Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

<blockquote>This article is part of a series of posts highlighting education systems around the world. With this article, we hope to raise awareness of both the needs of the students and the challenges of running an English language program for newcomers to Nova Scotia, Canada. We also hope to share heartwarming and inspiring success stories with our community of teachers around the&nbsp;world.</blockquote>

Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association and the Halifax Immigrant Learning Centre assisted immigrants with settlement, helping newcomers to Nova Scotia, Canada find employment and learn&nbsp;English.

In late 2009, these two organizations merged to form the&nbsp;<a href="https://isans.ca/home/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia</a>&nbsp;(ISANS).

Today, ISANS&#39;s mission is to help immigrants build a future by providing a number of programs and services. These&nbsp;include:

<ul>
	<li>Settlement support services</li>
	<li>English language programs</li>
	<li>Employment support services</li>
	<li>Business development services</li>
	<li>Community programs</li>
</ul>

The organization&nbsp;envisions a community where all can belong and&nbsp;grow.

&ldquo;We empower and build upon newcomers&rsquo; skills through programs and services designed to meet their needs and support their journey towards possibility,&rdquo; a spokesperson for the organization&nbsp;said.

ISANS offers a variety of <a href="https://isans.ca/explore-our-programs/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">language programs</a> that focus on learners&rsquo; needs and goals. Some of the courses ISANS provides&nbsp;include:

<ul>
	<li>Beginner-level literacy classes</li>
	<li>English classes for everyday living</li>
	<li>Classes for communicating in the workplace</li>
	<li>Courses for internationally educated health-care and engineering professionals</li>
</ul>

The language programs are predominantly funded by <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship.html" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada</a> (IRCC) and the <a href="https://beta.novascotia.ca/government/labour-skills-and-immigration" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Nova Scotia Department of Labour, Skills&nbsp;and&nbsp;Immigration</a>.

&ldquo;We work with learners to identify their unique needs and offer support tailored to their settlement language goals,&rdquo; said the organization.

<img alt="A language classroom pre-pandemic" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2137/content_content_LanguageClass_036_2017.jpg" />

A language class pre-pandemic is pictured here.

Prior to the pandemic, ISANS held in-person classes. But in light of COVID-19, they&#39;ve had&nbsp;to move their language programs&nbsp;online.

This challenging process involved conducting training sessions for staff and clients on how to use online platforms like Avenue, Zoom, and WhatsApp. For some learners, ISANS mails out homework packages. These clients had to be taught how to use the cameras on their phones in order to send photos of their work to their instructors.

<blockquote>
&quot;My classes run for 90 minutes. I usually have an opening activity that we do for 10 minutes or so every day, which reinforces a skill&nbsp;but also serves to occupy us while people are joining. In the winter, I often share my screen with the Environment Canada seven-day weather forecast and ask specific questions about it. Whatever activity I spend time on as an opener, I will eventually assess so they can demonstrate that learning.&quot;

&mdash;An ISANS instructor
</blockquote>

In addition to ensuring digital access and digital literacy for both instructors and clients, growing waitlists have been another challenge the organization has had to&nbsp;navigate throughout the&nbsp;pandemic.

&ldquo;In the early part of the pandemic, we had seen our waitlist numbers grow while we learned&nbsp;to adapt programs especially impacted and to focus on program continuity,&quot; the organization said. &quot;Within the year, we were able to successfully drop our waitlist numbers by nearly 50%. Today, our client numbers closely resemble pre-COVID days and are growing.&quot;

<img alt="An instructor teaching over Whatsapp" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2138/content_content_Instructor_on_What_s_App.jpg" />

An instructor teaching over WhatsApp is pictured here.

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, ISANS continues to have an incredible&nbsp;impact.

On average, 150 participants are enrolled every month with 1,200&ndash;1,300 clients in programming at any given time. Last year, over 2,000 learners were enrolled in over 110 language&nbsp;classes.

&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t realize how much I learned from [ISANS]&nbsp;until I had to simulate an interaction with a patient in front of other doctors,&#39;&#39; said an anonymous participant who took ISANS&#39;s online course for physicians and pharmacists. &quot;I can confidently say that I aced it, and all the credits go to ISANS. You are helping us to be the best version of ourselves.&quot;

ISANS appreciates volunteers immensely and has a number of ways for people to get involved. Some of which&nbsp;include:

<ul>
	<li>Holding practice interviews with clients to help them improve their interviewing skills</li>
	<li>Having a conversation with clients so they can practice their conversational skills</li>
	<li>Assisting instructors with their English language classes</li>
</ul>

To learn more about the organization&nbsp;and/or to volunteer, visit the <a href="http://www.isans.ca" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">ISANS&nbsp;website</a>.

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/135/lessons" target="_blank">Functional Business</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/92/lessons" target="_blank">Functional English</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/75/lessons" target="_blank">Living in English</a></li>
	<li class="collection"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/112/lessons" target="_blank">Pre-Employment in Canada</a></li>
</ul>

How ISANS Creates Possibility

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Tour around the ELT conference circuit as our team shares conference highlights and session reviews.

Conferences

<blockquote>This article is the first in our TESOL Experts series where we feature professionals in the TESOL field and share their stories. <a href="https://www.tesol.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">TESOL International Association</a> provides professional development resources, events, and publications for English language teachers around the globe. We hope this series inspires you to get involved with TESOL!</blockquote>

Dr. Arlene Costello entered the English language education world as an ESL&nbsp;teacher.

She taught multiple grade levels, traveling from one school to another, then later worked for the district, coordinating language programs and delivering&nbsp;training.

Today, she&#39;s an instructor and program specialist for the International Affairs Intensive English Program at the University of West Florida. She&#39;s also chair of the <a href="https://www.tesol.org/about-tesol/association-governance/professional-councils-and-governance-committees/conferences-professional-council" rel="noopener noreferrer nofolow" target="_blank">TESOL Conferences Professional Council</a>&mdash;the council in charge of coordinating the sessions, keynotes, and speakers for the upcoming <a href="https://www.tesol.org/tesol-convention" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">TESOL 2022 Convention</a>.

