Field Notes: The radio as an ESL learning tool

The radio has been around for a long time, and yet I feel as though it is one of the most overlooked learning tools for ESL students and ESL tutors.

I often ask my students to tune in to the radio in between tutoring sessions.  Why?  A lot of reasons!

1. The radio is an excellent way to pick up new ESL vocabulary.  This is especially true if your ESL students tune in and listen to a talk radio station such as NPR.

2. The radio is an excellent way for ESL students to listen to conversations in English in between tutoring sessions.  Being able to hear normal to fast-paced dialogue is great practice for the real world.

3. Exposure to conversational English is also a winner when it comes to learning about culture.  Music, jokes, topics of conversation, and holiday talk can all be great help to the ESL tutee who wants to learn more about the culture in which he or she is living.  Ask your tutees to bring a radio discussed topic or two with them to the next ESL tutoring session.

4. Music is a fantastic way to learn English.  Have you ever heard a catchy tune in an unfamiliar language?  Try it sometime.  I guarantee, after several listens, you will be singing along in another language!  With the help of a dictionary, frequently sung words suddenly go from being a mystery to being part of your ESL student's vocabulary.

The next time you get together with your students for ESL tutoring, bring up the radio idea.  It is fun, and your students are guaranteed to love it!

Tammy (again) from WI :)

Field Notes: ESL Tutor Field Trips

I recently returned from a field trip that I took with a few of my ESL tutees, and I just had to share my great experience with my fellow tutors!

I tutor a small group of ESL students in very beginning English.  We're still working on basic vocabulary and grammar, and I am always looking for ways to keep the ESL tutoring fresh and fun.  I know how boring ESL can get, as I was an ESL student many, many years ago. 

Anyway, a while back, I wrote in this blog about realia, and the fun of bringing "stuff" into your ESL tutor sessions.  Well, yesterday I took that a step further, and 3 of my students and I took a trip to the local farmers market.  It was great, and we had a blast!

The benefits of planning out an ESL field trip like this were many.  It gave my ESL tutees:

1) The opportunity to practice their vocabulary with the vendors.  Buying fruits, vegetables, and other items allowed my students the opportunity to brush up on (and practice) their vocabulary.  They were able to practice known words while picking up new words and phrases.  I made sure that each of them had their vocabulary books with them so that they could write down the new words and phrases.

2) A chance to practice their conversational skills and grammar in a casual social setting.  Being able to converse with one another in English, talk to the farmers market vendors, speak with other shoppers, and talk to me in a relaxed environment gave my ESL tutees the chance to relax and enjoy their new language skills.  Each of them came to me afterward, and told me how easy it was to practice speaking English when they felt comfortable and excited about what they were seeing at the market.

3) An opportunity to take the idea of realia to the next level.  Pictures of fruit can be pretty, but it is no substitute for the real thing.  Seeing, touching, and smelling the fruit is a sure fire way to get the physical piece of fruit, and the vocabulary word, linked together permanently in the mind.

4) An opportunity to work with money.  Paying for goods, receiving change, and figuring out costs in US dollars was a great exercise that my ESL students were excited about.  This part of the day made me happy for all of that realia "play" money we had worked with together! It was great to see my students feeling so confident.   

5) The chance to get to know one another a bit better.  While my students and I talked over lunch, we all had the opportunity to learn more about one another.  This is invaluable, and will undoubtedly make us all more relaxed (and ready to learn) during our next ESL tutoring session.

We had a great day together.  My ESL tutees learned new words and phrases, they had the opportunity to practice their new English skills, and they gained confidence in conversation.  Plus, it was just good, old fashioned fun!  The next time any of you ESL tutors have a session, try taking your lessons on the road.  You'll be glad you did! 

Tammy (still from WI :)

Ask Micki: Group Tutoring Motivation

Question: Hi, Micki. I need some help with my group tutoring sessions.

I tutor English, and one of my ESL tutoring sessions is in the form of group tutoring.  I tutor 3 ESL students at my college.

They are great students to tutor, really enthusiastic about learning, but I would like to find a way to make class a little more exciting.

I guess what I am looking for are some ways that I can increase motivation, and provide some fun, rather than just using the ESL textbook that they all use. 

Thanks!
Becca from NV

Answer: Hi, there, Becca, thanks for the question!

I think it is great that you are so involved in making sure your tutees not only learn the material, but also that they have a good time doing it.  I'm sure they're happy to have such a proactive, thoughtful tutor!

Here are a few ideas that work really well with ESL tutees, particularly in group tutoring settings.

1. Use realia. 
Realia can provide a breath of fresh air from the usual book based learning.  These tutoring props also help ESL students work with new vocabulary in a real-world setting.  Clocks, money, brochures, and grocery items are some good examples of items that can be used to illustrate and reinforce vocabulary and grammar.  For a really great example of realia in ESL tutoring, check out this blog posting from an ESL tutor. 

2. Get your group talking.  
Conversational skills are an important part of ESL learning.  During a conversation, both vocabulary and grammar are utilized, and ESL students can begin to get comfortable conversing with other speakers of English.  Take this into your group setting by asking and answering questions back and forth with your tutees.  Then, have them talk to one another about various things.  Each tutee can talk briefly about classes, the weather, their family, or what time of the day it is.  Anything to get your tutees talking with you, and with one another.

3. Stories as learning tools.  
Have each of your tutees, in turn, tell a brief story about something that has happened in his or her past.  This can be anything - a favorite trip, beloved pet, family memory, or anything else that your tutee wants to tell a story about during tutoring.  If you have students who are new to learning English, you will want to ask them to write out their short story ahead of time, so that they have something prepared before your next tutoring session (this way your tutee are not put on the spot with the exercise).

4. Show and tell.
Not just for kids, show and tell can be a powerful learning tool for ESL students of all ages.  Much like telling a story, having your tutees talk about favorite or cherished items will get them to open up and practice conversation skills.  Every ESL tutor I know loves the show and tell technique when working with their tutees.   

5. Play a game.
Games are great motivators when it comes to learning.  There's nothing quite like learning while having fun - it hardly seems like work at all!  Try to find a couple of tried and true games that will help your tutees learn English.  Or, if you are feeling creative, come up with some games of your own.  Try a version of Hangman, or hand out simple crossword puzzles.  Anything to make learning English a little more fun.

Implementing a couple of these techniques will make your ESL group tutoring a little more fun, and will keep your tutees motivated both during and after the session!