Author Archives: alexcase

38 longer phrases card games (TEFLtastic Classics Part 12 reprised)

Posted on 04/01/2014 by alexcase

One of the best games for expanding the range of students’ language. If you like anything here and want more, please support TEFLtastic.  This is one of the chief games in an upcoming article of mine in English Teaching Professional … Continue reading →

Posted in Functional language, TEFL games | Tagged | 1 Comment

Modern Language Association convention stirs worldwide controversy

Posted on 03/01/2014 by alexcase

Despite the unlikely headline, this is not one of my attempts at news-based satire, but a genuine news story. It’s something to do with Israel. Sources: Modern Language Association convention to feature academic boycott panel and resolution slamming Israeli denial … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged | Leave a comment

What you should be and really are thinking in class

Posted on 31/12/2013 by alexcase

They learnt a surprising amount from that textbook listening/ They were surprisingly unbored by that textbook listening How much are they learning from this activity?/ How much are they enjoying this activity and how long can I keep it going? … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged | Leave a comment

16 random pelmanism activities (TEFLtastic classics Part 18)

Posted on 30/12/2013 by alexcase

Pelmanism (also called “the memory game” or “pairs”) is the classic TEFL card game in which students try to find matching pairs of cards from the pack spread face down across the table, just as you can try to find … Continue reading →

Posted in pelmanism | Tagged | 2 Comments

Australian Broadcasting Corporation free podcasts

Posted on 28/12/2013 by alexcase

I’ve been recommending these Australian radio podcasts to my IELTS students for years, as many of them have problems with the Aussie accents in the listening paper. They are also worth a look for students who find BBC podcasts difficult … Continue reading →

Posted in Listening | 2 Comments

TEFLtastic attempts at humour in 2013

Posted on 26/12/2013 by alexcase

Not many this year, but a couple were among the most clicked on ever. In approximate order of how popular they were: 100 things for TEFLers to do before they die My lesson planning process Hiberno English to become official language of EU after Brexit … Continue reading →

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Bulgaria and Romania fret over possible flood of UK TEFLers

Posted on 18/12/2013 by alexcase

The Prime Minister of Romania and Foreign Minister of Bulgaria yesterday publically expressed their concerns over the expected sudden influx of low skilled, semi-nomadic TEFL teachers from the UK from January 2014 following the end of visa restrictions, many of … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Chain writing/ Consequences (TEFLtastic classics Part 17)

Posted on 14/12/2013 by alexcase

Like most of the games in this occasional series of mine, this is a well-known TEFL game and the main reason I’m the one writing about it is that I’m the one who has probably (over) exploited it more than anyone else… It’s … Continue reading →

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The Xmas activities I most use

Posted on 12/12/2013 by alexcase

I’ve had really nice feedback on my Xmas and New Year worksheets over the years, including from people I work with, but I have to admit that I wrote so many of them for UsingEnglish that there are some I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural differences/ cultural training | Leave a comment

Libertarians protest linguists’ monitoring of their language use

Posted on 10/12/2013 by alexcase

Proponents of freedom of speech and thought on both the right and left have recently kicked up a fuss about how their conversations, online communications, etc are being tracked and stored by linguists. According to Marvin Hassler of human rights … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching English as a Foreign Language | Tagged , | 2 Comments