Find out what’s happening in our school!
A stereotype makes people give a definition of other persons who they meet for the first time. We easily decide who people are from their appearance, race, gender, where they were born, what kind of families they grew up in, or if they are rich or not. Some stereotypes can bring some advantages … Read more
Using ESL storyboard activities, such as the free website software from storyboardthat.com, can help students visualize and create their stories. Storyboards are especially helpful in writing using sequential transition signal words and increasing descriptive adjectives. Using storyboards in the classroom will help motivate students to write their best story yet. Everyone in the park stopped … Read more
At EC San Francisco, we work to help students develop all aspects of their understanding of English, so that they can fully participate in the World English community. Naturally this includes Reading, Writing, Listening, Grammar, etc., but for effective communication, pronunciation must be an ongoing aspect of Speaking. If you know the words, but don’t … Read more
Hi students and blog readers, The busy summer season at ECSF is rapidly winding down but for many of our students, the work is far from over as they continue towards their goal of expanding their English language skills. While many of ECSF’s after school activities are geared towards using English in a laid back … Read more
How to Meet Native English Speakers Hi everyone! This is Misa, one of your classmates and Student Ambassadors at EC San Francisco. I’ve been staying in San Francisco for 7 months now. I want to ask you some questions. Are you really satisfied with your ordinary life? Does anybody look for beginning something new? One … Read more
Writing is considered to be the toughest of the four major language skills. In many cultures, there is relatively little expectation that people will ever do much original writing, and the expectation for students to write is limited. However, in the US, writing is one of the primary ways that students are expected to demonstrate … Read more
Of the four primary language skill areas, reading is the most demanding. In fact, it is so demanding that many people never become proficient readers in their first language. If you don’t like to read, you don’t read, which means you don’t get better. It’s one of the big problems in American education, and the … Read more
Most students would say that the core of learning a language is to be able to use the grammar. As a result, almost all ESL schools focus, to some extent, on the basics of English grammar. Sometimes, however, the work in class just isn’t enough to make the idea clear to you, or you want … Read more
Among all the challenges of vocabulary development, phrasal verbs and what are called “stock phrases” in English are one more level of necessary knowledge. You can find an endless supply of books and online sources that can help, with a variety of organizational approaches. One approach I like is to take a key word (either … Read more
In general, ESL courses tend to focus on the big issues in English – Past Tense, compare/contrast essays, READING COMPREHENSION!!!! And students need that, and learn from that. However, you can also improve your English by steadily mastering one little thing after another. This ongoing feature will try to help you do that, as long … Read more
