Category Archives: Classroom management

Losing my best students

Posted on 06/11/2009 by alexcase

Getting back to my paranoid fears of the last post (because a blog might be time consuming and pay nothing, but unlike seeing a therapist it’s free), there definitely does seem to be one kind of student I have lost … Continue reading →

Posted in ALT, Classroom management, Cultural differences/ cultural training, Eliciting, JET, Pairwork and groupwork, Problem students, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in China, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching English in Korea, Teaching shy students | 3 Comments

Psychology for English teachers May 09 Part Two

Posted on 27/05/2009 by alexcase

From the article “All together now” in Scientific American Mind April/ May 2009Chip Heath and Scott S. Wiltermuth got groups of students to march around the Stanford university campus and tested them against other groups who just strolled together along … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Classroom dynamics, Classroom management, Humanistic language teaching, Technology, TEFL | 6 Comments

Psychology for teachers May 2009

Posted on 21/05/2009 by alexcase

 No, not another chance to vent about oddball bosses or colleagues (see a couple of posts below for your chance to do that), but serious research from the latest issue of Scientific American Mind (official motto “What TEFL magazines dream … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom dynamics, Classroom management, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, links, TEFL | 2 Comments

Controlling under fives

Posted on 03/03/2009 by alexcase

Of course, there are some people who would object even to the use of the word “control” in the title of such a post. Those people are called “modern parents“, or in layman’s terms, “hippies”. Only jkg!* Anyway, there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom management, Discipline in the classroom, links, pre-school/ kindergarten/ very young learners, Problem students, Teaching young learners, TEFL | 1 Comment

New TEFL articles Feb 09

Posted on 11/02/2009 by alexcase

Feel like I should actually write something on my own blog between all these guest pieces, but am still trying to put stuff back where it was after my mother in law rearranged the flat. Instead, here is the usual … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom management, CPD, Grammar, Grammar games, links, Listening, Passives, Pronunciation, pronunciation games, sentence stress, Staging, Starting lessons, Teacher training, Teaching young learners, TEFL, TEFL games, TEFL workshops, Using a whiteboard, Usingenglish | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

New TEFL articles and teaching ideas Dec 08

Posted on 20/12/2008 by alexcase

15 ways to learn students’ names LINK UPDATED 15 more fun ways to practice the Past PerfectLINK UPDATED 15 fun ways to practice third and mixed conditionalsLINK UPDATED 15 more ways of eliciting vocabulary LINK UPDATED 15 fun ways to practice will … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom dynamics, Classroom management, Conditionals, Eliciting, Future tenses, Grammar, Grammar games, Mixed conditionals, Pairwork and groupwork, Past perfect, past tenses, Speaking games, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL games, Third conditional, Using L1 in class, Vocabulary, Will for predictions | Tagged | Leave a comment

23 Experiences of Language Teaching

Posted on 22/11/2008 by alexcase

Finished reading the Experience of Language Teaching a week or two ago, and here are some of my favourite quotes: on continuous enrollment “like teaching on a moving bus, or in the middle of a railway station, with people coming … Continue reading →

Posted in CELTA, Cultural differences/ cultural training, Experience of Language Teaching, Grammar, Lesson planning, MA TESOL, Problem students, Teacher training, Teaching young learners, TEFL, TEFL games, TEFL in the UK, TEFL qualifications, TEFL working conditions, textbooks | Tagged | 6 Comments

Nutty TEFL idea of the day

Posted on 07/11/2008 by alexcase

“Sole Mates” from “The Grammar Activity Book” Tie words that go together (such as collocations) to different students’ shoelaces. They then walk around putting their feet next to each other to try to match them up. If they make an … Continue reading →

Posted in adjective plus preposition, Alternative teaching techniques, Cambridge University Press, Classroom management, Collocations, Dependent prepositions, ELT publishing, Grammar, Grammar games, links, Materials, Photocopiable worksheets, Prepositions, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL games, Vocabulary, Vocabulary games | 3 Comments

A little bit more reality in TEFL theory

Posted on 06/11/2008 by alexcase

Continuing my occasional series (as occasional as reality coming into TEFL theory): “…it is relatively rare for language teachers to negotiate overall learning goals with their classes at the beginning of courses in an open, direct manner. However… it is commonplace … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, Cambridge ESOL, Cambridge University Press, CELTA, Classroom dynamics, ELT publishing, Learner training, Lesson planning, Materials, Syllabus negotiation, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL heroes- Rose M Senior, TEFL qualifications | Tagged | 2 Comments

Dream dictionary for TEFL teachers Part Two

Posted on 24/09/2008 by alexcase

Did you know that what you dream about can tell you what will happen in your classes? Try reading the descriptions below and in Part One to find something you have dreamed about, and then write it in the aims … Continue reading →

Posted in present continuous, Present tenses, Problem students, Songs with adults, TEFL | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment