Thursday, December 25, 2014
Here comes Santa Claus: a visual history of Saint Nick – in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian
Here comes Santa Claus: a visual history of Saint Nick – in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Friday, December 12, 2014
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
English Language Schools in Romania
English Language Schools in Romania
http://www.eslbase.com/schools/romania
http://www.similarsites.com/site/lexis.ro
htthttp://www.lexis.ro/scolile-lexis/
http://linguata.md/
p://bigbenschool.ro
http://www.similarsites.com/goto/linguata.md?searchedsite=linguata.md&pos=0
http://www.similarsites.com/goto/lexis.ro?searchedsite=linguata.md&pos=1
http://www.eslbase.com/schools/romania
http://www.similarsites.com/site/lexis.ro
htthttp://www.lexis.ro/scolile-lexis/
http://linguata.md/
p://bigbenschool.ro
http://www.similarsites.com/goto/linguata.md?searchedsite=linguata.md&pos=0
http://www.similarsites.com/goto/lexis.ro?searchedsite=linguata.md&pos=1
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Friday, December 5, 2014
Monday, December 1, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Списание 8, брой 9/2014 г. - Списание Осем
Списание 8, брой 9/2014 г. - Списание Осем
Рецептите на дядо ВладоОт Катерина Борисова
85-годишният Владимир Бошнаков започва да се занимава с билколечение, както често се случва, по трудния път – след като му поставят диагнози за 4 уж нелечими болести. Не само, че се справя с тях. Но и се научава как да помага на хората – и днес не спира буквално да спасява животи. Разказва ни тайната на здравето от природата с билкови чайове и зеленчукови сокове. Представяме ви и историите на неколцина, при които методът му е помогнал срещу тежки заболявания.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Writing skills practice - Facebook / British Council
Facebook / British Council - Writing skills practice
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Linkers and connectors - English Subject Area
Linkers and connectors - English Subject Area
Linking words < english-at-home.com
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Not Unit 5! | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Not Unit 5! | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
This reduces our own sense of agency1 as teachers, and the degree of agency we feel able to foster in our learners. It can make us feel passive, reducing our motivation. And as we all know from our own days in school, a demotivated teacher can’t motivate a class. If we want active learners, we need to be active teachers.
...
An opportunity takenIn real life, language emerges from communicative need. One person wants to say something; another wants to find out something. This is why information gap activities are a staple of communicative language teaching, but they are often somewhat artificial: the set-up involves a role play, none of the information is real, and Student A doesn’t really need to know what Student B has to tell them
....
Conversation: allow it, shape it
So, how do we exploit this opportunity? The first step to take is to 'allow' the conversation to happen – by showing that you are interested, by showing that you want to know more. The second is to give it shape, and involve the whole class, by adding a light task element. For example, you can set up a 'paper conversation' by inviting students to work in groups, writing questions on pieces of paper for Jorge to reply to. This allows each group to build a slightly different picture of his wedding which they can turn into a short text and compare. (You can ask the groups to show you the questions before they go to Jorge: check them for form and send them back if they need more work.)
... the classroom space is open to the learners' own lives and language, and quickly fills with the words and texts that allow them to negotiate and create meaning together. By being pro-active and responding to an opportunity, we restore our sense of agency as teachers – and we transfer it to the learners, working with them as they co-construct their narratives.
(It’s interesting to note that much of what we do in conventional lesson plans seems designed to control rather than 'allow'.
..
But I wonder if you've ever had the experience of cooking a dish that goes wrong? We may try to fix it by adding more salt, or by adding some extra ingredients, but very often the taste just gets more confused and unsatisfying. I think it can be a bit like that with teaching.
Sometimes it’s best to start again – with fewer ingredients. Simple, fresh food is often best. And the best ingredients for your lesson are often the ones right in front of you: the learners.
Group discussion skills | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Group discussion skills | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Support
One of the most important things for this skill is for students to learn when it is and isn’t appropriate to interrupt and how to do it. Very often students will talk over each other in an effort to get their point across and forget to listen.
To practise this, you can get your students to make a list in small groups of when it is and isn’t appropriate to interrupt other speakers. They should include things like ‘not appropriate during the middle of a point, if the speaker has not said very much previously, or when you are feeling angry and liable to say something you’ll regret’. It is appropriate when the speaker has been dominating the discussion for too long, what the speaker is saying is completely irrelevant to the topic, or you don’t understand the point he / she has made’.
