This resource book for university EFL teachers is written by Hall Houston, an experienced teacher and author. You’ve no doubt seen/read his contributions to ELT magazines over the years, or come across him on social media – a friendly and… Read More ›

efl
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 ›
Lesson idea: Population Pyramid
Our Geography teacher used Population Pyramid in class the other day. The site includes population stats for countries/regions/etc dating back to 1950. It also includes future projections, along with tons of other infographics related to mortality rates, literacy rates, migration,… Read More ›
18 more ways to introduce your lesson topic
This term I’ve tried out a few different ways to introduce a lesson. These ones have worked well. They might be worth reading if you’ve exhausted my previous list! Song lyric gap fill Example: 3rd conditional, regrets Do a short gap… Read More ›
Materials writing conversations #7: circles
This is a completely imaginary conversation. No characters in the convo are based on real people – I’m just bored and imagining conversations I might have with editors… Lead-in Work with a partner. Perform a dialogue based on the following… Read More ›
RIP LTC Eastbourne
I’ve heard that it’s the end of the road for LTC Eastbourne. I haven’t come across an announcement from the school itself (now a Twin Language Centre). I’m only going on contact with staff, past and present. I’m gutted.
Review: Work It Out with Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verb resource books you’ve used… GO! Okay, so there was a good one on the bookshelf at LTC called ‘Illustrated Phrasal Verbs’. Me and Sketch used it so often that the student’s book fell apart (only one copy –… Read More ›
All reviews from ELT Planning
Russ Mayne suggested I should have a post or page listing all my reviews. So, here it is. It turns out there are quite a few. As always, all views are my own and these reviews are highly subjective! Before… Read More ›
Materials writing conversations #6: the packager
This is a completely imaginary conversation. No characters in the convo are based on real people – I’m just bored and imagining conversations I might have with editors… Editor: Thanks so much for this work. You’ve clearly put a lot… Read More ›
Lesson idea: Viral videos
This was a context builder for a sequence of lessons on viral videos, viral ad campaigns, viral marketing, etc. It’s similar to the idea I shared for introducing recipes. Anyway, used this with B1+ teens, worked well. Task 1 Find… Read More ›