students in an ESL classroom during a Community Language Learning lesson
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Community Language Learning: 7 ESL Techniques

Community Language Learning (CLL) is a 1970s teaching method, created by psychologist Charles Curran, that puts students in a circle and has the teacher act as a “knower” who translates what students want to say into English. Students record their own sentences, transcribe them, then analyze the grammar together — turning their own conversation into…

Station rotation model in an ESL classroom with three groups of students
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Station Rotation: 7 ESL Techniques That Work

Station rotation ESL teaching splits a class into small groups that cycle through three or more activity stations — typically a teacher-led station, a digital or independent practice station, and a collaborative task station — on a fixed timer. Each group gets focused, level-appropriate work instead of sitting through one whole-class lesson pitched at the…

Teacher leading an international ESL classroom using CLIL content and language integrated learning techniques
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CLIL: 7 ESL Techniques That Work

CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) means teaching a non-language subject — science, geography, history — through English, so students pick up content and language in the same lesson instead of two separate ones. It only works if the teacher scaffolds the language load; the seven techniques below (vocabulary tiering, silent-video prediction, hot-seating, pyramid discussion,…