Group discussion skills | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Group discussion skills | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
COMMENT:
Who could say for sure what is actually "more serious a topic"? Is really a recent news story such one to "chats about day-to-day things"?
These may vary from very informal chats about day-to-day things, to more serious topics, for example a discussion about a recent news story or a problem that needs to be solved.
COMMENT:
Who could say for sure what is actually "more serious a topic"? Is really a recent news story such one to "chats about day-to-day things"?
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Lizzie Pinard - Course books in the language classroom: friend or foe? | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Lizzie Pinard - Course books in the language classroom: friend or foe? | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
For me, the course book is a cookery book. If you have never cooked before, or you are learning to cook, or perhaps you are trying out a new kind of cuisine, they can be a Godsend. Even for less inexperienced chefs/teachers, the book (course – or recipe books!) needn’t be useless. For an extensive reflection on this metaphor, please visit Course books and Cookery,
Increasing student interaction | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Increasing student interaction | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
COMMENT:
The natural learning is not to make someone do what do you want even though you as a teacher may find it useful for learning the language. The clue is to arrange the learning environment in a way which makes the communication and interaction in English natural and inevitable.
If we makes students make what we want/find necessary there is no much difference from marketing and other kinds of manipulation although the aim here may seem as a noble goal.
COMMENT:
The natural learning is not to make someone do what do you want even though you as a teacher may find it useful for learning the language. The clue is to arrange the learning environment in a way which makes the communication and interaction in English natural and inevitable.
If we makes students make what we want/find necessary there is no much difference from marketing and other kinds of manipulation although the aim here may seem as a noble goal.
Friday, November 14, 2014
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
English Only Please – 13 Methods for Monolingual Classes
English Only Please – 13 Methods for Monolingual Classes
... Dictionaries!In the last ten years, at least in my classroom, dictionary use (and I’m talking aboutbook dictionaries) has declined to virtually nil. I’ve tried and tried, but the students don’t seem to see the point. Their cellphone may have a dictionary on it (of which more in another article) or they might never have developed the habit of using one. Having one to hand helps to avoid diverting to L1 if the student doesn’t know a particular word. “Hang on... let me look it up,” could be an early phrase they learn. ...
... No TranslationA tendency for lower-level students is to translate new words for their friends. This isvery damaging to the learning process, in my experience, and sets a precedent that translation is the fastest, and therefore best way to learn a new word. I use the ‘green nose’ principle, or just look severely disappointed. Either gets the message across! ...
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Monday, November 10, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Flipping the flipped classroom | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Flipping the flipped classroom | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
КОМЕНТАР:
Всъщност и аз направих веднъж това по случайност. Просто не забраних на трите деца да започнат да пишат на дъската в началото на урока, както искаха. Взимахме урок за сравнителната и превъзходна степен на прилагателните. Разделих дъската на 3Да , те направиха своите грешки, аз ги поправих... Не че бяха безгрешни до края на урока, въпреки повторенията, но им беше интересно и мисля, че урокът стигна до тях. Може би можеше да им обясня по-добре за двете степени, но и за мен беше неочаквано. Мисля, че този урок беше много сполучлив като цяло.
Да добавя също, че те имаха възможност да преместят малко столовете си в стаята (но то беше защото, седейки до масите, слънцето им блестеше право в очите от прозореца и ги заслепяваше). Интересното бе, че преди да ги спра, те се стремяха да преместят столовете си и седнат до дъската. Поне двете момчета - момиченцето си седеше до мен. Какво ли щеше да ссе случи, ако им бях позволила да си седят до бялата дъска? Всъщност беше нещо като флипчарт, на който се пише с маркери.
Recently, whilst working on ELT and technology training courses for teachers, I have been trying to address this and push trainees to try to work things out for themselves and then reflect on what they have learned.
Instead of preparing my trainees with video input or lectures before the class, I’ve dropped them straight into more practical activities in class and pushed them to face some of the challenges of working with technology for language learning. This then has enabled me to follow up with plenary and input materials that are far more discursive and interactive and which encourage much more reflection on what the trainees have already experienced.
I’ve found that my trainees enjoy this approach and are much more engaged than they have been when I have started with input.
