The Teaching field of second and foreign languages has gone through contrasting phases over the past 40 years, as like everything else in the world. After in-depth investigation, research has shown that the communicative approach is the best way to get learners interacting with the teacher, peers and the language itself. However, in some institutions, …
Taking part of a massive teacher development event is not only gratifying but also mind-blowing. IATEFL was held in Glasgow this year! More than 2000 teachers worldwide got together to share classroom experiences, learn from each other and exchange cultural aspects that take place inside and out of the classroom walls. Teacher development is …
I took a course during these last holidays which main objective was to focus on cross curricular activities in mainstream schooling. During the course, a whole new image came to my mind regarding our teaching system and my own teaching concepts. Not that it was all new, but somehow the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle …
When I first became a language teacher, in the 1980s, not much thought was put into the theory that underlies what it is to be or become a teacher. I was very intuitive, my students seemed to enjoy my classes, they were very participative and, most important of all, they were learning the language. I …
The kids would not stop for one second. The girl´s group up front was chatting away deciding whether the books should be on or under their desks. One of the boys realised the teacher was going to show a video, so thought it would be helpful to turn off the lights in the middle of …
The world is changing at a faster pace than we can actually handle. By the time we master an app, thousands more have already been launched. New words are constantly being added to the English language even as you are reading this article. When we are under the impression we have finally reached a stage …
The word test has become extremely negative amongst teachers and I can understand why. I also tend to agree with the objections I hear towards the word. Schools have become obsessed with testing and getting/giving results and scores. When inside a teacher´s room, you can feel the atmosphere getting tenser and tenser as the days …
How often do you actually stop what you are doing in order to analyze your objectives as a teacher? Have you recently asked yourself why you are teaching? What and how you are teaching? In addition, most importantly, who you are teaching? Teacher development starts with self-reflection. Not only is it a powerful tool …