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It has often been said that corralling a classroom of students for any length of time – whether it is 55 minutes or five minutes – to focus on a new learning topic is like herding cats. This seems to hold even truer in the higher grade levels, where the old stand-by of “1-2-3-STOP” to get everyone to settle down and listen is no longer effective.

I've said it before. In public education, there are more sad stories than happy endings. Even so, after graduation this year I have to admit that the happy endings might outweigh all that bad stuff. Well, not really, but at least for one glorious day, you can take a look at what accomplishment looks like.

A prominent newspaper columnist who writes about the IELTS Examination and answers readers' questions about it recently responded to a query from a Thai student who asked how he could boost his IELTS band score in a hurry. The columnist replied that, while taking a good IELTS Preparation course would be necessary, even essential, what was most important was taking substantial time out to gain a sound foundation in English basics.

Today we will introduce several online tools that our team frequent use. These all may help to do translations, especially in Chinese (traditional and simplified) and English.

Education is important. For thousands of years knowledge has been passed from generation to generation, from basic survival skills to an understanding of culture and the arts. Children learn an awful lot from their parents and immediate family in their formative years, how to communicate, being toilet training and how to dress themselves may all seem like very basic skills, but they are vital for everyday life. The vast majority of children in the UK are sent to school once they are old enough, and are taught by professional teachers who are trained to understand their needs and recognise individual strengths and weaknesses.

New hire training is an effective way to reduce the rate of turnover and enhance the acculturation and productivity of new employees in companies. By showing an upfront commitment to new hires, new hires will be confident in their decision to join your organization, motivated and equipped to produce their best work immediately, and more likely to stay. Invest in them early and they'll stay longer.

It seems like everyone is talking about the best way to prepare for IELTS. Do we need a study plan or not, how do we master the art of interview, what is a good IELTS essay, and so on. Well, aren't we forgetting something? What about the mental aspect? IELTS, like many other similar tests, requires psychological preparation not less (and may be even more) than good solid studying.

Kazakhstan is not usually the first place you think of when you're debating working abroad but it's the new place to be with a huge educational reform occurring in recent years. There are a number of opportunities available for any teachers searching for an exciting work experience in such a unique country so is definitely worth considering!
NIS (Nazarbayev Intellectual School Network) have schools in a number of locations throughout Kazakhstan which are bringing a programme of educational reform to the country. It aims to encourage a new way of educating students and is keen to enlist the help of qualified and experienced English speaking teachers to really push the project forward. A specific role for these foreign teachers is to work in collaboration with the local teachers, supporting and mentoring with planning, assessing and teaching. By taking up the offer of a job in one of these schools you can learn from the local teachers as well as teach them, you can share knowledge and ...

The challenge to deal with students well is one of the reasons why becoming a teacher is never boring If you're an elementary school teacher, you're dealing with children that prefer playing games to studying subjects. If you're teaching at high school, it's very hard to deal with children in puberty periods. Even, if you're a lecturer, you face more challenges too because college students often think that they're already an adult and feel they're right most of the time.

English Grammar Tips: Homonyms
"Teacher, I get confused. How do I know when to use their, there or they're in English?"
Have you ever been asked this frequent question? It's but one of many English language teachers worldwide hear from perplexed learners. It's a fair enough question as these three forms are what we call homonyms. That is, they are words which sound the same but have distinctly different meanings. Fortunately, the differences and applications can be easily clarified. Let's look at them now.
The Possessive Pronoun "Their"
This first one, "their", is a possessive pronoun. We use it to show belonging or ownership of a group. It is in the same category with other possessive pronouns which include "our", "your" also in the plural and "my", "his", "her" and "its" in the singular. Two examples of usage are:
"Where is their class room?"
"This is their class room". Or rather, the class room belongs to them.
The Contraction "They're"
The second form we'll consider is the ...