Silence speaks too!
Sometimes it is good to do nothing and rest afterwards. That Spanish proverb partly explains the silence on this blog. Exhausted from a long semester, I just want to take some time off, read on the beach, and spend less time online. Balance requires a full life – and sometimes it’s good to soak up experiences, conversations, and ideas without purpose or direction. Reflection also...
Read MoreHappy New Decade! How Will We Change? Will We Discuss Change in Our ESL Classes?
As the decade ends, this 2008 Did You Know videofor a Sony conference seems more relevant than ever. With quick factoids and fast edits, it shows how radically our world is changing. How do we prepare students for a world full of new technologies, new jobs, and new challenges? 2008 Sony Conference Video on Change Did you notice how dated this celebration of technological possibilities felt with...
Read MoreWhat is your word of the year for 2009?
What would be your word of the year? Why? The New Oxford Dictionary chose “unfriend” as its word of the year, but that clever choice is not the first, only, or last word. This excellent article from Ruth Walker’s outstanding “Verbal Energy” column in the Christian Science Monitor looks at the choices of Oxford American Dictionary, Dictionary.com, Webster’s New...
Read MoreStandardized Exams: Ends or Means?
We Just Want a High TOEFL Score! Students often need solid TOEFL scores to study abroad, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. Naturally, this need – and ambition – often makes reaching a certain number on the TOEFL exam as the goal of their English studies. Unfortunately, sometimes these imperfect standardized exams – all attempts to measure...
Read MoreTwo More Steps Forward
Today is a good day. For the first time ever, an English teacher used Compelling Conversations for English Language Learners in Vietnam in an EFL/ESL classroom. Emily, a close friend and fine teacher, used the modified “going beyond hello” chapter with advanced English students with considerable success. Consider me pleased. Second, I had a chance to actually review a physical copy...
Read More
