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 ›
reflections
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 ›
Going freelance
I’ve stepped out of the classroom for a year to do more writing. While this is only a temporary thing for me, it’s still pretty daunting – ditching the steady income and taking a leap of faith! Aaargh! I’m only… Read More ›
Reflections on my EAL role
I’ve just finished a stint working in English as an Additional Language (EAL) at an international school. It’s been a really interesting experience, and one that has changed my direction in both teaching and writing. I know many teachers (especially… Read More ›
How can the British Council turn it around?
Note: I’m very fond of the British Council and I owe them a lot. This is not intended as a critique – I really want to see them rebuild their operations here in Thailand. This is just my idea. It… Read More ›
Year in review
It’s been a busy one! I still have writing projects to wrap up before the Xmas break, but I’m taking a moment off for some reflection. So, how’s everything been this year? Teaching I’ve learnt quite a bit from my… Read More ›
More EAL presentation tasks
Last term I shared a post on presentation tasks for EAL. I have a few more examples to add from this term which are slightly more subject specific. We started the term online, but have been back in the classroom… Read More ›
A connected curriculum?
One benefit of being an EAL teacher is that we’re not in a ‘subject bubble’. We support our learners in various subjects, meaning we get a good insight into content across the KS3/KS4 curriculum (or at least phases of it)…. Read More ›
Some regular EAL activities
Here are few things I do / use in my EAL practice that didn’t feature much (if at all) when I worked at the British Council. I’m just sharing for general interest and it’s actually been prompted by some of… Read More ›
Before I became a teacher
Tyson Seburn recently tweet-asked followers about their degrees prior to working in ELT. After seeing such varied responses, I feel quite embarrassed to admit that I know very little about anything other than the English language ☹. Not even much… Read More ›