Why I Started an ESL Teaching Blog (Supporting High School ESL Teachers)

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3–4 minutes

Back in 2010, I thought I was going to be a writer. I genuinely believed I could just land a writing job and everything would fall into place. That didn’t happen—and looking back, it’s part of why I started an ESL teaching blog years later.

Instead, life took me in a completely different direction—one that led me into the classroom.

I started subbing in my local school district, and within a year, I was alternatively certified in ELAR and ESL.

And just like that, everything changed.

The moment I stepped into a classroom, I was hooked.

From Wanting to Write… to Teaching ESL

Fast forward to today, and I’ve spent over a decade teaching ESL at the high school level.

Somewhere along the way, I realized something I hadn’t expected:

I still wanted to write—but I didn’t want to leave teaching behind.

That realization is a big part of why I started an ESL teaching blog focused on supporting teachers who work with secondary ESL students.

This space allows me to combine both:

sharing real classroom strategies
supporting other ESL teachers
creating resources that actually work for teens

Why High School ESL Teachers Need More Support

If you teach secondary ESL, you already know this:

A lot of the advice out there doesn’t really apply to us.

We’re not just teaching basic vocabulary or simple conversations. We’re helping students:

read complex texts
write paragraphs and essays
prepare for state testing
build confidence in a new language

All at the same time.

And often, we’re doing it with students at completely different levels in the same classroom.

That’s why I focus so much on differentiation and scaffolding. If that’s something you’re navigating, you might find helpful ideas in Differentiate ESL Instruction High School.

Why I Created This ESL Teaching Blog

I started this blog because I saw a gap.

Secondary ESL teachers need:

practical strategies
realistic classroom ideas
support that actually fits our students

Not just theory.
Not just elementary-focused resources.
Not just ideas that sound good but don’t work in a real classroom.

This is exactly why I started an ESL teaching blog—to create a space that actually supports high school ESL teachers in meaningful ways.

If you’re working with newcomers or mixed-level classes, you’ll probably connect with what I share in Beginner ESL High School.

Why I Didn’t Start This Blog Sooner

I could have started a blog years ago.

But honestly, I wasn’t ready.

Now, after:

13+ years teaching high school ESL
earning my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction (Bilingual Education)
working with multilingual learners every day

…I finally feel like I have something meaningful to share.

More importantly, I understand what actually works—and what doesn’t.

What You’ll Find Here

This blog is a place where I share:

strategies for teaching ESL in high school
ways to support multilingual learners
classroom-tested activities and ideas

You’ll also find resources I’ve created for my own students—because sometimes you just need something ready to go.

For example, one of the biggest challenges I see is students not knowing how to start a sentence. That’s why I use structured supports like sentence frames and visual tools. If you want something simple to try, you can start with Free ESL Sentence Starters for Teens.

If you want something structured and ready to use, this is also where I use my ESL grammar task cards to give students guided practice with sentence building and grammar in context.

And when students need consistent, visible support during writing or speaking, this is exactly where I use tools like my ESL desk mats to give students consistent language support without slowing down instruction.