Author Archives: jonnyingham

Incremental Coaching – A Better Alternative to Formal Observation?

It is common practice in many educational institutions for teachers to be observed just once a year.  This annual observation can be a stressful experience; often high stakes with the outcome directly linked to performance management.  As a result, teachers … Continue reading

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Effective Eliciting

This is my fourth post in a series of posts going ‘Back to Basics‘, re-examining techniques and ideas introduced on teacher training courses. What is eliciting? The British Council Teaching English website defines elicitation as ‘a technique by which the … Continue reading

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Starting with Quotations

Stuck for an idea for a lead-in? Starting a new unit and don’t want to go straight into the book? Not sure how to set the context in a communicative way? This simple idea might be just the activity for … Continue reading

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Cheeky Phonemes

Many teachers find the phonemic chart a little overwhelming, whether they be newly qualified teachers, trainees on a teacher training course such as the CELTA or Delta, or even very experienced teachers. There can be no better place to start … Continue reading

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My one-to-one student just wants to chat

So, after planning a lesson tailored to the needs of the individual student, all they seem to want to do is have a chat. You start to wonder if it is worth planning the lesson at all.   Then there’s … Continue reading

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Developing Reading Skills – A guest post by Suzanne Goodwin

I am delighted that Suzanne agreed to write this guest post based on a super INSETT session she recently delivered at IH Palermo. Without further ado, I’ll hand over to Suzanne. There has been considerable discussion in contemporary ELT about … Continue reading

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Top Tips for Teaching Teenagers

Teenagers… The very word can fill a teacher with dread… Teens get a bad rap.  Ask anyone to come up with an adjective to describe a teenager and they are likely to come up something fairly negative like ‘moody’, ‘uncooperative’, … Continue reading

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Mulled Wine – A Christmas Treat

I’ve had lots of requests for the mulled wine recipe I used at our Christmas drinks party last night, so here goes. It’s based on a Jamie Oliver recipe which can be found here.  It takes a bit more effort … Continue reading

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How to write a TEFL CV

Part of my job involves teacher recruitment and therefore I’ve seen a good number of CVs over the years. Very few of the CVs have stood out, and many have been, quite frankly, terrible! Some facts about CVs Recruitment websites … Continue reading

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Warmer of the Week – Polarisation

Here’s an idea for a simple, low preparation, communicative activity to set the context and lead in to your lesson. The basic procedure Write ‘I agree’ on one side of the board and ‘I disagree’ on the other side of … Continue reading

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Thank you for 100,000 hits!

So after starting this blog as a New Year’s resolution back in early January, today sees me welcoming my 100,000th view.  I must say I’ve been rather overwhelmed by how far reaching the blog has been: 180 countries and counting… … Continue reading

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Routines with Young Learners – A guest post by Jenny Holden

Today I have the great pleasure of publishing a guest post written by the Young Learner Coordinator at my school. I’ve been trying to persuade Jenny to share her YL expertise here for some time and she finally surrendered. Some … Continue reading

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A Story out of Context

Today I cleared out a cupboard full of old teaching material (I know how to have fun!)  I had accumulated files full of worksheets and little cut up cards I had made or photocopied years ago and inexplicably saved. I … Continue reading

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Getting Instructions Right

This is my third post in a series of posts going ‘Back to Basics‘, re-examining techniques and ideas introduced on teacher training courses. One of the first things that is often taught on a teacher training course is the importance of … Continue reading

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Timelines in EFL

This is my second post in a series of posts going ‘Back to Basics‘, re-examining techniques and ideas introduced on teacher training courses. What is a timeline? A timeline is a visual representation of the relationships that exist between tense and … Continue reading

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Concept Checking Revisited

This is the first (hopefully) in a series of posts going Back to Basics, re-examining techniques and ideas introduced on teacher training courses. Many teachers are introduced to the idea of concept checking in their initial teacher training courses, try it … Continue reading

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Back to Basics

It’s June in Sicily… Not only does that mean it’s starting to get really hot here in Palermo, but it also means I’ll soon be wearing a different hat at work… We have a CELTA course starting in a couple … Continue reading

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The 5-Second Rule

There is a common adage that any food dropped on the floor is safe to eat if picked up within five seconds. Now I’m not sure if this is a theory I subscribe to wholeheartedly but I’d be lying if … Continue reading

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Come Cline with Me!

This is a follow up to a blog post I wrote a couple of months ago on using clines in language teaching, First of all, I’d like to say a big thank you to all the readers, numbering over 35,000. … Continue reading

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Keralan Chicken Masala

This is a recipe for a really great curry. I picked it up on a cooking course in Cochin, Kerala, in India.  I also picked up a great dal recipe, you can find this in a previous post. Ingredients Chicken … Continue reading

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