Taught as ESL 342 when course was in the credit sequence

ESL 342 is a beginning conversation class designed to help students feel more comfortable practicing their speaking and listening in daily contexts. As the class is an open enrollment class, and held on Friday mornings, the majority of the students are over 25 years old and many do not create opportunities for themselves to speak English outside of the classroom.

My goal in ESL 342 is to help students feel more comfortable utilizing basic English skills. From foundational grammar to daily vocabulary, we spend time in class developing applicable skills for students to take into their daily lives.

I place a heavy emphasis on speaking activities in my class – making sure students all have time to speak and share their own ideas and to make the language points we are focusing on their own.

The students in ESL 342 are lively and thirsty for knowledge. They reflect the best of modern language learners: eager, willing, and open to trying new ideas. This class gives me the chance to flex my teaching muscles as students are coming to class with a completely different set of needs than in academic writing classes. I enjoy the opportunity to explore new ideas and techniques in this class always look forward to wrapping up my week with these students. Although I haven’t returned to this class recently, I am grateful for the opportunity to see the whole spectrum of learners at Irvine Valley College.