At the end of January, I wrote a post inspired by Volkswagen’s Fun Theory competition. (If you missed the original post, it’s here: The Fun Theory in Language Learning) As often happens, as soon as I had “fun” on the brain, I started seeing posts and information related to this topic all around me in [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Professional Development’
My Perfect Classroom (by David Deubelbeiss)
“The problem with our profession is that there is too much teaching and not enough learning”. I said this recently during a discussion and I think it is such an important point to understand about “teaching” a language – that we have to get away from delivery systems that are teacher directed and more towards [...]
Teaching: a love story
This Valentine’s Day, since all the chocolate in Japan goes to men, I’m enjoying spending some quality time with the longest (non-family) relationship in my life: teaching.
Mind Mapping for Writers Part 3 (by Hobie Swan)
Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know Mind Mapping for Writers Article 3 We’ve come to the last of three posts about using mind mapping for writing. The first article looked at using mind maps to brainstorming, capture and organize ideas. The second talked about focusing on an idea and adding details. [...]
2011 Challenge: Become a Beginner (again)
This year Try something that makes you feel foolish. Something that guarantees you’ll make mistakes. Something that frustrates and overwhelms you. In other words, do something that helps you remember what it feels like to be a beginner.
Thank you for an amazing year!
It’s the last day of 2010, and a good time to reflect on the year that’s nearly done. This is the 110th post since I began this blog in June of 2009. I know that’s not a lot compared to really prolific bloggers, but it’s enough to thrill me. I began [...]
Meeting Challenges in the EFL Classroom/ Part 1: Read-aloud activities (by Christina Markoulaki)
Branko M., Assistant Professor of American Literature of the English Department (Faculty of Humanities in Serbia), has been so kind as to give me the opportunity to present in a webinar some of the challenges teachers worldwide need to face if they wish their teaching to result in efficient learning on the students’ part. Although I feel [...]
Very Cool Events: Free Online Conferences for Language Teachers
In the time I’ve been exploring online opportunities for teachers, I’ve come across a number of incredibly cool people who organize workshops and conferences, create tools, nurture groups, and try to make the world (both virtual and real) a better place for us all. Just in case you haven’t already met these people or heard [...]
What You Can Learn From My PLN Quiz #6 (ELTAS Tech Tools Day Edition)
I had planned on taking a bit of a break from creating quizzes based on blogs by members of my Personal Learning Network. Then Anne Hodgson (one of the members of said PLN) sent me a message on Twitter, telling me about an upcoming event in Germany—ELTAS Tech Tools Day. Now, I would do just [...]
An “old dog” and “special tricks” (by David Deubelbeiss)
Over the length of my teaching career, I’ve changed in many ways. I think my journey mimics that of a lot of other ELT teachers. 1. I have slowed down my delivery and instruction considerably. I used to just screech and scream through content. Now, I relax and pause a lot. I take time to [...]
