Recently we conducted a series of Webinars titled “Teaching Strategies for Online ESL Tutoring”.
The series was so popular that we decided to release the presentation for FREE Download. You can find a recording of the webinar here.
In the Webinar presentation we cover the basics of what technology you need for online ESL tutoring and what you can teach online.
From a technology perspective, we have long been advocates of keeping it simple! It’s much better to master the key pieces of technology you need for online ESL tutoring, rather than encumber yourself with all sorts of software and apps. Most notably, for online ESL tutoring you need to master:
- A good videoconferencing system. Our favourite is Zoom.us as it performs better in low-bandwidth environments, has a great set of annotation tools / recording options and is free for basic accounts
- A good set of content tools designed to engage your online ESL students, that’s where Off2Class comes in
- A system for accepting payments, for most online teachers, PayPal will be a good start (simple to use and set-up)
From a lesson planning perspective, you need to make sure your screen is filled up with image-heavy and engaging ESL content. We recommend the following when choosing what to teach in an online environment:
- Speaking, reading, listening and writing activities – each major skill can be practiced in the online environment (just like in a physical environment)
- Use the realia around you – remember to point out things on your side of the video camera, objects, surroundings (e.g. the weather) and other aspects of your teaching environment
- It has to be personal to the student – remember it’s an intense one-on-one environment so try to adapt your lesson content as much as possible to keep your student motivated
- Keep concepts relevant to the age group – again, adapt your lesson content!
We hope that you enjoy downloading our Teaching Strategies for Online ESL Tutoring presentation and of course, let us know what you think!
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