Visual learning in the ESL classroom

In all facets of education, learning activities are designed to cater for and appeal to a variety of learning styles .In Fleming's VARK model, these styles are generalized into three main types: visual, auditory and kinaesthetic. English language schools in Australia are no exception and try to employ every type of activity to meet the needs of their precious students. Vocabulary cards which are moved by hand to match with definitions or used to play games such as memory or snap are aimed at kinaesthetic learners, for example. Text book audio files, songs, dictation, etc. are geared toward our auditory friends. However, in what ways can English as a second language (ESL) teachers appeal to their visual learners?

For those who are not blessed enough to work in a modern Australian Language School, where we shamelessly use plasma TVs hooked up to a high-powered ultra-modern computer, one of your few tools is the white board. This is your bread and butter as an English language course teacher and as such, it is advisable to invest time and money into making the most of it. Purchasing white board markers of various colours is a good start. Solely using a black will quickly earn you the disrespect of all of your students. If you write illegibly, go back to primary school and learn how to print in a straight line. It's an Intensive General English class, not a hieroglyphs deciphering session (Bec Hungerford). It is useful for students to have a well-organised whiteboard. Date and name your board with a brief outline of the day's lesson on one side. On the other side, leave room for a list of new vocabulary items. Underline your subtitles and use bullet points as you would in a Powerpoint presentation. Too many words and clutter will only further the confusion reeked by your black pen monotony.

Art. Vincent Van Gogh said before he tragically cut his own ear off, 'If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.' One of the most hilarious and memorable things you can do for your students is to attempt to draw. "Teacher, what are gills?" Draw a sideways egg, draw a comb facing the bottom of the egg to form a tail, two side-by-side baked beans at the 'top' of the egg to form fish lips and then you are in a prime position to add 2 backwards Cs to illustrate gills (see attached image). When drawing, it's important not to take yourself seriously. Laugh at yourself if your picture is absolute garbage. Your students will thank you.

There are countless other ways to appeal to visual learners. Having a well-organised, colourful board and hand-drawn illustrations are two of the most basic. In closing, practice makes perfect and Vincent Van Gogh was probably not an auditory learner.

More Details:  Atlanta TOEFL Prep Courses, Atlanta USMLE Prep Courses, Best USMLE Prep class in Atlanta, GRE courses atlanta, GMAT Preparation Course Atlanta.

You Need to Learn English to Enhance Your Travel Experience

I have been studying English for a while now  and I can say that the better my English has become, the more I enjoy traveling. I probably love to travel as much as you do. In fact, going to new places and meeting new people from different countries and cultures is one of the things I enjoy the most.  However, Iet me tell you that when you can’t speak English, it’s tough. It becomes a great limitation. Apart from making communication difficult, being unable to speak the language hinders you from getting where you want with ease, not to mention what you need when you get there. It was embarrassing for me when I sometimes did things in the wrong way just because I wasn’t able to seek assistance from locals due to the language barrier.

In most countries, English is the language most spoken even though it is not the native one. In fact, you can travel around the world and socialize with people everywhere if you can speak English. Generally, the advantages that come with learning this language for vacationers are many, valuable, and varied.

Why travel lovers should learn English?

English is the language most vacationers use with others. While traveling, you will likely spend most of your time connecting with other people on a bus, in a hotel, at airports, on the streets, and in other places. Most of those encountered are tourists who can communicate in this language such that socializing becomes more effective for you if you can speak it as well.

When speaking to visitors who speak English, immigration officers, hotel staff, taxi drivers, and others use it to communicate. If you can speak it yourself, you will not have any problems dealing with the locals. Therefore, if you are planning to visit a country where the native language is not the same as yours, it is advisable to learn English (at least the basics). Since it is an international language, you will most likely find someone who can speak it, making communicating much easier.

Advantages of learning English for travelers

If you understand and speak English, there are many advantages you will enjoy as a tourist:

• Ease of expressing yourself: Expressing yourself becomes easier everywhere you go. It is simple to ask for something and even explain what you want. For instance, if there are complications at the airport, you can easily clarify them. In the hotel, you can ask for food and specify your preferred room. English enables you to get what you want and the best value for your money.

• Making new friends becomes easier: When you can speak a common language, interacting with others becomes less challenging. English, for example, enables you to socialize with the locals in your tour destination and learn something about their lifestyle. This way, you will easily meet new people and establish relationships.

• It enhances confidence: When you know that you can easily express yourself and even make new friends, your confidence improves during travel. Since you hear what the locals are saying, and can even ask questions, you ensure your safety by avoiding dangerous places, for example. When you learn English, getting insight into other people, their lifestyles, and recommended tourist areas becomes easy, thus enhancing your confidence.

