"When one teaches, two learn"
A lot of teachers have been reading a previous post entitled “Faking it”. There I outlined my belief that a lot of students and teachers were, “playing school” and that not as much learning as possible was occuring. I have another thought to add. I...
I’ve long been studying Second Language Acquisition and its relationship to teaching and learning a language. One article that I read several years ago has always stood out for me. What do we know about learning and teaching second language – Implications for teaching. Written...
Learning a second language isn’t easy. There is a lot that can get in the way. It isn’t as automatic or sure as we’d suppose. Depending on the person, there can be some high barriers to learning another language. I’m teaching a unit on this...
As a teacher trainer, there is one “theoretical” thing I really want all new teachers to believe and understand. It is the difference between “knowing” a language and “doing” a language. Further, the implications that suggests for our classroom practices. In general speak, we use...
Last week I posted up my “Top Teacher Training related posts″ – titled, “On the shoulders of Regular Joe Teachers” and my “Top Education related posts″. Today, I’d like to share my top Language related posts of 2010. I believe it really helps a language...
Today, I watched a CNBC episode of their new series “What the Future” (WTF). I’ll refrain from commenting on their narrative and how they provide pleasant propaganda to the masses about helping those less fortunate. I find their message of “choice not charity” rather simplistic...
Today, I get to have some fun! Last week, Willy Cardoso wrote a fictional conversation that he might have had with Karenne Sylvester about the use of materials in ELT. Karenne wrote previously about “materials light” or Dogme teaching. When I read Willy’s post – I definitely...
** Not your ordinary, endless list – just what’s number 1. Get the full eBook 6 Billion Others 6 Billion Others is a video series of interviews with real people. All translated impeccably. They really teach us, through humans telling their own stories about fear,...
Can you be my psychiatrist? May I admit something? I’ve always had a severe sensitivity to language – especially the proclivity to pun incessantly. I kid you not – full blown Foerster’s Syndrome. It is under control but today I’ve had a hard day with...
** Not your ordinary, endless list – just what’s number 1. The German Submarine I’ve use this video a lot during my workshops and presentations to practicing or pre-service teachers. It makes a serious point but also has levity that really relaxes everyone and gets...
** Not your ordinary, endless list – just what’s number 1. Richard Firsten – Grammatically Speaking Richard has been answering grammar questions from teachers for years. They are all collected on one nice page and you’ll find the answers to most anything that has puzzled...
English Language Learners and Learning Disabilities Considerations and Recommendations for Effective Remediation D. Deubelbeiss [see this post for more – here. / Also this post is a reply to this post- The Captive Mind] “If you talk to a man in a language he...
** Not your ordinary, endless list – just what’s number 1. Misspelled! Yes, if you caught the mistake in the title, you are well on your way to being a great speller! Almost everyone, native speaker or 2nd language learner, has a problem spelling certain...
Larry Ferlazzo let me on to another marvellous RadioLabs video today. The last one, I blogged and lessoned about here – The Dimensions of the Present Moment I find them haunting. So well done, so real. I kind of think I’m right there in the...
As a language teacher, I often use drawing as a way for students to “learn” language. Students love drawing and it is a very motivating tool that almost every student enjoys Even those students who have difficulty drawing can have fun given a teacher that...
Too often me thinks, too often we unintentionally push our cultural view onto those learning English. No more subtle way than music and film. We use so many “western” songs in our teaching that we almost become immune from even a thought of all the...
It also might be the origins of thought…… think about it. This video is fascinating. It shows music on a very intense and personal level, conveying information just like language. Music is language, the language of personal expression. Jesperson’s long ago suggested a “sing –...
There are many ways to master a language. There is NO magic really, just desire and intrinsic motivation. I came across an article in today’s paper that said some very important things on this topic and I’d like to share it. Most important to me...
It isn’t easy learning a language. I’ve learned 3 of them and had success in 3 completely different ways! I’m going to work on a fourth and probably will stumble along with a 4th method. What this means is “to each his own”. We have...
I love listening to second language speakers sing! There is something so beautiful, even delicate about it, about expressing yourself through vocals/singing in another tongue. I hear it, I feel it, I’m touched by it – it is somehow different than when a native speaker...
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