Contents:
The Olympic Games
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The Olympic games in China next month should provide a rich source of lesson material so it’s a good idea for schools to start collecting materials now. Firstly the topic is interesting in itself: from the original games that took place...
The intention behind the words
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I said in my last post that at the base of my English for business courses is the concept of how we communicate. We use words not simply in their literal senses but as signs of how we really feel about the subject in hand. We need to help...
How different?
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I was back in France recently and basking in the lovely sunshine: a bit different from the non-stop downpours here in the UK. Anyway, I met up with some former colleagues and students and one teacher told me she teaches her business English...
The English project
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It is always interesting to find websites that will be of interest to teachers...
The communication gap
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I wonder how much we really understand about communicating in this age in which the means of disseminating information ...
Cynical exploitation?
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Many overseas students will be preparing for their summer holidays before setting off for higher education in a western ...
The place of grammar in the classroom
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I always find this topic sparks lively debate. When second languages were taught by the grammar/translation method, everyone seemed fairly clear about what should be taught and in what order. Verbs in all their complexity dominated the scene and conjugations and inflections were learnt by rote. The result was that language learners understood a good deal about how the target language was constructed but had little...
Listening skills for teachers
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It is important for teachers to listen actively to their students. I think we often hear what we expect to hear rather than what students are really....
Recruitment tips (2)
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I am posting the second part of my entry containing recruitment tips.
6. Interview
It is crucial to give careful thought to your interviewing technique before you meet the candidates as you want to ensure that the interview, which is the most important stage of all, is structured to produce the best results. You will need to think about pre-interview activities, the layout ...
Tips for successful recruitment (1)
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Teachers are a language school’s greatest asset: on their performance lies the major part of your reputation. You may have wonderful premises and state-of-the-art equipment but without first-rate teachers your students will be unimpressed. It follows, then, that successful recruitment and retention of staff is one of management’s key priorities.
Remember that recruitment doesn’t happen as if by magic. It is a strategic process for ...
Creativity
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The real proof of effective learning lies in the student’s ability to use the new material creatively: Bloom’s highest order thinking. In traditional terms, this is
More on analysing and evaluating
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Analysing and evaluating help deepen the learning experience. By analysing new language the learner breaks something complex into its basic components. In pronunciation...
Applying and analysing
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According to Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, once new material has been understood it should be applied. Here the learner has the opportunity to explore how the items learnt can be used. It is best to begin with transfer to situations similar...
Understanding
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Understanding is the second element in the Revised Taxonomy. It reminds us that it is not enough that learners have remembered new material but that we must check they have really understood. Understanding new language takes place on...
Memory
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As I noted last time, Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy puts remembering as the first element in the learning process: we have to remember an item before we can understand it. How do we help students to etch the new material...
