Just a quick idea for a bit of video game chat. We did a 5-week module on the topic, this was my context builder. Took about an hour as the teens got into it. Step 0: Lead-in questions if you… Read More ›
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Lesson idea: Introducing light and shadow
Here’s a video-based intro for the topic of light and shadow (YLs). You may have seen this activity type on ELT Planning before: Introducing recipes Introducing viral videos This is just the starter activity (feel free to adapt). It can… Read More ›
Research in brief: Critique of BICS and CALP
BICS and CALP in a nutshell BICS and CALP was an idea first proposed by Prof Jim Cummins in the early 1980s. BICS stands for Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills, and CALP is Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency. Here’s what they are:… Read More ›
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 ›
Materials Writing news and views, October 2020
Just a few things this time. I’m out the loop at the moment, enjoying my teaching too much! Facebook groups for writers There are a lot of Facebook groups for ELT writers these days. If you would like to share… Read More ›
Free lessons on Onestopenglish
Onestopenglish is still free at the moment. This is a great opportunity to make the most of their awesome resources. There’s so much available on the site: lesson plans, articles related to methodology, resources created by the Onestopenglish community… they’ve… 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 ›
Monetizing your teaching blog
WordAds… ah, go on then. I didn’t want to make money from my blog. I had my reasons for that, which were basically… I’ve always felt bad, kinda guilty about the idea. My content is random and rambling – I… Read More ›
Free access to Twinkl
Just a quick one! Twinkl ESL are currently offering free access to users in South America in response to school closures. Miranda’s doing a great job at Twinkl and offering loads of awesome resources, many of which can be adapted… Read More ›
Teacher development and coursebooks
Prompted by a tweet from @michaelegriffin, here are some thoughts on how coursebooks/published materials/in-house resources can aid teacher development. Michael asked this: I shared some examples of how I provide development tips in published resources, such as these two from… Read More ›