• Better experiences: Knowing the basics of the English language can assist you with every day pleasantries and crucial phrases frequently used while traveling. You are bound to have better experiences as anytime you go to a new place, you will need assistance from the locals. Even if they do not speak the language well, they most probably will understand the basics enough to assist you.

• Independence: Tours are great, but I personally prefer to organize my own experiences. I can go to the places I prefer and stay for as long as I want. Not all activities offered on tours are for me, and they are usually done in a rush. When my English was not good enough, I was restricted to such organized tours and I had to rely on the guides. Now that I can speak and understand English, I have the freedom to visit and explore places more independently.

As a universal language, English is often used in tourist areas. Thus, even if you do not have a local tour guide, you will not have any problems getting to the attractions you want to visit.  By reading signs, you can also book accommodations and obtain other services in a foreign country without hiring a tour guide. This will save you money since hiring a tour guide can be costly in some regions. In addition, when you can speak a universal language, even bargaining for products and services becomes possible. This will not be the case if you do not speak English.

You learn more in a foreign country when you speak English

Perhaps there are things you have always wondered about life in a foreign country. When you learn English, understanding the local culture becomes easier because you can interact more effectively and make enquiries. As a traveler inquisitive about different cultures, you no doubt want to learn new things.

Generally speaking, there are many reasons for and advantages of learning English as a tourist. The most important point of all is that when you learn English, you are able to travel in a more straightforward manner on your own and overcome the major difficulties and challenges that face those who do not speak it well or at all.

More Details:  Atlanta TOEFL Prep Courses, Atlanta USMLE Prep Courses, Best USMLE Prep class in Atlanta, GRE courses atlanta, GMAT Preparation Course Atlanta.

5 Signs You Need an IELTS Preparation Course

We all know that the IELTS is not the easiest English test out there. Indeed, after taking it twice, I could say that it is one of the most difficult. It is used by governments and academic institutions to prove your English proficiency so you can be sure that the standards are high. I have seen many people repeatedly fail ¹ at IELTS because they usually underestimate the test and many times overestimate their knowledge.

Use the following 5 signs to know if you need to take a preparation course before taking the IELTS test.

Sign # 1

Context: During the listening module, you’ll have to provide answers to 40 questions throughout 4 recordings. The recordings will be played only once, and you’ll be required to answer those questions on-the-fly. Typical questions include sentence completion, summary completion, form completion and multiple choice.

Sign: If you feel that you lack the necessary speed, accuracy and focus when multitasking in English, you need an IELTS preparation course.

How the course can help:  Before each recording, you will have some time to read the questions. You need to know in advance what information you are expected to supply depending upon the question. Is it a number, a name, an address? You will learn this in the course.

Also, it is not surprising to get lost during a conversation, but you need to recover fast or you will miss all the questions of that task afterwards. This would be a disaster.  In the course, you will be taught how to follow a conversation even if you miss something and how you can recover to continue answering the next questions.

Sign # 2

Context: The reading module consists of 40 questions (both academic and general training) spread across three sections. The purpose of this module is to test a wide range of reading skills such as reading for gist, reading for main ideas, reading for detail, skimming, understanding logical argument, and recognising writers’ opinions, attitudes and purpose.

Test takers have to provide short answers, match information, complete sentences, match headings or complete diagram labels.

Sign: If you are not familiar with these types of questions, or if you are trying to read these texts as you normally read a book, an IELTS course will definitely help you get a higher score in this band.

How the course can help: You don’t have the time to go through the texts several times. There are strategies to help you to avoid this situation. You will learn, for example, how to skim the text and on what kind of information you need to focus.

Additionally, in the course you will practice a lot the different types of questions and you will get used to them. This will save you a lot of time.

I personally found to be very difficult the type of questions that are True/False/Not given; but after doing many teacher-assisted exercises, the difference became much clearer.

Sign # 3

Context: The writing module is perhaps the one that most people struggle with. It has two tasks: in the first (academic training), you will be asked to describe and explain data, describe the stages of a process and how something works or describe an object or event. You need to do this in 150 words.

In the second task, you will be asked to write an essay (250 words) in response to a point of view, argument or problem. Both tasks in the academic training must be written in a formal style.

Sign: If you don’t know what a formal style is like, or if you feel like you know the answer but struggle to find appropriate and assertive English terms, you will benefit from taking an IELTS preparation course.

