Supplementary materials: the what and why
There are two types of classrooms; the one that I came across as a student and the one that we are all trying to create with our students nowadays. The first classroom was a big classroom with desks...
Paper Takes the Leading Role in an EFL Classroom
The first thing that comes in mind when we think of supplementary material in class is the GOOGLE. How about going back in time when GOOGLE was not around? How about keeping the young generation con...
Don't get stuck in a rut, flip that coursebook now
It is generally accepted that most of our students are never at the same readiness level. As is the fact that we can never rely on a coursebook to be used as a one-size-fits-all student course guide...
Latest Issue
News
The 2nd Online Anti-Bullying Festival by QLS
The 2nd Online Anti-Bullying Festival in Greece, organised by the QLS Network of Language Centres, was another huge success! The award-winning initiative returned on 20th and 21st November - two day...
Cambridge Assessment bans watches from January 2022
New regulations for watches. Cambridge Assessment regulations state that from January 2022 smart watches will be banned in exams rooms and treated as electronic items. It is no longer acceptable for...
Fulbright Greece: Building Bridges, Promoting Excellence
Fulbright Greece successfully administered the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 Greek and U.S. Fulbright Scholarship Programs, despite the difficulties stemming from the pandemic. We are grateful for the su...
English through Drama: A Holistic Second Language Learning Method
I always perceived teaching as a happy journey; as an adventure both for the teacher and the students. Having this as my driving force I decided to make each lesson an adventure, a fantasy and a ...
A Short Paper Proposing That We Need to Write Shorter Papers
Our current journals in language education are full of long papers. A typical journal might have, at most, five major papers. Sometimes we have to write long papers, but much of the time, it's unnec...
Make the most of your teaching!
Subscribe to ELT NEWS for 1.70 euros per month and get access to the most innovative teaching resource material in Greece.
Subscribe nowEFL Greece
Supplementary materials: the what and why
There are two types of classrooms; the one that I came across as a student and the one that we are all trying to create with our students nowadays. The first classroom was a big classroom with desks...
Creating supplementary material: The ultimate “Aha!!!” moment of EFL teaching!!!!
After having spent quite some time looking for the most suitable textbook for our student(s), we feel satisfied that we have eventually made it! Now, we are looking forward to showing the material t...
Paper Takes the Leading Role in an EFL Classroom
The first thing that comes in mind when we think of supplementary material in class is the GOOGLE. How about going back in time when GOOGLE was not around? How about keeping the young generation con...
Supplementary Material in ELT: Is it really worth the trouble?
It is the first day of a new school year and your students have just unveiled their shiny new books. As they eagerly flip through the pages to familiarize themselves with the characters and feel of ...
The Doors of Perception
What is it about labeling something, or someone that makes it less than it can be? We all know that words have power, and we have caught ourselves, at least once, believing something to be true, an...
Teacher Collaboration: a science fiction film or a reality?
How many times have we given the instruction ‘please work together’ or ‘in groups’ to our students? How many times have we expected from our students to work together, cooperate and collaborate with...
The 2nd Online Anti-Bullying Festival by QLS
The 2nd Online Anti-Bullying Festival in Greece, organised by the QLS Network of Language Centres, was another huge success! The award-winning initiative returned on 20th and 21st November - two day...
The First Lesson: What to Do and What Not to Do
It’s that time of year again, when teachers meet new students, students meet new teachers and students meet new students. In this article, I wish to focus on the very beginning of this new beginning...
Μαθαίνω πώς να μαθαίνω...
Τι σημαίνει αυτό;
Δεν γνωρίζουμε πώς να μαθαίνουμε; Κι όμως πολλοί δεν εφαρμόζουν αποτελεσματικές στρατηγικές μάθησης με αποτέλεσμα να σπαταλούν πολύ χρόνο, να απογοητεύονται από τις αποτυχίες και ...
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 Papadopoulo...
