Teaching English As Second Language Online

We should all be so fortunate to do what we love.  Teaching English as a second language online is what I love to do.  I hope to continue for the rest of my life.

Why?

Because I’m good at it. English is the only language I am fluent in. I’m a master of the language. Sharing it with others is rewarding for me. I have a special connection with my students.

Use Google Translate

Nowadays, with all the technological advances at our disposal, the ability to do what I do online, is icing on the cake.

Furthermore, there are many people in the world who want to learn English but either can’t get out of the house to a school or simply prefer working from home or wherever they are.

It’s a gift to be able to work from wherever I am in the world and it seems many students feel the same way.

How Am I Different Than Other ESL teachers?

Teaching runs in my family and it’s in my blood. Unofficially, I’ve been teaching my whole life, although I didn’t officially become a teacher as a profession until 2006 at the age of 52.

It would be another 11 years before I began teaching adults.  Once that happened, there was no turning back. Teaching adults is a completely different experience than teaching kids.  I realized immediately that teaching ESL to adults is what I’ve always wanted to do but never knew it until 2017.

In 2020 is when I learned about Zoom and began teaching online.  For me, it is and has been a dream come true.

I am able to relate to adults in ways that are not possible with kids.

Adult students know about life. They have many of the same issues and problems as I have.  They have jobs, families, and real-life experiences that kids haven’t had or don’t have.

Because of that, what makes me different is the connections and relationships I have with adult students.  In many cases, I learn more from them than they learn from me.

Therefore, we can talk about lots of things aside from what’s in the books.  Of course, we need to use books but the real lessons are about life.

The main differences between most of my students and me is that I speak English and they don’t.  They at least don’t speak and/or understand fluently.  My contribution is to teach and help them say what they want to say in English.

In most cases, the subject matter is not the issue. The main issue is their inabiliy to effectively communicate in English.

It’s inspiring to see them grasp the language and be able to say and do what they already know how to say and do but to be able to in English.

My gift to them is the tools needed to learn, understand, and speak English.  Their gift to me is to see them use those tools and move forward in their lives.

What Will We Do In My Classes?

Depending on how much time we have, we will do several things.

The first thing we will do is to get to know each other.

You will learn to use Google Translate if you don’t already know how to use it.

I will ask you to tell me your name, what country you are from, what your first language is, and one thing you like.  You will be able to use the tranlator to understand my questions.

If there are other students in the class with you, you will all learn how to introduce yourselves to each other and how to introduce each other to someone else.

From there, if you are a beginner, we will begin by learning the letters of the alphabet and the numbers, which will include the sounds the letters make.  We will look at the picture dictionary to learn new words.

Whether you are a beginner or not, I will ask you to write something so I can see what level your writing is.  We will do writing almost every day.

I believe that learning to write in a language is as important as learning to read it, understand it, and speak it.

Eventually, we will do dictation.  I will read sentences and you will write what you hear.  It’s difficult at first but you will get better as we do it more often.

We will learn grammar and how to use it properly.  It will depend on what level you are that determines how much grammar we do.

We will do a variety of exercises that include listening, speaking, reading and writing.  As part of the speaking exercises, we will work on improving your pronunciation.

We will also play games that will help you improve all the things we study.

We will learn about things you already know in your language but we will learn them in English.

We will have fun learning together.

Why Should You Take My Class?

The number one reason is because I am highly qualified. If you want to learn, I will teach you.  I will challenge you to help move you along and I will encourage you every step of the way.

I’m not one to push too hard, but I am one to lead from the front and to keep moving so that my classes are not boring.

I believe in a certain amount of consistency but I also believe there always needs to be an element of change.  The only constant in life is change.

You will learn something new each day whether you try to or not.  I will make sure of it.

On the other hand, you will not be overwhelmed with so much new material at a time that you can’t possibly learn it.  I like to teach in small chunks, review if possible, and make sure you understand before moving forward.

You will learn in stages, a little at a time but you will learn as much as you are able to learn.

I will be there to guide you every step of the way.

However, if you are the type of student who likes or wants to work by yourself, I will provide you with the material for you to do that.

The bottom line is, I will help you in whatever way is best for you, even if that means leaving you alone.

Whether you work alone, one-on-one with me, or in a group, I will be monitoring your progress or lack thereof at all times and will adjust my instruction to your needs whenever and however possible.

What Works Best For You?

• Do you like to work in a large or small group or would you rather not work in a group at all? 
• Do you prefer to work one-on-one with a teacher who supervises you every step of the way?
• Do like working independently with a minimum of teacher supervision?
• Do you like working at a fast pace, a slow pace, or your own pace?
• Do you know what you want or do you want me to decide that for you?
• Please let me know.

I would love to work with you.

Final Thoughts

Regardless of why you want to learn English, whether it’s for a job or simply because you want/need to learn English for a variety of other reasons, you have come to the right place.

I realize people learn differently and that we are not all the same.

My methods are tried and true.  Students enjoy my classes.

So will you.

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Leave questions and comments below.  I will promptly reply.