School teachers’ quality of work is unique not only in the quantity of work required of them but also primarily in the complexity and nature of their relationship with students. In schools, educators are confronted with human, emotional, and intellectual challenges that often go far beyond those acknowledged in other types of work. The special nature of...
Teaching English to young learners
Young learners, those attending preschool and kindergarten, do not have any personal reason for studying English.
It is simply another subject that they have to study at school or that their parents have told them they need to learn. At this point in their lives, they may not know or comprehend how important these...
Teacher Development: Letting Our Light Shine
During my long career in ELT I have attended numerous seminars, conferences, workshops both in Greece and abroad and I still do. As I reflect on all those events, I am so grateful to the amazing teacher leaders I have encountered; their impact on my own practice was immeasurable. I returned to my classroom...
Cheating in exams
Language testing fulfils a variety of functions, and it can take many forms. At school, the purpose of a test might typically be to check what a student has learnt (or not learnt) at the end of a teaching unit (in a ‘progress’ test, set to monitor a list of objectives, or a ‘diagnostic’ test if it is intended to identify problems); in a...
The current issue of ELT NEWS focuses on B1 Level. I would dare say that this level is very challenging. Learners have covered the basics of the language regarding vocabulary and grammar and are ready to explore more demanding learning areas. They are required to use prior knowledge and experiences and develop language awareness -that is how language...
In the current issue of ELT NEWS we focus on the use of technology in education.
Technology has introduced revolutionary changes in all areas of life, from interpersonal communication, economy, and entertainment industry to education to name just a few. It seems that today, more than ever, students are faced with changes that not only fundamentally alter...
It is not the first time ELT NEWS focuses on language exams and it won’t be the last. Our educational system relies on tests scores to discriminate strong and weak learners. In addition, the five or so thousand FL schools across the country function as spare parts of a huge exam machine ensuring its maintenance and existence. Personnel recruitment in...
A grammar structure? Can we learn it as a chunk? Ιs it feasible?
I am writing this editorial both as a learner and a teacher. Many a times it’s useful to empathise with the students and realise how hard it is for them to internalize grammar in a foreign language.
The English grammar is much simpler than the grammar of the other three Romance languages I...
How do we know the state of the learner arriving in our classroom?
How do we know if they are motivated to learn? What does a motivated student look like? While we think they look motivated to learn, their interest may be peaked by something completely different.
Students come to the classroom with a complex range of social and cultural contexts...
The new school year has already started. After the first two weeks’ lessons we realise that:
The coursebook we have chosen doesn’t work the way we had expected;
The topics do not attract our students’ interest;
Some of our students have learning gaps from previous years;
They can’t use grammar correctly to express themselves;
They have...
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 to make good use of a foreign language and the accompanied certification at a later stage...
Who has not experienced moments seeing that flash of interest in students’ eyes, smiling as the bell rings because the energy is so high and no one wants the period to end? How do we extend these moments? How do we create an environment that keeps students stimulated and craving more? How do we have more fun? How can we prevent ‘boredom’?
What is it that...
The current issue of ELT NEWS focuses on teacher development and adult 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 unless they are learning themselves. As a child Tagore abhorred formal...
In the current issue of ELT NEWS we focus on teaching English to young learners.
Knowing how children learn their first language can help us teach them a second language. All children can speak at least one language when they come to school. Think about how they learned their first language. Think about how your baby acquired his/her first...
Major changes are happening in ELT triggering new educational models and transformations. New technologies are being developed creating opportunities and challenges for the sector.
In this issue we accommodate the views of some of the most influential FLS owners and practicing teachers whose innovative and creative ideas have had an impact on the ELT...
A couple of months ago, I was having lunch with some friends. After lunch I was approached by the host’s daughter, a beautiful teenage girl. She would sit for a B2 exam in May and she was not sure which one to take. She needed advice. I asked her if she had ever heard of the Common European Framework. She hadn’t.
I agree with Maria Davou (read her...
In 2020, online learning leapt to new levels of prominence as people all over the world adapted to challenges imposed by the pandemic. Students found new ways to learn, instructors found new ways to teach, and organizations found new ways to support their communities.
In 2020, a record number of people turned to online learning as a source of hope...
Teaching will be online for the foreseeable future
As the COVID-19 Pandemic runs its course, many governments are implementing measures that limit the number of people congregating in public places. Such measures have disrupted the normal functioning of schools and universities. The duration of such measures has been extensive – and is likely to continue...
How long does it take to reach C1 and C2 Level?
It takes at least 18 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 that level.
The CEFR framework is a quantitative indication of a qualitative set of complex social skills...
However, the question of how grammarHowever, the question of how grammaris to be taught is at the heart of oneof the most enduring controversies inEFL. A wide range of opinions is foundin the field. Some maintain that explicitgrammar rules absolutely must betaught and drilled, or students will becondemned to a lifetime of fossilizationat an early stage of...
