Highway to E.S.L.: A User-Friendly Guide to Teaching English as a Second Language

By Pinky Y. Dang and Rik Ruiter

Book Overview

In today's world, teaching English as a Second Language (E.S.L.) is big business. An expanding global communications network has made English the international language of choice. In Highway to E.S.L., authors Rik Ruiter and Pinky Dang provide an easy-to-understand guide, not only for individuals seeking a new and rewarding career teaching English, but also for experienced E.S.L. instructors who wish to improve their classroom skills.

Written in a user-friendly format that includes detailed course planning and an appendix containing a variety of useful evaluation forms, Highway To E.S.L. supplies readers with valuable information on how to teach the different disciplines of English--a vital component to successful education in both domestic and international markets. Other key topics include:

- Necessary teaching methodologies and approaches
- Innovative personal teaching tips
- Proficient classroom management
- Troubleshooting common classroom problems
- Efficient planning that utilizes timetables
- Stimulating activity suggestions
- Effective curriculum and lesson planning for grammar, reading, writing, listening, and speaking
- Incorporating both conventional and non-conventional teaching resources in the classroom

In Highway to E.S.L., Ruiter and Dang answer the common "who, where, when, what, why, and how" questions of both experienced and inexperienced E.S.L. teachers, providing teachers with the vital information needed to educate eager minds.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595342213
• ISBN13: 9780595342211
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 2.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Ambitious, flawed, and very practical

Evidently written to help novice ESL teachers understand the diverse and challenging skill sets required to teach English overseas, this ambitious book provides a plethora of practical tips for success in the classroom. The 21 chapters range from overseas preparations, classroom management, and language needs and placement tests to verb tenses, teaching vocabulary, and teaching vowels. An informal, friendly tone pervades - and more than a few odd sentences and editing errors have survived in this 359-page tome. Each chapter includes concise subheadings, clear examples, and many needlessly long sentences. Numerous teaching suggestions, strong statements, and bullet point lists help transmit an impressive amount of information. From my perspective as an experienced ESL instructor who has taught academic ESL for over a decade, this book remains a hidden gem. Two very strong chapters alone - Teaching Writing (chapter 10) and Teaching Speaking (chapter 17) - make this a smart choice. Both cover the predictable ground, include worksheets, and offer innovative assignments to motivate students. I haven't read the entire book, but I'm impressed with the depth and range of concepts in the chapters I have read. Further, the resource lists allow one to conduct further research. The book attempts to convey academic research in an accessible, practical manner. Overall, it succeeds in providing a single teaching resource for English teachers wanting to help their students master a difficult language. Two other final comments. I recognize how the book might have benefited from an university press editor, but the book would also have been far thinner, more academic, less engaging - and far less practical for ESL teachers working overseas. "Highway to ESL" succeeds far better in explaining the field and guiding teachers through a complicated maze of information than most professional titles. For instances, "Highway to ESL" compares quite favorably to the disappointing, almost unreadable "Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching" published by Cambridge University Press. Why? A non-specialist can actually enjoy reading the book, learn some effective techniques, gain a big picture understanding of the field, and zoom in on actual classroom practices that work. As an experienced English instructor, I also learned from this under-rated book.You might too. I strongly recommend this book for teachers entering the field, students considering teaching abroad, and experienced teachers looking for new ideas.

Planning to Use Right Away

I've found this book easy to navigate and plan to use it right away in my ESL classes. I appreciate this useful book.

Practical Guidance

I have gained CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) but I sometimes forget some techniques I've learned from CELTA. It is this book that helps me recall those skills and ways to improve my teaching. I often read it for some brilliant ideas as well as some background info behind the methodology. Great book and great content~

Great and comprehensive!

There are few books out there on how to teach ESL. A bought a few of them a few years ago as I wanted to supplement my income by giving some courses to the numerous immigrants living in the Montreal area. Unfortunatelly, these books were all too academic and were not very comprehensive nor user-friendly. Being a non-native English speaker I needed a book filled with tips, example lesson plans and that was simple and no non-sense. A friend of mine told me to look at this 'Highway to ESL' book. It is by far the closest thing I could find to what I was looking for. In 350 pages it covers the basics and more. I now have a lot of tools and exercises I can use when I have to prepare a class on a short notice. There is a lot of information on the logistic side too: classroom management, lesson planing etc. Not the book for those looking for highly academic prose but if you are looking for a complete tool box all-in-one, this book is worth a try. Recommended for those going to teach overseas.

The compact E.S.L. book I was looking for!

Hi guys, I don't know if you are like me but I can tell you that I was not enticed at the thought of going to teach in Northern China with one of my suitcases crammed with different books on how to do lesson plans, deal with pronunciation issues (tongue placement, etc.). I collected many good books that covered these topics over time but the bottom line is that there was often no more than 10% of the content that was really practical, the rest was too heavy on theory. This book is pretty complete. I covers a whole gammut of essential topics such as designing placement tests, teaching grammar, pronunciation exercises, class activities, etc. I liked the lesson plan examples. It is one of the only books I have that gives you the specifics on making good lesson plans. I got a contract to teach in China and I feel comfortable to leave my good ol' books at home. This book is more than enough for my needs.