How do you flip your English class? What homework activities do you use to spark lively small group discussions in class?
September 4, 2015
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How do you create lively small group discussions in your English class? What homework do you find most likely to spark student-led conversations? Are you…
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James T. Keating’s “Writing Modern English” tackles the idiomatic, confusing and wrong
July 16, 2014
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Source: Japanese Amazon Japanese English Learners and many English teachers can greatly benefit from this logical guide to clear, modern writing “The difference between the…
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Paraphrasing is an Essential Conversation Skill!
July 10, 2014
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If English students can accurately paraphrase a reading, a radio segment, or a verbal statement, they can actively participate in common conversations and classroom discussions.…
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Volume Matters – Even in Personal Conversations
July 2, 2014
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Why volume matters, especially in difficult student-teacher conferences “Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.” ―Rollo May (1909-1994) American author…
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Creating Simple ESL Lesson Plans Around Top Ten Lists for Advanced English Classes
July 1, 2014
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Advanced ESL/EFL classes benefit from making top ten lists “Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.” ―Tenzin Gyatso (1950-) 14th Dalai Lama Americans…
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Learning by Doing and Making “Good Mistakes” in English classes
June 28, 2014
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Why English learners must practice and make “good mistakes” in order to grow “A man’s mistakes are his portals of discovery.” ―James Joyce (1882-1941), Irish…
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Homophones Can Confuse: A Minor Mistake in Miner Valley
June 20, 2014
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Why it is so important for English learners to tackle homophones in the classroom “For me the greatest beauty always lies in the greatest clarity.”…
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Savvy Tips to Score Higher on the TOEFL iBT Speaking Section
March 23, 2014
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What do you do with a problem like the TOEFL iBT test? For worse or for better, the TOEFL test remains the standard assessment of…
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Do Our Students Need to Swim in English or Pass Grammar Tests?
October 26, 2012
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Here is a short list of important questions for our English language learners. Can they order food in a nice restaurant? Can students fill in…
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Why Are So Many EFL Textbooks So Bland, Boring, and Culturally Tone Deaf?
September 28, 2011
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Why are so many EFL Textbooks so bland, boring, and culturally tone-deaf? Allow me to ask a more polite question. How can English teachers working…
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