More reflections on building this academic English syllabus. I’m going to accelerate through them a bit in case you’re getting bored. So far we’ve had: Part 1: mapping the skills coverage Part 2: core vocab coverage Part 3: subskills coverage… Read More ›
teacher development
Interlude: Beyond the coursebook for tiered EAL provision
(This is a text-heavy post, so every now and then I’m going to drop in an album cover of a band I’ve been listening to recently – just so you don’t get bored) I’m building an ‘academic English syllabus’ for… Read More ›
Beyond the coursebook for tiered EAL provision (Part 4: unit overviews)
For context, I’m creating an ‘academic English’ syllabus for Year 7 EAL learners. So, I currently have: The above is our core coverage. While the Tier 3 vocab has a ‘select, not cover’ approach to make sure it is addressed… Read More ›
Beyond the coursebook for tiered EAL provision (Part 3: sub-skills)
For context, I’m attempting to build an ‘academic English syllabus’ for an international school. I initially set out to create suitable alternatives to coursebook-driven provision, or to at least suggest enhancements to that model. Am I getting anywhere, or am… Read More ›
Beyond the coursebook for tiered EAL provision (Part 2: vocab!)
If you missed Part 1, basically I’m attempting to build an ‘academic English syllabus’ for EAL contexts. The overall purpose is so that we don’t have to fall back on using ELT coursebooks for tiered provision. Famous last words –… Read More ›
Beyond the coursebook for tiered EAL provision (Part 1)
Many international schools in Thailand are choosing to shape their tiered EAL support around a coursebook. That’s one way to do things, and I can’t say whether it meets the needs of learners in every context. Personally, I think there… Read More ›
EAL Digest August 2026
Shorter summary than usual, but I’ve been a bit busy! New releases The new EAL Journal from NALDIC is out: Putting Multilingualism on the Map. Find out more here. Jason Anderson and Suyog Dixit have a new book out: Translanguaging… Read More ›
AI experiments: Creating an ESL resource website
Until a few months ago, most of my AI experiments had been quite basic – help with lesson planning, creating teaching resources, instant infographics, stuff like that. So I decided to set myself a challenge to help me learn more… Read More ›
EAL Digest July 2026
I never really got this update off the ground a few years back. Feels like I need to keep track of different things I come across so I’m starting it again. New releases One Asia Readers A great series of… Read More ›
Interview task: driving forward multilingualism as a strategic goal
I’ve just been through a worthwhile interview process with a school network called ISP (International Schools Partnership). I didn’t get the job, but I enjoyed the experience and learnt a lot about the company (and myself) through it. ISP network… Read More ›