of grammar and pronunciation. There are thousands of resources that you can buy or even get for free online to help you with your lesson plan ideas, etc, so experience as a teacher of some kind is not absolutely necessary, but always helpful. In some situations you may need a TOEFL certificate or similar, but for private ESL tutoring, being available and willing to learn is really all you need.

One idea to begin marketing yourself is to make up some inexpensive business cards (use Vista Print or even design your own) and find places where international students hang out. Pass out cards, put up some posters, and see if you can get a couple of clients this way. This seriously works. When I wanted to build up a client base in my town I did this very thing. Within a day I had two people interested. From them, word began to spread by word of mouth and within a year I was able to quit my other job and work as a tutor. This is in a town that is saturated with English language schools and tutoring organizations.

Do your research, of course. Find out what the average tutoring rate is, what your competition is, etc. Some people also find success advertising in other ways. In the article, “Teaching ESL to Adults: Advertising and Growing an ESL Tutoring Business” , by Debra Garcia, she mentions that she only advertises on craisglist.org when she needs a new student. If you want to take out an ad in the local paper or business directories, those are also options you can use. However, I found that getting clients the low budget way is just as effective as paying. Remember, students needing ESL tutoring may not have the ability to research local papers the same way a native speaker would.

Hopefully this gives you a few ideas to start with when trying to build your own ESL tutoring business. You can get more ideas from the above mentioned Debra Garcia from her blog “Teaching ESL to Adults” at http://www.esl-tutor.com . Good luck!

Technorati Tags: esl tutoring