Geoff walked through the woods in search of the Tentacles of Target Markets. ‘This is a lot of effort’, Geoff muttered to himself, ‘an updated brief from the publisher would have sufficed.’ Then he remembered the first rule of brief… Read More ›

tefl
Crusader of ELT Materials Writing: Part 1
‘Right,’ exclaimed Geoff, ‘it’s time for another project with the Big Four’. He gave his kids a big hug – he was unlikely to spend quality time with them for a while. He apologized in advance to his wife for… Read More ›
Materials writing conversations #15: The Amusement Arcade
We’re off to the amusement arcade for publishers! Yes, it’s for amusement only…
Materials writing conversations #14: The Packager’s Price Is Right!
Completely imaginary. Host: Okay, let’s see who our next contestant is… Announcer: PETE, COME ON DOWN! Pete: OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG! *runs down from the studio audience* Host: Give him a big hand! Pete, you joined us with… Read More ›
Review: 50 Ways to be a Greener Teacher
This resource is an ideas bank for ‘greening your teaching’. It includes ideas to help you bring the topic of climate change and sustainability into ELT classes, and for localizing such issues. It also includes activities for greening institutions, not… 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 ›
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 ›
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 ›
Drama activity: The Movie Star
Another drama activity with my Friday Year 10 class that worked really well. Again, from our little role plays for TEFL book. Slides give the general idea but I added a few things… Little warmer. Learners work in pairs. One… Read More ›
Drama activity: Frozen in Time
We’ve been doing lots of drama tasks recently. Here’s one that worked really well. (See these slides on Genially) Excuse any spelling errors etc, I took the link from a draft of mine and Rich McCully’s TEFL role play book…. Read More ›