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thinking about language teaching

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Say what you see – vocabulary and images


This is an activity that I used as a warmer with my classes last week with great results!  It works really well for vocabulary review, with lower levels, but also with extending and developing the range of vocabulary that exam... Continue Reading →

Is it worse when bad students do well or when good students do badly?


. .   This is a question that occurred to me in a frenzy of test marking that took place last month...  I'm interested to know what people think! I'd appreciate your answer before you read on.... Having gone through... Continue Reading →

A Systematic Pattern – material considerations online and off


In many respects, the regular occurrence of systematic features is what makes a course a course.  It is these features which tell us that we are moving from one section to another and thus that we have indeed "moved on".... Continue Reading →

Getting to know you: teaching on and offline


I have mixed feelings about Getting to Know you tasks in real world teaching.  I do use them, but it really depends on the class, their age and ability.  For example, if you walk into a corporate client, where all... Continue Reading →

Brainstorming – Book Review


The process of brainstorming in the classroom is often a rather haphazard and stilted affair.  Learners are coming into a topic area they know little about and feel uncomfortable in, they might feel that they don't have the language to... Continue Reading →

What should Advanced materials involve?


I was recently asked what features I thought good C2 materials should have.  It's quite a good question, especially because there aren't any good GE materials at C2 level.  There are a number of books aimed at preparing students for... Continue Reading →

IELTS Writing Part 1 – The Happiness Graph!


How happy have you been over the last week?  Has it been a good or a bad week?  This is (broadly speaking) what my week looked like:   The Happiness Graph is a warmer that you can use with any... Continue Reading →

The case for and against RP


"Since being in hospital, the only people I have heard speaking in the UK prestige model of "received pronunciation" are some of the consultants and surgeons.  Everyone else in the hospital is from everywhere else." In a recent post, about the... Continue Reading →

Disemvoweled


t's nt lwys tht sy t rd txts tht hv hd ll th vwls tkn t f thm.  Whch f crs s wht mks t sch gd ctvty fr th lngg clssrm.* Taking the vowels out of words is not... Continue Reading →

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