3.

1 Developing reading skills

Imagine that teaching a student to read in a new language is like building a house. You cannot start off by building
the attic; you have to work your way up from the bottom. As we discuss how to help students develop reading skills,
we will start with the basics, move on to lower-level reading skills, such as comprehension, and eventually discuss
such higher-level reading skills as identifying purpose and intent.

3.1.1 Beginning to read

As you begin to approach reading with your students, it is important to remember that all of them may be coming from
different backgrounds and therefore may need different levels of instruction. For students whose original language
does not share the English alphabet, that is where you need to start. For students from all native languages that
share an alphabet with English, though, it is important that you go over the way words are sounded out because even
if the students are familiar with the English alphabet, the sounds of this new language will likely be unique and
somewhat foreign. 

Phonemic awareness: We discussed phonemes in detail in the previous module when we reviewed linguistics, but it
is important to also mention phonemic awareness here because it is such an important part of the reading process.
To help your students improve their phonemic awareness, you will expect your students to be able identify,
understand, and manipulate phonemes. Helping your students gain phonemic awareness will give them the ability to
break down and learn new words by themselves.

 Phonemes are unique to each language, so your students may have difficulty adjusting to learning new
ones. They will likely need help understanding the structure of new phonemes and understanding how to
sound them out. 

 Your students may naturally think of the phonemes in their native language, which could be in direct contrast
with English phonemes. If you are aware of phonemes in your students’ native languages, you can use this
to your advantage. Otherwise, it may be a good idea to try to train them to avoid this kind of thinking.

 Making the process of improving phonemic awareness more fun and active is an effective way to increase
engagement and understanding. Try activities that turn phonemic awareness into a game or require your
students to get up, move around, and be active.

3.1.2 Beginning to read

Phonics: The concept behind phonics is that students can begin to see and understand patterns in how phonemes
relate to each other. Once they recognize these patterns, students can more easily sound out words that are foreign
to them. This can also help them understand meaning when they begin to see patterns in root words, prefixes, and
suffixes. English is notorious for straying away from patterns, however, so while phonics can be a helpful tool, it
certainly has its shortcomings.

Learning the alphabet: Some of your students may not need to learn the alphabet because the English alphabet is
the same as their native language’s alphabet. However, if your students do need to learn the alphabet because it is
very different from how their native language is structured, you cannot skip this step. This makes learning the
alphabet difficult if you have a heterogeneous group of students. You can combat this obstacle by differentiating your
instruction, which requires more preparation but provides more individualized instruction for your students. We will
discuss differentiation in more detail in a later module. 

Letter/sound correlation: We will discuss this in more detail later in the module, but whether or not your students are
familiar with the alphabet, learning the correlation between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) is extremely
important because sounds are unique to a language. Many of these sounds and combinations of sounds will be
difficult for your students to get used to, so make sure you practice a lot.

Concepts of print: Some of the concepts of print we discuss here will be relevant to students who come from different
backgrounds, but some of these concepts will only be relevant to students who are learning to read for the first time.
It is possible to have a student who knows a native language but has never learned to read. Your task is a little more
difficult in these cases because this adds another layer to what you need to accomplish.

 The English language is read from left to right.

 The English language is read from top to bottom.
 Letters and words convey messages.
 When you get to the end of a line (on the right), you need to return to the beginning of the next line (on the
left).
 The illustrations in a book correspond to the words written there.

3.1.3 Advanced reading skills

Once your students have built up confidence with the basics of reading, your next step is to help them develop
proficiency in more advanced reading skills. 

Summarizing: Summarizing is an extremely important skill because it helps your students bridge the gap between
understanding the words they are reading and understanding the meaning that those words are trying to convey. The
skill of summarizing requires students to understand enough of what they have read to explain what the text is about
in their own words. To help your students learn how to do this, you may want to layer your summary instruction,
having them read text in English but allowing them to summarize it in their native language. Eventually, though, you
should move on to having the students summarize in English. Scaffolding your instruction like this will definitely help
your students ease into true understanding of English texts.

Finding the main idea, important facts, and supporting details: While summarizing usually requires a student to
understand the main idea of a text, it is still important to discuss this separately. Once students have summarized the
text, you can ask questions that get to the main idea, for example, “What is the point that the writer is trying to make?”
Such questions allow students to move from summarizing the entire text to pinpointing what is important. The next
step can be to ask follow-up questions, such as “How do you know that is the point the writer is trying to make?” That
requires a strong understanding of not only the overall meaning of the words in a text but also how the different ideas
in a text relate to one another.

Sequencing: Sequencing asks students to take a step beyond summarizing the text. Whereas summarizing the text
concerns itself with simply understanding what happened, sequencing requires students to label, categorize, and
compartmentalize what happens in the text. Students look at textual features to try to identify the important aspects of
the text, for example, the setting, the sequence of events, and the larger context of the text, identifying how all of the
parts of the text fit within the whole. 

Relating background knowledge: It is always helpful when working with students who are trying to learn a new
language that you relate what they are learning to their background knowledge. There are a couple of different ways
that you can do this. As we mentioned earlier, you can use cognates and your students’ native phonemes to help
them understand English root words and sounds. Another way is to help your students connect thematically to the
text, asking them to try to relate what is going on in the text to personal experiences they have had. While this won’t
necessarily directly help them learn the language, it will help them make a stronger connection with it and therefore
make it more accessible.

Module 3: Reading
3.1.3 Advanced reading skills

Once your students have built up confidence with the basics of reading, your next step is to help them develop
proficiency in more advanced reading skills. 

Summarizing: Summarizing is an extremely important skill because it helps your students bridge the gap between
understanding the words they are reading and understanding the meaning that those words are trying to convey. The
skill of summarizing requires students to understand enough of what they have read to explain what the text is about
in their own words. To help your students learn how to do this, you may want to layer your summary instruction,
having them read text in English but allowing them to summarize it in their native language. Eventually, though, you
should move on to having the students summarize in English. Scaffolding your instruction like this will definitely
help your students ease into true understanding of English texts.

Finding the main idea, important facts, and supporting details: While summarizing usually requires a student to
understand the main idea of a text, it is still important to discuss this separately. Once students have summarized the
text, you can ask questions that get to the main idea, for example, “What is the point that the writer is trying to
make?” Such questions allow students to move from summarizing the entire text to pinpointing what is important.
The next step can be to ask follow-up questions, such as “How do you know that is the point the writer is trying to
make?” That requires a strong understanding of not only the overall meaning of the words in a text but also how the
different ideas in a text relate to one another.

Sequencing: Sequencing asks students to take a step beyond summarizing the text. Whereas summarizing the text
concerns itself with simply understanding what happened, sequencing requires students to label, categorize, and
compartmentalize what happens in the text. Students look at textual features to try to identify the important aspects
of the text, for example, the setting, the sequence of events, and the larger context of the text, identifying how all of
the parts of the text fit within the whole. 

Relating background knowledge: It is always helpful when working with students who are trying to learn a new
language that you relate what they are learning to their background knowledge. There are a couple of different ways
that you can do this. As we mentioned earlier, you can use cognates and your students’ native phonemes to help
them understand English root words and sounds. Another way is to help your students connect thematically to the
text, asking them to try to relate what is going on in the text to personal experiences they have had. While this won’t
necessarily directly help them learn the language, it will help them make a stronger connection with it and therefore
make it more accessible.

3.1.4 Advanced reading skills

Making inferences: Once your students begin improving in their ability to understand English text, the
next step is to help them improve their ability to make inferences. Making inferences means reading
between the lines and accessing meaning that is not explicitly stated. For example, if a man were to walk
into the room, closing an umbrella, you would infer that it was raining outside. No one specifically told you
that it was raining, but you were able to use context clues to draw that conclusion. Once students are
more comfortable understanding what they read, working on their inferential thinking will help them learn
how to see the meaning in a text that is not explicitly stated.

Drawing conclusions: This idea goes hand-in-hand with inferential thinking. To be able to accurately
draw a conclusion, a student needs to be able to understand the literal meaning of a text and how that
literal meaning can lead to a conclusion.

Comparing and contrasting: Comparing and contrasting is the next step along the line of textual
analysis. To compare and contrast two texts, a reader needs to understand the purpose of the text as well
as the strategies that a writer uses to convey meaning. This skill can be extremely useful, as it easily
lends itself to having students identify which text is more effective. 

Distinguishing between fact and opinion: As part of the evaluative process of reading, distinguishing
between what is fact and what is opinion can be an incredibly nuanced task. It requires your students to
really understand what the text is saying to evaluate whether the text is based on opinion or fact. This can
be difficult, especially when the text is opinionated, with a speaker who presents his or her opinions as
fact. 

Self-questioning: As your students get more comfortable with reading texts on their own, it is time to get
them into the habit of reading actively. People tend to think of reading as a passive activity because it is
done quietly, but to really understand a text, you need to constantly question what is going on. Having
your students use annotations to express their self-questioning will help them get into the habit of asking
questions as they read. This is also helpful because they can go back to the text they have previously
read and easily point out the important information. 

Problem solving: While problem solving is a cognitive skill, asking our students to solve problems in
English can be complicated even for students who are natural problem solvers. Problem solving requires
true comprehension, understanding beyond the explicit, and the ability to think critically while working with
a foreign language. 

3.2 Auditory and visual discrimination

Both auditory and visual discrimination refer to our ability to perceive and distinguish between different
elements. The best way to understand these two concepts is by looking at each one individually.

3.2.1    Auditory discrimination

Auditory discrimination refers to our brain’s ability to organize and categorize sounds, thereby allowing us
to make meaning of what we hear. While auditory refers to sounds and reading is typically done silently,
the ability to distinguish between different sounds (phonemes) can affect our ability to sound out and
identify vocabulary. The inability to effectively access one’s auditory discrimination can impair someone’s
reading tremendously, especially when students are asked to read out loud.  If someone has trouble with
auditory discrimination, they will have trouble:

 Understanding phonemes and how they are different. This is especially true with phonemes that
are similar, as we can see in the words “forty” and “fourteen.” The subtle changes in the structure
of these words may be difficult for someone who has poor auditory discrimination to perceive.

 Learning to read. As we have already discussed, many of the early reading strategies rely heavily
on a student’s ability to understand and distinguish between different sounds. This can add an
extra hurdle for a new English language learner.

 Sometimes, struggles with auditory discrimination can affect students’ ability to focus on what
they are reading because they have difficulty blocking out background noise.

 Just because someone suffers from an auditory discrimination disorder, however, does not mean they
cannot learn a new language. Such a disorder simply provides a surmountable obstacle on the path to
success.

