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| By Jon Siker |
02/04/10 |
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Early on in my college career, the thought appealed to me. I could go to Europe and live in the same streets my great-grandparents grew up in. I could go to South America and finally conquer Spanish. I had too many notions of where to go and what to do. One day, sitting in an Art History lecture, I saw my ticket. Instead of spending all my months in one place, why not see as much as possible in that same amount of time? Why not study on one continuous journey? Why not do a semester at sea? |
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| EFL Overseas |
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| 01/17/10 |
 Now that you know the process of getting hired in Buenos Aires and all of the various different bureaucratic steps involved, I'm going to go over how to be successful and what it is like to teach in Buenos Aires. |
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| 01/11/10 |
 It all began with a poster for JET ( The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme) in my university's Asian Studies department. Suddenly it was 10 months, one interview, and 4 overstuffed suitcases later and there I was, sitting in coach on the 10-hour flight to Tokyo. And when I first laid eyes on my ... |
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| 12/19/09 |
 Spain is geographically, culturally and linguistically diverse and is perfect for lovers of nature, history, art & architecture, food & wine, fashion and nightlife. Albeit most teaching jobs are in large cities, even small towns have English schools. Specialized language needs reflect local economie... |
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| 12/03/09 |
 Part one: Tapas savored with good wine; bullet trains flashing through Moorish landscapes; beautiful people lounging on glistening Mediterranean beaches or queuing at nightclubs before dawn. Many equate the idea of teaching English in Spain with vacationing in Spain. They are in for a rude awakeni... |
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| 10/30/09 |
 Buenos Aires is an exciting destination for ESL teachers, and it is also my favorite destination. I have been to Argentina twice and I have spent close to a year and a half in the country. I’m going to explain to you how to get hired and some of the most important bureaucratic hurdles to get through... |
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| 08/16/09 |
 Stepping off the plane in downtown Quito - yes, the airport is in the middle of the city - I knew that I had made the right decision for my first overseas teaching assignment. The feeling was just right, “not too hot; not too cold”. Overall, “not too” seems to fit everything about this fantastic cit... |
| ESL USA |
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| 07/15/09 |
| As someone who has worked with foreign students and as part of a foreign exchange program, I have a good appreciation of how incredibly difficult it is for a sponsor to find good host families for international students coming to the United States. In fact, housing matters are generally the most cha... |
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| 04/26/09 |
 This year’s annual CATESOL conference in Pasadena in mid-April hosted two workshops centered on generation 1.5, those students, who, in many cases, have been living in the U.S. since an early age, are not necessarily fluent in their “home” language, yet don’t exhibit English skills commonly thought ... |
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| 04/13/09 |
 The US has an enormous English as a Second Language industry, with language schools in all of the major American cities. Many classes in the U.S. are immersion programs comprised of multilingual groups of adult students, an interesting challenge that can inspire creative teaching. |
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| 04/02/09 |
| Living in the United States with the express purpose of studying English is on the minds of many ESL (English as a Second Language) students around the world. English continues to blossom as the global language of business, academia, and communication, drawing more and more learners to language scho... |
| TESOL |
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| 05/09/09 |
| Warming up the crowd at the 40th annual mid-April annual CATESOL conference with examples of English “bloopers,” from the likes of politicians and newspapers, educator H. Douglas Brown shared a San Francisco Chronicle headline that read, “For molesting kids, man is sentenced to English lessons,” and... |
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| 05/02/09 |
| California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL) www.catesol.org is an organization that offers support to Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages throughout California and Nevada in the USA. It was founded in 1969 and is a nonprofit organization open to anyone conc... |
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| 04/20/09 |
| Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL, or often called English as a Second Language, ESL) can be a highly rewarding career, offering you the opportunity to live and work abroad. There is also a strong industry in English language instruction here in the United States and in other En... |
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| 04/12/09 |
| Incorporated in 1966, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), is a global association for English language teaching professionals headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. TESOL encompasses a network of approximately 60,000 educators worldwide, consisting of more than 14,... |
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| 04/02/09 |
 E-mail allows us to bridge distances instantly. The cell-phone does the same and adds voice. Add the dimension of image and we have a web-cam. Combine the image and voice into a single device that sits nicely on your desk and you have a device that looks much like a regular telephone with a few addi... |
| Professional Development |
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| 07/14/09 |
| The CALL Interest Section of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL) offers language teachers world-wide the opportunity to participate in the Electronic Village Online (EVO), a professional development project and virtual extension of the TESOL 2010 Convention in Boston. Th... |
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| 05/31/09 |
| Sometimes with the learner-centered approach to teaching, we teachers may forget that we must still maintain control of the class in order to assure that each student gets his or her fair share of the learning experience. For instance, what to do about the cute couple, young man and young woman, in ... |
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| 05/27/09 |
| What is Concept Checking? Concept checking is a technique used by the teacher during the lesson that involves the language learner in the process of discovering and understanding language. It often follows on from eliciting (see Eliciting), but can also be used whenever new words/ terms/ concepts h... |
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| 05/21/09 |
| What is Eliciting? Synonyms: searching, drawing out, discovering, realizing, understanding. Eliciting is a technique used by the teacher during the lesson that involves the language learner in the process of discovering and understanding language. Anything in the lesson can be elicited: vocabulary... |
