East Bay ESL
  • Home
  • Study at Home
  • Shop ESL Lessons Plans
  • Take a Class
  • Start a Class
  • The Blog
  • Home
  • Study at Home
  • Shop ESL Lessons Plans
  • Take a Class
  • Start a Class
  • The Blog
Search

Additional Citizenship Resources

7/22/2014

0 Comments

 
Here are a few more places to help you prepare for the citizenship exam.

Pass the U.S. Citizenship Exam.  This page has sample sentences.  http://passcitizenshipexam.com/

San Francisco Public Library Resource List.  If you live in the Bay Area, this page offers a list of organizations that help with citizenship.  http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=2000029501

Citizenship Study Guide.  A page with flash cards, practice questions, and maps.  http://www.citizenshipstudyguide.com/

Good luck!

0 Comments

Get Ready for your Citizenship Exam

7/21/2014

0 Comments

 
If you are hoping to become an American citizen, you probably know you need to pass a test.  The U.S. citizenship exam involve civics questions, a writing dictation, and a reading exam.  

As you prepare, you will need to learn the answers to 100 questions about American history and civics. You should also study spelling words related to American history.  Luckily, study guides are available for free at the U.S. Naturalization website.  There, you can find study materials, classes, and advice.

There are definitely many study materials available online, but the U.S. Naturalization website has the official questions and it is free.  Both aspects are perks!

0 Comments

Prepare for the Interview

7/18/2014

0 Comments

 
At interviews, you will probably be asked questions that fall into the following three categories.

Experience Questions.
Detail Questions.
Hypothetical Questions.


How should you prepare for these questions?

1.  Come with examples.  Don’t just say you have a skill, show and describe it with an anecdote.

2.  Come with questions.  Bring a few questions about the company or job.  Usually interviews end with an opportunity to ask questions, so be prepare to ask something.

3.  Practice.  Run through questions on your own or with a friend.  It will help you stay on point during the interview.

0 Comments

Create a Cover Letter

7/15/2014

0 Comments

 
Cover letters are your chance to narrate your work history.  Think of the resume as raw data and the cover letter as the presentation.  It gives you the chance to highlight or de-emphasize information, as well as add your voice to your application.

Cover letters should be concise, but they should also reveal your point of view.  Answer these questions to make a powerful impression.

Paragraph 1:        What is your interest in this job?
                               How will you help the company or excel in the position? 
                               What makes you shine?

Paragraph 2:        What is your most relevant work experience?
                               How does your work history prepare your for this job?
                               What have you learned from your previous jobs?

Paragraph 3:        How can they reach you?
                               When should they call you?

0 Comments

Resume Tips for ESL Students

7/14/2014

0 Comments

 
In general, American companies want brief and precise explanations of your qualifications.  As a result, they tend to ask for a fairly formulaic outline.  They want to know your educational background, work experience, and references.  How do you make your resume stand out even though it is following a formula?  Live by these tips.

1.  Keep it to one page.  It may be tempting to add the details of your work history and go over the page limit, but it is not a good idea.  You are likely competing with many applicants and the reviewers want to get to the point.  Instead opt to highlight the most relevant information and leave the rest for the interview.

2.  Use active verbs.  Basically, this means stay away from the common verbs do, have, and be.  Choose verbs that are more powerful and descriptive.  Find out more about active verbs here.

3.  Match your verb forms.  In other words, don’t forget parallelism.  This means that when you list your job duties, use the same verb tense.  Don’t switch between the present, past, and gerund forms.  It also means that you need to start each bullet point with a verb.

4.  Tailor your resume to the job.  It is a good idea to have a comprehensive resume that you can adapt to individual jobs.  Take out points that are irrelevant and let the important details shine through.


Teachers can find more job hunting lesson plans here.

0 Comments

My Top Picks for ESL Pinterest Pages

7/7/2014

0 Comments

 
ESL by Beth Crumpler http://www.pinterest.com/adaptivelearnin/esl/
Lesson ideas for younger students as well as some adaptations that help students with special needs.

ESL Ideas by Jonida Kollcaku http://www.pinterest.com/heatherelira/esl-ideas/
A board with a lot of TOEFL video links, visual organizers, and interactive activities that would be appropriate for a variety of ages.

Teaching English -- ESL/ESOL by Kristi Lisech http://www.pinterest.com/klisech/teaching-english-esl-esol/
Many ideas for adult students, including those with limited literacy skills.

ESL/English As A Second Language by Liz Carson http://www.pinterest.com/llcarson/esl-english-as-a-second-language/
Helpful links to articles on classroom management and language development.


0 Comments

    Author

    East Bay ESL is an English language school for learners in the San Francisco East Bay.

    Archives

    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All
    Academic English
    Business English
    English Vocabulary
    Free English Classes
    Job Skills/VESL
    Online Resources
    Pronunciation
    Scenarios
    Study Tips For ESL Students
    TOEFL

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Study at Home
  • Shop ESL Lessons Plans
  • Take a Class
  • Start a Class
  • The Blog