Tutoring Handbook

Frequently Asked Questions:

What resources will I have as a tutor?
Pre-service training that will give you the basics of how to teach English
Access to a resource library at the Hospitality Training Center
On-going support with specific teaching/learning questions
What happens after the training?
Based on your free schedule, preferences, location, etc., we will
match you up with a student on our waiting list.
We will send an email within a couple weeks of the training to tell
you about a possible student or group of students and see if it could
work for you.
If it doesnt seem like a good match for whatever reasonplease
say so. Its easier to make a change at this point rather than
waiting until after weve told the student.
Once the match has been confirmed, we will email you with the
date and time of the first meeting.
What materials will I use?
You will be given details on your students speaking/listening level and on
their areas of interest (grammar, writing, citizenship, etc.) that will help you
determine appropriate materials. You are welcome to use the resource
library at BEST, and to select activities from the available workbooks we
ask that you photocopy any resources you would like to use.
Among the resources you will find in the library are:
Easy True Stories (series), Basic English Grammar, Fun With Grammar, Apply
Yourself, At Work In The US (with corresponding worksheets and listening
cd), Make Your Mark in the Hotel Industry, Speaking up at Work, Basic
English for Hotels
We also encourage tutors to make use of the volunteer resource website:
www.resourcesbest.weebly.com where you will find online resources for
ESOL, citizenship, and computer tutoring.
What if I cant tutor for a few weeks?
We realize that things come up, and you may have to stop for a while.
Please call your student directly to cancel or re-schedule. (And insist that
your student[s] do the same.) Please let us know if you will not be meeting
with your student for more than 2 weeks in a row.

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What if my students miss class or drop out?

Be sure to get your students phone numbers at the first class and to
provide your own number to your students. Tell your students to call you if
they know they will be missing a class. If students simply do not show for
class, please let us know.
What do you expect of me?
We ask volunteers to commit to an hour and a half of class once a week
for at least three months. If after three months things are still going well for
you and your student, you will continue with no change for as long as
youre able to.
Please contact the volunteer coordinator at any time if you are having
any issue with your tutoring or require additional support.
Always do your best, learn as much as you can, and enjoy the
experience.
When you need to stop volunteering, whether its 3 months from now or
three years from now, please let us know so we can find the student a
new tutor.

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Handling the First Class Period

Feeling a little nervous about meeting your student? Dont be.your
student is on your side, looking forward to getting to know you, and are as
anxious for your success as a teacher as you are.
Goals for the first class session
1. The first goal in the beginning is to establish a comfortable atmosphere
that is non-threatening, accepting, warm, and builds trust. Begin by
getting acquainted. Start with very simple questions. You can ask
students their names, where they are from, where they work, and basic
questions about their families. Be sure to also share information about
yourselfthey want to know you too! You might even bring in a
picture of your family.
2. Exchange phone numbers with you student, and help them enter your
phone number into their phone. Talk about your usual schedule.
Explain what you expect of them: that they should call you if they will
be late or absent, that they should tell you what they want to learn,
etc.
3. The second goal is to discover your students objectives. Try to get
them to be specific about what they need. If you get an answer like
Improve my English, or Learn to speak better English, ask follow-up
questions. For example, Where do you need to use English? Who do
you need to interact with? Is listening, speaking, reading, or writing
more important to you? What, specifically, do you need to do in
English? Then as you plan your lessons, refer back frequently to your
students specific needs and objectives.

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Five Tips for Teachers

1. Keep it relevant!
Teach only what your students need and can use, i.e. teach them whats
relevant now at work and in everyday life. For example, do they really
need to know the name of the letter q? Will they be in a situation this
week where theyll need to say it? Concentrate on high-frequency words
and terms. Use the same criteria when choosing structures to teach. (Past
tense is very useful; the difference between shall and will is much less so.)
2. Keep it in English!
Its great if you speak your students first language. But remember, theyre
in class to learn English. Even with beginners, say everything in English first.
If they dont understand, say it again slower, using gestures or substituting
simpler words. If they still dont understand and what you want to
communicate is essential, use their first language briefly, and return
immediately to English. Do feel free to use your second language skills
before and after class to get to know your students better and to build
rapport.
3. Be aware of your teacher-talk-to-student-talk ratio!
If you monopolize a large percentage of the air time in class, students
are likely to be learning about English rather than learning to speak
English. Get them talkinga good teacher can generate a lot of openended questions. Ask them a lot of questions, guide them in constructing
an answer and always give them encouragement.
4. Structure your lesson!
Its great to be open to student questions and suggestions, but chaos
doesnt contribute to learning. Dont jump around from one topic to
another. Follow the general order of: 1) review, 2) presentation of new
material, 3) structured practice of the new material, 4) communicative
(real) practice and application of the new material.
5. Make corrections wisely!
When deciding what to correct and when, ask yourself whether what the
student just said would communicate to the ordinary American person on
the street. If it was a bit grammatically incorrect, said with a strong
accent, but communicates, you may want to let it go. (Of course, if what
youre teaching at the moment is prepositions, for example, then youd
correct the misuse of a preposition.)

