Critical thinking is seen as an increasingly valued skill to teach students in the 21st Century, but the first thing we need to ask is what exactly is it? Very often critical thinking can become a complaint that people aren’t thinking like me! Some definitions have a focus on being
Each month in this new blog post series, Katherine offers five practical and engaging classroom activities which all use the same photo as a starting point. The ideas can be adapted to work with all ages and levels and are designed to recycle language in an engaging way while developing
Talk to teachers about using TED Talks in the English language classroom and you generally get one of two responses – “I love using them and my students love them” or “I love using them, but my students find them too difficult”. Often, these statements are followed by something along
Interactive classroom activities provide an opportunity for students to express opinions, offer suggestions, and ask questions, all while practicing English and becoming more confident in their speaking. Most programs use textbooks in their classrooms. A textbook can be a springboard for easy-to-develop communicative activities. This is especially true for units
As a continuation from his previous blog post, teacher trainer, Alex Warren shares four more ways to ensure a positive learning experience to develop motivation for teen learners within the ELT classroom. 1. Learner-Centered Learning Take a step back from being the sage on the stage and become the guide
In my beginning classes, I have always had a combination of students with different abilities; however, most students at this level lack writing experience. They have written sentences, but many have not written paragraphs or a page-length composition. I always tell the students that writing is like speaking – In
It was a privilege to give a webinar on reading for National Geographic Learning recently. I’d participated in webinars before, but this was my first time as a presenter. Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about presenting to the void – no other faces, no other voices besides mine. In
These productive skills which require students to ‘perform’ can be the most challenging to assess because in many ways the assessment is always subjective. When we listen or read the students’ responses, we can wonder ‘What exactly is good pronunciation?’ or ‘What is a good answer to the task?’. This
Each month in this new blog post series, Katherine offers five practical and engaging classroom activities which all use the same photo as a starting point. The ideas can be adapted to work with all ages and levels and are designed to recycle language in an engaging way while developing
Flipped learning has not only been gaining popularity rapidly in recent years, but it has also become one of the biggest trends in classroom teaching. While having students be actively involved in their own learning, flipped learning can also lead to dramatic improvements in students’ academic performance (Talbert, 2017). Moreover,