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Teaching with Ellii

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

Announcements

<p>Are you teaching US history and government and&nbsp;preparing students for the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test? You are changing lives, and Ellii wants to help!</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Yes! Ellii is developing test prep materials for the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>We began working on new content as soon as the notice went out about the new test (Sep&nbsp;18, 2025). If your students are preparing for the naturalization test, you&nbsp;can expect plenty of new content on Ellii in the next few months. We&#39;ll be updating this post as new content is available.&nbsp;</p>

<h3>What has changed with the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test?&nbsp;</h3>

<ul>
	<li>If applicants applied before or within 30 days of the notice (Sep&nbsp;18, 2025), they take the 2008 test.</li>
	<li>If applicants&nbsp;applied 30 days or more after this notice (Sep&nbsp;18, 2025), they take the 2025 test.</li>
	<li>On the new (2025) test, the&nbsp;USCIS officer will ask applicants to answer up to 20 out of&nbsp;128 civics test questions&nbsp;to prove their&nbsp;knowledge of&nbsp;US&nbsp;history and government.</li>
	<li>USCIS officers will&nbsp;stop&nbsp;after the&nbsp;applicant answers&nbsp;12 questions correctly OR misses 9 questions.</li>
</ul>

<p><strong>Note:</strong> Scroll down for useful external links to resources regarding these updates.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Ellii&#39;s Media Gallery</h2>

<p>Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;new <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep" target="_blank">US Civics &amp; Test Prep</a> videos build history and government knowledge while offering practical test-taking tips. Choose from short, digestible clips or full-length video lessons with chapter divisions.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep/colonial-period-independence" target="_blank"><img alt="US Civics Test Prep videos" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5010/content_Civics-Video-Colonial-Period-and-Independence_OG-play.png" /></a></p>

<p>The first 18 <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep" rel="noopener" target="_blank">US Civics &amp; Test Prep videos</a> are available now!&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep/the-1800s" target="_blank"><img alt="https://ellii.com/media/videos/us-civics-test-prep/the-1800s" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5011/content_Civics-Video-1800s_OG-play.png" /></a></p>

<p>Videos include a real teacher from Ellii, real&nbsp;photographs, useful drawings, and real questions and possible answers from the test.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/video/recent-american-history" target="_blank"><img alt="Recent US History video " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5055/content_Screen_Shot_2025-11-19_at_3.11.32_PM.png" /></a></p>

<p>More videos are coming soon.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Ellii&#39;s Study Packs</h2>

<p>Ellii Study Packs allow you to assign your students bundled content easily with one click. Visit our <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/?category=45&amp;page=1" target="_blank">US Civics</a> category in Courses &amp; Packs&nbsp;and watch this content&nbsp;grow.<br />
<br />
If you and your students like Ellii&#39;s test prep videos, you&#39;ll love the NEW study packs. Each video lesson comes with practice tasks, including vocabulary review, comprehension, and speaking practice. In our first release, <strong><a href="https://ellii.com/packs/colonial-period-independence/materials" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Colonial Period &amp; Independence</a></strong>, students practice questions <strong>73&ndash;89 </strong>of the civics test.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/packs/colonial-period-independence/materials" target="_blank"><img alt="Colonial Period &amp; Independence Study Pack on Ellii " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5012/content_US-Civics-Test-Prep-Colonial-Period-and-Independence_OG.png" /></a></p>

<p>This follow-up pack on <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/the-1800s/materials" target="_blank"><b>The 1800s</b></a><b>&nbsp;</b>features video lessons and practice about western expansion and the Civil War. Students practice questions <strong>90&ndash;99 </strong>of the civics test. Expand your students&#39;&nbsp;knowledge with related lessons from our library, such as lessons on historic figures from this period, including <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3185-harriet-tubman" target="_blank">Harriet Tubman</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3473-frederick-douglass" target="_blank">Frederick Douglass</a>, and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2881-susan-b-anthony" target="_blank">Susan B. Anthony</a>.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/packs/the-1800s/materials" target="_blank"><img alt="The 1800s US Civics Test Prep Study Pack on Ellii " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5013/content_US-Civics-1800s_OG.png" /></a></p>

<p>The third&nbsp;pack features video lessons and practice about conflict and change in <a href="https://ellii.com/packs/recent-american-history/materials" target="_blank">Recent US History</a> (the 1900s and early 2000s). Students practice questions <strong>100&ndash;118&nbsp;</strong>of the civics test. Expand your students&#39;&nbsp;knowledge with related lessons from our library, such as lessons on historic figures from this period, including <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1535-franklin-d-roosevelt" target="_blank">Franklin Roosevelt</a>, the <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2856-the-vietnam-war" target="_blank">Vietnam War,</a> and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1466-september-11th" target="_blank">September 11th</a>.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/packs/recent-american-history/materials" target="_blank"><img alt="Recent US History US Civics Test Prep Study Pack: The 1900s and early 2000s" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5054/content_US-Civics-Recent-US-History_OG.png" /></a></p>

<p>You can also send content individually to just the students who are studying for the test&nbsp;(NEW feature).</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/introducing-individual-student-assignments" target="_blank"><img alt="individual assignments on Ellii " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/5014/content_Screen_Shot_2025-11-14_at_11.12.24_AM.png" /></a></p>

<p>We have six more packs in the works&nbsp;and will be releasing the videos and lessons as they are ready!</p>

<h2>Ellii&#39;s Collections</h2>

<h3><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics" target="_blank">US Citizenship &amp; Naturalization</a></h3>

<p>This<strong> </strong>collection category<strong> </strong>offers six ready-made collections of EL Civics content focusing on US law, government, history, and culture. This content will help prepare ELLs for life and citizenship in the United States.&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lessons/american-presidents" target="_blank">American Presidents&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/american-institutions" target="_blank">American Institutions</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/american-trailblazers" target="_blank">American Trailblazers</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/american-holidays" target="_blank">American Holidays</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/us-history" target="_blank">American History</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/us-civics/us-landmarks" target="_blank">American Landmarks</a></li>
</ul>

<h3><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/el-civics" target="_blank">EL Civics</a></h3>

<p>This collection category features curated content for pre-approved civics objectives <strong>(COAAPs)</strong> selected by California agencies supporting adult ed. Search for content that is specifically related to the needs assessment of your students and use this content toward&nbsp;the 30 hours of instruction your learners need before doing related assessments.</p>

<h3><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/nations-regions/americana" target="_blank">The United States</a></h3>

<p>Our content library is full of lessons about American facts, figures, and firsts. This collection highlights some of our most popular lesson content related to the US, including presidents, famous people, and holidays.</p>

<h2>Popular Ellii Lessons</h2>

<p>Use the <strong>Search</strong> field on Ellii to find lessons on topics you are covering, and reach out to us if you can&#39;t find what you&#39;re looking for. Here are some popular US civics lessons:</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5757-us-immigration-rights" target="_blank">US Immigration Rights</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2277-american-citizenship" target="_blank">American Citizenship</a> (in editing)</li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3836-n-400-vocabulary" target="_blank">N-400 Vocabulary</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2676-the-united-states" target="_blank">The United States </a>(Listening in English)</li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2263-map-of-the-us" target="_blank">Map of the US</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1505-george-washington" target="_blank">George Washington</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2779-trail-of-tears" target="_blank">The Trail of Tears</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3172-the-us-constitution" target="_blank">The US Constitution</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/5636-the-bill-of-rights" target="_blank">The Bill of Rights</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4037-the-declaration-of-independence" target="_blank">The Declaration of Independence</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2764-the-supreme-court-us" target="_blank">The Supreme Court</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3381-election-day-us" target="_blank">Election Day</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/video/republicans-democrats" target="_blank">Republicans Vs. Democrats</a> (explainer video)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Coming Soon on Ellii&nbsp;</h3>

<ul>
	<li>30 + more videos</li>
	<li>Six + US Test Prep Study Packs</li>
	<li>NEW comprehensive civics&nbsp;lessons focused on US History &amp; Government&nbsp;</li>
	<li>US Test Prep Speaking Practice Tests</li>
</ul>