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Using Realia and Visual Aids

Realia and visuals arent just for teaching vocabulary. They also can be
great for illustrating grammatical patterns. Some ideas:

A variety of interesting objects (that you grab out of the kitchen

and bathroom and throw into a bag as youre leaving the house to
go to class!)
These can be used to teach there is/there are or teaching
this/that/these/those. Example: put two cans of tuna on one
desk, a pencil sharpener on another, three rubber bands
somewhere else, a toothbrush somewhere else, etc. Have
students make sentences such as There is one pencil
sharpener. There are three rubber bands.. Or, These are cans
of tuna. Thats a toothbrush.
Using the objects youve brought in, plus others already found
in the classroom, have students name the objects and use
a/an with each, in a full sentence. Example: This is an apple.
This is a pen.
Use the random objects to practice prepositions of place. For
example: The pencil is under the table. The can is next to the
rubber band, etc.

Magazine pictures glued to construction paper (These can be used

to teach both structures and vocabulary. Gather a variety of types
of magazines and take an hour or two to make yourself the
following sets, which you can use at many levels.)
Action: people and animals doing lots of different actions,
especially high-frequency verbs like eat, drink, drive, read,
study, etc. Be sure to have single men, women, groups, etc.
so they can practice he/she/they/it etc.
People: pictures with lots of things going on: useful for having
students describe actions, what led up to the actions, and for
practicing different tenses. What did these people do
yesterday? What are they going to do tomorrow? How do
they feel?
Items you will be teaching as vocabulary units: furniture,
clothing, fruit, vegetables, etc. A Sears catalog is great for
single-item pictures.

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 Weather pictures: stormy, snowing, cloudy, raining, sunny etc.

Comparative pictures such as illustrations of big, bigger,
biggest: Here again a catalog is useful. Look for comparative
illustrations of big, small, light, heavy, light-colored, darkcolored, new, old, etc.

Use the hotel guest room or another place to teach with activities
and movement.

A bag of assorted clothing, particularly if it is unusual or garish, can be

used: as props in dialogs such as one on shopping, to teach clothing
item vocabulary, to teach colors, etc.

A variety of application forms of different types are useful for teaching

basic writing skills and for giving practice in actually filling out real
applications. Get a bunch by visiting a mall and going store to store.

Table settings in paper and plastic (knife, fork, spoon, plate, bowl,
napkin, glass, cup) are useful for teaching that vocabulary, or
teaching prepositions of place (Where is the spoon? Its next to the
plate.)

An assortment of over-the-counter medicines are useful when youre

teaching common ailments. Bring in aspirin, Tylenol, liniment, cough
syrup, cold pack, heating pad, cold pills, mouthwash etc.

Make, or have students make, paper plate clocks with moveable

hands for pair and individual work when you are teaching telling
time.

A class set of calendars can be used when you are teaching months
of the year, ordinal numbers (because we say October first not
October one), and time expressions such as in a week, a week ago,
last month, etc. This is also a good place to use job schedules and
time sheets.

Real maps or ones that you make are useful when teaching telling
directions, vocabulary related to direction, or using public
transportation. Consider using hotel floor plans.

Big sheets of paper and markers: Have one student lie on the paper
on the floor while someone traces them. Then students label body

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parts. Or draw and label clothes. Its even more fun to divide into two
groups and have the groups compete to see who can come up with
the most labels.

