http://www.eslteachertalk.com A Podcast for ESL & EFL Teachers - Games, teaching techniques, activities, etc... Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:05:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Listen to the show. The show starts off with unseasonable weather and a circus but moves quickly into this show's theme, the present continuous. Matt and Mark go over: presenting the target language orally why teach the present continuous early on in your curriculum teaching and explaining the grammar using only English forming questions and negatives Teaching ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2009/06/teaching-the-present-continuous/ Listen to the show. Matt has added some new simple easy songs for 1-3 year old classes. Mark and Matt cover creating thematic units.  This show covers what a thematic unit is, what the goals of a thematic unit should be, and what you need to get your thematic unit off the ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2009/05/teaching-thematic-units/ Listen to the show. Mark has added some phonics games for students at Fun Fonix.com. This show discusses MES-English.com's curriculum for young learners. This is the second part of teaching without a textbook or teaching oral English only.  For the first episode of this check here. The curriculum covers core sections: content - vocabulary target ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2009/04/mes-curriculum-a-non-textbook-approach-part-2/ Listen to the show. This show Mark explains some new features to the free word search maker at Tools for Educators.  It really makes a word search a worksheet but keeps it fun.  Matt has opened a new website Kids English Books.com and there you can find simple stories to download ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2009/04/explaining-activities-just-using-english/ Listen to the show. This show Mark and Matt have a few new things on their websites for visitors. Matt has a new Skidamarink Song up on Free ABC Songs and Mark posted a new book to the Fun Fonix website. This week's show covers the 'do' verbs. We discuss: teaching ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2009/03/teaching-do-verbs/ Listen to the show. This show Mark and Matt have a few new things on their websites for visitors.  Matt has put up some new videos to match the Dream English songs.  Some of the videos have 'live performances and some utelize images.  Please check them out. Mark has added some worksheet ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2009/03/110/ Listen to the show. This show discusses MES-English.com's curriculum for young learners.  It's the first steps for teaching without a course book or for teachers who are thrown into a teaching situation where there is no set curriculum or textbook. The curriculum covers core sections: content - vocabulary target language - phrases, questions, speech ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2009/02/mes-curriculum-a-non-textbook-approach-part-1/ Listen to the show. Welcome back for Season 3 of ESL Teacher Talk!  If you're new to ETT, then ... just Welcome! :) In Season 3 we have a new co-host, Matt of Dream English.com.  With Matt and the other ETT co-hosts, we hope to cover some smaller areas of teaching English.  ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2009/02/season-3-premiere-dream-english/ Listen to the show. This is the end of Season 2 here at ESL Teacher Talk.  This week we talk about the communicative approach. We cover: what the communicative approach is the theory behind the communicative approach and what it's supposed to do the 5 main points of the communicative approach how the communicative approach can ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/10/the-communicative-approach/ Listen to the show. Total Physical Response (TPR) is a methodology made famous by James Ashner.  It's teaching style based on kinestetic learning.  Teachers speak and students respond in some manner physically. We cover: what TPR is the theory behind TPR and what it's supposed to do how TPR can be used in your lessons what ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/08/teaching-methodologies-total-physical-resonse/ Listen to the show. This week's show we welcome John Marks from www.eltgames.com and www.langwichscool.com and we discuss exam preparation courses. In this show we discuss some ideas on how to organize and exam prep course, what are some key points to include, how to maintain motivation, some ideas for the interview ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/07/exam-preparation/ Listen to the show. This week's show is almost the end of our teaching methodolgies series. Today we offer ... Suggestodepia We cover: what suggestopedia is how does a suggestopedia lesson run the principles of the method what are the main benefits, claims, and criticisms of the method We'd definitely like to hear what you think ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/07/teaching-methodologies-suggestopedia/ Listen to the show. This week's show is on using board games off the shelf.   Ron and Mark offer some suggestions for  how you can use board games in ESL classes and as communicative activities. We cover: games that are ready to go right of the shelf, like Scrabble, Pictionary, ... games you need ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/06/using-board-games/ Listen to the show. This week Chris Cotter from Heads Up English.com is with us again. Heads Up English.com has some new lower intermediate exercises: speaking activities, listening activities, grammar worksheets and vocabulary exercises free for download! Please check out Heads Up English.com! Mark starts the conversation off and offers ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/05/what-makes-for-a-good-speaking-activity/ Listen to the show. We have a big show this week, so we get right into it. Mark and Ron cover these points concerning the Silent Way methodology: what is the Silent Way Method key aspects of the Silent Method how does the Silent Method work in class using cuisenaire rods, colored blocks and instilling learner ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/05/the-silent-way-in-language-teaching/ Listen to the show. Clive of ESL Podcards is with us again this week. He's been working his site and enrolled in a new course. He's learning about Content and Language Intergrated Learning (CLIL.) In the beginning Clive gives us a quick run down of what CLIL is. Clive ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/04/content-and-language-intergrated-learning/ Listen to the show. THe show starts off with a brief look at the possible hazards associated with teaching ESL. Mark has a pretty interesting story from work this week. This podcast we're glad to welcome Patrick Bickford, from Englipedia. Patrick tells us a little about where he's teaching, what ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/03/englipedia-sharing-a-little-gaining-a-lot/ Listen to the show. The new school year has started in Taiwan and Ron is back to work. Easter and St. Patrick's Day are upon us this month and Mark has some new materials for these holidays if you're interested. Easter - flashcards, coloring, stickers, sticker charts, printable greeting cards, certificates, Easter bingo ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/03/using-a-projector-in-classes/ Listen to the show. Mark has a lot of news. Things are moving and shaking at MES-English with a new website that will bring a lot of flexibility to MES-English users and provide materials for teachers that may not have been MES-E users in the past. Tools for Educators.com! Mark has ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/02/the-audio-lingual-method-and-how-we-can-use-it/ Listen to the show. This week's show deals with creating a lesson plan. requirements for a lesson plan why you should have a lesson plan what goes into a lesson plan the lesson plan as a record for other teachers tips for adding to your plan while it's in action sample lesson plans from Mark and Ron ending ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/02/writing-up-a-lesson-plan/ Listen to the show. Happy New Year!  We're back and we hope everyone has had a great holiday.  Ron's in Tailand and Mark is freezing in Nagano.  The idea of enjoying winter and getting out in the snow came up, but ... This show deals with putting together an ESL event, show, ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2008/01/planning-an-event-show-or-presentation/ Listen to the show. Merry Christmas! This will be the last podcast of 2007 and we wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Mark has a lot of news this show. Hospital English.com has been updated!  I'm sure everyone was waiting for this and it has come.  ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/12/organization-on-the-job/ Listen to the show. In a quick intro to the show, we find out Mark is ecstatically jubilant this week. Things are fabulously wonderful in Japan. Find out why. Continuing with teaching methods, this week's show is about the Direct Method. Mark and Ron will run down for you ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/12/the-direct-method-and-you/ Listen to the show. This might be the last podcast that opens with a Halloween discussion. It was recorded back at the beginning of Oct. If you'd like to see the outcome of all of this Halloween talk, here's the pictures and run down of Mark's 2007 Halloween party ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/11/the-last-minute-class-ahh/ Listen to the show. This show we're starting a small series on methodologies in ESL/EFL. Through the years there have been quite a few different takes on teaching languages. We'll look at each one and give our ideas on what's good and bad. This first segment, we'll take a look ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/11/methodologies-grammar-translation/ Listen to the show. This show we welcome Richard Graham from GenkiEnglish.com. Richard runs www.genkienglish.com and provides music, games and downloads for teachers. He tells us a bit about how he got started with music, what was behind the creation of his songs, and what new things are available ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/10/getting-genki-with-it/ Listen to the show. It's wet and wild in Japan. A Typhoon has landed and after the podcast Mark actually had to head out to do some volunteer fire fighter work.  Saving the day! This week we're back with part 2 of phonics order.  Mark and Ron finish off phonics and what ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/10/teaching-phonics-spelling-and-order-part-2/ Listen to the show. It's tough to cover all of phonics, but Mark and Ron give it a shot. The show takes a look first at spelling through the ages and why English spelling is the monster it is.  There are a lot of things that have happened within English spelling ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/09/teaching-phonics-spelling-and-order-part-1/ Listen to the show. Just when you thought the stores were putting out their Halloween stuff a little too early, Mark explains to you the market they're after. Luckily, Halloween isn't the topic of this September show. Don't let the beginning make you think other wise. Mark and Clive both ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/09/setting-up-classes-and-getting-the-right-levels-together/ Listen to the show. Teaching advanced learners can often feel like tuning up a Ferrari. What do you do? How do you make those students run better? This week's show brings back Chris Cotter from www.headsupenglish.com. Mark, Ron and Chris cover how to break bad habits, build ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/08/tips-for-teaching-advanced-learners/ Listen to the show. Using news articles in classes provides interesting and useful content, but how should we go about it? This show Chris Cotter from www.headsupenglish.com visits with us. HeadsUpEnglish.com offers ESL lesson plans based around current news articles with matching activities and worksheets for ESL teachers and ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/08/lessons-with-news%e3%80%80articles/ Listen to the show. Mark and Ron pick up from the