News
The 2nd Online Anti-Bullying Festival by QLS
The 2nd Online Anti-Bullying Festival in Greece, organised by the QLS Network of Language Centres, was another huge success! The award-winning initiative returned on 20th and 21st November - two day...
Cambridge Assessment bans watches from January 2022
New regulations for watches. Cambridge Assessment regulations state that from January 2022 smart watches will be banned in exams rooms and treated as electronic items. It is no longer acceptable for...
Fulbright Greece: Building Bridges, Promoting Excellence
Fulbright Greece successfully administered the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 Greek and U.S. Fulbright Scholarship Programs, despite the difficulties stemming from the pandemic. We are grateful for the su...
English through Drama: A Holistic Second Language Learning Method
I always perceived teaching as a happy journey; as an adventure both for the teacher and the students. Having this as my driving force I decided to make each lesson an adventure, a fantasy and a ...
A Short Paper Proposing That We Need to Write Shorter Papers
Our current journals in language education are full of long papers. A typical journal might have, at most, five major papers. Sometimes we have to write long papers, but much of the time, it's unnec...
Μαθαίνω πώς να μαθαίνω...
Τι σημαίνει αυτό;
Δεν γνωρίζουμε πώς να μαθαίνουμε; Κι όμως πολλοί δεν εφαρμόζουν αποτελεσματικές στρατηγικές μάθησης με αποτέλεσμα να σπαταλούν πολύ χρόνο, να απογοητεύονται από τις αποτυχίες και ...
ELT Magazine Selections
Exams & Exam Preparation
The 100% culture
In the English Language Teaching business our most-quoted number is 100. It’s all about 100%. Of what? Of language exams success of course! Everybody has to pass. 90% is not good enough. 70% is a to...
To take or not to take a language exam?
To take or not to take a language exam? The upcoming language exam session are just around the corner. The most common questions brought to our attention before choosing an examination body may vary...
A psychological perspective of B2 level exams
“The B2 level class room can be a board game with rules but also free-will during turn taking; choices bring about outcomes of winning or losing, but most importantly, of discovering that choice ...
Are they truly independent users of the language?
The goal of most foreign language learners is to reach the level of independent users of the language, i.e. to be able to do things like the following:
understand at least the main ideas of aut...
Adaptive testing and the LanguageCert Test of English
A test – through most teachers’ and students’ eyes – is usually a linear operation consisting of a set number of items that a student grinds through from the first item to the last. The current arti...
How can I prepare for the exams?
I have to say I am not particularly fond of exam preparation. I find that too much time is wasted trying to see whether students have reached a particular level and that not enough time is devote...
Red Balloons, London T-Shirts and Open Doors: The Experiences of an Oral Examiner
“Look at the following pictures. I would like you to describe them for me please,” I asked as I handed the candidate the photos. As he spoke, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would have said if ou...
A language certificate at the age of 12, 15 or 16? What’s the point?
To answer this question, it is important to remember that FL learning is not meant to be merely a school subject for learners with no specific use later on in their lives. In Greece learners aspire ...
TOEFL® Essentials™ Assessment: Design and development of a new test
Every new test at ETS is created through a careful design and development process. The newest addition to the TOEFL® Family of Assessments, the TOEFL® Essentials™ test, is no exception. As detailed ...
PeopleCert signs multi-year contract with Transport for London, providing English Language Tests for Licensed Private Hire Drivers across London
Starting in 2021, PeopleCert will provide English language exams to individuals wanting to obtain a Private Hire Driver’s License with Transport for London.
London, United Kingdom: PeopleCert,...
Education
Creating supplementary material: The ultimate “Aha!!!” moment of EFL teaching!!!!
After having spent quite some time looking for the most suitable textbook for our student(s), we feel satisfied that we have eventually made it! Now, we are looking forward to showing the material t...
