A new online course – interested?
Hiya, fellow teachers & students of English, just a short note today – there’s a new course on Writing for University Study by University of Reading, it’s free and it’s online!
Entries by Monika Bigaj-Kisala
Blurred grammar with Weird Al
The last time I wrote about music, and somehow I completely forgot to mention one of the masters of English, the funny, intertextual, one and only Weird Al Yankovic!
Getting to know each other? Let’s face the music!
September, the month in my life when I face a bunch of disillusioned teenagers who haven’t met me yet but they already don’t feel like learning English (or they already did meet me and decided to suffer yet another year with yours truly) – rings a bell? Do you remember being a student and doing one of the most terrifying things in the classroom: sharing stuff about oneself?
First classes dictation to boost motivation
I found this poem by Chanie Gorkin, and once I saw it, I thought I could use it on my very first classes, to make my students remember…. well, here’s the poem I make my students write down as a dictation, line by line (of course, I’ll have to adjust vocabulary to my students’ proficiency level, but what’s so difficult in replacing convince with tell etc.?):
New (school)year resolutions :)
With holidays over (holidays?! I had 2 weeks off, they do summer schools on holidays, after all!) I’ve decided that’s the time for some changes. I’ve noticed there aren’t many things that actually challenge me as a teacher and even if I’m not bored with my job, I feel an urge to try something new.
To be or not to be (yourself)
In his book, Jim Scrivener advises teachers to “be themselves”. I really respect those who can be both teachers and themselves at the same time. I’d rather not, thanks 😉 I support a more Shakespearean approach, simply, the classroom is a stage, I’m an actress and as a bonus, I also write the script 🙂 […]
Quick review: “Classroom Management Techniques” by Jim Scrivener
Being a teacher means you have to learn at least as much as you teach, so when my language school got a copy of “Classroom Management Techniques” by Jim Scrivener I had to borrow it for a while. It’s easy to read and logically organised (I love properly organised handbooks) and, naturally, I’ve decided I might share some of my thoughts on the book.
Teaching insults or Shakespeare? Why not both?
Now we can make our students familiar with old Will and bring some fun to the classroom at the same time. I found this book in Glastonbury and loved it – so when I could get my own copy, naturally, I did.
Well, that’s simply a generator of Shakespearean insults. With a dictionary (woohoo). It’s funny, it’s interesting, it’s enriching one’s vocabulary. Pure awesomeness!
Have fun with a lesson plan :)
When I was a student, my professors emphasised the importance of making lesson plans, but then they referred to people who were about to start teaching. Well, I have been teaching for more than a decade (oh, gosh!) and I still write a short lesson plan for every lesson I have. I’ll try to share my ideas here, but be careful before you follow me and turn into a creepily well-organised pedantic nightmare.
“First writing” tips
Writing can be one of the most tiresome endeavours of a student – can you recall your own papers, compositions, etc?
I see no reason not to teach some writing techniques to my own students. I’ve realised that the sooner they get the basics, the better their writing compositions are.