Teaching Vocabulary
Some principles to remember when teaching vocabulary:
Always teach new grammatical structures using known vocabulary, and
teach new vocabulary using known structures. Introducing new structures
and vocabulary at the same time is distracting. You want students to
focus their attention on one new thing at a time.
Always teach new words in context. Its best to use actual objects when
you name them. Next best is to use a picture. Try not to introduce sets of
new words using only translation. Students need visual reinforcement.
Verbs? Act them out. Prepositions? Demonstrate, or draw a simple
illustration on the board.
Stick to high frequency vocabulary. Before you invest your time teaching
new words, ask yourself how useful these words will be.
Dont introduce too many new words at a time.
Introduce new vocabulary in sets whenever feasible.
Dont confuse spelling with pronunciation. When you want to write on the
board what a new word sounds like, write it between slashes. (snow would
be /snou/). This will avoid students confusing the sounds like spelling with
the actual spellingyou dont want to visually reinforce misspellings. Tell
students that words between slashes are always sounds like spellings,
not the real ones.
Provide practice. Simply telling students a new word doesnt mean
theyve learned it. They need to use the new words in meaningful
contexts, over and over. Just as in teaching a new structure, start with
tightly controlled exercises and gradually loosen up until you are doing
communicative activities in which they actually use the new words to
express themselves meaningfully.
Review the new vocabulary during the next class meeting and
periodically after that. Regular review will help students remember the
new words.

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Teaching Grammar

Some things to remember about grammar and teaching it:

The answer to why questions about grammar is simply because

thats the way English is. In regard to rules, we can say how structures
are formed and when they are used, but theres really no meaningful
why.

Be sure to plan serious lessons around carefully selected objectives.

Dont just wing it. Every lesson objective should follow the cycle:
1. Review
2. Presentation
3. Practice
4. Application

Be sure not to make your teaching objective too broad. Chunk your
material in easy-to-digest sized pieces. For example, when you are
introducing the past tense you wouldnt do regular and irregular verbs
in the same lesson.

When youre teaching a new structure, you are teaching:

1. Form: how is the structure is put together?(Example: The
written form of regular past tense verbs is to add ed to the
simple form.)
2. Meaning: When do we use it? (Example: When were talking
about things that happened in the past. If we use an ed
form, were talking about something that happened
yesterday, last week, etc.)
3. Use: how can we put this new information together into real
communication? (Example: Yesterday I walked the dog. Last
year I finished school, etc. Give students real examples and
real practice)

Its important to put a visual, graphic illustration of the structure on the

board or in a handout. Slot charts do this very well for most structures.
This helps students generalize the new form.

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The examples that you give should be realistic, conversational,

relevant, and provided in context. Use realia (real items) or visuals
such as pictures.

Avoid using grammatical terminology with students who have not at

least completed high school. Examples:

Instead of:
Imperatives
Pronouns
third person singular verbs
present continuous tense
simple present tense

Try saying :

orders
substitute words
he/she/it verbs
now verbs
everyday verbs

Dont feel you always have to give them the rule, especially if it is very
complex or there are lots of exceptions. You can just tell them to learn
the individual examples. This is true especially of spelling rules and
some pronunciation rules.

Once you have presented the new structure, its important to provide
plenty of practice with it. Start with exercises that are tightly controlled
(only one right answer, sometimes only a single word) and then
gradually loosen up.

During practice, be sure to check for understanding by listening

carefully to individual students and re-teaching or correcting when
necessary.

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Using Minimal Pairs to Teach Pronunciation

A minimal pair is a pair of words that differ in only one sound. Examples:
ship/sheep (only the vowel is different) or cry/cried (the two words differ
only in that the latter has an additional /d/ sound at the end.)
It is important that students learn to hear and distinguish between two
words that sound nearly alike before you expect them to say the words
themselves correctly. Remember: recognition first, then production.
This series of steps using minimal pairs will help your students learn to hear
the critical differences.
1. You say a combination and have the student identify whether the
words are the same or different. Example: You say ship ship and
they say same. You say ship sheep and they say different.
2. Label the two sounds as #1 and #2. You say the words and they
identify whether you are saying a #1 word or a #2 word. Example:
the /i/ words are #1 and the /iy/ words are #2. You say ship. They
say Number one.
3. Repeat the exercise, but this time use one of the words in a
sentence and have them identify whether you said a #1 word or a
#2 word. Example: You say, She drew a sheep on the
blackboard. They say, Number 2.
4. Only after they can recognize the two sounds regularly, have them
practice saying the words (production).
Do repeat after me drills. Listen carefully to this sentence
which has a contrast, then repeat it after me. Theres a sheep
on the deck of the ship.
Have them say one of the words in a minimal pair; you tell them
which you heard, and they say whether that was what they
meant.
Divide into pairs and have them take turns saying one or the
other of a minimal pair to their partner, who confirms.
Have them make sentences (or you provide them) using words
with difficult sounds and then practice saying the sentences.