<h3>Useful External Resources for 2025 Updates</h3>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/09/18/2025-18050/notice-of-implementation-of-2025-naturalization-civics-test" target="_blank">Notice of Implementation of 2025 Naturalization Civics Test </a>(09.18.2025)</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/brochures/USCIS-2025-Civics-Test-Study-Guide.pdf" target="_blank">One Nation, One People Study Guide (2025)</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/2025-Civics-Test-128-Questions-and-Answers-09.15.2025.pdf" target="_blank">128 Civics Questions (2025)</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/find-study-materials-and-resources/check-for-test-updates" target="_blank">USCIS Comparison of 2008 / 2025 Test</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5n2h5rdfojhykxegok15a/Natz_Test_Comparison_A_2008-2025.pdf?rlkey=47rpmtohvcrqazh1uf17h8o7k&amp;e=1&amp;st=r1lxr88r&amp;dl=0" target="_blank">Bill Bliss&#39;s Comparison chart of 2008 / 2025 Test</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship" target="_blank">USCIS Citizenship Resource Center</a></li>
</ul>


2025 US Naturalization Civics Test Prep Now on Ellii

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<p>Humans have always used visuals to communicate.</p>

<p>Cave paintings tell us stories from the distant past. Art, cartoons, illustrations in children&rsquo;s books, infographics, sketch notes, and photos all engage our senses.</p>

<p>Online, images are shared on social media to visually communicate experiences, emotions, and information.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Visual literacy</strong> is the ability to interpret and create visuals to communicate. It&#39;s an excellent way to encourage interaction and critical thinking in a language classroom at all levels.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ellii&rsquo;s new weekly <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources" target="_blank">What&rsquo;s the Story?</a>&nbsp;category from our <strong>Visual Learning</strong>&nbsp;resources section&nbsp;is the perfect way to get your students&#39; creative ideas flowing.&nbsp;It takes one intriguing photo and puts students&rsquo; reasoning, analysis, and evaluation skills to the test.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In this post, I&rsquo;ll show you&nbsp;my six-step process for&nbsp;how I used the picture in <a href="http://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources/3971" target="_blank">The Hidden Jar</a>&nbsp;resource to deliver a three-hour class. Let&#39;s get started!&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Woman digging in the sand next to a jar of coins. Taken from Ellii's The Hidden Jar resource." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2249/content_content_businesswoman-burying-money-SBI.jpg" /></p>

<h2>Step 1: Describe the Photo</h2>

<p>I displayed the image above on a whiteboard for all to see. I then asked students to look at the photo and describe what they could see in pairs, then feedbacked their ideas as a whole class. I wrote any new vocabulary on the whiteboard (e.g., high heels, desert, sand, coins, etc.).&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Step 2: Focus on a Target</h2>

<p>We&rsquo;ve been working on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2093" target="_blank">adjectives</a> in class. To encourage <strong>vocabulary recall,</strong> I asked the students to work in pairs to make a list of adjectives associated with the picture. Then we added that list to the board.</p>

<p>The students said:</p>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;She is <strong>hot</strong><em>.&quot;</em></li>
	<li>&quot;She has<b> </b><strong>dark</strong><em> </em>clothes.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;She feels <strong>worried</strong>.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;It is <strong>windy</strong>.&quot;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Step 3: Discuss Character Thoughts&nbsp;</h2>

<p>When using photos in class, one of the best ways to <strong>incorporate critical thinking </strong>is to ask students to get inside the character&rsquo;s head.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I drew a thought bubble from the woman and asked students to consider what she might be thinking.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The students said:</p>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;I&rsquo;m hungry.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;Where is that other jar?&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;I hope no one sees me.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Step 4: Discuss Before &amp;&nbsp;After</h2>

<p>To encourage students to think in more detail about the photo, I asked them to first discuss what happened <i>before</i> the photo, then what happened<i> after</i> the photo.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Some students found this difficult in pairs, but once a few ideas had been shared as a whole class, there was no stopping them!&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Before</h3>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;Maybe she stole the money.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;She was at work.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;She&rsquo;s on holiday.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;She works as a pilot. Her plane crashed.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h3>After</h3>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;She was hungry so she went to McDonald&rsquo;s.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;She ran away.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;She went back to work.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;She had a shower.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Step 5: Add Another Character</h2>

<p>I wanted to add another element to the story.&nbsp;Since the image was projected on the whiteboard,&nbsp;I just drew a stick figure at the side.&nbsp;I then asked students to discuss in pairs who this person was and to make a dialogue between them.&nbsp;</p>

<p>By now, my students&rsquo; imaginations were flowing. When they shared ideas, there was lots of laughter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The students said:</p>

<ul>
	<li>&quot;It&rsquo;s a security guard. They shout at each other.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;It&rsquo;s a kind person. They try to help her, but she runs away.&quot;</li>
</ul>

<h2>Step 6: Read Then Write the&nbsp;Story</h2>

<p>I wanted students to do a little reading and to think even deeper about the picture. So&nbsp;at the break, I quickly created a short paragraph about the image.</p>

<p>I asked students to read it and answer the comprehension questions. Then we spent some time noticing and discussing the grammar and vocabulary.</p>

<p>Lastly, I asked students to write a short paragraph about what happens next. Here&#39;s an example I wrote to give you an idea:</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>The Woman with the Jar</h5>

<p>Hannah went to Morocco for a holiday. One day, she woke up early. It was very sunny and very hot. She got up and had a cold shower. She was still hot. She looked out of the window. She saw a woman digging in the sand. The woman had brown hair and dark clothes. She looked hot and tired. Beside her, there was a large jar of coins. Hannah put a bottle of water in her bag and left the house. She walked towards the woman&hellip;</p>

<ol>
	<li>Where was Hannah?</li>
	<li>Why did Hannah wake up early?</li>
	<li>Did Hannah have a hot shower?</li>
	<li>What did she see out the window?</li>
	<li>What did Hannah put in her bag?</li>
	<li>What did she do?</li>
</ol>
</div>

<p>I did this with my beginner class, who are familiar with the simple present, the present progressive, and the simple past, but still need support in selecting the correct tense and collocating the verbs.</p>

<p>Throughout the lesson, I helped students with emergent language and changing tenses where necessary.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Post-Lesson Takeaways</h2>

<p>One of the best things about using an image this way in class is that it can be used for language learners at all levels. I&rsquo;d love to try this visual literacy activity again with a more advanced class.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Overall, I was a little nervous going into class with just one photo, but I was pleasantly surprised by&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>my students&rsquo; creativity</li>
	<li>the usefulness of the language that emerged</li>
	<li>the quantity of speaking and writing produced&nbsp;</li>
	<li>the smiles and laughter throughout the lesson&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<p>Ellii has an ever-growing bank of <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/107/resources" target="_&quot;blank&quot;">What&rsquo;s the Story?</a>&nbsp;resources. Watch for a new prompt each week! Which one will you try first? How would you use these images in class? Let me know know in the comments below!</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-pictures-as-grammar-prompts" target="_&quot;blank&quot;">How to Use Pictures as Grammar Prompts</a></li>
</ul>


What's the Story? How One Image Can Develop Visual Literacy & Critical Thinking Skills

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

Conferences

<p>I&#39;ve just returned from <a href="https://www.tesol.org/home" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">TESOL 2022</a><strong> </strong>in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,&nbsp;and it&#39;s time for my annual TESOL conference takeaways.</p>

<p>Though attending the convention&nbsp;in person was an option this year (most attended virtually), I could not bear to miss our 20th anniversary&mdash;the year we rolled out the white carpet as a Platinum Sponsor and <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/introducing-our-new-name-ellii" target="_blank">officially became&nbsp;<strong>Ellii</strong></a>!&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Ellii at TESOL 2022" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2271/content_Ellii-team-photo-TESOL-2022-booth.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">The TESOL 2022 Ellii Team (left to right): Ben Buckwold&nbsp;(Founder/CEO), Tammy Wik (Director of Outreach), Lei Kayanuma (Group Accounts Specialist), Mari Lasnetski&nbsp;(Chief Impact Officer), Tara Benwell&nbsp;(VP of Publishing), Ken Volcjak (Director of Partnerships) on the comfy, white carpet that we became famous for at this year&#39;s event.</p>

