What’s new at ESL Reads? An interview with Lauren Piovesan
How things change! Back in March 2022 I talked to Lauren Piovesan about her new readers. The stories offered terrific cultural and language support for learners with low literacy / refugee background, at four reading levels. She had so many plans and goals for her ESL Reads project, and such a lot has happened since then, including an expansion of her … Continue reading
My Busy Day: talking with ELT writer Bernard Miles
You’ll know Bernard Miles from his ‘English Express’ workbook and website. His latest resource, ‘My Busy Day’ , is also for beginners, and it’s all about different jobs. When I tried ‘The Barista’ in my Course in EAL class, it was a perfect level! While some words were completely new for learners (like customer, serve, wipe), they picked them up really … Continue reading
New: ESL Word Search Plus: Post-Beginner
Announcing a second book of word search puzzles: ESL Word Search Plus: Post-Beginner. Why puzzles? Well, many of us have discovered the calming nature of activities that need focus plus a certain level of repetition: jigsaws, knitting, puzzles of any kind – and word puzzles have extra value for our students because they require focus on the composition of words. … Continue reading
Workwise English Quizzes: some more ‘extra’ English
Workwise English Quizzes: mp4 videos on USB The latest ‘ESL Extras’ product isn’t a book – it’s Workwise English Quizzes. This is a set of 20 short quizzes – created as Keynote slideshows, then saved as mp4 videos. The questions all have a ‘workwise’ context, though they’re also ‘useful English’ for any new arrival. To give students enough reading and discussion … Continue reading
More Australian Grammar from Helga Burry
Back in 2016, I talked to Helga Burry about her first book: Let’s Connect: An Australian ESL Grammar Workbook. It’s been a little wait, but at last, Let’s Connect: Book 2 has just come out, so I thought I’d interview Helga and ask her about the new book. (Full disclosure: I saw a draft during her writing process, but only saw … Continue reading