КОМЕНТАР:
Всъщност и аз направих веднъж това по случайност. Просто не забраних на трите деца да започнат да пишат на дъската в началото на урока, както искаха. Взимахме урок за сравнителната и превъзходна степен на прилагателните. Разделих дъската на 3Да , те направиха своите грешки, аз ги поправих... Не че бяха безгрешни до края на урока, въпреки повторенията, но им беше интересно и мисля, че урокът стигна до тях. Може би можеше да им обясня по-добре за двете степени, но и за мен беше неочаквано. Мисля, че този урок беше много сполучлив като цяло.
Да добавя също, че те имаха възможност да преместят малко столовете си в стаята (но то беше защото, седейки до масите, слънцето им блестеше право в очите от прозореца и ги заслепяваше). Интересното бе, че преди да ги спра, те се стремяха да преместят столовете си и седнат до дъската. Поне двете момчета - момиченцето си седеше до мен. Какво ли щеше да ссе случи, ако им бях позволила да си седят до бялата дъска? Всъщност беше нещо като флипчарт, на който се пише с маркери.
Friday, November 7, 2014
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Sunday, November 2, 2014
TEFL vs CELTA vs TESOL
TEFL vs CELTA vs TESOL
If you are contemplating to take up CELTA and don't know where to look for a very high quality yet very affordable school, please email me at usamalaysia at hotmail dot com.
...
To be totally transparent, I have been a teacher (EFL) for 12yrs, an employer (DOS), and a trainer - both CELTA, a 'TESOL' certificate, and CERT IV in TESOL. I also have a DELTA and a masters.
My advice? Do a CELTA. If you're not sure, call a range of schools in the countries you want to teach in and ask what they want.
...
I did a 4 week CELTA course in the UK a few weeks ago. It was very hard work and intense but I loved it. I have no regrets whatsoever in doing it. The way I chose this course months ago was simply by looking at job vacancies over a period of weeks, to see what qualifications they were looking for. CELTA came up time and time again. I also feel that the practical teaching experience I gained on real life pupils was invaluable. It's just not the same as one of these cheaper distance learning/online TEFL courses. They're not as well recognised by employers around the world and I don't think they actually prepare you for the job itself as well either. You get what you pay for really, as with most things in life.
My advice: look at jobs and see what they are asking for. It's usually a TESOL/CELTA.
...
Basically, no. TESOL and TEFL are acronyms and are thrown around as if they were standard or recognised qualifications. They are not. Anyone can print a certificate with those initials and say they are offering a TESOL. There are good providers and bad. A serious issue is whether they have teaching practice- the CELTA and Trinity at least provide a guarantee that they have been observed in a classroom with students, most online courses cannot do this.
Caveat emptor
...
Hi,yes I too faced the same dilema,TEFL TESOL or CELTA. It is definately the CELTA course that is the most recognised. I am going to start the course in September which also includes PTLLs(Preparation to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector) This is an initial generic teaching qualification,which enables you to teach in the Adult Education and Further Education sector. Useful for me because I am here in England and would like a year of experience at least,before I go abroad to teach.
...
The CELTA is better than the Trinity TESOL. Oxford TEFL, which is authorized to teach the Trinity course, falsely claims that both courses are "essentially the same and both are equally recognized."
This is not true! Although the British Council recognizes both, employers have come to realize that the CELTA better prepares the students to teach in real life scenarios while the Trinity Course at Oxford TEFL is done but eccentric artists that waste students time with nonrealistic methodologies such as teaching adults as if they were 5 year olds!
I took the Trinity with Oxford TEFl and it was a waste of both time and money. The CELTA is run by professionals that respect the students and give them more value for their money. Oxford TEFL's Trinity TESOl is more like an assembly line of students being rushed in and out.
...
