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Teaching with Ellii

<div class="white-box">
This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and&nbsp;inspiring!
</div>

Sophie Collin was introduced to English at a very young&nbsp;age.

She grew up in a bilingual household in Quebec, Canada, where she often spoke English with her&nbsp;father.

At school, she excelled in her English classes and enjoyed speaking English with many of her&nbsp;friends.

&ldquo;Hence, as far as I can remember, I foresaw my career as an English language teacher,&rdquo; said&nbsp;Sophie.

After receiving a bachelor&rsquo;s degree in English Literature and working for more than 20 years in an English-speaking corporate role, Sophie decided to take the leap and pursue&nbsp;teaching.

Since 2015, she&rsquo;s been teaching ESL&nbsp;and Business English to adults from the A1 to C2 (Beg &ndash; Adv) levels in the Laurentians region of&nbsp;Quebec.

<h2>A week in the life of a Quebec English teacher</h2>

For Sophie, a typical week involves about 15 hours of teaching spread out over four days. She teaches groups and individuals both in person and online. Class time varies from 90 minutes to three hours a&nbsp;day.

&ldquo;My career as a teacher has been nothing less than gratifying,&rdquo; Sophie said, smiling. &ldquo;What I find most rewarding is to hear learners&rsquo; testimonials about how my teaching has been beneficial and impactful to&nbsp;them.&rdquo;

<img alt="Sophie Collin, a smiling middle-aged woman with side-swept bangs and round metal-framed glasses." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2512/content_Ellii_Teacher-Feature_Sophie-Collin.jpg" />

Sophie Collin is pictured here.

<h2>How Sophie uses Ellii</h2>

Sophie discovered Ellii when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Like many teachers, she had to pivot from teaching in person to teaching&nbsp;online.

&ldquo;I discovered through word of mouth the amazing website that is Ellii and immediately became a member,&quot; said Sophie, who quickly adopted the platform and now relies on Ellii for all her class&nbsp;curriculums.

&quot;I eagerly await&nbsp;the weekly newsletter so I can read What to Teach This Week,&quot; she said, excitedly.&nbsp;Sophie admits there&#39;s not a week that goes by where she doesn&#39;t use Ellii&#39;s educational materials, from the readings found in the lessons to the grammar&nbsp;exercises.

&quot;This state-of-the-art teacher&rsquo;s platform is simply a lifesaver, especially for last-minute classes and online teaching&nbsp;tips.&rdquo;

Her favorite Ellii lessons always involve an educational&nbsp;reading.&nbsp;

&ldquo;I love the reading lessons about historical or current information,&quot; said Sophie. &quot;Just today we read and learned about <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1852" target="_blank">Victoria Day</a> in Canada&mdash;the why,&nbsp;the who, and the what are always appreciated by my audience. It allows them to learn new vocabulary as well as ignite&nbsp;conversations.&quot;

Check out Sophie&#39;s&nbsp;video response below to learn more about why she loves Ellii and how she uses it with her English language&nbsp;learners.

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe encrypted-media="" src="https://www.videoask.com/atpb1xbznxge4g64zf2i428mx869o3f243ua6y44"></iframe></div>

<blockquote>
Want the chance to be featured in our Teacher Feature series? Visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/20th-anniversary-giveaway" target="_blank">20th Anniversary Giveaway</a>&nbsp;blog post&nbsp;to tell us why you love Ellii and how you use it in your&nbsp;classroom.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

Teacher Feature: Sophie Collin

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I&#39;ve been teaching people seeking refuge and asylum in the UK since 2007. I feel absolutely privileged to have them as&nbsp;students.&nbsp;

They are some of the kindest, friendliest, most generous humans I have ever&nbsp;met.

I&#39;ve&nbsp;learned so much about international culture and affairs. I&#39;ve&nbsp;also been particularly lucky in sampling all sorts of delicious traditional treats, and I&#39;ve been introduced to some amazing books, films, and&nbsp;music.&nbsp;

Even the loveliest of students come with&nbsp;challenges.

Many of them have experienced forced displacement and severe trauma. Some of them have lost families and loved ones or been permanently separated from&nbsp;them.&nbsp;

When people ask me where my students are from, it often depends on the political&nbsp;climate.

When I first started teaching ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages), my classes were predominantly Eastern European, Congolese, Somalian, and&nbsp;Afghan.

Over the years, this demographic has&nbsp;changed.

Now&nbsp;I teach a lot of students from El Salvador, Kurdistan, Eritrea, Syria, and,&nbsp;I&rsquo;m sure very soon,&nbsp;Ukraine.&nbsp;

In this post, I&rsquo;d like to share with you six ways in which you can support English learners from refugee&nbsp;backgrounds.&nbsp;

<h2>1. Keep it relatable</h2>

When selecting topics to study, choose something relatable which will benefit the learners in their daily&nbsp;lives.&nbsp;

For example, students who can&rsquo;t leave the country because they don&rsquo;t have the travel documents or the funds may not be motivated to talk about dream holidays in exotic locations. Instead, you could bring in leaflets for free things to do in the local&nbsp;area.&nbsp;

One Ellii lesson that my students really enjoyed was <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/134/lessons/3656 " target="_blank">Hiro&rsquo;s Apartment</a>. It was a great way to introduce vocabulary related to housing similar to their&nbsp;own.&nbsp;

<h2>2. Offer options</h2>

Just as it&rsquo;s important to keep topics practical for learners, it&rsquo;s also important to ensure they&#39;re not triggering. Some&nbsp;seemingly harmless&nbsp;topics could upset learners. So it&#39;s always good to provide&nbsp;options.

For example, a learner who&#39;s lost family members may not wish to talk about their family&nbsp;in detail.&nbsp;In this case, you can ask them to choose to talk about someone special to them. This person could be a friend or an&nbsp;acquaintance.&nbsp;

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Providing options and adaptations ensures learners always feel included and that they can practice the language&nbsp;points.&nbsp;

<h2>3. Explore intercultural diversity</h2>

ESOL and ESL classes are often very&nbsp;multicultural.

