As you transition from English Language Teaching to Bilingual Teaching, it’s natural to feel a mix of excitement, apprehension, and even a bit of fear. As a dedicated teacher of English as a second language, you may now face questions…
Communication
101 STORYTELLING
Stories have the power to engage our minds, challenge our beliefs, and ignite old memories so intensely that we crave to hear them retold over and over. There are several benefits to using them in the classroom, such as improving…
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT ON FOCUS: ATTENTION-GRABBERS EDITION
A very good lesson plan without good classroom management may not exactly bring the best results. Classroom management has been a challenge for teachers all over the world. Sometimes teachers, in order to get students’ attention, raise their voices which…
INPUT’S ROLE IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
How often do we hear, as we learn a new language, that we should watch movies and listen to music in the target language and travel to countries where that language is spoken? Besides being cliche and within common sense,…
WHO ARE THE ‘TWEENS’ AND HOW CAN WE TEACH THEM
It was 2002 and Britney Spears sang on the MTV channel “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman’’. I was 12 years old and couldn’t relate more. Now, flashing forward, many years later, and there I was trying to…
WHAT IS TRANSLANGUAGING? HOW TO USE IT FOR A MORE ENRICHING LEARNING ENVIRONMENT?
Although the term might be new to some, translanguaging has inevitably been present in most bilingual classrooms. Considering that language has been the utmost focus for teachers in traditional English lessons, it may be initially a challenge to recognize it…
THE PURPOSE OF CIRCLE TIME AND HOW IT BENEFITS STUDENTS
Circle Time is a moment that happens every day in Early Childhood Education. But many teachers wonder how to make it more enjoyable and meaningful for students. Circle Time: why and what for First, we need to understand why and…
THE CHALLENGES OF A NEWBIE: INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL MATERIAL IN ENSINO MÉDIO
Even after more than ten years teaching, when I first saw International School’s material, a big “Now what?” popped into my head, because, unlike the vast majority of materials, IS does not focus on automatic reproduction, as most methodologies commonly…
SHARING EXPERIENCES FROM ENHANCING CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM
Some years ago I wondered why I started to feel uneasy when students addressed me as “teacher” in the classroom. Whether it is down to the fact that I’m married to an English/Irish speaking man or to the fact that…
SCAFFOLDING TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION
Do you believe that construction workers feel safe while putting up a building? Do they have any support to do so? According to the Cambridge Dictionary, “scaffolding” /ˈskæf·əl·dɪŋ/ is “a temporary structure made of flat boards and metal poles used…
