Author Archives

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Teacher and Materials Writer

  • Review: Silly Shakespeare for Students

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    Silly Shakespeare for Students is a new series from Alphabet Publishing. It offers simplified versions of well-known Shakespeare plays, making them accessible and fun for English language learners. You can read the blurb from the publisher here. A few key… Read More ›

  • Should I do a PGCEi?

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    I’m currently doing a PGCEi through the University of Nottingham. The course is specifically designed for international educators with a focus on improving professional practice. It is an 11-month course which is mostly distance learning, although there is a short… Read More ›

  • Materials writing news and views, June 2020

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    Rushed off my feet. No time to put any news and views together in recent months. This one will be more views than news, and a bit loose. So, what’s going on? Work I expected loads more cancelled projects due… Read More ›

  • Peer observation and online teaching

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    In my post the other day I mentioned self-observation of online teaching. Paul Ashe commented that all these video recordings are great for peer observations too. Absolutely! The whole online teaching/learning experience is awesome for peer obs, especially for someone… Read More ›

  • Self-observation of online teaching

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    Every cloud and all that. Online learning may not be ideal but it provides some great opportunities for CPD. The last time I filmed myself teaching was, wow, during my DipTESOL (2014). I remember filming my lessons to analyse my… Read More ›

  • My new normal

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    Talk about a weird situation. I started a new teaching job on April 1st. I haven’t met my students face-to-face (well, you know, apart from virtually). I haven’t met my colleagues face-to-face either. I haven’t set foot in my new… Read More ›

  • All change!

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    It’s the end of an era! I’ve spent nearly five years with the same language school (British Council) here in Thailand, which is a pretty long stint. Overall, it’s been a good experience. I mentioned before that the pay and… Read More ›

  • Types of curriculum

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    Leslie Owen Wilson’s useful post on types of curriculum is well worth a read. Before I read it my idea of ‘a curriculum’ was narrow. I thought of it as a group of subjects that are taught, plus the skills… Read More ›

  • Useful links: Project-based learning

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    I’ve been reading a bit about project-based learning (PjBL) recently. I had to write a critique of an approach used in my context as part of the PGCEi. Our Secondary course now follows a PjBL approach*, so I thought it… Read More ›

  • Bottery’s Educational Codes

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    During the face-to-face component of our PGCEi were introduced to Mike Bottery’s Educational Codes and Values (from The Morality of the School, 1990). Bottery outlined four codes which underlie approaches to education in schools. Here’s a grainy snapshot from Bottery… Read More ›