By ESL MADE EASY - If you’re
teaching English as a Second Language, using standard textbooks can get tiring
after a while. Students may see the scenarios you ask them to discuss as
contrived or not representative of real life language applications, and
teachers often get bored using the same lessons over and over.
However,
there’s one source of material that will never run dry, and that’s current
events. With so much happening in the world around us, there’s very little
reason to use the discussion sections in printed textbooks to strengthen your
students’ conversational skills. Need more convincing? Here are five compelling
reasons to use the news as a teaching tool in an ESL class.
1. The newspaper is an authentic
text.
Unlike the
awkward scenarios in most textbooks, the news is real (forget the biases) — it's authentic.
Students can actually take what they learn in class and have an actual
conversation, in English, with friends, family, acquaintances, and co-workers
about the same subjects.
2. It helps students build vocabulary
and learn idioms.
There are
some words that come up frequently in current news articles and nowhere else.
By using the news to teach, students can learn these words. Also, as students
learn idioms that are used in reporting and in everyday conversation, they’ll
feel more and more comfortable with the language.
3. It helps students learn what is
going on in their new country.
Many English
learners are new to Canada and therefore may not be familiar with the country’s
current hot button issues, key figures, or political climate. Using the news as
a teaching tool in class not only helps your students the language — it teaches
them important nuances about their new home.
4. It gets students in the habit of
keeping up with the news.
Once
students are comfortable picking up an English language newspaper or watching
an English language news broadcast, they’re more likely to continue the
practice long after your class is done. This is a great habit for them to get
into - they might learn to paraphrase all the crazy hoopla that's been happening with the US election coverage on CNN too!
5. It makes your job more
interesting!
The news is
always changing, which means that there’s always something new to talk about in
class. And while it’s true that you won’t be able to rely on last term’s
class prep to get you through your current class, your new lessons will take
the monotony out of teaching the same material from one term to the next,
and it will help you grow as a teacher.
Using
newspapers and news broadcasts in your ESL class as a teaching tool is an idea
that you should consider if you haven't already been doing it. You and your students will reap the benefits
mentioned above, and you’ll find yourself becoming much more knowledgeable
about what’s going on in the world around you.
FIND YOUR UP TO DATE ESL FRIENDLY NEWS STORIES HERE OR TRY ESL ONLINE NEWS SITES WITH PLENTY OF FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES HERE!
The anniversary of September 11th (also known as Patriot Day in the United States) can be a sensitive topic to address with a multicultural class of adult ESL students. However, because of its significance, it's also a topic we can't easily ignore. Below are some warm-up questions I've used in previous years. If you have any ideas or activities that have been particularly effective for you, please feel free to share them. It's always helpful to hear what has worked well for others! 
August 13th is Left Handers Day and because I'm a leftie , it'll be a proud day for me! Almost 85% of the world's population is right handed which means much of the world's products such as scissors, desks, and sports equipment are projected for right paws. However, if you're a leftie like me, let's not let this get us down as many of us have learned to adapt quite well in this right-handed world. Interestingly enough, there's been many famous lefties such as Mozart, Leonardo Da Vinci, Albert Einstein, Julius Caesar, Celine Dion, President Obama and Michelangelo who have made significant contributions in the creative world too! 
August is full of some interesting topics that your ESL students will enjoy starting with Friendship Day and Sister Day on August 2nd! If your students like cats, International Cat Day might be a fun topic to explore too.
It's National Parents' Day on July 26th! This day promotes responsible parenting and celebrates the special love between a parent and their child. It also recognizes the important roles that parents play on their children's lives. Get your students talking about what it's like to be a parent, what their parents were like and/or what their childhood was like.
WORLD POPULATION DAY, held every year on July 11th, was created by the United Nations Development Program in 1989. This important day was established to raise awareness of the issues and solutions related to our global population level. With over 7 billion people in the world (see the worldometer here!), there is no doubt that this is an issue that affects us all. It's also a topic that should spark some lively discussion as your ESL learners address such related issues as the impact of further development and population growth, sustainability and the impact all of this has on our young people.
Be sure to check out July Themes and Topics here and follow ESL Made Easy for weekly posts on some of them this month. There's plenty to celebrate in July starting with Canada Day on July 1st and Independence Day in the United States on July 4th. July is also a good month to talk about chocolate, the world's population, and the importance of parents as it's Parents Day on July 26th. There's plenty more topics that fall in July so don't forget to mark your teaching calendar!