3.2.2 Visual discrimination

Visual discrimination refers to an individual’s ability to distinguish between letters, shapes, numbers, and
objects. While both are important, visual discrimination is much more impactful on an individual’s ability to
read than auditory discrimination. Auditory discrimination affects an individual’s ability to sound out words,
but visual discrimination affects an individual’s ability to recognize which letters he or she is seeing. While
it can be difficult to identify when a student has a visual discrimination deficiency because it can mask
itself as just typical difficulties that students might have reading a new language, here are some signs that
you can look for:

 The student has trouble identifying letters and learning the alphabet. The difficulty will be in
recognizing the letters rather than being unable to remember what they are called.
 Difficulty telling the difference between similar letters (e.g., b and d), similar numbers (e.g., 6 and
9), and/or similar shapes (e.g., circles and ovals).
  Difficulty differentiating between words that have similar beginnings or endings.

Visual discrimination issues, just like auditory discrimination issues, can be overcome, but reading is
much more difficult for people with visual discrimination disorders. Here are some potential classroom
exercises that you can use to help students who struggle with visual discrimination disorders or
deficiencies.

 Using visuals that are bright and colorful to help students work on distinguishing between clear
shapes and colors.
 Using digital tools such as a laptop or tablet that can help make working on visual discrimination
fun for the students.
 Make learning about visual discrimination fun by using games or puzzles that require the student
to differentiate shapes or letters.

3.3 Forming associations

Very early on in the process of learning to read, students need to learn to form associations between sounds
(phonemes) and letters/words. This process is paramount to a student understanding how English speakers turn
sounds into words and how English words convey meaning. Regardless of the age of your students or their native
language, you will need to help them learn typical English letter/sound associations. Here are the basic principles
behind teaching a student how to form strong letter/sound associations:

 Assessment: Every student is different, and you don’t want to assume that all of your students are in the
same place. Some students are coming to the English language with a native language that shares many of
the same sounds, while others could be coming from a native language that uses none of the same sounds
as English. By properly and consistently assessing the letter/word association abilities of your students, you
can tailor your lesson planning to directly target deficiencies and differentiate your instruction to address all
skill levels.

 Sequential and systematic instruction: While pedagogy often dictates that you let students guide their
own learning, a skill like this needs to be taught systematically and sequentially. In many ways, basic skills
like these work best with old-school instruction, which means you teach a concept, assess for that concept,
teach another concept, assess for both concepts, and continue with this process. Continually build on the
skills and knowledge that your students are attaining, and keep returning to the basics to make sure they
don’t forget them. 

 Teach explicitly: Sometimes, it can be cool to lead a student to meaning without the student really knowing
where the lessons are going. When teaching letter/sound associations, though, it is important to be explicit
about your teaching. That means you are clear with your students about what you are teaching them, what
they are learning, and why they are learning it. The more you get the student to accept the process, the
more success you will have.

 Do not focus just on reading: Learning letter/sound associations is not just a reading skill; it is
multisensory. Therefore, you should treat your instruction of the skill as a multisensory skill. Use whatever
resources you have available to help students make the necessary associations. Use flashcards, pictures,
digital games, and any other modes of learning you can think of to get the job done. In this way, you will help
your students in more than just their reading.

3.4 Decoding
Once you have helped your students form strong associations between letters and sounds, the next step is to work on decoding, which
refers to displaying those associations by rapidly turning the written word into speech. This is an essential part of language and is most easily
displayed when your students read aloud. 

3.4.1 Common questions about decoding

Why is decoding important?

Decoding is important because it is the basis for most reading comprehension skills. An inability to decode words leads to an inability to
identify and understand vocabulary, difficulty building fluency, and difficulty with overall reading comprehension.

How can you tell if a student is struggling with decoding?

Students who are having trouble decoding often believe they are stuck or that reading is something they just don’t do well. Here are some of
the symptoms to look out for to identify students who are struggling with decoding:

 The student feels stuck when they need to read a lot of words because they cannot focus enough on any one word. This is
common and manifests in students who can decode single words when they are presented but have difficulty decoding those
same words if there are too many words at once or the words are coming at them in quick succession.

 Students spend so much energy trying to decode the words they are reading and say them properly that they are not
comprehending what they read. In these cases, students might not seem to be struggling too much when they are reading (though
they would not show complete fluency), but they would not have much of an idea what they read when questioned.

 The student complains that he or she simply “does not know” how to sound out words. This is usually a sign of frustration at the
energy it is taking for them to decode the words that are being presented to them.

 The student can identify letters and sounds and even the relationship between the two but struggles putting them all together in a
short amount of time.

Remember that these observations can reflect anything from a student struggling a little with a new skill to a student having a learning
disability that is inhibiting their ability to decode words.

How do I teach decoding to my students?

Here are some simple ways that you can help your students improve their decoding skills:

 When you are teaching a sound, use visuals to prompt the students to reinforce their knowledge of sounds, and ask the students
to say the sound out loud as practice. This will help the students improve the speed at which they can decode and also stimulate
more of their senses as they learn, making it more memorable and effective.

 Use phonics to drill the students and give them more and more practice with sounding out phonemes and building to sounding out
words.

 Use relevant reading and writing assignments that relate to what you are teaching. If you are teaching the students a particular
sound, find a written piece that really highlights that sound so that the students can practice it in a practical manner.

 Don’t be afraid to use methods that will ask students to use their hands. Using manipulatives is a great way to help students learn
on a higher level and ensure that the information you are teaching makes its way to the students’ long-term memory.

 Try grouping your student homogeneously so that you can address specific problems or struggles in pockets of students and
make your job a little easier. This leads to more individualized instruction and ensures that all of your students are growing and
not that the children who understand the material are constantly waiting around for the others to catch up.

3.5 Reading for purpose

Now that your students have learned and mastered the basics of reading, it is time to move towards higher-level thinking, which means
reading for purpose. Up until this point, the purpose for reading was comprehension, but there is so much more to being a strong reader.
Strong readers do not just understand the literal meaning of what they are reading; they also understand the implicit meaning of what they
read. Let’s take a look at some simple strategies that will help your students read with purpose more effectively.

 Teach your students to be reflective about their own reading. Reading is an active skill, not just a passive occurrence. If a child
loves playing basketball, he cannot expect to just sit on the court and let basketball happen; he needs to try. The same principle
applies to reading. Encourage your students to be aware of their reading, what works for them, what helps them, and then to have
the follow-through to do what they need to do to read more effectively. 
  Make sure that your students understand the purpose for which they are reading something. If you take a passage completely out
of context, it is not going to make much sense, so give your students some context whenever you give them something to read.
Ask them to look for something specific, give them guiding questions, or even just let them know why the piece is relevant to the
curriculum.

 Invite the students in on the process of setting a purpose. Encourage them to question the text and really delve into it to get
meaning. Then encourage them to identify their own purpose (with proper guidance, of course). When students have a role in the
planning process, they tend to be more invested in lessons.

 Model active reading for your students. So many teachers like to tell their students to annotate a piece but don’t like to show them
what that means. A good way to do this is to take the first section of whatever you are going to have them read and go over it as a
class. As you go, show them how you would annotate the piece, what kinds of questions you would ask, and when you would
underline or highlight words, phrases, or sentences. This will help them visualize what they are supposed to do.

If you are able to take a student who does not know English from sounding out letters to reading actively and fluently, you’ll know you have
been successful.

Module 4: Writing
Not Saved

Whereas reading serves as the basis for students understanding a new language, writing gives them the opportunity to explore the new language. Now that
your students are able to comprehend the English language as they read it, it is time to put them in charge of using that language to convey their meaning.
Learning to write in a new language can be very challenging because you need to have the same base of knowledge as you would for reading to
comprehend the words, and you also have to be able to create those words to represent your thoughts and ideas. In this module, we will discuss the basics
of writing in English, including how to craft a sentence, how to make words work together, and how to explore the language through writing.

Module 4: Writing

4.1 Sentence structure

4.2 Grammar

4.3 Informative and explanatory writing

4.4 Persuasive writing

Module 4: Writing
Not Saved

4.1 Sentence structure

In your studies of reading and comprehension, your students have developed some basic skills in understanding the language as they come across it. Now
that they have a basic understanding of English sounds and words, it is time to help them learn how to put those sounds and words together to create
sentences that convey meaning. We will start at the beginning and look at how sentences are structured in the English language.

4.1.1 Basic sentence patterns

There are five basic patterns for sentence structure in English, and they differ in the elements that are present within the sentence. Any two sentences,
however, no matter how different they are, contain two things: a subject and a verb. For a sentence to work, there needs to be a person or thing that is doing
or being something (subject) and an action or state of being that they are committing or portraying (verb). Here are the five basic sentence patterns that
your students will encounter in the English language:

 Subject-verb (S-V): This is the simplest sentence pattern in the English language, only containing the information that needs to be there. Here
are a few examples of sentences that follow the subject-verb pattern:

o Mark ran.
o Maria slept.
o The dog plays.
o Jimmy fell.
 Subject-verb-object (S-V-O): Sentences that follow this pattern are very similar to S-V sentences except that an object has been added to the
sentence. In an English sentence, the object is what is being acted upon by the subject. In other words, the noun (subject) is acting (verb) upon
another noun (object). Here are a few examples of sentences that follow the subject-verb-object pattern: 

o Mark ran to the store.

o Maria slept in bed.
o The dog plays outside.
o Jimmy fell to the floor.
 4.1.3 Clauses
 Looking at the examples in the previous section, you may wonder what happens when
sentences get more complex. That can certainly complicate things, but at its core, a
sentence still follows one of the previous patterns (or two of them if it is a complex
sentence). Understanding the typical sentence patterns is helpful, but your students also
need to understand the basic structures that dictate sentences in English. To understand
these basic sentence structures, though, we need to first discuss clauses.
 Clause: A clause is one of the basic units in English grammar and is a group of words
that contains a subject and a verb. Every sentence has at least one clause in it (because the
requirements for a sentence and a clause are the same). A clause, however, does not
necessarily complete a thought and therefore works alone as a sentence. There are two
types of clauses, and understanding both of them is important for students who are
learning to write in English for the first time.
 Dependent clause (subordinating clause): This is exactly what it sounds like: a clause (or
group of words containing a subject and a verb) that is dependent on other clauses. In other
words, a dependent clause would not work alone as a sentence because it needs another
clause for it to make sense. An example of a dependent clause is “because the world is
ending.” The only thing that makes this clause dependent is the word “because,” which
adds the implication of cause and effect to the sentence. We see the cause, but we need the
effect to complete the sentence. 
 Independent clause: An independent clause is a clause (a group of words containing a
subject and a verb) that can exist by itself and be a complete thought and therefore
a   complete sentence. Every sentence contains an independent clause, and all simple
sentences are made up of one independent clause. An example of an independent clause is
“They went down to the bomb shelter.” The absence of a subordinating word (“because” in
the dependent clause) makes this sentence work as a complete thought. 

 If we combine the two clauses, one dependent and one independent, in the previous
example, we get a complex sentence, which looks like this: “Because the world is ending,
they went down to the bomb shelter.” This is a complete sentence, with a dependent
clause (“Because the world is ending”) marked by a subordinating word (“Because”)
presenting a cause and an independent clause (“they went down to the bomb shelter”)
completing the thought with the effect. 
 4.1.4    Basic sentence structure

 With dependent and independent clauses under our belts, we can turn our attention back to sentence structure and look closely at
how these clauses can work together to create and convey meaning.