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| 04/24/09 |
| You’ve got what you think is a great activity for your ESL students. You prepare them to do it. You’re enthusiastic and motivated about your class. And then—your students don’t take to it. |
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| 04/16/09 |
| A common issue that teachers have to deal with is how to correct student errors. No-one likes being corrected; however, the school and the parents often demand it, and students themselves will complain that a teacher doesn’t correct them enough. So how can you create a win-win situation? |
| News |
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| 04/23/09 |
 Despite its great influence on the energy that drives all of Western life, Saudi Arabia remains something of an enigma. The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), named after its benefactor, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, is an ambitious, multi-billion dollar, 36,000,000 square... |
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| 04/20/09 |
 Instigating a debate sure to raise partisan hackles in a time of immigration rights controversy and immigration reform, Arizona now finds itself about to receive a ruling on the general issue of State's rights versus the federal mandate that state education must include English language training. A... |
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| 04/17/09 |
| On April 15th of this year, Rosetta Stone went public with an IPO of some $115M. Today the Wall Street Journal reports that with a rise in price of 40%, the offering has become the second most successful such offering of the year. |
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| 04/15/09 |
| ESL leader Rosetta Stone has filed an initial public offering (IPO) for nearly $115M. Rosetta Stone (NYSE: RST) filed with the SEC for 6.25 million of common stock at $18.00 per share. |
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| 04/01/09 |
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| Travel |
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| 10/14/09 |
 Ancient ruins… A magnificent city of stone nestled in the mountains of Southern Peru… Machu Picchu. The gateway to Machu Picchu is Cusco, one of the preeminent tourist destinations in the world, and with good reason. There is much more than archaeological treasures to be experienced in Cusco however... |
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| 07/20/09 |
 The fortunate few who visit Iran will experience bustling cities, phenomenal Islamic architecture, colorful tile work and well-preserved ancient ruins. Combine booming youth culture, tea and hookahs under the stars, friendly, open people, and beautiful gardens for a once in a lifetime trip. The mos... |
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| 06/29/09 |
 You've seen ESLFocus.com's "Might See's". Quirky, unexpected, or just unusual describes our previous foray into ten places to entertain the adventuresome traveler. The following get our nod for round two: See one or see more than one of the next ten if you can. |
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| 06/19/09 |
 Top-Ten, "must-see" articles abound so we ventured off the beaten path for ten "might-sees". For something just a little bit different, something a little further from the crowds and tourist attractions, we've compiled a list of ten places, some harder than others to get, that just might deserve yo... |
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| 05/28/09 |
 If you've ever wondered where the most weird and wonderful places in the world are, we have them. These are places where Soviet style communism still exists or where you can visit an indoor ski resort...in the desert! Read on for a number of places that might (or might not) deserve a visit! |
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| 04/13/09 |
 The combination of global economic slowdown and regional political protest spells dim prospects for Thailand's tourism industry. |
| Arts |
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| 05/22/09 |
 A three-year-old girl sits on a window-ledge at the battery-recycling shop where she works. Her eyes stare blankly at the camera, showing no hope or happiness. This is just one of the dozens of startling images in David Elliot Cohen’s new book “What Matters.” |
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| 03/28/09 |
 Tinariwen -- meaning “Empty Spaces" in the Saharan Language of Tamashek -- hold the honor of being the first band of the Tuareg people to use electric guitars in their music and in their music they seek to stand up as the champions of their people against the injustices of the Malian government. |
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| 03/23/09 |
 Very few folk bands have the raw energy and power in their music or the ability to make people dance like an Ibiza nightclub than the Hungarian band Besh o droM, meaning, "ride the road" - just like horses in the Lovari gypsy dialect of Central Europe. |
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| 03/04/09 |
 To combine the music of the many different cultures in Los Angeles might not be the easiest job for musicians. Gaining their respect -- while performing political activism -- isn't either.
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| 02/04/10 |
 Whether an experienced ESL teacher, a recently certified newbie, or an ex-pat looking to teach abroad as a means to travel, if Russia is a destination you are considering, you probably already possess some of the qualities necessary to succeed. An appetite for adventure and a genuine interest in Rus... |
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| 01/31/10 |
| In the small yet bustling college town of Davis, California, jobs may be about to open up. Home to the northern-most campus of the University of California and over 20,000 students, Davis might soon see a revival in its business sector amid the continued presence of a world recession. |
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| 01/26/10 |
| For virtually as long as the Internet has existed, search engines have made an otherwise impossible task of finding content not only possible, but efficient. Search engines from Yahoo to Google have scoured the 'Net, returning tens of millions of results a day, with some early search "bots" going b... |
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| 01/19/10 |
 Many in the ESL world and certainly those familiar with the South Korean market have heard of the Korean hagwon. Perhaps conjuring thoughts of over-worked students and profit crazed owners, hagwons are the South Korean for-profit educational institutions designed to supplement the public schooling ... |
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| 01/11/10 |
 On weekday mornings, a little before 7:00, the campus radio station begins its morning broadcast with the song “Simple Gifts”; a beautiful solo flute version. Even with my windows closed against the sub-zero Beijing winter air, the loudspeakers throughout the campus allow me to hear it. I usually st... |
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| 12/24/09 |
| While most of the world suffers bleak economic times, record numbers of foreign students are coming to the United States to study at colleges and universities. Visiting students provide an economic boost through tuition, professors' salaries, books, furniture, rent, clothing, food, and services, all... |
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