<p>In the spirit of less is more this year, I&#39;ve lightened the load from my traditional 10 TESOL takeaways to just seven&nbsp;points to unpack!&nbsp;</p>

<ol>
	<li><a href="#hybrid">Hybrid Hurts</a></li>
	<li><a href="#coffee">Coffee Chats Are Inclusive</a></li>
	<li><a href="#SEL">SEL Is on Overload</a></li>
	<li><a href="#thesimplest">The Simplest Tools Are the Best</a></li>
	<li><a href="#cell">Cell Phones Are <s>Welcome</s> Mandatory</a></li>
	<li><a href="#teachers">Teachers Are Advocates</a></li>
	<li><a href="#theworld">The World Needs More Stories</a></li>
</ol>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<h2><a id="hybrid"></a>1. Hybrid Hurts&nbsp;&nbsp;</h2>

<p>If there was one common pain point shared by teachers&nbsp;this year, it was a thumbs down for <strong>hybrid learning.</strong></p>

<p>While the hybrid approach gave students the option of learning at home or in person&nbsp;during the pandemic, teachers at TESOL described&nbsp;the frustration of feeling like&nbsp;they couldn&#39;t service either group effectively, especially at the lowest levels.</p>

<p>In contrast, many teachers described significant gains their students had during periods of fully&nbsp;remote learning.</p>

<p>One teacher suggested that one week of virtual class before moving to in-class should be kept as a permanent solution. This allows everyone to get set up on a learning management system (LMS) with a&nbsp;Zoom link that can be reused during lockdowns or bad weather days.</p>

<p>The TESOL conference itself was hybrid this year, and many speakers and attendees expressed similar&nbsp;concerns about the experience. People at home felt left out of&nbsp;the conversation, while speakers had difficulty engaging with both a live and remote audience.</p>

<p>This year, the Ellii team tried&nbsp;to accommodate both groups by hosting <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/where-to-find-at-ellii-tesol-2022" target="_blank">in-person and virtual sessions</a>. While many of the sessions were successful, we still&nbsp;learned a few tricks that would help improve&nbsp;the experience for&nbsp;virtual attendees next time around.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<h2><a id="coffee"></a>2. Coffee Chats Are Inclusive</h2>

<p>TESOL is well-known now for its informal <strong>Coffee Chats</strong>, and Ellii was&nbsp;pleased to be invited to one&nbsp;this year.</p>

<p>It was refreshing to hear our host, Diego, encourage everyone to use plain language. In an industry full of acronyms and academics with teachers from a wide range of&nbsp;programs and nations, a discussion&nbsp;about teaching can sometimes&nbsp;feel like a&nbsp;foreign language itself.</p>

<p><img alt="TESOL Coffee Chat with Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2270/content_Screen_Shot_2022-03-29_at_9.34.30_AM.png" /></p>

<p class="caption">TESOL Coffee Chat with Ellii session.</p>

<p>During this hybrid session, we talked about 5 must-haves for English language teaching (ELT) materials. The remote audience felt included as they&nbsp;pinned themselves on a map, participated in surveys, and shared ideas in the chat about the importance of <strong>relevancy</strong>, <strong>design</strong>, and <strong>inclusivity</strong> in materials.</p>

<p>A speaker from the live audience came to the podium to ask a question, and&nbsp;a&nbsp;speaker from the chat went on video. We also had follow-up discussions after the chat.</p>

<p>Hybrid isn&#39;t so bad after all (if you have your own host and tech team)!&nbsp;</p>

<h2><a id="SEL"></a>3. SEL Is on Overload</h2>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/collections/academic-subjects/social-emotional-learning" target="_blank">Social-emotional learning (SEL)</a>&nbsp;was another common topic&nbsp;of discussion&nbsp;at TESOL this year.</p>

<p>From <strong>wordless books</strong> to <strong>mindfulness</strong> and <strong>meditation</strong>, ideas for emotional wellness and self-care were shared in almost every session.&nbsp;</p>

<p>However, one couldn&#39;t help but notice the whispers from the audience (or tweets from the virtual attendees).&nbsp;</p>

<p>Many&nbsp;teachers feel that SEL is just one more thing to carry in their overloaded backpacks. Do they care about their students&#39; <strong>well-being</strong> and <strong>emotional health</strong>? Of course! Do they want to record how many affirmations they hand out each week or which SEL standards they meet? Not if it&#39;s for a free doughnut or permission to wear jeans.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="Gabriela Kleckova, TESOL President" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2286/content_Gabriela-Kleckova-TESOL-President-screenshot-Ellii.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">Gabriela Kleckova, TESOL President.</p>

<h2><a id="thesimplest"></a>4. The Simplest Tools Are the Best</h2>

<p>Teaching conferences and exhibit halls are always full of exciting trends and tech (at the booth, we were excited to show off <strong>Immersive Reader</strong>, which is coming soon to Ellii). But teachers themselves often get the most delight in learning about&nbsp;the simplest tools.</p>

<p>In their session,&nbsp;&quot;Practice More, Prep Less: Quick Ideas that Generate Life-Long Skills,&quot; Cheryl Bucholtz-Magallon and Esther Lee shared&nbsp;<a href="http://Spinnerwheel.com" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">the&nbsp;spinning wheel</a> they use to&nbsp;randomize&nbsp;topics or student selection. They also shared a simple&nbsp;<a href="http://ccg.buzz/host" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">online buzzer</a> for their most competitive practice activities.</p>

<p>In her teaching tip session, &quot;The Power of Practice: Systematized Fluency Activities Which Build Community,&quot; Elka Kristonagy,&nbsp;English Language Program Lector at Yale University, described some basic, yet powerful ways to&nbsp;use&nbsp;<strong>Google Docs</strong> in hybrid classes for those who don&#39;t have an LMS, including using <strong>Google Forms</strong> for formative assessment and comments for collaborative work.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, keynote speaker Helaine W. Marshall shared how a colleague taught an entire Level 1 class using <strong>WhatsApp</strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2275/content_Ellii-team-art-TESOL-2022.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">The Ellii team taking a break to strike a pose with art by Pittsburgh artist Andy Warhol.</p>

<h2><a id="cell"></a>5. Cell Phones Are <s>Welcome</s>&nbsp;Mandatory</h2>

<p>One big change I noticed at TESOL this year was a shift in cell phone use&nbsp;in the classroom.</p>

<p>Instead of policing their use, teachers are embracing and even relying on cell phones.</p>

<p>During the session &quot;Should it Stay or Should it Go? Post-Pandemic Takeaways,&quot; a&nbsp;group of teachers from New York&#39;s Nassau Community College talked about this cultural shift.</p>

<p>They now rely&nbsp;on students to use their own data when the Wi-Fi goes down.</p>

<p>Students use cell phones for all sorts of resources, from looking up words&nbsp;to taking quizzes&nbsp;and accessing interactive activities with <strong>QR codes</strong> (not to mention confirming they don&#39;t have COVID-19 or requesting a washroom pass).</p>

<p>Personally, I didn&#39;t bother dragging my laptop around at TESOL this year. I took all my session notes&nbsp;on my phone (and brought home an empty paper notebook). Next year, I may lighten my load even more and not bother bringing a computer.</p>

<h2><a id="teachers"></a>6. Teachers Are Advocates</h2>

<p>In that same post-pandemic takeaways session, the speakers described how they advocated for&nbsp;6 out of 20 of their in-class hours to be switched to <strong>asynchronous learning.</strong>&nbsp;</p>

<p>This resulted in students becoming more independent learners (with the help of Ellii, I was happy to hear).</p>

<p>The most popular session I attended at this year&#39;s conference was &quot;6&nbsp;Strategies for Serving SLIFE&quot; (Students with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education).</p>

