Category Archives: Phonemic script

TV's only phonemic chart quote?

“No children, you are not seeing things. This, my little friends, is a schwa!”

Posted in Phonemic script, Pronunciation, Schwa, TEFL, Weak forms | Comments Off on TV's only phonemic chart quote?

Why are there so many bad English teachers in Japan?

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 of … 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

Read article + talk about article = learn a language

This is the one simple recipe that teachers all over Japan are using to raise the level of their students’ English: Take one copy of the Japan Times that you were going to read anyway Cut out one topical and/ or cultural article … Continue reading

Posted in Business English and ESP, Classroom management, EFL exams, Learner motivation, Lesson planning, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, Mixed ability classes, Pairwork and groupwork, Phonemic script, Social English, Speaking, Staging, TEFL | 3 Comments