Changing Work Titles & Greater Equality
“Habits change into character.” ~Ovid (43 BCE-17 CE), Ancient Roman poet Which is correct: fireman or firefighter? The answer is both! But one has been gaining traction lately, along with many other gender-neutral terms for occupational titles. Here’s why: Many professions were traditionally only open to men. As women have gained greater rights and society has become more...
Read MoreMcREL standards provide universal guide for teachers
Foreign language classrooms could benefit from McREL standards “You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.” ―C.S. Lewis (1889-1936) British author While conducting research for a review on Journeys In Film, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching social study through film, I came across the Mid-Continental Research for Education and Learning (McREL) standards. For teachers,...
Read MoreHow Do You Teach the Difference Between “Make” and “Do” in Your English Classrooms?
Distinguishing the difference between make and do in English classrooms “Do all you can to make your dreams come true.” ―Joel Osteen (1960- ) American preacher How do you teach the difference between “make” and “do” in your English classrooms? What do you do? What do you make? What’s the difference, anyway, between “make” and “do”? These simple words cause lots of confusion for...
Read MoreWhat Three Tips Would You Share with Novice ESL / EFL Teachers?
What three tips would offer new a ESL/EFL teacher? Hall Houston, author of Provoking Thought: Memory and Thought in ELT, posed this question to several prominent English language trainers and teachers last year. Sean Banville, Russell Stannard, Chia Suan Chong, Nik Peachey, Scott Thornbury, and myself replied. (Naturally, I feel grateful to be included with these far more notable and...
Read MoreDo Our Students Need to Swim in English or Pass Grammar Tests?
Do our students need to swim in English? Or do they need to focus on avoiding minor grammar mistakes? Should we encourage our students to speak as much English as possible? Or should we paralyze our students with exaggerated fears? Okay, these are rhetorical questions. Yet our ESL students – even advanced ESL students – don’t have to be perfect; they have to be understood. Alas,...
Read More
