Discover what's new or coming soon, including upcoming lessons and resources and product feature updates. 

Announcements

<h1>Introducing Individual Student Assignments</h1>

<p>Great news, teachers!</p>

<p>As of today, you can now select which individual students receive specific assignments within any class.&nbsp;</p>

<h3><strong>Here&#39;s how it works:</strong></h3>

<ul>
	<li>Click on a lesson, video, or flashcard set in your Prepping or Teaching lane within any of your classes</li>
	<li>A modal will open with your assignment preferences for that lesson&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Click the &quot;Students&quot; tab in the top navigation of the modal</li>
	<li>Switch the setting from &quot;All students&quot; to &quot;Some students&quot;</li>
	<li>Select the students you want to assign the lesson to&nbsp;and remember to hit &quot;Save&quot; inside the modal before closing it</li>
</ul>

<p>Only the selected students will see the assignment inside their class dashboard.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C5BgjG7wtaI?si=I4waw7z14JkLaeer" width="640"></iframe></div>

<p>We know that a lot of you have been asking for this feature for a while now. So thanks for your patience, and we hope it&#39;s a big help!</p>

<p>All the best,<br />
Ben :)</p>

<p>Founder, CEO at Ellii</p>


Introducing Individual Student Assignments

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<h1>Product Feature Update</h1>

<p>Did you know that you can now broadcast (launch) or preview (view Answer Key)&nbsp;our digital tasks from the Digital tab on our lesson pages?&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/322/content_Screen_Shot_2020-05-19_at_1.36.17_PM.png" /></p>

<h1>Broadcast Demo</h1>

<p>Here is a demo that shows you how to use the broadcast tool in a live class. To use Broadcast in a class, you will need a shared screen with your students, such as an interactive white board or&nbsp;projector (in a traditional classroom)&nbsp;or a video conferencing platform (in a live&nbsp;online class).</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1qa_8DlMMVA" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>For more information about our digital tools, view these <a href="https://help.ellii.com/category/110-digital-tools">Help&nbsp;Docs</a>!</p>

<h1>1. Broadcast</h1>

<p>If you want to try or use a digital task exactly as your students do when you <a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/130-how-to-access-digital-homework-students">assign a digital task</a>, you can now click the rocket and task name on the left side of the task list under the heading Launch. This will automatically launch the digital task so you can try it with your students in class (using a projector or interactive whiteboard). You can also use Broadcast&nbsp;to preview a digital task as a student would see it before you assign it&nbsp;(view the slides on your computer or mobile&nbsp;device). The Broadcast feature is available to use on a shared screen on the&nbsp;Standard or Plus plan.</p>

<h3>Uses of Broadcast</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Teachers can try a digital task exactly as students see an assigned&nbsp;task.</li>
	<li>Teachers can try a digital task together with their students on a whiteboard or&nbsp;projector.</li>
	<li>Teachers can take up digital homework with their students in&nbsp;class.</li>
	<li>Teachers can save on paper instead of printing all the pages from the PDF version (e.g., launch a Read &amp; Listen task and read it over together in&nbsp;class).</li>
	<li>Teachers can easily display a Read &amp; Listen&nbsp;or Dialogue task while playing the corresponding&nbsp;audio.</li>
	<li>Teachers can broadcast Warm‑Up tasks to their whole class on a large&nbsp;screen.</li>
	<li>Teachers can broadcast Discussion tasks or group activities to their whole class on a large&nbsp;screen.</li>
	<li>Teachers can model how to do a digital task type before assigning it.</li>
</ul>

<h1>2. Answer Key</h1>

<p>If you want to quickly preview the answers or contents of a scorable digital task on one page before you launch or assign the task, click on the Answers&nbsp;on the right side of the task&nbsp;list.</p>

<h3>Uses of Answer Key</h3>

<ul>
	<li>Teachers can view digital answers and incorrect choices (where&nbsp;applicable).</li>
	<li>Teachers can quickly preview digital task on one page before assigning a task (instead of launching to see slideshow version as students see&nbsp;it).</li>
	<li>Teachers can quickly preview a task to see the key&nbsp;vocabulary.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Note</h1>

<p>Broadcast and Answer Key work on desktop or mobile.&nbsp;If you are viewing a digital task list on a mobile device, it will look like&nbsp;this:</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/323/content_Image_from_iOS__1_.png" /></p>

<p>If you only have access to the&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/pricing">Standard plan</a>&nbsp;features, some of the digital task types are not assignable, but you can do them together with your class on a shared screen. If you are not logged in at all or are not a paid user, you will not be able to launch or view answers&nbsp;for any digital tasks, but you will see the task list. Non-scorable (Reference) tasks&nbsp;(e.g., Read &amp; Listen) have no answers and will appear as n/a in the Answer Key column.</p>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="question"><a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/122-how-to-assign-digital-homework">How to Assign Tasks (Digital Homework)</a></li>
	<li class="question"><a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/69-how-to-sign-up-as-a-new-member">How to Sign Up as a New Member</a></li>
	<li class="question"><a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/128-how-to-invite-students-to-esl-library-digital-without-an-email-address">How to Invite Students to ESL Library Digital (without an email address)</a></li>
</ul>


Broadcast or Preview Digital Tasks

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Tour around the ELT conference circuit as our team shares conference highlights and session reviews.

Conferences

<p>We&rsquo;ve just returned from our annual trip to Toronto for the TESL Ontario Conference. This year&rsquo;s conference was at the Toronto Marriot in the Eaton Centre, and the theme was <em>Cultivating Innovation and&nbsp;Inclusion</em>.</p>

<p>Approximately 25% of ESL&nbsp;Library subscribers are Canadian, and this annual conference gives us direct access to teachers and administrators in the field. Through the teachers and presenters, we also learn more about the needs of English learners across Canada, especially&nbsp;newcomers.</p>

<p><img alt="" class="hasBorder" height="auto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/120/content_Tara_TESL-Ontario-Conference-2019_02.jpg" width="320" /></p>

<p>In addition to having a booth where our subscribers can come and ask questions and leave feedback, we also do a presentation to share what&rsquo;s new and upcoming. This year&rsquo;s session was a packed house with only one attendee who had never used ESL&nbsp;Library!</p>

<p>Our primary goal for attending this conference each year is for research and professional development. This year we attended sessions on LINC, PBLA, literacy, online assessment, and blended learning. We also attended Gavin Dudeney&rsquo;s keynote: <em>Technology in Language Teaching (What works, What&nbsp;doesn&rsquo;t</em>).</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Some people do call it flipped learning. I still call it&nbsp;homework.</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Gavin Dudeney</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Much like the international TESOL conference we attend each spring, the requests and feedback we receive at TESL Ontario help us plan our road map and choose our priorities for the upcoming&nbsp;year.</p>

