Saturday, September 19, 2009
Teaching writing isn’t easy but despite being a “high order skill” it is an invaluable thing for any student who will work in an all English environment. Or for any second language speaker who’ll communicate online (or by snail mail – people still do that, you know!).
Fortunately there are many online sites to help teachers [...]
I’ve recently started to promote Project Peace more… Reaching out to organizations, getting friends to make some tunes, entering PP into some competitions. Why, you may ask? Well, I’m really overwhelmed by all the teachers that have participated over the last 6 months in this “little” project from my heart. It deserves attention…
If you are [...]
I’ve been giving more and more workshops on using Technology and Language Teaching.
Here’s a presentation with lots of direct links to applications, tools, games, resources that I think English teachers will find useful in their “wired” classroom.
I also recommend going HERE for more tutorials and information. Our Professional Development page also has lots of great [...]
One of my previous blog posts spoofed the 7 “marvellous” sins of great teachers. Now, I’d like to unspoof and great real and talk about “new” English teachers.
I just spent 2 days interviewing 29 new teachers each day! Wow, talk about a treadmill….. The teachers besides answering questions had to go through a "demo" lesson [...]
Recently, I came across two lesson activity ideas online. On the surface both seem like good activities however one they contrasted nicely with each other and highlight the difference I see between USING and MANIPULATING language.
First the activities.
MANIPULATING Language : Cut up letters of the alphabet and put into an envelope. Maybe 5 sets of [...]
It isn’t easy being a teacher, is it? So much we have to do and be capable of – almost takes super human ability.
However there is one quality that truly sets a great teacher apart. Watch this presentation and find out what I think that is…. it is an imaginary conversation between God [...]
I’ve been thinking recently about how good teachers foster “noticing” in their students. Good teachers somehow get students to notice the “deeper” stuff about language – the nuance and information that just isn’t on the surface and easily translatable or apparent.
This really can’t be done directly. One might think so and I’ll respect that opinion [...]
I usually stay on topic but more and more lately, I’m becoming a bit of a preacher in my workshops and lectures. It happened today and so I thought I’d share a bit about my philosophy of education and what I think is paramount for all teachers – English as a second or foreign language [...]
Here’s an acclaimed film/documentary about teaching.Teach – The Movie
About its painstaking difficulty, its rewards for dedication.
Tell us what you thought of these 4 teachers. What did this movie “speak” to you, as a teacher? See the booklet and especially the discussion guide if you might share this movie with higher level students.
Here’s the PBS blurb [...]
See it Here!
One thing I’ve become convinced of as a teacher, is the fact that WE can be our own worst enemy. Meaning, somehow our own experiences, our 1,000s of hours in the classroom observing teachers, have conditioned us to “be teachers” and that this gets in the way of the success of our language [...]
