Author Archive
This month's blog post picks up on the #MyTEFLStory campaign earlier this year where we encouraged TEFL professionals to share their career stories with us. Here Diana England, DOS at IH Torres Vedras, shares her TEFL story which has taken her around the globe. Keep an eye out for the 40th anniversary edition of the IH ...
Thanks to Anthony Ash for this month's blog contribution: We’ve all heard of Facebook and its nickname “the social network.” It’s an understatement to say that Facebook has become a ubiquitous force to be reckoned with not only in the online world but also the face-to-face world. We’re shocked when a person doesn’t have a Facebook ...
“Trainer: a person who teaches skills to people or animals and prepares them for a job, activity, or sport”1 Welcome to the 40th Edition of the International House Journal! It’s summer for most of the world as I write, and with the sunshine comes a busy period in teacher training. With many private language schools and public institutions enjoying a well-earned break from regular course provision or the stresses ...
With the 20th Anniversary of the IH Journal and the launch this year of #MyTEFLstory it seemed right for this issue’s Five in a Flash to be about Teacher Development for YL Teachers. Whilst this issue’s column is more of a fleshy five and not exactly a flash to read, I hope the longer than ...
Can we teach speaking to YLs? One of the most frequently asked questions on YL training sessions I have been to or that I have run is ‘Can we teach speaking to YLs?’. While many ESL/EFL teachers agree with the idea that ‘it is not necessary (or even possible) to teach speaking in any real sense’ ...
How many times have we flicked through the coursebook and thought “My teenagers won't be interested in this” and yet, we go ahead and base our lesson around it anyway? In just a few minutes, you can create much more meaningful contexts which should engage your students more, and hopefully provide a few laughs along the ...
Benefits of Games for YLs (3 – 17 years) Games are an essential part of any YL teacher toolkit. The reason for this is understood when we compare adult and young learners. YLs are in the process of learning how to learn, and games assist YLs in cognitive, social and linguistic development (McKay, 2006). There are ...
What is this article? How much do teacher educators (TEs) practise what we preach by adapting/customising programmes to suit the needs of candidates in their context/s? Here I will explore this notion to counter the danger of the ‘one size fits all’ approach. Who cares? TEs should, that’s who. In asking ourselves the question, ‘How well do I ...
Reflections on using Learning Design in the language classroom Scenario We’d like to introduce you to Jane. Jane works as a teacher educator, preparing students to teach English in state schools. Part of the preparation is a practicum which allows her trainees to put theory into practice. Jane’s course is very busy and the few one-to-one consultations ...
“It introduced me to an amazing group of educators around the world. It opened my eyes to the range of classrooms and contexts in which English is taught. It gave me ideas for my classes. It inspired me. It led me to start my blog and to many of the posts on it. It took me to conferences. It gave me ...