Blog

Having retired from public education after about 35 years in the classroom, I encountered withdrawal and so returned as a volunteer, guest presenter, and college supervisor. There are few thrills greater in life than working with excited teachers and engaged students.
I have discovered that good teachers want to get better; great teachers wish to advance strategies and skills; fantastic teachers want to know and be and do terrific things every day in every way to reach and teach every child. Regardless of the above mentioned category, these teachers want to improve so that their lessons engage students and bring them academic success. Yes, there are a few educators who prefer the status quo, drifting along with the current while trying to avoid stress, strain, or cultivating talents. Fortunately, I know little of these folks as I am not invited into their private realms nor do I necessarily want to go.
Inspired teachers light up the room with motivation and creativity. Students here ...

Meeting the needs of all the children in your class seems like a daunting task. Because it is. However, classrooms in the 21st century are demanding this style. In fact, our whole society is demanding it. With the viral spread of technology and social media, the change in our language and ways of communicating is changing the way our education system must look.
Don't get me wrong, change is good, technology is good, and yes, social media is good. What's not good about these things is the lack of physical- social interaction skills we practice in order to get through the day. The lack of problem-solving skills we practice because our phone does it for us. Not to mention the "havoc" that we reap on our entire sensory system from all the "screen time" that we log.
What Do 21 Century Learners Look Like?
Over the past ten years of my personal experience as a Reading Interventionist, I have seen the classroom dynamic shift. Ten years ago, there was one, maybe two students that needed to be ...

Education is the primary agent of transformation towards sustainable development, increasing people's capacities to transform their visions for society into reality. Education not only provides scientific and technical skills, it also provides the motivation, and social support for pursuing and applying them. For this reason, society must be deeply concerned that much of current education falls far short of what is required. When we say this, it reflects the very necessities across the cultures that allow everyone become responsible towards quality enhancement.
Improving the quality and revelation of education and reorienting its goals to recognize the importance of sustainable development must be among society's highest priorities. It is not that we talk only about environment but also about every component of life.
We therefore need to clarify the concept of education for sustainable development. It was a major challenge for educators during the last decade. The meanings of ...

The International English Language Testing System Test or the IELTS has four parts 1) Speaking Test, 2) Listening test, 3) Reading Test & 4) Writing Test. The test has two different formats as well 1) The Academic test and 2) The general Training Test. Apparently, considering the complicacy of tests, the 'Speaking Test' seems the easiest of all the four parts. But in reality its' not that easy, especially for the candidates from non-English speaking countries. The 'IELTS' Tests are taken with a view to testing the proficiency of a candidate thoroughly in all forms of the English language. Naturally, in the speaking test, the proficiency of a candidate in 'Spoken English' is put to the ultimate test. The test is taken by a certified IELTS Examiner and the candidate has to interact with the examiner on different topics which are issues related to real-life situations. The examiner evaluates the depth and expertise of the candidate in spoken English through the discussion. In the ...

~~Stages of a Grammar Presentation
When presenting new language or structure it is important to remember that for some learners it will be a necessary review while for others it is an introduction to a new language point.
Language presentation has a number of stages:
1. Lead-in – put the language into a recognisable context so the teacher can bring out the meaning or learners can see the meaning without a lengthy verbal explanation
2. Elicitation – Increases the opportunity for STT (student talk time), keeps learners engaged, focussed & finds out what they already know
3. Explanation/Clarification – to make sure the learners have fully understood the target language, form & meaning etc
4. Accurate reproduction – help with pronunciation & encourages learners to become familiar with the language
5. Controlled practice – help learners absorb new language and help commit it to long-term memory: To familiarise them with new language, not introduce it. Focus on accuracy.
6. ...

~~Planning and executing effective lessons is of course an extremely important part of teaching. The teacher should always ask themselves the following questions:
 What is the objective of the whole lesson?
 What is the aim of this activity?
 How are learners working together?
 Who is speaking to whom?
 Is the time being used efficiently?
The focus of any class should be on developing the communicative abilities of the learners. Ideally the speaking ratio should be 30 percent maximum teacher (TTT) and 70 percent minimum learners (STT).
As such teachers need to consider the following when planning lessons to maximize learner-learner interaction.
Groupings
Whole Class Teaching: This approach is fine for controlled activities and can foster a sense of belonging in the classroom. However it can restrict learners from saying their own thing or can make them feel exposed if they are talking to the whole group (consider the culture of classes you are teaching). Also the transmission ...

~~ASEAN Now - Weekly Wrap, http://www.thestartv.com/programme/asean-now-weekly-wrap/, is a week’s worth of news that made the headlines across the Southeast Asian region in one quick and easy take.
In this article, I present some ideas that anyone can use to stimulate interest, guide students to understanding, encouraging them to try to listen to news programs in English and foster a more global view of the region and the world. With AEC (ASEAN Economic Community) coming into effect in 2016, the ASEAN nations have entered into higher level of collaboration. This also makes the region the third largest economy in Asia and the seventh largest in the world. So, it is useful for all students to learn English through current events that are happening in ASEAN.
These are some of the reasons an EFL teacher would want to use TV news in their classroom:
• TV News stories are short; usually lasting 3-4 minutes each. Anything longer than 10 minutes is often difficult for language learners to ...

 
“To travel is to live” these are wise words from Hans Christian Anderson. They inspire young individuals to travel far and wide building their confidence and experience the world.
Becoming an English teacher by obtaining a TEFL certification the only question left is “Where to travel”? Don’t worry, because this article is going to help.
 Here is a list of 5 countries with huge demand for ESL Teachers. So, stick around, and find out, you don’t want to miss out on these great tips!
 
Beautiful weather in Thailand
Let’s start with a country that has the best weather in the world. Thailand has a unique culture that is breathtaking. Although it’s not the richest of countries, they make up for it by investing in private schools and ELS.
It is safe to say that because of that there are positions available for every type of English speaker. A degree is all you need to get a work visa.  Check it out here for more details jobs.movinhand.com/teaching-english-abroad/thailand. 
Working in large ...

According to Lucia Capocchione, play keeps us vital and alive and it gives us an enthusiasm for life that is irreplaceable. Without it, life just doesn’t taste good. Play is an integral part of childhood and an early childhood education is extraordinarily affected by naturalism. Thus there is no preferred route over fusing recreations and play in the technique for instructing kids. Play can drag the eager personalities into the classroom material in an all the more fascinating route and in addition it helps the children appreciate what they are realizing. Play consists of whatever a body is obliged to do. The pre and primary teachers training makes the trainee teachers aware of the salient features of this method linking play and literacy effectively.
Playing promotes parental empathy for the developmental capabilities of young children. It is also the best method to apply their day to day lesson in their practical lives as they are constantly learning from various problem solving ...

The 21st century classroom should be an environment of student-centered spaces. Good-bye desks! Good-bye front of the room where the teacher stands and the students watch. Hello, change!
This is not a new concept, in the early 1900's Maria Montessori, an Italian physician, educator and innovator, established her well-known educational method. As a psychiatrist, with an interest in education she approached this method with the awareness that children will learn what they need to on their own. This makes sense, if you think about it on an instinctual level, in order to survive, learning is essential. And failure is our best teacher.
Our pupils need a space that is set up to enhance their learning, not meet our teaching demands. But what about the demands they place on the teacher to have every child meeting every learning standard by whatever date they deem necessary? I've never met a teacher that agrees with this demand. However, I see classroom teachers scrambling to cram in this ...