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1. Sound: /iy/ of sheep vs. the /i/ of ship

least - list
eat it
hes - his
heat - hit

cheap chip
green - grin
peel - pill
feet - fit

Minimal sentences
FEEL/FILL this bag, please.
She wore a NEAT/KNIT suit.
Dont SLEEP/SLIP on the floor.
2. Sound: /ae/ of hat vs. the /a/ sound of cot
pad - pod
axe ox
rack rock
rat rot

add-odd
shack shock
tap top
pat - pot

Minimal sentences
It is in his PACKET/POCKET. The room is full of CATS/COTS.
That MAP/MOP is very old.
3. Sound: the /p/ of pack vs. the /b/ of back
pig big
path bath
rapid rabid
cup cub

pair bear
simple symbol
pup pub
cap - cab

Minimal sentences
The ROPE/ROBE was brown.
They were MOPPING/MOBBING the store.
Put this in your LAP/LAB.
4. Sound: the /w/ of wag vs. the / g/ of gag
wet-get
won gun
worth girth
wood- good

wait gate
wave-gave
wiggle-giggle
wilt-guilt

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Minimal sentences
Turkeys are funny when they WOBBLE/GOBBLE.
Put it in the WOOD/GOOD box.
It was a long WAIT/GATE.
5. Sound: the /v/ of vat vs. The /b/ of bat
van-ban
vote-boat
coveredcupboard
calves-cabs

very-berry
vowel-bowel
marvel-marble
curve-curb

Minimal sentences
I see two CALVES/CABS.
The accident was on the CURVE/CURB.
Use that for the VASE/BASE.
6. Sound: the /th/ of thank vs. the /t/ of tank
thick-tick
thought-taught
tenths-tents
ether-eater
bath-bat
death-debt
math-mat
both-boat
Minimal sentences
He THOUGHT/TAUGHT about the war.
She was sad about the DEATHS/D
EBTS.
Thats a good THEME/TEAM.
7. Sound: the voiced /th/ of than vs. the /d/ of Dan
their-dare
they-day
other-udder
soothe-sued

then-den
though-dough
worthy-wordy
breathe-breed

Minimal sentences
When will THEY/DAY come?
Its forbidden to THOSE/DOZE in class.
Rabbits BREATHE/BREED quickly.

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The 4 Skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing

Listening and Speaking

Teach beginning students useful phrases to get speakers to repeat or

to slow down. You can encourage them to use those phrases by
speaking very rapidly yourself at times until someone catches on and
asks you to please slow down or please repeat.

Show the importance of intonation by saying a simple sentence like

Its raining so that it has different meanings, and have students try to
interpret the meaning. Examples: Pronounce it to mean 1. A simple
statement of fact. 2. A question. 3. Amazement that its raining and
not snowing. 4. As a statement of disbelief that it could possibly be
raining now.

Encourage students to listen to or watch English language radio and TV

for a certain amount of time (15 minutes). At first, ask them to try to
write down 3 things they understood. Gradually, challenge them to
write down more and more.

Give number or sentence dictations, where students listen to the

numbers or sentences you read and write them down, then correct
them against a list you put on the board. Start with very easy
dictations and progress to longer, harder ones. For numbers, be sure to
include years, street addresses, and birthdays all of which use
different forms than simply listing digit by digit.

Play a portion of a movie without seeing it, and have them describe
what they think is going on - Who is there? Where are they? How do
they feel?

Teach students that an effective listener doesnt have to understand

every word, but rather does a lot of predicting and educated guessing.

Suggest that when students are on public transportation or in a public

place, they try to listen in on conversations in English and try to
understand what is being said. Remind them that the context and
nonverbal clues will help them make good guesses about whats being
said.

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Use Information Gap Activities. This is when one person has certain
information that the other one needs, and vice versa. They must
communicate in order to complete the task

Borrow books on tape from the Public Library. Have students listen to
the tapes as they follow along in the book. This will enable them to
hear the rhythm, intonation, and stress of the language.

