"When one teaches, two learn"
The other night I watched an interesting news program profiling a doctor who writes out prescriptions for exercise to many of his patients. He writes out what they should do every day and like medicine, expects it to be done and completed just like we...
May 1st has come and gone but how many of us teachers really challenged our students to learn about the place and importance of “the working class” in our teaching? How many of us challenged students to think about how we get the things we...
A number of recent events have had this question swirling around in my head. First and foremost, the recent ELT Blog Carnival I hosted and promoted. Not too many entries and not a lot of interest from those I emailed about it. “Too busy” everyone...
Last week I watched the “Reinvent Learning” roundtable with Howard Reingold. As I walked and ran on my treadmill (got in a good 14 k), I listened to the pronouncements of all the experts about what is happening or should happen in education right now....
I watched this CBS special report about the use of “solitary confinement” and restraints in US schools and have been thinking about it all week. Disturbing. View it below. It was a good reminder, disturbing as it is. A reminder to me that our schools must...
The one thing I have always wished about school – that it was a marketplace of ideas/learning where all in the community could come and go as they please. A doors open, windows blowing fresh air through policy. This is far from how it works....
I just finished watching my daily hour of PBS news and I’m irate. Sometimes American insularity and small mindedness is cute and amusing (as De Tocqueville imagined) but sometimes it isn’t. Listening to a Republican senator ramble on about how “English First” is what true...
Today, EnglishCentral released the first version of their Pronunciation and Vocabulary courses. They’ll be making some changes and additions as they go along but what they have right now is just “out of this world” and a great leap forward in how students can both...
Tomorrow my students are graduating with their B.Ed. There will be the usual big ceremony, the speeches, the dinner and so on and so on….. Each year over and over like a giant gristmill. I’m happy with my students. So happy. Also very proud of...
** Not your ordinary, endless list – just what’s number 1. $$ Teacher Salary and Benefits $$ The Gates Foundation is pouring money into “better educational outcomes”. Lots of money. But little of it is going into the pockets of working teachers. In fact, most...
This blog post is a follow up on my recent post “Disrupting ELT: ebooks“. I’m really keen on the new possibilities web 2.0 and technologies have for “the little guy”, us practicing teachers. We can now share and produce our own materials quite easily. This...
As many of you might know, I returned “home” to Canada, the north of Canada this year. After years spent wandering the globe teaching, decided to be in one place, with family and friends. The transition has gone better than I expected. Love spending time...
I’ll leave it at that. This “voting” season count me, count EFL Classroom 2.o out. Please read my post from last year or “The Competitive Side of Schooling“. I used to rush for acclaim but now I think it is better we just collaborate and...
Here is the latest version of our newsletter – scoopit style! Get the archive of our newsletters HERE. Get more gems all month as we highlight them here.
EFL Classroom 2.0 will be hosting the next blog carnival, Jan. 01! The theme for this blog carnival is FUN. Submit any blog post, past or present, that really exhibits the power and potential of FUN in the classroom. It’s a great chance to share...
I will also add to this, “Give a man a fish and he’ll just expect to not work for any more. Make him pay a little and he’ll value that fish and his work to purchase it”. I’m saying this as background to some reflection...
I spent a few hours looking at the conference offerings this coming fall. Something I’m used to doing and invigorated by – I’m energized by the pursuit of knowledge and no better place than a conference, a meeting of minds. Yet, this usually vitalizing activity...
I’ve written quite a bit here about copyright and control of knowledge through larger entities. One place to start is my “Captive Mind” series. My attempt to publish my own previously published work and to stop institutions from having for perpetuity, control over knowledge. Finally,...
I’ve again updated the book. Lots of additional multi media links/materials. As well, added some extra printables (the back of the book is loaded with them.) Get it here. You can also get the book AND all the other ebooks/resources by becoming an EFL Classroom...
Using the journalistic technique of the 5W questions is really effective for any listening / reading activity. Students can read or listen to the news item or story and then write out the 5 questions that would cover the story. They can then quiz each other for...
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