I&#39;ve learned so much about festivals, food, clothes, and traditions around the world.&nbsp;These topics can really enthuse&nbsp;learners from refugee backgrounds&nbsp;and create rich&nbsp;discussions.&nbsp;

They&#39;re also a great way to encourage cross-cultural understanding and acceptance.&nbsp;

Have a look at a diversity <a href="https://ellii.com/calendar" target="_blank">calendar</a>&nbsp;or ask your learners when special events are coming up for them. Then teach a lesson on these special events. Ask them to share their own ways to celebrate. It&rsquo;s likely that each individual or family has their own unique way of marking a special&nbsp;occasion.

This is a great way for English learners to explore the diverse ways people live around the world. It&rsquo;s also beneficial for considering differences in individual and collective&nbsp;cultures.&nbsp;

Have a look at Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons" target="_blank">Holidays &amp; Events</a> section for 100+ English lessons about holidays, events, and cultural and religious observances&nbsp;around the&nbsp;world.

<h2>4. Be trauma-informed</h2>

As I previously mentioned, some learners may have mental health problems such as <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/95/lessons/1851" target="_blank">depression</a> or <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/95/lessons/4162" target="_blank">post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)</a>.&nbsp;You may need to be flexible in your&nbsp;approach.

Some students may have priorities greater than their language classes. For example, they may be trying to relocate loved ones, find a job, or navigate&nbsp;homelessness.&nbsp;

English language classes can be a great distraction from the pressures of life. Try to keep lessons as fun and engaging as&nbsp;possible.

Also keep in mind that for some learners, holidays may not be the welcome break we&rsquo;d expect. English language classes can be a mental health lifeline. A way to keep&nbsp;busy.

If possible, try to find&nbsp;alternative ways for learners to pass the time during holiday periods. For example, look for things to do in the local&nbsp;community.&nbsp;

You can read more on supporting your learners&#39; mental health needs in my previous blog post: <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-promote-mental-health-in-the-classroom" target="_blank">5 Ways to Promote Mental Health in the English Language&nbsp;Classroom</a>.

<h2>5. Advocate</h2>

Throughout&nbsp;my years as a language teacher, I&#39;ve signed countless petitions,&nbsp;written numerous letters to politicians, and stood in the rain at many&nbsp;protests.&nbsp;

Advocating for refugee rights in this way helps me feel like I&rsquo;m making the world a better place. It also lets students see that I&#39;m there for&nbsp;them.&nbsp;

In class, it&#39;s important to support students to find their own&nbsp;voice.

Always be ready to listen to their needs and support them to advocate for themselves where possible.&nbsp;This can mean teaching them to write emails to their local councillors or simply pointing them toward&nbsp;organizations that can&nbsp;help.&nbsp;

<h2>6. Fundraise</h2>

<img alt="A smiling Emily Bryson posing with her bike in front of a giant ceramic mosaic sculpture of a fish in Belfast, Ireland." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2515/content_Emily-Bryson-Belfast-Cycle.jpg" />

Photo of Emily Bryson posing with her bike in front of the Big Fish sculpture in Belfast, Ireland.

I recently cycled to the <a href="https://www.iatefl.org/conference/home" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">2022 International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) conference</a> to raise money for a refugee education&nbsp;charity.&nbsp;

I cycled 150 miles (241.4 kilometers)&nbsp;in two days from Glasgow, Scotland, to Belfast, Ireland&nbsp;(I cheated a bit and took the ferry from Cairnryan).&nbsp;The hardest part was packing a limited conference wardrobe&mdash;and trying to dry my wet socks with an automatic hand&nbsp;dryer!&nbsp;

I raised &pound;2,500 pounds (approximately US$3,060)&nbsp;for <a href="https://www.amalaeducation.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Amala</a>.&nbsp;I was stunned by everyone&rsquo;s&nbsp;generosity!

Amala delivers educational programmes to refugee communities all over the world. They currently facilitate courses in refugee camps in Jordan, Kenya, and&nbsp;Greece.&nbsp;

Curious to learn more about my cycle and fundraising? Follow&nbsp;me on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/emilybrysonelt/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer no follow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EmilyBrysonELT" rel="noopener noreferrer no follow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/emilybrysonelt" rel="noopener noreferrer no follow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.&nbsp;

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

What do you do to support learners from refugee backgrounds? Have you been involved in or are you planning any fundraising? We&rsquo;d love to know! Share in the comments&nbsp;below.&nbsp;
</div>

6 Ways to Support English Learners from Refugee Backgrounds

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<div class="white-box">
This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and inspiring!
</div>

Camila Mu&ntilde;oz was working as a translator when she had an epiphany.

&ldquo;Working as a translator in different places made me realize that, not only is English crucial for any job, but also that people are very intimidated when it comes to learning and speaking the language,&rdquo;&nbsp;said Camila.

This is what made her decide to teach English.

&quot;I wanted to show people that learning English can be hard at the beginning (like anything you try for the first time), but when you know the basics and how it works, you can have a lot of fun!&rdquo;

Camila&#39;s been teaching for almost five years now.

She started out teaching in an in-person setting, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she moved to teaching online.

&ldquo;It&#39;s&nbsp;been great!&rdquo; she said enthusiastically. &ldquo;I discovered that I could teach students from everywhere. Teaching online has been wonderful because not only does it save traveling time (and costs!), but it also allows me to use the interactive tools on the Ellii platform.&rdquo;

Currently, Camila teaches English remotely from her home in Concepci&oacute;n, Chile.

Her students live in different cities all over the country, ranging from pre-school age to adults. Most of her students are at the beginner and intermediate levels.

<img alt="Camila Muñoz, a smiling woman with long hair, glasses, and a plaid shirt sitting at her desk holding an Ipad and headphones." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2437/content_Teacher-Feature_Camila-Munoz.jpg" />

Camila Mu&ntilde;oz&nbsp;is pictured here.

For Camila, a typical day of teaching starts at 9:00 am. She spends her mornings planning her afternoon and evening lessons. Once that&rsquo;s done, she looks over completed homework tasks.

Lessons take place from 3:00 pm until 7:00 pm.

&ldquo;This is when I have the most fun since I get to teach and connect with my students,&rdquo; she said.

<h2>How Camila uses Ellii in the classroom</h2>

Camila loves how organized Ellii is and finds the platform incredibly useful.

&ldquo;I use many of the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/82/lessons" target="_blank">Famous Things</a> lessons since I can decide which one to use depending on my students&rsquo; interests and they can practice the four skills when we use them,&quot; said Camila. &quot;There are so many topics and choices. It&rsquo;s truly amazing!&rdquo;

Her students also really enjoy the role-play activities.

