Teacher Discussion Forums

Can anybody help me find a web link to a class anecdote about a "pass the paper" story-writing lesson plan? In the anecdote, a girl (who wants to write a sappy love story) has to write together with a boy (who wants to write violent science fiction) and the result is hilarious. The writing excerpts ...

Thanks, mesmark, but isn't that a bit confusing with all of the other "methods" (TPR is a 'method', as are 'the communicative method', 'the direct method' and 'the grammar-translation method', but all of these can involve different types of activities ("werkvormen"). Isn't there another term?

We don't know what their interests are, but perhaps they're interested in the same things as teenagers everywhere... 1. Music - use the English lyrics of some popular songs. Read, listen, repeat, and do a gap-fill. Maybe you can get them to lip-sync or even sing! 2. Sports - make some worksheets abo...

Who can help me find the "official" term - or a reasonably close name - for what we call "werkvorm" in Dutch? This refers to the structure of an activity, such as pair work, small group work, whole class activity, debate, discussion, "frontal" or "classical" teaching, computer work, webquests, etc.....

Check out my website: http://med.hro.nl.denjl/ Under "Exercises" I have lots of links to websites and web exercises. Under "Self-Study" there are a few websites geared towards Dutch pupils (explanation in Dutch and/or emphasis on problems facing Dutch learners). They may particularly like the "Ezels...

I often start my grade 5 - 6 classes with a "Chain Question". The content is related to what we did in the previous lesson, or what we are going to do that day. The pupils sit in a circle and I tell them the question - which stays the same - and a possible answer. Then, while they think about their ...

Hello colleagues, I am searching for mnemonics for English teaching. They will be used in practice teaching and class work at a teacher training college. If you can suggest any, I would be very grateful!!! You can post them here or mail them to the e-mail address below. They may be for spelling ("i ...

I found a great website a few days ago: each vowel phoneme had a list of words that had that vowel sound, but the vowel sounds were spelled differently. It was the best list I've ever found - some of the phonemes had many different spellings and lots of examples. Murphy's law: you always forget to b...

...and if you asked them to write an apology, or write about why they were punished, would you ask them to write in English? why or why not?
Thanks!

Survey question: If (as an EFL/ESL teacher) you give extra writing as punishment to a student/pupil, should the writing be in English or not? I have two friends who are in strong disagreement about this. The first says that you should always give the punishment writing in English, so at least they'r...

Thanks, Vytenis. Well, we've been gooing full steam for 7 weeks now and the problem seems not to be anybody losing face, but that the students seem to feel that coming to class is optional - not just my classes, but everybody's: grammar, culture, computer skills, management strategies, business stud...

This week I will have my first classes with a group of primarily Chinese business students who will have a year of intensive English in preparation for an english-language B.A. in business. I will be teaching Speaking and Presentation Skills and Writing Skills. I have a lot of freedom in the topics ...

deanbush, coincidentally I saw a set of either CD-ROMS or videos on e-bay for teaching aviation English (I think it was actually for air traffic controllers!). Search on e-bay under 'EFL'.

Thanks Adam. I haven't committed yet but I have to decide really soon. I only have the publisher's blurbs about each method. 'In Company' appealed to me because 1) the CDs feature English speakers with lots of different accents (I definitely do not want only American or only British) 2) there is a v...

Do any of you have experience using Macmillan's "In Company", either at the pre-intermediate or the intermediate level? I need to find a method for intermediate EFL learners who are aiming for business school. Any comments or recommendations would be much appreciated. Thanks!