Category Archives: Teacher Development

Taking Charge: Classroom Management

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The Thinker Musee RodinBefore you read any further, ask yourself the following questions and answer them honestly.

Are you teaching English until you find something more fulfilling or interesting to do with your life, that is, how seriously do you take this profession?

What do you love and hate about this job?

What qualities do you share with other teachers you admire?

What is your ‘Achilles heel’ as far as being a teacher is concerned?

What would you like to be doing in 5 years time as regards this profession?

The previous questions were basically designed to help you determine whether it is worth your while to read any further. What is meant, in other words, is that classroom management is something needs thought, reflection and action, something that anyone who wishes to provide something of value to teaching must pay serious attention to. Anyone who is not serious about EFL would not and should not be concerned about classroom management issues.

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Is Your Wine Glass Half Empty Or Half Full?

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WARNING: This article might shock you! Hopefully however, it will shock you into action rather than depression. Of course, a lot might depend on the way you look at things because, like many things in life, it can be taken either positively or negatively.

OK, so what are we talking about here? Well, it is my intention through this blog to help you gain not only a better sense of control of your classes, but also perhaps even of your life. It’s not my intention to make you realize all the things you don’t do in the classroom or to foster in you a complete sense of frustration and loss of self-esteem. In fact, what I will share with you is not specific to EFL or ESL teachers, but rather it relates to common elements that all teachers of all disciplines must address: classroom management and more generally life management skills.

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Why Choose Teacher Development: A Personal Perspective

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Some years ago, I embarked on the arduous but professional and personally rewarding journey of undertaking the Cambridge ESOL (formerly RSA) Diploma for English Language Teachers of Adults (DELTA). When I finally received my diploma in the mail, I went back and reflected on the portfolio of work I had produced for this endeavor. Early on, I was asked to reflect on why I felt teacher development was important to me both at the general and personal level. Here is what I wrote:

I have been a teacher in a variety of contexts for a number of years now. Although I initially received some ESL specific teacher training early in my career, I have over the years, developed a sense of confidence in my teaching methodology based on my past teaching experiences, my personality and creativity, the influence of my other professional experiences as well as my desire to improve myself professionally. For sometime, I even believed that being a good teacher was something inherently within me. However, while in many ways teaching is indeed an art, I now believe that the required combination of organizational skills and talents to produce educational ‘masterpieces’ are not garnered via genetic predisposition, but rather via the result of teacher training and experience honed over time and practice.

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Proficiency Exams, Teen Magazines, and Car Reviews

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Here’s a look at the power of giving students a ‘real reason’ to write, and the reeling negative effects of teaching too many ‘exam classes’. Some years ago, I was working with an upper-intermediate level exam class here in Greece, composed primarily of young teenagers who would attempt to take various C1 (advanced) level exams that year, and to be honest for no good reason, except that it was a ‘certificate’ plastered bump on the way to C2 (proficiency) level exams.

Now in all actuality my role was limited as I was mainly asked by the school’s director to sit in with the class once a week and help develop their oral skills… of course, for test purposes. As I recall, the students were fairly sharp and most concerned about passing the upcoming exam, albeit less concerned about learning the language to use in any real meaningful way. Nevertheless, motivation is motivation no matter how small. As I always say, never look a gift horse in the mouth.

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Affect, Effect, Reflect

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ELTvistaNote: The following article has been re-edited from its original form, first published in ELT-Vista in 2005.

As I mentioned in the previous post, this blog has evolved from a magazine I used to publish called ELT-Vista. Now, upon deciding for a name for the publication, I heard that Microsoft had announced that their new, though eventually ill-fated, PC operating system would be named Windows-Vista. I thought the word ‘vista’ had potential since to me the word had an arts connotation … and obviously some built-in marketing ‘oomph’ compliments of Bill Gates and company!

Before finalizing my decision, I thought I would ask a few students and colleagues to define the word ‘vista’ for me, just to see what images the word conjured for them. For the most part, they suggested the following: a beautiful view that one reflects on from a high place; an outlook or mental view embracing a series of events; a range of exciting or worrying new ideas and possibilities; the possibility or prospect of new experiences or events.

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ELT-Vista Reloaded

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ELT Vista? Sounds familiar? You’re right. A few years ago, I published a print and electronic periodical that supported personal and professional development for teachers via articles featuring humanistic, psychology based and practical hands-on content. The publication, ELT-Vista, an offshoot of my ELTzone Network, was a tremendous undertaking, which after a few years, eventually ran out of steam because of a lack of (a) financial support and (b) manpower. Though I’m very thankful for the contributors and sponsors who helped to support its limited run, in the end, in many respects it ended up being a one man show in terms of production. And, since at the time as I was also writing and developing materials for EFL coursebooks, as well as traveling around Greece doing seminars for a publisher, the venture eventually petered out. Over the years, I had hoped to relaunch it in one form or another, but it wasn’t to be … at least until now.

It seems that ‘personal publishing’ technology and trends have caught up in order for me to realize some of the ideas I had intended for the original magazine. Through this blog I hope to revisit the themes that had made the publication unique. Along with new content, I’ll be posting some of the old ELT-Vista articles as well as hosting teacher resources, links and other dynamic content. I also hope to support guest bloggers, multimedia, and of course, the exchange of ideas through your comments. Thanks for reading, and as always, your participation. I hope that your experience with this website will create a whole new vista of ideas and opportunities for both you and your students. Need I say more?

Suggested Reading: Getting Down To Basics

The Practice of English Language Teaching with DVD (4th Edition) (Longman Handbooks for Language Teachers) The Study of Language Teaching English as a Foreign Language For Dummies