‘Article Notes’ is a set of blog posts in which I write down my notes about articles that I read. These notes are not meant to be ‘academic’ or ‘formal’; rather, they are my ramblings and immediate thoughts in reaction to the content I read. I’ve written them up to help me remember the article,Continue reading “Article notes – Exploring Emotions in Language Teaching – Jack C. Richards”
Category Archives: Random goodies
The Three Series: Three evidence-based ways to start your class
This is part of The Three Series. Every teacher has their way of opening a class. I can remember all the way back to my CertTESOL (initial teaching qualification) when the trainers gave us a list of openers and closers. I’ve found myself going back to this list again and again, but as I’ve becomeContinue reading “The Three Series: Three evidence-based ways to start your class”
The Teacher Trainer Diaries: Workshop planning
I used to find workshop planning a little daunting – now I love the process. I am lucky enough to be in a position in which I work with teachers who want to run their first workshop, and I get to mentor them through the whole process (through which I learn so much as well!).Continue reading “The Teacher Trainer Diaries: Workshop planning”
Sponge Chats – Perspectives on Assessment with Fatime Losonci
This blog post is part of the Sponge Chats video series. In the latest Sponge Chat, I spoke with assessment expert, Fatime Losonci. This chat was really interesting for me as assessment is one of those areas that I have read a little about, but nowhere near enough – and I certainly have no experience with itemContinue reading “Sponge Chats – Perspectives on Assessment with Fatime Losonci”
Review: Activities for Alternative Assessment – Leo Selivan
Delta Publishing produced two of my favourite resource books for teachers – Activities for Task-Based Learning and Activities for Mediation. No joke, these books are the most popular in the academy – I even have to tell teachers NOT to take them home! So, I was over the moon when I was able to getContinue reading “Review: Activities for Alternative Assessment – Leo Selivan”
Teaching exam classes – Some questions to consider
Last week, I ran a workshop for a small group of teachers, and we focused on preparing learners for exams. Whenever I run a workshop, I always keep an eye out for teachers’ doubts, questions, etc. and then I write these down. At the end of the session, I then include a ‘thinking questions’ stage,Continue reading “Teaching exam classes – Some questions to consider”
Review: Cambridge Elements – Mediating Innovation through Language Teacher Education – Martin East
Here we are again with another review of another Cambridge Element! Martin East is someone who really needs no introduction, especially to those in the TBLT world. When I heard that he was releasing an Element that focused on innovation, with TBLT as the ‘focus’, and it was done so from a teacher education perspective,Continue reading “Review: Cambridge Elements – Mediating Innovation through Language Teacher Education – Martin East”
TTEdSIG Mentoring conference notes
This weekend, the TTEdSIG held another amazing online event, Mentoring for Teacher Educators. What follows here are my notes from the sessions 🙂 Christine Coombe – Mentoring: An essential skill for leadership development There are many definitions of mentoring, although they are evolving. Christine’s definition is that both the mentor and the mentee gain fromContinue reading “TTEdSIG Mentoring conference notes”
Review: Cambridge Elements – Language Teacher Educator Identity – Gary Barkhuizen
Back in February of 2021, Cambridge published the first Cambridge Element in Language Teaching (they have loads of other really interesting Elements series for those that are interested) – Language Teacher Educator Identity, written by Gary Barkhuizen. I recently got myself a copy, and as usual the Element delivered. This Element, however, was perhaps oneContinue reading “Review: Cambridge Elements – Language Teacher Educator Identity – Gary Barkhuizen”
Musings of an academic manager – managing my time whilst covering for sick teachers
One of the responsibilities of being a DoS or any sort of academic manager (in general) is having to cover teachers’ classes when they fall ill. Most of us in management have probably become even more aware of this (and the pain that it brings) over the last two to three years with the COVID-19Continue reading “Musings of an academic manager – managing my time whilst covering for sick teachers”
SPONGE ELT 