Freedom in the classroom
A list of some free software I regularly use with my students.
free software for education, global issues in ELT
teaching and education
language skills
How effective are conversation lessons?
Last weekend has been a nice, long one here in Italy. Most schools were closed for 4 days so I had plenty of time to relax, study and improve my Emacs skills (Manuel, I’m looking at you 😉 ). I also had time to reflect on my work and on many other things going on in my
free software for education, global issues in ELT
Freedom in the teacher’s room
Why, how and what free software can be an ethical and practical alternative to proprietary software.
classroom activities, dogme
‘Something I’: a speaking activity
Today I would like to share with you an activity I love to do in both 1:1 and group classes. I love it because it has three very special ingredients that few activities have all combined: The activity, which I called Something I…, was inspired by reading Luke Meddings and Scott Thornbury’s Teaching Unplugged, and
global issues in ELT, NNEST equality
A NNEST and employer on the equity debate
I know I’m lagging behind on this topic as many bloggers and ELT professionals have already written and spoken extensively about it, especially after this plenary by Silvana Richardson at IATEFL 2016. And by the way, of all the things I’ve been reading on the topic, I particularly enjoyed this article by Marek Kiczkowiak and
methodology
Are we getting it all wrong?
I recently read a not-so-recent article about a group of UK teachers who went to China to try to understand the secret to the high performance of Chinese students in international tests. The alleged results came as quite a shock. According to the article, the “traditional” methods used in China — the same that the
textbooks
Considerations after one year of courses without a textbook
As I wrote at the beginning of this school year, we decided to try to experiment some courses without a textbook. The idea behind this was to give maximum flexibility and adaptability to the teacher and the course, so that it could be tailor-made for our very small groups. The results were not as positive
practical aspects of teaching, textbooks
Preparing for a new school year
It’s been a very busy summer, so I haven’t been posting much on this blog. But now that the beginning of our school year is approaching, and I’m starting to get ready for it, I found again the inspiration and need to share some thoughts with the blosphere. As I explained in detail here, this
methodology, textbooks
To coursebook or not to coursebook? That is the question.
I decided to write this post after reading Sandy Millin’s post and thinking: “wow, that’s exactly what I think!”. I apologise if this is more of a random collection of thoughts, but again, Sandy’s post reminded me of how putting your thoughts in writing sometimes can help to clarify your mind and put things into
methodology
The role of translation in the language classroom
I know a lot of teachers and trainers have already written about this. In the past, translation was a big part of language learning, but now it has become a secondary — if not frowned upon — activity in the language classroom. And I was one of those teachers who believe translation only gets students