What's it like teaching ESL in Moscow? Our ESL editor Jenna Makowski quickly learned a lesson about the nuance of culture and language, and that sometimes using a dictionary simply doesn't work. Here's an excerpt from her article, originally published on Matador Abroad:

An Interview with an ESL Methodologist

I used to dread writing assignments. As a high school student, and even into college, my pre-conceived associations with writing tasks – boredom, time consumption, lack of relativity to everyday life – always seemed to ruin the assignment before it had a chance to breathe. For ESL students, the task of writing in a different language only adds to the challenge. Here are two pre-assignment tips to motivate students to write, and to write well.

Warmer: Making the topic relevant, familiar and interesting

“Context, context context! Always teach grammar in context!”

Here are links to articles I've published on Wandering Educators as the ESL editor. I'd love to hear from readers, with comments, questions, suggestions, ideas, and stories.