 Simple sentence: A simple sentence contains one independent clause that stands alone as a complete thought. This is the most
basic type of sentence and creates the structure for more complex sentences. Here is an example of a sentence that follows the
simple sentence structure:

 Bobby drove his car to the store.

  Compound sentence: A compound sentence is a sentence that contains two or more independent clauses. These clauses could
stand alone if they needed to but have been combined because they are related to each other. Here is an example of a sentence
that follows the compound sentence structure: 

 Bobby drove his car, and Mark read the directions.

 Complex sentence: A complex sentence includes an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. This means that
within the sentence are subject-verb pairs that would not be able to stand alone as a complete thought. Here is an example of a
sentence that follows the complex sentence structure:

 Bobby drove his car to the store because he needed some gum.

 In this example, we have borrowed the simple sentence and added a dependent clause “because he needed some gum.” The
subject (“Bobby”) is implied by the independent clause, and this dependent clause cannot stand alone and make sense.

 Compound-complex sentence: A compound-complex sentence includes at least two independent clauses and one or more
dependent clauses, essentially combining the elements of a compound sentence with the elements of a complex sentence. Here
is an example of a sentence that follows the compound-complex sentence structure:

 Bobby drove his car, and Mark read the directions when they went to the store.

4.2 Grammar
Understanding sentence structure is a key aspect of grammar, but there are many other grammatical rules that are important for your
students to know and understand. As you may already know, grammar is the set of rules for the English language. While we do not have the
time to discuss every grammar rule in this section, we will cover the basics and make sure that your students have a good basis of
knowledge from which to work, and that they understand how to create sentences that are grammatically correct and convey the meaning
they are intending. We have already discussed the parts of speech in a previous module, but now we will look at those parts of speech in
more detail and discuss some of the rules regarding how to use them.

4.2.1 Nouns (1 of 3)

As we discussed in an earlier module, a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. Here are some different types of nouns:

 Proper nouns: The names of specific places, people, or things.

 Common nouns: General or colloquial names.
 Concrete nouns: People, places, or things that are tangible.
 Abstract nouns: Ideas that are intangible. 

Nouns can be tricky because the term encompasses many different types of words. When using nouns, one of the grammatical rules you
need to look out for most is whether or not you should pluralize a noun and how to do so.

When is a noun pluralized?

Not every noun has a plural form because it does not always make sense for there to be more than one of something.  Count nouns refer to
nouns that can be counted, such as “cup,” “table,” and “monkey.” These nouns represent a specific object that there can be more than one
of. Non-count nouns are nouns that cannot be counted because they already represent a group of objects or a type of object. For example,
“water” is a non-count noun because you cannot look at the ocean and count the water. 

Possessive nouns: Because nouns represent people, places, things, and ideas, they sometimes
need to be possessive to show that the person, place, thing, or idea owns or is in possession of
something.  Possession is usually marked by an apostrophe (’) and follows these rules:

 You can make most nouns possessive simply by adding an apostrophe and then an “s” at
the end of the word.
o Mark: Mark’s
o Dog: dog’s
 o Boy – boy’s

 When you come across a plural noun that ends in “s” or a noun that already ends in “s,”
you can make it possessive by simply adding an apostrophe.
o Boys: boys’
o Class: class’
o Dogs: dogs’

 If you have one item, but you would like to express that two different people or things
own it, you would add an apostrophe and an “s” after the last person’s name.
o Bill and Frank’s new house
o Boxer and Spot’s toy
o Sally and Ann’s car.

 If the objects owned by two different people are separate things, then you should add an
apostrophe and an “s” at the end of each name.
o Bobby’s and Mary’s wedding rings are gold.
o Jill’s and Samantha’s jobs are difficult.
o Jean’s and Yancy’s tables are both oak.
 Pronouns are important in writing because they take the place of a noun to make the writing less repetitive and choppy. To
illustrate this idea, take a look at an example of a written excerpt that does not use pronouns: 

 Mike grabbed Mike’s shirt and went to go find Mike’s mom to tell Mike’s mom that Mike’s mom needed to leave right away
because Mike and Mike’s mom were in danger.

 Now, let’s use pronouns:

 Mike grabbed his shirt and went to go find his mom to tell her that they needed to leave right away because they were in danger.

 Clearly, the second example sounds much better and gets the point across without reusing the original nouns.

 The major point that your students need to understand about pronouns besides the different types that exist (which we will discuss
in this section) is that every pronoun needs an antecedent or a noun that it is taking the place of. The only exception is indefinite
pronouns, which replace vague nouns, such as “all” or “some.” 

 Look again at the second example above, which contains pronouns. Each of those
pronouns has an antecedent, which you can see in the first example. Let’s rewrite the
second example, but this time we will include the antecedent to each pronoun in
parentheses:
 Mike grabbed his (Mike’s) shirt and went to go find his (Mike’s) mom to tell her (Mike’s
mom) that they (Mike and Mike’s mom) needed to leave right away because they (Mike
and Mike’s mom) were in danger.
 When a pronoun does not have a clear antecedent, the writing becomes very confusing,
and it should distinguish who is doing what. Here is an example of a sentence with
 unclear antecedents. Note how difficult it is to understand who the sentence is truly
talking about:
 Mark, John, and Billy went to the mall because he needed a new shirt. When they
arrived, he ran to the clothing store, and he ran after him, trying to keep up, while he
hung back and headed to the food court.
 Because the antecedents are unclear, you could not tell me which boy went to the store,
which boy chased after him, and which boy went to the food court.
4.2.5 Types of pronouns

People often have trouble understanding the different types of pronouns, so your students may have trouble with it as well. Let’s look at the
nine different types of pronouns:

 Personal: A personal pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a person. This is the most common type of pronoun, and for it to work in
a sentence, it needs to have a clear antecedent that it agrees with (male nouns need male pronouns). Examples: “I,” “he,” “she,”
“me.”
 Possessive: Possessive pronouns are personal pronouns that convey ownership. These pronouns not only need an antecedent
but also need to be followed by a noun (the thing that is possessed by the pronoun). Examples: “ my carrots,” “his book,”
“their time.”
 Indefinite: Indefinite pronouns can be a little complicated because they take the place of nouns that are not exactly clear. In other
words, these pronouns will not have a clear antecedent. It is important to note, however, that if these types of pronouns are used
to show possession, they are actually adjectives. Examples: “Everybody wants to go to the mall,” “Somebody took my juice.”
 Reflexive: Reflexive pronouns usually occur at the end of a sentence or clause and reflect back to the subject of the sentence.
Examples: “I am going to get a soda for myself,” “What do you have to say for yourselves?”
 Reciprocal: A reciprocal is exactly like a reflexive pronoun except that they refer to two subjects doing something to or for each
other. The only two reciprocal pronouns in the English language are “each other” and “one another.” Examples: “John and Tim are
in the library quizzing each other,” “Maria and Jenny are helping one another with laundry.”
 Intensive: Intensive pronouns are exactly the same as reflexive pronouns except they can be removed from a sentence without
changing the meaning or rendering the sentence incomplete. Examples: “He is going to do the work himself.”
 Interrogative: Interrogative pronouns are pronouns that are used in a question. Examples: “Who took the candy?,” “Which door
is it?”
 Relative: A relative pronoun is a pronoun that connects a phrase or a clause to a pronoun or a noun. Examples: “I am going to
get whoever stole my bag,” “I am going to take whichever door leads to the bathroom.”
 Demonstrative: Demonstrative pronouns take the place of specific nouns and are typically used when the speaker or narrator is
talking about a specific object. Examples: “This is the Captain’s wine,” “That candy belongs to her.”
 4.2.6 Verbs

 Along with nouns, verbs are part of the two most important parts of a sentence, so it is important that your students know how to
use them and the rules that govern English verbs. Verbs are extremely complicated because there are so many different little
rules governing how verbs are used, but they can be generally broken down into three categories: transitive, intransitive, and
linking. We will look at each of these types to help your students have a sense of how verbs work.

 Transitive verbs: A transitive verb is a verb that exists in a sentence with an object. The subject of the sentence is doing
something to something else.

 Brian hit the ball and ran to first.

 Both “hit” and “ran” are transitive in this sentence because they have objects. In the first clause, it is clear that the ball (object) has
been hit (transitive verb). In the second clause, it is clear that first base (object) is being run to (transitive verb). 

 Intransitive verbs: An intransitive verb is a verb that does not take an object and rather describes an action or state of being that
is not acting upon something else.

 Because the food was not free, she left.

 While she is leaving whatever place she is in, the object does not need to be expressed because the intransitive verb “left” is
enough to describe the action.

 Linking verbs: These verbs link the subject to the rest of the sentence when the verb is not describing something being acted
upon.
  These avocados seem like they have not ripened yet.

 4.3 Informative and explanatory writing

 Now that your students have a decent handle on sentence structure and grammar, it is time to learn how to write to convey
meaning. In the next two sections, we will explore the most common types of writing they will come across in their lives. First, we
will start with informative and explanatory writing, an extremely helpful tool for individuals in a number of different professions.
 Informative and explanatory writing involves researching or analyzing a topic that is already generally accepted to be true. Unlike
persuasive writing, there is no argument but rather an exploration of why or how something is what it is. This is why informative
and explanatory is the most common type of writing that your students will find in their careers; more careers are focused on
explaining and exploring the nature of things rather than creating an argument. To illustrate this point, here is a brief list of the
different applications for informative and explanatory writing:
 Definition: In this type of writing, your students will have to define a topic and explain it in detail. Potential practical application:
Your student works in an office, and the sales team is going to try to land a new client that works with industrial refrigeration parts.
The boss asks your student to provide a report on industrial refrigeration parts so that the sales team is prepared when they pitch
the client.
 Breaking something into parts: In this type of writing, your student will have a topic that is generally understood but needs to be
understood in more detail. To do this, he or she can break it into parts and/or types to make it more palatable for the reader.
Potential practical application: Your student works for a team that is in charge of creating new programs and projects for their
company. The project team comes up with an idea they need to pitch to their boss. Your student is tasked with writing a
breakdown of the project, e.g., detailing what each department will be responsible for, how much it will cost, and how much
revenue it will generate.
 Describing behavior or function: In this type of writing, your student will have to explore how something behaves and/or
functions. Potential practical application: Your student works for a zoo that is going to receive a new animal in three weeks that
they have never accommodated before. Your student is asked to write a report on how the animal behaves and what kind of
accommodations it will need.
 Explaining why: In this type of writing, your student will have to explore why a generally held opinion or fact is true. Potential
practical application: Your student works for a museum that is about to have an exhibit on dinosaurs. Your student is tasked with
writing a report for why dinosaurs became extinct so that the museum can inform its guests.
 4.4 Persuasive writing
 While persuasive writing is generally less utilized in most careers than informative and explanatory writing, it is still an extremely
important genre that can help your students in many different aspects of their life. From trying to convince your boss that you
deserve a raise to trying to convince your colleagues that a new idea will work, persuasive writing can be very powerful. Unlike
informative and explanatory writing, persuasive writing explores a topic or an idea that is not already widely accepted and creates
an argument for why it should be. Rather than discuss the different types of persuasive writing, we will focus this section on how
to craft an argument by focusing on the most important aspects of an argument.
 Thesis: While experts will argue on where a thesis is most effective in a persuasive argument, they will all agree that a thesis is
important. A thesis statement is a short (one or two sentences) summary of the writer’s position and serves as the main idea for
the piece of writing. A strong thesis statement provides the writing with a focus and gives the writer a frame of reference for the
rest of his or her argument.
 Organization: An argument needs to be carefully organized to be as effective as possible. This means that the writer needs to
constantly think about the thesis and how the argument is connecting back to it. Proper organization helps the argument flow and
eases the reader through the writer’s ideas. 
 Support: An argument is not complete without strong support. Whether the support comes in the form of direct textual evidence,
facts, or the opinions of respected professionals, it gives the reader a reason to believe your claims. The support serves as an
assurance to your reader that you are not coming up with this argument off the top of your head, but rather that there is evidence
to support what you are trying to convince the audience to believe.
 Elaboration and Analysis: Your argument needs to explore the topic and why the support you have provided is worthwhile and
relates back to the thesis. Without proper elaboration and analysis, your support will simply hang there limply and not be effective
in convincing your audience.
 Conclusion: Your conclusion should come with a summation of the rest of the argument to solidify your ideas in the readers’
heads as well as a call to action or a last attempt to convince the audience to understand and/or believe your argument.
 If your students can master these basic components of a strong argument, they will find it much easier to be convincing whenever
they are trying to persuade.