&ldquo;It&rsquo;s gratifying to be able to shape the full program and ensure that we have quality speakers and sessions,&rdquo; said&nbsp;Dr.&nbsp;Costello.

<h1>Making a Lasting Impact</h1>

Dr. Costello first joined Florida&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://sunshinestatetesol.wildapricot.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Sunshine State TESOL</a> (SSTESOL) as a member. She held various volunteer positions including the roles of Member at Large, secretary, and vice president, before becoming president of SSTESOL in&nbsp;2019.

As president, Dr. Costello was responsible for representing the organization at the&nbsp;national and international level, implementing the mission, vision, and strategic goals of the organization, and providing leadership to the&nbsp;board.

Some of her proudest achievements include:

<ul>
	<li>
	Getting the board to approve her recommendation to create the Reimagine and Rethinking Committee, which reinvented the board&#39;s structure so that Members at Large are now&nbsp;called &quot;Directors&quot; and have specific job&nbsp;descriptions
	</li>
	<li>
	Implementing quarterly support meetings for the eight local chapters within SSTESOL
	</li>
	<li>Revising the constitutions and bylaws to align with new recommendations</li>
</ul>

&ldquo;My personal goal was to establish an extended presence in the state and to make the organization a visible organization that supports our members in personal development, advocacy, and leadership,&quot; said Dr. Costello. &quot;We have expanded our presence and influence. I&rsquo;m really proud of that.&quot;

<img alt="Dr. Arlene Costello" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2132/content_Melissa_TESOL-Experts-Dr-Arlene-Costello.jpg" />

Dr. Arlene Costello is pictured here.

<h1>From Local to International</h1>

As someone who had heavily volunteered at the local level, Dr. Costello grew interested in becoming more involved at the international&nbsp;level.

TESOL&rsquo;s Conferences Professional Council appealed to her the most since she had coordinated many conferences at the local level and state level already. When an opening became available, she&nbsp;applied.

She held the associate chair position first before becoming the chair. As chair, Dr. Costello guides the professional council, coordinates the work, provides leadership, and advances the strategic aims. She also creates and delivers orientation sessions for all new council members. Since her term ends in April 2022, she&rsquo;s also been guiding the incoming&nbsp;chair.

&ldquo;A good leader shares responsibilities,&rdquo; she&nbsp;said.

When asked what motivates her to do the volunteer work she does for TESOL, Dr. Costello said,&nbsp;&ldquo;My love of the profession&nbsp;and my love to serve the organization. It&rsquo;s hard work but it&rsquo;s satisfying that my circle is so&nbsp;wide.&rdquo;

Her advice for educators thinking about joining TESOL?

&ldquo;Expand your circle of influence and network in order to seek the opportunities for involvement,&quot; she said. &quot;Getting involved in your profession is satisfying. You can help shape it by being involved. Advocate for your profession because no one&nbsp;else is going to.&rdquo;

Visit the <a href="http://www.tesol.org" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">TESOL</a> and <a href="http://www.sunshinestatetesol.wildapricot.org" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">SSTESOL</a> websites to learn more.&nbsp;

To attend the TESOL 2022 Convention in person or virtually, <a href="http://www.tesol.org" target="_blank">register&nbsp;online</a>.&nbsp;Advance registration closes March&nbsp;1, 2022.

TESOL Experts: Dr. Arlene Costello

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Learn how to make the most of your Ellii subscription with tips from our publishing team.

Teaching with Ellii

Do you use our <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards" target="_blank">Flashcards</a>&nbsp;feature to introduce and reinforce vocabulary with your&nbsp;students? 
 
From <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/food-drink" target="_blank">Food &amp; Drink</a> to <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/in-at-school" target="_blank">In &amp; At School</a>, we have thousands of flashcards so you can easily teach and review vocabulary and grammar points with your students. Plus, with the recent improvements our Product team has&nbsp;made to our flashcard tools, there&rsquo;s never been a better time to start using the&nbsp;feature.

<h2>How to Browse &amp; Search for Flashcards</h2>

On the left-hand side of the Flashcards page, you&#39;ll see&nbsp;our flashcards are sorted into sections. These flashcard sections are grouped around a particular theme such as <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/letters-numbers" target="_blank">Letters &amp; Numbers</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/colors-shapes" target="_blank">Colors &amp; Shapes</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/grammar-punctuation" target="_blank">Grammar &amp; Punctuation</a>, and so&nbsp;on.

<img alt="Sections on the flashcard page with “All” is selected" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2117/content_Melissa_How-to-Use-Our-Flashcards_Sections.jpg" />

Each flashcard section includes categories, which are located to the right of the page along the top. These flashcard categories are flashcards that are further grouped together and narrower in focus within that&nbsp;section.

For example, under the&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/letters-numbers" target="_blank">Letters &amp; Numbers</a>&nbsp;flashcard section, you&#39;ll find flashcard categories like&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/letters-numbers/capital-letters" target="_blank">Capital Letters</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/letters-numbers/lowercase-letters" target="_blank">Lowercase Letters</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/letters-numbers/letters" target="_blank">Letters</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/letters-numbers/phonics" target="_blank">Phonics</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/letters-numbers/ipa-phonetic-symbols" target="_blank">IPA Phonetic Symbols</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards/letters-numbers/numbers" target="_blank">Numbers</a>.

Easily find the flashcards you&#39;re looking for by clicking on the different sections and&nbsp;categories.

<img alt="Categories of letters and numbers section on the flashcard page" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2118/content_Melissa_How-to-Use-Our-Flashcards_Categories.jpg" />

If there&#39;s a specific flashcard you&#39;re searching&nbsp;for, type it into the search bar available at the top of the&nbsp;page.