Story Re-tells: Tell students a brief story, using pictures as a guide. Have
them arrange the pictures in order as they hear it. Then have them retell the story, using the pictures as a guide.

Ask students to interview three people outside of class for homework.

Practice the questions beforehand. Questions should be at an
appropriate challenge level for the students, and should be based on
themes you are working on (for example, beginning students may ask
basic questions about peoples families, advanced students would ask
more complex, open-ended questions)

Reading and Writing

Writing Activities
Language Experience Technique
Whole books have been written on the technique, which is frequently
used with first language learners in elementary school. The basic steps
are:
1. Students share an experience such as going on a field trip,
interviewing someone you bring into class, or having a party
2. Then the class creates a story about the experience. As students
suggest sentences, you write them on the board. You can ask
questions like: Would Pablos sentence go better before this one or
at the end? and Can someone think of a final sentence?
3. Read the story together many times.
4. Ask them questions about the words in the story, such as: Which
words start with B? How many syllables are in this word? How
many times did we use the word the?
5. Students copy the group story they have created into their
notebooks.

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 Dialog Journals
Have the student(s) keep a journal, writing a few sentences in it every
day. Collect a few of the journals each week and write comments to
the students in them. They can create a written dialog with you in this
way.
ThankYou Letters
After a field trip, have students write thank-you letters to the mangers
of the establishment they visited. Correct them in class. Have them rewrite them as homework and then mail them.
Recipe Book
Teach the format for writing recipes (title, ingredients and amounts,
instructions). Then have everyone write down a favorite recipe. You
correct the English, and they incorporate corrections. Then you
photocopy the final drafts and make a recipe book out of them. On
the day you bring in the completed cookbooks, have a few of the
students bring in some of the dishes to share.
Make a class book of stories, poems, and essays that the students write.
Make copies for everyone in the class.
Letters
Have everyone write a letter to new students telling them what they
should do in order to best learn English.
Have students write a pretend Dear Abby letter, and then have
other students write back.
Have students write a letter to the editor about a topic they feel
strongly about.
Dictations
Dictations are good writing practice at any level. Simply adjust the
difficulty of the sentences based on what your students are capable
of, read it aloud, section by section, and have students copy what
they hear. Then let them check their work and make corrections. This
is also a good chance to revisit vocabulary or grammar structures
youve worked on recently.

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Reading Activities
Books on tape
Again, borrow books on tape from the library, and have students read
along as they listen to the story
Newspaper
Cut out short articles, Dear Abby letters, or a few ads from the
classifieds (if youve discussed the abbreviations), and have students
read them and tell you what they understood
Scramble Sentences
Write a sentence (appropriate for your students level, and related to
your current theme). Cut up the sentence word by word. Have
students organize the pieces into the correct order and read it aloud.
Do this with several different sentences.
Song Lyrics
Find lyrics to songs on the internet, copy and paste them into a word
document and use a large font. Read the lyrics together and discuss
the meaning. Listen to the song together. Next, cut up the lyrics into
many sections. Have the student arrange the strips in order as they
listen to the song again (they may need to listen a few times). Or

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Card Questions
These can be used for written or oral responses. Cut the questions apart
and use the cards that are the appropriate level for your student.
How do you spell your
name?

How old are you?

Where are you from?

How many bedrooms

are there in your
house?

Who is in your family?

What is your favorite

color?

Can you describe your

teacher?

What time is it?

What are you wearing?

What are you doing

right now?

How is the weather

today?

What did you do

yesterday?

What are you going to

do this summer?

What do you do
everyday?

What do you do for

fun?

Who is your hero and

why?

What are your hopes

and dreams?

What is your pet

peeve?

What do you like best

about your class?

What is something that

you are very proud of?

What is something
embarrassing that
happened to you?

What countries have

you visited?

What were you doing

before class started?

If you had $1,000,000,

what would you do?

If you were the

president, what would
you do?

If you could plan a

perfect day, what
would you do?

Tell me about your job.