Module 5: Speaking
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5.1 Sounding out words

Although we already discussed sounds in the module on reading, we will focus more attention on helping your students actually sound out words. We will
start with a specific overview of phonetics.

5.1.1 Phonetic symbols

As you know, phonetics is the study of sounds and human speech. What we did not discuss earlier, is that phonetics has its own language made up of the
most common phonemes in the English language. While your students do not need to know these phonetic symbols to be able to read or speak, it can be
helpful when trying to teach how to pronounce English words. Here is the basic rundown of phonetic symbols:
Consonants:

Symbo
Examples
l

p pen, copy, happen

b back, baby, job

t tea, tight, button

d day, ladder, odd

k key, clock, school

g get, giggle, ghost

tʃ church, match, nature

dʒ judge, age, soldier

f fat, coffee, rough, photo

v view, heavy, move

θ thing, author, path

s soon, cease, sister

Symbo
Examples
l

z zero, music, roses, buzz

ʃ ship, sure, national

ʒ pleasure, vision

h hot, whole, ahead

m more, hammer, sum

n nice, now, funny, sun

ŋ ring, anger, thanks, sung

L light, valley, feel

R right, wrong, sorry, arrange

 j yet, use, beauty, few

w wet, one, when, queen

ʔ department, football

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Vowels and diphthongs:

Symbo
Example
l

ɪ kit, bid, hymn, minute

e dress, bed, head, many

æ trap, bad

ɒ lot, odd, wash

ʌ strut, mud, love, blood

ʊ foot, good, put

iː fleece, sea, machine

eɪ face, day, break

aɪ price, high, try

ɔɪ choice, boy

uː goose, two, blue, group

əʊ goat, show, no

aʊ mouth, now

ɪə near, here, weary

eə square, fair, various

ɑː start, father

ɔː thought, law, north, war

ʊə poor, jury, cure

ɜː nurse, stir, learn, refer

ə about, common, standard

i happy, radiate, glorious

u you, influence, situation

ṇ suddenly, cotton

ḷ middle, metal

ˑ Stress mark
5.1.3 Articulatory phonetics

When your students understand the important phonetic symbols of the English language, determining how to sound out new words will be
much easier. What will also help them learn how to sound out words is understanding how to make those sounds. Articulatory phonetics is
the study of how sounds are created, and a working understanding of the ideas outlined in articulatory phonetics can really help your
students understand the English language.

Understanding the anatomy of speech

So many different parts of your mouth and throat are involved in the production of speech that it can be overwhelming to try to trace sound.
Let’s make it a little less overwhelming by looking at each body part that contributes to speech.

 Alveolar ridge: The gums just behind the upper teeth.

 Palate: The hard palate, or the roof of the mouth within the sphere of your teeth.

 Velum: The soft palate, or the roof of your mouth as it extends past the teeth, ending at the uvula.

 Uvula: The appendage that dangles in the back of your mouth before your mouth turns into your throat.

 Pharynx: The back of your throat, behind the uvula.

 Epiglottis: A flap of flesh that rests below your pharynx, at the top of your throat.

 Trachea: The windpipe, which is covered by the epiglottis.

Module 5: Speaking
All of these parts of your mouth and throat, including your tongue, lips, and teeth, work together to modulate the sound waves that emanate from your
throat. Without these parts, we would only be able to make a one-toned indistinguishable noise rather than complex and recognizable speech. 

How do we make sounds?

Essentially, the sounds that we make are just puffs of air traveling through our throats and out of our mouths. The sounds that these puffs of air make
depend upon all the parts listed above and how they block or change the air as it passes through. To illustrate this process, think about the sound that would
be made if you blew air through a tube. Now think of the sounds you can make if you blow air through a flute, which blocks and moves the air in specific
ways. This is pretty much how your voice works.

Making consonant sounds

The difference between consonants and vowels is that consonants are made when there is much
more obstruction to the air as it is passing through your mouth, whereas your mouth generally
remains open when pronouncing vowels. Consonant pronunciation can generally be broken
down into the following categories:
  Stops: This is when you completely block the flow of air from your throat by closing
your mouth at some point during the pronunciation of the sound (p, t, k, b, d, and g).
 Nasals: In a nasal sound, you close your mouth just as you would with a stop, but the
back of your velum lowers, which allows air to flow up through your nose and out of your
nostrils (m, n, ŋ).
 Fricatives: In this sound, you only close your mouth part way so air is forced through a
narrow passage and makes a hissing sound (F, θ, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, h).
 Affricates: A combination of stop and fricative sounds that are made in a similar way
(tS, dZ).
 Approximants: This sound is like a fricative except that it involves less obstruction.
Sometimes, you will make these sounds by touching the tip of your tongue to the alveolar
ridge, lowering it as you release the air (l, r, j, w)

There are also voiced consonants, which refer to consonant sounds that are accompanied by
vibrations in your throat as the air passes through.

Place of articulation

Consonant sounds can also be classified based on where in the vocal tract air gets obstructed,
which is known as the place of articulation. Here are the different terms for where consonant
sounds are articulated:

 Bilabials: When you close or constrict your lips.

 Labiodentals: When your upper teeth and lower lip meet as you speak.
 Dentals: When you press the tip of your tongue to your upper teeth as you speak.
 Alveolars: When you press the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth as you speak.
 Post-alveolars: postalveolar consonants are produced by touching the tip of your tongue
to the back of your alveolar ridge. ? t? ? and d? are postalveolar.
 Palatals: When the body of your tongue touches your palate as you speak.
 Velars: When the body of your tongue touches your velum as you speak.
 Glottals: When you constrict your glottis as you speak.

Making vowel sounds

While vowel sounds still rely on opening and closing the mouth, we block the airflow from our
throat significantly less when pronouncing them. Many people have difficulty explaining the
difference between a vowel and a consonant, so learning how each of them differs in
pronunciation can be helpful. Generally, different vowel sounds are made by different mouth
shapes and positions of the tongue. 

5.2.1 Why read aloud?

Increased retention: Anytime that you can access more than one sense, you are more likely to
retain the information you are consuming. This is why the most memorable lessons from school
were the ones where you did an activity that required you to get out of your seat and move
around. Adding that extra wrinkle made it more memorable. When we read out loud, we are not
only reading, but we are also listening to what we read.

Increased focus: When you read to yourself, it is easy for your mind to wander and get
distracted by external forces. Reading out loud creates an atmosphere of reading and requires
you to focus on every word. That does not mean that your mind cannot wander, so you still need
to keep yourself honest, but it definitely cuts down on being distracted.

Self-correction: It is much easier to hear yourself pronouncing a word wrong when you say it
out loud. When you read a word silently, you don’t need to be able to pronounce it to identify it.
Reading out loud definitely helps you improve your speaking fluency because it ensures that you
know how to pronounce the words you are reading (or that you learn). Self-correction is also
important. If you are aware enough of the rules of English pronunciation to realize when you
have made a mistake and fix it, you are operating at a high level of understanding.

Learn and practice intonation: As you read out loud, you can begin practicing intonation,
stressing the right syllables and delivering the lines the way they were meant to be delivered.
This is another indication of a deep understanding of the intricacies of the language, since
intonation is only implied and not explicitly detailed in a piece of writing.
5.2.2 Strategies for reading out loud in the classroom

There are a number of different ways that you can have your students read aloud to practice their proficiency with the language. Some of
these strategies ask students to read in front of the class, some ask the student to read in front of a partner, and others ask the student to
read out loud only for himself or herself. Each strategy has its merits and drawbacks, but reading out loud in any form will help your students
improve their overall fluency in English.

Round robin reading: With this strategy, you make a game out of reading out loud, and students take turns reading a certain amount of
text. This is a great way to get your students comfortable with reading out loud, but it can be difficult to motivate struggling students to read
because of the stigma of reading in front of a group. This is also a great strategy for getting everyone involved in reading together, but it can
hinder students who are stronger readers and have to wait for struggling readers to catch up.

Popcorn reading: Each student reads a certain amount of text out loud and then yells “popcorn” and picks a new student to read. This can
be a good way to make sure everyone reads because the students are going to be better at keeping track of who has read and who hasn’t
than you would be, and it frees you up to monitor and/or provide individual attention to struggling students. 

Combat reading: This is similar to popcorn reading except the goal of the students is to catch someone who is not paying attention. This
can add a layer of fun to the activity, but be careful presenting reading as a punishment. That is not the best way to nurture lifelong readers.

Pick a name reading: This is the same as popcorn except instead of giving the students the power to select the next reader you leave it to
chance by using some variation of a hat filled with everyone’s name.

Touch and go reading: The teacher is in control and touches a student on the shoulder when they want the student to read.

Module 5: Speaking
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Choral reading: The entire class, along with the teacher, read out loud together. This strategy
serves a number of different purposes. First, it helps take the stigma away from struggling
readers. Second, it gives you the opportunity to model correct pronunciations for the students
that are not combative or anxiety-inducing. Third, all students are engaged at the same time,
which is a lofty goal for any teacher.

Partner up: Have your students pair up and share the reading, each taking turns reading a
certain amount of text out loud. This is a little more difficult for you to manage and monitor than
the whole class reading, but it can help students get a chance to read out loud in a less stressful
situation.