<img alt="Search bar on flashcard page with the word orange typed in" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2119/content_Melissa_How-to-Use-Our-Flashcards_Search.jpg" />

<h2>How to Build &amp; Save Custom Flashcard Sets</h2>

To build a custom set, you can select flashcards one at a time or select an entire flashcard category. 
 
The flashcards you select will appear in a box along the bottom of the page. From here, you can click Manage to rename, reorder, and remove the flashcards you&rsquo;ve selected. You can also print your selected flashcards if you&#39;re planning to use them in person with your&nbsp;students.

<img alt="Cursor selecting the orange flashcard" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2120/content_Melissa_How-to-Use-Our-Flashcards_Selected.jpg" />

To save your selection of flashcards, click Save to Set. In the box that appears, you can choose to save your selected flashcards to an existing or new&nbsp;set.

<img alt="Save to flashcard set window open on flashcard page " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2121/content_Melissa_How-to-Use-Our-Flashcards_save-set.jpg" />

<h2>How to Use the Flashcard Player</h2>

Whether you&#39;re teaching in class with a projector or sharing your screen online, you can present your custom flashcard sets to your students in real time with our Flashcard&nbsp;Player. 
 
Go to your saved <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_sets" target="_blank">flashcard sets</a> and click on the three dots on the right side of the page to launch the Flashcard Player. From here, you can also edit, delete, or print the flashcard set. Additionally, you can share your&nbsp;flashcard set with your students. If they have an ESL Library account, they can then view your customized set when they sign&nbsp;in.

<img alt="Flashcard sets page with more options menu open" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2122/content_Melissa_How-to-Use-Our-Flashcards_Launch.jpg" />

Once you&#39;ve launched the Flashcard Player, you can choose from the menu to the left whether you want to display the&nbsp;image by itself, the image and the text, or just the&nbsp;text.

<img alt="Fox flashcard open in the flashcard player with customization settings open" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2123/content_Melissa_How-to-Use-Our-Flashcards_Settings.jpg" />

To learn more about how to use our flashcard tools, visit our <a href="https://help.ellii.com/search?query=flashcards" target="_blank">Help Docs</a> or sign up to attend a <a href="https://app.livestorm.co/esllibrary/creating-flashcard-sets" target="_blank">Flashcard&nbsp;Workshop</a>.

<h2>How to Use Flashcards in the Classroom</h2>

Did you know you can print out our flashcards and use them to play classroom games and activities? Here are a few of our favorite games to try with your&nbsp;class.

<h3>Memory</h3>

<ol>
	<li>Divide your students into small groups.</li>
	<li>For every small group, print out one set of flashcards with just the images and the matching set of flashcards with just the text. Then, place the flashcards upside down in a grid. There will be one grid for the flashcards with images and one grid for the flashcards with text.</li>
	<li>Each student in the group takes a turn flipping over a flashcard from each grid. If the flashcard with the word and the flashcard with the image match, the student can keep the pair and take another turn. If the flashcards don&rsquo;t match, the student flips the flashcards facedown again and lets the next student take their turn.</li>
</ol>

The game ends when all the flashcards have been matched. The student with the most pairs wins!

<h3>Pictionary</h3>

<ol>
	<li>Print out flashcards with only the text on them.</li>
	<li>Split the class into two teams.</li>
	<li>A student from one of the teams will pick one of the flashcards and draw it on the board at the front of the class. Their team then has 30 seconds to guess what the picture is. If they guess correctly, that team gets a point.</li>
	<li>The next team takes a turn and so on.</li>
</ol>

The team with the most points wins!

<h3>Spelling Bee</h3>

<ol>
	<li>Print out our flashcards with only the images on them, and divide the class into two groups.</li>
	<li>Show a flashcard to a student from one of the groups. If they know the word and are able to spell it, their team gets a point.</li>
	<li>Do the same with a student from the other team and so on.</li>
</ol>

The team with the most points wins! This activity can also be used to practice pronunciation.

For more flashcard games and activities, check out our blog post on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/10-ways-to-use-flashcards-in-class" target="_blank">10&nbsp;Ways to Use Flashcards in&nbsp;Class</a>.

How do you use our flashcards in your classroom? Let us know in the comments&nbsp;below!

How to Use Our Flashcards

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Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

<a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-flag-canada-day.html" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">National Flag of Canada Day</a> is celebrated every year on February&nbsp;15. It marks the first time the red-and-white flag featuring the iconic maple leaf was raised on Parliament Hill. The Maple Leaf flag that we know and recognize today was first raised 57 years ago on February&nbsp;15,&nbsp;1965.

In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson wanted a new flag to represent Canada. After a parliamentary committee narrowed it down to three possibilities, someone needed to take the three designs, sew them, and bring them to life. Joan O&#39;Malley was given this job.

Alison Donovan, Ellii&#39;s very own Publishing Assistant, is related to Joan. We were lucky to chat with Alison and ask her a few questions about this amazing story.&nbsp;

MELISSA: How are you related to Joan O&#39;Malley?

ALISON: Joan is my husband&rsquo;s aunt, and she&rsquo;s a very cool lady.

MELISSA: Why was Joan asked to sew the Canadian flag?

ALISON: Her father worked for the federal government and was part of the team that developed the prototypes for the flag. They needed someone to quickly sew the proposed designs on a Friday night, so he asked his daughter to do it.

MELISSA: A few years ago, Joan was officially thanked for her work. What was it like when she was recognized for this 50 years later?

ALISON: Everyone was very proud and excited to see Joan acknowledged for her part in making the Canadian flag. This is an important part of Canadian history and it&rsquo;s wonderful to see Joan recognized for her role. It&rsquo;s pretty amazing to know the woman who was involved in creating the Maple Leaf flag!

