Posts from ‘March, 2010’

Teaching Young Learners with Songs (by Matt Richelson)

Mar 24th, 2010

Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know Barbara was so kind to ask me to write about how to use songs with young learners. I have learned a lot from teaching English using songs, and I am happy to share what I know. I have a background in music, and bringing music [...]

The Foolproof Lesson

Mar 21st, 2010

by Barbara.

12 comments

Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know Most teachers have a short list of foolproof activities they can build a lesson around in a pinch–and this is one of mine. It’s foolproof because it works for all levels, all ages, and with or without prepared materials. It’s deceptively simple, so beginning students [...]

Individual Differences Count (by Mike Harrison)

Mar 17th, 2010

by MikeHarrison.

11 comments

Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know “Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible – the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family” Virginia Satir, author and psychotherapist (1916-1988) My experience as [...]

Whatever gets them through the door (by Daniel T. Kirk)

Mar 16th, 2010

by DanKirk.

12 comments

Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know Over the last twenty-three years, I have taught English to people in every demographic category other than homeless people. Over that time, the issue that continues to pique my interest is their motivation for carrying their feet across the threshold of my classroom. I have [...]

Sometimes Less is More (by Anita Kwiatkowska)

Mar 13th, 2010

by Barbara.

22 comments

Part of the series: Lessons Learned from Students I can still remember my first Christmas lesson seven years ago. My 3rd graders were making little Santas from red paper and we were chatting about the presents they expected to get that year. Foolish as I was back then, I suddenly asked ‘Of course you no [...]

Moving Your Kindergarten into Web 2.0 with 5 Different Tools (by Özge Karaoğlu)

Mar 9th, 2010

by ozge.

16 comments

Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know “If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow” John Dewey Kindergarten has always been the place to make friends, paint pictures, tell stories, play games and have fun while learning. Wooden blocks and legos have always been favorites in [...]

How to create video activities on a teacher’s blog (by Christina Markoulaki)

Mar 6th, 2010

by Christina Markoulaki.

7 comments

Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know The focal point of my previous post on this blog were the potential ways teachers can help their students to organize and practice their knowledge by setting up a blog especially for them. Since video activities on a teacher’s blog seem to be the most [...]

Teaching High School in Croatia (by Arjana Blazic)

Mar 5th, 2010

by ArjanaBlazic.

8 comments

To teach is to touch a life forever. I have been trying to enhance my teaching with the new technologies since 1997 when I created my first web page while attending a seminar on New Technologies in Modern Language Teaching in Finland. But everything I did over those twelve years was nothing compared to what [...]

Flap Books: A Simple Secret for Student Support! (by Lesley Ito)

Mar 4th, 2010

by LesleyIto.

6 comments

Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know I think what every teacher needs to know is this simple secret to successful ESL/EFL classes: Students can accomplish so much more if the lesson has proper support. It is very difficult for students, particularly at the EFL level, to stand up in front of [...]

21 days, 5 cities, 1000 teachers, and 20 computers

Mar 3rd, 2010

by Barbara.

9 comments

In February, I talked with approximately 1000 teachers in Fukuoka, Okayama, Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo as part of the OUP Teaching Workshop Series. Workshop titles were assigned to fit an acronym. I was the “I” in K.I.D.S.—Interactive Ideas for Keeping your English Classes Relevant for the 21st century. The challenge for me was how to [...]