Empathy makes the world go round
In this blog, written for Macmillan in 2023, you will find a handout with some practical activities to help grow your young learners’ social awareness, but first I explore what social emotional learning is and why it matters. The well-known psychologist and educational reformer Dewey once wrote that education is not only about what one […]
Can we motivate our learners or should they motivate themselves?
We all have learners that come to class but just don’t seem to be that motivated to be there. Don’t worry, it’s got most of the time nothing to do with you. In general, making learners stay focused and motivated is one of the biggest challenges (Healey, 2021). According to Scheidecker and Freeman (cited in […]
Problems-solving for future-proofing
Problem-solving is essential in our ever-changing world. In this interactive session, Anna explored what competences learners need to successfully solve problems and introduced how ‘Get Involved’ uses project-based learning to engage learners and integrate these key competences into English lessons.
Motivation learning online for all
While most teachers are now more confident teaching with technology and online, many teachers are still reporting that student motivation remains a challenge. In this interactive webinar, Anna Hasper explores the concept of motivation and highlights the importance of shifting away from teachers motivating learners to student-generated motivation and finding ways to ignite the fire […]
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 […]
Testing and Assessment
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
Mindsets in the classroom
“For Learners to have a true sense of their abilities, they not only need to learn but they also need to know that they know.” Richard Bandler As soon as we get our math books out, one of my 6-year-olds starts shouting out, “I can’t do that Miss, too hard… you know. My mum also […]
How to Implement Guided Reading into the primary Classroom
Reading isn’t easy… and learning to read is even harder! We often forget the effort it took us to start reading fluently. In this I talk about some practical tips in implementing Guided Reading into the primary classroom using “Connect and Talk about Texts” resources from Macmillan to show you some examples.
Pronunciation – The Oxford 3000
An easy way for your learners to check their knowledge and pronunciation of 3000 essential keywords in English.
Struggle Means Learning: Difference in Eastern and Western Cultures
If you are interested in the concept of teaching ‘grit’ and developing students’ mindset to deal better with perceived failure, then you might like to read this post. What do you think should we tell students that learning doesn’t come on a golden plate and get them used to the fact that ‘struggling’ means ‘learning’?