Last update before a nice break, woohoo! New releases Another one for Paul Ashe (with Jeremy Bowell) – Prospects. I’ve seen Paul’s name around a bit recently. IH are running a course in online tutoring, he’s listed as a tutor… Read More ›
tefl
Review: Barry Reinvents Himself
Barry Reinvents Himself is a TEFL-lit novel by C.Cotterill (aka Twitter’s @ContinuouslyT). After being kicked out of a minor prog-metal band, Birmingham-based Barry looks to shake his old image and bounce back. Lured by images of an old college mate… Read More ›
Review: Silly Shakespeare for Students
Silly Shakespeare for Students is a new series from Alphabet Publishing. It offers simplified versions of well-known Shakespeare plays, making them accessible and fun for English language learners. You can read the blurb from the publisher here. A few key… Read More ›
Should I do a PGCEi?
I’m currently doing a PGCEi through the University of Nottingham. The course is specifically designed for international educators with a focus on improving professional practice. It is an 11-month course which is mostly distance learning, although there is a short… Read More ›
Materials writing news and views, June 2020
Rushed off my feet. No time to put any news and views together in recent months. This one will be more views than news, and a bit loose. So, what’s going on? Work I expected loads more cancelled projects due… Read More ›
All change!
It’s the end of an era! I’ve spent nearly five years with the same language school (British Council) here in Thailand, which is a pretty long stint. Overall, it’s been a good experience. I mentioned before that the pay and… Read More ›
Types of curriculum
Leslie Owen Wilson’s useful post on types of curriculum is well worth a read. Before I read it my idea of ‘a curriculum’ was narrow. I thought of it as a group of subjects that are taught, plus the skills… Read More ›
Useful links: Project-based learning
I’ve been reading a bit about project-based learning (PjBL) recently. I had to write a critique of an approach used in my context as part of the PGCEi. Our Secondary course now follows a PjBL approach*, so I thought it… Read More ›
Bottery’s Educational Codes
During the face-to-face component of our PGCEi were introduced to Mike Bottery’s Educational Codes and Values (from The Morality of the School, 1990). Bottery outlined four codes which underlie approaches to education in schools. Here’s a grainy snapshot from Bottery… Read More ›
How to get a DipTESOL Distinction
Oh, come on! There’s no secret formula to getting a Distinction in the DipTESOL. You know that. I know that. But people are still gonna google ‘get a DipTESOL distinction’, and someone’s gonna top the search list. It might as… Read More ›
ELT Planning 