<h2>Student Activity: Design Your Own Flag</h2>

Feeling inspired? We want to see your flag designs!

Teachers, ask your students to design a flag that represents the class. They can draw, sketch, paint, or design it digitally. Then, ask them to describe the flag they designed. Students can write about it, discuss it with a partner, present it to the class, or record themselves talking about it.

Afterwards, send us a picture of the flags your students designed to <a href="mailto:hello@ellii.com?subject=Show Us Your Flag Designs!">hello@ellii.com</a>, so we can feature them on our blog! You can also send us your students&rsquo; descriptions of their designs, whether they recorded them or wrote about them.

It&#39;s time to get creative and have fun!&nbsp;We can&rsquo;t wait to see what your students come up with.

<img alt="flags designed by teacher Annet's CLB class on Flag Day, 2023" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3050/content_Flags-CLB.jpeg" />

Thank you to Annet&#39;s CLB class from Bradford Learning Centre for taking this challenge and sharing these flags with Ellii (February 15, 2023).

<blockquote>
&quot;My students described their flag as something that brings people together from different countries in unity and happiness. They look up to the class as a stress free zone!&quot;&nbsp;
</blockquote>

<h2>Read More About Joan O&#39;Malley</h2>

<a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/the-story-of-the-woman-who-sewed-canadas-first-flag" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Ottawa Citizen</a>

<a href="https://www.therecord.com/news/canada/2014/11/14/woman-who-sewed-first-maple-leaf-flag-thanked.html" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Record</a>

<a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/woman-recounts-night-she-sewed-canada-s-first-maple-leaf-flag-1.2398505" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">CTV News</a>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/2017">Canada Day</a>&nbsp;(Beg) &ndash; Holidays &amp; Events</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1882">Canada Day</a>&nbsp;(Int &ndash; High Int) &ndash; Holidays &amp; Events</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/113/lessons/2434">Canada Day</a> &ndash; Word Bank</li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/126/resources/2992">Canada Day</a> &ndash; Young Learner Activities</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/111/lessons/2233">Canada Project</a> &ndash; Group Projects</li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/2216">Map of Canada</a> &ndash; Visual Learning</li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/114/resources/2561%C2%A0">Canada</a> &ndash; Listening</li>
</ul>

Celebrating National Flag of Canada Day

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Discover what's new or coming soon, including upcoming lessons and resources and product feature updates. 

Announcements

<h1>New Year, New Updates</h1>

Here at ESL Library, our product team has had a busy start to the year. We&rsquo;ve been working hard each and every day to improve the ESL Library platform and provide you with new tools that make teaching easier.&nbsp; 
Here are three important updates that we just implemented (and that we think you&rsquo;re going to love).

<h2>1. Archive Classes</h2>

<img alt="Classroom page on ESL Library with a mouse hovering over the Archive Class option " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2069/content_Melissa_Archive-Class-Update.jpg" />

You know how you can &ldquo;archive&rdquo; a student? Well, now you can archive an entire class! Archiving a class allows you to hide a class without losing all the data associated with that class. In other words, you&rsquo;ll still be able to see previous results and feedback from that class, even after you&rsquo;ve archived it.

Keep in mind that once you archive a class, you will no longer be able to assign new tasks or provide new feedback. You also won&rsquo;t be able to add or remove students from the class.&nbsp;

For students, this means they won&rsquo;t be able to redo previously completed tasks or view tasks.&nbsp;Please note that archiving a class does not automatically archive the students in your class.

Once a class has been archived, you then have the option to either:

<ol>
	<li>Completely delete the class; or</li>
	<li>Restore the class when you have a new group of students ready to learn</li>
</ol>

<h2>2. New Navigation Bar</h2>

<img alt="Web navigation showing Materials, Saved, and classroom with a cursor " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2070/content_Melissa_Navigation-Update.jpg" />

Next, we redesigned our navigation bar to make it easier for you to find exactly what you&rsquo;re looking for, fast.&nbsp;

Here&rsquo;s a breakdown of what&rsquo;s changing:

<h3>Materials</h3>

The Materials drop-down menu will not be changing.

<h3>Class Prep &rarr; Saved</h3>

The Class Prep drop-down menu is now called &ldquo;Saved.&rdquo; This drop-down menu includes all the content you&rsquo;ve saved in one easy-to-find place. Folders, Flashcard Sets, and Likes are all organized in the Saved drop-down menu.

<h3>Classroom</h3>

We added a new drop-down menu called &ldquo;Classroom.&rdquo; This drop-down menu will reflect what was formerly in the My Classes section. Classes, Students, and Assignments are all effortlessly managed and accessible through the Classroom drop-down menu.

<h2>3. Redesigned Classroom Page</h2>

<img alt="Classroom Page on ESL Library displayed on a monitor" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2071/content_Melissa_Classroom-Page-Update.jpg" />

Lastly, the My Classes page is now called &ldquo;Classroom.&rdquo;&nbsp;

This page has received a much-needed makeover. Instead of circles, you&rsquo;ll see a more visually appealing table-like structure instead.&nbsp;

You&rsquo;ll also see three tabs for Classes, Students, and Assignments, allowing you to toggle between them with ease.&nbsp;

Being able to click into separate classes also means that you can now see the Class Code on every one of the individual class pages. The best part? You&rsquo;ll also be able to easily archive your classes from here! Just click &ldquo;More Options.&rdquo;

We can&rsquo;t wait for you to see all the exciting new updates we have planned for you this year. In the meantime, happy archiving and navigating!

New Year, New Updates

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Find useful resources and tips for teaching English with interactive apps and sites.

