Holmes Tutoring was originally focused on teaching foundational reading and math skills to students in the USA. However, the majority of my students live in foreign countries and are learning English as a second language. I thought this was going to be problematic because of the time differences and the many plans I had for the direction I thought Holmes Tutoring was moving towards, but I am loving every bit of it!
My ESL students are extremely dedicated and hungry for knowledge. They value their education and book sessions with me every week to help improve their speaking and listening skills. The progress that some of my students have made in the last year is phenomenal. My very first student was a non-speaking ESL student a year ago. Now, this same student is speaking in full sentences, holding dialogues with me, and reading books! (If you subscribe to the email list on the website, you will have access to watch some of my FULL sessions with this student and see for yourself his progress)!
So, you may be wondering how on Earth do I teach these students effectively with only a Special Education background. Well, honestly it took some trial and error, but I have perfected a structured scope and sequence that works for my beginning, intermediate, and advanced ESL students. I worked for other ESL companies so I was familiar with the basics of ESL teaching methodologies. I also am familiar with Google Translate and had to use it several times. As a Special Education teacher, I am used to breaking down lessons to meet the needs of students. I have also taught several ESL students that qualified for Special Education services in the public school, and I used all of my past experiences to help me with my current students.
At first, I created my own content every week for my ESL students, which led to burnout rather quickly. I have since found some amazing ESL supplementary content that is broken into different levels that work perfectly for my ESL students. I stumbled across the ESLlibrary website and signed up! I have access to thousands of lessons, flashcards, worksheets, and audio recordings. All of the leg work is done for me and I get to focus on structuring the material so it's easily understood by my students. My ESL students receive homework/extra practice before class, and we review the material during live class time. I also have "video modules" of recorded content specially designed for students taking non-live classes or for students that need extra practice in a certain content area.
So if you didn't know, now you know that Holmes Tutoring is open to receiving ESL students. Please send me an email if you have any questions about the scope and sequence of the ESL classes at Holmes Tutoring or if you would like some samples of the content.
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