<p>During this session, Beth Evans (<a href="https://twitter.com/tofubeth/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">@TofuBeth</a>) described how a 12-year-old SLIFE student&nbsp;did not qualify for a bus pass because he didn&#39;t live 1.6 miles from school. When she learned that her Level 1 youngster&nbsp;had to cross several busy lanes of traffic and&nbsp;railroad tracks to reach the school, she knew she had to advocate for special arrangements to be made.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;I don&rsquo;t have all the answers but I have a big voice.&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Beth Evans</p>
</blockquote>

<p>To advocate for our students, we need to get to know them on a personal level. And even more importantly, SLIFE especially must know and trust their teachers in order to learn from them.</p>

<p>As one teacher mentioned, bringing Zoom into the room has actually helped humanize the teacher who has real-life interruptions like pets, and children, and mail deliveries.</p>

<h2><a id="theworld"></a>7. The World&nbsp;Needs More Stories&nbsp;</h2>

<p>After sharing a tear about the&nbsp;boy and the bus pass, we shared a giggle about a group of SLIFE students in Ohio who threw their winter coats in the trash after their first winter,&nbsp;thinking &quot;phew, that&#39;s over!&quot;</p>

<p>The thing I love most in life is <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/improve-your-listening-with-true-stories" target="_blank">stories</a>. So,&nbsp;naturally what I love most about TESOL is the stories we hear and tell in a setting that&#39;s new every year. (Not to mention the characters we meet!)&nbsp;</p>

<p>At the beginning of the final keynote this year, Helaine W. Marshall showed a picture of her kitchen. She explained that&nbsp;she didn&#39;t want an island in her kitchen when she renovated it because she loves to dance. An&nbsp;island would have stunted her creativity.</p>

<p>After she told us three stories of teachers who were creating fertile spaces in their work lives, she asked us all to think about what islands might be standing in our way. It&#39;s stories&nbsp;like these that inspire us to create new chapters in our lives and in the lives of our students. Get plotting!</p>

<p><img alt="Ellii at TESOL 2022" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2274/content_Ellii-team-TESOL-2022-booth.jpg" /></p>

<p class="caption">What&#39;s the story here? See Emly Bryson&#39;s post about&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-one-image-can-develop-visual-literacy-and-critical-thinking" target="_blank">how one image can develop visual literacy and&nbsp;critical thinking skills</a>.</p>

<p>See you next year in Portland, Oregon (home of the&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-portland" target="_blank">best bookstore</a> I&#39;ve ever explored)!&nbsp;</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share Your Thoughts</h5>

<p>What was your top takeaway from TESOL 2022? And if you didn&#39;t attend, what are your thoughts about hybrid teaching and learning? Let me know in the comments below. I&#39;d love to hear your thoughts!</p>
</div>

<h2>Presentation Links</h2>

<p>If you registered for TESOL, you can watch some of the recorded sessions mentioned in this post:</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/TESOL22_973%208876%202605_2278.mp4" target="_blank">Embracing the Balancing Act: ELT Professionals Empowering Themselves</a>:&nbsp;Gabriela Kleckova&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/TESOL22_96660302009_CC1.mp4" target="_blank">Coffee Chat with Ellii: What Are 5 Must-Haves for ESL Materials?</a>: Diego Boada, Ben Buckwold, Tara Benwell&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/ID%202272%20Social-Emotional%20Learning%20with%20ESL%20Library.mp4" target="_blank">SEL with Ellii</a>: Tammy Wik</li>
	<li><a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/TESOL22_97407350634_2314.mp4" target="_blank">Creating Fertile Spaces for Instructional Innovation in a Digital Age</a>:&nbsp;Helaine W. Marshall&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/TESOL22_93977902219_2279.mp4" target="_blank">Invisible Immigrant to Advocate</a>:&nbsp;Gisele Barreto Fetterman&nbsp;</li>
	<li><a href="http://drive.google.com/file/d/1IjLcYekXLqpq8XDgSBdc9Uzu31Wg_Rfq/view" target="_blank">6 Strategies for Serving SLIFE</a>&nbsp;(presentation slides)</li>
</ul>

<p>&nbsp;</p>


Takeaways from TESOL 2022: 7 Points to Unpack from Pittsburgh 

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<p>TESOL 2022 took place March 23&ndash;25 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Though I attended my ninth TESOL convention virtually this year, I came away with the usual inspired and empowered feeling at the end of the conference.&nbsp;I definitely missed&nbsp;hanging out with the Ellii team&nbsp;and chatting with attendees face-to-face at the booth, but I&#39;m glad I got the chance to attend some amazing&nbsp;prerecorded and livestreamed&nbsp;sessions.</p>

<p>One such session was entitled, &quot;Teaching Listening: New Strategies for Getting Students to Higher Levels,&quot; and the presenters were Jon Philips and Federico Pomarici from the Defence Language Institute Foreign Language Center.</p>

<p>This session presented attendees with <strong>an innovative&nbsp;model of listening instruction</strong> that&#39;s quite different from what most of us (myself included) do to help students improve their listening&nbsp;skills.</p>

<p>But before we dive into the new approach, here&#39;s a quick refresher on the more traditional model most teachers have grown accustomed to using in class.</p>

<h1>Traditional Approach</h1>

<p>Philips and Pomarici began by describing&nbsp;the way most teachers teach listening in class. These tasks, which many of us have employed again and again throughout our teaching careers,&nbsp;include:</p>

<ul>
	<li>Pictures to activate&nbsp;content schemata&nbsp;(pre-listening)</li>
	<li>Vocabulary list to activate linguistic schemata&nbsp;(pre-listening)</li>
	<li>Transcription or&nbsp;fill in missing words/sentences (during&nbsp;listening)</li>
	<li>Info gaps (during&nbsp;listening)</li>
	<li>Content/comprehension&nbsp;questions&nbsp;(post-listening)</li>
</ul>

<p>Philips and Pomarici explained that this traditional approach does not account for the actual challenges learners face when listening, and these types of tasks may not be the best way to help students improve their listening skills.</p>

<p>They&nbsp;argued that teachers are <strong>testing</strong> listening rather than <strong>teaching</strong>&nbsp;it.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;In the traditional approach, comprehension is a&nbsp;<strong>product</strong>&nbsp;of listening, focusing mainly on the final outcome of the listening process in the form of answers to comprehension questions.&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Philips &amp;&nbsp;Pomarici</p>
</blockquote>

<h1>New Approach</h1>

<p>Philips and Pomarici suggested that a new, different methodology would involve focusing on the process of listening instead of the&nbsp;product.</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;In this new approach, comprehension&nbsp;is a <strong>process</strong> for listening&nbsp;and refers to the mental processes, skills, and strategies that serve as the foundation of skilled listening.&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Philips &amp;&nbsp;Pomarici</p>
</blockquote>

<p>They divided their new methodology into two phases and gave a brief&nbsp;example of each.</p>

<h2>Phase 1: Structured Preview Phase</h2>

<p>Philips and Pomarici&nbsp;explained how going beyond the usual vocab and/or image preview tasks can really set&nbsp;learners up for listening&nbsp;success.</p>

<p>They suggested&nbsp;four key tasks to use in this phase:</p>

<p><strong>1. Preview content and voice: </strong>Play 1&ndash;3 lines&nbsp;while students read along with the transcript. The goal is to get them used to the speaker&#39;s voice and intonation. Have students employ their own content and linguistic background knowledge by asking them&nbsp;&quot;What is this&nbsp;about?&quot;</p>

<p><strong>2. Predict&nbsp;emotional overtone: </strong>Play part of the excerpt while they read along. Elicit students&#39; thoughts on the speaker&#39;s emotional status (active or passive, positive or negative?) and have students underline any stressed&nbsp;words.</p>

<p><strong>3. Raise&nbsp;awareness of sociocultural context:&nbsp;</strong>Give students a list of places, companies, events, etc. mentioned in the passage. Have groups of students do some research online about one item in the list and share it with the&nbsp;class.</p>