EdTech

From January 25 to 28, ESL&nbsp;Library attended the 2022 <a href="http://www.fetc.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Future of Education Technology⁠⁠&reg; Conference</a>&nbsp;(FETC) as an exhibitor! FETC takes place in Orlando, Florida, and explores how technology is shaping the future of education. We chatted with Ken Volcjak, our Director of Strategic Partnerships, and asked him a few questions about his time at FETC. Here&rsquo;s what he had to&nbsp;say.&nbsp;

MELISSA: What&#39;s your history with FETC? Have you been to an FETC conference&nbsp;before?

KEN: Actually, this was the first time I&rsquo;ve attended FETC in person. I&rsquo;ve known about the conference for years and the excellent reputation it carries as a crossroads for (predominantly) US and Canada-focused EdTech knowledge sharing and dealmaking. In years past, I&rsquo;ve unfortunately had timing conflicts with other conferences or other obligations, so I&rsquo;m incredibly happy to have been able to finally attend this&nbsp;year!

MELISSA: Why was it important for the ESL Library team to attend the FETC&nbsp;conference?

KEN: Visibility as an exhibitor at FETC immediately elevates your status in the EdTech industry. It speaks to the dedication and passion your company places on innovative, balanced, and proper application of technology solutions to the betterment of teaching and learning outcomes. So, our booth presence alone, expertly managed by our amazing team, placed us in a very positive, visible&nbsp;light.

MELISSA: Can you set the FETC stage for us? How was the conference set&nbsp;up?

KEN: The stage at FETC was arranged in&nbsp;similar fashion to many&nbsp;conferences:&nbsp;

<ol>
	<li>Hundreds of (typically) one-hour sessions offered up&nbsp;a multitude of EdTech-related topics&nbsp;spread out over the course of four&nbsp;days.</li>
	<li>A large Expo Hall was&nbsp;open for three days where hundreds of companies displayed their various EdTech solutions to an audience of teachers and administrators. Of particular note, the ESL Library booth looked incredible&mdash;very bright, fun, and super inviting. Equally important, it was well placed. Our team secured a primo spot near the hall entrance with close proximity to the main&nbsp;sponsor, <a href="https://www.prometheanworld.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Promethean</a>, so that helped immensely in steering traffic to ESL&nbsp;Library.</li>
</ol>

<img alt="ESL Library booth at the FETC 2022 conference" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2066/content_esl-library-booth-fetc-conference.jpg" />

MELISSA: What sessions did you attend? What were some of the key takeaways from those&nbsp;sessions?

KEN: I managed to attend several sessions in between meetings and researching companies in the Expo Hall. Here&rsquo;s a&nbsp;sampling:

<ul>
	<li>&ldquo;Immersive Reader is Everywhere&rdquo;
	<ul>
		<li>Key Takeaway: Immersive Reader is an amazing tool for ELLs. It checks several boxes for accessibility and is easy to&nbsp;integrate.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>&ldquo;Interoperability: EdTech Stuff Should Just Work Together&rdquo;
	<ul>
		<li>Key Takeaway: There are still multiple education data standards floating out there for US K&ndash;12. We need to keep our finger constantly on the pulse of this topic to determine which/when to&nbsp;implement.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>&ldquo;A District LOR Solution to Support Flexible Digital Lesson Design&rdquo;
	<ul>
		<li>Key Takeaway: Some companies, such as <a href="https://www.safarimontage.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">SAFARI Montage</a>, are creating large-scale (i.e.,&nbsp;state-wide) content distribution solutions using a Learning Object Repository (LOR) that&#39;s&nbsp;cloud-hosted by <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-ca/free/search/?&amp;ef_id=CjwKCAiAo4OQBhBBEiwA5KWu_99C_XOjUrToxlCPun6kz-2TPUrzKr7-kMdHFPSi9dEyQAjODojvjhoCNpEQAvD_BwE:G:s&amp;OCID=AID2200157_SEM_CjwKCAiAo4OQBhBBEiwA5KWu_99C_XOjUrToxlCPun6kz-2TPUrzKr7-kMdHFPSi9dEyQAjODojvjhoCNpEQAvD_BwE:G:s&amp;gclid=CjwKCAiAo4OQBhBBEiwA5KWu_99C_XOjUrToxlCPun6kz-2TPUrzKr7-kMdHFPSi9dEyQAjODojvjhoCNpEQAvD_BwE" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Microsoft Azure</a>.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
	<li>&ldquo;Leadership + Innovation + ELLs = Vocabulary Achievement&rdquo;
	<ul>
		<li>Key Takeaway: As we create tools and activities focused specifically on vocabulary acquisition, it&rsquo;s helpful to consider a semantic reasoning approach as evidenced in products such as <a href="https://infercabulary.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">InferCabulary</a>, whereby students acquire an understanding of words in multiple contexts, mimicking to some extent how young children first acquire vocabulary understanding in their native&nbsp;language.</li>
	</ul>
	</li>
</ul>

MELISSA: What session was your favorite and&nbsp;why?

KEN: There were a lot of great sessions, but I think my favorite was coined &ldquo;No Questions Should Go Unanswered.&rdquo; This session was hosted by <a href="https://paper.co/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Paper</a>, a fast-growing startup, that&nbsp;provides 24/7 academic support to help students with what they need, when they need it. Especially recognizing the degree of unfinished learning caused by&nbsp;the pandemic, this represents a solution for many school districts struggling to catch up and level the playing field for their student body, including large ELL&nbsp;populations.&nbsp;

<img alt="ESL Library Team selfie photo and booth at the FETC 2022 conference" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2067/content_esl-library-team-booth-fetc-conference.jpg" />

MELISSA: What was the best part about the FETC&nbsp;conference?

KEN: There were so many super positive aspects of the conference, but I have to say that the best part of the conference was to finally meet in person and work alongside some of my amazing ESL Library colleagues! Video conferencing technology has come a long way, but there&rsquo;s still a dimension that can&rsquo;t be replaced by in-person exchanges. I hope there will be more opportunities in the future for such interactions within the&nbsp;company!

MELISSA: Is there anything else you&rsquo;d like to share about FETC?

