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 BEST Hospitality Training
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.1234best.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.

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.

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 highfrequency 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
open-ended 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.)

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

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.

The examples that you give should be realistic, conversational,

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

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.

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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.
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
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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
wait gate
won gun
wave-gave
worth girth
wiggle-giggle
wood- good
wilt-guilt
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
tenths-tents
bath-bat
math-mat

thought-taught
ether-eater
death-debt
both-boat
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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.

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
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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.

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 re-tell 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:
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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.
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 re-write 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.
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 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.
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).

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?

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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?
Tell me about your
job.

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, If you were the

what would you do?
president, what would
you do?

If you could plan a

perfect day, what
would you do?

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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

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Give them a map, if appropriate, and discuss it

Introduce vocabulary related to the experience
Create and practice a short dialog appropriate to the location
Go over the logistics of where to meet, etc.

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

After the trip:

Places to Go:
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.
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

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.
16.

What are your strengths?

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 coworker 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)

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10.

Did I assign homework?

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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