<h2>Goal-Setting Updates from TESL&nbsp;18</h2>

<p>Before attending a conference like TESL Ontario, we always take some time to reflect on our goal‑setting from the previous year to check on our progress, just as teachers and learners do. Here are six goals we achieved in 2019 based on requests, feedback, and learning at last year&rsquo;s TESL Ontario&nbsp;Conference:</p>

<h4>1. Develop More Holidays &amp; Events Lessons for Low&nbsp;Intermediate</h4>

<p>At last year&rsquo;s conference,&nbsp;we had lots of requests for low‑level holiday lessons, including&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/2948">Mother&rsquo;s Day</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/2738">Father&rsquo;s Day</a>, and International Women&rsquo;s Day (in editing). We&rsquo;ll continue to add lower-level versions to our holiday lessons in&nbsp;2020.</p>

<h4>2. Develop More CLB‑Aligned Materials for CLB‑2&ndash;3</h4>

<p>As requested, we&rsquo;ve&nbsp;just completed an overhaul of our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons">Simple Sentences</a> section, which now matches our revised <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres">flashcard</a> sets (all updated this year). We&rsquo;ve also updated our entire <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons">Functional English</a> section with integrated tasks and tools and added some new lessons. Both of these sections have a heavy focus on benchmarks for CLB‑2&ndash;3.</p>

<h4>3. Add More Materials for Literacy (especially for numeracy)</h4>

<p>We&rsquo;ve been plugging away at our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/118/lessons">Phonics &amp; Pronunciation</a> section all year, and we received lots of great feedback about it at this year&rsquo;s conference. We also created a number of materials specifically for <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/31/lessons">Numeracy</a>, including <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/23/flashcard_categories/125">Numbers</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/18/flashcard_categories/145">Money</a> flashcards as well as literacy&nbsp;lessons on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/121/lessons">numbers, phone numbers, the date, money, and checks</a>. We also added a Word Bank lesson on&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2545">Banking</a>.</p>

<h4>4. Add Materials for Digital Literacy</h4>

<p>In Canada, many newcomers are unfamiliar with computers, which are needed for work, study, and community services. This year we added <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/11/flashcard_categories/24">computer flashcards</a>&nbsp;as well as lessons for digital literacy:&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2489">Computers</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/2505">Using a Computer,</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons/2511">Using the Internet</a>. We also made it easier for students to access ESL&nbsp;Library&rsquo;s digital tasks for homework or classwork. For an example, see <a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/140-how-to-invite-students-to-esl-library-digital-without-an-email-address">How to Invite Students to ESL&nbsp;Library (without an email address)</a>. Also see more <a href="https://help.ellii.com/category/110-digital-tools">Help Docs on Digital&nbsp;Tools</a>.</p>

<h4>5. Add Integrated Assessment for&nbsp;PBLA</h4>

<p>Another request from last year was for integrated assessment tools in our lessons. We&rsquo;ve started doing this in many of our lesson sections, including Functional English, Super Simple Questions, English Foundations, and more. We&rsquo;ve also added many self‑assessment and learner reflection tools to our CLB‑aligned lessons based on feedback we received after last year&rsquo;s&nbsp;conference.</p>

<h4>6. Create a New Grammar Section for CLB 1&ndash;2</h4>

<p>To meet this need, we created a new lesson section called <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/123/lessons">Super Simple Grammar</a>. This section has 9 lessons and we&rsquo;ll be adding a few more in 2020. If there is a beginner grammar target that you would like to see covered in this section, please let us know in the comments&nbsp;below!</p>

<p><img alt="" class="hasBorder" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/119/content_Tara_TESL-Ontario-Conference-2019_01.jpg" /></p>

<h2>Goal‑Setting at TESL&nbsp;19</h2>

<p>While attending this year&rsquo;s TESL Ontario sessions, managing the booth, and doing our own presentation, we received many useful requests, suggestions, and ideas for next&nbsp;year!</p>

<p>Here is our goal‑setting summary that we&rsquo;ll be referring to throughout&nbsp;2020:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Ensure that all new assessment tools have a check box to indicate whether the task is for skill‑using or assessment&nbsp;purposes.</li>
	<li>Focus on reading strategies and practice for all&nbsp;levels.</li>
	<li>Add higher‑level, CLB‑aligned comprehension questions to readings for CLB&nbsp;5+.</li>
	<li>Create pictorial Needs Assessment resources for&nbsp;literacy.</li>
	<li>Add more listening tasks for practice and assessment on LINC&nbsp;themes.</li>
	<li>Continue integrating grammar in our lessons as we have been doing throughout&nbsp;2019.</li>
	<li>Make it easy for a teacher to view a student&rsquo;s individual progress (e‑portfolio style).</li>
	<li>Create more writing lessons with integrated reading&nbsp;passages.</li>
	<li>Increase font size for literacy and use more visuals in our literacy&nbsp;lessons.</li>
	<li>Help ESL&nbsp;Library subscribers discover what&rsquo;s new (product features, lesson sections,&nbsp;etc.).</li>
</ul>

<p>If you were unable&nbsp;to attend this year&rsquo;s TESL Ontario Conference or&nbsp;didn&rsquo;t get a chance to chat with us last week, feel free to add your request or feedback for consideration in the comments below. You can also use our <a href="https://ellii.com/contact">Contact Us</a>&nbsp;form.</p>

<p>A big thank you to TESL Ontario and all of the presenters and&nbsp;exhibitors.</p>

<p>See you next&nbsp;year!</p>

<p><img alt="" class="hasBorder" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/122/content_Tara_TESL-Ontario-Conference-2019_04.jpg" /></p>

<p><img alt="" class="hasBorder" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/123/content_Tara_TESL-Ontario-Conference-2019_03.jpg" /></p>


TESL Ontario Conference 2019

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<p>It&rsquo;s been a busy year at ESL&nbsp;Library, and next year promises to be productive too! Here is a taste of some of the new and revised lessons and resources coming this&nbsp;January.</p>

<h1>Lessons</h1>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">New</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/118/lessons/3171"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/118_g.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/118/lessons/3171">/g/</a></h2>

<p>In this new lesson from <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/118/lessons">Phonics &amp; Pronunciation</a>, students will practice words with hard and soft&nbsp;<em>g</em>.</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label revisedLabel hangingLabel">Revised</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/1818"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/91_Clothing.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/1818">Clothing</a></h2>

