In the classroom
Lesson plans, grammar and vocabulary activities, and rescuing a bad lesson.
Saving A Lesson Gone Bad
With experience I get better, but I don’t get perfect. What do you do when a lesson starts to go sour?
A New Year In The Blogosphere: TEFL On The Web News
EFL Geek recently shared his first article for the Korean Herald - on Konglish. Read the article for an explanation of Konglish and some examples.
Using Wikipedia In TEFL Class
A creative teacher at the ESL café - Leigh Thelmadatter - had a neat idea for an interactive writing activity: organize a lesson or series of lessons where your students participate in editing a…
"The Art Of Questioning": How To Get A Discussion Going
Do you have a specific strategy for getting the discussion going when your questions receive blank stares?
Leading Group Discussions
“ Many experienced instructors consider leading small-group discussion more difficult and more challenging than lecturing to a room of two hundred.
The 420,000 Days Of Christmas
None of that twelve days business here at the TEFL Logue. To round out the year, here are a few numerical links. What does 420,000 stand for?
Tips And Tricks For "Problem Students", The Sequel
Read Tips and Tricks for Problem Students - Part One first. The student who won’t talk This is a problem because most native speaker teachers are – at least to some extent – there to get students to…
Tips And Tricks For "Problem Students"
I popped into the f riendly forums at eslHQ and found some useful hints, tips and tricks for dealing with “problem students” of all kinds.
Pre-Literate Learners
Of the 380 English spelling rules, only ONE has no exceptions – no English word ends with the letter “v”. Source: The American Literacy Council . (All quotes taken from espindle.org ) Most U.S.
Teaching A Bunch Of Words In A Box
I went through my CELTA and learned about providing a context that allows students to deduce the meanings of new words.
Notes On ESL Lesson Plans
A potential EFL teacher recently contacted me to ask: what’s involved in planning a lesson?
What's Involved In Planning A Lesson?
Start here for the background please. Vocabulary can be considered a lesson of its own: see how to teach a box of words (coming soon!) I’d start by deciding what I’d cover and what my aims were.
The Lesson From Hell
Even when you love your job, ugly lessons rear their respective heads every now and again. What do you do about that lesson that bombs every time, all the ways you’ve tried it?
From The Carnival To The TEFL Logue
Larry Ferlazzo’s ESL Carnival for November recently went up and I’m happy to report that I made the deadline, thanks to a heads up in time from Larry.
Christmas In TEFL
The holiday season is just around the corner…or was it that corner I passed three blocks ago?
How Much Translation Do You Use?
Most of us have heard it more than a couple of times “encourage your students not to rely on translation” or one of the other variants (" English only ").
Teaching Prepositions
When I google or yahoo “teaching prepositions” and “preposition games” I don’t find much that I would be able to use in a communicative-ish class of adults.
Activities For Revising Or Practicing Tenses
In my experience, as long as you plan well, it’s fairly easy to present tenses but much harder to find good communicative practice.
Top 10 Teaching Tenses Do's and Dont's
Do use timelines. Don’t teach all the tenses all at once. Don’t assume your students know the names of tenses (ask “Emir, what were you doing at 6 this morning?” not, “Sejla, give me an example of…
What Do You Need To Teach Beginners?
It’s my experience that students at lower levels tend to progress much more quickly, or at least to feel that they are, and this is one of the reasons I enjoy teaching them.
Functional Language Follies
I have to admit that every time the Real Life section rolls around my eyes do a little rolling too.
101 Uses For Spam In Class
I’ve been fortunate to receive some spam with hilarious subjects in the last few months.
Classroom Management Tips And Tricks From OneStopEnglish.com
One Stop English has hosted some excellent methodology debates (such as on reading skills , teacher burn out , and grammar ), so I was over the moon to see a new one, by Adrian Tennan, on classroom…
Some Textbook Cases of Student Confidence (Or Lack Thereof)
I never fail to be surprised by students, and it’s always striking when a couple of cases can illustrate in practice something I’ve mostly just assumed to be true.
Learn Each Others' Names Or Else!
I’m not usually an advocate of violence, nor would I like to imagine the TEFL Logue as some kind of cookbook for student abuse.