KEN: There is one other item that should be illuminated. ESL&nbsp;Library&rsquo;s attendance at FETC this year was an incredibly smooth, professional, and highly successful endeavor for the company. Rightfully, huge kudos need to be extended to everyone who was on the ground in Orlando, the team orchestrating all of the logistics behind the scenes, everyone involved with the continual betterment of our incredible content and platform, and those providing second to none service to our customers. I know I left the conference with a great sense of pride for what we&rsquo;ve accomplished, but also immense optimism for the plethora of opportunities that lie ahead&mdash;and that&rsquo;s attributable to EVERYONE on the awesome ESL Library team. Thanks, all!

<div class="whiteBox">Related Lesson

<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/2120"><img alt="a touchscreen with a map on the screen" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2032/content_72_classrooms-of-the-future.png" /></a>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/2120" target="_blank">Classrooms of the Future</a></h2>

In this lesson, students discuss the effects of technology and what school might look like in the future. In addition to discussion questions, this lesson also includes a vocabulary review and a group&nbsp;task.
</div>

Did you attend this year&rsquo;s FETC conference? If you went, share your FETC reflections in the comments&nbsp;below!

Our 2022 FETC Reflections

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Have you heard about our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/135/lessons" target="_blank">Functional Business</a> section?

Heavily requested by ESL&nbsp;Library users, our Functional Business section focuses on workplace&nbsp;communication.

This Business English course is designed for learners who are currently or will be working in an English-speaking country, working for an English-speaking company, or communicating with English-speaking coworkers or business&nbsp;partners.

Completing the entire course will help&nbsp;students make introductions at work, talk on the phone, engage in meetings, give and receive feedback, and resolve work&nbsp;conflicts.

<img alt="Woman at a desk talking on the phone" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2059/content_Melissa_Discover-our-Functional-Business-Section.jpg" />

<h2>Functional Language Focus</h2>

As you&nbsp;probably have&nbsp;already guessed from the name of the course, this section concentrates on functional language. Functional language is language we use&nbsp;to navigate different day-to-day&nbsp;situations. 
 
In this section, each lesson centers around listening activities that are authentic to the workplace. Students then have the opportunity to practice using the target language through speaking activities that often include&nbsp;role-plays.

<h2>Interactional Language &amp;&nbsp;Transactional Conversation</h2>

Our Functional Business section also includes skill-building activities for both interactional language and transactional&nbsp;conversation.

Interactional language helps build relationships. Making small talk with staff or clients before beginning a meeting is an example of interactional&nbsp;language.

Transactional conversation, on the other hand, involves exchanging&nbsp;information to accomplish a goal. Giving a presentation is an example of a&nbsp;transactional&nbsp;conversation.

Both interactional language and transactional conversation are important in the&nbsp;workplace, whether you&#39;re working in a physical office space or&nbsp;remotely.

<h2>5 Tips for Teachers</h2>

Thinking about teaching this course to your students? Here are five helpful tips to keep in&nbsp;mind.

<h3>1. Try Exploiting the Warm-Up Activities Further</h3>

Check out our blog post on <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/pre-reading-activities-to-boost-comprehension" target="_blank">Pre-Reading Activities to Boost Comprehension</a> for some&nbsp;ideas.

<h3>2. Don&rsquo;t Be Overwhelmed by the Length of the Listening Tasks</h3>

Rather than including the target language in every line of dialogue, we focused on building context. If students find the listening activities challenging, it&rsquo;s okay to play the audio multiple&nbsp;times.

<h3>3. Personalize&nbsp;to Better Meet Your Students&#39; Goals</h3>

This course doesn&rsquo;t have to be completed in full or in the suggested order provided. It can also be taught as individual lessons if students have a specific goal they want to focus&nbsp;on.

<h3>4. Create a Vocabulary Log</h3>

To help students keep track of all the new words, have them&nbsp;keep a <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/2966" target="_blank">vocabulary log</a>. This assessment tool includes space for writing out the word, the definition, an example sentence, and&nbsp;more.

<h3>5. Get Your Students Talking</h3>

For even more speaking practice, have your students repeat tasks with different&nbsp;classmates.

<h2>The End Goal</h2>

By the end of the course,&nbsp;your students will&nbsp;feel better equipped to interact in the workplace. We hope your learners will be more prepared to speak up at work, more confident when listening to coworkers, and less anxious about having to engage in lengthy&nbsp;conversations.

If you&rsquo;ve taught or completed our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/135/lessons" target="_blank">Functional Business</a>&nbsp;course, we&rsquo;d love to hear your feedback!&nbsp;Which&nbsp;lessons were your favorite? What tasks were helpful? Are there any situations we should add to the course? Let us know in the comments&nbsp;below, or take this short <a href="https://esllibrarysurvey.typeform.com/to/QyywY25K" target="_blank">Functional Business survey</a>!

Discover Our Functional Business Section

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This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and inspiring!

Many years ago, Marilyn was helping a friend with a project for her evening language class. That&rsquo;s when she realized she wanted to become a teacher.

&ldquo;Like many instructors who come to this line of work, I fell in love,&quot; says Marilyn.

Marilyn has been an ESL teacher for 15 years now. She currently works at <a href="https://www.nych.ca/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">North York Community House</a> (NYCH), an organization in Toronto that provides support for newcomers. There, she teaches English language classes at the introductory level through the <a en="" href="https://settlement.org/ontario/education/english-as-a-second-language-esl/linc-program/what-is-the-language-instruction-for-newcomers-to-canada-linc-program/" https:="" immigration-refugees-citizenship.html="" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow&gt;Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada&lt;/a&gt; (LINC) program. Funded by &lt;a data-cke-saved-href=" target="_blank" www.canada.ca="">Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada</a> (IRCC).&nbsp;The LINC program provides free English classes for landed immigrants, permanent residents, and convention refugees to Canada.

