Category Archives: Materials and lesson ideas

Back to school activities – starting off right

Here we are again, my fellow teachers. The summer holidays have all but gone, and now I can almost feel teachers itching with anticipation, dread and, dare I say, a little bit of joy at returning to the classroom. I know, it’s a mixed bag, but one thing we are all in agreement on isContinue reading “Back to school activities – starting off right”

End-of-year class ideas

So the end of the academic year is coming to a close, at least in many parts of the world. Generally our learners have completed exams at school as well as in the academy, and now we are at the stage where we have a few weeks left, we don’t really want to keep usingContinue reading “End-of-year class ideas”

Making the shift to online teaching – Some tips and tools to make life easier.

**Updated** Since the original publishing of this post, I have come across a phenomenal amount of extra resources, tools, etc. that I think you will all find very useful. I have updated the lists within this blog, and I will continue to do so. Watch this space! – Jim The coronavirus has sent the worldContinue reading “Making the shift to online teaching – Some tips and tools to make life easier.”

Activity – Telephone Keypad

So last weekend, I attended the annual Cambridge teacher trainers’ meeting held in Madrid. It was perhaps one of the most informative and valuable weekends that I’ve had within my career as an English teacher/trainer. I won’t go into all the details in this post, but what I will talk about is one of theContinue reading “Activity – Telephone Keypad”

Small Talk – Getting Conversation Classes Right (Part 2)

Note: If you would like to cover the background theory and the reasoning behind a lot these activities, please read Part 1. The How? So, hopefully, you’ve read the What? and the Why? and now you’re on the lookout for the How?, i.e. the activities and tasks that can be used in the language classroom to really help your learnersContinue reading “Small Talk – Getting Conversation Classes Right (Part 2)”

First day openers

Even after five years, I still get butterflies in my stomach come first day of term. In my opinion, the first day of term is one of the most important as there is a need at all levels to both establish rapport with your learners and lay down the ‘ground rules’. But how can youContinue reading “First day openers”