<p>We&rsquo;ve&nbsp;just about finished the redesign of&nbsp;our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/">Simple Sentences</a> section. This revised lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/1818">Clothing</a> will help learners describe all sorts of clothing, styles, and&nbsp;patterns.</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label revisedLabel hangingLabel">Revised</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/1817"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/91_Health.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/1817">Health</a></h2>

<p>The revised version of this popular <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/1817">Health</a> lesson will match our new Body, Health &amp; Medicine flashcards. It will also have assessment tools&nbsp;and a new look and&nbsp;feel.</p>
</div>

<h1>Resources</h1>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">New</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3173"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/103_Grammar-and-Usage.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3173">Pronunciation Rules: Hard &amp; Soft&nbsp;C</a></h2>

<p>In this upcoming resource from our <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/">Grammar &amp; Usage</a>&nbsp;section, students will learn to recognize the pronunciation of <em>c</em> based on spelling differences. We&rsquo;ll also be adding pronunciation cards for these&nbsp;sounds.</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">New</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources/3174"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/126_Morning-Routine.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources/3174">Morning Routine</a></h2>

<p>In this upcoming resource from our <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources/">Young Learner Activities</a> section, kids will learn some basic vocabulary about morning routines. They&rsquo;ll also practice putting a picture story in the correct order.</p>
</div>

<h1>Flashcards</h1>

<p>We&rsquo;ve had many requests for flashcards that feature idioms and phrasal verbs. We&rsquo;re just getting started with this section, and we&rsquo;ll have some new sets available this January. Stay&nbsp;tuned!</p>


Coming in January 2020

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Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

<blockquote>
<p>Somebody hit my car, and they didn&rsquo;t even leave a&nbsp;note!</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In this sentence, we can see what grammarians call the singular&nbsp;&ldquo;they.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Instances of the singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; can be found in literary works dating back to the 14th century. (Literary greats such as Shakespeare, Chaucer, Austen, and Thackeray employed it.) Nonetheless, subsequent generations of grammarians have frowned upon its use, especially in written language. For example, just within the last decade, an article in <em><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/01/singular-their-affront-good-writing/319329/">The Atlantic</a> </em>declared: &quot;The singular &lsquo;they&rsquo; must be&nbsp;stopped.&nbsp;&hellip; It&rsquo;s everywhere, proliferating like fruit flies &rsquo;round a bowl of rotten&nbsp;bananas.&quot;</p>

<p>Putting aside grammatical rights and wrongs for a moment, if the word is &ldquo;everywhere,&rdquo; then surely it will be encountered by English‑language learners. These days, this is even more likely, since the use of singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; is growing in a second sense&mdash;as a way to be more inclusive of individuals who identify as&nbsp;non‑binary.</p>

<p>In this post, I&rsquo;d like briefly to review the singular &ldquo;they&rdquo;&mdash;in both its classic and its contemporary uses&mdash;and provide a few thoughts about presenting it to English‑language learners. In my experience, questions about the singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; arise mostly in high-intermediate and advanced classes. (At lower levels, students are often more focused on what is being said than how it is being said, and the introduction of this grammar oddity may cause&nbsp;confusion.)</p>

<p>Students who learn to recognize and use the singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; will be in good company. A growing number of style authorities are allowing the use of singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; for its non‑assumptive qualities. The <a href="https://www.americandialect.org/2015-word-of-the-year-is-singular-they">American Dialect Society</a> named it the 2015 Word of the Year&mdash;the same year that the <em>Washington Post</em> admitted it to its style guide. The <em>Chicago Manual of Style</em> followed suit in 2017, and the American Psychological Association (APA) endorsed the singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; in&nbsp;2019.</p>

<h1>Use #1</h1>

<h4>For Unspecified, Unknown, or General&nbsp;Antecedents</h4>

<blockquote>
<p>A doctor should always be honest with their&nbsp;patients.</p>

<p>Whoever left their backpack on the bleachers needs to come and get it before the gym is locked up for the&nbsp;night.</p>

<p>If someone wants a ticket, they should get to the game&nbsp;early.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In this use, the gender of the antecedent is unknown. &ldquo;They&rdquo; is used to avoid making assumptions about the antecedent&rsquo;s sex. Hence, it is often referred to as a gender‑neutral pronoun. Most native speakers use the pronoun in this way on a daily basis without giving it much&nbsp;thought.</p>

<p>I have found that the best way to introduce this use of the singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; is first to provide students with examples and then have them come up with their own sentences. Once students catch on to the use of the singular &ldquo;they,&rdquo; I ask them to jot down instances they come across in either spoken or written English in authentic utterances or texts outside of the classroom. This works especially well as a supplemental journaling activity or as a show‑and‑tell for the next class. Once they are introduced to the grammar, students are usually surprised at how frequently they encounter it beyond the&nbsp;classroom.</p>

<h1>Use #2</h1>

<h4>For People Who Use They/Them Pronouns</h4>

<blockquote>
<p>Emma takes cream in their&nbsp;coffee.</p>

<p>Madison has finished their essay and would like to read it to the&nbsp;class.</p>

<p>Jack didn&rsquo;t know about the meeting, so they didn&rsquo;t&nbsp;attend.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In this use, the antecedent of the pronoun is known, but the assumption is that the person who is being referred to doesn&rsquo;t identify as male or female and has indicated their preference to use &ldquo;they&rdquo; rather than &ldquo;he&rdquo; or &ldquo;she&rdquo; as their pronoun.</p>

<p>This use of singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; expresses inclusivity. In September 2019, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/nonbinary-they-is-in-the-dictionary"><em>Merriam‑Webster</em></a> enumerated the following criteria for adding this gender-fluid pronoun to its dictionary: &ldquo;meaningful use, sustained use, and widespread&nbsp;use.&rdquo;</p>

<p>Although the entry of &ldquo;they&rdquo; was accompanied by 530 other new entries, for the non-binary community, its significance cannot be overlooked, as members of this community see its addition as validating and liberating. Interestingly, <em>Merriam‑Webster</em> also expanded its definition of the word &ldquo;inclusive&rdquo; to specify &ldquo;allowing and accommodating people who have historically been excluded (as because of their race, gender, sexuality, and&nbsp;ability).&rdquo;</p>

<p>Depending on students&rsquo; backgrounds, this use of the singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; may or may not be the norm (or even acceptable) in their cultures. However, in many social contexts, it is becoming more commonplace to include a pronoun of choice when you introduce yourself, especially on university campuses. I encountered this recently in a local coffeeshop, where I met a server wearing a nametag indicating her name and chosen&nbsp;pronoun.</p>

<p>The singular &ldquo;they&rdquo; is one of several different pronoun options in such introductions. If you are comfortable, demonstrate for your students the various possibilities. Write or say&nbsp;aloud:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Hi, I&rsquo;m Lee. I use she/her/hers pronouns. What&rsquo;s your&nbsp;name?</p>

<p>Hi, I&rsquo;m Lee. I use he/him/his pronouns. What&rsquo;s your&nbsp;name?</p>

<p>Hi, I&rsquo;m Lee. I use they/them/their pronouns. What&rsquo;s your name?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here, the main goal is to have students understand what the speaker means and enable them to respect this choice. To extend the activity, encourage a class discussion on why or why not it would be appropriate to ask someone about their gender identification. But make sure you know your audience! If your students seem uncomfortable, it may be best to move on to another&nbsp;topic.</p>

<p>Obviously, English usage continues to evolve. The lessons we teach students today may not fully reflect our usage tomorrow. As a teacher, your best bet is always to remain curious and open‑minded, striving to address the language students will encounter beyond the classroom as well as in grammar&nbsp;books.</p>


The Two Uses of the Singular "They"

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Learn how to make the most of your Ellii subscription with tips from our publishing team.

