Field Notes: ESL Technique, Realia

I was reading the blog the other day, and noticed someone asking about ESL terminology.  Well, that got me to thinking about my own ESL tutoring, and I wanted to share a great technique that always works well for me and my students.

It's "Realia."  In other words, it is "stuff" that I bring to my ESL tutoring session.  Kind of like tutoring props. 

By using real objects during my ESL tutoring, I can help my tutee increase his or her vocabulary, act out English speaking scenarios, and improve his or her conversational skills.  Plus, it gives my students real, actual, tangible things to use when working through sentences and grammar.

A great example of realia I use all the time: travel brochures and play money.  My student and I go through the travel brochures together, and then my tutee chooses where he or she would like to go on vacation.

Then, my tutee tells me how they want to travel (train, ship, airplane, car, etc.), where they want to stay (good for learning basic travel/hotel vocabulary), what time and date they would like to leave and return (great for learning numbers, time, and calender dates), and how they want to pay for the vacation.  If my tutee wants to pay with cash, it gives my tutee a chance to practice counting money in English. All while looking at some great pictures of travel destinations!

Also good is the fact that this kind of realia is easy to travel with, because it folds flat, and is lightweight.  A definite must if, like me, you ride a bike to your tutoring appointments.

So far, I have had a lot of success with this technique, and my students really seem to love it!
Tammy from Eau Claire, WI