ESL etc.

I just came across the January 2011 issue of English Journal (vol. 100, num. 3), which had the theme of Green English. The journal is aimed at middle and senior high school English teachers, but a lot of the ideas and activities are totally relevant to ESL or EFL contexts. Several of the articles discuss [...]

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I was recently asked in an email how I approach planning a lesson. At first, I struggled to put it into words. I don’t really think there is any one right way. For me, I usually approach lesson plans the same way I approach planning courses. I start from the big picture. What are our [...]

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A new study just came out in the UK drawing a connection between learning about global issues and taking action on them. Global education also plays a part in increasing tolerance. The study suggests that people who learn about global issues feel more empowered to tackle them, rather than being overwhelmed by the extent of [...]

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The latest ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival has just been posted at An (aspiring) Educators Blog. There are a bunch of great articles by some really inspiring teachers. Topics include technology, curriculum, culture and more. Check it out!

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I was invited by Karenne Sylvester to write a post of tips to new bloggers as part of an upcoming blog carnival. This isn’t something I’ve done before, but it offers a nice opportunity to share a bit of the rationale behind this site. This is not intended to be a list of tips for [...]

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A couple of years ago, in Hawaii, I worked on making my IEP more environmentally responsible. Now that I’ve been at my new job for a little while, I’m trying to get involved with some similar things here. First of all, let me say a little about the context. My IEP is housed within a [...]

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I recently found out that I’ll be one of the teachers for a group of 35 or so Haitian and Dominican Social Studies teachers that will be coming here in July. I’ll be meeting with my group for three hours a day for four weeks. They’ll be attending classes at the Patel Center during the [...]

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For now, instead of doing podcasts, I’m going to type up reflections of my current teaching and make materials available via the blog. It’s faster than making podcasts, and probably just as useful/useless. Plus, I can do it from work. Week 1: Materials Used syllabus icebreaker general global issues discussion / freewrite activity vocabulary journal [...]

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