Are Reading Skills A Waste Of Time? From OneStopEnglish.com's Methodology Debates
In yet another of One Stop English’s methodology debates, The End of Reading , Scott Thornbury argues that the skills learners use to read in English are essentially the same ones they use to read in…
Making Fun Of Students
Do ESL teachers make fun of their students? No, of course not! Mainly though because they tend not to make mistakes that are all that funny…I’ll admit it does seem pretty mean to make fun of people…
Top 10 Do's And Dont's For The New School Year
September is known around the world, or at least around the northern hemisphere, as the start of the new school year.
Funny False Friends
Even if you don’t speak any Slavic language, you’d probably recognize kompjuter, interesantan and kalendar…but sometimes words that sound similar actually have meanings different than what you would…
Pangrams And Spoonerisms: Adapting English Language Trivia For Class
There were some fun English language trivia in The Daily Mail. I would preface this by saying: In a class with a syllabus to cover and limited time, I would probably use these only as fillers, or as…
Rant On Missing Articles
I got shot before I went to India. Oh, no, actually, I got a shot, one against hepatitis, before I went to India. Just one of funnier instances of missing article resulting in different meaning.
The TEFL Logue And The Bee: Akeelah In Class?
Akeelah and the Bee is a fine movie with a heart-warming ending that made me ask a question I probably should have asked a long time ago: spelling bees - why?
A Case Study: One Speaking Test Format
I recently mentioned that I thought a “speaking test” would not be a bad supplement to a book test which is overly focused on grammar, especially when the class is more focused on communication.
Fun With Dictation
It doesn’t sound like a very nice activity, first of all because, you know, Stalin and his ilk bring an unpleasant connotation to dictating and such, but even its normal teaching meaning, "dictation"…
Are Your Students Too Embarrassed To Speak?
I ask because apparently embarrassment at speaking a foreign language is a major reason given by some Brits for choosing not to travel abroad.
Teaching English When It's A Second Language
Ole at Costa Rica Classroom recently posted on the theme of teaching English when it is his second language …and he touched on the point of “authority”.
Fire Safety Vocabulary For ESL Learners
Some ESL learners in North Carolina are getting a special introduction to fire safety vocabulary from the pros: some volunteer firefighters.
Secretly Famous Students
Do you watch local language television or news where you are? Thanks to DVDs, I don’t.
The TEFL Logue's Thoughts Featured At EFL Geek
I’m happy to report that EFL Geek gave me the honor of being a guest author on his blog.
Ripped From The Headlines: Good Adult Discipline Strategies?
Some time ago, I lamented the fact that disciplining adult students can be a challenge .
Teaching Listening From The Yemen Times And An ELT Notebook
Sometimes I feel like I am idea-d out on new classroom tips and activities to post, having shared many of them here already.
Surpise! I Can Understand You
Gdog, who has returned home to Canada, continues to give readers their Daily Kimchi fix with stories from Korea.
Teaching About Prejudice?
Transitions Abroad is an excellent resource for those who pine about travel, work or study in foreign places.
TOEFL Test Speaking
I had a rude awakening to the world of exam prep around this time last year, when I taught exactly one iBT TOEFL prep course.
Electronic Translators: Friend Or Foe?
The sound of beeping and, from time to time, of automated, mechanical “voices” is one that does not trouble me in Eastern Europe, but which played nearly a daily role in my classes in Chicago.
The Beauty Of Pairwork
Students don’t always love it, but I do. Why? They get a chance to speak, speak, speak; especially when the class is large, pairwork means each person has a chance to speak for much longer than in…
TEFL Warmers From Dave's ESL Cafe Idea Cookbook
Facing a class for the first time can be hard – but as the teacher you’re the one who is supposed to get them to relax.
How To Save Time And Be More Productive
This advice comes from an unlikely source: Yahoo finance . Geared towards increasing productivity and keeping your sanity, I think most of these tips can apply to ESL. What do you think? 1.
Are You A Time-Wasting TEFL-er?
Are you a time-wasting teacher? Few will cop to that, but many of us are guilty. Maybe not guilty of copying our respective faces, but of wasting time.
Functional Language: Ordering Beer In English
It's that time of year, the time when EFL teachers from the UK return home to teach in summer schools, American ESL teachers working in the US...well...they just keep on working because there is no…
Funny English Signs
You’ve surely seen signs like these: It is forbidden to entertain guests of the opposite sex in your room; please use the lobby for this purpose.