Heterogeneous pairing: This is the same as the previous strategy except that you intentionally
partner struggling readers with readers who are excelling. The idea is that the excelling student
can help the struggling reader bridge the gap. Critics note that this strategy does not really help
the strong student very much, as slowing down to adjust for their partners might work against
them.

Teacher modeling: The teacher reads aloud to the class to model pronunciation and fluency.
This can be an effective strategy because it helps the students see how the piece should be read
as they follow along, but make sure you are closely monitoring for engagement, as it is a type of
lesson where it is easy for students to be inattentive.

Echoing: This is similar to the previous strategy except the students echo back whatever the
teacher reads, trying to match the pronunciation, inflection, and emotion. This can be a great way
to model for students while still holding them accountable in the classroom.

Reading buddy: Students prepare individually, each with a unique text, and then read their piece
to a buddy, trying their best to read it with no mistakes. Peers can offer critiques and suggestions,
and you can monitor many students at once.

Tape recorder: Students read into a tape recorder and play it back to themselves as they follow
along with the text. There are many different things you can do with this, such as having the
students try to get the perfect recording and then turn it in or have the students swap recordings
with a partner. This is an excellent way for your students to get an idea of what they sound like,
where they are struggling, and where they are excelling. This is also a great way to help students
get used to self-correcting. 

5.3 Responding to questions

 As with many topics within this course, responding to questions is not compartmentalized to speaking, meaning it is something that can help
students gain fluency in a number of different ways, not just one. There are a couple of different ways that we can look at this topic, and each
one works on a different skill that will help build your students’ English fluency.

5.3.1    Question and response

Here are the different ways that you can question your students and expect them to respond:
Read a question and write a response: This is one of the more typical ways that teachers assess a student’s reading because it is easy to
assess after the fact and requires each student to do his or her own work. This strategy helps your students work on reading and writing
skills but does very little to build their speaking skills.

Listen to a question and write a response: This strategy is rarer because it requires every student to work at the same pace, which is not
always feasible in a classroom. We will talk about such strategies in the next module when we discuss listening in much more detail. Just like
the previous strategy, this strategy does not do much to help students learn to speak English more fluently. 

Read a question and answer verbally: This strategy helps students improve both their reading and speaking ability. It is an excellent
strategy to use when students are just starting off trying to speak English on their own because the question is written in front of them and
always available for reference. This is a great first step towards speaking English without any visual cues.

Listen to a question and answer verbally: This is the ultimate test of a student’s fluency. Not only do they have to comprehend the
question as they hear it (something we will discuss in the next module on listening), but they also have to be able to formulate a cogent
response in English. If your students are able to accomplish this task, then they are well on their way to English fluency.

5.3.2 Question-answer relationship

One of the best ways that you can help your students respond to questions verbally is by helping them understand how to find the answers
they need. This is a great skill to have no matter what language you speak, but it is definitely something that can help a student who is
struggling with a new language. According to the question-answer relationship model, there are four levels of questions, each with different
expectations for where students should draw their responses.

1. Understanding: The answer to the question being asked is right there in the text for the student to find. These types of questions
represent a lower level of thinking but are great for getting practice in answering orally in English. The question requires the student
to look at the text for an answer, but the answer is fairly easy, and the student can focus on how he or she is going to provide an
answer in English.

2. Think, search, and find: These types of questions require a higher level of thinking because they require students to make
inferences and understand the subtext of the piece they are reading. This is a great next step for the student who is starting to get
the hang of understanding questions and is ready for a greater challenge. With these types of questions, the student needs to
balance the higher-level comprehension skills he or she has been developing with his or her ability to verbalize a response in
English.
3. Connection: These types of questions require the student to think beyond what is in the text and make a connection with the
piece. This can be more difficult for English language learners because they cannot rely on repeating what they see in the text.
Rather, they have to synthesize what they read and create an answer that is relevant to the piece but use their own words.
Students are not only showing high comprehension skills but also high critical thinking skills, all while making sure to verbalize
their response in a language with which they are not yet comfortable.
4. Creating new knowledge: These types of questions require the student to go completely beyond the text and synthesize
something else. These questions are related to the text, but you can answer them without having to read it. This is a great way to
get your students creating new meaning and making use of everything they have learned so far

5.4 Presenting new ideas

The ultimate showcase of student improvement in spoken English is to present new ideas of
their own in this new language. As students build towards fluency, using texts and
responding to teacher questions are all great ways to develop their skills, but the true test
comes when they step away from source material and use what they have learned to present
new ideas. While the job of presenting these new ideas is ultimately up to them, you can
encourage and support them on their way to success. 

Continue building vocabulary: There will never be a time when any student is done
learning words, and the best way to help your students present their own unique ideas is by
giving them the vocabulary toolbox they need to express those new ideas.

Provide a low-anxiety environment: Your student will be taking a risk by sharing new

ideas in a language they are not completely fluent in, so try to take as much of the anxiety out
 of the situation as you can. Give them the space to work through what they are going to say
and then be encouraging when they are ready to go.

Give them time to practice: It might be helpful to bring back the reading strategy that we
discussed earlier and give them a recorder to record themselves and check their own
progress. Once students have progressed and are improving, it is important to give them
some control over the process and take responsibility for their performance.
Provide honest but encouraging feedback: Even outside of TESOL, simply saying “good job” is no longer enough to encourage a student. Be specific,
be honest, but be encouraging. If certain students are struggling with something, let them know, but also tell them how it can be fixed and what needs to be
done to get it better. Students appreciate honesty as long as it is presented to them in a way that does not immediately make them shut down and not want
to try.

Listen to the student: The worst thing you can do is not listen after your student has done all that work to present a new idea to you. Of course, you would
never visibly ignore the students as they present, but it can be easy to lose focus on exactly what the students are saying. When the presentation is over, be
specific as to what you liked about the student’s idea. Show the student that you care and that you are proud of him and her. Even if the student struggled,
just getting up and taking the risk was a big leap, so leave the critique until some time has passed

6.1 Repeating what you hear or transcribing

Asking your students to transcribe speech is a great way to get them used to understanding what people are saying. It is also a great way for
you to monitor how well they actually understand speech as opposed to how much they tell you they understand. It is one thing to be able to
get a general idea of what someone is saying to you; it is another thing entirely to be able to transcribe the speech word for word. In this
section, we will focus on two different types of transcription, both of which will help your students better understand the language.

6.1.1 Phonetic transcription

Phonetic transcription is a technique whereby an individual breaks down speech into sounds and phonemes, and transcribes the speech in
phonetic symbols, using the symbols that we discussed in the previous module. We will not repeat the symbols, so feel free to go back and
review them. Instead, we will focus on what phonetic transcription looks like and how it will benefit your students.

What does phonetic transcription look like?

Phonetic transcription can be a great way for your students to learn to decode sounds from speech, but it is not a practical activity for them
once they have mastered the language. It is extremely helpful but can take time. Take a look at the following excerpt and what it would look
like in phonetic transcription:

Original text: Sometimes, phonetic transcription can be complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it is actually quite easy. It will also help
students get the hang of recognizing sounds, which will make conversational English much easier.

6.1.2    Phonetic transcription

Now that you have seen what phonetic transcription can look like, let’s take a look at the different types of phonetic transcription. Some will
be helpful to your students and some will not.

Systematic vs. impressionistic transcription 

As an expert in phonetic symbols, if you were to listen to speech in another language, you would generally be able to chart it out based on
English phonetic symbols. Obviously, this is not the best way to handle this since phonetic symbols are going to be different in every
language, but you are going to use the knowledge you have. A phonetics expert would instead use a more universal group of phonetic
symbols to transcribe the speech. This is called impressionistic transcription because although this is still not perfect the transcriber is
charting out the sounds as best as he or she can without knowing the language. Later, experts can take this impressionistic transcription and
revise and modify it to more accurately represent the speech. It would be much more difficult if the speech were charted out using more
specific English phonetic symbols.

Once experts are able to analyze the speech and get a sense for the sounds of the particular language they are listening to, they are able to
revise the transcription into a much more accurate transcription. This is called a  systematic transcription or a transcription that more
accurately reflects the phonetic structure of the language it is breaking down.
As you may have already determined, a systematic transcription is more helpful for your students, although it could be helpful to have them
use their native language to analyze the sounds in an English recording. However, you are more typically going to ask them to create
phonetic transcriptions that more accurately reflect the phonetic structure of the English language to ensure they are learning.

6.1.3 Phonetic transcription

Simple vs. comparative transcription

Phonetic symbols, though explicitly stated, can be left up to some interpretation. Experts will sometimes do what is called a simple
transcription, which makes the phonetic translation as easy to read as possible without worrying too much about everything being perfect.
This kind of shorthand is sometimes appreciated by experts since they often have to go through massive amounts of text. While this may not
be the best type to start your students with because they may not be ready for such shorthand, it can be helpful once they become good at
transcribing. You should only allow them to take shortcuts once they are doing it to save time, not to make the text easier to transcribe.

Comparative transcription is relevant when the sounds for different languages match, and you are able to use a more vague phoneme to
refer to the different versions of the phoneme in different languages. This type of transcription is not very helpful for your students.

Phonemic vs. allophonic transcription

Everything we have been discussing so far in this section has referred to  phonemic transcription, which refers to any transcription where
you break down sounds into phonemes. The other option you have with your transcription is to do an  allophonic transcription, which
means breaking down the speech into allophones. If you remember from previous modules, allophones are a phonic rather than phonemic
way of breaking down words. 

6.1.4 Word-for-word transcription

When you would like to have your students practice with words rather than just sounds, you should work with them on word transcriptions,
which are exactly what they sound like. Students listen to a person speaking (or a recording) and transcribe the speech as it is spoken. Let’s
go through the steps you should have your students take to transcribe speech.

1. Select or provide a text that already has a transcription. There is no way to assess your students unless you have an answer key.
You can either hold onto the correct transcription yourself to assess them or give it to them so that they can check their work and
self-correct. When they are working towards mastery, it is probably better to give them the transcription, and when you are ready to
assess their mastery, it is probably better to assess them yourself.

2. Have the students listen to the speech once. If you are delivering the speech, read it through once, instructing them not to write
anything yet but only to listen. If the students have a recording, instruct them to listen to it in their own once through before they do
anything.
3. Have your students transcribe the speech line by line. It would be more helpful if they have a recording of the speech so that they
are able to go back and listen again when they need to. However, you may want to simply speak the text when your students
have progressed to the point where they are strong enough to handle it. Here are some tips that might help them:
o If you have the opportunity, use a digital recording so that it is easier for the students to go back and forth and keep
track of their progress.
o Have the students write their transcriptions by hand to have a closer connection to the words they are writing. Also,
handwriting the transcriptions means they will not have access to grammar and spelling software that will help them
along the way but ultimately hurt their learning.
o Allow the students to use a dictionary whenever they need to. Not only will this provide a reference piece to help them,
but it will also give the students practice looking up words in a dictionary.
o Do not limit the number of times your students can rewind or listen to parts of the recording again. Even native English
speakers would have trouble transcribing a piece word for word without listening to it more than once.
o Encourage your students to transcribe the piece word for word, but then look through their transcription to fix errors in
grammar and usage even when those errors were made by the original speaker. This will give the students practice
transcribing the piece and also give them the opportunity to practice their revision skills and access their knowledge of
grammar.

