Teacher Discussion Forums

Hi, Cutecat, I'm still around, busy, just like you, but still around. Yes, it sounds as if you're on to something when you're talking about Eastern and Western viewpoint. It's my impression that in order to sell something to a Westener, you first and foremost have to convince him that your product i...

Lol - Get her to submit her questions in *writing*. Put them into a file, together with similar questions from other *earnest types*. Say that you( or somebody else, for that matter) will be prepared to address the question if and only if she writes a response to another, arbitrarily chosen question...

How about turning the lesson into something of a competition? Make a set of 20 photos showing animals, for example, and set the goal of memorizing the names of all of them by the end of the lesson. Put them on the table face down, and have him say the name whenever you turn them over, keeping track ...

Has anybody got any ideas on how to bypass the region-code on DVD-players when you're playing DVDs imported from America? Apparently, the number of changes of region on laptops and computers is limited to something like 15 or so, which isn't all that much if you're showing both DVDs bought locally w...

Well, I think nobody's seriously expecting a *strong* intrinsic motivation here, but what one is legitimately entitled to is a modicum of *respect* for one's efforts, out of a sense of common courtesy, and I think this is something that highschool students can be expected to muster up, no matter how...

Actually.... The longer I'm in this business, the more strongly I feel that we're making too much of an effort to make our lessons interesting and to motivate students. If there's little intrinsic motivation, if appeals to reason don't work, if trying to capture their attention doesn't work, then fo...

Well, thanks for the kind words, I'm sorry I haven't responded earlier, but the computer has been down, and I've been running around trying to get someone to get it to work again. I seem to be doing quite a lot of running around these days, maybe because I have quite a workload. On the weekend, howe...

Dear Cute Cat, Yes, I think you're right when you say that the economy determines the habits of a population. We're still used to the good times, with quite a lot of paid holidays and a restricted working-week, but it seems as if times are changing, and as if people are slowly getting used to the id...

Oh, I hope you got to enjoy the sunshine outside! It was bright and sunny here, too, and that was good as my love was taking part in a marathon. I went with him, cheering and shouting, and sitting in a roadside cafe for a coffee. In Austria jobs are very reglemented, and you've got to be qualified t...

Dear Cute Cat, I'm sorry I took a while to respond, this is the beginning of the new school year, and there's loads of work to do, classes to organize, lists to write, forms to fill in, computers to check... I hardly had space to breathe, but it's getting better, and I hope I will be online more reg...

Dear Cute Cat,

Are you still around?

How has life been treating you this summer? How did your decision-making go?

For me, I'm back to school.

Hooray!

Dear CuteCat, Congratulations on the contract with the Dutch Customer! There's nothing like success when it comes to boosting your confidence, and I'm really glad that everything turned out well for you! It's been a while for me since I've been away kayaking - and I was delighted when I saw you had ...

Dear Nonnative, You say that it's worrying to you that you didn't understand the feelings of these girls. Keep in mind, though, that you've been interacting with young teenagers, who are readjusting themselves to changing circumstances. It may well be that their rejection of you as a teacher is a pa...

Hey, sounds fun!

I might try it, actually, as the schoolyear is coming to a close and as there's a demand for games.

Thanks.

Good for you.