Using Funny English Signs In Class
I was so taken with a long list of funny signs in English which I found during my first term teaching that I brought them at once to my highest level advanced class, handed them out and said "Read…
Other Funny English Language Bloopers
If learners are advanced enough to see the “double meaning” in funny English signs on their own, they usually do find them amusing.
In Defense Of TEFL Games
"Are your students there to have fun, or are they there to learn?" I’ve heard this criticism leveled against TEFL games more than once, and in addition to my post on Is TEFL Just Entertainment ,…
My Dream Team ESL Syllabus of Social Issue in Current Film
It should be no surprise to TEFL Logue readers that I like my social issues. I also enjoy using film in class, though I don’t do it nearly as much as I’d like to.
Documentaries In The ESL Classroom
EFL Geek’s post on Prison Break in class and an ELT Notebook’s YouTube lesson plan were well-timed for me because I’ve been thinking about how to incorporate another form of video in class:…
Prison Break And YouTube In Class
If you’re on the lookout for fun an educational ways to incorporate video into class, you’ve found the right post: EFL Geek recently created and carried out a lesson using the pilot episode of Prison…
Correction Using Hand Signals Gets A Thumbs Down From Me
This is one technique which I just can’t use with a straight face. I’m not saying hand signals are bad, but I worry that students won’t get them and furthermore will find them patronizing, Also, it…
Top 5 Tips For New Teachers (From A New Teacher In China)
Nick, who’s home for the summer following 7 months in China, was kind enough to do an email interview for the TEFL Logue.
"Brain-Friendly Grammar" From Teacher In Development Blog
Aaron at Teacher In Development presented some cool ideas for teaching grammar following a TEFL Logue post about onestopenglish.com’s “Is It Possible To Teach Grammar?” I generally agreed with Jim…
Super Students
Students come in all shapes, colors and temperaments, like…many things, I suppose. I like most students I work with, some , of course, more than others .
TV In The TEFL Classroom: Friends
I’ve used Friends with Advanced level classes; I’ve found it takes quite a lot of preparation to do it well, but once it’s done you can use it again and again.
Movies In The TEFL Classroom: Write The Dialog Activity
“That cake you brought to the staffroom…it was delicious.” “Why, thank you. It’s my mother’s recipe.” “I’ll have to get it from you.” One of my favorite add-ons to a film lesson – and this tends to…
Film As Extended Listening?
Some teachers warn against using film (only) as extended listening: is this a valid criticism?
TEFL As Psychotherapy (Or, Fringe Benefit Of TEFL #7)
I’ve come across the opinion that teaching one-to-one students can be like psychotherapy of some kind (for the students, not the teacher!), and I think I agree.
Observations On ESL Student Motivation
I’ve taught in four countries, including my own, and had students from a variety of backgrounds.
Student Feedback To The Rescue
Student feedback, for better or worse, regularly rears its head in EFL. Why consider it?
A Cautionary Note About Student Feedback
(Why not read the nice part about student feedback first? ) But now I’ll put on my skeptic hat, in fact the one I usually wear: while I definitely acknowledge the importance of student feedback, I…
The Other Student Who Didn't Pass
It’s generally the opposite of “good times all around” when students fail, as I found first hand in this story .
Mindmaps From ESL Lesson Plan
Carol at ESL Lesson Plan regularly posts on topics I find relevant to the classroom; one of the latest is the theme of mind maps .
What To Do With All Those Damn Scraps Of Paper
If you’re like me – and I wish you luck if you are – you cut up a lot of paper for your classes.
Exam Prep First-Hand
A few months ago I had the pleasure of revising some GRE prep materials and I have to say it’s interesting to be in the position of being a student again, if – for now at least – only for the short…
Using Current Fiction In Class
I recently stumbled across a blog post of a teacher in Germany who used Nick Hornby’s “A Long Way Down” as part of an EFL class.
From An ELT Notebook: The Last Five Minutes
An ELT Notebook recently featured an article about “ the last five minutes ” which had some useful tips for wrapping up class.
From OneStopEnglish.com: Are You A Teacher Of The Future?
