A coursebook in the life of | take a photo and…. How to introduce this guest blogger when in fact he has saved me the job, and kindly added a short bio at the end of his article? Adam, who is based in Istanbul, is one of those people you meet on Twitter or Facebook (@yearinthelifeof) and you feel you just have to meet in real life too (and not only because Tweedeck flatly refuses to let me see his avatar photo ;) ). Always a source of interesting references, blog posts and musical titbits, I have actually yet to meet him (so many reasons to go back to Istanbul one day…..), but am extremely pleased to be able to welcome Adam to Take a photo and… in the same month as the British Council ‘TeachingEnglish’ team has shortlisted him for the Blog of the Month ‘accolade’. So, it’s over to Adam…………. How do you work with your course book? Do you ever get your learners to look forward to coming units in anticipation, or do you take each unit – or even the coming page – as it comes? What you need Go to ELT Pics and have a look around. Well done!
UK Reading Experience Database - Home What did United Kingdom residents and British subjects living or travelling abroad read between the invention of the printing press in 1450 and the end of the Second World War in 1945? How, and in what circumstances did they read? Search or browse our database to find out… UK RED captures the reading tastes and habits of the famous and the ordinary, the young and the old, men and women. Entries in UK RED illustrate the diversity of reading experience and practice as well as patterns within particular periods and across time. Reading, however, is not confined by national borders. copyright and citation guide
50 Ted Talks Every Educator Should Check Out (2014 Edition) The communication explosion reaches its peak when you explore the endless avenues running through TED Talks. Moreover, the title educator embodies many forms within these talks. So it’s precisely for this reason that any educator benefits from so many of these talks. Each speaker reveals his or her passion of a view or a subject with the enthusiasm of a first-year teacher. Using TED Talks to convey an important message or spark creativity might be more effective in teaching students than an individual agenda or preconceived notion of what should be said. These are the best TED Talks for any educator because they make us laugh, warm our hearts, break down barriers, and always inspire us to dig a little deeper and push a little harder. 1. 100,000 Tutors 2. Sugata Mitra won the 2013 TED Prize for his idea: Build a School in the Cloud. 3. Another must-see for educators, Faith Jegede: What I’ve learned from my autistic brothers enlightens anyone who sees education as a one-way street. 4. 5. 6.
Teaching English to learners with Special Educational Needs (SENs) – Myths and realities ‘I know I have children with special educational needs in my class, I want to help them and we are supposed to promote inclusion, but I really am not sure how to do this’ Vera, primary teacher from Spain ‘Some of the children in my class are really badly behaved, they can’t sit still, don’t finish their work and are always calling out. I think they might have a learning difficulty, but I don’t know what to do’ Kris, secondary teacher from Poland Do you feel like these teachers? Myth 1 – You have to be a specialist psychologist or specially trained teacher to know how to teach these learners No, you don’t. Myth 2 – other learners in the class make less progress when they are taught with learners with SENs No, this is not necessarily the case. Myth 3 – learners with SENs cannot learn languages No, this does not have to be true. Myth 4 – it takes a lot of extra time and planning No. Myth 5 – a teacher can’t ‘fix’ the learner’s problem so there is nothing I can do Definitely not true. 1. 2. 3. 4.
TaleCrafters | Creative Speaking I. Introduction We are teaching in a time of exciting changes not only in the field of education, but also more specifically in ELT. Newer and more liberating technologies are opening up possibilities for what’s capable inside and outside of the classroom. What It Is TaleCrafters is classroom role-playing game. The evolution of this system comes from a thriving industry of indie-RPGs. While TaleCrafters is primarily about role-play, it also gives you a framework for contextualizing other task-based learning activities you use in your EFL classroom. Who the Students Are This framework can be run with both kids and adults, although it is primarily geared towards younger learners. Students can also be beginners at English, although some basic reading and writing skills are assumed. TaleCrafters is designed to be scalable. The Teacher’s Role The teacher’s role in this framework is that of a facilitator. Where It Fits What You Need The materials you need to run TaleCrafters can vary. II. Name NPCs
Cohesion Cohesion is one of the two qualities that give a written or spoken text unity and purpose, the other being coherence. It refers to the use of linguistic devices to join sentences together, including conjunctions, reference words, substitution and lexical devices such as repetition of words, collocations and lexical groups. ExampleThe second sentence above has cohesive devices such as conjunctions (and, such as, including), articles (the), references (it), and collocations (join _____ together, lexical groups). In the classroomCohesion is an extensive area and can be approached at a discrete item level, e.g. practising article use or differing synonyms. Further links: 12 Interesting Ways To Start Class Tomorrow 15 Interesting Ways To Start Class Tomorrow by Terry Heick Ed note: this post has been updated and added-to from a 2013 post You love teaching, your love your classroom, you love your students (most of them), but you’re tired. So here are 15 ways to start class tomorrow. 1. All students stand in circle. Also, pouting or talking during counting results in elimination from future rounds. 2. 60 Second Talk Students are chosen to give 60 second talks on anything, from self-selected topics they are passionate about, have specific expertise in, etc., to topics given from teacher. 3. Debate Beyonce versus Rihanna, colored pencils versus crayons, recent EU accusations against Google, self-driving cars versus light rail and bicycles, or the best way to break up with a girlfriend or boyfriend. 4. City block: city: paragraph structure:_______ is not confusing. 5. Tweets are short, quick, and to the point. 6. Excellent as a pre-assessment as well. 7. First 10 minutes are in complete silence. 8. 9. 10.
How to get started as an online teacher of English Have you thought about teaching English online? Emma Segev gives some practical tips and useful websites for getting started in one of our top five articles of all time, illustrated by artist Jamie Johnson. When I first started teaching in 2004, I was sceptical about the effectiveness of online teaching, but since then I have accumulated a lot of experience. I'd like to share with you a few things I've learned along the way. Getting started Contrary to popular opinion, I recommend starting your online teaching career by working for an established company. When choosing an established company, you'll need to find one that has students looking for lessons in your working hours (your time zone). Creating a blog In the last few years, I've created more of my own materials, usually on the back of envelopes, in notebooks, word files and on scraps of paper. Would you like to receive more articles like this? Becoming part of a network of teachers WIX is a free online website builder. Summing up