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Field Trips: Where to Go and What to Do

General Thoughts on Field Trips:
1) We ask that you limit your liability by not taking students in your car.
Instead, meet as a group at the given location or meet at your
regular class place and then walk, take public transportation, or use
student cars. This is also useful for the students, as they will learn to
get there on their own for next time.
2) The trip will be more of a learning experience if you do both
preparatory and follow-up classroom work.
3) Many field trip locations are suitable for any level; just alter how you
use the trip according to what students need and are able to do.
For example, at the supermarket, level 1 students would probably
focus on new vocabulary, such as names of fruits and vegetables,
and perhaps cultural information, such as leaving shopping carts in
the stores parking lot. Higher-level students could practice verbal
interactions, such as returning an unsatisfactory item, asking
customer service where something is located, or doing a scavenger
hunt (see below).
4) Some of the locations require that you call ahead to make an
appointment. If your students will be the recipients of a talk or a
tour, be sure to tell the tour guide about your groups level of English
comprehension. You may be able to arrange for visits via e-mail
using an organizations Web site.
5) Field trips are valuable because students can have realistic
interactions using English. Yet one of our students greatest blocks to
learning is shyness. On a field trip individual students can be sent
out to ask a question of someone after theyve practiced it with the
group. They can report back with the reaction they got before
another student approaches someone else.

Preparation:

Tell the student where you will be going

Give them a map, if appropriate, and discuss it
Introduce vocabulary related to the experience

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Create and practice a short dialog appropriate to the location

Go over the logistics of where to meet, etc.

After the trip:

De-brief by having the student talk about what they did

Review the dialog or any actual interaction that took place
Review the new vocabulary
Assign homework based on the experience, such as writing five
sentences describing what they did, or making a list of new
vocabulary related to the trip

Places to Go:
v Supermarket
Most of your students, even newcomers, will already be shopping
regularly at a supermarket, so the purpose of this trip is more to help
them practice vocabulary and build confidence, rather than to
introduce them to the resource.
At the store:
1. Make slips of paper each containing something to look for.
Students draw a slip from a bag, find the object and note where it
was, return to you, and then draw another slip. At the end of the
time youve allotted, the student who completed the most searches
wins.
Heres a sample list: corn tortillas, canned tomatoes, Granny Smith
apples, a cold bottle of Snapple tea, 1% milk, aspirin, fresh flowers,
canned pineapple, corn chips, and a six-pack of Coke
Cultural items to discuss:
Weights and measures:
Have students convert from kilos to pounds, grams to ounces, and
vice versa. Practice estimating with problems like: Five pounds of
flour is approximately how many kilos? or My recipe calls for 250
grams of butter. How many sticks is that?
Help carrying groceries:
No need to tip like you would in Latin America. Take advantage of
it!
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Coupons:
Explain how to use them and what double coupon days are. You
may want to caution your students not to buy products that they
dont really need just because they have coupons for them.
v Library
Either use the main library or take them to one of the smaller branch
libraries. Be sure to allow plenty of time for the students to explore
the free computers; you may even want to give a short lesson on
using the Internet.
At the library:
Be sure to point out the print and audio materials for English
learners. They may not know that the library has CDs and videos for
checkout, so make sure to point these out also. Ask individual
students to do the following tasks (and report later to the class):

Discover the procedure for getting a library card

Find out how long you can keep books, childrens books,
audiotapes, videos, CDs, and other materials

Find the current months schedule for free concerts, movies,

talks, or art shows; find out how to get information on future
schedules

Ask someone at the information desk about the fines for various
overdue materials

Find the location of restrooms, audiotapes, videos,

encyclopedias, books in other languages, the childrens
section, and the fiction section
Tip: Scout out the facility in advance so that you can be sure you
are making realistic requests of the students based on that facilitys
amenities.
Homework assignments after the trip:

Check out a childrens book (written in English) with your new

library card and give a verbal book report to the class

Sketch the library floor plan and label locations

Take your kids or a friend to get library cards

Find the nearest branch library to your house

v Other field trip ideas: Post Office, Boston Common, Quincy Market

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Incorporating Language for the Hospitality Industry

One of our major goals is to provide students with the language skills
they need to work and advance in the hospitality industry. For this
reason, we ask that you supplement the textbook you are given with
vocabulary, dialogues, and discussions related to the hotel. Ideas
include:
Highlight various positions in the hotel and talk about that
persons responsibilities.
Take the student(s) to the model hotel room and identify
furniture and supplies.
When practicing various verb tenses, include actions that the
student may do at work. For example, some words to add to the
past tense lesson could be: cleaned, scrubbed, washed, etc.
Take your student on a walk to see some famous Boston tourist
destinations such as Quincy Market, the waterfront, Boston
Common, etc. Later, have the student practice giving directions
to and describing these places.
Many of the hotels are starting new green initiatives to cut
down on waste, energy, and water. Ask students what their
particular hotels are doing. Talk about recycling, and
encourage them to do it at school and at home as well.
Practice filling out job applications.
Practice interview questions.
Some good resources youll find on the bookshelf are:

At Work in the US.