Teaching with Ellii

<blockquote>
<p>A naturally curious mind takes interest in a wide range of subjects to find connections to help solve everyday problems&nbsp;better.</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Thomas Oppong</p>
</blockquote>

<p>We often hear the saying that <a href="https://medium.com/swlh/all-knowledge-starts-with-curiosity-422f70170a95">all knowledge starts with curiosity</a>. This week, while listening to a podcast, I heard something that made even more sense than that. Bren&eacute; Brown, a social scientist, suggests that we need to know <strong>at least a little bit</strong> about something in order to become curious about&nbsp;it.</p>

<p>You can use current events and trends to spark your students&rsquo; curiosity. Once they know a little bit (and show interest in learning more), follow up with one or more of our topical lesson&nbsp;plans.</p>

<h1>Trending This Week: The Bay of&nbsp;Fundy</h1>

<p>If your students have never been to the east coast of Canada, they may have no knowledge, and likewise no curiosity, about the Bay of Fundy, one of North America&rsquo;s natural wonders. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X19308781#t0005">report</a> that came out this week had #BayofFundy trending on Twitter and inspired this&nbsp;post.</p>

<p>Researchers have just finished surveying the seafloor of the Bay of Fundy and reported finding 1.8 million items of trash. Plastic bags made up approximately half of the litter that was&nbsp;found.</p>

<h1>Pairing Trends with Topical Lessons</h1>

<p>Now that you have this little bit of knowledge, are you curious to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ocean-pollution-seafloor-junk-bay-of-fundy-study-1.5360145">learn more</a>? This is where ESL&nbsp;Library comes&nbsp;in.</p>

<p>After finding an interesting news item that sparks your students&rsquo; interest,&nbsp;visit ESL Library and search for related lessons. For this week&rsquo;s trend, you would find a Famous Places lesson on the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons/1433">Bay of Fundy</a>. In our Discussion Starters section, you would also find related lessons on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1285">Ocean Garbage</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1257">Banning Plastic&nbsp;Bags</a>.</p>

<p>If you&rsquo;re interested in the flipped classroom approach, you could assign some digital tasks to your students from The Bay of Fundy lesson.* In addition to learning about the world, your students can increase their vocabulary, improve their reading and listening comprehension, and practice speaking about relevant topics that people in their communities are also discussing. They&rsquo;ll also improve their digital&nbsp;literacy.</p>

<p>As your students learn a bit about this natural wonder of the world, you may notice their curiosity heading down another path. They might show interest in learning about other <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/1/lessons">environmental issues</a> or other famous Canadian places. They may even show interest in researching other natural wonders of the world, such as <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons/1412">Mount Everest</a> or <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons/2401">The Great Barrier&nbsp;Reef</a>.</p>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>*Note</h5>

<p>As an ESL&nbsp;Library subscriber on&nbsp;a <a href="https://ellii.com/pricing">Standard</a> plan, the&nbsp;Read &amp; Listen digital task is available for you to assign to your students. As a Plus user, all of the interactive tasks are available to assign for homework or in‑class&nbsp;use.</p>
</div>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons/1433">Bay of Fundy</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1285">Ocean Garbage</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1257">Banning Plastic Bags</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/111/lessons/2214">Earth Summit Project</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/111/lessons/2233">Canada Project</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/2919">Wonder</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/standing-up-for-climate-change-and-the-present-progressive-tense">Standing Up for Climate Change (and the Present Progressive&nbsp;Tense)</a></li>
</ul>


Sparking Their Curiosity: Pairing Trends with Language Learning

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<p>Forming questions in English can be tricky for language learners. They need to be aware of subject-verb inversion and the difference between <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462" target="_blank">Yes/No and Wh- Questions</a>. They must also become familiar with the different auxiliaries used for different tenses. Even in the simple present tense, there are differences in question formation patterns and auxiliary use between the Be verb and other&nbsp;verbs.</p>

<p>Is there an easy way to show these auxiliary differences clearly? I&rsquo;ve found that showing charts with the various subjects in the different tenses, often side by side, is a great way for students to remember which auxiliaries to use in question&nbsp;formation.</p>

<h1>Presentation</h1>

<p>When is the best time to present each chart below? It depends when you&rsquo;ve introduced the various tenses in class. Here is a suggested&nbsp;guideline:</p>

<ul>
	<li>For beginner‑level learners, start with charts&nbsp;A and C (simple&nbsp;present).</li>
	<li>For low‑intermediate students, present charts&nbsp;A through D (simple present/simple&nbsp;past).</li>
	<li>Once your intermediate‑level learners have studied the present perfect, review&nbsp;charts A through D with them and present charts E&nbsp;and&nbsp;F.</li>
	<li>For higher‑level students, present chart G and any others if you feel they&rsquo;ll benefit from a quick&nbsp;review.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Lower Levels: Be&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Do</h1>