&ldquo;They can have so much fun with them, and it&rsquo;s great speaking practice,&rdquo; she said.

Check out Camila&#39;s&nbsp;text response below to learn more about why she loves Ellii and how she uses it with her students.

<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *;" height="400px" src="https://www.videoask.com/afyoi8plwzah1ak07n7r8xkbphl42b4sk7tqyh4b" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px" width="100%"></iframe>

<h2>The challenges of teaching groups</h2>

For Camila, teaching groups can be challenging.

&ldquo;When it comes to group sessions, one of the major challenges is to make sure every student understands what the lesson is about,&quot; she said.

Camila admits that sometimes&mdash;especially when there are many students in the class&mdash;it&rsquo;s hard for teachers to make sure everyone is able to learn.

&quot;Since students are often embarrassed or don&rsquo;t want to share their answers in front of the whole class, the challenge that&nbsp;we must overcome as teachers&nbsp;is to give our students a safe learning environment that will allow them to learn and share more,&rdquo; she explained.

Camila finds that teaching young children can be just as challenging.

&ldquo;Also&mdash;and especially with preschool students&mdash;it&rsquo;s very challenging to keep them motivated and get their attention,&quot; she said. &quot;Therefore, we need to find different strategies to make learning a fun and engaging experience.&rdquo;

<h2>When teaching becomes a self-fulfilling experience</h2>

Despite these challenges, Camila finds being a teacher incredibly rewarding.

&ldquo;I love when my adult&nbsp;and teenage students, who were once terrified to speak English, realize that it wasn&rsquo;t that hard and that they&rsquo;re able to communicate and do things,&quot; she said. &quot;[They can] . . . enjoy&nbsp;their favorite TV show or listen&nbsp;to their favorite artists and actually understand&nbsp;what they are saying.&quot;

Camila says her favorite part&nbsp;about teaching her pre-school students is that they&#39;re like little sponges because &quot;they soak&nbsp;everything up and learn super fast.&rdquo;

She describes teaching English as one of the most self-fulfilling experiences she&#39;s had.

&ldquo;I never thought teaching could bring me and my students so much joy,&quot; she said. &quot;As a translator and somebody that loves language and teaching English, being able to share what I know and make it easier for others has been an amazing experience.&rdquo;

<blockquote>
Want the chance to be featured in our Teacher Feature series? Visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/20th-anniversary-giveaway" target="_blank">20th Anniversary Giveaway</a>&nbsp;blog post&nbsp;to tell us why you love Ellii and how you use it in your classroom.
</blockquote>

Teacher Feature: Camila Muñoz

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I predominantly teach people seeking refuge and asylum at a further education college in&nbsp;Scotland.

I&#39;ve&nbsp;taught there since 2007, and in that time I&#39;ve met many English language learners from different backgrounds. Some have difficult living situations, family worries, or mental health problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or depression. Others face economic&nbsp;hardship.

Creating a safe space where students feel valued, supported, and relaxed is crucial for motivation and student success. In order to best support them, I aim to make my English language classroom as supportive as&nbsp;possible.&nbsp;

Here&nbsp;are the&nbsp;five tried-and-tested methods I like to use to&nbsp;promote mental health in the&nbsp;classroom:

<h2>1. Listen &amp; be flexible</h2>

I&#39;m very aware that learning English may not be my learners&rsquo; top priority.

I would love it if they did every piece of homework and always arrived to class on time, but I understand that asylum claims, work, family, and health are more&nbsp;important.&nbsp;

If my students aren&rsquo;t performing as they should, I set time aside to speak to them in private and ask them how I can help. If they need to make changes to their class times or workload, then we can discuss that and make a&nbsp;plan.

<h2>2. Offer community support &amp; resources</h2>

In some cases, I may not be able to help. I&rsquo;ve had students who have&nbsp;become homeless or who have experienced severe trauma, torture, or&nbsp;abuse.

It&rsquo;s useful to have a list of local support organizations&nbsp;that can be contacted in this instance. Consider collating a shared resources document within your team with contact&nbsp;details.

For example:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Fire, police, and health services</li>
	<li>Women&rsquo;s aid shelters</li>
	<li>Homeless charities</li>
	<li>Mental health support teams</li>
	<li>Community centers</li>
	<li>LGBTQ+ support agencies</li>
</ul>

If possible, try to develop partnerships with these organizations over time. You&rsquo;ll probably find that they&rsquo;re eager to work with you. They may even offer visits or weekly drop-in sessions specifically for your&nbsp;school.&nbsp;

See&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/2134" target="_blank">My Community Services</a>&nbsp;resource for a ready-made template that newcomer students can fill out with your&nbsp;help.

<h2>3. Practice mindfulness</h2>

Mindfulness is developing the ability to be aware of your feelings, situation, and surroundings without judgment. It&#39;s been found to be beneficial for relaxation and mental&nbsp;well-being.&nbsp;

<a href="http://ellii.com/blog/practicing-mindfulness-in-the-classroom" target="blank">Practicing mindfulness in the classroom</a> is&nbsp;a&nbsp;great way to start or end a lesson. You can also use mindfulness&nbsp;to calm students who are&nbsp;feeling anxious about upcoming assessments or who need to relax and focus after an energetic&nbsp;activity.&nbsp;

<h2>4. Draw</h2>

As a graphic facilitator, I find more and more benefits to drawing in class every day. One of these benefits is its therapeutic nature and the ability to make people&nbsp;laugh.&nbsp;

Herbert Bensen, a Harvard&nbsp;cardiologist, found that drawing has&nbsp;a relaxation response. The movements necessary to draw were found to decrease blood pressure and lower pulse and breathing&nbsp;rates.&nbsp;

Ellii has plenty&nbsp;of worksheets, activities, and blog posts incorporating drawing in class. You can search for &quot;draw&quot; or check out these drawing-related&nbsp;materials:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/3-tips-for-using-flashcards-no-prep-required" target="_blank">3 Tips for Using Flashcards&ndash;No Prep Required</a>&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-pictures-as-grammar-prompts" target="_blank">How to use Pictures as Grammar Prompts</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources" target="_blank">Drawing Activities</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>5. Get outside</h2>

Being outside has been found to...&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>reduce stress levels and anxiety</li>
	<li>improve confidence, mood, concentration, and sleep</li>
</ul>

So it&rsquo;s a good idea to take your English classes outside when you&nbsp;can.

