Posted in Teaching adolescents
Mindfulness with the young ones
– Why do people even need mindfulness? – I asked one evening
Posted in Lesson ideasTeaching children
When in doubt, play!
I sincerely hope that every lesson you ever give will go exactly as planned. You won’t have to make adjustments either for the mood your group is currently in, or for the timing you planned. And that you will be able to predict the exact number of repetitions it will take your class to master the vocabulary you need them…
Posted in Teacher developmentTeaching adolescents
Jimmy Fallon to the cool rescue – language games for adults
Language games from The Tonight Show in your lesson? Yes, yes, yes! This is how you can surprise your adult students!
Posted in Teacher development
Taking the plunge, or ideas to kick off a new school year
Discover new ideas and inspirations to get a new year off to a great start. Regardless of whether the end of the summer holiday concerns or excites you, the truth is that the new school year is just around the corner. It might be a good idea then to make sure that the first bell does not bring on unnecessary nervousness …
Posted in Teaching adolescents
Can you draw me a verb?
Complex verbs, geometry and abstract thinking? Yes, it is one of my favourite combinations, inspired by Simon Mumford’s “The shape of English grammar”, where students drew geometrical images of various tenses. I decided to use this idea with my beloved phrasal verbs.
Ideas to make your head spin
A blank page, a pen and a rush of great ideas? Does not work like that, does it? Sometimes you need to rack your brains to come up with ideas. Here are three ways of creative brainstorming that will help both students and teachers to generate ideas.
Posted in Teacher developmentTeaching adolescents
Walk a mile in my shoes!
Whether you call it Teachers’ Day or National Education Day, it is true that this is when teachers celebrate their work. It takes different forms in our schools, some students remember, some don’t. Instead of just waiting for wellwishers, why don’t you devote one of your classes to this day. Below are three ideas for foreign language lessons and/or period…
Posted in Teaching adolescents
Romancing the essay…
Could all fans of teaching how to write a matura essay (Polish school leaving exam) please raise their hand! Mine is already up (I’m busy writing with the other one) because I, for one, have learnt to love it.
Posted in Lesson ideas
Question exchange, or walking and talking
“You have more materials …” we often hear from teachers of languages other than English, but there are many universal exercises that can be used by all language teachers. Here is one of my personal favourites, which guarantees that your students, regardless of the level or language they learn, will work like a charm.
Let’s talk. Any language will do.
While it is true that some language exercises are structured in a way that lends itself to a single-language use, today’s post will not be about them. I would like to share an exercise I love for its versatility, flexibility and the ability to engage students. You can use it to practise speaking as well as writing. And, of course,…