<p><strong>4. Attend&nbsp;to functions of grammatical features:&nbsp;</strong>Choose a grammar target that you&#39;ve previously covered in class that is frequent in the listening passage (e.g., passive voice, imperative verbs, conditional sentences, etc.). Have learners transcribe sentences they hear that include the grammar target. Ask them how the grammar affects the&nbsp;meaning.</p>

<h2>Phase 2: Selective Strategic Listening&nbsp;Phase</h2>

<p>Philips and Pomarici discussed how to truly teach learners how to listen by going beyond the typical fill-in-the-blanks types of tasks.</p>

<p>They set out six tasks to use for this phase:</p>

<p><strong>1. Build a storyline and stage information:&nbsp;</strong>Discourse order and chronological order are often quite different. Have students&nbsp;put the events they hear in chronological&nbsp;order.</p>

<p><strong>2. Paraphrase to understand inferencing:&nbsp;</strong>Choose key sentences from the excerpt and paraphrase them so the meaning is the same for some and different for others. Have students decide which are different and why. This strategy helps&nbsp;them understand nuances and shades of&nbsp;meaning.</p>

<p><strong>3. Use selective decoding strategies:&nbsp;</strong>Change some words in the transcript so there are inaccuracies (use&nbsp;other letters, similar sounds, word derivatives, etc., such as changing &quot;the same&quot; to &quot;the game&quot;). Have students listen and underline the words that have been changed to help them decode at different levels (phoneme, syllable,&nbsp;word).</p>

<p><strong>4. Build relationships among paragraphs:&nbsp;</strong>Play a long text several times and ask students to write the first three words of any line they believe starts a new paragraph. This strategy will help them understand the relationship between paragraphs and the speaker&#39;s development of&nbsp;thoughts.</p>

<p><strong>5. Differentiate between facts and opinions and justify selection:&nbsp;</strong>Make a chart with the headings &quot;Facts&quot; and &quot;Opinions&quot; and have students fill in the chart while you play an excerpt a few times. Ask them to explain why they think something is a fact or an&nbsp;opinion.</p>

<p><strong>6. Build a comprehensive summary:&nbsp;</strong>Play the excerpt in segments, stopping after each to give students a chance to talk with a partner and make notes about what they heard. At the end of the passage, have learners use their notes and work in pairs to build a&nbsp;summary.</p>

<h1>Final Thoughts</h1>

<p>Philips and Pomarici ended their presentation by saying that listening comprehension is both a <strong>process</strong> and a <strong>product</strong>.</p>

<p>They explained that learners would greatly benefit if teachers adopted a <strong>balanced approach</strong> to teaching listening that included both methods in order to teach students how to listen, as well as to&nbsp;assess&nbsp;their listening&nbsp;skills.</p>

<p>My personal conclusion was that if I were still teaching, I would have loved to try incorporating&nbsp;the new process approach into my usual product approach. I think my learners (especially the lower levels)&nbsp;would have greatly benefitted from&nbsp;some or all of the preview phase tasks. My students (especially the higher levels) would also have benefitted from the strategic listening phase activities.</p>

<p>I can see how doing such tasks would greatly improve learners&#39; listening skills both inside and outside of the classroom because we&nbsp;would be training them&nbsp;to listen for factors that go well beyond the answers to comprehension questions.&nbsp;This would aid their overall comprehension and serve them well in their journey to fluency.</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share Your Thoughts</h5>

<p>How do you teach listening in your class? Are you inspired to try teaching listening in a new way? Share your comments below!</p>
</div>


Takeaways from TESOL 2022: New Strategies for Teaching Listening 

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

Articles

<p>Last month I shared reading recommendations for <a href="http://ellii.com/blog/reading-recommendations-for-your-low-int-students" target="_blank">Low-Intermediate Students</a>. The list I shared included a variety of children&rsquo;s books.</p>

<p>Now&nbsp;I&rsquo;d like to continue with more recommendations for High-Intermediate levels. For this level, I recommend <strong>Young Adult (YA) books</strong>.</p>

<p>Here&rsquo;s a fun fact: According to an <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/12/why-so-many-adults-are-love-young-adult-literature/547334/ " rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">article</a> by <em>The Atlantic</em>, over half of YA readers are actually adults!</p>

<p>The good news for ESL learners is that YA books will likely include more relatable subject matters than children&rsquo;s books, while still remaining level appropriate.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The following list includes a mix of older and newer books in the YA genre, from dystopian classics and&nbsp;page-turning mysteries to historical&nbsp;fiction and coming-of-age stories.</p>

<h2>Reading Recommendations Your High-Intermediate Students Will Love</h2>

<h3>Oldies but Goodies</h3>

<ul>
	<li><em>The House on Mango Street</em> by Sandra Cisneros</li>
	<li><em>The Giver </em>by Lois Lowry</li>
	<li><em>Charlotte&#39;s Web </em>by&nbsp;E. B. White</li>
	<li><em>Holes</em> by Louis Sachar</li>
	<li><em>Of Mice and&nbsp;Men</em> by John Steinbeck</li>
	<li><em>Number the Stars</em> by Lois Lowry</li>
	<li><em>Animal Farm</em> by George Orwell</li>
	<li><em>The Nancy Drew Mysteries</em> by Carolyn Keene</li>
	<li><em>The Outsiders</em> by S. E. Hinton</li>
	<li><em>Life of Pi</em> by Yann Martel</li>
</ul>

<h3>More Recent Titles</h3>

<ul>
	<li><em>The Hate U Give </em>by Angie Thomas</li>
	<li><em>The Light Between Worlds </em>by Laura E. Weymouth</li>
	<li><em>Dry</em> by Neal Shusterman</li>
	<li><em>The Marrow Thieves</em> by Cherie Dimaline</li>
	<li><em>Displacement </em>(graphic novel) by Kiku Hughes</li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Need something a little more advanced?</h5>

<p>Next month I&rsquo;ll be adding a list of books for advanced students. Once again, feel free to share any high-intermediate recommendations you may have in the comments below!</p>
</div>


Reading Recommendations for Your High-Intermediate Students

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Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

<p>Not only does reading provide students with access to&nbsp;information and hours of pleasure, but it also&nbsp;leads to greater language proficiency.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As English language learners develop their&nbsp;<strong>reading&nbsp;comprehension </strong>skills, they usually make strides&nbsp;in other areas, such as <strong>grammar accuracy</strong> and&nbsp;<strong>vocabulary</strong> <strong>building</strong>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Previously, we&nbsp;explored ways to enhance students&#39; reading comprehension through <a href="http://ellii.com/blog/pre-reading-activities-to-boost-comprehension" target="_blank">pre-reading activities</a>. In this post, our focus will be on <strong>post-reading activities, </strong>which&nbsp;are activities that are done after students finish reading a text.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here are nine post-reading activities&nbsp;that will engage your students and help them have a deeper understanding of what they&#39;ve read.</p>

<h2>1. Write a Summary</h2>

<p>If students can summarize a piece of writing, you can be sure they&#39;ve&nbsp;gotten the gist of what they&#39;ve just read. Refer to our lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2718" target="_blank">How to Write a Summary</a>&nbsp;if they need a refresher on giving a condensed overview of a text.</p>

<h2>2. Create a Quiz&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Give students the chance to step into the teacher&#39;s role. Have students come up with comprehension questions&mdash;short-answer or true/false&mdash;to test their classmate&#39;s understanding of the text.</p>

<h2>3. Play a Game</h2>

<p>Put students into groups of three or four. Have them put away the text. Give them five minutes to think of as many facts as they can about the reading. The team that comes up with the most facts wins.</p>

<h2>4. Do Further Research</h2>

<p>Ask students to do online research on the topic and report findings back to class.</p>

<h2>5. Retell the Information&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Have students sit in a circle. As they go around the circle, each student adds a sentence about the text, preferably in the order the information appeared in the&nbsp;reading.</p>