6.1.4 Word-for-word transcription

1. Have your students carefully check their answers (as we said before, they may be at the point where you can assess them
instead) against the correct transcription. Have your students look at where they struggled and where they excelled, and try to
determine their strengths and weaknesses so that they can use the activity as a learning experience.
2. Transcriptions are not something you can do every day since they are pretty exhaustive, but you should try to do them every so
often until your students have demonstrated proficiency. Also, make sure that you are using it as a learning experience and have
your students continually reflect on their performance to make sure that it is worthwhile.
How is transcribing text helpful?

As we have already discussed, transcribing text can be extremely helpful to your students for the following reasons:

 It helps students work on mastering the sounds of English. Students need to be able to get used to understanding English only
from sound, and this is a direct way to give them practice with that.
 It gives students practice writing the language, and if you ask them to fix any errors in their own transcription and the original text,
they have the opportunity to display their knowledge of grammar and practice revising it.
 Because this activity is meticulous, it forces students to really delve into the text and pay attention to every detail rather than just
summarizing what is being said.

 This directly prepares students for conversational English, although it takes out the part where they respond. This is the first step
towards being able to hold a cogent conversation in English.
 This is a great way to give students the opportunity to work independently. They are able to take the time to struggle with the
language without fear of peer ridicule. Completing this activity will also give them a sense of accomplishment that they probably
would not get from a more teacher-directed activity.

6.2 Paraphrase what you hear

People tend to think that paraphrasing someone is easier than quoting them directly, but that just isn’t true. To effectively paraphrase, you
need to understand what the person has said enough to put their words into your own words. That is why this is a great skill for your students
to practice; it will test their ability to listen to someone speak, process the words, and then rewrite them in their own words. In many ways,
this task is much more difficult than transcription. Since paraphrasing is such a difficult skill for your students to master, let’s take a closer
look at how you can help them develop their skills.

6.2.1 Teaching students to paraphrase

There are many different ways that you can teach your students to paraphrase more effectively, and it is definitely an important skill to
practice with them.

 Start out slowly and informally. Have your students pair up (or get into small groups) and practice paraphrasing. You can even
have them start in their native language if you want to practice the process. Give the students a simple question, such as “What
did you do this weekend?” Have the students interview each other and then try to paraphrase what their partner tells them. This
helps them work on both speaking and listening skills.
 Do it with them. When you are starting to teach the skill and process of paraphrasing, model the activity by participating in it with
them. Start by asking a student a question and then paraphrasing his or her answer for the class. Then do the same thing, but ask
the class to help you paraphrase. By initiating the process together, you will make your students feel more comfortable, and you
will show them how it should be done.
 As you are modeling the process with the students, help them understand how to paraphrase better by introducing four strategies
they can use:
o Reword: The student replaces words with synonyms whenever he or she can.
o Rearrange: The student rearranges a sentence so that it sounds different but conveys the same message. You will
have to model this for them directly.
o Accept: Let the students know they will not be able to change every word (nor should they), so they need to learn to
make decisions on what needs to be changed and what should stay the same.
o Recheck: Have the students read over the paraphrased version they have written and evaluate it based on how
accurate it is to the original message. If you have the students working together, have the student who delivered the
speech check the student who paraphrased for accuracy. You can also use this as an assessment tool and evaluate it
yourself.
 Now that your students are getting a little more comfortable with paraphrasing, give them text to work with. You can still have
them in pairs, but this time have one student read the text to the other (once again, also practicing reading and speaking skills),
and have the other student paraphrase. Keep the texts simple enough so that the focus of the activity is on paraphrasing skills.
 As the students seem to really get the hang of paraphrasing, ask them to do it in front of the class. Bring a pair up to the front to
showcase the activity the class has already been working on. Let students in the audience critique the performances. Remember
that this step will only really work once the students are comfortable with the process.
 If you really want to extend the assignment and challenge your students, take the next step by giving them more and more
complex texts. Even once they start to master the language, this is a good skill to practice.

Paraphrasing is a great skill to practice even if there is no listening component. Students can also learn a lot by reading a text silently and
paraphrasing it. Remember that anything that helps your students gain fluency in the English language is worth doing.

.3 How paraphrasing helps students

We have already hinted at all the ways paraphrasing can help your students master the English language, but we should take some time to
explicitly review the benefits of this activity.
  When you use oral text for this activity, it helps your students improve their ability to listen to and comprehend English. As we
stated before, they need to be able to recognize the sounds they are hearing, identify the meaning of what they are hearing, and
then turn that information into something new. Students need to be able to not only translate the language but also what is actually
being said to re-create it.
 This activity also works on other skills even if they are not the focus. When you have your students read a text to each other, you
also practice all of the skills involved in reading out loud, including decoding, pronunciation, and reading comprehension.

 Learning how to paraphrase naturally will help your students when they begin developing their conversational English. As they
become more comfortable with the language, they will need to be able to take in what people are saying, process it, and respond
appropriately. While this activity does not require the students to respond appropriately, it definitely helps them with the rest of the
conversation.
 If you choose to have your students paraphrase with written text, then it does not really help them practice their listening skills, but
it certainly would help them improve their reading skills.
 Paraphrasing text helps students make connections with their own knowledge. This happens in a few different ways:
o Students make connections to their native language or cognates that helps them understand and relay the information
that is given to them.
o Students connect to what is being said on a personal level and are able to paraphrase the speech because they feel
personally invested in it.
o The activity takes on a much more interesting and less monotonous feel because you are no longer asking the
students to simply echo back what they have heard; you are asking them to comprehend and create something of their
own with it.

.3 Conversational English
The next step from having your students listen to someone speak and paraphrase their words is to
have them respond to the speech with an appropriate reaction. Whereas paraphrasing requires
your students to be able to take someone else’s speech and put it into their own words,
conversational English requires them to quickly comprehend what someone says, decide how to
respond, and then determine how to respond in English. The immediacy of a conversation makes
this one of the true tests of your students’ fluency and what they have learned thus far. To ensure
that your students are prepared for conversational English, make sure they understand each of the
following concepts (some we have already discussed):

 Verb conjugation: To effectively communicate during a conversation, your students will

need to know the basics of verb conjugation, especially when it refers to tense. The
difference between “I ran to the store” and “I run to the store” may only be a difference
of one letter, but it significantly changes the sentence. Students do not have to be experts
at this yet, but they should understand the basics so that they can participate in a
conversation without confusion.
 Using pronouns properly: Pronoun use is very important in conversational usage, as it
is a typical (and grammatically correct) way to take shortcuts to meaning. It is important
that you help your students by stressing to them the importance of clear antecedents as
well as proper pronoun usage.
 How conversational English varies from formal English: Your students may be fluent
in formal English, but if you haven’t discussed such words as “gonna” with them, they
might find themselves very confused in a conversation. Few people speak with perfect
English or even scrutinize spoken English the same way that they scrutinize written
English. While you don’t need to teach your students all the slang that they might hear, it
would be helpful if you could give them some information on the slang words that have
been generally accepted in oral English.  
 Understanding English idioms: While these cultural sayings will not pop up in every
conversation that your students have in English, you should try to give them some
instruction in some of the idioms that are most commonly used. Since idioms are so
 cultural, we will leave it to you to decide which are the most relevant in your region or
country.
 How English differs from their language: This will require individualized instruction,
but it will be worth it. Try to provide extra practice and instruction with your students to
help them understand some of the specific differences in grammar and structure between
English and their native language. Students who speak Spanish, for example, will have to
get used to the fact that the adjective typically comes before the noun in English. With
specialized instructions in these nuances, you can help your students be prepared for
things that are most likely to trip them up during a conversation.

MODULE 7 PEDAGOGY
7.1.1 Bloom’s taxonomy 

Benjamin Bloom studied learning and concluded that learning activities could be categorized into six segments based on the level of thinking
they require. He framed his theory into the shape of a triangle with the lowest-level thinking at the bottom. He did this because even though
the lower-level thinking activities require less thinking, they provide the base for higher-level thinking. He believed (as many do) that it is very
hard to extend your learning on a topic if you do not understand the topic itself. We will discuss each category in reverse order, starting with
what Bloom labeled as the lowest level of thinking.

1. Remember: At the base of this triangle, representing the lowest level of thinking, is any activity that requires a student to recall
facts and basic concepts. These types of activities are extremely important in a student’s learning, since it is hard to take the next
step without first knowing the basic facts. Activities that require students to remember include defining words, memorizing facts,
listing things, and repeating information.
2. Understand: At the next level of thinking, teachers ask students to comprehend what they are memorizing and repeating. For
students to explore content in any way, they need to be able to comprehend what they are studying. Activities that require
students to explain ideas or concepts include classifying, describing, discussing, and explaining information.

3. Apply: Once students understand the information they are learning, they can take the next step and apply what they have learned
to new situations. This displays a higher level of thinking because the student needs to understand the concept enough to apply it
to something different. For example, a student may be able to recite  Romeo & Juliet, which shows they can remember. They may
comprehend the play enough to explain it, which shows they can understand. Now, if they can take that comprehension of the
play and use it to understand Othello, they are applying their knowledge. Activities that require students to apply their knowledge
include implementing plans, solving problems, and demonstrating knowledge. 

4. Analyze: True analysis of a concept requires a student to have accomplished all of the levels of thinking that come before it. To
truly delve into a topic and analyze more than what is explicitly stated, a student needs to understand it completely. When
students analyze, they draw connections between ideas and explore connotative and deep meaning. Activities that require
students to analyze include differentiating information, organizing information, comparing and contrasting, and experimenting.

5. Evaluate: Simply the act of evaluating something does not necessarily require much thinking; we are constantly judging things we
may know nothing about. To make an accurate judgment about something, however, you need to understand it completely. If you
ask your students if Americans were justified in fighting against the British in the American Revolution, they will need to
understand how the war began, why each side fought, and then make a determination about the colonies’ justification. Activities
that require students to justify a stand or decision include appraisals, arguments, judgments, and critiques.

6. Create: According to Bloom, the highest level of thinking is when you ask your students to synthesize what they have learned and
create something new. The idea behind his emphasis on this skill is that students need to be able to understand something
completely and have high skills to be able to now create something of their own that is related. Activities that require students to
synthesize their knowledge include designing, assembling, constructing, and writing (something original).

