The Ins and Outs in language education in 2023
The field of language education is changing at an ever-increasing rate.
Traditional notions of education are giving way to newer, more innovative ways of thinking about how we learn, teach and acqu...
Use Music in your classroom
CD players and music have become a vital part of most modern classrooms.
The first hint for any teacher regarding the use of music is that it is a tool, not a panacea. Just like any other tool, it ca...
Painting the CLIL picture
Kazantzakis: ‘You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint the paradise, then in you go.’
If you happen to wonder what CLIL is, here is the answer…
CLIL stands for Content and Language Integ...
The #equilibrium scenario
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 ...
Elements of Successful Mixed-Ability Courses
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 learner...
Education
Interviews
Special Sections
Teaching Tips
Fortune Cookies by Dimitris Maroulis
Exams
News
Exams & Exam Preparation
C2: “The End of English”!
Exam Craze
For many decades, Greece had had the largest number of candidates sitting for C2 exams. Other countries with much larger populations were nowhere near the Greek candidature for this level....
How long does it take to reach C1 and C2 Level?
It takes at least 12 years in general for a native speaker to reach C1 level in his own language, so you can hardly expect that a teenage or adult foreigner can take any less than a decade to approach...
Extensive listening activities in the EFL classroom
No matter which language, listening has been demonstrated to be a crucial component of successful human communication (Rost, 2011; Rost & Candlin, 2014; Chang, 2018), hence a skill not to be negle...
What does it mean to be fluent?
Language learning is a marathon, not a sprint
The term ‘fluency’ in the world of EFL refers to the measurement of the ability one has to speak smoothly and freely without the need to pause and think ...
I Passed My Proficiency Exam. Now I Can Teach English!
“Hey Ms. Katherine! Now that I’ve passed my proficiency exam, I’m officially a teacher like you! I’m capable of doing your job, right? Besides, how difficult can it be?”
Woah there! Just hold your ho...
On Raising the Excellence Bar Teaching C1 & C2
A paradigm of excellence
It requires approximately 700 – 800 learning hours to reach C1 and 1,000-1,200 learning hours to reach C2 level. Since the discussion is on humanities, language, in particu...
A different approach towards B2 preparation
When someone listens to the word ‘exams’ instantly the mind shifts into long hours of studying, mock tests, demanding preparation, and pressure, both for teachers and students. It is true though that ...
Teaching Speaking to B2 Students- The “Building Block” Method
This may seem like an unusual introduction to an ELT article, but bear with me- I have a point and I promise I will be making it soon. You see, my two sons are huge fans of LEGO. They spend hours on ...
Creative Writing Through Our Senses
Are you looking for a creative way to get your students more enthusiastic about writing? Are you one of the many teachers who want to make their writing lessons more engaging and awaken your students’...
B2: A stepping stone to the English language acquisition
I find it really hilarious when people post tips on how to succeed in B2. Advice like 10 things to do in order to succeed in the exam is not only intimidating but also totally unnecessary. For m...
ELT Magazine Selections
Education
The Ins and Outs in language education in 2023
The field of language education is changing at an ever-increasing rate.
Traditional notions of education are giving way to newer, more innovative ways of thinking about how we learn, teach and acqu...
Use Music in your classroom
CD players and music have become a vital part of most modern classrooms.
The first hint for any teacher regarding the use of music is that it is a tool, not a panacea. Just like any other tool, it ca...
Extending learning beyond the classroom: ideas and practices for Blended Learning
With the new academic year being in full swing and just before the dawn of a new calendar year is there a chance that you feel you need to rethink or enrich some of the techniques and tasks that yo...
Painting the CLIL picture
Kazantzakis: ‘You have your brush, you have your colors, you paint the paradise, then in you go.’
If you happen to wonder what CLIL is, here is the answer…
CLIL stands for Content and Language Integ...
The #equilibrium scenario
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 ...
Elements of Successful Mixed-Ability Courses
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 learner...
News
Cambridge University Press and Assessment is partnering with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Cambridge University Press and Assessment is partnering with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on a new English language assessment. The goal of the new assessment...
Mind-mapping makes writing easier
When you sit down to write an essay, a story, or another piece of work, one of two problems often occurs:
(1) You have dozens of ideas competing for your attention and you don’t know where to begin...
Are you familiar with the Occupational English Test?
The Occupational English Test (also known as OET) is a well-respected international English language test for healthcare professionals. Since 2013, OET has been owned by Cambridge Boxhill Language A...
The Future of Education Is All About the Experiences We Create
What Is Learner Experience Design (LXD), And Why Is It Such A Big Deal?
Learner Experience Design is all about putting the learner at the center of any learning experience. It’s a holistic approach t...
QLS Celebrated Its 20th Anniversary at Zappeion Hall
QLS, the multi-award-winning network of Quality Language Schools, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a unique gala on Thursday 23 June, at the iconic Zappeion Hall.