<h2>A. Questions with Be: Simple&nbsp;Present</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Am</strong> I late?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> you from&nbsp;Brazil?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Is</strong> he a good&nbsp;student?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Is</strong> she tired&nbsp;today?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> we on&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> they&nbsp;hungry?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Is</strong> that your&nbsp;dog?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> the children&nbsp;tired?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>B. Questions with Be: Simple&nbsp;Past</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Was</strong> I late?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Were</strong> you in Brazil last&nbsp;month?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Was</strong> he a good&nbsp;student?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Was</strong> she tired&nbsp;yesterday?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Were</strong> we on&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Were</strong> they&nbsp;hungry?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Was</strong> that your&nbsp;dog?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Were</strong> the children&nbsp;tired?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>C. Questions with Do: Simple&nbsp;Present</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> I <strong>have</strong> something stuck in my&nbsp;teeth?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> you <strong>need</strong> any&nbsp;help?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Does</strong> he <strong>like</strong>&nbsp;vegetables?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Does</strong> she <strong>have</strong> a&nbsp;dog?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> we <strong>know</strong> the room&nbsp;number?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> they <strong>play</strong>&nbsp;basketball?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Does</strong> your daughter <strong>watch</strong>&nbsp;cartoons?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Do</strong> your friends <strong>go out</strong> on&nbsp;weeknights?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>D. Questions with Do: Simple&nbsp;Past</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> I <strong>have</strong> something stuck in my teeth last&nbsp;night?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> you <strong>need</strong> any&nbsp;help?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> he <strong>like</strong> vegetables when he was&nbsp;young?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> she <strong>have</strong> a dog last&nbsp;year?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> we <strong>know</strong> the room&nbsp;number?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> they <strong>play</strong> basketball in high&nbsp;school?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> your daughter <strong>watch</strong> cartoons last&nbsp;weekend?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Did</strong> your friends <strong>go out</strong> last&nbsp;night?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Higher Levels: Be, Have &amp;&nbsp;Modals</h1>

<h2>E. Questions with Have: Present&nbsp;Perfect</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> I <strong>forgotten</strong>&nbsp;something?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> you <strong>traveled</strong> to&nbsp;Europe?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> he <strong>eaten</strong>&nbsp;dinner?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> she <strong>done</strong> her&nbsp;homework?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> we <strong>come</strong> here&nbsp;before?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> they <strong>lived</strong> here&nbsp;long?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> your friend <strong>studied</strong> English for a long&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> your coworkers <strong>gone</strong> to the meeting&nbsp;yet?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>F. Questions with Have: Present Perfect Progressive</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Subject</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>I</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> I <strong>been forgetting</strong> things&nbsp;again?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>You</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> you <strong>been traveling</strong> in&nbsp;Europe?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>He</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> he <strong>been eating</strong> dinner for the past&nbsp;hour?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>She</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> she <strong>been doing</strong> her homework since 5:00&nbsp;pm?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>We</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> we <strong>been coming</strong> here for two years or&nbsp;three?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>They</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> they <strong>been living</strong> here&nbsp;long?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Singular Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Has</strong> your friend <strong>been studying</strong> English for a long&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Plural Noun</td>
			<td><strong>Have</strong> your coworkers <strong>been going</strong> to the monthly&nbsp;meetings?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>G. Questions with Other Tenses &amp;&nbsp;Modals</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Tense</th>
			<th>Example</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Present Progressive</td>
			<td><strong>Am</strong> I <strong>going</strong> with&nbsp;you?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Simple Future with &quot;will&quot;</td>
			<td><strong>Will</strong> you <strong>finish</strong> your homework on&nbsp;time?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Simple Future with &quot;be going to&quot;</td>
			<td><strong>Is</strong> he <strong>going to take</strong> next Friday&nbsp;off?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Past Perfect Progressive</td>
			<td><strong>Had</strong> she <strong>been studying</strong> English for a while before she got the&nbsp;job?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Modal of Advice</td>
			<td><strong>Should</strong> we <strong>clean</strong> the apartment before we&nbsp;go?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Modal of Ability</td>
			<td><strong>Can</strong> they <strong>speak</strong>&nbsp;Japanese?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Modal of Possibility</td>
			<td><strong>Could</strong> that <strong>be</strong> her new&nbsp;boyfriend?</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Present Passive</td>
			<td><strong>Are</strong> my friends <strong>invited</strong> to your&nbsp;party?</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p>Before presenting the charts in class, you may want to try eliciting the patterns for <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462" target="_blank">question formation</a> for each subject in the tense(s) you&rsquo;re covering (note: Aux = auxiliary verb or&nbsp;modal):</p>

<ul>
	<li>Be (simple present and simple past): <strong>Be + S +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
	<li>Do (simple present and simple past): <strong>Do + S + V +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
	<li>Have (present perfect): <strong>Have + S + V +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
	<li>Have (present perfect progressive): <strong>Have + S + V + V +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
	<li>Other tenses and modals: <strong>Aux + S + V (+ V) +&nbsp;O</strong></li>
</ul>

<p>For further practice, try some of the following&nbsp;activities:</p>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Interviews:</strong> Have students interview each other. Assign a particular tense or let them ask anything they want. Have lower levels use a mix of questions with <em>be</em>, <em>do</em>, and <em>can</em>. Have higher levels use a mix of questions with <em>be</em>, <em>do</em>, <em>have</em>, and various&nbsp;modals.</li>
	<li><strong>Role‑Play:</strong> Have students do a role‑play using one type of question (e.g., two friends discussing likes and dislikes for practice with <em>do</em> questions, or two coworkers talking about places they&rsquo;ve been for practice with <em>have</em>&nbsp;questions).</li>
	<li><strong>Examples:</strong> Have students come up with their own examples for the tenses in chart G.</li>
	<li><strong>Find Someone Who:</strong> Have students come up with 10 items to include in a Find Someone Who chart. Then have them walk around the class asking their classmates their questions. Make sure you tell them what types of questions (which auxiliaries and which tenses) you want them to include. Use this blank <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/105/resources/2194" target="_blank">FSW template</a> or make your&nbsp;own.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2678" target="_blank">Yes/No Questions</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1627" target="_blank">Wh- Questions</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1591" target="_blank">Simple Present &ndash; Be</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2403" target="_blank">Simple Present</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1594" target="_blank">Simple Past</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/3128" target="_blank">Questions with Be, Do &amp; Have</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2462" target="_blank">Question Formation</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/question-formation-in-english" target="_blank">Question Formation</a></li>
</ul>


Be, Have & Do in Questions

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<p>We&rsquo;re planning ahead and now you can too! Here&rsquo;s a taste of some new materials that are currently in development and will be ready for you to use this December. In addition to adding new materials each month, we always spend some time improving our existing materials. Watch for our month-end newsletter for the full listing of what&rsquo;s <a href="https://ellii.com/calendar">new and featured</a> each month.</p>

<h1>Lessons</h1>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">New</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/3133"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/80_Ruth-Bader-Ginsburg.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/3133">Ruth Bader Ginsburg</a></h2>

<p>In this upcoming&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons">Famous People</a> lesson, students will learn about an associate justice of the US Supreme&nbsp;Court.</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">New</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/118/lessons/3127"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/118_a.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/118/lessons/3127">/ɑ/</a></h2>