7. 7.1.3 Behaviorism (1 of 2)
8. Behaviorist theory is an idea that hinges completely on motivation and how teachers can
get students to succeed in the classroom. While many thinkers contributed to the formation
of behaviorism, the ideas can be easily summed up by the famous experiment conducted
by Ivan Pavlov, who proved that a dog could be conditioned to respond to a specific
stimulus that does not inherently cause that response. He did this by essentially ringing a
bell every time before he gave a dog food to the point where the dog began to salivate in
 anticipation of food. After some conditioning with this model, he removed the original
stimulus and found that the dog continued to salivate at the sound of the bell even when it
was not followed by food. The dog had now been conditioned to feel hungry whenever he
heard the bell according to Pavlov.
9. To understand the educational theory, we first need to clear up a few phrases that are often
misunderstood. Since behaviorism depends heavily on response to a stimulus, the
following phrases refer to the manipulation of stimuli by an outsider (in our case, the
teacher):

10. Positive reinforcement: When an outsider rewards a desired behavior by providing a

desired stimulus. An example is giving a student a good grade for working hard on an
assignment.
11. Negative reinforcement: This is probably the most misunderstood term in behaviorism.
The word “negative” refers to removal, and the word “reinforcement” refers to a
stimulus. Therefore, negative reinforcement is when an outsider rewards a desired
behavior by removing an undesirable stimulus. An example would be rewarding a student
for good behavior by not yelling at him or her as you normally would.
12. Positive punishment: This is when an outsider presents the subject with an undesirable
stimulus as a consequence of doing something wrong or not doing something right. An
example would be giving a student an F for not doing his or her work.
13. Negative punishment: This is when an outsider removes a desired stimulus from the
subject as a consequence of doing something wrong or not doing something right. An
example would be telling a student that he or she can no longer sit with friends because
he or she is misbehaving.
14. Pavlov’s experiment displayed classic conditioning, which refers to conditioning
involuntary behavior (a dog does not choose when to salivate). B.F. Skinner extended this
idea, referring to his ideas as operant conditioning, which refers to conditioning
voluntary actions through reinforcement and punishment.
15. Continuous reinforcement: This is when a subject is reinforced every time he or she performs the desired behavior. Skinner
found that this did not motivate subjects. They did not work as hard, and when the reinforcement was removed, they quickly
stopped performing the desired behavior.

16. Fixed ratio reinforcement: This is when the subject is reinforced after a specific amount of times that he or she performs the
desired behavior. Skinner found that subjects worked harder with this method, and that they were less likely to stop the desired
behavior after the reinforcement was removed. However, this still was not the most effective method.

17. Fixed interval reinforcement: This is when a subject is reinforced after a designated amount of time, provided the desired
behavior has been performed at least once during that time. Skinner found that the subjects worked moderately hard and were
about as likely to stop the behavior as the previous model after the reinforcement was removed.

18. Variable ratio reinforcement: This is when the subject is reinforced after a random number of times performing the desired
behavior. Skinner found that this method made subjects work hard and take a long time to stop the behavior after the
reinforcement was removed.

19. Variable interval reinforcement: This is when the subject is reinforced after a random amount of time has elapsed, provided that
the subject has performed the desired behavior at least once during that time. Skinner found that this worked equally as well as
the previous model, with subjects working hard and taking a long time to stop the desired behavior after the reinforcement was
stopped.

Constructivism
Constructivism hinges on the idea that educators need to meet students wherever they are (in
terms of skills and knowledge) and help them build on previous knowledge. It is also a theory
that seeks to help students find their own way as they experience learning and come to their own
conclusions.

According to this theory:

 The teacher takes a backseat and monitors students as they take control of their learning.
A traditional classroom is teacher-centered, but a constructivist classroom is student-
centered.

 Students are actively involved in the lesson. Instead of passively accepting the work
given by the teacher and completing it to receive a grade, the student drives the lesson and
works towards a goal with the teacher’s guidance.

 The class feels less like a dictatorship, which is run solely by one person, and more like
an environment that is run by the entire class.

 Teachers allow students to find their own answers rather than telling them what answers
to look for. Students are able to explore things in their own way and come to their own
conclusions instead of exploring things the way the teacher tells them to and coming to the
conclusions that the teacher wants them to come to.

 Teachers encourage students to be autonomous, which means they encourage students to

be independent and motivated by their own goals and interests.

Many modern classrooms are moving towards this model or at least towards a model that is
similar, following the next theory we will discuss.
 Student-centered learning

While constructivism was student-centered, there is a movement in modern education for a broader embrace of student-centered learning,
even if it is not technically considered constructivist. Since the ideas of student-centered learning have already been covered in
constructivism and by the clarity of the title, we will focus this section on how theorists believe student-centered learning benefits students.

 Research shows that student-centered learning works because a student’s potential for learning relies heavily on what he or she
already knows. This can affect what new information is important to the student, how he or she processes new information, and
how he or she determines what is important. With student-centered learning, students are more free and able to work at their own
pace, starting at their ability level or base of knowledge.

 One of the most important parts of learning is reflection; having students look back at what they learned, how they learned it, and
where they need to go from here. A less teacher-centered environment allows students more opportunities for this type of
reflection on learning.

 Students who are involved in student-centered learning have reportedly been more motivated and satisfied by the school
experience. This is because they are more likely to feel satisfied with their work than if they were simply doing what the teacher
told them to do.

 Student-centered learning is more open to differentiation, which allows all students with developmental, cognitive, or other
differences to progress. A teacher leading the class is much more likely to need all of his or her students to reach a specific point
at the end of the lesson. Students working independently can set their own goals.
  One of the biggest obstacles that teachers have to face is the student who is not engaged. Studies have shown that asking
students to move around, control their learning, and take responsibility for their development leads to more motivation and
progress than in traditional classrooms.

Modeling
One of the best ways to help students understand new knowledge or grasp difficult skills is through modeling and scaffolding, which both
involve the teacher showing students how things are done. Too often in education, teachers assume that students already know exactly what
they need to do. More often than not, this is just not true. Students will always benefit from watching the teacher model a skill or an activity.
Students are easily influenced and will often look to the teacher for how to act, what to do, and how to succeed. Here are some different
ways that you can model for your students:

 Model desired personal characteristics: It can be extremely beneficial to present yourself as a role model for optimal behavior
during a lesson. At any given time in your classroom, you are asking students to be responsible, creative, diligent, thoughtful, and
respectful (to name a few). Students are much more likely to meet these expectations if they see you meeting them as well.

 Model a task: Let’s say you want to teach active reading and annotation strategies to your students. You can do one of two things.
You could tell the students exactly what they should do and let them do it, or you could show them what they should do and help
them work on it. Select a piece of reading and read it with the class, annotating it in the same way that you expect your students to
annotate. This way there will be no confusion about what you are expecting from them.

 Model metacognitive thinking: When you are trying to help your students become better thinkers and arrive at conclusions more
efficiently and effectively, it can help to show them how your thought process works. In math class, this works perfectly because
you can walk your students through the process of solving a problem. In language classes, you could walk your students through
how you would break down a word for proper pronunciation and potential meaning.

 Let the students do the modeling: Assess your students’ strengths and weaknesses, and give them opportunities throughout
the year or course to model their strengths to the class. Not only will you be reinforcing their success and solidifying their mastery
of the skill, but you will also be letting students learn from other students.

In whatever way you choose to use modeling, you will make a significant impact on how well your students understand the skill or knowledge
that you are working on. Sometimes, students just need to see how it is done and not just hear how it should be done to be successful.

GETTING A TESOL JOB

Module 10: Getting a TESOL job
Not Saved

10.1 What do you need?

There is much demand for qualified individuals to become teachers of English as a second language, so the most important job we now have is to ensure
that you can find your way to the schools, companies, and organizations that are looking for someone like you. In this section, we will look specifically at
what you need to get a job in the TESOL field, helping students who want to develop their proficiency in English.

College degree: Most schools and organizations will look for you to have at least a Bachelor’s Degree to become a TESOL teacher. That does not mean
you need a BS or BA in TESOL, although there are majors that are more desirable than others. The majors that employers like to see, for example, are
English, Language Arts, TESOL, Education, and Linguistics. Again, though, the demand for individuals is high in this field, so a BS or a BA in a different
major does not count you out.

Close study of TESOL: Courses like this one give you the background that you need to look desirable to an employer. You may be required to get a
specific certification, but many employers are looking for a background in TESOL, which you now have.
Work experience: For many of you, this course is your first step towards becoming a teacher or becoming a TESOL teacher, so you may not yet have
work experience. However, many organizations and schools welcome interns and volunteers at different levels of commitment. Some of these
organizations and schools offer a track towards full employment from these volunteer or intern positions. Other organizations and schools are looking for
talented individuals to manage their volunteering staff, which could give you good experience that you can segue into a career as a TESOL teacher.
Showing that you are passionate enough about your future career to work for free towards it will go a long way in the eyes of a potential employer.

A strong resumé: We will discuss how to build and write a resumé in the next section.

A good interview: We will also discuss interview techniques in great detail in a later section.

10.2 Building a resumé

In this section, we will discuss how to write a great resumé, but we will first discuss what you
can do to build a great resumé. This means looking at the activities, jobs, and interests that will
catch the eye of potential employers and getting experience in them. With that in mind, let’s split
this section up into two.

10.2.1 What looks good on your resumé?

Before you even think about sending out your resumé, you should think about what you need to
have on it to make it impressive and something that will help you stand out in a stack of viable
candidates. Let’s take a look at the kinds of experiences that employers are looking for.
Education: This does not mean that you have to run out immediately and get a Master’s Degree in TESOL, but rather that employers want
to see that you have education that is relevant to the job. As we mentioned in the previous section, most employers are looking for
candidates who have either a BA or BS. If you don’t have a college degree, your options may be limited, though the windows of opportunity
are not closed to you.

Employers ideally want you to have a BA or BS in a relevant field of study, though that is not a deal-breaker. If you have a degree in a
related field, then that is great; if you don’t, that just means you will have to make up for it in other parts of your resumé. This course will look
great on your resumé because it shows that you are committed to learning about TESOL, and it shows you have educational experience in
the direct field in which you are applying.

Some employers might require further certification, which depending on the situation may require you to take an extra test or a short
supplemental course. Again, whatever you are lacking in this section, you will just have to make up in a different section.

10.2.2 How do you make your resume look good?

So you have all of your experiences and skills set up. Now how do you present it in a resumé that represents you well and makes you look
good to potential employers? There are some specific things you can do to make your resumé stand out. 

Formatting: You will want your resumé to be clear and easy to read. You want the employer to be able to pinpoint any piece of information
that he or she wants as quickly as possible. 

 Use wide margins to take advantage of space, but that does not mean you should fill every bit of space with wordiness.
 Use a bulleted list to make things short, sweet, and easy to read.
 Organize your experiences and skills into logical and clear sections that are marked accordingly. 
 Use bold and italic print sparingly but smartly to draw the reader’s eye to the information that you really want to highlight.

Module 10: Getting a TESOL job

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Focus on accomplishments, not job descriptions: A potential employer does not need the definition of your current or former job; they need to know
what you accomplished at those jobs that makes you a valuable asset to their company or school. 

