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Those who can, teach. Those who can't, sprout meaningless idioms

Perhaps you’ve said it yourself, perhaps you’ve had it said to you. For me it was my introduction to the idea of becoming a teacher - a family friend who benevolently suggested I try teaching English said, with a smile on his face…those who can do, those who can’t, teach.  Note to self, never try to encourage someone to become a teacher by referencing this inane saying They say teachers make more than 1,500 decisions in a day: that’s an average of 425 decisions per 60… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters

5 Halloween activities for young learners

Halloween is just around the corner and is the perfect time to do some festive-inspired activities with your young learner classes. As holidays go, Halloween is one of the most fun, paying homage to all things weird and wonderful, such as ghosts, ghouls and goblins. Here are five of my favourite activities to have a wail of a time with your classes. 1) Halloween toilet roll monsters Pinterest is always a great resource for all things crafty, and it really hits the nail on the head with these… All categories, Theme based learning, ESL activities, Teaching skills

Mistakes to avoid with your career: 5 things I wish I'd known when I started teaching

When I decided to do a Trinity Cert TESOL my main reason for doing so was escapism. I wanted to run away from my life in the USA, travel around the world and meet people from all walks of life. I had lived in London and Paris as a student in my early 20s and the experience was incredible. I developed life-long friendships and was exposed to a new way life that didn’t mirror my US existence. Mind you, I was quite young and very naïve so when I first arrived in London, I… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters

Taking feedback: making the most of professional development

Some of the most beneficial feedback I’ve received in my career has been the most challenging to listen to. This is because they all share the common denominator in revealing a blind spot in my development that was known to others but not to me. Although constructive feedback of this type can be challenging to hear, it is essential in helping us identify new areas for our development. In addition to its usefulness, feedback is a common practice across professions that can range from… All categories, Careers in TESOL, Diploma courses, Certificate courses, How to...

Breaking the myths around children and grammar

Although English only has two ‘official’ tenses ‘past’ and ‘present’, grammar can be tricky for the best of us. In particular it poses difficulties for young learners as they are still developing the ability to comprehend abstract ideas and may not to grasp such concepts as ‘time’ or ‘real vs unreal’ in the same way as an adult. However, there is the expectation in the ELT industry, from everybody from course book writers to teachers, that learning a language involves an element of… All categories

The culture of knowing: the dangers of assessing product over process

In high-schools the world over, there is a common tendency for teachers and their students to put a disproportionate focus on results; weekly assessments, end-of-term tests, mock exams, final exam results… there always seems to be another test or assessment looming on the horizon. A real and present danger of this situation, however, is that the focus on the assessed product can come at the expense of the important processes which underlie learning, especially in the field of … All categories, Teaching skills, ESL activities, Careers in TESOL

The biggest myth in education: are parents more important than students?

Before you run to lynch me for saying this, stop and ask yourself: what are the factors within teachers control that positively impact the learning environment? This was exactly what John Hattie aimed to answer when he produced a comprehensive list of effect sizes on learning. Going one step further, Hattie then grouped the various factors that influence learning into groups: factors that depend on the students, factors that depend on the teacher, factors that depend on the school… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, Careers in TESOL, How to...

5 things you learn by becoming a teacher

Everyone has an opinion on education. None more so than teachers themselves. “It’s one of those things that goes deep with people. Like religion, like money”, says Ken Robinson. Yet becoming a teacher is unique in that you must go through an apprenticeship as a student first. Another way of putting it is to say that doctors don’t need to be patients before they become doctors, firefighters don’t need to be set on fire before they become firefighters, pilots don’t need to be passengers before… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters, Careers in TESOL

A teachers' survival guide for the first week of school

The start of a new school year is often a daunting time for teachers and learners alike. Even if you’re returning to a teaching post you know well, it’s likely that you’ll be assigned new groups of learners and possibly different materials to work with. Whether it’s your first teaching job or just another semester, the following tips will help get you through one of the toughest weeks of the school year. Be prepared If you’re in the fortunate position of knowing which groups you’ll be… All categories, Teaching skills, How to..., Certificate courses

Don't teach your students what to learn, teach them how to learn

Ultimately, YLs need to learn how to learn as much as they need to acquire new knowledge (Williams, 1991) This has to be one of the most influential ideas I have come across in the world of education. As simple as it is, the implications are fairly radical: we need to spend less time teaching children what to learn, and more time teaching children how to learn. This is the world of metacognition, or thinking processes about thinking processes. And as far as education goes,… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters, How to..., ESL activities

English teachers beware: what are your kindergarteners really learning?

Are you a teacher who has started teaching toddlers and want to know what to expect from teaching them? The current mantra surrounding toddlers and young children seems to be ‘the younger the better’, but is this always the case? And how can we aid the language acquisition process for the smallest amongst us? Proponents of ‘the younger the better’ argument state that young children are capable of learning faster than adults, but actually there is very little scientific evidence to support… All categories, Certificate courses, Diploma courses, TESOL Masters, Careers in TESOL

Storytelling skills: using the power of narrative with young learners

Can you remember what your favourite story was as a child? I remember from an early age being obsessed with Roald Dahl books. At home, I avidly read Matilda and identified with the main character as like her, I too was a keen reader at a young age. I also remember reading The Twits and The Witches in class with my primary school teacher and being completely mesmerised by the world of dark characters, interesting characters and brave characters that Dahl created.  Many of us have those… All categories, Certificate courses, How to..., ESL activities