Materials for ESL Classes DO Make a Difference by Kellan Smith, HCET Intern

I am really happy about the materials that we have this semester, especially the various whiteboards. I think this will make instruction much more streamlined and preparation less time consuming for us. I also think this could make the lessons more effective. I feel like I will be focusing on whether the lesson will work for the students, and not on how to make the materials, or if I can make materials at all. Because many of the students are older, they have a hard time seeing. In the past, if I wrote something that everyone needed to see, it would be on a piece of paper. This was very difficult for many of our students to see, and made it hard to proceed with the lesson. The opportunity to write parts of the lesson on a larger surface might make it easier for our students to understand and participate in what is going on in the lesson.

We are always looking for donations for our classes including white boards, white board markers, pencils, notebooks, reading materials, crayons and gently used books. Please contact Kathy Zaleski if you have any materials.