How the course can help: Describing and explaining data requires practice. Even if you are an expert at doing this, you may struggle when trying to do it in English. In the IELTS course, you will learn the most appropriate language to do it. You will also practice the different types of charts (line graphs, bar charts, pie charts, tables, multiple data sources, processes, diagrams) so that you get used to them and will not, therefore, be surprised in the test.

Truth must be told. Writing Task 2 is not easy at all. First, because the topic given can be hard to develop if you are not familiar with it. You might have an idea but remember, you need to develop it in 250 words and you only have 40 minutes. Second, because the essay must have a proper structure, you cannot write everything that comes to mind.  In an IELTS course, you will learn what the structure of an essay is, how to develop it, how to write the introduction and conclusion, and so on. You will also learn how to connect your ideas using proper English. Additionally, you will practice writing about topics that are common on the IELTS so you become familiar with them.

Moreover, you will learn and practice the different types of essays that commonly come up on IELTS: Agree or Disagree, Discuss two Opposing Opinions, Advantages and Disadvantages, Problems and Solutions, Causes and Solutions, Causes and Effects.

Last but not least, the main advantage of the course is that a teacher will correct your mistakes and will show you how to improve your writing.

Sign # 4

Context: The fourth and final module is there to assess your speaking skills. This test is less than 15 minutes long and is split into three parts. The first 5 minutes are reserved for introduction and general topics between the test taker and the examiner. The second part assesses the test taker’s ability to speak about a random topic given on a task card. The last part merely adds complexity to the second. At this stage, the examiner will also pay attention to pronunciation, lexical resource and fluency.

Sign: If you lack fluency or coherence in direct communication, you need some practice. This module is all about repetition. Repetition, repetition, repetition!

How the course can help: In an IELTS course, your pronunciation will be improved with the assistance of the teacher.

You will practice under the exam conditions and will get used to the pressure you will have during the test. You will learn how to write down the notes that will help you to talk for two minutes during the second part of the test.

You will practice answering questions when you don’t really know the answer. Remember that your knowledge is not assessed but your English language proficiency.

Sign # 5

Context:  The IELTS test has a time limit and you will only have the time given for each module. After that time, you need to leave your pencil on the table and you will not be able to continue. The IELTS examiners will proceed to collect the sheets before giving out the ones for the next module.

Sign: If you cannot finish each module due to the time limitation, or if you cannot concentrate accordingly due to the timing pressure, you need an IELTS course.

How the course can help:  in an IELTS course, you will learn how to approach each section of the test to avoid problems with the time limit. If you are having problems with it, perhaps you are spending too much time in the reading section that can be reduced considerable by employing certain strategies. Perhaps, you are spending too much time thinking about what to write in task 2; but if you spend some time planning, you can reduce it. Your IELTS teacher will help you identify all these problems and teach you how to overcome them.

Bonus:

Most common mistakes on IELTS exams include:
● Answering in more words than instructed
● Writing shorter essays than required
● Writing longer essays to score higher
● Spelling
● Not studying the questions
● Leaving blanks
● Overuse of transitions

How to Expand Your English Vocabulary

I often see students writing long lists of unrelated words in their notebooks as they try desperately to expand their English vocabulary but is this really the best way?
A list of words with a translation is a good start but how many of them will you be able to memorize and then use effectively or correctly?
As you come across new words, a list is good but there are a few things you can do to make your list more effective. Firstly, you should categorize your words. Group your words together in themes or words that have something in common. Once in groups, draw a picture for each word along with a definition and example sentence. Research shows that having a visual cue for a word will increase your memory of that word. It also acts as a good tool for revision when you revisit your list and want to test your knowledge by looking only at the pictures.
You can then extend your lists by finding other words associated with each word. Write your word and add a list of associated words around it. You could even make a picture out of them, again creating a visual. Extend this even further by adding collocations ( words that usually ‘go together’), antonyms and synonyms. Word formation charts can also be used to learn all forms of your new word.
Today there are so many applications on all our devices that we have word games, stories, and word puzzles at our fingertips. We can download a huge variety of books which is the best way to expand vocabulary whether you are a native speaker or ESL student.
I found through my own personal language studies that some cards in my pocket with my new words for the week were a great way to revise set words for class or a test. If you’re sitting at a bus stop, you can easily grab your cards for a quick revision. Labeling things with sticky notes is also a goody but a house covered in labels may not be acceptable to your room mates.
At the end of the day, the best way to learn new words is to read. There are so many texts available to us. Go and get lost in a book. Learning new words can be fun.

“A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the other one.”

More Details:  Atlanta TOEFL Prep Courses, Atlanta USMLE Prep Courses, Best USMLE Prep class in Atlanta, GRE courses atlanta, GMAT Preparation Course Atlanta.