Lizzie Pinard – Reflections of an English Language Teacher Oxford University Press - English Language Teaching Global Blog About tekhnologic – tekhnologic I’m a language learner as well, and I try my best to find time to learn Japanese and French, although I am not always successful. Personally, I find reading is the best way to learn as I am absorbing vocabulary in context with a story and can notice grammar patterns. Why is my blog call tekhnologic? I wanted to originally name by blog technologic, but like most ideas, someone else had already thought of it first. I tried to think of a better name, but nothing appealed to me. So, the name of my blog isn’t a spelling mistake, but a combination of technology and the English language and its history. Why did I start tekhnologic? I started this website because I own plenty of books that offer low-prep activity suggestions, but I haven’t seen much information about effective ways to use Microsoft® Office® in the classroom. So, I thought I would share my experiences of the things I have tried out. Is it all about technology? No.
Analysing Language Checking understanding generally follows the isolation of new language which has been presented in context, analysed and fully explained. It is this analysis and explanation stage which is the focus here. A framework for analysis Form and phonology Function and meaning Register and appropriacy Post analysis A framework for analysis The teacher may present language inductively through a text, a situation, through a task, or simply asks learners to 'notice' lexis. Form - the arrangement of the language, any rules which govern it, and any special difficulties which it presents. You can use this form when preparing your lessons to ensure that you thoroughly analyse the language items. Pre-planning language analysis form 44k Form and phonology There has been a recent revival in paying attention to form. Part(s) of speech. Function and meaning The fact that there is not a one-to-one match between form and function is the main reason for presenting language in context. Why don't we watch a film?
What do you think you're doing? | A critique of ELT teacher trainers 5 Good Teaching Habits | ELT Blog As teachers and learners, we all expect different things from learning and teaching. Some learners expect language-heavy courses, full of grammar and with lots of teacher explanation. Others anticipate a more social learning approach, where they play with the language and acquire it through practice, practice and practice. Whatever the style you take or whatever the style your learners expect you to take, there are some basic behaviours that all teachers should follow in the classroom. These go a long way to building an effective learning environment. Whether you have been in teaching for five minutes or five years, reminding yourself of the core basics of good teaching is always a good refresher. So, what are these top five teaching behaviours or habits? (1) Make it count Adults, businessmen, Young Learners – all types of learners will take every word you say in the classroom seriously. This is something which is unlikely to change, so you need to be prepared for this. (2) Listen to them
Checking Understanding Analysis of the language consists of two sub-stages, often known as highlighting and concept checking. Highlighting is taking the model sentence and showing, telling or eliciting what the problems are in terms of form, function, and phonology. Concept checking is checking the understanding of difficult aspects of the target structure in terms of function and meaning. Concept checking is vital, since learners must fully understand the structure before any intensive practice of form and phonology is carried out. Ways of checking understandingConcept questionsSome examplesLearning to construct concept questionsConclusion Ways of checking understanding Concept checking is normally achieved by the use of a set of questions designed to ensure comprehension of the target language, raise awareness of its problems, and to indicate to the teacher that the learners have fully understood. The question 'Do you understand?' Time lines to establish tenses. Target sentence: Look! Yes/no questions.
ELT Planning | TEFL tips and ideas from a developing teacher Technology for language learning | it's NOT about what the teacher does with technology Bruce Springsteen: "When we kiss…" Not just going through the motions! You could probably say I've had four different though overlapping careers — in language teaching, language teacher training, technology and ELT management. The first of those I retired from (after 35+ years) a few months ago, though the number of contact hours I was doing was limited; teacher training I'm retiring from at the end of this month; management I got fired from (to the relief of all involved!) many years ago; which leaves only another 10 or so years in technology to do (I'm only (?) 57, so it ain't over yet!). I happened to mentioned this in a session a couple of weeks ago and someone (Mati?) Yes! My #1 tip for teachers Every class, every day, every week, every term, every year of your teaching career, try something new and never ever just stick with what you have done before! Is there, to misquote Bruce Springsteen, still fire…? Now it really does get random But there's more to it than that. Just one regret
Grouping students Do you think about whether you’ve got a balance between pairs, groups, whole class and individual work? If you have activities for pairs and groups, do you let the students decide who they’re going to work with or do you decide? This tip looks at the advantages and disadvantages of the three main ways of grouping students. Giving students the choiceThe chances are, if you let your students decide who they want to work with they will always stick to the same people. Paul Seligson, a well known TEFL author and teacher trainer, recently gave a workshop about classroom management at a conference here in Barcelona. Random groupingThe big advantage of forming groups at random is that it is seen as fair by all involved. Other ways to randomly group your students or make pairs is by using different coloured cards, all the yellows together, all the blues together etc. Selecting the groups yourselfThere may be times when you want to select the groups yourself for certain activities.
Teaching Online by Nicky Hockly and Lindsay Clandfield To celebrate the launch of their new book, Teaching Online, Nicky Hockly and Lindsay Clandfield share their 5 favourite activities for teaching English online. We find that EFL teachers are increasingly expected to offer elements of their courses online, but very often are not sure where to start, or how to teach online. That´s why we wrote Teaching Online – to provide teachers with exactly this sort of guidance. The book has advice about online tools to use, what part(s) of your course you could offer online, and above all, a great set of activities you can use to teach online. 1 My window, my world This is a getting-to-know-you activity. It’s a great way to get a window into what the other people on your course are like. *If you are using a VLE (virtual learning environment) then you will be able to set up different discussion forums for activities 2 Five clicks away This is a great reading activity that really can only be done online. 3 Follow that story! Here’s another reading activity.
An ELT Notebook CELTA Lesson Frameworks | ELT Planning I had a request last week from a reader who wanted to know more about lesson frameworks. I wrote about how useful they are a while back, but only gave one example. So, I’ve dug out my excellent CELTA handbook (from IH Budapest) and summarised most of the frameworks mentioned. I’ve added a bit of information to explain some stages a bit more. Here’s the basic structure for… Receptive skills lessons Note: receptive skills are reading and listening Lead-in – Generate interest in the topic / text. Orientation to text – What do you need to tell the students about the text to prepare them for reading/listening? Gist task – set a short task based on general understanding of the text as a whole. Pre-teach vocabulary – Teach any vocabulary needed for the detailed task Detailed task – set a task based on detailed comprehension (formats might include gap fills, ordering events, true/false, etc). Follow-up activity – do a speaking/writing activity based on the text. The above is the BASIC framework.
How to Teach English Online and One-on-One Like a Pro – The Busy Teacher Store Tips and tricks you need to translate your ESL class teaching skills into online and one-on-one lessons, for success in these new ESL fields. Two things are changing the educational landscape drastically and quickly Those two things are the integration of the Internet in learning and the desire for one-on-one lessons. Online classes make learning English more accessible for students and one-on-one lessons allow students to learn in an environment that meets their needs. 175 step-by-step instructions for teaching in cutting edge ESL environments50 tips and tricks for learning about and mastering one-on-one lessons115 tips for teaching ESL like a pro to students successfully online A great experience for both you and your students While you may feel overwhelmed by the unknown when facing a totally new teaching environment, our books are designed to help you especially in those situations. When will I get it? This is a PDF e-book, so you won't have to wait days for delivery.