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Role-play | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Role-play | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Some arguments in favour of using role plays http://goo.gl/lyHdPSSome suggestions for useful role plays:
– Telephone role play http://goo.gl/YD8hLG– Shop service role play http://goo.gl/5F0dw2– Restaurant role play http://goo.gl/rdZs6k
Friday, October 31, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
TESOL providers nearby
Source: http://www.trinitycollege.com/site/?id=2093
Malta
DipTESOL
Malta
(St Julian’s) EC Malta Contact Nadya Aquilina
Address EC Malta, Language House, Marguerite Mangion Street,
St Julians, STJ 02, Malta
T +356 21 388500 F +356 2779 0011
E nadyaaquilina@ecenglish.com
www.ecenglish.com
Spain (Madrid)
Spain (Valencia)
Address EC Malta, Language House, Marguerite Mangion Street,
St Julians, STJ 02, Malta
T +356 21 388500 F +356 2779 0011
E nadyaaquilina@ecenglish.com
www.ecenglish.com
Spain (Barcelona)
Oxford TEFL
Contact Duncan Foord
Address Oxford TEFL, C/Girona 83 pral, 08009 Barcelona, Spain
T +34 93 458 0111 F +34 93 488 1405
Spain (Madrid)
The British Council
Contact Lesley Keast
Address The British Council, Madrid Young Learners, P° General Martínez
Campos 31, 28010 Madrid, Spain
T +34 91 337 5016 F +34 91 337 5016
Centre accredited by Accreditation UK
Spain (Valencia)
The British Council
Contact Michael O’Brien
Address British Council Valencia, Avenida Cataluña 9 46020 Valencia, Spain
T +34 963392981 F +34 963691389
Centre accredited by Accreditation UK
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Friday, October 24, 2014
Facebook (BC) > Phrasal verbs - useful activities to help you
Facebook > Phrasal verbs - useful activities to help you
We often have questions about phrasal verbs, so check out these useful activities to help you!
1) Fast Phrasals - http://goo.gl/Brn0bw2) Multi-word verbs - http://goo.gl/Ib08ju3) Phrasal verbs - http://goo.gl/zvnFuO4) Two & three part verbs - http://goo.gl/LMUnFZ5) Phrasal verb dictionary - http://goo.gl/l05Oiy
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Writing for a Purpose - uefap.com
Writing for a Purpose - uefap.com
Materials to improve the quality of discipline-specific student work.
Materials to improve the quality of discipline-specific student work.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
How curiosity changes the brain to enhance learning | MyScienceAcademy
How curiosity changes the brain to enhance learning | MyScienceAcademy
The study revealed three major findings. First, as expected, when people were highly curious to find out the answer to a question, they were better at learning that information. More surprising, however, was that once their curiosity was aroused, they showed better learning of entirely unrelated information (face recognition) that they encountered but were not necessarily curious about. People were also better able to retain the information learned during a curious state across a 24-hour delay. “Curiosity may put the brain in a state that allows it to learn and retain any kind of information, like a vortex that sucks in what you are motivated to learn, and also everything around it,” explains Dr. Gruber.
Second, the investigators found that when curiosity is stimulated, there is increased activity in the brain circuit related to reward. “We showed that intrinsic motivation actually recruits the very same brain areas that are heavily involved in tangible, extrinsic motivation,” says Dr. Gruber. This reward circuit relies on dopamine, a chemical messenger that relays messages between neurons.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Saturday, October 4, 2014
The Beatles - Help! Kinetic Typography - YouTube
The Beatles - Help! Kinetic Typography - YouTub
Bohemian Rhapsody - Kinetic Typography - lyric video
Kinetic typography - wikipedia.org
Production
Kinetic typography is often produced using standard animation programs, including Adobe Flash, Adobe After Effects, and Apple Motion.[4] The effect is most often achieved bycompositing layers of text such that either individual letters or words can be animated separately from the rest.
15 stunning motion typography videos - marcofolio.net
Friday, October 3, 2014
Oral correction- insensitive or vital? | elt-resourceful
Oral correction- insensitive or vital? | elt-resourceful
If teachers always jump on every little mistake, and fail to even vaguely listen to the message that the students are trying to communicate, the emphasis in the classroom will not be on communication at all, but on producing correct forms. And, surely, language is first and foremost about communicating? The students are also likely to stop trying to take risks with language, or produce anything original, and may even stop speaking altogether. The balance of power will be weighted firmly on the side of the teacher, who appears to be the only person ‘in the know’.
Perhaps this is why so many ESOL teachers that I observed while tutoring on a Diploma in teaching ESOL were happy/proud to say that they never corrected students. They seemed to feel that there was something inherently authoritarian and negative about correction.
...
