Here is Brian Tomlinson’s recent webinar in written form: ‘What about principles for materials development?’ The session was delivered as part of the MaWSIG ‘What about…? Webinar series. It was full of take home points so this post is pretty… Read More ›
General
#ObserveMe
I really like the #ObserveMe movement (see Robert Kaplinsky’s post here or the hashtag). However, I’m going to have to tweak things to make it work.
Tech tips for new materials writers
These tips may sound simple to some, but useful to others! As a new writer I reckon you’ll have to do some of the things below, so this primer could help you hit the ground running…
Developing into a materials writer
Here are a few general tips for skills to develop if you’d like to write for publishers or big teaching organisations. This is not a ‘How to become….’ post. You can find good tips about how to actually get into… Read More ›
Review: ELT Lesson Observation & Feedback
Lesson observations – where to start?! Jeanette Barsdell, the author of ELT Lesson Observation and Feedback Handbook, was thrown in at the deep end and expected to observe a teacher on her first day as a DOS. Despite being terrified,… Read More ›
Pronunciation priorities
Uh-oh! Here comes a ‘Teacher Pete thinking something through out loud’ moment. Tut. I hate these… Mark Hancock shared a good article on LinkedIn the other day called ‘Pronunciation Teaching Post-ELF’. It’s got me thinking about my own attitudes towards… Read More ›
Review: Great Writing
A couple of months ago we ran a two-week ‘Grammar and Writing’ course for teens (aged 14+). I was scheduled to teach these classes but, to be honest, the prospect didn’t fill me with excitement. I enjoy teaching teens in… Read More ›
Tip: A planning matrix for research (Cohen et al, 2005)
I’ve been doing some research as part of my dissertation through NILE. I came across an awesome book by Cohen et al called ‘Research Methods in Education’. It wasn’t on our key reading list but I’d thoroughly recommend it.
Teaching functional language
A newly-qualified CELTA teacher has asked me for advice about how to deal with functional language. So… this is one of my approaches to teaching functional language! The example is from a lesson I did last weekend about the World… Read More ›
Training: Improve your whiteboard work
I’ve written a training session about whiteboard work designed for our CELTA level teachers. After the last round of teacher observations we established that boarding new/emergent vocabulary was an area for development. This session includes some tips to help teachers… Read More ›