Business English language training is a necessity for international companies who need and want improved cross-cultural communication, efficiency, and employee engagement. Midwest Language Services, LLC has been providing business executives and their families language training since 2006. Our team of seasoned teachers can help your team improve their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Contact us today about how we can help your organization.
Julie Metz, Executive Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, interviewed Tanya Hoover, President of Midwest Language Services on Giant FM, 106.5 in Shelbyville, Indiana.
Tanya Hoover, President and Founder of Midwest Language Services, was invited to talk about her business on a radio show this morning that aired on 106.5 FM, The Giant. Executive Director of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, Julie Metz, invited Ms. Hoover to speak on the Chamber Chat radio show. While Tanya is not new to Shelby County, Midwest Language Services, LLC is. She started English as a Second Language teaching adult students from Yuma Industries when she started her business as a sole proprietorship nearly fifteen years ago.
A new English as a Second/New Language (ESL/ENL) class is being offered by Midwest Language Services in Shelbyville, Indiana that will meet on Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 noon for non-native speakers of English. For more details about this and other services Midwest Language Services provides, such as sign language (ASL) interpreting, document translations, and other interpreting services, please contact us at info@midwestlanguageservices.com or call (317) 296-7997.
Join us for a weekly English conversation group that will meet on Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 12:00 beginning in March. The cost for each class is $12.50. We will meet at 735 Shelby St., Suite #106, Indianapolis, IN 46203. Class size is limited to five students.
This is an example of a story map for Thanksgiving. Finding out what vocabulary the students know and introducing new vocabulary should be done before drawing the story map. Also, draw the map as you tell the story. This helps with comprehensible input. Drawing the entire map ahead of time may contribute to visual overwhelm and reduce comprehension of target vocabulary and ideas.
Today we learned about the first Thanksgiving and why the Pilgrims came to the New World. Before we began, I asked everyone what words came to mind when they heard the word, “Thanksgiving.” The words “turkey,” “family,” and “dinner” were called out by our students. I wrote these on the board.
As I told the story of the history of Thanksgiving, I drew pictures on the dry erase board to help illustrate key points I wanted our students to know and remember. In this case, I started with England on the right side of the dry erase board and moved westward, to the New World. New vocabulary was introduced and explained as we progressed through the story. We also paused for a three-minute video about Thanksgiving that included captions.
After sitting for a while, I asked everyone to stand up in a small group. Speaking doesn’t just happen when sitting in a classroom setting, after all. The students took turns sharing a sentence or two about the picture to tell the story in chronological order. I then challenged each student to tell the entire story independently.
Later, the students were given time to write their stories in their notebooks and have their teacher check them. Interestingly, the students repeated common errors when reading their stories aloud despite reading their own (corrected) writing; however, progress was still made. At first, when I asked what came to mind when they heard the word, “Thanksgiving,” only three words came to mind. Now they are able to talk about the history of Thanksgiving. One of the students commented that the story map was helpful for being able to talk about and write about this topic. Overall, I would consider this lesson to be a success!
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