QLS has made a difference in f...
The sinking boat led to the discovery of the big IELTS scam
The IELTS scam came to light when Unites States border officials arrested six Indian students who tried to illegally enter the country on a boat from Canada.
Six students from Gujurat in India, ...
Professional Development
Teacher Collaboration Part B; why is it so hard to work together?
Just be kind…
Some of you might remember my first article about teacher collaboration, some of you might not; it doesn’t really matter. My point is a different one. I am not sure if this happens in...
Co-teaching: It takes two (or more) to tango!
Co-teaching is when teachers are paired together in a classroom and they share equal responsibilities for planning, instructing, and assessing students. The most common way of co-teaching is when g...
Communication can change your… colours
I bet you have all listened to this Cyndi Lauper song. Quite cheesy I would say as seeing the true colours of someone could lead not to love but to a million different emotions to start with. ...
Teacher well-being - ‘Teacher what?’
..you think to yourself when you see this title and you smile ironically but you start reading the article because you still want to -slash- need to think positively!
Let’s try to describe what a ...
Successful Continuous Professional Development
Professional development is very important in educators’ personal and professional life. We have all seen teachers, who passionately attend preservice courses but are left unsupported afterwards. Th...
Doctors specialize, shouldn’t you as an English teacher?
In my experience of 32 years in the ELT trade I have seen and worked in most sectors and I have one thing to say: it’s about time that the majority of EFL teachers who teach general English move on ...
Interviews
Feature Sections
When devices are left to their own…devices!
How can technology work in class?
Every now and then, I can see articles popping up on the media with huge, eye-catching headlines like “School ditches tablets”. Flashy stories come as no surprise. B...
Practical Tips for the Beginning of the New School Year
So here we are again, ready to start a new school year, in volatile times, not aware if we are to continue in our classrooms or whether we will remain at home and teach (and our students and pupils ...
If I walked into a new class: Tips on unlocking engagement with a new class
When we walk into a new class, we have “absolute musts” in mind. Some of my “absolute musts” is that I inspire trust through personal credibility, that my students get an overview of the academic ma...
The strategies begin with lesson one at the start of the course
Like most teachers, I use the first lesson for a ‘getting to know you’ period to establish a harmonious classroom community. There are three activities that we do at this time:
By Helen Papadopo...
Never lose contact with your inner child!
Teaching junior classes! Some of us love it, others dread it. In the latter case, kindly abstain from ever getting involved with it, lest you discover that it is not the nightmare you feared it would ...
Teaching Materials and Young Learners
The enormous amount of existing materials for the teaching of English to young learners might lead us to think that everything has been invented and nothing is left to be discovered in EFL. But when y...
The energy chants & rhymes bring to teaching
Rhymes and chants bring energy and joy to the learning experience of kids, add variety to our teaching materials and practices and help the class bond. Rhymes usually tell very short stories in verse ...
It is Yoglish o’clock
Do you remember yourself when in kindergarten? Do you remember your itchy feet when you were asked to sit still?
Human beings start their journey to knowledge through movement and imitation. Moving ...
Teaching Young Learners: You Belong!
When teaching young learners there is one thing I want them to feel; safe. Vocabulary, grammar, and skills are important. But nothing really matters, if our students do not feel comfortable in their l...
Make learning fun
Fun, fun, fun! This is one factor that really matters to kids. And that goes for kids on the playground as well as those in the classroom. Many educators believe that kids learn best through play. And...
Fortune Cookies
Wear Your Sunscreen
“Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” (Mary Schmich)
The Appetizers
Mary Schmich, a Chicago Tribune columnist, was strolling along a beach when she noticed a small group of youn...
Some Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
“We are continually faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems” (John W. Gardner)
The Appetizers
Picture this: you are under a shady umbrella, lying on ...
Self-healing
“Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack, a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in”… Leonard Cohen
The Appetizers
The end of the school year evok...
Decoding CODA
“There are three classes of people: those who see, those who see when they are shown, those who do not see” Leonardo Da Vinci
Text by: Dimitris Maroulis
The Appetizers
Child of Deaf Adults is what ...
Imagine IF…
“Our role is to create the right conditions for life and learning to flourish. When we do that, we realise we have been in the miracle business all along”
(Sir Ken Robinson)
The Appetizers
There ar...
The Power of Metaphors
“Your time is limited: don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinion drow...
Special Education Needs
The 3 Principles to Supporting Special Educational Needs Students
Research in the field of special educational needs and inclusion has equipped the educational community with evidence-based practices and ideas to support classroom diversity. How come that stude...
Teaching Dyslexic Learners Online
Technology is a gift for students with dyslexia, provided that it is used properly. This is because most dyslexic learners are visual learners and computer materials are designed to be accessed t...