ESL etc.

Making Connections is a new textbook (w/ teacher’s guide) from Facing the Future. This new research-based teacher’s guide helps students develop English language skills through highly engaging real-world investigations of current global issues. Designed for intermediate-level English language learners and striving readers, Making Connections combines language learning with opportunities for students to think critically about […]

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Teach English, Teach About the Environment is an ESL textbook by the EPA. It’s available as a free PDF, and features a variety of lesson plans at three different levels. It is focused almost entirely on solid waste (reduce, reuse, recycle) and is designed for adult learners of English. One thing that I really like […]

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I was just going through some files, and I found a bunch of links to ESL / EFL activities and materials that deal with global issues. Some are electronic textbooks, while others are in article form. I also added all of these to the global issues activities page in my collection of links for teachers. […]

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Facing the Future is an organization that makes activity-based, global issues curricula for students of all ages. In addition to the great stuff they offer for sale, they have a ton of materials available as free downloads. I especially like the lesson plans from Engaging Students Through Global Issues, and the Climate Change curricula. Finally, […]

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The Intercultural Resource Pack is a free electronic ELT textbook with a variety of cultural and global issues based activities. Even though it is subtitled “Latin American Perspectives,” most of the activities could be used with students anywhere. Each activity is labelled according to the target students’ ages and levels. The five sections of the […]

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The folks at Facing the Future have a variety of books, including one called Engaging Students through Global Issues much of which is available for download. It deals with a wide range of issues including ecological footprints, media literacy, debt relief and preferred futures. Their curriculum includes a lot of action-based projects requiring group work […]

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mp3 I start by introducing a roleplay in which students were asked to imagine what they would do if their boss pressured them to do something illegal or dishonest. As an example, I told them a story about a student at another university who worked as a tour guide over the summer. His boss asked […]

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mp3 In this week’s podcast, I talk about oral English week, a special week at my college where students have English classes all day long. I talk about the methods that are being used, and the exams that are being given. In doing so, I try to shed a little light on what it is […]

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