The 11th of October is known as the national day of the child girl. I think I read it somewhere online and I got to thinking how people, especially children, shape all of their beliefs and grow up knowing which color is “more suitable” for girls and why boys are rarely allowed to show preference or play with “girls' toys”. Then I had another bunch of...
“Empathy is a choice, and a vulnerable choice because in order to connect with you, I have to connect with something in myself that knows that feeling”. During a management course in July, I came across a video (‘Brene Brown on Empathy’ you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Evwgu369Jw ) which illustrated the differences between empathy...
Introduction
Over the last 30 years or so, computers have had quite an impact on language testing. As regards Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) in particular, it is currently on the leading edge of assessment technology.
Defining and exploring CAT
CAT is a sophisticated method of test delivery that tailors test question...
The calls and duties of teachers are many; diverse, multifold, and demanding.
The practice of teaching English grows so overwhelmingly that one might miss to experience the lesson from the learners’ standpoint.
A mixed-ability classroom is a group of learners with extraordinarily inhomogeneous abilities, life and academic experiences, and needs. The...
Monitoring learner progress throughout the course can be a useful source of information for the teacher. Even though we tend to rely heavily on tests (summative assessment) to grade learners, summative assessment can give us an opportunity to have a clear picture of the impact of our teaching so that we can adapt it or shift focus on areas our learners...
Learning by Heart - a Plea for Poetry
A strange expression that. A very guilty one as well. The “by heart” approach has carried all the negative effects of Behaviourism in Education so the demonization of the term is inevitable in teachers’ minds.
What it usually means is memorization - sticking things in your head and keeping them there, ready to...
Covid-19 was no doubt a stressful time for teachers. I myself suffered my first ever migraine; a result, I believe, of so-called Zoom-fatigue. However, it was also the trigger for much ‘forced experimentation’: the idea that an unwelcome imposition can push us to change our habits and, in the process, develop new skills. In fact, I’d go as far as to say...
Throughout my long career I have been committed to two fundamental goals: the professional development of my teachers and using the learning environment as a space to develop identities. In this article I would like to show how these goals can be addressed within the context of teachers striving to give meaningful roles to their students. These roles relate...
Research shows that the more students read in English, the more proficient they become. Reading can significantly improve students’ level in all four skills: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It can also result in big improvements in the use of grammar and vocabulary. An effective way of engaging your students with reading is by using graded...