<h2>6. Make an Outline</h2>

<p>As students make an outline of the reading, the main ideas and details will become clear. If students need help writing an outline, try our lesson on <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1827" target="_blank">How to Write an Outline</a>.</p>

<h2>7. Write Questions&nbsp;</h2>

<p>Have students write 3&ndash;5 questions&nbsp;they have about the topic that the reading didn&#39;t answer.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>8. Write a Story</h2>

<p>Encourage students to choose 8&ndash;10 new or interesting words. Challenge them to write a short story using those&nbsp;words.</p>

<h2>9. Identify Target Structures</h2>

<p>Tie in the reading with a grammar lesson. Have students go back through the lesson and&nbsp;identify target structures (e.g., <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1597" target="_blank">present perfect</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar/modals" target="_blank">modal verbs</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2028" target="_blank">articles</a>, etc.).</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Share Your Thoughts</h5>

<p>We&#39;d love to hear what post-reading activities you do with your students. Please share your ideas in the comments&nbsp;below!</p>
</div>


9 Post-Reading Activities to Help Students Get the Most Out of a Text

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<p>Are you attending TESOL this year? The&nbsp;convention welcomes thousands of educators from across the globe annually and this year Ellii (formerly ESL Library) is participating&nbsp;as a Platinum Sponsor.&nbsp;</p>

<p>TESOL is a&nbsp;hybrid event, which means you can join us online or in person!&nbsp;<br />
<br />
If you&#39;re in Pittsburgh,&nbsp;Pennsylvania, come see&nbsp;us in person at <strong>Booth 227</strong> in the exhibitors&#39; hall.&nbsp;If you&#39;re attending virtually from home, you can find us at our <a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/viewdetails/exhibitors/ellii?utm_campaign=Pre-TESOL+2022+Virtual&amp;utm_content=Pre%3DTESOL+2022&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=customer.io" rel="noopener noreferrer 
nofollow" target="_blank">virtual booth</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Looking forward to seeing you there!</p>

<h1>Presentation Times</h1>

<p>We&#39;ll be presenting throughout the event, and you can join in regardless of where you are. <a href="https://www.tesol.org/convention-2022/registration">Make sure to register first</a>.</p>

<p>To find each session online,&nbsp;<a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/view-schedule" rel="noopener noreferrer 
nofollow" target="_blank">head to the schedule</a> and click through the time slots.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
This page will be updated with recorded versions of the sessions as they are made available.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Wednesday</h2>

<h3>Creating Quick and Engaging Flashcard&nbsp;Activities</h3>

<p>8⁠⁠:⁠⁠30&ndash;9⁠⁠:⁠⁠15&nbsp;am&nbsp;EDT &mdash; <a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/ID%202270%20Creating%20Quick%20and%20Engaging%20Flashcard%20Activities.mp4" rel="noopener noreferrer 
nofollow" target="_blank">View Recording</a>&nbsp;</p>

<h3>Digital Speaking Tasks for Assessment and Engagement</h3>

<p>1⁠⁠:⁠⁠00&ndash;1⁠⁠:⁠⁠45&nbsp;pm&nbsp;EDT &mdash;&nbsp;<a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/ID%202271%20Digital%20Speaking%20Tasks%20for%20Assessment%20and%20Engagement.mp4" rel="noopener noreferrer 
nofollow" target="_blank">View Recording</a>&nbsp;</p>

<h3>TESOL Coffee Chat with&nbsp;Ellii&nbsp;</h3>

<p>5⁠⁠:⁠⁠00&ndash;6⁠⁠:⁠⁠00&nbsp;pm&nbsp;EDT&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;<a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/TESOL22_96660302009_CC1.mp4">View Recording</a>&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Thursday</h2>

<h3>Teaching Social Justice Topics Online</h3>

<p>10⁠⁠:⁠⁠00&ndash;10⁠⁠:⁠⁠45&nbsp;am&nbsp;EDT&nbsp;&mdash; <a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/ID%202247%20Teaching%20Social%20Justice%20Topics%20Online%20with%20ESL%20Library.mp4">View Recording</a></p>

<h3>Social-Emotional Learning</h3>

<p>11⁠⁠:⁠⁠00&ndash;11⁠⁠:⁠⁠45&nbsp;am&nbsp;EDT&nbsp;&mdash; <a href="https://tesolconvention.evareg.com/full-schedule/recording/ID%202272%20Social-Emotional%20Learning%20with%20ESL%20Library.mp4">View Recording</a></p>

<h3>Using Images to Elicit, Teach, and Reinforce Target&nbsp;Structures</h3>

<p>3⁠⁠:⁠⁠30&ndash;4⁠⁠:⁠⁠15&nbsp;pm&nbsp;EDT &mdash; Room 325 (livestreamed to virtual attendees)</p>

<h2>Friday</h2>

<h3>Maximizing Student Success Using Ellii (⁠⁠formerly ELS&nbsp;Library⁠⁠) Content and Courseware</h3>

<p>11⁠⁠:⁠⁠00&ndash;11⁠⁠:⁠⁠45&nbsp;am&nbsp;EDT &mdash; Room 325 (livestreamed to virtual attendees)</p>

<div class="white-box">
<p>Which presentation are you most looking forward to attending?</p>
</div>


Where to Find Ellii at TESOL 2022

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Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

<p><strong>Pictures</strong> are exceptionally supportive when it comes to language teaching and learning. A simple picture&nbsp;can instantly demonstrate the meaning of a word, removing any need for wordy or complicated definitions.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pictures are also a brilliant way to <strong>prompt grammar</strong>. Many of our Ellii materials&nbsp;have visuals&nbsp;to support understanding and make grammar practice fun and engaging.&nbsp;</p>

<p>English language teachers can use materials like&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/flashcards" target="_blank">Flashcards</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/132/lessons" target="_blank">Picture Stories</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/courses/134/lessons" target="_blank">Word Bank Readers</a>,&nbsp;and other Ellii&nbsp;visuals as versatile&nbsp;prompts for just about any grammar point.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Take, for example, the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/2006" target="_blank">Daily Routines</a>&nbsp;lesson from the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons" target="_blank">Simple Sentences</a> section. The lesson is aimed at teaching the simple present, but the images alone could just as easily be used to teach the present progressive&nbsp;or the&nbsp;simple past.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here&#39;s how you can use the pictures&nbsp;from the lesson above&nbsp;as grammar prompts.</p>

<p><b>Note:</b>&nbsp;These ideas are best to review familiar grammar. If students are new to the grammar target, introduce it in context first using one of Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/collections/videos" target="_blank">videos</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons" target="_blank">stories</a>, or dedicated <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar" target="_blank">grammar lessons</a>.</p>

<h2><b>1. Provide Prompts</b></h2>

<p>First, show students the images. Demonstrate the target language then ask students to make their own <strong>questions</strong>, <strong>answers</strong>, or <strong>statements</strong>. Give them word prompts depending on the grammar they&#39;re using.</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Show the &quot;brush teeth&quot; image. Then ask your&nbsp;students to make a question with the words &quot;does&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;in the morning.&quot; &rarr; <em>Does she brush her teeth in the morning?</em></li>
	<li>Show the &quot;do homework&quot; image. Then ask your students to make a sentence with the words &quot;did&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;last night.&quot; &rarr; <em>I&nbsp;did my&nbsp;homework last night.</em></li>
	<li>Show the&nbsp;&quot;cook&quot;&nbsp;image. Then ask your students,&nbsp;&quot;What is he doing?&quot;&nbsp;&rarr; <em>He is cooking.</em>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<h2><b>2. Switch Tenses</b></h2>

<p>If students are reviewing multiple tenses, use the pictures to prompt students to change one tense to another.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<ul>
	<li>Say or write: &quot;Change &lsquo;Does she brush her teeth in the morning?&rsquo; to the past tense.&quot; &rarr; <em>Did she brush her teeth in the morning?&nbsp;</em></li>
	<li>Say or write: &quot;Change &lsquo;I did my homework last night&rsquo; to &lsquo;every day.&rsquo;&quot;&nbsp;&rarr; <em>I do my homework every day.&nbsp;</em></li>
	<li>Say or write: &quot;Change &lsquo;He is cooking&rsquo; to &lsquo;last week.&rsquo;&quot; &rarr; <em>He cooked last week.</em></li>
</ul>