&ldquo;This government-sponsored initiative is free for students and is designed to familiarize newcomers with life in Canada&nbsp;by teaching the basics of English, as well as some cultural and societal aspects of Canada,&quot; she explains.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marilyn has been teaching her classes online over Zoom. A typical day of online teaching starts with checking her email to make sure&nbsp;her students received the Zoom invitation, haven&rsquo;t forgotten their ESL Library passwords, understand the homework, and know when class starts. Next, Marilyn plans out the day&#39;s lesson using a combination of her own personal&nbsp;materials, lessons from ESL Library, and links from YouTube.

&ldquo;ESL library has been my favourite tool! I find the <a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">flashcards</a> exceptionally useful. They save me endless time searching for pictures online to explain things like food, drinks, and clothing. My students enjoy the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">grammar stories</a>, which put&nbsp;the grammar in context for them.&rdquo;

Check out Marilyn&#39;s&nbsp;text response below to learn more about why she loves ESL Library and how she uses it with her students.

<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *;" height="400px" src="https://www.videoask.com/axb09pa7dgi9nkfjdi4c5dheaig7c7m1pzvq3pwv" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px" width="100%"></iframe>

For Marilyn,&nbsp;teaching online is not always easy.

&ldquo;It has been a challenge to help students &lsquo;enter&rsquo; the Zoom classroom. I&rsquo;ve had to have tremendous patience with my students and myself as I learn to navigate the virtual world with more finesse and confidence.&rdquo;

But despite these challenges, Marilyn truly loves&nbsp;being a teacher.

&ldquo;I love my work because I get to witness the growth of language skills, the emergence of confidence in using English, the new friendships people make in my classroom, and then their movement forward into the world of jobs and college. Some students have remained in touch,&nbsp;and I love seeing their progress.&rdquo;

Want to share why you love ESL Library and how you use it in your classroom? <a href="https://www.videoask.com/fw0f8td5x" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tell us here.</a>

Teacher Feature: Marilyn

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From January 25 to 28, ESL Library will be attending the 2022 <a href="http://www.fetc.org/" target="_blank">Future of Education Technology&reg; Conference</a>&nbsp;(FETC) as an exhibitor! FETC takes place in Orlando, Florida, and explores how technology is shaping the future of education. We chatted with Mari Lasnetski, our Chief Impact Officer, and asked her a few questions about FETC. Here&rsquo;s what she had to say.

MELISSA: What&#39;s your history with FETC?

MARI: I&#39;ve been attending FETC for over 20 years. It has truly become a gathering place for the most innovative education leaders from around the world. &nbsp;

MELISSA: Why is it important for the ESL Library team to attend the FETC conference?

MARI: I&#39;ve gone to FETC as both an attendee and a vendor. Whether I attended as an attendee or as a vendor, it has always been a collaborative place; a time for exploring best practices and important topics that are top of mind to education leaders. It&#39;s a fully engaging experience. &nbsp;

MELISSA: What have been some of your biggest takeaways from past FETC conferences?

MARI: I always leave FETC with a more precise notion of what is really important to education leaders. I develop professionally by learning from pioneers in the educational technology space. It&#39;s also an opportunity to reconnect with friends and make new lifelong professional friends that are as passionate as I am about educational technology.

MELISSA: What are you most looking forward to about the 2022 FETC conference?

MARI: I&rsquo;m looking forward to heading down those escalators and feeling the energy and anticipation that starts&nbsp;to creep up as soon as the venue opens its doors. Then the fun, reconnecting, and learning begin!

<div class="whiteBox">Related Lesson

<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/2120"><img alt="a touchscreen with a map on the screen" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2032/content_72_classrooms-of-the-future.png" /></a>

<h2><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/2120">Classrooms of the Future</a></h2>

In this lesson, students discuss the effects of technology and what school might look like in the future. In addition to discussion questions, this lesson also includes a vocabulary review and a group task.
</div>

Are you attending this year&rsquo;s FETC conference? If you&rsquo;re going, let us know what you&rsquo;re most excited about in the comments below!

ESL Library at the 2022 FETC Conference

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Have you heard about the <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/esl-talk/id1548652844" target="_blank">ESL Talk podcast</a>? As described on their Apple Podcast page, ESL Talk is &ldquo;a podcast for English teachers by English teachers.&rdquo; In each episode, the hosts and their guests discuss various teaching topics, methods, and approaches specifically pertaining to ESL teachers. Here are some key takeaways from their episode on teaching adult learners.

<h3>Define rules, expectations, and objectives</h3>

Whether you&rsquo;re teaching online or in a physical classroom, it&rsquo;s important to establish the rules, expectations, and objectives.

To ensure everyone is on the same page, be honest with your students and involve them in the process of setting rules, expectations, and goals for the class. You may wish to use our <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/2127" target="_blank">My Language Goals</a> and <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/104/resources/2224" target="_blank">Goal-Setting &ndash; Can Do</a> Assessment Tools to not only learn about your students&rsquo; goals but to also help your students set realistic and achievable goals.

<h3>Tailor lessons to adult learners&rsquo; needs and interests</h3>

When compared to young learners, adult learners typically have different goals and motivations. Whether their goal is travel-related, work-related, school-related, or something entirely different, it&rsquo;s important to have a flexible approach when teaching adult learners.

Find out why they are interested in learning English and tailor your lessons to fit their needs and interests.

Lessons should be meaningful and relevant for your students. They should relate back to their goals. For example, if your students are learning English for a travel-related reason, you may want to use lessons from our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/122/lessons" target="_blank">Travel English</a> section. Likewise, if your students are learning English for a work-related reason, you may want to use lessons from our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/135/lessons" target="_blank">Functional Business</a> section.

Ultimately, it&rsquo;s important to provide your adult learners with lessons that they will connect with and find value in.

