Teaching Matters: Email Etiquette, Part 1
“They know enough who know how to learn.” —Henry Adams (1838-1918), American historian Email has become a part of our daily life in the 21st century. We send so many emails that we sometimes forget the difference between casual and more formal types of communication. As a result, emails are documents that can make positive or negative impressions and can document in print our...
Read MoreTeaching Matters: How to Add Student Voices to Classroom Discussions
“Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.” -Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), British author and Nobel laureate This Teacher Edition Tuesday post, a weekly series based on ten teaching tips from the recently released Compelling American Conversations – Teacher Edition, addresses classroom participation and bringing more international student voices into...
Read MoreTeaching Matters: Discussing Stress in the Classroom
“People who want to do everything all at once generally don’t get anything done.” —Jerry Brown, Governor of California This Teacher Edition Tuesday post, a weekly series based on ten teaching tips from the recently released Compelling American Conversations – Teacher Edition, deals with the concept of stress and how to talk about it – in English. When was the last time you were...
Read MoreTalking About Fun with Phrasal Verbs
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” – Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 – 1962), American politician, activist and chairman of the drafting committee for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights This Teacher Edition Tuesday post, a weekly series based on ten teaching tips from the recently released Compelling American Conversations –...
Read MoreTeaching Matters: Preparing Student-Centered Materials for the Classroom
“If it is language that makes us human, one half of language is to listen.” – Jacob Trapp (1899-1992), American religious leader Part 3 of Teacher Edition Tuesday, a weekly series based on ten teaching tips from the recently released Compelling American Conversations – Teacher Edition! We previously discussed the importance of classroom design in fostering a communicative learning...
Read MoreTeaching Matters: Do Our Students Need to Swim in English or Pass Grammar Tests?
“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts.” ~C. S. Lewis (1898-1963), British novelist, theologian, and literary critic Last week we discussed English as a lingua franca (ELF), and how emphasis on a mutual understanding between conversation partners remains the goal. Earlier last month, we questioned what standards were reasonable for...
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