Category Archives: TESOL

An A to Z of Korean English (Konglish) expressions

Posted on 01/12/2008 by alexcase

UPDATE: List now much expanded and polished up, including more listing of when it is the same in other languages. I’ve also since done a list of common errors for Korean speakers, worksheets for Koreans that deal with some of … Continue reading →

Posted in English as an International Language/ Lingua Franca, Error correction, False friends, Konglish, Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Japan, Teaching English in Korea, TEFL, TESOL, Vocabulary | Tagged | 46 Comments

TEFL teachers rock!

Posted on 25/11/2008 by alexcase

No, really! Research shows that the best teachers of deaf kids are ones with TESOL experience, according to this Detroit newspaper. And I thought our only transferable skill was being able to translate from Cockney to understandable English when standing … Continue reading →

Posted in getting out of TEFL, TEFL career planning, TESOL | Comments Off on TEFL teachers rock!

An Alternative Dictionary of ELT jargon Part 17

Posted on 10/11/2008 by alexcase

adjacency pairs- the strange connection between students being sat beside each other in the first lesson and forming couples back channelling- TEFL euphemism for shirt lifting boundary marker-use of textbooks to stake out territory on a desk caretaker talk-

Posted in Linguistics, applied linguistics and SLA, TEFL, TESOL | Tagged , , | Comments Off on An Alternative Dictionary of ELT jargon Part 17

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

Another 25 extracts from the brochures of crappy English schools

Posted on 10/09/2008 by alexcase

45. “Our incompetent teachers will make you feel better about yourself” 46. “Certificate of achievement for all students who are actually still around at the end of the course” 47. “Guaranteed students who are a much higher level in each class to explain … Continue reading →

Posted in Job security, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL chains, TEFL scams, TEFL working conditions, TESOL | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Slogans for crap English schools

Posted on 07/09/2008 by alexcase

1. “Officially the blondest teachers of any school in Japan/ China/ Taiwan etc” 2. “We’ve never changed because we are perfect” 3. “Come and see the new batch of teachers, fresh off the plane” 4. “The youth of our teachers … Continue reading →

Posted in Humanistic language teaching, Job security, Teaching English Abroad, Teaching English in Asia, Teaching English in Europe, TEFL, TEFL working conditions, TESOL | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

An alternative way of planning your lessons

Posted on 27/08/2008 by alexcase

1. Put a metal plate by the side of your sofa 2. Hold a spoon in your left hand 3. Lie on your sofa with your left hand draped over the plate

Posted in Lesson planning, links, TEFL, TEFL celebs/ TEFL heroes and villains, TEFL heroes- Alan Maley, TESOL | Tagged | Comments Off on An alternative way of planning your lessons

TEFL International's Bruce Velhuisen- Interview Part Two

Posted on 20/07/2008 by alexcase

TEFL International is not only often quoted as one of the largest TEFL training organisations (see the stats below), it is also almost certainly the one most likely to set off a firestorm by mentioning it on the internet- hence … Continue reading →

Posted in ARELS, Bell, British Council accreditation, Bruce Veldhuisen, Cambridge ESOL, CELTA, IATEFL, IATQUO, MA TESOL, Teacher associations, Teacher training, Teaching English Abroad, TEFL, TEFL career planning, TEFL certificate, TEFL in the UK, TEFL International, TEFL qualifications, TESOL | Tagged | 100 Comments

And the funniest TEFL blog award goes to…

Posted on 09/07/2008 by alexcase

There are a suprising number of TEFL blogs that make me giggle but now that Chase Me Ladies is no longer TEFLing, the TEFLtastic prize for funniest TEFL blog will probably have to go to English Teacher X. Like all … Continue reading →

Posted in Chase me ladies, Englishteacherx, Teaching English in Asia, TEFL blogs, TESOL | Tagged , | 5 Comments

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 | Comments Off on Surprising things about speech acts