<h2><b>3. Draw or Create Stories</b></h2>

<p>Ask students to use simple drawings to express their daily routine or what they did yesterday. Remind students that their drawings don&rsquo;t need to be artistic, but simply communicative.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here&rsquo;s an example:&nbsp;</p>

<p><img alt="daily routine drawings" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2237/content_picture-prompt.jpg" /></p>

<p>Alternatively, you can <a href="https://help.ellii.com/article/50-how-to-print-flashcards" target="_blank">print</a>&nbsp;the images&nbsp;and ask students to put them in order.</p>

<p>Get your students to talk in pairs to explain their story. Then ask them to write sentences or a short text using the target grammar.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For example:&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Yesterday I got up at 8:00 am. I brushed my teeth and had a shower. Then I had cereal and coffee&nbsp;for breakfast.</em>&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p>How do you use pictures to prompt grammar in the classroom? Which of these tips are you most likely to use? Share your ideas with us in the comments below.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-grammar-online-with-esl-library" target="_blank">How to Teach Grammar Online</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2564" target="_blank">50 Grammar Targets</a></li>
	<li class="resource"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2565" target="_blank">Teaching Order for Grammar Practice Worksheets</a></li>
</ul>


How to Use Pictures as Grammar Prompts

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<p><b data-stringify-type="bold">This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for participating and congratulations to all our winners.</b></p>

<p>It&rsquo;s hard to believe that this year marks 20 years of providing great content for great teachers.</p>

<p>To celebrate our <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/introducing-our-new-name-ellii" target="_blank">new name</a>&nbsp;and 20th birthday, we don&rsquo;t want to receive gifts. We want to give them.&nbsp;In fact,&nbsp;we&nbsp;want to give prizes away all year long!</p>

<div class="white-box">
<h3>How to Enter</h3>

<p>To enter our 20th Anniversary Giveaway, respond to the prompts in the VideoAsk below. Every VideoAsk response will be entered into the giveaway. <strong>Prizes include iPads, Ellii subscriptions,&nbsp;and Ellii merch</strong>. Simply enter once through VideoAsk to be automatically eligible for every draw that takes place this year.</p>
</div>

<p>Enter our 20th Anniversary Giveaway today for your chance to win! If you&#39;re a winner, we&#39;ll email you. Be sure to follow us on <a href="https://facebook.com/ESLlibrary/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ESLlibrary/" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://instagram.com/esllibrary" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/esl-library/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> to see all the lucky prizewinners.</p>

<p>We can&#39;t wait to collect your responses, look back on the past 20 years, and share your stories with our hardworking team and teachers around the world.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Good luck, and thanks for celebrating our 20th birthday with us!</p>

<p><iframe allow="camera *; microphone *; autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; display-capture *;" height="600px" src="https://www.videoask.com/f68jsbj5g" style="border: none; border-radius: 24px;" width="100%"></iframe></p>


20th Anniversary Giveaway

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<p>ESL Library has a <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/introducing-our-new-name-ellii" target="_blank">new name and logo</a>!&nbsp;As of March 14, 2022, ESL Library will be known as <strong>Ellii</strong>.</p>

<p>If you follow us on any of our social media channels, then you probably saw that we teased this big announcement with fun word games, graphics, and animations. Did you play along? Did you make any guesses? Check the answers and explanations below to see if you got any of our social media clues correct!</p>

<h3>March 2, 2022</h3>

<p><img alt="unscrambled words: we are celebrating twenty years with something big" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2139/content_Ellii-Social-Media-Teasers-Explained_01.jpg" /></p>

<p>On March 2, we posted this word game. If you unscramble&nbsp;the letters, it reads:&nbsp;<strong>We are celebrating twenty&nbsp;years with something big</strong>.</p>

<h3>March 3, 2022</h3>

<p><img alt="the new Ellii logo behind ESL Library logo sticker peeling back" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2146/content_Ellii-Social-Media-Teasers-Explained.jpg" /></p>

<p>The next day, we posted this image of our logo on a sticker being peeled back. We did this to tease our new logo underneath!</p>

<h3>March 4, 2022</h3>

<p><img alt="word search with the words circled: language evolves over time and ESL Library does too" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2141/content_Ellii-Social-Media-Teasers-Explained_03.jpg" /></p>

<p>We then posted this fun word search! When placed in the correct order, the hidden words created the following&nbsp;sentence:&nbsp;<strong>Language evolves over time and ESL Library does too</strong>.</p>

<h3>March 7, 2022</h3>

<p><img alt="flashcards visually hinting at the new Ellii logo " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2142/content_Ellii-Social-Media-Teasers-Explained_04.jpg" /></p>

<p>The following week, we posted this video featuring three of our flashcards. This video shows the transition from our old logo to our new logo! The words represented by each flashcard are: &quot;new,&quot; &quot;idea,&quot; and &quot;happy.&quot;</p>

<h3>March 9, 2022</h3>

<p><img alt="ESL Library is getting a makeover" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2143/content_Ellii-Social-Media-Teasers-Explained_05.jpg" /></p>

<p>Later that week, we posted another word game. The missing word was <strong>makeover</strong>.</p>

<h3>March 10, 2022</h3>

<p><img alt="book emoji pointing to lightbulb emoji" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2147/content_Ellii-Social-Media-Teasers-Explained_06.jpg" /></p>

<p>Next, we posted this image featuring three emojis. Similar to the video featuring our flashcards, this image shows the transition from our old logo to our new logo!</p>

<h3>March 11, 2022</h3>

<p><img alt="ESL Library is getting a new look" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2145/content_Ellii-Social-Media-Teasers-Explained_07.jpg" /></p>

<p>Finally, we posted the last hint which, if you guessed correctly, revealed&nbsp;the following sentence:&nbsp;<strong>ESL Library is getting a new look</strong>.</p>

<p>Did you get any of our announcement hints correct? Which ones? Let us know in the comments below!</p>


Ellii Social Media Teasers Explained

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<p>We are so excited to announce that&nbsp;ESL Library has a new name!</p>

<p>As of March 14, 2022, ESL Library will be known as <strong>Ellii</strong>. You can find us at <a href="http://ellii.com">ellii.com</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Why did we change our name?</h2>

<p>For the past 20&nbsp;years, we&rsquo;ve been developing exceptional content for language teachers like you. Just as language evolves over time, so has our company. We&rsquo;re no longer simply a library of print materials. Today we are one of the most widely used content and courseware platforms for English teachers in the world.</p>

<p>As an innovative EdTech&nbsp;company, our product continues to advance and expand, leaving us in need of a name that better reflects who we are, what we&nbsp;do, and where we are headed.</p>

<p>We also realize that ESL (English as a Second Language) is a term that&rsquo;s not always recognized or used around the world. As we continue to grow, we believe our branding should be more universally reflective of our global community of teachers and students.</p>

<p><img alt="Ellii logo" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2127/content_Melissa_Introducing-Our-New-Name-Ellii.png" /></p>

<h2>Why &quot;Ellii&quot;?</h2>

<p>You may be thinking, <em>Why &quot;Ellii&quot;</em>?&nbsp;Watch the video below to learn more about our new name from our CEO and founder, Ben Buckwold.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/diY5qRBbBrQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>While our name has changed, we&rsquo;re still the same EdTech company&mdash;passionate about empowering English language teachers with high-quality, engaging content. Our mission remains the same as well: to connect the world through language. Under our new name, we remain dedicated to building the world&rsquo;s most-loved language teaching platform, and we&#39;re&nbsp;excited to continue growing our global community of hard-working and inspiring teachers.&nbsp;</p>

<h2>What about my bookmarks?</h2>

<p>If you&#39;ve saved ESL Library pages in your browser&#39;s bookmarks (or anywhere else), those links will automatically update and take you to the same page with the new address. There&#39;s no need to update anything.</p>

