Category Archives: TEFL reviews

ELT publishing trendspotter

Posted on 07/09/2009 by alexcase

New ways of getting content – Big publishers have been buying up books from smaller publishers (e.g. a couple from Helbling Languages ending up on CUP and Oxford buying up some business skills books) and even self-published books (I gave a … Continue reading →

Posted in board games, Cambridge University Press, Critical Mass ELT, Delta Publishing, EFL CD ROMs, EFL geek, ELT Journal, ELT publishing, getting into ELT publishing, Helbling Languages, links, Macmillan, Marshall Cavendish, Materials, modern english teacher magazine, online games, Oxford University Press (OUP), Pearson Longman, Technology, TEFL, TEFL blogs, TEFL e books, TEFL games, TEFL reviews, textbooks, Writing ELT textbooks and materials | 7 Comments

Rules, patterns, words and conclusions

Posted on 23/08/2009 by alexcase

At last, an ending to the series of posts that started here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here* several blogging decades ago on the book by Dave Willis. My chief objections to the approach suggested in the … Continue reading →

Posted in CPD, Dave Willis, PPP (Presentation practice production), TBA (Task Based Approach), Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL reviews, textbooks | Leave a comment

Some nice quotes from the last ELTJ

Posted on 16/08/2009 by alexcase

As promised, proof that I do pay some attention when reading TEFL magazines: A possible explanation for why Mr Bean and TEFL go so well together: “An adult learner has noted that what [textbook character] Arthur and learners in the … Continue reading →

Posted in CPD, ELT Journal, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, links, Mr Bean, TBA (Task Based Approach), Teaching teenagers, Teaching young learners, TEFL heroes- Jeremy Harmer, TEFL reviews | Tagged | 1 Comment

The secret to writing EFL textbooks

Posted on 29/07/2009 by alexcase

“Thanks to… McVities’ Jamaica Ginger Cake and PG Tips” From the contents pages to Innovations Pre-Intermediate by Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley. I’m missing one of those two, which is why I’m here knocking on people’s doors with my freebie worksheets like … Continue reading →

Posted in ELT publishing, Materials, TEFL, TEFL reviews, textbooks, Writing ELT textbooks and materials | Tagged | 1 Comment

New TEFL articles etc March 2009

Posted on 17/03/2009 by alexcase

Having shared the limelight (or as it is a small world we TEFLers inhabit, perhaps something smaller like the cherrylight or the grapelight) as much as I could bear with the few last posts, here is the usually monthly shameless selling of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Apologies, Cultural differences/ cultural training, Family vocabulary, Functional language, Grammar, Grammar games, Learner training, links, Materials, TEFL, TEFL games, TEFL reviews, Vocabulary | 2 Comments

My top 10 books for/ about EFL for young learners

Posted on 09/01/2009 by alexcase

Wrote this list for a (teacher training) student and thought it might be worth a blog post and maybe a bit of friendly debate. Here are my all time favourites- off the top of my head, but if they’re that … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Young Learner Exams, Delta Publishing, EFL exams, ELT publishing, Macmillan, Materials, Oxford University Press (OUP), Photocopiable worksheets, pre-school/ kindergarten/ very young learners, Teaching young learners, TEFL, TEFL reviews, textbooks, Using songs with kids | 4 Comments

New Teaching English Reviews and Articles Dec 08 Part Two

Posted on 01/01/2009 by alexcase

Before I get onto the shameless selling of my own articles, I’d like to thank all TEFL.net book reviewers from 2008 (Kelly Quinn, Lara Promnitz-Hayashi, Dave Allen, Janis Crolla, Stephen Lodziak, Nicholas Whitely, Katie Cordes, Joshua Antle, Kaithe Greene, Paula Swenson, … Continue reading →

Posted in CLIL, EFL exams, ELT publishing, Error correction, Error correction games, Grammar, links, Materials, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Japan, TEFL, TEFL games, TEFL reviews, TOEIC, Writing | Tagged | 3 Comments

Natural English Intermediate

Posted on 28/11/2008 by alexcase

… is pants! Based on a dubious theory and with everything based on that theory rather than interesting content or things tying together properly, I haven’t seen anything this bad but commercially successful since (old) Cutting Edge. If you are cursing the … Continue reading →

Posted in General English textbooks, Materials, Natural English, TEFL games, TEFL reviews, textbooks | 1 Comment

An alternative way of boosting your teaching confidence

Posted on 27/10/2008 by alexcase

“She… reported that her self-esteem was raised when her [MA in TESOL] assignments were returned with comments that revealed, in her view, a degree of closed-mindedness on the part of the tutors who had marked them.” From pg 72 of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge University Press, CPD, ELT management, ELT publishing, Lesson planning, Materials, pre-school/ kindergarten/ very young learners, Staging, Teaching young learners, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL games, TEFL reviews | Tagged | Leave a comment

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