If there&rsquo;s a park or recreation space nearby, use it for speaking activities, or language games.&nbsp;Day trips, walking tours, or setting up an outdoor-themed&nbsp;club (e.g., football, cycling, or gardening) can also be&nbsp;beneficial.&nbsp;

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share your thoughts</h5>

How do you promote mental health in your classroom? Have you tried any of the things I mentioned? Share your thoughts and ideas in the&nbsp;comments.
</div>

<h2>Related lessons</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/133/lessons/3753" target="_Blank">Biles Protects Her Mental Health</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/133/lessons/4090" target="_blank">Unhappy Birthday</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/3881" target="_blank">Burnout</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/114/resources/4025" target="_blank">TikTok&rsquo;s Effect on Kids&rsquo; Health</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/133/lessons/3970">Doctors&nbsp;Prescribe National Park&nbsp;Passes</a></li>
</ul>

5 Ways to Promote Mental Health in the English Language Classroom

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<div class="white-box">
This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and&nbsp;inspiring!
</div>

After working as an advisor and mentor in higher education for a number of years, Madelyn Cardenas decided it was time to pursue her true passion: teaching&nbsp;English.

&ldquo;Many times throughout my life&nbsp;I contemplated the possibility of teaching English as a second or other language,&rdquo; said Madelyn. &ldquo;My heart has always been with serving others, in particular teaching and&nbsp;mentoring.&rdquo;

After making this decision, Madelyn got her master&rsquo;s degree and graduate-level TESOL certification. To gain teaching experience, she volunteered as a teacher assistant and offered tutoring&nbsp;services.

In January 2022, she officially became a&nbsp;teacher.

<img alt="Madelyn Cardenas, a smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair, green eyes, pearl ear cuff earrings, white sleeveless top." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2379/content_content_Madelyn.jpg" />

Madelyn Cardenas is pictured here.

Madelyn currently works at the <a href="https://www.vbschools.com/academic_programs/adult_education" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Adult Learning Center</a> which is offered through the <a href="https://www.vbschools.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Virginia Beach City Public Schools</a> district in Virginia. She teaches adults at the beginner&nbsp;level.

&ldquo;I feel truly fortunate to be part of the Adult Learning Center,&rdquo; said Madelyn. &ldquo;The staff are exceptional. The teachers have been key role models and their passion for teaching is&nbsp;contagious.&rdquo;

For Madelyn, a typical day of teaching starts at 8:30 am. She teaches two classes a day.

In between classes, she plans upcoming lessons, answers emails, and attends meetings when&nbsp;required.

<img alt="Madelyn standing at the front of a classroom speaking to six students sitting at their desk" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2380/content_content_A6E78B97-FCAC-446D-9DB2-8BAB3184D09A.jpg" />

Madelyn and a few students from her afternoon class are pictured here.

<h2>How Madelyn uses Ellii in the classroom</h2>

Madelyn usually starts each class with a warm-up activity that relates to the lesson material. This is often a&nbsp;worksheet from an Ellii&nbsp;lesson.

She presents the lesson topic while encouraging student participation. Students&nbsp;then&nbsp;work on an activity in pairs or in groups. This can be a worksheet or a related game. If there&rsquo;s new vocabulary to learn, Madelyn uses <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards" target="_blank">Ellii&nbsp;flashcards</a>.

Finally, they work through an Ellii lesson. This can be done individually or as a group. If there&rsquo;s a related grammar target in the lesson, Madelyn will show&nbsp;a video from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/Esl-library" target="_blank">Ellii&#39;s YouTube channel</a> that explains&nbsp;the grammar target in&nbsp;question.

One of her favorite Ellii resources to break out in class is our <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2538" target="_blank">Prepositions&nbsp;of&nbsp;Place:&nbsp;In&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;On</a>&nbsp;resource&nbsp;from our Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;section.

&ldquo;The images are fun&nbsp;and simple to explain and understand for my level of students,&rdquo; Madelyn said. &ldquo;They enjoyed the images and the&nbsp;activities.&rdquo;

Check out Madelyn&#39;s&nbsp;text response below to learn more about why she loves Ellii and how she uses it with her&nbsp;students.

<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *;" height="400px" src="https://www.videoask.com/ae5aqkja73g5nadkdsh37w7gzfkvd8dpdgwjmqea" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px" width="100%"></iframe>

<blockquote>
Want the chance to be featured in our Teacher Feature series? Visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/20th-anniversary-giveaway" target="_blank">20th Anniversary Giveaway</a>&nbsp;blog post&nbsp;to tell us why you love Ellii and how you use it in your&nbsp;classroom.
</blockquote>

Teacher Feature: Madelyn Cardenas

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<div class="white-box">
This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and&nbsp;inspiring!
</div>

Mayra Alves became an English teacher after the school where she originally learned English asked her to work there. She worked at the school for three years before going on to teach at a local&nbsp;university.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Mayra decided to open her own business and teach online.

Since 2020, Mayra has been teaching remotely from her home in S&atilde;o&nbsp;Paulo, Brazil. She primarily teaches adults at the A1 to B2 (Beg &ndash; High Int)&nbsp;levels.

&ldquo;I decided to&nbsp;become a teacher because I&nbsp;love the&nbsp;fact that I can inspire other people and teach them a language that&nbsp;changed my life,&rdquo;&nbsp;said Mayra. &ldquo;I always say that I didn&#39;t choose to be a teacher. Being&nbsp;a teacher chose me.&rdquo;

<img alt="Smiling young woman with short brown hair, small hoop earrings, white t-shirt." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2378/content_Content_Mayra.jpg" />

Mayra Alves is pictured here.

For Mayra, a typical week begins with preparation.

On Mondays, she plans out her classes for the week. Once planned, she sends her students all the information they need for their upcoming classes. The rest of the week, Mayra is busy&nbsp;teaching from 8:00 am to 7:00 pm, Tuesday through Friday. She also teaches Saturday mornings from 8:00 am until 12:00 pm.

&ldquo;The most rewarding part for me is when my students tell me they have achieved their goals because they&nbsp;started learning English with me,&rdquo; Mayra said proudly.

<h2>How Mayra Uses Ellii to Teach Virtually</h2>

Mayra is a big fan of Ellii.

One of her favorite lessons is our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/3715" target="_blank">Procrastination</a>&nbsp;lesson&nbsp;from our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons" target="_blank">Discussion Starters</a> section because it includes grammar practice with the future perfect tense.

Check out Mayra&#39;s&nbsp;video response below to learn more about why she loves Ellii and how she uses it with her students.

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe encrypted-media="" src="https://www.videoask.com/atep25m0aw7fkzw0fn6tlu2k7p9f651q3yd152b0"></iframe></div>

When asked if she had any advice for aspiring teachers, Mayra said it&rsquo;s important to never stop learning.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Never stop learning and improving your English and your teaching techniques. Your development is as important as your students&rsquo; development.&rdquo;

<blockquote>
Want to be featured in our Teacher Feature series? Visit our&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/20th-anniversary-giveaway" target="_blank">20th Anniversary Giveaway</a>&nbsp;blog post&nbsp;to tell us why you love Ellii and how you use it in your classroom.
</blockquote>

Teacher Feature: Mayra Alves

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As teachers, there are small changes we can make to our teaching to ensure all language learners are supported and&nbsp;included.&nbsp;

Every learner has individual needs. Some learners may be blind or&nbsp;have low vision. Others may&nbsp;experience color blindness or require vision&nbsp;correction tools such as&nbsp;glasses.&nbsp;

The best advice is to talk to each learner about how you can support them in making their learning journey more&nbsp;accessible.&nbsp;

<h2>Learners who are blind</h2>

For learners who are legally blind, your learning organization may be able to give individual support, such as a classroom assistant who provides audio descriptions and&nbsp;scribing.&nbsp;

If this is not possible, you can help students to access audio&nbsp;support.

For example, you could help them access the sound files for each Ellii text or introduce them to the <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-microsoft-immersive-reader-on-ellii" target="_blank">Immersive Reader</a> function, which reads texts out loud and describes photos using alt&nbsp;text (a contraction of&nbsp;&quot;alternative&nbsp;text&quot;). 
 
<img alt="Ellii Lesson with Immersive Reader open" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2361/content_Emily_Accessibility-Supporting-Blind-and-Low-Vision-Learners_01.jpg" />

You can also include the rest of the class&nbsp;by asking other students to read out loud or describe images, which has the added bonus of additional speaking&nbsp;practice.

<h2>Learners with low vision</h2>

Learners with low vision, as well as those who need glasses,&nbsp;can be supported using larger fonts and double-spaced text. Use the zoom function on your browser or computer screen to enlarge text and ask learners about their sizing preferences.&nbsp;

Ellii has a Fit Width option as well as a zoom feature (represented by the magnifying glass icon with a plus sign)&nbsp;to magnify the PDF view on&nbsp;screen.

<img alt="Fit Width option selected on an Ellii Lesson PDF" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2362/content_Emily_Accessibility-Supporting-Blind-and-Low-Vision-Learners_02.jpg" />

<h3>Don&#39;t forget about font size and&nbsp;style!</h3>

It&#39;s&nbsp;essential to consider font size and style. Sans serif fonts (without &quot;flicks&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;tails&quot;) such as Arial, Trebuchet MS, and Calibri are easier to read. Ellii&nbsp;uses Open Sans, which is great for supporting students with low&nbsp;vision.&nbsp;

<img alt="A preview of the fonts Arial, Trebuchet MS, Calibri, and Open Sans" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2364/content_Emily_Accessibility-Supporting-Blind-and-Low-Vision-Learners_03.jpg" />

In general, these font sizes are advisable:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Print materials = 12 point minimum</li>
	<li>Presentations = 24 point minimum / 36 point recommended</li>
</ul>

If your students&nbsp;are using their smartphones to access their learning, bear in mind that fonts can be even&nbsp;smaller.

In online classes, ask your students regularly if the text is large enough and make any necessary&nbsp;adjustments.&nbsp;

Ellii&nbsp;uses a few different font sizes&nbsp;within their PDF worksheets. You can print these as A3 size paper&nbsp;to increase the font size. Content for young learners or made specifically for adult&nbsp;literacy are set higher at 14 point in a different font (Fredoka and&nbsp;Quicksand).&nbsp;

<img alt="Ellii young learner lesson using the fonts Fredoka and Quicksand" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2363/content_Emily_Accessibility-Supporting-Blind-and-Low-Vision-Learners_04.jpg" />

<h2>Learners who are color blind</h2>

Color blindness&nbsp;makes it difficult to distinguish and identify certain&nbsp;colors.

Remember to not rely solely on color&nbsp;to convey meaning. Make sure to also circle words, draw arrows, or bold fonts. These will provide clearer visual cues for color-blind&nbsp;students.&nbsp;

Avoid color combinations with red and green as these can be particularly difficult to&nbsp;differentiate.

<h2>Supporting all learners</h2>

It&rsquo;s not only blind or low-vision learners who will benefit from these adjustments in class. One small adaptation can be beneficial to many&nbsp;learners.&nbsp;

For example, learners can listen to the audio on the bus home from their language class&nbsp;or when they&#39;re making dinner. What&#39;s more, pretty much everyone finds larger fonts easier to&nbsp;read.&nbsp;

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Do you teach blind or low-vision language learners?</h5>

What adjustments have you found helpful? We&rsquo;d love to hear your ideas and tips.&nbsp;You can read more about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-microsoft-immersive-reader-on-ellii " target="_blank">Immersive&nbsp;Reader</a>&nbsp;here.
</div>

Accessibility: Supporting Blind & Low-Vision Learners

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<div class="white-box">
This article is part of a series of posts highlighting education systems around the world. With this article, we hope to raise awareness of&nbsp;both the needs of the students and the challenges of running an English language program online. We also hope to share heartwarming and inspiring success stories with our community of teachers around the&nbsp;world.
</div>

<a href="https://www.outreach360.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Outreach360</a> was conceived&nbsp;when CEO and founder Tom Eklund visited an orphanage in the Dominican Republic in&nbsp;1994.

&ldquo;What he saw at that orphanage were children full of potential, but they just didn&rsquo;t have the same opportunities that he had had growing up,&quot; said Outreach360&#39;s President and Virtual Impact Program Director Coco Barrett. &quot;He wanted to make a difference. He wanted to make an impact for these&nbsp;children.&quot;

When Tom got back to the United States, he recruited volunteers interested in going to the Dominican and working with children. These volunteers supported orphanages, ran after-school programs, and operated learning&nbsp;centers.