However, ... ESOL students in particular, have plenty of daily opportunities to read, speak or listen in English, but what they don’t have is anyone to give them feedback.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Sunday, September 28, 2014
Build confidence through leadership | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Build confidence through leadership | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
Helping a student to advance in their language learning activities normally depends upon how confident they are in actually using the skills that they are learning.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Advocating World Englishes: An Interview with Dr. Mario Saraceni : ELTWorldOnline.com
Advocating World Englishes: An Interview with Dr. Mario Saraceni : ELTWorldOnline.com
... most people in the UK consider themselves native speakers anyway, so it makes no sense to idealize the ‘native speaker’ since the whole idea of ‘native speaker’ as the (concept of an) ideal speaker of the language is just not there so much.
“While they say ‘English is our language,’ many people also know that they cannot really use the language that well, especially in international situations. To many people in the country, their grasp of the English language is often very poor and insecure,” he further observes.
...
“Let’s throw the link between England and the English language to a dark corner where only irrelevant historical anecdotes are kept. Let it be covered with dust and forgotten. If we are able to do that, then the whole NEST/NNEST nonsense will cease to concern us. If we do not, we will keep discussing about who is a better teacher, who has a whiter skin and who holds the best passport to teach English. It is a mentality that needs to change. Student-teachers need to adopt a new understanding of ‘English’ and then, equipped with that understanding, resist all the old, stale views that are still so prevalent around the world.”
... teacher-educators need to be role models: “They don’t have to preach, necessarily. But by demonstrating that they consider English their own language and by never mentioning irrelevant words like “England” or “United States” as part of their teaching, then they can show that, hey, it’s got nothing to do with the West, white people, blah blah, but it’s got everything to do with you, me, and anybody else that we care to talk to.”
Monday, September 22, 2014
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Saturday, September 20, 2014
NNEST Newsletter - September 2014
NNEST Newsletter - September 2014
... Kelch and Santana-Willamson (2002) highlight that students put emphasis on clear and intelligible pronunciation. Mullock’s (2010) results highlighted pedagogical skills and language proficiency.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Live lesson: dogme | EnglishAgenda | British Council
Live lesson: dogme | EnglishAgenda | British Council
Урок-демонстрацция на метода на живо (1-во видео)
и дискусия с наблюдаващите учители (2-ро видео)
With references to the blogs of other proponents and practitioners of the method:
Урок-демонстрацция на метода на живо (1-во видео)
и дискусия с наблюдаващите учители (2-ро видео)
With references to the blogs of other proponents and practitioners of the method:
- Anthony Gaughan, Teacher Training Unplugged (CELTA)
- Dale Coulter, Language Moments (Practitioner)
- Mike Harrison, www.mikejharrison.com (ISOL)
- Sue Lyon-Jones, Dogme ESOL Courses (ISOL)
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Sunday, September 14, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
English Collocations Series: Words that collocate with “Conversation” | English with a Twist
English Collocations Series: Words that collocate with “Conversation” | English with a Twist
80% of language learning is vocabulary. All my clients tell me that they want to widen their vocabulary. When I ask them how they intend to do that, they don’t always know. Some say that they make a list of all the words they discover. When I ask them to then create a sentence with the words they’ve learned, they often don’t know what to do. And that’s the problem.
Words on their own are meaningless. You need to know how to use them in a sentence and in the right context. And for that you need to know what words go naturally together. That’s why collocation is important.
Unfortunately for learners, there are no rules that can be studied when it comes to collocations. The only thing you can do is to practise using the expressions as much as you can. That could be done through reading, listening, speaking and writing. The more you use the expressions, the more natural they will become to use.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Sunday, September 7, 2014
In one ear out of the other: how knowing about memory might help us in the classroom | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
In one ear out of the other: how knowing about memory might help us in the classroom | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC
unseen learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia AD(H)D or a Speech and Language problems
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
in/at the skirts of the mountain - WordReference Forums
in/at the skirts of the mountain - WordReference Forums
My house is situated in/at the skirts of XY mountain?I live in a neighbourhood located at the foot of XY mountain?
...
I'd say at the foot of, or perhaps in the foothills of, or on the lower slopes of ... though these don't all mean exactly the same thing.
...
