Category Archives: TEFL reviews

An unusual way of preparing for your CELTA

Posted on 23/10/2008 by alexcase

Heartbreak: “One teacher reported that she had been the least nervous of all the people on her course – attributing this to the fact she already knew what it felt like to be deeply hurt…” The Experience of Language Teaching … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge ESOL, Cambridge University Press, CELTA, ELT publishing, KOTESOL, links, Teacher associations, Teacher training, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Korea, TEFL, TEFL certificate, TEFL heroes- Rose M Senior, TEFL qualifications, TEFL reviews | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Do you want the temporary buzz of moving on and/ or up too?

Posted on 21/09/2008 by alexcase

Doesn’t last of course, especially the initial thrill of being in the chaos of a third world city or in the chaos left for you by the last person who had that DoS job, but if having some kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Becoming a Director of Studies, becoming a teacher trainer, Business English and ESP, CPD, EFL exams, ELT management, ELT publishing, finding good TEFL jobs, getting into ELT publishing, Lesson observations, links, Materials, Peer observations, Teacher training, Teaching English in Asia, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL CV/ TESOL resume, TEFL qualifications, TEFL reviews, TEFL working conditions, TEFL workshops, TESOL, Usingenglish | Tagged | 2 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

Surprising things about speech acts

Posted on 09/07/2008 by alexcase

My first surprise was introducing students to the piece of ELT jargon “speech acts”, something I only vaguely remembered from my reading for my DELTA myself, but more about that when I get round to reviewing The Cambridge Grammar of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge University Press, Functional language, Grammar, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, Materials, Speaking, TEFL, TEFL reviews, TESOL | Leave a comment

Jon Marks- Is there anything this man can't do??

Posted on 23/06/2008 by alexcase

Jonnyboy is the cartoonist behind the often amusing Langwich Scool and the author of the life saving books At Last, Photocopies You Can Give Your Kids’ Classes Without Them Groaning. And now he’s released a book that makes IELTS fun. … Continue reading →

Posted in Delta Publishing, EFL exams, ELT publishing, English for Academic Purposes, IELTS, Photocopiable worksheets, Technical English, TEFL heroes- Jon Marks, TEFL reviews | 1 Comment

Are EFL textbooks getting better or worse?

Posted on 22/05/2008 by alexcase

The case for the prosecution starts with exhibit A, Intelligent Business, the newish series of textbooks from Longman. First, a mea culpa. At first glance Intelligent Business seemed like such a good concept that I recommended it to my school … Continue reading →

Posted in Business English and ESP, ELT publishing, Materials, Pearson Longman, TEFL, TEFL reviews, Telephoning, textbooks | 3 Comments

Testing and reviewing new EFL materials – Can talking about TEFL books really be any use?

Posted on 21/11/2007 by alexcase

UPDATE: Whole page on TEFL reviews now here. When I think back on the many conversations I have had in the teachers’ room about English language textbooks, photocopiable resource books etc. over the years, I can remember quite a few … Continue reading →

Posted in ELT publishing, General English textbooks, links, TEFL blogs, TEFL reviews, TESOL, textbooks, Usingenglish, Writing ELT textbooks and materials | Leave a comment

TEFL Insider Part 5- Inside TEFL reviews

Posted on 04/10/2007 by alexcase

A few posts ago I promised to dish the dirt on the world of the reviews of English teaching materials, a part of the biz that I have been involved in in various ways for 8 years or so now. … Continue reading →

Posted in ELT publishing, General English textbooks, Humanistic language teaching, Pilgrims, TEFL reviews, TESOL | Leave a comment