Eventually, Outreach360 expanded their volunteer efforts to Nicaragua&nbsp;where they shifted away from working in orphanages to solely focus on providing educational opportunities for&nbsp;children.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Outreach360 decided to transition to a fully virtual program permanently, allowing them to reach more people in more&nbsp;countries.

&ldquo;What we do is we bring together volunteers from all around the world with our students who are all in Latin America,&rdquo; said Academic Director Adie&nbsp;Jalfin.

<img alt="Screen view of six young students attending an Enlgish language class virtually from their home" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2347/content_Outreach360_Virtual-Language-Class.jpg" />

A virtual language class is pictured here.

<h2>Outreach360 programs that make a difference globally</h2>

<h3>Virtual English Academy</h3>

Their <a href="https://www.outreach360.org/virtual-english-academy" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Virtual English Academy</a> is a Monday to Friday after-school program.

Through donations, students from all over Latin America receive full scholarships to attend. The program consists of formal online English classes and participation in additional enrichment&nbsp;activities.

Older students in the program also have the opportunity to receive their TEFL (English as a Foreign Language) certification so they can&nbsp;teach younger&nbsp;students.

Upon completion of the program, students are able to speak English fluently, have gained teaching experience, and are certified to teach English. Graduates have also acquired valuable skills in technology, leadership, literacy, and critical&nbsp;thinking.

&ldquo;All of our parents have communicated&nbsp;that the reason their children are in this [program] is that they&nbsp;know&nbsp;English is going to open up doors for them professionally moving forward,&quot; Adie&nbsp;said. &quot;They&rsquo;re going to have more&nbsp;opportunities.&quot;

<h3>Virtual Impact Program</h3>

Through the <a href="https://www.outreach360.org/virtualimpact" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Virtual Impact Program</a>, English teachers volunteer for three months at a&nbsp;time.

They receive training and support&nbsp;and are paired with another educator who teaches alongside them. Teachers follow a specific curriculum and are provided with pre-planned activities. If they want, they&rsquo;re welcome to plan additional&nbsp;activities.

<h2>Expanding students&#39; knowledge &amp; opportunities</h2>

The number of students Outreach360 is able to enroll in the program depends on the number of volunteers they&nbsp;have.

Presently, 60 students are enrolled in the academy and more than 100 are on a waiting list. Over the years, Outreach360 has provided educational opportunities to more than 12,000&nbsp;students.

Younaly is a student currently enrolled in the Virtual English Academy. She&rsquo;s nine years old and lives in Nicaragua. Her mother is incredibly grateful to&nbsp;Outreach360.

&quot;This opportunity that you are giving my daughter means something very important since,&nbsp;currently,&nbsp;the English language is essential in the professional field,&rdquo;&nbsp;said Younaly&#39;s&nbsp;mother.

&ldquo;In her future, she will get more opportunities to get ahead. If she wants to travel to other countries, either for work, study, or fun, she&rsquo;ll be able to communicate with other people. For these and many more reasons, I am immensely grateful to the academy for giving her this&nbsp;opportunity.&rdquo;

<img alt="Younaly sitting at her wooden desk, smiling at her laptop while wearing headphones" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2348/content_Outreach360_Younaly.jpg" />

Younaly (age 9) is pictured here.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Kamila&rsquo;s mother, whose 8-year-old daughter is also enrolled in Outreach360&#39;s Virtual&nbsp;English&nbsp;Academy.

&ldquo;This opportunity means a lot,&rdquo; Kamila&rsquo;s mother&nbsp;said. &ldquo;Seeing my daughter putting into practice what you teach her fills me with great satisfaction. As a mother, there is nothing left to say other than a thousand&nbsp;thank-yous.&rdquo;

<img alt="Kamila wearing purple long-sleeve sweater with mint-green stripes on the arms and holding pink book with the title, The Alphabet" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2349/content_Outreach360_Kamila.jpg" />

Kamila (age 8) is pictured here. She lives in El Salvador.

As a volunteer-run organization that receives no government funding, Outreach360 relies on donations from individuals, companies, and corporations to provide students like Younaly and Kamila with full&nbsp;scholarships.

Visit Outreach360&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outreach360.org/donate" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">website</a> to become a monthly student sponsor or to make a one-time&nbsp;donation.

Want to stay in the loop with the latest Outreach360 news?&nbsp;<a href="https://www.outreach360.org/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Subscribe</a>&nbsp;to their newsletter or follow them on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/outreach360" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/outreach360" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/outreach360/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. You can also check out their volunteer opportunities on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/outreach360/jobs/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>.

<h2>More inspiring organizations</h2>

<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/taking-action-for-education" target="_blank">Taking Action for Education</a>

<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/building-an-alliance-for-international-women-s-rights" target="_blank">Building an Alliance for International Women&rsquo;s Rights</a>

<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-isans-creates-possibility" target="_blank">How ISANS Creates Possibility</a>

How Outreach360 Empowers Students

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Previously I shared some reading recommendations for <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-for-your-low-int-students" target="_&quot;blank&quot;">low-intermediate</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-high-intermediate-students" target="_blank">high-intermediate</a> students. We covered middle-grade/children&rsquo;s books as well as young adult&nbsp;books.

This time, I&rsquo;d like to recommend a couple of fabulous reads for advanced&nbsp;students.

Advanced ESL students have a lot of options in terms of reading materials. Once learners reach this level&nbsp;they have access to the entire gamut of English language&nbsp;literature.

This list includes adult-level books featuring relatively simple language.&nbsp;I&rsquo;ve also made sure to include&nbsp;an array of non-fiction titles this&nbsp;time around.