show two episodes ago and deal with new classes, new students and new teachers. This show covers adult classes and young adult learners. we go over some ideas for a teacher's first class, an entirely new class, a ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/07/new-classes-with-adults/ Listen to the show. A new co-host, Clive, squares off with Mark about which is better teaching children or teaching adults. Mark prefers teaching children and has some suggestions for Clive's problems in children's classes. Then Clive, who prefers teaching adults, offers Mark some suggestions for Mark's problems with ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/07/teaching-children-vs-teaching-adults/ Listen to the show. Part one - Children's classes: There's a lot to think about when dealing with a new class. Ron and Mark offer you some advice and give you a few things to think about when the class is new, you the teacher are new or a new ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/07/new-classes-with-young-students/ Listen to the show. This first segment brings you a short interview with the new co-host Ron Molenda. We learn a little bit about Ron and what all this Season 2 nonsense is about. In the Just Talk section of the show, Ron tells us about living and working in Taiwan. ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/06/season-2-premier-living-and-teaching-in-taiwan/ I've been talking with a few people and it looks like a team is getting ready to launch Season Two with me. My idea for this next run at it is to have a few different co-hosts to hopefully bring you regular shows and some variety. There are quite a ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/05/season-two-coming-soon/ Listen to the show. There have been 30 shows over the past year, and this week's show is the season finale. Mark and Eric go over why they created eslTeacherTalk. What they hope they have done to help other teachers and the future of this show. Sorry, no game of ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/05/the-season-finale/ Listen to the show. They're everywhere and about everything, why not start your own. You have a lot of experiences and advice to pass on! Blog today! This week, Mark and Eric discuss the benefits of creating an ESL blog, how to get started and what you need ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/03/why-not-start-an-esl-blog/ Listen to the show. This is a relatively easy to prepare game that you can use to practice compound words or spelling. It is designed for larger classes, but can be easily adapted to small groups. Have fun! http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/03/game-of-the-week-down-pass/ Listen to the show. Devon Thagard, co-creator of SuperSimpleSongs, comes to the studio this week. He discusses his ESL experience and how he uses songs in class with young children. There are also some recommendations for music for young learners and a way to get a free set of ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/01/super-simple-songs/ Listen to the show. In 5 minutes practice any target language with students aged 5-100. All you need are some markers and students. It's a great warm-up activity or review activity. http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/01/game-of-the-week-rps-challenge/ Listen to the show. This week we have Patrick Jackson, author of the Potato Pals series published through Oxford Press. He talks about his experiences getting the books to print, what potato pals are, why he created them and how he uses them in class. You can read more about Patrick Jackson ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/01/interview-with-patrick-jackson/ Listen to the show. Spice up your game of Simon Says. http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/01/game-of-the-week-simon-says-tips-tricks/ Listen to the show. Assessment can be difficult. How to assess student progress, when to assess and so on. This show goes over how Eric and Mark deal with assessment in their classes. This show also covers some differences between Japan, Korea and America on views of assessment. Game ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/01/assessment/ Listen to the show. This is a great game for practicing adverbs of frequency and other vocabulary possibilities. There is very little preparation involved for the teacher and all you need is a couple sheets of paper. Have fun! http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2007/01/game-of-the-week-answer-my-question/ Listen to the show. Sometimes classes can drag and there are two or three students really pulling it down. Mark and Eric discuss ways they keep students motivated and also ways to pull the "motivationaly challenged" back into the class. Another show topic that might interest you is rewards systems which ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/12/motivating-the-motivationaly-challenged/ Listen to the show. This is a simple warm-up or game that requires no prep or materials. It also helps stimulate the brain and get students ready for more learning. Students shoot out numbers and ... The game was originally posted in the MES-English forums by Jenny. You can ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/12/game-of-the-week-number-challenge/ Listen to the show. This week's show covers some helpful tip for searching out and actually finding materials on the internet. It's a big internet out there and there are ways to help you get around. Also, if you can't find what you want, mark covers some tips on how you ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/12/finding-materials-or-making-them-yourself/ Listen to the show. A challenge has been put forth... Can you answer the call? http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/12/game-of-the-week-the-show-game/ Listen to the show. The super-sized class is always a daunting task. How do you teach a group of 60? Well, there's no magic pill here, but we do have some advice for how to manage and teach large classes. Eric and Mark go over a few things to keep in ... http://www.eslteachertalk.com/2006/11/teaching-big-classes/