Category Archives: Learner motivation

When needs analysis goes wrong

Posted on 21/02/2010 by alexcase

I don’t mean when they find nothing to say about their needs (I’ve got it set up so that it’s useful as a language task even when it is not as a needs analysis). What I’m talking about here is … Continue reading →

Posted in Business English and ESP, Learner motivation, Needs analysis, Onestopenglish, TEFL, Usingenglish | 5 Comments

The other side of Oxford Street

Posted on 16/06/2009 by alexcase

A guest piece by “Holden Coalfield” “‘No thanks’, I said to the leafleter who offered me and everyone else a flyer for an English school as I walked out of Oxford Circus tube into this crowded and surprisingly tacky centre … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Cambridge Delta, CELTA, Dodgy TEFL school owners, ELT management, finding good TEFL jobs, first TEFL job, Job security, Learner motivation, Oxford Street schools, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL certificate, TEFL in the UK, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions | Tagged | 6 Comments

A few more Xmas and New Year worksheets

Posted on 22/12/2008 by alexcase

… including my first ever guest writer worksheet (many more wanted!) from Paula Swenson: English Language New Year’s Resolutions (good for learner training, and set up by the kind of relevant reading text that I really should write for my worksheets … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural differences/ cultural training, Future tenses, Learner motivation, Learner training, Materials, Photocopiable worksheets, Teaching numbers, TEFL | Tagged | 1 Comment

The best end of term revision games

Posted on 10/12/2008 by alexcase

One way of finishing the term is with Xmas-themed stuff (see the post below). Another good one is lots of fun revision games. As I’ve spent a few years teaching students who want to do every page in the book … Continue reading →

Posted in Business English and ESP, Business English games, Collocations, ELT publishing, English for study abroad, Functional language, Grammar, links, Materials, Personalisation, Photocopiable worksheets, Revision games, Speaking, Speaking games, Taboo, Teaching teenagers, TEFL, TEFL games, Usingenglish, Vocabulary, Vocabulary games | 2 Comments

A much neglected TEFL teaching skill

Posted on 03/04/2008 by alexcase

See if you can guess which one it is: “For teachers who understandably rely on this skill of communication, it may be worth their while to consider the use of the varied styles that are available to them. To many, … Continue reading →

Posted in Learner motivation, links, TEFL | 2 Comments

English teacher presents past perfect, fights for freedom

Posted on 15/12/2007 by alexcase

Although I often feel disappointed with the lack of any social value in my life of teaching adverbs of frequency to spoiled teenagers who want to be dolphin trainers and finding grammar points in Friends videos and typing up worksheets, it … Continue reading →

Posted in British Council, Learner motivation, links, Teaching English in Russia, Teaching teenagers, TEFL, TESOL | Leave a comment

Warning, extended metaphor ahead! Learning a language = swimming

Posted on 01/10/2007 by alexcase

Apart from my attempts at investigative journalism for the EL Gazette (see below) and some writing work for Usingenglish.com (details soon), another thing that has kept me off my blog recently is trying to lose the beginnings of middle age … Continue reading →

Posted in Learner motivation, Learner training, TESOL | 2 Comments

Why are there so many bad English teachers in Japan? Part Three

Posted on 14/08/2007 by alexcase

Here is the next part of my serious attempt at examining why there might be so many bad teachers in Japan. Having already examined why worse teachers might come out to Japan, now it’s time to examine: Why do good … Continue reading →

Posted in ALT, Business English and ESP, CELTA, ELT publishing, IELTS, Learner motivation, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Japan, Technology, TEFL, TEFL certificate, TEFL qualifications, TEFL working conditions, TESOL, textbooks, TOEIC | 4 Comments

Why are there so many bad English teachers in Japan?

Posted on 10/08/2007 by alexcase

After training, recruiting, observing and chatting with English teachers and students in Turkey, Thailand, Spain, Italy, the UK (meaning teachers and students from everywhere) and spending 4 years in Japan, I have come to the conclusion that the average level … Continue reading →

Posted in Classroom management, Learner motivation, Learner training, Pairwork and groupwork, Phonemic script, Pronunciation, Teacher training, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL, TESOL | 4 Comments

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