<h3>Empower adult learners to use English</h3>

Empower your adult learners by encouraging them to speak in English as much as possible in the classroom. Make sure they know that their English doesn&rsquo;t have to be perfect and that it&rsquo;s okay if they make mistakes. It&rsquo;s just important to try and start getting familiar with the language.&nbsp;Check out this <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/key-takeaways-from-esl-talk-podcast-on-speaking-strategies" target="_blank">blog post</a> to learn more about effective speaking strategies.

<blockquote>
 Teachers, do you have any tips for teaching adult learners? Let us know in the comments below!
</blockquote>

Key Takeaways from ESL Talk Podcast on Teaching Adult Learners 

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This article is part of a series of posts highlighting our community of teachers around the world. We hope you find their stories interesting and inspiring!

In 1999, Poonam, a teacher of 15 years, immigrated to Canada from India. She worked at a bank in Toronto for over eight years, often helping immigrants with their banking. As she realized how challenging the language barriers were, she decided to go back to teaching. She joined <a href="https://www.tesl.ca/" target="_blank">TESL</a> in 2009 and has been an adult ESL instructor at the <a href="https://www.ycdsb.ca/" target="_blank">York Catholic District School Board</a> since 2010.

<blockquote>
&ldquo;Every day in the class feels like a beautiful day of learning. It&rsquo;s a treat to be in class with these learners who come from different walks of life and cultures, and the feeling of being a part of their family just makes me a better teacher and person.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

Although it was a bit overwhelming in the beginning, having to teach online during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a positive learning experience for Poonam.

&ldquo;Learning new techniques of teaching, use of varied platforms, and educating my students on how to learn online has been a tremendous development. The support from my manager has always been continuous and forthcoming, and she has helped me overcome any hurdles and challenges in doing my job, in the past and now.&rdquo;

Poonam has been a long-time member of ESL Library and is grateful for the support the platform provides.

&ldquo;My heartfelt thanks to all the staff members and teachers of ESL Library for the wealth of resources and lessons that supplement my teaching. Thank you for working so hard to make teaching fun for me. My students love the exercises and lessons.&rdquo;

Check out her text response below to learn more about why she loves ESL Library and how she uses it with her students.

<iframe allow="autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *;" height="600px" src="https://www.videoask.com/a0big6i6d5v2vd4avhfud5prss4aryqa709c0qhm" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px" width="100%"></iframe>

As a dedicated teacher, Poonam strives to create a welcoming and relaxed space to learn.

&ldquo;I try to create a positive and comfortable learning environment using real world tasks, peer teaching, and most of all, encouraging and applauding them every step of their progress. Also, I always tell them that it&rsquo;s okay to make mistakes. Making them feel that we are a family has strengthened my rapport with them.&rdquo;

For Poonam, the most rewarding part about being a teacher is seeing her students confidently use their English language skills.

<blockquote>
&ldquo;Being a part of their educational journey and to celebrate their success is an amazing feeling. When my students successfully use the language in real-life situations and I see the impact my teaching has had on them, it encourages me to perform better.&rdquo;
</blockquote>

Poonam also believes that ESL teachers play a bigger part in their students&rsquo; lives than they may realize.

&ldquo;I believe teaching ESL is not just teaching English. It&rsquo;s about educating the learners how to live and enjoy their life in this beautiful country. I always follow the rule of putting yourself in the other person&rsquo;s shoes. It creates respect, rapport, and makes teaching and learning a lot of fun. A passionate educator can leave an everlasting and positive impact on a learner&rsquo;s life. Just teach with your heart!&rdquo;

Want to share why you love ESL Library and how you use it in your classroom? <a href="https://www.videoask.com/fw0f8td5x" target="_blank">Tell us here.</a>

Teacher Feature: Poonam

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January 6 is National Technology Day. National Technology Day celebrates the world&rsquo;s technological achievements and explores how technology positively impacts our daily lives. In honor of this day, we&rsquo;re celebrating the ESL Library platform and recognizing the hard work that goes into it. We chatted with Eduardo, our CTO, and asked him a few questions about the technology behind our platform. Here&rsquo;s what he had to say:

MELISSA: How has the ESL Library platform changed over the years?

EDUARDO: Over our 20 years in the industry, the technology behind ESL Library has changed a lot. Our engineering team grew exponentially, ensuring we can build a better, more complete, and more reliable system. We are running on more powerful servers&nbsp;so every class can be taught without delay. Our software is built using the latest development frameworks, giving our team the ability to incorporate the best techniques and newest technologies to our platform in order to deliver the best experience to teachers and students.

MELISSA: What have been some of the biggest challenges?

EDUARDO: The increased demand caused by the pandemic was both a blessing and a curse. Scaling up our servers to support 10x its usual traffic was not an easy task, and the team had to work around the clock to make sure the system was working properly. We are all humans, and even with the uncertainty of those moments&mdash;with our personal and professional lives being affected&mdash;the team had&nbsp;the massive change that was happening for educators and learners around the world in mind. We knew every second was important and wanted to help our users making this transition easier, as much as we could.

MELISSA: What are you most proud of?

EDUARDO: I am proud to be creating technology that aims to empower teachers, not replace them. Education is what drives the world towards a better future, and it should never lose its human touch, its collaborative aspect. A computer will never be able to understand and enlighten a student mind as well as a teacher can. A computer can, however, assist a human teacher to accomplish their mission in the best possible way.

MELISSA: What will the ESL Library platform look like in the future?

EDUARDO: We are working towards making ESL Library easier to use, more accessible, more personalized, and more insightful. We are looking forward to making ESL Library even better with the numerous features, integrations, games, and real-time activities we have planned.

Teachers, how does technology positively impact your life? What are some of your favorite technologies? How do you use the ESL Library platform and what is your favorite part about it? We&rsquo;d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

VIEWING POSTS BY

Melissa Bender