<p>Our next <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/118/lessons">Phonics &amp; Pronunciation</a> lesson teaches students to reproduce the <span class="inlineBlock">/ɑ/</span> sound. They will also compare <span class="inlineBlock">/ɑ/</span> <span class="inlineBlock">and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/118/lessons/3129">/&aelig;/</a></span>.</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">New</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/127/lessons/3136"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/127_Understanding-Implied-Meaning.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/127/lessons/3136">Understanding Implied Meaning</a></h2>

<p>Our new <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/127/lessons">Reading in English</a> section is getting a lot of attention! In this next lesson, students will learn how to recognize and understand information that is not directly&nbsp;stated.</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">New</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons/3135"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/81_Tokyo.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons/3135">Tokyo</a></h2>

<p>We&rsquo;ve recently added a number of reading lessons on world‑famous cities, such as Toronto, New York, and London. In this upcoming&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons">Famous Places</a> lesson, students will learn about the busy capital of&nbsp;Japan.</p>
</div>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label revisedLabel hangingLabel">Revised</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/1819"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/91_Feelings.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/1819">Feelings</a></h2>

<p>We&rsquo;ve been working hard at updating our grammar‑based lesson sections. Watch for an upcoming revision of our popular <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons">Simple Sentences</a> lesson on Feelings that matches our updated <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/4/flashcard_categories/39">Feelings &amp; Conditions</a> flashcard&nbsp;set.</p>
</div>

<h1>Resources</h1>

<div class="whiteBox"><span class="label newLabel hangingLabel">New</span>

<p class="circleThumb"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/114/resources/3134"><img src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/emails/monthly-newsletter/thumbs/114_Repairs-and-Maintenance.png" /></a></p>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/114/resources/3134">Repairs &amp; Maintenance</a></h2>

<p>In this new&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/114/resources">Listening</a> resource, students will practice forming and responding to repair questions related to home, auto, and&nbsp;tech.</p>
</div>

<h1>Flashcards</h1>

<p>Do you teach <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/32/lessons">Science</a> to ELLs? Watch for our upcoming flashcards of things you would use in a science&nbsp;lab!</p>


Coming in December 2019

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Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<p>If you&rsquo;re thinking about making the transition into teaching English online, you might be feeling overwhelmed. I remember how excited I was when I decided to take the leap a few years ago. I loved the idea of having total freedom over what I wanted to teach and the material I would choose. What also intrigued me was the potential to travel and explore different parts of the world while earning an income and being my own boss at the same&nbsp;time.</p>

<p>But making the transition was not simple. There are hundreds of online English tutoring platforms to choose from. How do you decide where to&nbsp;start?</p>

<p>Teaching online gets even more complicated if you&rsquo;re not specialized in teaching kids. The majority of online companies and platforms, such as&nbsp;<a href="https://t.vipkid.com.cn/?refereeId=7679478" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">VIPKid</a> and <a href="https://t.mmears.com/v2/" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Magic Ears</a>, are geared towards tutoring children. But what if you&rsquo;re like me and your main area of expertise is in teaching adults <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/one-to-one-vocab-review">one-on-one</a>? Where can you find the&nbsp;students?</p>

<p>I&rsquo;ve been teaching English exclusively online now for over three&nbsp;years and in today&rsquo;s post, I&rsquo;m going to share&nbsp;six platforms that helped me kick‑start my online teaching&nbsp;career.</p>

<h1>1. Verbling</h1>

<p><a href="https://www.verbling.com/" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Verbling</a> is an American company headquartered in San Francisco and it&rsquo;s one of the first online platforms I used. It&rsquo;s a marketplace where students can look for tutors and teachers in any language, not just English. Their website is user‑friendly and getting a profile set up is straightforward.</p>

<p>This platform&rsquo;s support features make the experience so much more immersive and engaging for the students. Also, everything you&rsquo;ll need is available within the website, which makes organizing schedules and payments a lot easier. Verbling offers a video conferencing system, and they also provide a space where you can upload and share your lesson plans and other content with your&nbsp;students.</p>

<p>Some companies only accept teachers who live in the US or Canada, but Verbling is open to teachers&nbsp;worldwide.</p>

<h4>Commission Structure</h4>

<p>On Verbling, you earn 85% of whatever you charge students, and a 15% commission goes to the&nbsp;platform.</p>

<p>Keep in mind that Verbling, and the other platforms I&rsquo;ll be sharing with you today, are highly competitive. Since you&rsquo;re in control of what you charge, you might want to consider offering a lower rate at the beginning, then gradually increasing your rate as you get more students and a few reviews on your&nbsp;profile.</p>

<h1>2. First Tutors</h1>

<p><a href="https://www.firsttutors.com/" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">First Tutors</a> in an international private tuition service and it&rsquo;s open to teachers residing in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and&nbsp;Italy.</p>

<p>One disadvantage of this platform is that it&rsquo;s not equipped with any of the features that Verbling and the other websites offer,&nbsp;such as&nbsp;video chat options, scheduling, or payment facilitation. But the good thing about First Tutors is that they don&rsquo;t take any commission from the teacher. If students choose to take lessons with you, they will have to pay a small one‑time fee. After the payment is made, your contact information will be provided by the platform. You can then set up your sessions with the student and arrange to meet with a video chat app of your choice, such as Skype, Zoom, or Google&nbsp;Hangouts.</p>

<h1>3. Take Lessons</h1>

<p><a href="https://takelessons.com/" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Take Lessons</a> is a platform headquarted in San Diego, California, that has been around since 2006. Interestingly, when they first started&nbsp;they offered tutoring for music only, but now they&rsquo;ve expanded into a huge network of language coaches, dance instructors, and music&nbsp;teachers.</p>

<p>Their website is easy to use and facilitates a lot of the day‑to‑day management of your business, including scheduling, payment, and&nbsp;communication.</p>

<p>A possible disadvantage of Take Lessons is that if you&rsquo;re not legally eligible to work in the United States, you will not be able to join the&nbsp;platform.</p>

<h4>Commission Structure</h4>

<p>With Take Lessons, you&rsquo;ll start out earning 60% of the price your student paid for lessons. Then, for every five&nbsp;lessons you teach that student, you&rsquo;ll earn 10% more of that student&rsquo;s lesson price&mdash;up to&nbsp;90%.</p>

<h1>4. Preply</h1>

<p><a href="https://preply.com/" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Preply</a> is an online private tutoring company based out of Brighton, Massachusetts. It matches students with tutors to have sessions in person or online and it&rsquo;s open to teachers worldwide. They also offer scheduling and payment management within the&nbsp;platform.</p>

<h4>Commission Structure</h4>

<p>They take 100% of your first lesson payment with every new student. That first lesson is considered a trial, and if a student chooses to continue with you and purchase a package, the commission will start from 33% to 18% depending on the number of completed lesson hours with that&nbsp;student.</p>

