Ezra Vasquez

The personal blog of an applied linguist, writer, & educator

Tag: TESOL

  • Microsoft Class Notebooks in the Communications Classroom

    Microsoft Class Notebooks in the Communications Classroom

    An early-view article in the TESOL Journal by Pamela Everly examines how Microsoft’s learning management platform the OneNote Class Notebook (ONCN) can facilitate speech activities in a listening/speaking or communication focused classroom. Pamela says the following: ONCN’s capacity for handling multiple data types, providing individualized content, and delivering multiple computer‐assisted pronunciation technologies on demand increased…

  • Hyper-Vigilant Attribution Culture Exacerbates Academese

    … the secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word, every adverb which carries the same meaning that is already in the verb, every passive construction that leaves the reader unsure of who is doing…

  • Implications of The Bottleneck Hypothesis for Higher-Ed ESL

    A recent article in the journal Second Language Research by Isabel Jensen … lends support for a theory of second language acquisition called The Bottleneck Hypothesis

  • AI Language Partner for L2 Learners

    I didn’t make it to this session in Atlanta, but it intrigues, nonetheless. Alelo’s Enskill learning platform automatically evaluates learners’ communication skills and produces performance analytics. As learners engage in conversations with artificially intelligent avatars, Enskill continually monitors their performance and provides feedback to both teachers and learners. Via “Alelo Presents at TESOL Its Solutions…

  • Difficulties with /l/ and /ɹ/ speech sounds for L2 English learners

    The following video gives useful information on the difficulties some learners of english experience when pronouncing the /l/ and /ɹ/ sounds. Some of this could be shown in the classroom:

  • Engage Your Students’ Critical Thinking Faculties with the Trolley Problem

    The trolley problem comes from the philosophical field of ethics, and it presents an excellent impetus for discussion in communication classes or topic for critical thinking in writing classes. Below are two short videos to get the lesson started. via An Animated Introduction to the Famous Thought Experiment, the “Trolley Problem,” Narrated by Harry Shearer…

  • Poetry Applications for TESOL

    Poetry Applications for TESOL

    I attended the presentation The Uses of Poetry in the ESL Classroom: Ways to Integrate Poetry in a Reading Class on March 15th by Janusz Solarz of Indiana University at the TESOL 2019 International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Professor Solarz provided three capacities in which an educator might implement poetry in her English lessons. Introductions…

  • Teaching Shudder Quotes

    Shudder quotes, or weird quotes as the the author Chuck Wendig refers to them in the tweet at the end of this post, can be used to indicate your are using a word with ironic intent. Consider when you refer to the “stroke of genius” upper management foisted on everyone, and how all your colleagues…

  • It’s always fun to empathize with misery …

    but this podcast is especially fun because Juan Fernández is doing it in Spanish! Listen to a recent episode of his Español con Juan Spanish-language listening podcast, in which he enumerates the struggles of a college Spanish teacher in London: https://www.1001reasonstolearnspanish.com/hecho-polvo-2/

  • Stay Abreast of Latest Trends in Applied Linguistics with RSS

    I tell my students if they want to write research papers, they must consume the academic literature, and one way to go about it is by subscribing to the RSS feeds of the prominent journals. The RSS feeds will not deliver entire articles (one will need to access the journal through an academic institution to…