Being able to speak effortlessly is a great luxury. Expert speakers can assume that their messages and the intentions behind their words are coming across in exactly the way they intend. If they do think about sounds, confident speakers generally focus on the […]
In recent conferences there has been a call for instruction in the “hidden” language of pragmatics, but the field is only just beginning to figure out how to create classroom materials. What if the materials are already out there? What if we could use plays? Most course book […]
UPDATE: Based on the popularity of this post, we got inspired, and are very excited to announce the upcoming publication of our new book by Alphabet Press, 60 Kinesthetic Grammar Activities! Please click here to find out more and order a copy. There are activities for everything from […]
Power points are great for lectures, but for classrooms with projectors, nothing beats a word doc for interacting with students’ in-the-moment learning. The beauty of being able to work with a word doc on a screen is that you can be more responsive to what comes from the […]
At a drama presentation given by Kathleen McGovern at the Chicago TESOL last week, participants created and performed skits that were meant to advocate for a change we’d like to see at the TESOL convention. Many of the groups did skits about the long walking distances. Others advocated […]
TESOL Chicago is coming, and that’s usually a time when people are thinking about course books. With this in mind, we are reposting a reflection on the TRIO series. After using it with real students, we’ve discovered some interesting results, especially when it […]
Computer games can provide an interesting insight into reading. The appeal of online games at least partly lies in the software that allows them to precisely level ability. In League of Legends, for example, there are multiple ranks. Players must advance through the ranks to reach platinum or […]
Irving is an older student who has the confidence of a former car salesman. I could hear him from across the room as I gave feedback to a different group. He seemed to enjoy the role of a parent trying to get his child to eat vegetables, and […]
Not long ago, I was subbing for a reading class. They were using Read This 3, which starts with a text about ice hotels. The students were to have read it before class, but they hadn’t, and I was on the spot. Having just spent several hours with […]
Why do English learners still travel to physical classrooms? After all, they can get plenty of information, practice grammar drills and even listen to graded lectures online. Perhaps the answer lies in something that computers cannot provide: a safe space to learn and practice conversation. Conversation is actually […]
