One-Day ESL Workshops

Basics of ESL Teaching 101

This workshop provides a strong foundation for effective ESL teaching. It focuses on both foundational principles of teaching and learning a language as well as practical aspects such as needs analysis and lesson planning. It can be combined with two other workshops (102 & 103) for a 30-hour Reach Out with English (ROWE) certificate. 

Cost: $95 (early registration) or $115. Discounts are available for groups, Wheaton College students, and ROWE alumni; see registration page for details.

Next tentative offering: Fall 2025

Basics 101 Course Description

This workshop builds on the topics in the Basics 101 workshop and focuses on the critical area of teaching oral skills. Sessions include teaching conversation, pronunciation, and listening comprehension.  It can be combined with two other workshops (Basics of ESL Teaching 101 and Basics of ESL Teaching 103) for a 30-hour Reach Out with English (ROWE) certificate.

Cost: $95 (early registration) or $115. Discounts are available for groups, Wheaton College students, and ROWE alumni; see registration page for details.

Next projected offering: Spring 2026

This workshop provides a strong foundation for effective ESL teaching. It focuses on teaching grammar, teaching literacy and low-level learners, assessing learners’ progress, and selecting materials. It can be combined with two other workshops (101 & 102) for a 30-hour Reach Out with English (ROWE) certificate. 

Cost: $95 (early registration) or $115. Discounts are available for groups, Wheaton College students, and ROWE alumni; see registration page for details.

Next projected offering: Spring 2026

This workshop focuses on the basic principles of vocabulary teaching and learning as well as effective practices for presenting and incorporating vocabulary into your lessons. In addition, we will explore how to best assist learners with idioms and slang. Finally, we will explore various ESL dictionaries and determine ways to choose and use them effectively.

Cost: $95 (early registration) or $115. Discounts are available for groups, Wheaton College students, and past Vocabulary 401 participants; see registration page for details.

Next Projected Offering: Fall 2026

Teaching Vocab Workshop Description

This workshop helps teachers understand the differences between teaching one-on-one and in groups and covers topics including needs analysis, lesson planning, and running a private tutoring business. 

Cost: $95 (early registration) or $115. Discounts are available for groups, Wheaton College students, and past One-to-One Teaching 402 participants; see registration page for details.

Next Projected Offering: Fall 2025

The Basic Series of workshops (101, 102, and 103) allows those who have never attended one of our 30-hour courses to get the equivalent input to Reach Out with English (ROWE) and combine these three workshops to achieve the ROWE 30-hour certificate.

The Basics Series can be taken in any order.

Our workshops are open to anyone who is teaching or interested in teaching English to speakers of other languages; no experience is required!

All workshop instructors are ICCT faculty with extensive teacher training experience as well as ESL teaching experience in a variety of settings including the classroom, small groups, and individual learning situations.

• Dianne Dow is the ICCT Associate Director of ESL and the main instructor for these workshops. She has over 35 years of ESL teaching experience and runs her own business serving international corporate clients and their families.
• Mary Cerutti has over 20 years of experience teaching in a variety of settings from classroom to private tutoring to hosting conversation clubs in her home.

Dianne and Mary have been regular presenters at the ESL Ministry Conference held for many years at Moody Bible Institute or Wheaton College, and specialize in providing training for novice teachers. Both have a passion to help participants gain the skills they need to be credible witnesses for Christ through their teaching.

The workshops can be taken in any order. Although we feel it would be advantageous to have the Basics of ESL Teaching 101 first since it provides so many foundational principles, it is not a prerequisite for Basics of ESL Teaching 102 or 103.

It is important to look at the numbering of the workshops. In order to receive a 30-hour ROWE certificate, you must take Basics of ESL Teaching 101, 102, and 103. These workshops can be taken in any order and are equivalent to the 1-week intensive summer course. Each workshop provides 8 hours of in-class instruction for a total of 24 hours. The additional 6 hours can be completed through extra sessions or completion of practical homework for each workshop.

Participants are awarded a certificate upon completion of each workshop. Our plan is to keep track of course and workshop enrollment in order to then combine training hours into more substantive certificates that account for total hours of ICCT training completed.