It seems it's acceptable (though not necessarily common) to say 'skirt [singular] of the mountain'. From the AHD entry for 'skirt':
Skirt [...] 4. An outer edge; a border or margin: a base camp on the skirt of the mountain.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
!!! Interview with Alan Maley: Exploring Creativity in the Language Classroom : ELTWorldOnline.com
Creativity
... In his words, creativity does not have to be a major, epoch-making change. Creativity can simply mean “do the opposite,” as proposed by John Fanselow in his book Breaking Rules (1987). “These may be quite small things. If we usually allow students always to sit in the same places, we can ask them to sit in a different place in each lesson, and see what happens. We can vary the way we take the attendance register, the way we set homework, etc. There is an infinite variety of ways to be creative which does not require us throw out the whole curriculum; and this includes ways of adapting the material in the course book.”
What is more interesting is the fact that creativity shall be developed within constraints. In teaching creative writing, for example, the constraints may come in the form of word-limits (for example, a mini-saga is a story told in exactly 50 words) or in the formal constraints of a particular form of poetry (for example, the haiku, which traditionally, has to have 3 lines, of 5, 7 and 5 syllables). According to Alan, “these constraints also scaffold and support the learner, because they impose limits on the language needed.”
...
The Aesthetic Approach
... The Aesthetic Approach is more an attitude of mind, which favors certain kinds of materials and ways of doing, within a certain kind of atmosphere. It has three areas for implementation: The Matter, the Methods and the Manner.
The Matter, according to Alan, concerns the content. The Aesthetic Approach advocates a wider use of images from art, moving images, music and song, a wide range of non-referential texts from literature and elsewhere, and student-made input. “This is the art,” he says.
The Method involves both art and artistry. In this case, Alan suggests teachers to “use more project work, ensemble work (for performance, etc.), more autonomous engagement by students, more multi-dimensional activities engaging all the senses, problem-solving and critical thinking, and playfulness through exposure to humour, games and creative writing.”
The last area is Manner, which needs all the artistry that can be mustered. This involves “the need to create a learning atmosphere encouraging ‘flow’ states, an attitude of openness to experiment and risk, offering choice, and developing a learning community bound together by mutual trust and support.”
...
Teacher training courses... Alan recommends strongly modifying the existing programmes to offer novice teachers more enormous help in two particular areas. “The first would be to include components to do with the content and skills needed for a creative approach, for example, training in using drama techniques, the use of the voice, story-telling techniques, using images, using music and song, etc. The other would be to develop sessions to help teachers become more skillful at improvisation and spontaneity.”
...
Alan further explains that classrooms are an arena of unpredictability, but he continues by stating that what pre-service teachers often receive is a set of toolkit of knowledge and skills supposed to work in most circumstances. In other words, novice teachers receive no training to meet the unexpected...
Alan further explains that classrooms are an arena of unpredictability, but he continues by stating that what pre-service teachers often receive is a set of toolkit of knowledge and skills supposed to work in most circumstances. In other words, novice teachers receive no training to meet the unexpected... (A) cooperative and non-threatening training atmosphere would successfully transform teachers’ reluctance into enthusiasm and willingness to try using creative works in their classrooms.
ELT: The past, present and future...
In those days, Alan also had the privilege “to have a ringside seat as the so-called designer methods broke cover: The Silent Way, Suggestopoedia, Community Language Learning, Psycho-drama, Total Physical Response, and so on.” Recently, Alan has seen the rise of the Dogme Approach, the development of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and the expansive introduction of technology as a necessary component of ELT.
... what he calls as ‘control culture’ in education, which is the result of “a results-oriented, measurement-driven system of education, obsessed by ‘objectives’ and driven by examinations, tests and assessment.”...
... there is no necessary connection between research and teaching, that there are few instances where research is of any practical use, and even when it is, it is routinely ignored by administrators, that doing research for a PhD rarely if ever improves the teaching quality of the candidate, and that most teachers are not well-equipped to carry it out anyway.”
In the future, Alan would like to see more teacher development programmes focusing on creativity and that teachers be given more opportunities to exercise their initiative and creativity. Alan also wishes that teachers would eventually move back from an excessive addiction to testing and conformity.
Current projects
In 2003, Alan set up The Asian Teacher-Writer Group...
Some of the materials and resources developed by the group are available at http://flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/cw/...
In 2013, at The 48th Annual International IATEFL Conference, Alan introduced The C Group (Creativity for Change in Language Education), a group of ELT professionals with a shared belief in the value of greater creativity. The group exists to give support and encouragement to teachers who have creative ideas of their own... to foster independent initiatives coming from the membership, not to impose solutions on them...
