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(This post was updated August 16, 2025) Regardless of the subject you are licensed to teach, if you work in a U.S. public school you are probably an ESL teacher, too. Chances are you have at least one English Language Learner (ELL) in your class and if you don’t this
The #ELLEdTech Twitter chat is back this Sunday, August 21st! Please join co-host Laurah from Tools for Teachers by Laurah J and me at 7:00pm Eastern, 4:00pm Pacific time as we discuss Tools for Helping Teachers Learn More about Working with ELLs. Details are below. Join us! Schedule and Questions
I was locked out of my classroom for most of the summer when the superintendent decided several years ago that teachers could not enter the district schools more than a week later than the last day or a week before the first day of school. This was annoying because I
Once upon a time, many years ago, I spent a year in Sweden as a high school exchange student. Attending a school where all the instruction was in Swedish gave me valuable insights when I became an ESL teacher decades later because it was really easy for me to empathize

July is synonymous with “vacation” in the U.S. so Laurah and I have decided our monthly #ELLEdTech Twitter chats will also take a break. There will not be a chat this month but we will return on the third Sunday in August. I’ll post the topic and guidelines in advance

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” — The Declaration of Independence Source: Wikimedia Commons It’s America’s birthday today! Let’s wave some

Most if not all of teachers spend their summers working another job, preparing for the upcoming school year, and/or (mostly and) engaging in professional development to enhance their teaching skills. To help with the latter, I’d like to offer a link up of books that educators have found useful in

Please join co-host Laurah from Tools for Teachers by Laurah J and me for June’s #ELLEdTech Twitter chat. The topic is Favorite Tech Tools. Join us this Sunday for June’s Twitter chat! Schedule and Questions7:00 = Tell us your name, location, level and subject taught #EllEdTech7:05 = Q1:
Today is Memorial Day in the United States. Below are some facts about the holiday that you might not already know. For more information about Memorial Day, please visit my Pinterest board Holidays Around the World. Collage created by The ESL Nexus 1) It was originally called Decoration Day because
For two countries who share the same language, more or less, the differences between the education systems in the U.S. and the U.K. are striking. To find out more, this month’s guest blogger is Rebekah Humphrey-Bullen from TpT store LittleStreams. I am very pleased that she will provide us with

Yesterday, there was a mix up about the #ELLEdTEch Twitter chat. I thought it was scheduled for May 15th but my co-host Laurah had it down for May 22nd. The month of May started on Sunday the 1st so the third Sunday came sooner than expected. I sincerely apologize for

Wow, it’s already the third Sunday of the month tomorrow! Please join co-host Laurah from Tools for Teachers by Laurah J and me for May’s #ELLEdTechTwitter chat. The topic is Tools for Assessment. Below are the details: Join us on Sunday! Schedule and Questions 7:00 = Introductions: Tell us your