teacher development

Building the Perfect Coursebook (with Professor Brian Tomlinson)

Building the Perfect Coursebook (with Professor Brian Tomlinson)

Professor Brian Tomlinson from University of Anaheim wrote his first coursebook with Rod Ellis in the 1960’s and has been involved in materials design since. We ask him: how do you write a great coursebook?

Observations & Feedback – They Don’t Need to be One Size Fits All

Observations & Feedback – They Don’t Need to be One Size Fits All

As teachers, we try to personalize our classes for our students. But as supervisors, trainers and mentors, how much do we personalize our feedback to teachers?

Podcast: How To Advance Your Career In TEFL (with Jessica Keller, Jason Anderson & Felicity Pyatt)

Podcast: How To Advance Your Career In TEFL (with Jessica Keller, Jason Anderson & Felicity Pyatt)

We interview three former teachers who are all still part of the TEFL industry but have experienced very different careers. Jessica Keller tells us about becoming a recruitment expert, Jason Anderson about becoming an author and Felicity Pyatt about becoming a teacher trainer.

3rd Anniversary Podcast: What Have You Changed Your Mind About? (with Carol Lethaby, Dave Weller, Karin Xie, Matt Courtois, Paul Nation & Simon Galloway)

3rd Anniversary Podcast: What Have You Changed Your Mind About? (with Carol Lethaby, Dave Weller, Karin Xie, Matt Courtois, Paul Nation & Simon Galloway)

We celebrate our third anniversary podcast by inviting six of our favorite guests to tell us what they’ve changed their minds about in language teaching over the course of their careers. Over the course of 35 minutes in our longest episode ever, Carol Lethaby, Dave Weller, Karin Xie, Matt Courtois, Paul Nation and Simon Galloway discuss grammar teaching, teaching roles, the Dunning–Kruger effect, communicative language teaching and more.

What Teachers Need to Know (and What’s Stopping Them) (with Stephen Krashen)

What Teachers Need to Know (and What’s Stopping Them) (with Stephen Krashen)

We talk with Stephen Krashen, Professor Emeritus at the University of California, about the teacher research knowledge gap: what do teachers need to know about second language acquisition, what are the barriers stopping them and what we can do to solve this problem. We discuss open access journals, the Grateful Dead compressible input, compressible output and evidence based language teaching.

Podcast: Learning from Theory, Learning From Practice (with Dave Weller)

Podcast: Learning from Theory, Learning From Practice (with Dave Weller)

Everyone learns from their experiences in the classroom, and if you’re listening to this, you’ve probably learned from theory too. What are the differences and similarities between the two? Ross and Dave Weller discuss the differences between theory and practice in teacher development and the most effective was to learn from theory and learn from practice.

Podcast: Learning Through Observations (with Ray Davilia)

Podcast: Learning Through Observations (with Ray Davilia)

We often assume that observations are more about being assessed and judged than about learning. But observations don't necessarily need to be trainer centered. This episode we look at how we can observe through three types of observations - being observed, observing others and observing ourselves.

How to Apply What You Learn (with Matt Courtois and Karin Xie)

How to Apply What You Learn (with Matt Courtois and Karin Xie)

Learning is one thing. Using what you learn is something else. We speak with Karin Xie about how to bridge the gap. Find out how to help students apply their learning, how teachers can apply what they learning on teacher training courses and what trainers and teacher educators can do to encourage teachers apply more of what they learn in professional development.

Highlights from IATEFL 2018 in Brighton (Part 2)

Highlights from IATEFL 2018 in Brighton (Part 2)

The second of our two-part special from the 2018 IATEFL conference in Brighton. We chat with our friends, fellow teacher trainers and returning podcast guests David Weller, Simon Galloway, Fifi Pyatt and new guest and DipTESOL candidate Will Ferguson about technology in the classroom, activities for teenagers, creating positive group dynamics in classes, native and non-native English teachers and effective practices in language teaching.

Highlights From IATEFL 2018 in Brighton (Part 1)

Highlights From IATEFL 2018 in Brighton (Part 1)

Didn’t make it to Brighton for this year’s IATEFL conference? We chat with returning guests and friends Dave Weller, Simon Galloway and Felicity Pyatt and new guest Will Ferguson about the best ideas and concepts from the IATEFL’s 52nd annual conference.

The Spaces We Teach In

The Spaces We Teach In

There are more or less three constants present in every educational setting: students, teachers and classrooms. This episode we focus not on the participants, but on the spaces for English language learning. We discuss how to set up a classroom, how seating can support your students (or sabotage your lesson) and how teachers and students can benefit from moving their class outside the classroom (from time to time).

Podcast: How to Survive Your Next Observed Lesson (with Matt Courtois)

Podcast: How to Survive Your Next Observed Lesson (with Matt Courtois)

Being observed can be one of the most nerve wracking experiences that we go through as ESL teachers. We speak with TEFL teacher trainer, manager and serial observer Matt Courtois about what you (as a teacher) can do to survive (and possibly even learn from) your next observation.

What Can Podcasts Do For English Language Teaching? (with the TEFLology Podcast's Matthew Turner and Robert Lowe)

What Can Podcasts Do For English Language Teaching? (with the TEFLology Podcast's Matthew Turner and Robert Lowe)

More than a quarter of adults in the US now listen to podcasts. But how can podcasts help teachers and students?We interview Matthew Turner and Rob Lowe from the TEFLology Podcast about how podcast can positively influence teacher development and be help students inside and outside the classroom.

Career Paths in Teacher Training - How Teachers Become Trainers

Career Paths in Teacher Training - How Teachers Become Trainers

Becoming a teacher trainer is super popular career goal for new teachers, but it can also seem pretty daunting. How can you move from teaching into training?We speak with three teacher trainers (Simon Galloway, Ray Davila and Dave Weller) about their careers; where they started, where they are now and how they got there.

Teachers? Trainers? Schools? Who Is Responsible for Teacher Autonomy? (with Special Guest Jake Whiddon)

Teachers? Trainers? Schools? Who Is Responsible for Teacher Autonomy? (with Special Guest Jake Whiddon)

Every year schools spend millions of dollars developing curriculums, creating tests, training and observing teachers. But what are the side effects?