Category Archives: Teaching methods and methodologies

History for ESL students

Posted on 12/04/2009 by alexcase

I am in no way an expert in either history or CLIL, but as I’ve written this material and there didn’t seem to be much available when I was looking thought I may as well put my stuff out there … Continue reading →

Posted in CLIL, Conditionals, conjunctions, Determiners and articles, Future tenses, Grammar games, infinitive of purpose, Modals, past tenses, Prepositions, reported speech, Second conditional, Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL, Will for predictions | 11 Comments

Copyright and the TEFL teacher

Posted on 05/04/2009 by alexcase

I had a thought provoking email from one of the TEFL.net book reviewers last week. When I told them to “not rush the review and try the book out in class as much as they like”, they came back with … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, ELT publishing, Interactive whiteboard, Materials, Self-study materials, Technology, TEFL, Using authentic texts, video | 5 Comments

TEFL book reviews reach a new low

Posted on 26/01/2009 by alexcase

No, most certainly not my fellow TEFL.net Book Review pages enthusiastic amateurs, who have written some great recent reviews on Creative Poetry Writing, New Insight into IELTS and Vocabulary . The guilty parties are people who really should know better and in fact … Continue reading →

Posted in ELT publishing, General English textbooks, Materials, Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, textbooks | 10 Comments

Interview- Jason West Dishes on Guardian Languages and Sets the TEFL World to Rights!

Posted on 04/01/2009 by alexcase

It’s a great interview, stimulating, controversial, and full of TEFL insider tidbits. So many ideas did the CEO of English Out There have, in fact, that it takes a good 10 minutes to read. Please feel free to leave questions … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, British Council, British Council accreditation, Distance learning, EFL exams, ELT publishing, Guardian TEFL, Job security, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, links, Materials, self employed TEFL teachers, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching methods and methodologies, teaching online, Technology, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL chains, TEFL in the UK, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions, textbooks | Tagged | 9 Comments

An amusing vocabulary memory trick

Posted on 09/09/2008 by alexcase

With this little collection of vocab have a look at the expression in Korean, then my effort to make an image/ sound combination that will make it memorable and see if you can guess what the meaning might be before … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative teaching techniques, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Korea, Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL, Vocabulary | Leave a comment

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

Should you worry about the elf?

Posted on 11/05/2008 by alexcase

I’ve been reading “English as a Lingua Franca: Attitude and Identity” (hence “the ELF” of the post title) by Jenny Jenkins, and although its a much easier read than that Pseuds Corner book title might make you think, the main … Continue reading →

Posted in English as an International Language/ Lingua Franca, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, MA Applied Linguistics, MA TESOL, Materials, Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL qualifications, TEFL villains- Jennifer Jenkins | 2 Comments

Changing your accent with your whole body

Posted on 09/03/2008 by alexcase

“Only half of the activations in the brain were to do with the speech and language areas. The voice is not just coming from your lips. It’s coming from the whole body and you need to think about that when … Continue reading →

Posted in English as an International Language/ Lingua Franca, Pronunciation, TEFL villains- Jennifer Jenkins, TPR | Leave a comment

TESOL revolution

Posted on 07/03/2008 by alexcase

A huge change in the way English is being taught in Oregon, apparently: “Schools have begun explicitly teaching the grammar, rules and structure of English. And they are doing it in a carefully ordered way, making sure that students don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in CLIL, Grammar, TBA (Task Based Approach), Teaching methods and methodologies, TEFL | 2 Comments

Putting the grammar back into Xmas

Posted on 03/12/2007 by alexcase

UPDATE: Full list of Xmas ideas and materials now here. Putting the seasonal cheer back into grammar (and putting the grammar back into Xmas) Some of you might be thinking that the problem with Xmas today is an excess of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural differences/ cultural training, Flashcard games, Grammar, Grammar games, Lesson planning, links, Listening, Modals, Modals of deduction, Pairwork and groupwork, Passives, Photocopiable worksheets, pre-school/ kindergarten/ very young learners, Present simple for routines etc., Present tenses, Songs with adults, Teaching low levels, Teaching young learners, TEFL, TEFL games, TPR, Using songs with kids | 2 Comments