<h1>5. Italki</h1>

<p><a href="https://www.italki.com/" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Italki</a> is the biggest platform in this list. It&rsquo;s an online language learning platform headquartered in Hong Kong with over 5 million students and 10,000 teachers offering lessons in more than 130 languages. There are currently around 500 English teachers on this&nbsp;platform from around the&nbsp;world.</p>

<p>Getting set up with Italki takes a bit longer than the other platforms. It takes about two weeks for your profile to get reviewed, and you will also need to do a short interview if you get&nbsp;accepted.</p>

<h4>Commission Structure</h4>

<p>Italki charges a 15% commission fee on every lesson, but they do not take any commission for trial&nbsp;sessions.</p>

<h1>6. Amazing Talker</h1>

<p><a href="https://en.amazingtalker.com/" rel="noreferrer nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Amazing Talker</a> is a Taiwan‑based international online learning platform that started in 2016. There are more than 76,000 active students and 1,000 teachers from different&nbsp;countries.</p>

<p>Like Italki, it takes a little longer to get started with Amazing Talker. It will take at least a few days to have your profile reviewed, and if you are approved, you&rsquo;ll need to have an interview with one of their team&nbsp;leaders.</p>

<p>A nice feature with Amazing Talker is that you can choose to be matched with a mentor. Teachers that have been on the platform for a long time can become mentors and create teams of teachers. The mentor can then refer students to their team members. This is great for teachers who are just joining the platform because their AI ranking system is somewhat disadvantageous to new&nbsp;teachers.</p>

<h4>Commission Structure</h4>

<p>Similar to the other platforms, Amazing Talker offers a regressive commission model with relatively low rates&nbsp;from 0% to&nbsp;15%.</p>

<p>We hope this information helps you find the best platforms to get started with your online English teaching career. And remember, getting started is always the hardest&nbsp;part!</p>

<p>Thanks for reading. Please share if you found it&nbsp;useful!</p>


6 Best Platforms to Find English Students Online

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Find useful resources and tips for teaching English with interactive apps and sites.

EdTech

<p>Last week, ESL&nbsp;Library, along with several other Winnipeg digital technology industry leaders, traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to participate in the tech talent recruitment mission. Argentina was chosen because of high English proficiency in the industry, availability of educated and skilled tech talent, and interest in immigration to&nbsp;Canada.</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/71/content_Marta_Tech-Talent-Recruitment-Mission_02.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Marta Solodun, ESL Library&rsquo;s VP of Human Resources</p>

<p>The goal of this <a href="https://www.economicdevelopmentwinnipeg.com/media/media-release/read,release/1522/economic-development-winnipeg-leads-tech-talent-mission-to-argentina">mission</a>, organized and led by YES Winnipeg Economic Development (in conjunction with the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Programme), was to find and recruit top tech talent from Argentina. We were looking to find highly skilled tech professionals that would enrich and expand our dev team and bring more expertise and fresh new ways of thinking to our existing Winnipeg&nbsp;team.</p>

<p>We&rsquo;ve received a lot of support from the Manitoba provincial government that would help our company attract and retain higly&nbsp;skilled tech professionals. These candidates will be able to work, settle, and start their lives in Winnipeg, Canada, on a permanent basis.</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/73/content_Marta_Tech-Talent-Recruitment-Mission_03.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">YES&nbsp;recruiters from tech organizations in Winnipeg</p>

<p>Being in Argentina was really exciting for us. We got to meet with many interesting people, learn about local culture, and introduce our company to the Argentinian tech community. We&rsquo;ve received a lot of positive feedback about our company&rsquo;s work culture, the quality of our product and design, and our vision for the future. Now more than ever, we feel positive and energized about the future of technology in education in the global field, and we are making sure we will continue to build&nbsp;the strongest team to lead our way in this&nbsp;industry.</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/72/content_Marta_Tech-Talent-Recruitment-Mission_01.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Eduardo Prauze, Head of Engineering with Marta Solodun, VP of Human Resources</p>


Tech Talent Recruitment Mission

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<p>What is your favorite way to begin class? Every teacher has a preferred method to get students focused and to signal that class has begun. Personally, I like to start my classes with a dictation exercise. Though dictation may have fallen out of favor in recent years, I find that it improves students&rsquo; listening skills and really boosts their&nbsp;confidence.</p>

<h1>Choosing a Text</h1>

<p>When choosing a text, I consider two purposes for the dictation to&nbsp;serve:</p>

<ol>
	<li>To introduce target structures or vocabulary. This way, students can see the new material in&nbsp;context.</li>
	<li>To reiterate grammar and vocabulary that I want students to&nbsp;review.</li>
</ol>

<p>With materials from ESL&nbsp;Library, you won&rsquo;t need to spend a lot of time preparing for this&nbsp;activity.</p>

<p>For suitable texts, I recommend the following categories on our site: <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons">Grammar Stories</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons">Famous People</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/81/lessons">Famous Places</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/82/lessons">Famous Things</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons">Holidays &amp; Events</a>. Keep in mind that a longer dictation does not always make for a better dictation. I suggest using a couple of sentences from the Reading passages in these lessons for beginners and a paragraph for more advanced&nbsp;learners.</p>

<h1>Basic Technique</h1>

<p>My go-to technique for dictation is simple, but&nbsp;effective:</p>

<p>Read the text three&nbsp;times.</p>

<ul>
	<li>The first time, read it at a natural pace while students listen. (Pencils down!) Afterward, ask a few content questions to make sure that students have the gist of the&nbsp;passage.</li>
	<li>During the second reading, pause after each phrase or clause, giving students time to write. Do not isolate articles or prepositions; link them with other words as native speakers&nbsp;do.</li>
	<li>Read the text a third time, again at a natural pace as students check their&nbsp;work.</li>
</ul>

<p>Finally, hand out copies of the text so that students can compare it with what they have&nbsp;written.</p>

<h1>Variations</h1>

<p>If you would like a livelier approach that integrates all four skills, there are two variations that will get your students talking. In addition, our digital platform provides resources for self-directed dictation as described in my previous post, &ldquo;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/national-online-learning-day">National Online Learning&nbsp;Day</a>.&rdquo;</p>

<h2>Dictogloss</h2>

<p>During this collaborative activity, the teacher reads a short text two times at normal speed while students take notes, only writing down the main ideas and key phrases. In pairs or groups, students compare notes and recreate the text so that it has the same meaning as the original. Make sure students understand that their work does not need to replicate the text word‑for‑word.</p>

