Focusing on Engagement

I’m obsessed with the brain. How it works and maybe even more so by how it doesn’t work. Whilst brain research has made headway in the past 15-20 years, there is still a lot we do not know about the brain. However, one thing we can say for sure is that our students’ brain certainly […]

What makes a great teacher?

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…… […]

Language teachers teach language. But is that all we need to know?

Carrying Books

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 […]