This is an interesting resource I stumbled on the other day. Studies Weekly is a textbook/newspaper/magazine. It appears to be a full textbook, but the units are delivered once a week, much like a newspaper or magazine. Although it’s designed for schools, not ESL, content-based ESL lessons actually do work pretty well. One of the best classes I ever taught was at a PDO for Afghani FLEX participants where we used North Star textbooks to prepare students for American high schools. Yes, we were teaching history and geography and science. …Continue

Had another awesome English Club. Of course, the theme was Valentine’s Day and there was a nice mix of boys and girls and new and old. Could have been a sensitive subject but no one was particularly shy. Like the best English Clubs, I kicked it off with a few questions and soon it took on a life of its own.
Issues that came up were what do young people call people they are dating: lover, girl or boy friend or sweetheart. I clarified like this: boyfriend and girlfriend is …Continue

RT @Gapfillers: Toyota Prius Goes Plural and Asks Consumers to Help Find the Proper #Grammar Form for Its Name http://ow.ly/3IusX

Congratulations #schiavone Condolences to #kuznetsova Both played very well

Annoying trick. Headline says: Clooney on Marrying 5 Male Strippers. Article says: Clooney said I would never marry 5 male strippers .

Make your own Chrome theme: Not ridiculously difficult: http://lifehac.kr/eEcqQK

How many #esl #efl teachers who tweet lectures and conferences would let their students tweet in class?

#Bloggingtoomuch I just typed <em> into a Word document in order to put something in italics.

Amused by BBC weathermen. -6C is nit “bone-chillingly cold”. In my experience, -24 is when the cold gets into your bones.

A faster way to learn English. Get into a car crash: http://bit.ly/gbZN79

RT @SeanBanville: 101 Questions for Santa role play/discussion: http://bit.ly/5TJU7i #ESL

RT @Larryferlazzo: What Were Your Most Memorable Teaching Moments In 2010? http://bit.ly/hEhFn5

Wireless printers are a teacher’s best friend.

RT @ChrisMerriman: Pumpkin Carving with a gun – http://bit.ly/dqOaMa Happy Halloween / Trick or Treating Day, depending upon your preference

Halloween is coming and there’s a ton of stuff on the Internet for teachers. I’ve put together a lesson plan for Halloween based on the best and most interesting activities I could find. It’s especially hard to find a lesson targeted to students who have never celebrated Halloween, so if you’re teaching abroad this lesson plan is for you.
First you have students generate vocabulary, and activate what they do know about the holiday as well as what they know about monsters and scary stories. Then students read some popular …Continue