Category Archives: Mixed ability classes

Holding our students back

Posted on 27/03/2011 by alexcase

Back when I was just a year or two off the RSA/ Cambridge CTEFLA, I remember one of my biggest worries was the way that the best students got even better quicker than the worst ones improved and the already … Continue reading →

Posted in ELT publishing, Mixed ability classes | 1 Comment

New TEFL articles etc April 2009

Posted on 23/04/2009 by alexcase

No messing, no pointless attempts at humour (for once), just links to more serious stuff I’ve been publishing elsewhere: 15 ways of combining listening and reading – LINK FIXED 15 fun activities for practising a, an and the – LINK FIXED The … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom management, Classroom routines, Determiners and articles, Ending lessons, Grammar, Grammar games, Interactive whiteboard, Learner motivation, links, Listening, Mixed ability classes, pre-school/ kindergarten/ very young learners, Reading, reported speech, Skills, Staging, Teaching mixed level classes, Teaching young learners, Technology, TEFL, TEFL games, Using a whiteboard, Usingenglish | 6 Comments

Deep TEFL quote of the day

Posted on 21/07/2008 by alexcase

“While many teachers may attend to the questions ‘Do you like this language? Do you like this class?’, perhaps the more fundamental question for a student is ‘Do I like myself in this class?’”

Posted in Cambridge University Press, Classroom dynamics, Classroom management, Learner training, links, Materials, Mixed ability classes, Problem students, Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL heroes- Zoltan Dornyei, TEFL reviews | Tagged | 1 Comment

The disadvantages of teaching in Japan

Posted on 18/05/2008 by alexcase

“My first two years in Japan were spent teaching English… The students… studied English- or should I say, English was taught in their presence. Nothing ever seemed to sink in. Years of classes and endless tests and still they couldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in becoming a teacher trainer, British Council, Business English and ESP, Cambridge Delta, CELTA, Cultural differences/ cultural training, Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, Eikaiwa, English Teachers in Japan, Functional language, JALT, Materials, Mixed ability classes, Pairwork and groupwork, Problem students, Teacher forums, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching low levels, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL working conditions, TOEIC | 22 Comments

Unautomating teaching with Summerhill English Schools

Posted on 02/12/2007 by alexcase

Following my own advice for automated teachers, I’ve been trying to use my search for something to write about Japan and or teaching English on my blog as a way of expanding my horizons rather than shrinking them. Recent semi-successful … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Classroom dynamics, Classroom management, Discipline in the classroom, Humanistic language teaching, Learner training, links, Mixed ability classes, Pairwork and groupwork, Problem students, Teaching methods and methodologies, Teaching mixed level classes, Teaching teenagers, Teaching young learners, TEFL, TESOL | 1 Comment

How the future of textbooks has to be

Posted on 09/08/2007 by alexcase

How the future of textbooks has to be Looking back on my 12 years of teaching English, if it is not just old age speaking I could swear that the first couple of years after I did my initial certificate … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, ELT publishing, General English textbooks, Learner motivation, Learner training, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, links, Mixed ability classes, Speaking, Staging, Technology, TEFL, TESOL, textbooks | 7 Comments

Read article + talk about article = learn a language

Posted on 07/08/2007 by alexcase

This is the one simple recipe that teachers all over Japan are using to raise the level of their students’ English: Take one copy of the Japan Times that you were going to read anyway Cut out one topical and/ or cultural article … Continue reading →

Posted in Business English and ESP, Classroom management, EFL exams, Learner motivation, Lesson planning, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, Mixed ability classes, Pairwork and groupwork, Phonemic script, Social English, Speaking, Staging, TEFL | 3 Comments

Pairwork: "It started with a kiss…"*

Posted on 06/08/2007 by alexcase

In a moment of inspiration fueled by low tolerance to the stimulating effects of real British “builders’ tea”, have come up with: The pairwork magic formula I have yet to teach a class that wouldn’t do and enjoy pairwork eventually. … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom dynamics, Classroom management, First conditional, Grammar games, Learner motivation, Lesson planning, links, Mixed ability classes, Pairwork and groupwork, Problem students, Speaking, Staging, Teaching low levels, Teaching teenagers, TEFL, TEFL blogs | Comments Off on Pairwork: "It started with a kiss…"*

Ask Auntie Alex- All your troubles solved with TEFL Part Four

Posted on 04/08/2007 by alexcase

Dear Auntie Alex As a TEFL teacher, I like to feel I am doing my bit for international understanding every day. However, as my interest in issues of global poverty etc. grows, teaching a language starts to seem a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom dynamics, Classroom management, Mixed ability classes, Teaching low levels, TEFL, TESOL | Comments Off on Ask Auntie Alex- All your troubles solved with TEFL Part Four

New evidence of my humungous IQ

Posted on 26/06/2007 by alexcase

New research suggests that elder siblings have a higher IQ than younger ones. Will be letting my three younger sisters know that several times an hour when I go back for a week to the UK, although obviously not revealing the fact … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom management, Mixed ability classes, Pairwork and groupwork, TESOL | Comments Off on New evidence of my humungous IQ