ELTvista is participating in a research project on teachers’ attitudes to a phenomenon known as ‘Foreign Language Anxiety’ (FLA) with regards to oral tasks in the classroom and on proficiency langauge exams. FLA is most often characterized as a feeling of uneasiness experienced by non-native speakers when using or learning a foreign language. Research studies into the circumstances of FLA has [...]
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Ho, Ho, No! It’s the holidays again, a time when EFL teachers go scrambling for holiday flavored gift ideas. Well, in the spirit of the season of giving, here’s an emotional intelligence laced speaking task that will also appeal to students with visual and kinesthetic learning styles. Cracked Gift Exchange: Garbage Gifts AIMS: Expressing gratitude, [...]
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Consider the following quotes and decide which statement is more aligned with your views of learning: (A) “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte (B) “Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive [...]
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This post is part of an ongoing series on Quality Management for language schools. In my last post on quality management for language schools, I put forward some ideas on how to address a school staff when undertaking the development of a ‘home grown’ quality management scheme. I also covered questions aimed at teachers that [...]
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Do you tend to talk with your hands? It’s often been said that after our faces, our hands are the next most expressive feature of our bodies. They often play a leading role in our body language, and even work in concert with our faces to convery an endless range of expression. For example, telling [...]
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This post is part of an ongoing series on Quality Management for language schools. So, you’ve decided to jump into the ‘quality’ pool. Your reasons for doing so may be varied, but most likely, if you are a school owner or have been charged with the task of establishing a system of quality management at [...]
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One of the jobs teachers have is to foster student participation. After all, ‘class time’ is for students to practice and produce language expression and skills. I’m sure you will agree it’s not for ‘teacher talking time’ (TTT). However, if you find yourself ‘all talked out’ at the end of a lesson, it’s useful to [...]
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Quality Circle What Is Quality Management? Do you really need it? Some claim to have it, others want it. Some offer it for a price, and others will ‘run for the hills’ if they hear word of it. If you work in an organization long enough, eventually you will hear the terms ‘quality management’, ’quality circle’ or ‘quality control’, [...]
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As an EFL teacher for the last quarter century (sounds more impressive than 25 years), I have been taught and have taught other teachers the profits, or perhaps more accurately the necessity, of providing an enjoyable lesson. I have said in my teacher training workshops that if the students are not enjoying their lesson, they [...]
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I once came across an article about ‘Freeganism’. It was titled “One Person’s Dumpster Is Another’s Diner” and was written by Becca Tucker, and posted on AlterNet on March 21, 2007. The article begins: “A subculture of people make a statement by living off the waste of millions.” For three days, a reporter gave it [...]
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