Teaching Material | Teaching English Better

Do ‘easy’ teaching materials have a place in the classroom?

Teaching materials come in many different forms these days, e.g., coursebooks, teacher-made videos, YouTube learning channels, podcasts, and web-based materials. When choosing materials for teaching purposes, teachers are often guided by some selection criteria, i.e., whether the contents are interesting and relevant, whether the length is about right...

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 in a row and with a chalkboard. There was a noticeboard but most of my teachers used it in order to announce tests, grades and things like that. No posters...

Forget the Screen! Become a King or a Queen!

With crowns I will welcome my students in September! I will explain to them that ''every cloud has a silver lining'' and now it's time we all adjusted to the new norm. Wearing our crowns, doing activities, and having an age-appropriate open talk with them, I will try to elicit how important it is to put the era of change and uncertainty behind us. At the...

The Importance of Authentic Materials in Language Learning

Language learners often struggle with finding real-world opportunities to use the language they are learning. While textbooks and exercises can provide a foundation for language learning, they may not fully prepare learners for the challenges of communicating in real-life situations. One way to bridge this gap is through the use of authentic materials in...

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, and then finding ourselves in a situation where we are actually making it happen. So how are we to interpret Kierkegaard’s observation? Let us use supplementary...

Using L2 Errors as a Guide to Progress

An inescapable, inasmuch as an eye-opening part of teaching and learning is error-making. Understanding errors upgrades teaching, timely input and appropriate redress. Errors occur, signifying on appropriacy of selected methods and teaching practice, sometimes even on the effectiveness of the preferred educative materials input, implemented approach...

CHECKMATE IN THE CLASSROOM…AND BEYOND!

Chess is a combination of sport, art, science, game and overall a way of life. It has always played a vital role in a young person’s character building, as it helps its shaping in many different ways. To name but a few, it boosts a learner’s autonomy, decision making and social interaction. It increases concentration skills, discipline, and responsibility...

The First Lesson: What to Do and What Not to Do

Author: Matt Prior
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: the first lesson. It plays such a significant role in helping build the foundation upon which a course’s success depends that its make-up is deserving of...

Flipped Learning

When we look at all the assumptions that have been overturned in education because of the pandemic and all the needs that have only grown during this time, what becomes clear is that the frameworks that previously worked for education are no longer guaranteed to function. Something new is needed, and flipped learning may be exactly the right model for...

When teacher plan, fate guffaws!

Planning lessons Lesson planning is an essential part of a teacher’s professional life. In some cases, it consists of merely having a quick look at the syllabus and/or coursebook material a few minutes before the lesson and making rough decisions about what to do during the lesson. In others, lesson planning can be a tedious process involving thinking...