Make Your Mark in the Hotel Industry
Speaking Up At Work
Basic English for Hotels

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Practice Interview Questions

Position
1. What job are you applying for?
2. Do you have experience working as a __________________ ?
3. What do you know about this position?
4. Why do you think you would be good for this job? / So, you want to
be a ___________________. Why should we hire you?
Past Experience
5. Tell me about your current position.
6. What do you like most / least about your last job?
7. What are your skills?
8. If I were to call your supervisor, what would he or she say about
you?
9. What is customer service?
Behavioral
10. Give me an example of a time when you provided good customer
service.
11. Give me an example of a time when you were able to work well
under pressure / in a fast-paced environment.
Hypothetical
12. How would you handle a rude or difficult customer?

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13. What would you do if your shift ended at 4:30 and you finished
everything at 4:00?
14. If I were to call your supervisor, what would he or she say about
you?
Personal
15. What are your strengths?
16. What are your weaknesses?
17. What are your goals for the future? Where do you see yourself in 5
years?
Availability
18. What is your availability?
19. Can you work overtime? Can you work weekends?
20. Do you have any questions for me?
Additional Questions

Give me an example of something you have done on the job that

you are proud of.

Discuss a time when you had a misunderstanding with a co-worker

and how you resolved it.

Give me an example of how you work well on a team.

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IDEAS FOR COMPUTER LESSONS

in order from easy to difficult
Internet Searching for Any Topic:
Demonstrate basic internet searching techniques (using google or
another search engine). Show students how to use Advanced
search options.
Give students useful vocabulary that they may not know, for
example: hail, lettuce and have students conduct a general
search and an image search for that item.
Show students how to identify the legitimacy of a website. Explain
the .gov, .com endings.
Image Search:
With any topic, demonstrate to students how to use googlesearch
or another image search engine. Include techniques on how to
refine the search.
Copy and paste images onto Microsoft Word or Publisher. Create a
new document with the pictures a brochure or a postcard.
An explanation of copyright laws might be required.
Find local events in Boston:
Use boston.com or search for free Boston events in various
websites.
Ask students to find information on free music, farmers markets, and
other community events.
Its always good practice for students to look up business hours and
telephone numbers online. Use websites like yelp.com to read and
discuss reviews.
Use MBTA website to find a schedule, a route, to plan a trip, etc.
Online Dictionary:
Use dictionary.reference.com or a similar website. Show students
how to look up a definition and understand the explanation. Make
sure they understand the list of synonyms. Give students some works
to look up or ask them to find some synonyms.
Practice clicking on the pronunciation icon that accompanies the
definition.
Youtube
Direct students to specific music videos some videos have lyrics
with the images. Ask students to listen for key words.

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Watch news videos or search for anything relating to your ESL topic
of the day.
Youtube has a lot of instructional videos ask students to follow
along.

Food Students can search for specific recipes on www.epicurious.com,

allrecipes.com or another recipe website.
Compare different recipes for the same item and have a class
discussion on the varieties.
Search for a specific type of recipe, exp: low-fat, vegetarian, or a
recipe that includes a specific ingredient.
Sts can identify new vocabulary relating to food or cooking
techniques by doing a general internet search or watching
instructional videos, rather than asking their teacher.
As a final project, students could write their own recipe. This is a
good writing exercise to emphasis concise sentences and writing
directions and instructions.
Shopping:
Introduce students to various online shopping websites and
techniques for searching. Have a class discussion on on-line
shopping safety including when to share credit card information
and avoiding scams.
Ask students to find one item and they can research the cost and
value of a similar item from several different websites.
Introduce ebay and craigslist. Warn about scams again.
Practice posting items on craigslist.
Online news
Introduce students to online newspapers, even ones in their own
language. Chose easy ones and focus on articles relevant to
everyone or related to their countries of origin.
The BBC online has good ESL resources in the ESL category.
Introduce students to blogs.
Also send students to radio and video websites. Go to CNN or
another major news sources and watch videos online. Students can
report their findings back to the class.
GoogleMaps
Have students get directions from their home to their place of work
or another place they are familiar with. Then, ask them to find a
place theyve never been to an interesting place in Boston, for an
example.
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Find driving, walking and public transportation directions. Compare

prices and times.
Using googlemaps, have students zoom in on their houses. Zoom in
on another place in Boston (BEST Corp, for example).

