Managing Mixed-level classes in the YL classroom
Walk into almost any English-language classroom and you’ll encounter a mix of students with a range of abilities, interests, learning styles and English levels. It can be very challenging, then, for teachers to provide their students with the individualized support and instruction they need to learn best while also moving the whole class and curriculum […]
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
Professionalising global TEYL practices – Focus on global skills
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 […]
Reflections as Professional Learning
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 […]
Teacher Talks, a chat with Volkan Iner
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!
Looking back to move forward…
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, […]
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?
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 […]
Back to School: Motivating Learning Online for all Students
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, I explore the concept of motivation and highlights the importance of shifting away from teachers motivating learners to student-generated motivation and found ways to ignite the fire from within.
Learning for themselves: putting the learner in the driver’s seat
For teachers of Young Learners I was invited by Macmillan Education to speak about enhancing Learner Autonomy, a key skills for successful learning, in August 2020 when we all returned to our ‘new normal’ classrooms for the year… Back to school or not back to school, that seems to be the question in these challenging […]