New York taxi drivers teaching English - new film features top ESL destination
“Tales from America,” the third episode of The Learning English Video Project, has been released for free access on EnglishClub.com. With learners around the world expressing a desire to learn American English, UK filmmaker Daniel Emmerson felt it was important to take his project to New York City, one of the top destinations for ESL learners. Prior to heading to New York, Emmerson expressed his excitement about interviewing students who were willing to travel a long way to “really experience the language in its home setting.” The film is available with and without subtitles, along with online classroom materials, self-study exercises and behind-the-scenes commentary and footage.
In “The Making of the Project” Daniel Emmerson admits that he and his cameraman Joel Carr felt a bit “perplexed as to what [their] role was as filmmakers” as they too were experiencing their first taste of the Big Apple. During their stay in New York, the crew accepted tips from international students on how to get the full New York experience. They stayed in the metropolis near Wall Street and in an African community in Harlem. They also walked Central Park and visited famous sites including Coney Island, Madison Square Garden and the Statue of Liberty. The footage, shot both in and outside the classroom, depicts New York as a city that is optimal for learning English.
While the learners in “Tales from America” describe New York city as “big”, “unbelievable” and even “lonely” at times, Emmerson uses the words “busy”, “vibrant” and “very multicultural”. The film profiles a handful of learners from diverse backgrounds, including students from Argentina, Austria and South Korea. One of the main messages from the film is that learning English is becoming a necessity in many parts of the world. Interviewees agree that whether you are a translator, a computer engineer or a yoga instructor English is an international language that people “need” in today’s job market.
As in previous episodes, Emmerson asks learners to respond to a few key questions. In “Tales from America”, visitors to New York are asked why English is important, what problems learners typically have, and how being in New York helps learners improve. Interviewees are then asked to share tips on how to learn English. In the final sequence, Argentinean engineer, Adrian Petrov, looks retrospectively at his own path and advises learners to get serious about their goals: “What I did in the past was to study English about two hours per week, and it wasn’t enough.”
“Tales from America” and the entire series is sponsored by EnglishClub.com for educational use. The third film runs 17 minutes, contributing to the total series length of 2 hours. The fourth film, “Studies in Spain” will be released next month, and pre-production for filming in China and Brazil is now underway. The many viewers who add their comments for each film are helping to shape future films in the series.
“Tales from America” and classroom materials:
http://www.englishclub.com/esl-videos/tales-from-america
Sagging economy boosts English class enrollment
June 19, 2009 by admin
Filed under ESL Classes, ESL News
The sinking economy has spurred demand for English classes, while at the same time cuts in education budgets have left some of the programs without classrooms, education officials say.
While there has always been a high demand for English classes, recently more students are calling and walking up to registration counters at local community colleges throughout the county, hoping to sign up for one of the hundreds of classes offered during summer sessions, according to education officials.
Read full story via OCRegister.com.
ESL Classroom Success Relies Heavily On Good Group Dynamics
The Helen Doron educational franchise helps children learn English by creating high quality innovative learning programs for children of all ages the world over. Audrey Serper is a key member of the Helen Doron pedagogic development team and a veteran Teacher Trainer. She comments on how group dynamics works in Helen Doron Early English classrooms. “Without positive group dynamics, no classroom will be successful, for either the students or the teacher. Our lessons are built for small groups of 4 - 8 children. Any less, and the energy level for a good group dynamics just isn’t there - that’s why Helen Doron lessons are more effective than private tutoring.”…
Read full story via ESL franchising.com
ESL graduates smile… in English
Some 55 adults representing 21 countries and 14 languages graduated from their English as a second language ESL classes on Thursday at the YMCA Adult Learning Center on Plympton Street. Many held back tears as they walked to the front of a cheering classroom to accept certificates of achievement from program coordinator Elaine Dougherty and the four ESL teachers who had instructed them.
Read full story via Woburn Advocate.
TEA gets no help in suit from lawmakers
Lawyers for the Texas Education Agency will step before the federal appeals court in New Orleans today armed with arguments against a ruling that says the state is failing 140,000 students with limited English-speaking skills.
They will not, however, have an armload of bills passed by the 81st Legislature to show that the state is addressing the problems that were highlighted by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice in July.