Here I am, back from a short-term holiday and ready for my summer lessons! It is customary in Greece for the winter courses in private language institutions to end around May; towards the end of June schools resume preparations to welcome those students who are willing to finish one more English-language class by taking an [...]
Posts Tagged ‘writing’
Rocco’s Day: A student-generated story activity for literacy practice
Though experience and through language we learn. Experience needs language to give it form. Language needs experience to give it content. ~Walter Loban Children learning English as a foreign language tend to develop oral language skills before they become literate. In countries like Japan, where the grammar structure and writing system of English is so [...]
Yes, you can! (write for Teaching Village)
We’re better when we work together. This isn’t just the tag line for Teaching Village, it’s what I believe. I’m a big fan of teaching degrees and licenses–I have a handful of my own, and value what I gained in the pursuit of them. However, I also believe that great wisdom comes from teacher experience [...]
Six Word Stories
Recently, I participated in a fabulous digital storytelling workshop through TESOL Electronic Village Online. One of the activities that caught my eye during the workshop was Six Word Stories. The process is simple: Students choose a picture and tell a story in six words.
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. [...]
Mind Mapping for Writers Part 2 (by Hobie Swan)
Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know Mind Mapping for Writers Article 2 Welcome to the second of three articles about using mind mapping for writing. The first article looked at using mind maps to brainstorm, capture and organize ideas. This article begins with the list of ideas, and moves to the [...]
Mind Mapping for Writers Part 1 (by Hobie Swan)
Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know Mind Mapping for Writers: If you’re more artist than engineer, this approach is for you. Article 1: Think first, organize later. This is the first of three articles about using mind mapping to make your life as a writer easier or more creative. If you [...]
Mind Mapping: Learning and Teaching with Both Sides of the Brain (by Hobie Swan)
Introduction One of the more undiscovered or, in some cases, underutilized teaching methods is the use of mind maps. While the exact origin of this approach to learning is lost in the mists of time, mind mapping has for decades been a regular feature of primary and secondary education in Europe—in Germany and Britain, in [...]
Text Your Knowledge (by Nick Jaworski)
Part of the series: Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know As a manager I interview a lot of teachers. One question I always ask is about reading texts. If you have a short reading text, what are some different ways in which it can be used? I am constantly surprised by the lack of responses [...]
Who Do You Think You’re Talking To?
I know just enough Japanese and Spanish to get myself in trouble online. Sometimes, I practice my language skills by surfing the web, looking for education blogs or articles in my weak languages. Finding them isn’t that hard. Navigating from the first page is where I get into trouble. There’s a visual aspect to web literacy that I [...]
