Top 5 ESL Classroom Aids To Get You Out of Teaching Jams

Top 5 ESL Classroom Aids To Get You Out of Teaching Jams By Adrian PalinicInternational ESL teachers have to be adaptable.   It simply comes with the territory of traveling to far off lands.   No matter where you teach, you’ll have to adapt whatever resources are available to suit your teaching style.   But what if resources are lacking?   What if the school where you’re teaching  hasn’t  given you clear direction on what to teach?   Here’s a list of classroom aids, adaptable to all levels, that any ESL teacher can pack and use in their next teaching jam:1 â€" Flashcards  - These can be adapted to suit any level and target language.  I found it useful to carry around a set of verb flashcards for words like  run, write, open, close, jump, etc., with funny images on each to represent the action.  These came in useful when teaching younger learners.  With a few rounds of repetition and a couple of  Simon Says  games, I quickly had classes of kids understanding basic classroom commands like  â€œOpen your book.”   The cards can als o be adapted to work with older students.  Make a game of it and have students make sentences with the verbs, or ask for a list of synonyms from more advanced students.2 â€" Music  â€" It may be easiest to make a playlist of music from YouTube or a similar online resource.  Pull up the playlist in class, play a song and imagine all the possible teaching activities!  Use simpler, slower songs to get your younger students to listen for a keyword or two.  See who can hear the word first!  Have more advanced students pick out words from songs sung in different English accents.  See if students can guess the next lyric.  Students love to listen to new music, especially if it’s upbeat and easy to understand.3 â€" Movies -  I’m not saying you should sit the class down and watch  The Shawshank Redemption,  but showing short movie clips focusing on key grammar points can be valuable classroom aids for any ESL class.  Again, if you don’t have movies immediately available to you, YouTube may be your best friend.  Do a little research and make playlists you can pull up in class.  Different playlists can focus on different grammar points, accents, idioms, or songs, or they might simply add a visual to a children’s counting activity.4 â€" Books and Newspapers -  Younger students will be intrigued by English storybooks for children â€" especially if they have big, bright illustrations.  In many cases, illustration styles might differ from what students would usually see in their own storybooks.  For older students, even a newspaper from your hometown can be put to great use.  Lower level students can work with the newspaper’s pictures and captions, while more advanced students can search for different uses of a verb or idiom, develop a story of their own, or simply discuss a newsworthy issue.5 â€" Pictures -  As you’ll likely be relatively unfamiliar with the culture within the country where you’ll be teaching, it’s just as likely students will b e unfamiliar with your background.  Bring some pictures that remind you of home.  Sharing these in class will show students a little bit more about you and where you’re from.  Pictures can be used at any time, and can be applied to almost any language level and grammar point.  Younger students can count items in the pictures, while older students can develop a story based on the photos.Bonus â€" A Video Camera -  Okay, here’s one more essential ESL classroom aid that will save you when in a teaching jam.  Turn any grammar point into a dramatic event.  Video cameras inspire an immediate sense of excitement (and sometimes fear). Nowadays, with high quality cell-phone video cameras, any teacher can transform a simple dialogue activity into a dramatic scene.  Set some ground rules and ensure students only use English for their scene.  Near the end of class, gather the students to review everyone’s videos.Before going abroad to teach, prepare the items in this list to ensur e you can handle any stressful teaching situation.  Because who needs additional stress while teaching in a new country?  Now you’ll have more time to relax and enjoy your new surroundings.