Category Archives: Cambridge Delta

Some new ideas about CPD in ELT

Posted on 22/07/2009 by alexcase

From July’s MET, and now here on my “CPD portfolio”* The aptly named article “CPD” by Keith Harding has some interesting ideas I hadn’t come across like a Self-SWOT Analysis and a snap-shot observation, but the really weighty matters are … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, CPD, Diploma in TESOL, ELT publishing, Lesson observations, modern english teacher magazine, Peer observations, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL qualifications, TEFL working conditions, TEFL workshops | 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

7 things you probably didn’t know about me

Posted on 01/02/2009 by alexcase

1. Dave Sperling still owes me ten Euros he borrowed off me at the TESOL Spain conference 2. The EF school in Eastbourne had the alternative word for the “F” part of its sign that me and my friends graffitied … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, EF, EFL geek, IATEFL, Teacher forums, TEFL blogs, TEFL chains, TEFL heroes- Jeremy Harmer, TEFL heroes- Michael Swan, TEFL heroes- Sandy McManus, TEFL heroes- Scott Thornbury, TEFL Tradesman, TEFL villains- Jennifer Jenkins | Tagged | 23 Comments

6 Ways TEFL Certificate Course Providers Try to Rip You Off – Part 2

Posted on 14/01/2009 by alexcase

by guest writer “TEFLista” 3. Call Anyone a Trainer (and count on most people not asking about their qualifications). Arguably, the most important part of a good TEFL course is its trainers. Good trainers might be able to save a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, Dodgy TEFL courses, links, MA Applied Linguistics, MA TESOL, PGCE in TEFL, SIT TESOL, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Indonesia, Teaching English in Thailand, Teaching English in Vietnam, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL certificate, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TESOL, Trinity, Trinity CertTESOL | Tagged | 30 Comments

A little bit more reality in TEFL theory

Posted on 06/11/2008 by alexcase

Continuing my occasional series (as occasional as reality coming into TEFL theory): “…it is relatively rare for language teachers to negotiate overall learning goals with their classes at the beginning of courses in an open, direct manner. However… it is commonplace … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, Cambridge ESOL, Cambridge University Press, CELTA, Classroom dynamics, ELT publishing, Learner training, Lesson planning, Materials, Syllabus negotiation, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL heroes- Rose M Senior, TEFL qualifications | Tagged | 2 Comments

An alternative A to Z of ELT Part 15

Posted on 14/09/2008 by alexcase

Innateness hypothesis- The theory that studying English is inherently boring, so why bother with games. See also “Inaneness hypothesis”* Input- The theory that the language we expose students to should be as carefully chosen as when programming a computer or … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, Teaching English in Spain, TEFL heroes- Scott Thornbury | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Question from a reader: DELTA, CELTA or RSA Trinity?

Posted on 28/05/2008 by alexcase

Hi, I’ve just read your DELTA experiences and wondered if you could advise me on the best course to take. I’ve been teaching for 12 years (PGCE and Degree in English) – 6 years in Comprehensives in the UK and … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, MA TESOL, PGCE in TEFL, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL certificate, TEFL in the UK, TEFL qualifications, Trinity | 2 Comments

Have “alternative” TEFL courses been good for the industry?

Posted on 27/05/2008 by alexcase

Noticing that two of my three nominations for TEFL bad boy of the century have been involved in selling 4 week TEFL courses of limited career worth has made me wonder whether the whole non-CELTA non-Trinity lot of them have … Continue reading →

Posted in Bruce Veldhuisen, Cambridge Delta, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, Dodgy TEFL courses, Dodgy TEFL school owners, MA TESOL, PGCE in TEFL, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL certificate, TEFL International, TEFL qualifications, TEFL scams, TEFL villains- Paul Lowe, Trinity, Via Lingua, Windsor TEFL | 4 Comments

The disadvantages of teaching in Japan

Posted on 18/05/2008 by alexcase

“My first two years in Japan were spent teaching English… The students… studied English- or should I say, English was taught in their presence. Nothing ever seemed to sink in. Years of classes and endless tests and still they couldn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in becoming a teacher trainer, British Council, Business English and ESP, Cambridge Delta, CELTA, Cultural differences/ cultural training, Dave Sperling's ESL Cafe, Eikaiwa, English Teachers in Japan, Functional language, JALT, Materials, Mixed ability classes, Pairwork and groupwork, Problem students, Teacher forums, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching low levels, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL working conditions, TOEIC | 22 Comments

Is a good teacher worth good money? Part Two

Posted on 10/11/2007 by alexcase

I seem to be preaching to the converted here (unless the people who disagree with me are so infuriated that their fingers have tensed up and they temporarily can’t use a keyboard), but I’d already started writing part two before … Continue reading →

Posted in Cambridge Delta, ELT management, Job security, Teacher training, TEFL, TEFL qualifications, TESOL | 3 Comments