<h2>Reading recommendations your advanced students will love</h2>

<h3>Fiction</h3>

<ul>
	<li>The Midnight Library by Matt&nbsp;Haig</li>
	<li>The Song of Achilles by Madeline&nbsp;Miller</li>
	<li>Pride and Prejudice by Jane&nbsp;Austen</li>
	<li>The Handmaid&rsquo;s Tale by Margaret&nbsp;Atwood</li>
	<li>Stardust by Neil&nbsp;Gaiman</li>
	<li>The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch&nbsp;Albom</li>
	<li>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark&nbsp;Haddon</li>
	<li>Lord of the Flies by William&nbsp;Golding</li>
	<li>The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa&nbsp;Gregory</li>
	<li>Normal People by Sally&nbsp;Rooney</li>
</ul>

<h3>Non-fiction</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Sapiens: A Graphic History by Yuval&nbsp;Noah&nbsp;Harari and David&nbsp;VanderMeulen</li>
	<li>Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert</li>
	<li>A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill&nbsp;Bryson</li>
	<li>Freakonomics by Stephen&nbsp;J.&nbsp;Dubner and Steven&nbsp;Levitt</li>
	<li>Me Talk Pretty One Day&nbsp;by David&nbsp;Sedaris</li>
	<li>Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl&nbsp;Strayed</li>
	<li>The Tipping Point by Malcolm&nbsp;Gladwell</li>
	<li>The Prophet by Kahlil&nbsp;Gibran</li>
	<li>The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie&nbsp;Kondo</li>
	<li>The Library Book by Susan&nbsp;Orlean</li>
	<li>When Time Stopped by Ariana&nbsp;Neumann</li>
</ul>

There are also many great reading resources on Instagram.&nbsp;If you&#39;re looking for a little book inspiration, make sure to check out <a href="https://www.instagram.com/bookosis/" target="_blank">BOOKOSIS</a>&nbsp;which is&nbsp;run by our Motion&nbsp;Graphic&nbsp;Designer,&nbsp;Lula!

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Now it&#39;s your turn!</h5>

If you&rsquo;d like to add any of your own recommendations to this list, leave them in the comments section below. We&rsquo;d love to hear which adult-level books your students have enjoyed&nbsp;reading!
</div>

Reading Recommendations for Your Advanced Students

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<div class="white-box">
This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and inspiring!
</div>

At 35 years old, Kieran O&#39;Driscoll left his 17-year-long career at&nbsp;Tipperary County Council and Listowel Urban District Council in the Republic of Ireland&nbsp;to pursue his twin passions:&nbsp;languages and teaching.

&ldquo;I had always, from earliest childhood, been very interested in becoming a teacher,&quot; said Kieran. &quot;At&nbsp;age 18, I took a job in local government administration in which I stayed for over 17 years,&nbsp;but the love of languages&mdash;English, Irish, and French&mdash;never left me.&quot;

<h2>A Fresh Start</h2>

Kieran went back to school to study languages and translation, got his PhD in French-English literary translation studies and Jules Verne studies, worked as a lecturer and researcher at a few Irish and UK higher education&nbsp;institutions, and got his TESOL qualifications.

Today&nbsp;he teaches intermediate-level Academic English to adult students at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ucd.ie/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">University College Dublin</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ucdela.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">English Language Academy</a> in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

He&rsquo;s been teaching for almost 19 years now.

&ldquo;Teaching Academic English,&nbsp;as I have done for the past few years on a university campus, is an ideal job for me as I can combine my academic research and writing experience with teaching English for specific&mdash;in my case, academic&mdash;purposes,&quot; said Kieran. &quot;I love the idea of teaching as I always loved learning.&rdquo;

<img alt="Photo of Kieran O'Driscoll" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2263/content_content_PHOTOGRAPH_KIERAN_ODRISCOLL.jpg" />

Kieran O&#39;Driscoll&nbsp;is pictured here.

For Kieran, a typical day of teaching starts at 9:00 am. He teaches Academic English in the morning and <a href="https://www.ielts.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">IELTS (International English Language Testing System)</a> exam preparation in the afternoon. He usually ends his day with an hour or two of lesson planning, marking, and responding to emails from colleagues and students.

&ldquo;Since January 2022, I&#39;ve been fortunate enough to be back full time in the physical classroom, which my students, colleagues, and I all&nbsp;prefer as there is often better teacher-student interaction and higher-quality communicative-based teaching and learning made possible by the traditional physical setting,&quot; said Kieran.

&quot;Having said that, it does have to be acknowledged that it was really helpful to have the opportunity to continue to teach and learn online during the worst of the pandemic. I admire all students and teachers who made the best of things in a difficult situation and carried on doing education remotely.&rdquo;

<h2>How Kieran Uses Ellii in His Classroom</h2>

Kieran is big fan of Ellii and has been for a long time.

Many of his favorite lessons are from the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons" target="_blank">Discussion Starters</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/73/lessons" target="_blank">Mini-Debates</a> sections.

&ldquo;I find the Discussion Starters and Mini-Debates really useful and engaging,&quot; he said. &quot;Always great for getting students talking, thinking critically, and working together whilst improving their reading and speaking skills. 
 
&quot;I also love the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/111/lessons" target="_blank">Group Projects</a>, which I&#39;ve used for group presentations in both General and Academic English. Students have thus given really interesting, information-rich, and visually appealing presentations on such project topics.&rdquo;

One of his absolute favorite lessons&nbsp;is the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1867" target="_blank">St. Patrick&rsquo;s Day</a> lesson, which he taught&nbsp;this March.

&ldquo;I have a soft spot for the lesson on St. Patrick&#39;s Day as it&#39;s very relevant here in Ireland,&quot; Kieran admitted. &quot;I once again taught this lesson and students once more enjoyed it.&rdquo;

Above all, Kieran loves seeing his students reach their personal, professional, and linguistic goals.

&ldquo;Seeing them happy at the end of a lesson and at the end of their course and watching them go on to great things&mdash;the quiet satisfaction of a job well done,&rdquo; he said.

When asked if he had any advice for aspiring teachers, Kieran said it&rsquo;s important to be confident.

&ldquo;Believe in yourself, enjoy the teaching, never stop learning, and have lots of fun&nbsp;whilst cultivating a healthy work-life balance.&rdquo;

<blockquote>
Want the chance to be featured in our Teacher Feature series? Visit our <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/20th-anniversary-giveaway" target="_blank">20th Anniversary Giveaway</a>&nbsp;blog post&nbsp;to tell us why you love Ellii and how you use it in your classroom.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

&nbsp;

Teacher Feature: Kieran O'Driscoll

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Last month I shared reading recommendations for <a href="http://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-for-your-low-int-students" target="_blank">Low-Intermediate Students</a>. The list I shared included a variety of children&rsquo;s books.

Now&nbsp;I&rsquo;d like to continue with more recommendations for High-Intermediate levels. For this level, I recommend Young Adult (YA) books.