 Mention your job title, but then describe what you accomplished and what you worked on at that job. Were you a manager? Great. That
means you led a team of employees to . . . The point is to let the employer know you did a lot in your previous jobs and that what you did for
your former employers you can do for your future employer.
  Constantly ask yourself why the employer needs to know that you did what you are writing. If they do, highlight what they need to know. If
they don’t, remove it.
 Make sure that the accomplishments that you write are yours and not just your team’s or your company’s. The employer isn’t hiring your
project team; they are looking to hire you.

Be specific: Being able to explain your former job in a fancy way is helpful, but that will not separate you from the field. Be specific about what you
accomplished and give the employer something quantitative to work with. How did your work specifically improve your former workplace? 

No mistakes: Read your resumé over five times and have five friends read it too. This may seem like overkill, but something as simple as a typo is enough
for an employer to toss your resumé aside. This is especially true when you are applying for a job to teach English to new English language learners. If you
cannot create a 1–2 page document that is error-free, how can the employer expect you to be an effective English teacher? 

0.2.3 Avoid these common resumé mistakes

Even the best candidates make the mistake of submitting a below-average resumé and then wonder why they don’t get a callback. Do your
best to avoid these common resumé mistakes.

Being too vague: This may take a little more work, but you should be adjusting your resumé for each specific job you are applying to. Every
job is different and has different requirements, so why are you handing the same resumé to every potential employer? You should not be
changing anything dramatically, but look closely at what the employer is looking for and adjust your wording so it addresses their needs.

Focusing on jobs instead of experience: Telling the employer what you worked as does not really tell them anything about who you are
and what you are bringing to the table. What was your focus at the job? What did you accomplish? Why were you a great employee for your
former employer? Find a way to highlight your strengths and accomplishments.

Length: The old rule that your resumé has to fit as a single side of a sheet of paper has been thrown out the window. That does not mean,
though, that you should turn in a dissertation. Studies show that employers give each resumé about twenty-five seconds of attention, so you
have to make sure that your resumé is tight. It is acceptable, though, to have a two- or three-page resumé but only if you have a lot to show.
Do not have a third page on your resumé just to tell the employer that your hobbies are sports and movies. Use the space you need, be
concise, but do not worry about fitting it onto one sheet of paper.

No focus: Most resumés include an objective or career summary. If your objective is missing or vague, you may not get a second look. This
could be a great spot to tailor your resumé specifically to each employer you’re contacting. Be specific and highlight what you are looking for
and what you want to accomplish.

Too busy: Make sure that everything on your resumé is in a logical place and that your resumé does not appear too busy. If the employer
can’t make sense of what you are saying, they are going to move on to the next one.

Missing important information: Now is not the time to be humble. Feel free to act humbly in your interview, but here you should be
showing the employer everything that makes you desirable. Then, when you interview, they will have all those accomplishments in front of
them as they ask you questions.

10.2.4 Final resumé tips

Here are some extra tips for how to make your resumé as strong as possible. Remember that your resumé is what gets your foot in the door
before an employer has even met you; make sure it is strong. 

 Have a purpose in mind when writing your resumé. Besides being organized and categorized effectively, your resumé should
have a purpose and tell a story. The more you know what that story is, the more a potential employer will see it. 

 Pay attention to your diction. Look at the job listing and determine exactly what the employer is looking for, and use keywords that
will draw their attention. If you are applying online, some employers will filter the resumés they receive using a keyword search, so
make sure yours ends up on the top of the list.

 Do not be afraid to discuss the future briefly in your resumé. It can sometimes be helpful for you to let the employer know what
your career goals are (as long as they are goals that show your loyalty to potential employers and how you want to build a career
out of this job).

 Use numbers and figures when possible. We discussed making your accomplishments quantifiable earlier, so if you can provide a
number that displays your accomplishments, do it. 
  It could be helpful to directly acknowledge any difficulties that the employer is facing that you could solve. Do some research, but
only use this if you find something relevant. Do not just assume that the employer has a problem when they may not.

 Whenever possible, use action verbs rather than “is” or “was.” This will highlight your role in whatever accomplishment you are
noting.

 Avoid pronouns even though you would typically use them. You are the implied subject of every sentence because it is your
resumé. Instead of writing, “I excelled in my undergraduate work, earning a 4.0,” write, “excelled in undergraduate work, earning a
4.0.” It gets more to the point and doesn’t bog down the space.

10.3.1  Interview tips

 Do some research: We already suggested doing this when you were creating your resumé but look into the company or school
again. Try to find out what exactly they are looking for, what they are lacking, and what their mission is. These are all pieces of
information that will help you when you are planning for your interview.

 Dress to impress: Be sure your clothes are clean and pressed. Even if you would not have to do so for the job, dress formally,
and try to look proper. While it won’t necessarily hurt you to look a little flashy, you might be better off going with classic color
combinations. You want to look stable, responsible, and prepared. 

 Be prepared: Even though any good employer will have copies of your resumé and other materials on hand, bring extra copies in
a folder of some sort. If you know you are interviewing with a committee, bring enough to go around just in case. If you know they
are going to ask you about something specific, have an example ready to go. There is no downside to being prepared, and in a
best-case scenario, the employer is impressed by your preparation. 

 Be enthusiastic and optimistic: It is a job interview, so it is OK to be nervous, but you should still be enthusiastic. You should be
happy to be there and optimistic about your future with the company or school. Confidence is always an attractive quality, so
remember that you have prepared for this and that you should let yourself be confident.

 Do not be late: This should go without saying, but it is worth saying. Be early for your appointment, and if you are traveling a
route you are unfamiliar with or that has the potential to be heavily trafficked, give yourself extra time.

 Pay attention to the person interviewing you: The interviewer will certainly be listening to your answers, so listen to their
questions carefully. Not only will this ensure that you don’t seem uninterested, but it will also help you understand what they are
looking for. You can tell a lot about what an employer is looking for by the questions he or she asks. Pay attention to the details
and try to tailor your answers to what they are trying to get at. 

 Be specific: Many people come out of interviews happy with their performance because they gave good answers to the questions
they were asked. But, if you are not specific, the employer might forget you by the time the next candidate walks in. Answer with
as much specificity as you can so that the interviewer remembers your answers and can quantify your responses.

 Ask questions: Be smart about the questions you ask, though. Many interviewers will end the interview by giving you the
opportunity to ask questions. Ask questions that show you are interested in the job and the company or school. Do not ask how
many vacation days you get.

 Be cognizant of your body language: The interviewer is going to be evaluating everything about you, including your body
language. Make sure you are projecting confidence, passion, interest, and enthusiasm. Do not act overly comfortable, but try to
stay loose and appear that you belong there.

 Anticipate questions: Many interviewers have prescribed questions to avoid legal issues, so searching the Internet for common
interview questions and preparing answers could really pay off. You may even find that you end up with the same source that the
interviewer used. 

 Practice: Being prepared is important, but don’t be afraid to practice. If you have someone who will help you out, ask him or her
to run through scenarios (such as an argumentative interviewer or an interviewer who is intentionally trying to cause you anxiety to
see how you react). It seems like a lot, but if this is the career you want and the job you want, is there really such a thing as too
much preparation?

 Follow up: Lastly, follow up with the interviewer after the interview. Do not ask if a decision has been made yet; simply thank him
or her for the opportunity to interview for the position and say that you look forward to hearing from him or her. Be pleasant and
grateful, and you will make sure your name remains in their mind.

10.3.3 What not to do in an interview

Just as there are tips for how to act in an interview, here are some tips for how not to act in an interview. 

 Try not to ramble. While you want to answer the interviewer‘s questions to the best of your ability, keep your answers to the point.
You will show that you know what you are talking about, that you are listening to what they ask, and that you know how to get
things done.

 Be friendly, but do not be too personal. It is all right to make a joke, but it has to be a joke you would be willing to make to a
stranger. The interviewer is not your friend; he or she is likely your potential boss (or at least a boss), so act appropriately.

 Try your best not to look disinterested. If an interviewer has a group of candidates coming in to interview, why would he or she
offer the job to someone who does not seem to want it? Pay attention to your involuntary actions and your body language, and
make sure you are projecting enthusiasm.

Module 10: Getting a TESOL job

 A common question that interviewers ask is why you are leaving your old job. Try to avoid saying anything negative about your old
employer or company. Even if you frame it as a compliment to the interviewer or his or her company, it will still seem that you are
being disloyal, and no one wants a disloyal employee. Give a reason that is steeped in positivity, such as you are looking to grow
professionally.

 Although you want to appear confident, do not bulldoze the interviewer. It is all right if you take control of the interview at times,
but always let the interviewer know that he or she is in charge, or else he or she may be put off. Who wants to work with someone
who is just going to drown them out?

 Have an opinion, a purpose, and a set of standards. You have to strike a balance between confident and flexible. While no one
wants to hire someone who is rigid and arrogant, no one wants to hire someone who just goes along with whatever he or she
thinks the management wants.

 Avoid being a cliché. The biggest cliché is answering the classic “What is your greatest weakness?” by turning it into a strength by
saying something such as, “My greatest weakness is that I work too hard.” Your interviewer is not an idiot, and this is not going to
impress him or her. Give an honest answer, but also provide the work you have done to improve on that weakness and how you
handle your weakness on a daily basis.
 10.4 Possible destinations
 While many of you are looking to teach English as a second language in your home country, there are many opportunities for
teachers who would like to travel, see the world, and learn from different cultures. Here are some of the countries that are looking
for the most help.

 Europe
 Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Poland, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia.
 Asia
 Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Mongolia, Turkey.
 Latin America
 Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile.
 Middle East
 Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco.

10.5 Preparing to join a different culture

If you are deciding to use your TESOL talents to travel to another country and learn about another culture, make sure that you are
prepared for the culture you are about to immerse yourself in. Research your destination and try to learn as much as you can about the
culture before you get there. If you do this, you can avoid offending anyone accidentally and ease your way into the culture much more
easily. Typically, you will likely experience this new culture in the following stages:

Beginning stage: Prepare for your journey by doing research about the culture, and make sure you are ready for your journey and
your new environment.

Initial happiness: You are in a new place, and everything is unique and cool. You will initially feel so happy to be in this new place and
excited to help the people you meet there. Even if you have a great experience, this initial euphoria wears off.

Frustration: Once the happiness begins to wane, you are likely to begin getting irritated with your new home. The culture is different,
and much of what you loved about your home is rare or not available to you anymore. 
Adjustment: You are beginning to get used to the new customs and culture of your new home. You find yourself less and less irritated
by the things around you and are starting to feel comfortable with them.

Adaptation: Once you begin feeling comfortable with the culture, you will start to truly feel a sense of biculturalism, where you identify
and even like the new culture you are experiencing. Everything that was once foreign and odd to you now feels comfortable and
normal.

Reentry: When you leave this foreign culture to return home, you may find that you go through all of these stages all over again, albeit
at a much quicker pace. You will probably always cherish your experience with another culture, but be very happy to be home where
you are more comfortable.