I can’t believe it’s already been more than a month since my last post. Not a good start in my New Year resolutions. Oh, well. Before I get back into my blogging mood (I’m already preparing a post for the TDSiG Web Carnival event), let me update you on a couple of things: I’ve passed …
Author Archives: Capybara
2018: hopes and resolutions
First things first: I wish a happy and peaceful 2018 to you all and to your families and colleagues. May this 2018 bring love and understanding in both your home and your classroom. Now let me talk about blogging and resolutions. As I wrote on my previous post, I am immensely proud of my 2017 …
My wandering 2017
The end of 2017 is approaching, so it feels like a good time to stop for a moment and take stock of this blogging year. This blog has been (and hopefully will be) a great CPD tool, as well as a great place to come to when I needed to put something into writing in …
Fighting climate change: lesson notes
Today I would like to share a very successful lesson I created for a B2 (upper-intermediate) group around the topic of climate change and this article by The Guardian. This is a very rough plan and needs fine-tuning, mainly to suit your learners needs and interests. I have used this lesson with both adults and …
Delta module 1 exam is over
Some impressions after sitting Delta module 1 exam.
After more than 15 months of preparation (while also working full time), I finally sat module 1 exam last Wednesday. Of course I can’t say anything about the result, as I will not know until next February, but I just wanted to note down some impressions I have had after doing the exam.
Storytelling with YLs
Last year I worked with a group of ten eight-year-olds in an afternoon, after-school class. I met the children once a week for one hour and a half, the idea behind it being to reinforce what the children were already doing at school using children’s books as a base for the lessons. At the time …
Product vs. process listening
Sometimes coincidence is just too vague a term to describe a series of seemingly unrelated events which take you in a certain direction. However, for lack of a better term, I’d say it is coincidence that made me want to read more about different approaches to teaching listening skills. Coincidences Some time ago, Marc Jones …
Have you got OR Do you have?
This is a dilemma I often face, especially with beginner or elementary students. Do you usually teach them the form ‘have you got any brothers or sisters?’ or ‘Do you have any brothers or sisters’? [Here’s an interesting discussion I found on this topic.] The dilemma stems from the fact that students often get confused, …
Re-engaging teenage students
This is a follow-up to my previous post about a student who completely switched off during my first lesson with his group. I had another (the third) lesson with the group today, and here’s what I did to improve the situation. How I tweaked my lesson After the first couple of lessons, during which I “studied” …
Students switching off
I have recently started a new course with a small group of 17-18-year-olds in a school. The course is aimed at supporting the work their classroom teacher is doing, with a possible outcome being to then prepare the students for a certification. I had my first lesson last week, and as usual I prepared a …