Here&rsquo;s a fun fact: According to an <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/12/why-so-many-adults-are-love-young-adult-literature/547334/ " rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">article</a> by The Atlantic, over half of YA readers are actually adults!

The good news for ESL learners is that YA books will likely include more relatable subject matters than children&rsquo;s books, while still remaining level appropriate.&nbsp;

The following list includes a mix of older and newer books in the YA genre, from dystopian classics and&nbsp;page-turning mysteries to historical&nbsp;fiction and coming-of-age stories.

<h2>Reading Recommendations Your High-Intermediate Students Will Love</h2>

<h3>Oldies but Goodies</h3>

<ul>
	<li>The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros</li>
	<li>The Giver by Lois Lowry</li>
	<li>Charlotte&#39;s Web by&nbsp;E. B. White</li>
	<li>Holes by Louis Sachar</li>
	<li>Of Mice and&nbsp;Men by John Steinbeck</li>
	<li>Number the Stars by Lois Lowry</li>
	<li>Animal Farm by George Orwell</li>
	<li>The Nancy Drew Mysteries by Carolyn Keene</li>
	<li>The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton</li>
	<li>Life of Pi by Yann Martel</li>
</ul>

<h3>More Recent Titles</h3>

<ul>
	<li>The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas</li>
	<li>The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth</li>
	<li>Dry by Neal Shusterman</li>
	<li>The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline</li>
	<li>Displacement (graphic novel) by Kiku Hughes</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Need something a little more advanced?</h5>

Next month I&rsquo;ll be adding a list of books for advanced students. Once again, feel free to share any high-intermediate recommendations you may have in the comments below!
</div>

Reading Recommendations for Your High-Intermediate Students

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<blockquote>This article is part of a series of posts highlighting education systems around the world. With this article, we hope to raise awareness of both the needs of the students and the challenges of running an English language program for newcomers to Nova Scotia, Canada. We also hope to share heartwarming and inspiring success stories with our community of teachers around the&nbsp;world.</blockquote>

Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association and the Halifax Immigrant Learning Centre assisted immigrants with settlement, helping newcomers to Nova Scotia, Canada find employment and learn&nbsp;English.

In late 2009, these two organizations merged to form the&nbsp;<a href="https://isans.ca/home/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia</a>&nbsp;(ISANS).

Today, ISANS&#39;s mission is to help immigrants build a future by providing a number of programs and services. These&nbsp;include:

<ul>
	<li>Settlement support services</li>
	<li>English language programs</li>
	<li>Employment support services</li>
	<li>Business development services</li>
	<li>Community programs</li>
</ul>

The organization&nbsp;envisions a community where all can belong and&nbsp;grow.

&ldquo;We empower and build upon newcomers&rsquo; skills through programs and services designed to meet their needs and support their journey towards possibility,&rdquo; a spokesperson for the organization&nbsp;said.

ISANS offers a variety of <a href="https://isans.ca/explore-our-programs/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">language programs</a> that focus on learners&rsquo; needs and goals. Some of the courses ISANS provides&nbsp;include:

<ul>
	<li>Beginner-level literacy classes</li>
	<li>English classes for everyday living</li>
	<li>Classes for communicating in the workplace</li>
	<li>Courses for internationally educated health-care and engineering professionals</li>
</ul>

The language programs are predominantly funded by <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada</a> (IRCC) and the <a href="https://beta.novascotia.ca/government/labour-skills-and-immigration" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills&nbsp;and&nbsp;Immigration</a>.

&ldquo;We work with learners to identify their unique needs and offer support tailored to their settlement language goals,&rdquo; said the organization.

<img alt="A language classroom pre-pandemic" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2137/content_content_LanguageClass_036_2017.jpg" />

A language class pre-pandemic is pictured here.

Prior to the pandemic, ISANS held in-person classes. But in light of COVID-19, they&#39;ve had&nbsp;to move their language programs&nbsp;online.

This challenging process involved conducting training sessions for staff and clients on how to use online platforms like Avenue, Zoom, and WhatsApp. For some learners, ISANS mails out homework packages. These clients had to be taught how to use the cameras on their phones in order to send photos of their work to their instructors.

<blockquote>
&quot;My classes run for 90 minutes. I usually have an opening activity that we do for 10 minutes or so every day, which reinforces a skill&nbsp;but also serves to occupy us while people are joining. In the winter, I often share my screen with the Environment Canada seven-day weather forecast and ask specific questions about it. Whatever activity I spend time on as an opener, I will eventually assess so they can demonstrate that learning.&quot;

&mdash;An ISANS instructor
</blockquote>

In addition to ensuring digital access and digital literacy for both instructors and clients, growing waitlists have been another challenge the organization has had to&nbsp;navigate throughout the&nbsp;pandemic.

&ldquo;In the early part of the pandemic, we had seen our waitlist numbers grow while we learned&nbsp;to adapt programs especially impacted and to focus on program continuity,&quot; the organization said. &quot;Within the year, we were able to successfully drop our waitlist numbers by nearly 50%. Today, our client numbers closely resemble pre-COVID days and are growing.&quot;

<img alt="An instructor teaching over Whatsapp" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2138/content_content_Instructor_on_What_s_App.jpg" />

An instructor teaching over WhatsApp is pictured here.

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, ISANS continues to have an incredible&nbsp;impact.

On average, 150 participants are enrolled every month with 1,200&ndash;1,300 clients in programming at any given time. Last year, over 2,000 learners were enrolled in over 110 language&nbsp;classes.

&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t realize how much I learned from [ISANS]&nbsp;until I had to simulate an interaction with a patient in front of other doctors,&#39;&#39; said an anonymous participant who took ISANS&#39;s online course for physicians and pharmacists. &quot;I can confidently say that I aced it, and all the credits go to ISANS. You are helping us to be the best version of ourselves.&quot;

ISANS appreciates volunteers immensely and has a number of ways for people to get involved. Some of which&nbsp;include:

<ul>
	<li>Holding practice interviews with clients to help them improve their interviewing skills</li>
	<li>Having a conversation with clients so they can practice their conversational skills</li>
	<li>Assisting instructors with their English language classes</li>
</ul>

To learn more about the organization&nbsp;and/or to volunteer, visit the <a href="http://www.isans.ca" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">ISANS&nbsp;website</a>.

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