In our upcoming resource, Adri Szlapak and I mention culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) in EAL teaching. Here’s a quick summary of the concept and some random reflections on it. What is CSP? In the intro to this article, Paris (2012)… Read More ›
teacher development
Peer observation tasks / Walkthrus
I’m setting up a peer observation scheme in my department. Basically, it’s like this: I’ll work out how we can evaluate the process down the line – we’ve just started. But I have ideas. Anyhow, the areas for development aren’t… Read More ›
WalkThrus parent workshop – Tom Sherrington
I attended a parent workshop this morning by Tom Sherrington, co-author of the WalkThrus series. Sherrington is working with Bangkok Patana School to help embed an instructional coaching programme in the primary school. The workshop was good timing for me,… Read More ›
Review: Off the Page
‘Off the Page: Activities to bring lessons alive and enhance learning’ (Thaine 2020) is a resource for practicing and trainee teachers. It aims to provide a range of activities which supplement and enhance coursebook-based provision – helping teachers to lift… Read More ›
EAL support for disciplinary writing
I’ve been writing a bit about disciplinary literacy this week. If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s *basically* how people communicate, share knowledge, etc within a particular discipline. For the purposes of teaching EAL, think about how we teach… Read More ›
Embedded formative assessment (New Directions)
I was lucky enough to deliver a video presentation alongside Alan Pulverness (TransformELT) at New Directions East Asia conference. We introduce the concept of formative assessment, explain typical formative assessment strategies, and discuss some challenges in embedding such strategies in… Read More ›
Special Offer! IH Introduction to Teaching CLIL course
My buddy from the Yangsan days, Katja Preston, now coordinates the courses for IH Online Teacher Training Institute. She’s kindly offering readers of this blog a discount for the upcoming CLIL course (authored by Amanda McLoughlin), woohoo! Here’s the info!… Read More ›
Conference: Integrated Learning and Assessment in the new National Curriculum for General Education
I had the pleasure of attending a conference on Integrated Learning and Assessment last week in Hue (Vietnam), hosted by Cambridge Assessment. Here’s a bit about the conference, and some take home points. Why was I there? I’ve been working… Read More ›
From EFL to EAL: Subject teachers and staging tasks
There’s plenty of content from my initial TEFL training (2006 – wow) that is still relevant to my everyday practice as an EAL teacher. Here’s one example. If you have undertaken initial teacher training in EFL (such as a CELTA… Read More ›
Showcase: Video Creation for Educators – Jo Gakonga
It’s Jo Gakonga everybody! *crowd go wild* An ELT ‘legend’ – CELTA Trainer, video creator, someone whose tips and advice I found super helpful early in my teaching career (and still do now!). In this showcase post, Jo talks about… Read More ›
ELT Planning 