As a Cert TESOL tutor, I work with trainee teachers every day who upon finishing the course go out to teach in the real world. One of the biggest challenges facing new teachers in particular is planning. Whilst experienced teachers may have a bank of readily available lesson planning ideas which...
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26th December 2017By Eve Conway
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19th December 2017By Eve Conway
Not long ago, I stumbled across a game that went viral on Facebook, which most language teachers will know as ‘Two truths and a lie’. For anyone who doesn’t know this game, you tell 2 truths about yourself and make up one lie. The person that you are playing with needs to decide which ones are the... -
2nd December 2016By Sharon Maloney
* This article was written by the Teacher Training team at EFA The Christmas season is nigh upon us and it’s a great time of year to focus on building classroom rapport and bring some light relief into learning. We’ve rounded up a few of our favourite TEFL Christmas lessons and... -
15th November 2016By Sharon Maloney
Just do the thing... The advice I got from a colleague early on in my teaching career. Her advice while not exactly motivating, ended up being the best advice I was given for everything, not just teaching. At the time I was struggling to motivate a class of teenaged learners and went... -
8th November 2016By James Pengelley
One of the more common beliefs that teachers and students bring to the classroom, especially in Hong Kong (which tends to favour classroom activities based on memorization and declarative, as opposed to procedural knowledge) is an obsession with grammar. Yes but they need to know the... -
1st November 2016By Sharon Maloney
Following on from our earlier article on positive reinforcement, this week I look at how teachers can manage problematic behavior. If you’ve ever had the experience of a difficult student, you are not alone! It’s part and parcel of being a teacher. The only way you could avoid problematic behavior... -
20th October 2016By Sharon Maloney
When I was 5, I had a piano teacher who rapped my knuckles and told me off sternly when I didn’t practice enough. When she asked me to be a part of her annual recital, I burst into tears and shook my head, overcome with fear at failing in front of an audience. When I was 12, I had a maths... -
19th October 2016By James Pengelley
Set context, and carry on This ought to be the mantra for all teachers, yet it is often one of the most challenging components of any language lesson: set it well, and the meaning and range of language students can use appropriately becomes suddenly more accessible; set it poorly, and you’ll...