Personal Learning Network January 3, 2012 What is a PLN, anyway? A good friend (and a great teacher) e-mailed me after my last post. “Great links,” she said. “But what’s a PLN?” A good reminder about why I try to avoid acronyms and jargon in... Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Technology for Teaching and Learning November 30, 2011 Thoughtful language practice I’m always looking for ways to add a “thinking” dimension to class activities, and if I can do that with a lot of speaking, and reading, and writing practice then I’m a happy teacher... Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Activities October 29, 2011 The Halloween party that almost wasn’t I love parties. However, I’ve been traveling for workshops a lot for the past six months, and have had to cancel quite a few classes. During the last week of September and the first... Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know May 29, 2011 How culture matters If you walk into a neighborhood in my part of Japan, you’ll see a display like this somewhere near the entrance. It’s a map showing all of the houses in a neighborhood, and the... Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know May 18, 2011 How Context Matters What are these? How are they used? Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Stuff All EFL Teachers Should Know April 30, 2011 Rocco’s Day: A student-generated story activity for literacy practice Though experience and through language we learn. Experience needs language to give it form. Language needs experience to give it content. ~Walter Loban Children learning English as a foreign language tend to develop oral... Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Activities March 3, 2011 Six Word Stories Recently, I participated in a fabulous digital storytelling workshop through TESOL Electronic Village Online. One of the activities that caught my eye during the workshop was Six Word Stories. The process is simple: Students... Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Personal Learning Network February 28, 2011 Fun, in practice At the end of January, I wrote a post inspired by Volkswagen’s Fun Theory competition. (If you missed the original post, it’s here: The Fun Theory in Language Learning) As often happens, as soon... Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Reflection February 14, 2011 Teaching: a love story This Valentine’s Day, since all the chocolate in Japan goes to men, I’m enjoying spending some quality time with the longest (non-family) relationship in my life: teaching. Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket
Reflection February 10, 2011 What’s in a name? What do your students call you? Does it matter? Share this:FacebookLinkedInTwitterPinterestPrintMoreEmailTumblrRedditPocket