The C Group’s manifesto states as clearly as possible what the group is about (refer to http://thecreativitygroup.weebly.com/). “This group is open to membership to anyone who feels comfortable to subscribe to these points..
… and beyond
... Teachers, in his opinion, should read about things that are over the “ghetto wall of ELT” because this will open their minds...
Recommended readings & video
- Maley, A. (2012). Creative writing for students and teachers. Humanising Language Teaching, 14(3). Retrieved from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/jun12/mart01.htm
- Maley, A. (2009). Towards an aesthetics of ELT. Part 1. Folio: Journal of MATSDA,13(2).
- Maley, A. (2010). Towards an aesthetics of ELT. Part 2. Folio: Journal of MATSDA,14(1).
- Underhill, A., & Maley, A. (2012). Expect the unexpected. English Teaching Professional, 82.
- Underhill, A., & Maley, A. (2013) From preparation to preparedness (Video File).Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIBhUVhmYOo
References
- Asian Teacher-Writer Group. (2012). Creative writing: Asian English language teachers’ creative writing project. Retrieved fromhttp://flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/cw/
- Fanselow, J.F. (1987). Breaking rules: Generating and exploring alternative in language teaching. New York: Longman.
- The C Group. (2013). Creativity for change in language education. Retrieved from http://thecreativitygroup.weebly.com/
...
Friday, August 29, 2014
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Monday, August 18, 2014
Facebook - Do you want to be able to draw cats, dogs or birds on the board?
Facebook - Do you want to be able to draw cats, dogs or birds on the board?
Paul Millard from the British Council shows you how to draw them quickly and easily
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
The hazy line between lexis and grammar | Richmond Share
The hazy line between lexis and grammar | Richmond Share
It was called “Current Events” and it focused on conversation, listening and vocabulary. There was no coursebook (for obvious reasons), so the more laissez-faire nature of the course meant that I was free to build up the syllabus as we went along, dealing with emergent language and extracting useful lexis from newspapers, magazines and video clips. I am using lexis here in the broadest possible sense, to encompass words, collocations, fixed/semi-fixed expressions and formulaic language.
...
So I’d like to suggest that it makes sense to try to move:
From lexis (in the broadest possible sense of the word) to grammar rather than the other way around.
From concrete to abstract.
From synthesis to analysis.
Or, to borrow Michael Lewis’ terminology:
First, grammaticized lexis, then lexicalized grammar.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Monday, August 4, 2014
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Facebook - Lots of great reading activities on BCouncil website
Facebook
LearnEnglish Teens – British Council
Do you like reading? We've got lots of great reading activities on our website to help you - everything from stories and poems to science and technology!
1) Stories & Poems UK - http://goo.gl/JZK1eN2) Read UK - http://goo.gl/cb88ZV3) Easy Reading - http://goo.gl/umpHyu4) Reading Skills Practice - http://goo.gl/CSOZAy5) Magazine - http://goo.gl/MKtbEn
Neil
Friday, August 1, 2014
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Facebook - IELTS preparation stuff
Facebook
If you're helping students prepare for IELTS, these videos are a great place to start! Check out the latest two writing videos here:
IELTS Writing Task 1 - http://goo.gl/W55tWfPower Writing for IELTS - http://goo.gl/YVYbgJ
You can watch the full collection here: http://goo.gl/Cvl8hx
Neil
Monday, July 21, 2014
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Friday, July 18, 2014
FBook : How to use newspaper articles in language class | British Council Voices
FACEBOOK:
Some great suggestions about how to make authentic reading materials digestible for classroom consumption:
– How to use newspaper articles in language class: Rachel Robertshttp://goo.gl/JP9r75– Mutiple uses of newspapers & magazines for ELT: Svetlana Urismanhttp://goo.gl/X6oNrg– Activities for using magazines in the classroom: Clare Laveryhttp://goo.gl/imk8g4
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Airplane Food
Breaking News English ESL Lesson Plan on Airplane Food
or
How to Make Exercises / Practice for your English students yourself
or
How to Make Exercises / Practice for your English students yourself
Friday, July 11, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Friday, July 4, 2014
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Sunday, June 22, 2014
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