Onestopenglish.com has a section called Methodology Debates which I was pleased to find (see my first post on these debates, along with my personal disclaimer, here ).
Vocabulary Fun With New English Words
Do you keep up with any blooks? Or are you reliant on the lamestream media? If you like to keep up with the latest in tech developments and know what vlogs and mobcasts are, you might want to test…
Writing Activities From The Spoof
"Nobody can be that stupid or uneducated", said . "This has to be a conscious act on the part of … to destroy the English language.
Remembering Students' Names
Are you good at it, and do you have special tricks to do it? I think I’m not bad. Maybe it’s because I’m a visual learner, but seeing people’s names on the attendance list helps a lot.
TEFL Conspiracy Theories
From time to time, I like to amuse myself with random conspiracy theory stories. The one about the moon landing being filmed in Vegas is a bit much, even for me, but I like to make guesses about…
Methodology Debates From OneStopEnglish.com
Onestopenglish.com has a small (and hopefully developing) section on methodology debates, and the first topic I looked at – “ Can you teach grammar ” by Jim Scrivener – was quite interesting, perhaps…
Learning Disabilities In EFL
It’s hard to know what to do when someone in your class seems to be having more problems than others.
Capitalizing On Gameshow Concepts In Class: TEFL Games
If you haven’t heard the big news: Bob Barker of The Price Is Right filmed his last episode today . He’s 83.
TEFL Skill: Expressing Your Ideas Simply
I think that I’m lucky that so many people want (or need) to learn my language; it means I have a job.
TEFL Tips: Grading Your Language
I’ve come across the viewpoint that teachers should keep their language natural, and while I definitely see the value in this, especially for higher level learners, I think it can be taken too far.
Top 10 TEFL Games And Speaking Activities
Turning English-learning into a game can obviously make things easier on many students and it also helps bring the teacher and the class together.
Another Way To Look At Mixed Ability Classes
Mixed ability classes. Most of us have taught them and most of us know that every class will have “mixed ability” simply because people are not clones with the exact same learning history, strengths…
Correction: Is It Cultural?
I once made a call to an offbeat landlord, using the local language to check in with her about a deal I’d struck with her family about the rent.
TEFL Word Game, Courtesy Of Hasbro
Taboo is word game that rivals only crossword puzzles (and perhaps clever roleplays ) in my mind.
Complete The King Wrong Comic At Grammarman
You might remember the Grammarman Webquest , where Grammarman fans – generally English language learners but hey, why not teachers too – were given the challenge of creating an original comic from…
TEFL Classroom Games: Hide A Word
It can be a challenge to find games which are both useful and fun for higher level learners that involve speaking fluency.
Conversation Classes
Carol at ESL Lesson Plan recently posted some great tips for teaching conversation classes, and it got me thinking about the scope and challenges of this type of class.
EFL Geek On The Changine Role Of Technology In The EFL Classroom
I thought EFL Geek is in a good position to speak about the changing role of technology in the language classroom because a) he seems to know about and like the stuff b) he has extensive experience…
Teaching 1:1's
(by Tedkarma) Tedkarma is back to share some comments on teaching one to one lessons.
Sometimes Learning English Is Like Joining A Gym
It occurred to me that knowing a language – for the sake of logic I’ll use English as an example – is a little bit like losing 20 pounds.
Intensive TEFL Courses
The topic of intensive courses has been following me around recently. One of the points I’ve heard made is that students in intensive courses may end up learning more, or learning better, than…
Recording Your Students...
…secretly, and in case they are suspicious, why else? Of course I jest, I’m taking about recording your students to help improve their English.
The Helpful ESL Student
The verdict is in and the TEFL Logue is technologically inept. Recently, in an unfamiliar classroom, I had some trouble finding where to put the CD in the stereo.
Discipline And Adult Students
I teach adults, and it surprises me that discipline is something I have to think about; some may chalk this up to classroom management…but in many contexts it is very close to discipline.
Classroom Management Tips For Kids
If you remember Amy from her TEFL Logue interview a few days ago, you probably realize that she might just be in a position to offer some insight on discipline; she’s taught English both abroad…
TEFL Quiz: How Much Do You Know About May 1?
Every year for the past several, I’ve had a day off that people at home haven’t: the first of May, for International Labour Day, or May Day.