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Learning is an active, not a passive activity. Learners take part in their lessons, even when they are listening to the teacher - especially then. Merely letting the teacher's words wash over you, hoping you will 'take on board' something from what you hear is not being an active learner.

Most students find schools and academic programs through the web. That is a well-known fact. We know that most students will find a school by using a search engine (namely Google) and we know that most of them use Internet Explorer as their primary browser. We know these things because of data collected from the past. What we don't know is how they will find programs in the future.

Time and time again through the years I have encountered kids who struggle to read, who hate reading and perhaps for that very reason are disillusioned with school in general, yet when they find themselves with a part in the show, the script they are given to read and memorize never leaves their side. The opportunity to be in a show sometimes provides the best - often the first - real motivation for a young actors to voluntarily pick up a book and read...their script!

It is our destiny as non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) to face a variety of challenges with many issues, including, among others, highly required language and pedagogical competencies, proper cultural orientation, native-like accent, native-speaker fallacy, credibility, and more. The question remains: Should these challenges hold us back, or should we exploit them as opportunities to grow professionally?

What do teachers want? The answer is simple, more time. Indeed, locating that elusive time creation button has become a quest to be pursued with relentless zeal. Although management and career development books offer suggestions, they don't seem to apply to a person whose work life is dictated to by the ringing of a bell.

When attempting to determine the effectiveness of any training program or training course, it is customary to embark on an evaluation process. This evaluation process often starts during the event or program itself, where delegates or students themselves are forming opinions on the effectiveness of the training facilitator, instructor and the general surroundings. At the end of the training course, delegates are often asked to fill in an evaluation sheet, that we often term the 'happy sheet'. Are happy sheets effective?

A log book can be a highly valuable record for improvement. Log books are used to keep track of things such as the last date of automobile maintenance and what was done, or the number of hours a pilot has flown and where he's traveled. The log book becomes evidence of the event or action, and is used to ensure that the next trip or event is better because of what has been learned. Likewise, a student...

Charter schools are becoming more and more popular as the traditional public school struggles. Learn what these schools are and how they might benefit your family.

The IELTS speaking questions often repeat and hence it is a good idea to go through the question papers of recent IELTS tests. This will help you get a basic idea about the kind of questions asked. And if you are lucky you might be asked the same set of questions. You can find sample answers for speaking questions at many websites. However, while preparing for the test don't memorise long answers. Remember that the examiners are trained to distinguish learned answers from spontaneous ones. If they suspect that you are saying answers that have been memorized, you will not get any marks.
No right or wrong answers
The IELTS speaking test is not an assessment of your general knowledge. The examiner is only interested in testing your English speaking skills. That means there are no right or wrong answers for the questions. All answers will earn marks as long as they are in good English.
Use varied and advanced vocabulary
While discussing non-personal topics, you should demonstrate your ...

Phonics are the building blocks of learning to read. But lately they have taken a back seat to the Look See method in some countries. Most students can learn to read, no matter what method they are being taught, but the struggling learners need phonics. It has been shown time and again, that phonics are a better way to learn to read, for struggling readers.
The Look See Method has the beautiful books with lots of pictures, while the phonic books are pretty drab, filled with rhyming text that don't always make sense. But you need rhyming to learn to read. And students will learn to read using the Look See Method, but struggling students will have problems.
To be honest, I don't know why some students learn to read easier than others, especially nowadays. But I think it has a lot to do with home life. Parents of reading kids help their kids. They don't live in front of the TV, and they use the computer for knowledge, not to play games or watch videos. But that is not always the case. I ...