<h2>What should my students know?&nbsp;</h2>

<p>We highly recommend you let your students know that we&#39;ve changed our name from ESL Library to Ellii. Why not make it part of your next language lesson? You can show them the <a href="https://youtu.be/diY5qRBbBrQ?si=yP0CvcgrA4DT_5wa" target="_blank">video</a>, which teaches them the spelling too: E-l-l-i-i.</p>

<p>Your students will still be able to access the site using&nbsp;the old address, but we highly recommend you give them the new login address: <a href="http://ellii.com/students" target="_blank">ellii.com/students</a>.</p>

<p><i data-stringify-type="italic">Please note that you may see areas that still have the ESL Library name and logo, such as in our PDFs. This is a large project and it will take some time before all the rebranding is complete.</i></p>


We've Changed Our Name to Ellii

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<h2>Our Connection to Ukraine</h2>

<p>Ukraine has always had a special place in our hearts. Our co-founder, Marta Solodun, was born and raised in Lviv, Ukraine, and immigrated to Canada with her parents in 1996.</p>

<p>We have another teammate who was born and raised in Ukraine, and many of our staff&rsquo;s families are from Ukraine or have Ukrainian roots.</p>

<p>We are heartbroken and deeply concerned as we see the amount of senseless suffering, violence, death, and destruction caused by this illegal invasion.</p>

<p>To all of our friends, families, teachers, and students in Ukraine, and to all of the people of Ukraine, we stand with you.</p>

<h2>What We&#39;re Doing to Help &amp; How You Can Too</h2>

<p>Ellii has committed to donating 100% of all our revenue ever earned in Russia since 2002 to the organizations below. If you&#39;re able to join us in contributing, these trusted organizations are working to help with relief efforts.</p>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.1kproject.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The $1k Project Ukraine</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.comebackalive.in.ua/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Come Back Alive Club</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://novaukraine.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer 
nofollow" target="_blank">Nova Ukraine</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://razomforukraine.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Razom</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://donate.redcrossredcrescent.org/ua/donate/~my-donation?_cv=1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Red Cross Ukraine&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-spetsrahunok-dlya-zboru-koshtiv-na-potrebi-armiyi" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Ukraine Armed Forces&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://bank.gov.ua/en/news/all/natsionalniy-bank-vidkriv-rahunok-dlya-gumanitarnoyi-dopomogi-ukrayintsyam-postrajdalim-vid-rosiyskoyi-agresiyi" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Ukraine Humanitarian Assistance Account</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/conflict-ukraine-pose-immediate-threat-children" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">UNICEF</a></li>
</ul>


Stand with Ukraine

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These posts are written for learners of English themselves. Find learning tips and ideas for learning English.

For Students

<div class="ckeditor-html5-audio" style="text-align: center;">
<audio controls="controls" controlslist="nodownload" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/2233/True-Stories-The-Moth.mp3">&nbsp;</audio>
</div>

<p>Do you want to improve your listening skills?</p>

<p>Listening to true stories is a great way to improve your listening skills. Storytellers are everywhere, but today&nbsp;I want to tell you about my favorite place to find them.</p>

<h1>The Moth Radio Hour</h1>

<p><em><a href="https://themoth.org/radio-hour" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">The Moth Radio Hour</a></em> is a free storytelling radio show&nbsp;that you can listen to as a <strong>podcast</strong>. I listen to <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5UKrcYdaGbq10z97yqi81N" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank"><em>The Moth</em> on Spotify</a>, but there are lots of other places to find it.</p>

<p>The stories on <em>The Moth</em> are all true. Some stories make me laugh out loud. Others make me cry. I&#39;ve never been disappointed by a true story from <em>The Moth</em>.</p>

<p>Each week there are new true stories to listen to. Most <strong>episodes</strong> have three&nbsp;stories. Each story is about 15 minutes long. The stories in one episode&nbsp;all follow a certain <strong>theme</strong>.&nbsp;This week&#39;s theme was <em>shoes</em>.&nbsp;The theme is in the title of the episode, which is&nbsp;called &quot;If the Shoe Fits.&quot;&nbsp;If a theme&nbsp;doesn&#39;t <strong>appeal</strong> to you, you can always listen to past episodes. Some recent story themes at<em> The Moth</em> were&nbsp;siblings, love, and surprises.&nbsp;</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&quot;<em>The Moth</em>&nbsp;was founded by the novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate in New York the feeling of <strong>sultry</strong> summer evenings in his native Georgia, when <strong>moths</strong> were attracted to the light on the <strong>porch</strong> where he and his friends would gather to spin <strong>spellbinding</strong> tales.&quot;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;themoth.org</p>
</blockquote>

<h1>How to Improve Your Listening Skills with The Moth</h1>

<h2>Make Listening a Habit&nbsp;</h2>

<p>I listen to true stories from <em>The Moth</em> whenever I&#39;m&nbsp;preparing&nbsp;dinner. I can usually fit in&nbsp;at least two stories when I&#39;m prepping and cooking. Sometimes my teenagers hear a story playing in the kitchen and join me.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Try making a habit of&nbsp;listening to stories&nbsp;(e.g., listening on the train, listening on Sunday mornings, listening in the car).&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Learn Some Idiomatic Language</h2>

<p><em>The Moth&#39;s </em>episode titles and descriptions often include everyday language and <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2800" target="_blank">collocations</a> that you may find useful to learn, such as&nbsp;&quot;divine intervention,&quot; &quot;a loss for words,&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;letting go.&quot;</p>

<p>The true stories you listen to will&nbsp;help you remember these&nbsp;expressions.</p>

<p>If you don&#39;t understand some of the everyday&nbsp;expressions the storytellers use,&nbsp;you can always ask about them in English class or leave a question right at the bottom of this post!&nbsp;</p>

<h2>Share the Stories&nbsp;</h2>

<p>A friend told me about <em>The Moth</em> a few years ago, and I&#39;m so happy that she shared it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I often retell bits of the stories I hear on <em>The Moth</em> to a friend or family member. Retelling stories is a great way to practice your speaking and vocabulary. You can practice important skills, such as <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2465" target="_blank">paraphrasing</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/2718" target="_blank">summarizing</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/124/resources/2873" target="_blank">recounting</a>. <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1618" target="_blank">Reported speech</a> is another important, yet tricky, language structure you can practice.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Unlike TED Talks or celebrity podcasts, the&nbsp;storytellers at <em>The Moth</em> are often just regular people like you and me. You can&#39;t help wanting to tell a related story after hearing their stories.</p>

<p>I hope <em>The Moth</em> inspires you to tell your stories too!</p>

<p>By the way, if you hear a great story on <em>The Moth</em>, be sure to stop by this post again and recommend an episode!&nbsp;I recommend <a href="https://themoth.org/radio-hour/put-to-the-test" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">&quot;Put to the Test&quot;</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://themoth.org/radio-hour/where-we-belong" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">&quot;Where We Belong.&quot;</a></p>

<h2>Glossary</h2>

<ul>
	<li><strong>podcast</strong>: <em>a series of audio files that you can listen to online</em></li>
	<li><strong>episode</strong>: <em>one part in a series</em>,<em> such as a&nbsp;TV or film series</em></li>
	<li><strong>theme</strong>: <em>the main subject or topic&nbsp;</em></li>
	<li><strong>appeal</strong><em>: to&nbsp;like the look, sound, or appearance of something</em></li>
	<li><strong>sultry</strong>: <em>hot and humid</em></li>
	<li><strong>moth</strong>: <em>an insect with feathery wings&nbsp;</em></li>
	<li><strong>porch</strong>: <em>an enclosed outdoor seating area</em></li>
	<li><strong>spellbinding</strong>: <em>holding one&#39;s attention, very interesting</em></li>
</ul>

<div class="white-box">
<h5>Question of the Month</h5>

<p>Who is the best storyteller you know? What makes this person a good storyteller? Share your comments with me below!</p>
</div>


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