Steps to Becoming an ESL Teacher

Six Steps to Becoming an ESL Teacher

See link for details I have added links to the headings from the above link for Canada and Alberta.

• Step One - Earn a bachelor's degree:

The faculty of Education at the Univercity of Alberta offers a minor in ESL as a part of their BEd in Secondary Education see Information Package.

• Step Two - Learn a language other than English:
  

In Alberta there are several different ways to learn a second language, one is through jr.high or High School or French immersion, another way is to learn a language on your own, and lastly there are language courses available at Universities and Collages in Alberta.

• Step Three - Become certified:
  

The organization that you get certified with is TESL Canada. You become certified by taking TESL course and then doing a practicum.

• Step Four - Gain teaching experience: The way you gain teaching experience is by doing a practicum. Another way to gain teaching experience is once you are certified go and volunteer or get a job teaching ESL.
  

• Step Five - Pursue post-baccalaureate courses:

See TESL Canada website and ESL-Related Resources from Cooperative ESL Ministries for training programs in Canada

• Step Six - Take a look at your career options:

ESL teachers are in high demand right now in places were there are new immigrants and in foreign countries.

Podcasts

Japanesepod101
was a Podcast I listened to it teaches you Japanese phrases and then puts the phrase in to a conversation.Next in the podcast they repeat vocabulary words in Japanese and translate them to English. Then they go through grammar. Then they use the grammar word in different sentences. I found that this podcast is very useful because it teaches practical vocabulary and phrase you could use everyday. Also they repeat the main words and annunciate them clearly.

Japancast
This podcast starts with a conversation in Japanese then it goes through vocabulary that was spoken in the conversation. They go through the vocabulary word 3 or more times before moving on to other vocabulary words.I think this podcast is good for learning vocabulary but not very helpful for learning sentences in Japanese.

One Minute Japanese
In this podcast they spend one minute teaching you Japanese words or phrases that you can practice on your own. I think that this podcast is good for basic vocabulary and phrases. I would strongly recamend this podcast for beginner Japanese learners and as a great way to advance your vocabulary for intermediate and advanced levels of Japanese.

There are many more podcasts that are available these are only the ones I looked at.

Kick Start Your Language Learning

"Kick Start Your Language Learning : Becoming a basic speaker through fun and games inside a secure nest " Is a book written by Greg Thomson that is online and talks about language learning. In Chapter one Greg talks about what the goals of a beginner language learner are and where to start. The second Chapter talks about finding a Language resource person and how you should start your first lesson. Greg lists different activities or games you can do with your language resource person such as: role play, using pictures to communicate, listening to the language resource person and responding correctly, speaking in sentences with adjectives and nouns in the language you are trying to learn. Greg also suggest that if you want to start talking in your first session with your language resource person start with Hello and Goodbye. Later in the Chapter Greg suggests that after your session is over to journal it, record during the session, plan for the next session. Chapter 3 talks about speaking the language you are trying to learn by starting slowly , learning survival phrases and talking about a topic in the language you are trying to learn. In Chapter 4 Greg writes about vocabulary and sentence structures and gives general examples to follow. The final Chapter is Greg's conclusion and a plan for learning a language in 9 weeks.

Places in Edmonton that offer ESL

Here are a few places in Edmonton were ESL is taught that have websites.


Canadian College International

10025 106 Street 10 Fl, Edmonton, Alberta T5J1G4 Canada
780-428-8145

Canadian College International have several other locations in Canada such as Vancouver. Also the Canadian College International offers English courses and Business courses for new immigrants.

Canadian English Academy Inc
Edmonton Alberta Canada
(416) 780-8168

Is a private collage located in Edmonton that teaches people from large corporations, Business Men or Women, Government officials,University and Collage Students and Teachers.

English Computerized Learning Inc.
5405 99 Street Northwest 208, Edmonton, Alberta T6E3N8 Canada
780-448-1032

English Computerized Learning Inc is a company that produces Computer software that helps people learn English.

English Language Training College
10303 Jasper Avenue Northwest 750, Edmonton, Alberta T5J3N6 Canada
780-429-4848

English Language Training College is a private college dedicated to teaching people English.

Mennonite Centre for Newcomers
10010 107A Avenue Northwest 101, Edmonton, Alberta T5H4H8 Canada
780-424-7709

The Center offers ESL classes for New immigrants, Seniors and Adults who want to learn English.

New Home Immigration & Settlement Centre
572 Hermitage Road Northwest, Edmonton, Alberta T5A4N2 Canada
780-456-4663

Is a center that helps new immigrants get settled by offering ESL courses and by helping their students find jobs by teaching them the necessary skills for the job.

Norquest College
10215 108 Street Northwest, Edmonton, Alberta T5J1L6 Canada
780-422-2020

Norquest College is a college in Edmonton that offers ESL courses for students and adults who want or need to learn English.

Solomon Learning Institute
8625 112 Street Northwest 307, Edmonton, Alberta T6G1K8 Canada
780-431-1515

The Solomon Learning Institude is a small collage that offers ESL to students.

Resources for ESL Students

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Resources from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslstudent.html#general

The above website has links to several ESL resource websites under the following headings

• General Resources
• Online Courses
• Grammar and Spelling
• Idioms
• Vocabulary
• Help with taking exams
• Help with English for specific purposes(ie becoming a doctor)
• Quizzes, Tests, Software and interactive sites
• Other interesting sites
• Conversations and E-mail Lists

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Resources for ESL Teachers

handout and exersises
on this website they give detailed handouts for teacher to use in the classroom for example they have a handout that explains adjectives and adverbs.
Quizzes for students
This website contains quizzes that teachers can give their students to do that test there English.

Lesson Plans for teachers
this website has lots of PDF lesson plans for teachers to use.

How to learn a Language

How to learn a language according to wikipedia

Here are some of the things the article recommends to help you start your language learning process: Study the pronunciation of the language first,Practice the native intonation, stress, and rhythm of common, short social sentences and social questions, e.g.: "Hi, How are you?" "Where is the museum?",Purchase audio books in the language you wish to learn, Purchase a quality dictionary of the language you wish to learn,Buy a quality translation dictionary which translates from your native language to the one you wish to learn,A picture dictionary is helpful for learning common nouns,Buy or loan several classic, well-known literary works in the language you wish to learn; such as plays, short stories, or novels,Buy popular magazines or newspapers in the language you wish to learn, Review the grammar and essential parts of speech of your native language,Buy a book of idioms, proverbs, and expressions used in the language you wish to learn,Pay an educated native speaker to tutor you through one-on-one conversation practice,Listen to news broadcasts in your chosen language,Work on your vocabulary, Attach labels to everything in your house/ at your desk/ etc in the language you are learning, picture/ word associations help best,Study the grammar,Educate yourself in the cultural aspect of the language, and practice speaking,reading and writing in the language you want to learn.


How to learn a language according to" how to learn any language"

The above websites contains useful information on specific language such as Japanese, however it does not have a general overview of language learning.