Travel:
Some lesser-known websites include Kayak.com and Vayama.com
(Vayama is better for visual learners).
As a project, ask students to compare ticket prices from Boston to
another city. Compare various dates, cities and airlines.
Begin the process of booking the flight.

The Public Library:

If all the students in the class have a library card, go to the
Minuteman website, or the BPLC website and search the catalog.
Show students how to search for key ideas, then how to request
that an item be sent to their nearest library.
Introduce students to resources beyond books. For homework, have
students request one item: CD, movie, book, etc.
Some libraries will let patrons pay fees online.
Wikipedia or another wikihow
Introduce students to wikipedia. Explain what it is (the pros and
cons) and ask students to read/research specific topics.
On wikihow.com (instructional wiki), have students find one page
related to your class topic.
For a more advanced class: students can write and then publish
their own instructions (encourage them to write a recipe or
something specific to their culture).

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Pep Talk for Students

Learning English takes a lot of time and patience! Once in awhile our
students need a pep talk. Here is some possible language you can use to
help get them back on track:
Learning English is a huge challenge that requires a great deal of
patience, persistence and practice. People learn at different paces
depending on the effort they put into it and learning capabilities, but
everyone can improve their English.
It is not a race to get through every level, and typically it takes 3-6 years to
advance from level 1 to level 6. It is also common to repeat a level, or
even move down a level if there is a need to review material covered in
the previous level before advancing. The speed of advancing levels
often depends on the students attendance and the amount they
practice outside of class. Conquering the basics before racing through
levels can be effective for many people.
Whether or not you learn is up to you. We provide you with classes, a
teacher, and books, and the rest is up to you. We have seen hundreds of
people attend classes, do their homework, practice outside of class, and
see their lives drastically improve as they gain confidence with their
English. We have also seen hundreds of people drop out, sometimes
because of valid reasons and sometimes because they make excuses.
No ESL class is perfect, and if you look for excuses to drop out and not
learn you will find them. You must decide whether you want to be in the
group of people who looks for excuses or the group of people who truly
wants to learn and is ready to make sacrifices to do so. If you want to be
intentional about learning and be truly dedicated then you will learn.
TYPES OF LEARNERS:
A casual learner will not work much outside of class.
A devoted learner will work outside of class when it is convenient for them.
A committed learner will make sacrifices and do whatever it takes to
practice outside of class and do more than homework assigned by the
teacher. If you have to work and take care of your kids then you get up
an hour earlier and study then. That is the type of work ethic of those who
truly succeed here.
What kind of learner are you, and what kind of learner do you want to be?

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Checklist
(Ask yourself these questions after every class!)
1. Was the atmosphere of the class friendly/did I give frequent
encouragement?
2. Did I begin by reviewing material previously covered/relate material
to what student already knows?
3. Was the class well organized with a logical flow from one activity to
the next?
4. Did I check for understanding? How?

5. Was the student doing more talking than I was?

6. Did I make corrections effectively? How?

7. Did I keep the class mostly in English?

8. Did I use real objects, pictures, or other visuals?

9. Have I used many different types of activities over the past couple
weeks? (listening, speaking, reading, writing, pronunciation,
vocabulary, grammar, etc)
10. Did I assign homework?

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Key Things to Remember:

Be extra sure that you are able to commit to volunteering for the
next three months.

If you are having trouble finding the right level materials, let us know
so we can provide you with materials.

Give your students lots of encouragement and positive feedback.

Always assign homework.

Make sure your student is doing most of the talking.

Keep the classes in English.

When youre ready for more materials, let us know.

If you have any challenges, questions, or suggestionslet us know!!

Spread the word about our program to friends, families, and coworkers

When you need to stop teaching, let us know as soon as possible so

we can find a replacement

Have fun, and make the most of this experience!!

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