<h2>Running Dictation</h2>

<p>Running dictations are fun, dynamic, and competitive. Before class, post copies of the reading around the classroom, as far away from students&rsquo; desk as possible. Have students get into pairs and ask students to decide who is the runner and who is the scribe. The runner will go to a posted copy of the text, read it, and memorize as much as they can. They run back to their scribe and dictate all that they can remember. The runner then goes back to the text and reads and memorizes more of it. The runner is not allowed to write any of the text, but they can spell words for their partner. The pair that finishes writing the text first&nbsp;wins.</p>


Structuring Your Class with Dictation

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<blockquote>
<p>Ecosystems are collapsing.</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Greta Thunberg</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Did any of your students join the recent climate strikes? Are your learners interested in talking about climate change? How do they feel about using the term <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/17/why-the-guardian-is-changing-the-language-it-uses-about-the-environment">&ldquo;climate&nbsp;crisis&rdquo;</a>?</p>

<p>We have a new biography lesson on youth spokesperson <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/3121">Greta Thunberg</a> (Low Int &ndash; Int), who has been getting a lot of media attention lately (both positive and negative). In this lesson, students learn a bit of history about the youth movement and review vocabulary related to protests. This lesson also includes a mini‑lesson and review of the present progressive tense. This tense is useful for talking about climate change, an action that is happening right&nbsp;now.</p>

<h1>The Present Progressive</h1>

<p>After you try the Greta Thunberg lesson, you can show this video. It features students being interviewed about why climate change is so important to today&rsquo;s youth. Ask your students to watch for use of the present progressive tense. Every time they hear someone use this tense in the video, have them stand&nbsp;up!</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1cXgCR_dAzA" width="560"></iframe></div>

<h1>Related</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1263">Climate Change</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/80/lessons/3121">Greta Thunberg</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2464">Present Progressive</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/1/lessons">The Environment</a></li>
</ul>


Standing Up for Climate Change (and the Present Progressive Tense)

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<blockquote>
<p>At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child&rsquo;s success is the positive involvement of&nbsp;parents.</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Jane D. Hull</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="http://www.waterford.org/education/how-parent-involvment-leads-to-student-success/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Research</a> shows that one of the best ways to help students achieve is through parent engagement and regular communication. Many schools serve diverse student populations, which means that some parents may not understand all the school communication that is only offered in English. Parents greatly appreciate when newsletters, emails, and text messages are sent in the home language. This way all parents have the opportunity to support their children at home and participate in school events. Thankfully, many free web tools and apps make communicating with parents in multiple languages quick and manageable. Below is a list of recommended tools and apps along with time‑saving&nbsp;tips.</p>

<h1>Getting Started</h1>

<p>To get started with any of the tools listed below you will need a spreadsheet that lists your students&rsquo; names, the parents&rsquo; names, the parents&rsquo; email addresses, and other relevant information needed. Many schools have programs that will let teachers download this information or send home a form for parents to complete. In most cases, the tool will let you create a class quickly by uploading the spreadsheet. In some cases, the spreadsheet may need to be converted into a CSV file. To convert the file simply choose Save As or Download in the spreadsheet program and choose CSV as the format. Once your class is created, invite parents to join the free web tool by sending home the printed letters provided by the tool. Many of the tools also allow you to send parent invites via email or text message. Once parents join, you can send one message to all parents quickly and parents are able to translate the message into the language of their&nbsp;choice.</p>

<h1>Parent Communication Web Tools&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Apps</h1>

<p><a href="https://web.seesaw.me/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Seesaw</a> is a web tool and iOS and Android app for creating student digital portfolios with various feedback options. Students upload pictures, create videos, or record audio to add context to their posted images or work. Teachers can quickly and safely communicate with parents in over 50 different&nbsp;languages.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.classdojo.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Class Dojo</a> is a web tool and iOS and Android app that provides a safe platform for teachers to instantly share photos, videos, and announcements to all or individual parents. Messages can be translated into 30+&nbsp;languages. Find other helpful tools, such as a random student name generator, a timer, a noise meter, a student group generator, and class&nbsp;music.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.remind.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Remind</a> is a web tool and iOS and Android app where teachers can send text messages with links, images, and attachments to anyone who subscribes. Translate messages into more than 70&nbsp;languages.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.classtag.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Class Tag</a> is a web tool and iOS and Android app that offers a variety of tools to communicate with parents via text messages or the phone. Translate messages into more than 50&nbsp;languages.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.bloomz.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bloomz</a> is a web tool and iOS and Android app that allows teachers to send messages translated into over 80 languages via text message or through the app. Other features include student portfolios, a class calendar, and parent volunteer&nbsp;sign‑up.</p>

<h1>Emails in Multiple Languages</h1>

<p><a href="https://gsuite.google.com/marketplace/app/form_mule_email_merge_utility/968670674230" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Form Mule</a> is my favorite way to send parent emails. This is a free add-on for Google Sheets that helps teachers quickly send a personalized email in English and another language to each parent. Teachers create an email template and include the headings from a spreadsheet column to personalize that email. Create columns with the parents&rsquo; names, student names, grades, or comments and the email will automatically include the information provided in the cells associated with that parent&rsquo;s email. To translate the email into multiple languages, add the language code listed <a href="https://ctrlq.org/code/19899-google-translate-languages" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a> in the field labeled &ldquo;Lang.&rdquo; For example, to translate the email into Spanish, add &ldquo;es&rdquo; to the &ldquo;Lang&rdquo; field (Lang: es). To discover how Form Mule works click&nbsp;<a href="https://gsuite.google.com/marketplace/app/form_mule_email_merge_utility/968670674230" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>

<h1>Newsletters</h1>

<p><a href="https://www.google.com/slides/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Slides</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/docs/about/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Docs</a>, <a href="https://app.edu.buncee.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Buncee</a>, <a href="https://www.canva.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Canva</a>, <a href="https://wakelet.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wakelet</a>, and <a href="https://www.smore.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Smore</a> are free web tools with professionally designed templates to help you quickly create and send a parent newsletter. In this <a href="http://teacherrebootcamp.com/2018/09/23/parentnewslettertemplates/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">post</a>&nbsp;I share free templates for you to copy and edit as you need. To translate the newsletter in multiple languages you will need to use a translation tool. The two most popular free translation tools are <a href="https://translate.google.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Google Translate</a> and <a href="https://translator.microsoft.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Microsoft Translator</a>. To help parents learn about Microsoft Translator you can <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/translator/education/parent-teacher-conference-letters/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">print and send this letter</a> in over 50&nbsp;languages.</p>

<p>What are your tips for engaging parents throughout the school&nbsp;year?</p>

<p>If you want to receive more of Shelly&rsquo;s tips for online resources for teaching English, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/authors/shelly-terrell">check out her&nbsp;feed</a>!</p>


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