Paper Takes the Leading Role in an EFL Classroom
The first thing that comes in mind when we think of supplementary material in class is the GOOGLE. How about going back in time when GOOGLE was not around? How about keeping the young generation con...
Supplementary Material in ELT: Is it really worth the trouble?
It is the first day of a new school year and your students have just unveiled their shiny new books. As they eagerly flip through the pages to familiarize themselves with the characters and feel of ...
Teacher Collaboration: a science fiction film or a reality?
How many times have we given the instruction ‘please work together’ or ‘in groups’ to our students? How many times have we expected from our students to work together, cooperate and collaborate with...
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 Papadopoulo...
Professional Development
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 ...
Life-long learning -those were the days…
It’s been a school year like no other. Τhere was a moment, last spring, when every parent suddenly realized how deeply their lives and livelihoods depended on an institution too often in the backgr...
Earn your Trinity TESOL certificate at QUALIFY
There are several reasons to earn your Trinity TESOL certificate at QUALIFY
With a Trinity CertTESOL, you can teach anywhere
It’s easy to apply for a Trinity CertTESOL course at QUALIFY
Trin...
Improve your Teaching and Get Qualified at ACE TEFL
ACE TEFL is a centre for teachers of English as a foreign language: a place where teachers can learn, develop and get qualified. ACE TEFL was founded in January 2021 by George Vassilakis and Alexan...
Teacher development, teacher learning
The Indian poet and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1996) believed that just like a lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame, teachers can never truly teach un...
News
Using asynchronous learning to supplement the course
Admit it! The first thing that crossed your mind when you read supplementary material was handing out piles of photocopies to make up for last year’s lack of face-to-face teaching. No matter how co...
Adapting reading activities for the online classroom
The new classroom environment, the online classroom, involves adapting the printed coursebook we have been using so far, to fit the needs and demands of online teaching and learning. When adapting ...
Online Courses Due to COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cloud with a Silver Lining
The coronavirus pandemic has spurred the adoption of distance learning at all education levels all around the world. According to the World Economic Forum “the COVID-19 has resulted in schools shut ...
What helped me teach online
This year, as the pandemic hit and schools shut down, I had to re-invent myself as an online EFL teacher. Here’s a list of things I did to make my (and my students’) life easier.
1. Slow down
Onli...
Interviews
Consultancy Corner by Maria Araxi Sachpazian
In search of digital professionalism
The impact of social media on our field cannot be denied. The internet, even before social media, opened new paths for teachers to create their PLNs, to see samples of teaching and ideas applied in ...
Dealing with uncooperative exam candidates
By M.A.Sachpazian
The last article of 2020, a year as unexpected as no other before, is going to be a rather unusual one which touches on issues related with both teaching and management. In the ...
“Was I just bullied by this client, or did I imagine it?” Part A: What drives clients to behave like bullies?
By M.A.Sachpazian
In an era when bullying (at schools and in the workplace) is largely and openly discussed and no tollerance is shown for bullying of any kind, it is rather odd that professional ...
Supporting those who teach learners with special educational needs: the role of the Academic Manager
In the last few years, emphasis on honing our teaching skills so that we can be effective teachers of all learners, regardless of their special abilities or weakenesses, has become the mainstream...
Directing your school
The dictionary (www.oxforddictionaries.com) defines director as a person who is in charge of an activity, department or organisation. A second definition adds the aspect of the manager of busines...
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...
Teaching Reading to students with dyslexia
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. The person diagnosed with dyslexia face difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition. What is more, poor spelli...
Teaching English to Dysgraphic Learners
Dysgraphia [dis-gra-fee-uh] is a learning disability that makes it difficult for a person to handwrite and organize written expression. Dysgraphia is not related to one's ability to read, nor is it ...
Mind mapping and dyslexia: The current trend of graphic organizers for effective English language teaching
The common saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” gives prominence to the idea that an image is more powerful when engraved on our mind than a multitude of words. Visual representations...