TESOL Lingbao

I find the break down of skills for language to be presented more effectively than what I was taught at UBC in Vancouver. Even though I was part of an program specifically for English teachers, there are so many things presented here that were not presented to me as part of the program. We did not go over receptive and productive skills and how to address both sets equally and effectively. I would strongly recommend this course for all English teachers in Canada, never mind teachers of English Language Learners. The list of the different ways we read and listen was a good reminder about using different ways to obtain information. It seems more and more students read less and less as new technology presents information in small and smaller bits, so finding more ways to get them to read is helpful. And the whole idea of creating interest and motivation in students. I try so hard to use a variety of topics when presenting texts, and it is surprising sometimes when something that I didn't expect to interest them does. Another surprising thing is how much they love to be read too. I don't think that happens at home as much, hence their listening skills are not as strong as in previous generations. I do pre-teach vocabulary and the students do say it is helpful, and they love to point out those words when they hear them as I'm reading.