In this podcast, the Pearson English panel and I discuss what testing and assessment really and why they are so important. We continue our chat about assessment options available and end with some tips about teaching exam classes. Sadly, the accompanying blog post from Pearson seems no longer available. https://www.english.com/blog/testing-and-assessment-podcast Read more
Although some teachers might wonder if global skills have a place in teaching English to young learners (TEYL), I am a strong believer that we, as English language teachers, have an important role to play in raising learners’ awareness of the significant challenges the world is facing. Focusing on global issues in an age-accessible way and… Read more
Happy 2022! A new year has started offering us a chance to develop some new good habits: regular reflections! Dewey stated it clearly “we don’t learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” Reflective practice is a powerful tool and key for development because it enables ‘continuous learning’ as Schön highlights. Teachers who want… Read more
In this podcast I’m sharing my teaching experiences, philosophy of teaching and much more. Volkan nicely summarised my motto as “Don’t Let Perfect Stop You From Being Good Enough”! Happy watching 🙂 And if you liked this interview, checkout Volkan’s Instragram account with about 184 talks.. with teachers! Read more
If COVID-19 has a silver lining, is it definitely the learning opportunities this shock-event has provided us with as ELT teachers and teacher educators, even in 2021. This year most of us started with more awareness and knowledge about online education and teaching live online, but personally, I feel I’ve come out with more knowledge,… Read more
In this ELTeaTIme episode for Macmillan Education, I join -with my South Africa Rooibos tea, Nathan Waller and his fruity Strawberry and Raspberry. Together we explored wellbeing, social and emotional learning and mindfulness in teaching and learning (both for teachers and students) and shared some tips to help promote and integrate wellbeing in the language… Read more
What is it that makes a great teacher? Is it passion? Empathy? Belief – in themselves and their students? Knowledge? Creativity? Flexibility? Dedication? Enthusiasm? Patience? Being a good listener? Having the willingness to try new things? Being able to reflect? Willingness to learn from mistakes and to keep on learning? And the list goes on……… Read more
Well that is our job, right? A while ago, I attended a fabulous conference with Jim Scrivener and in one of his talks he referred to a comment Michael Swan had made about language teaching: our job as language teachers is to teach language. Full stop. This comment stayed on my mind and made me think about my own language… Read more
Normally, when institutes move to online or blended programs six to nine months of preparation have gone into designing appropriate learning systems (Hodges et. al, 2020) and enabling teachers with technology-enhanced teaching skills. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, most of us were thrown into online teaching overnight, and herein lies the danger that… Read more