Author Archives

Teacher and Materials Writer

• 30 activities inspired by game shows

  By Pete on October 28, 2015 • ( 16 )

  

  Game shows and TV quizzes are a great source of inspiration for classroom activities. Believe it or not, I keep a notepad on the coffee table so I can jot down any teaching ideas I get from watching TV! It’s… Read More ›

• Course Review: How to teach IELTS

  By Pete on October 26, 2015 • ( 4 )

  

  I recently completed a course on how to prepare students for the IELTS exam. The course was provided by Cambridge English Teacher (CET). CET is an online professional development platform which currently offers about 20 courses related to teaching, learning… Read More ›

• Getting teens to talk

  By Pete on October 21, 2015 • ( 17 )

  

  This post outlines my problem-solving techniques, and offers some tips for improving interaction in teen classes. It’s only a few weeks into term, but I’m revisiting familiar issues with my new teen classes: Why are they so timid? Why won’t… Read More ›

• 16 ways to improve your whiteboard work

  By Pete on September 28, 2015 • ( 39 )

  

  I had my first lesson observation at the British Council Bangkok the other day. I still have a job, woohoo! I got some very surprising feedback from my line manager: ‘your board work was a real strength’. Boardwork? Strength?! I… Read More ›

• Punctuation..? – Book Review

  By Pete on September 28, 2015 • ( 1 )

  

  Punctuation..? published by User Design Books is a short guide for using common punctuation marks. The blurb actually says it covers ’21 of the most used punctuation marks’, which I found a little embarrassing as I hadn’t heard of half… Read More ›

• It’s your move… helping students manage spoken discourse

  By Pete on September 11, 2015 • ( 11 )

  

  Helping learners to deal with spoken discourse was a hot topic on my Diploma course. You might encounter the terms ‘interactional talk’ and ‘transactional talk’ when you get to modules on discourse analysis; a possible development task could be to… Read More ›

• 12 ideas for reviewing vocabulary

  By Pete on July 26, 2015 • ( 14 )

  

  I’ve kept a list of all the vocabulary that has come up in class during the last few weeks of summer school. It’s a fair bit – about 200 words. Here are some ideas for reviewing vocabulary in groups. For… Read More ›

• Thoughts on teaching Vietnamese learners

  By Pete on July 17, 2015 • ( 13 )

  

  I’m currently working at the British Council summer school in Ho Chi Minh City. It’s been a fantastic experience so far, and it’s the first time I’ve ever taught English to Vietnamese learners. It’s also my first stint at the… Read More ›

• 5 ways to make reading tasks more fun

  By Pete on July 5, 2015 • ( 10 )

  

  This week a colleague at the British Council gave me FIVE different activities for my young learner classes. That means I have to share 5 ideas to even things out! There’s a theme to the ideas below – 5 ways… Read More ›

• 5 ideas to expand your ELT Toolkit

  By Pete on June 29, 2015 • ( 3 )

  

  I was reading the Teacher Toolkit the other day, which is a fantastic site. I took at least 5 new ideas from it, mostly relating to classroom management. It reminded me how rewarding it is to learn from others, and… Read More ›