5 Must-See TED Talks for Teachers

Get inspired by these terrific, short videos by experts who deeply care about education.

http://geiendorsed.com/blog/inspiration/5-must-see-ted-talks-for-teachers/

Two internet based writing platforms to help your students improve their writing.

Here are two sites that will help your students improve writing and grammar. I have featured "Quill" on this blog before but I have just discovered "NoRedInk" through an article on TESOL international. Both have free registration and free introductory features for teachers and schools. However there is a charge for premium features. NoRedInk seems to be the most adaptable and user friendly of the two. For more information click on the videos and links below. 

https://www.noredink.com/



http://blog.tesol.org/noredink-for-improved-grammar-and-writing/

https://www.quill.org/


http://blog.tesol.org/quill-for-writing-development/

Youth Group Builds Peace through Education in Southern Thailand

A youth group along with teachers, parents, and the Thai government are all working together to make good education happen in the midst of the violence in the south of Thailand. This is awesome! Please click on the links for the video and article below. 

http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/12/21/youth-group-builds-peace-through-education-in-southern-thailand

How often do you play board games with your English learners?

Being an experienced educator, I grew up using blackboards and green boards with chalk as well as white boards with dry erase markers. My grand mother used the heavy slate boards in a one room school house in rural Iowa in the 1930's. In this digital age I have had to learn how to use the computer and inter-active white board. I would like to think I have a good grasp of both old school and new school techniques. So here are 10 old school ways to play games on your board from the teach English Spain website. Click on the link below for more information. 

http://www.teachenglishspain.com/10-board-games-for-elt-teachers/

13 websites that teach words and grammar in a fun way.

This is a post from Blog de Cristina, It has links to all the sites. The sites are free to try, however on some you can register so that students can track their progress. Please click on the link below.

http://www.cristinacabal.com/?p=6230

ClassDojo for Feedback and Communication

Classdojo is a tool that helps teachers, especially those with younger learners, deliver feedback on student performance to students and parents. It popped up on my radar again recently and I was surprised to discover that I had not yet written anything up on it yet, so let’s see what it is all about. Please click on the link for the YouTube tutorial and the TESOL article below. 

http://blog.tesol.org/classdojo-for-feedback-and-communication/


https://www.classdojo.com/

GoNoodle for younger learners

Have you ever had a tired or lazy student who is uninterested in your lesson? GoNoodle might have the answer. This website can get your students up and moving and motivated.  Check out the video and web links below. 

https://www.gonoodle.com/about/

What should I write in my lesson plan?

Have you ever asked this question? Maybe this post from the TEFL Academy can help. Click on the link below.

http://www.theteflacademy.com/how-to-write-a-good-tefl-lesson-plan

TEFL.net

I have seen this website before, I have just not gotten around to posting a link to it. tefl.net has a lot of good content for English educators.  Check out the "TEFL site of the month" page which is a portal to dozens of great sites.   

http://www.tefl.net/

International Education Week

Wishing all teachers where ever you are a happy International Education Week!

Two articles from the Bangkok Post that Greatly affect the "way or if" foreign educators work in Thailand

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/758228/last-chance-for-education

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/763348/ministry-aims-to-cut-foreign-english-tutors

Fighting (for) Creativity – The creative & educational black hole in Thailand

Here is a post about the Thailand education system from "my-thai.org". It is a good article, you can teach people many things but to change the way a people think which is deeply a part of their culture. So difficult! Find out more in the link below.

http://my-thai.org/fighting-for-creativity-the-creative-educational-black-hole-in-thailand/ 

Teaching words with multiple meanings

Here is a post from a blog called "Linuga.ly". Many of my students have difficulty with English because the words in English have more than one meaning. Click on the link below to know more. 

https://lingua.ly/blog/teaching-words-with-multiple-meanings/ 

Revitalizing coasting teachers

From a blog called "Be the DOS" (Director of Studies) this is an article about coasting teachers. What does that mean? One definition is a teacher who refuses to develop. It is a good read for any educator not just language teachers. Click on the link below.  

https://bethedos.wordpress.com/2015/09/17/revitalizing-coasting-teachers/ 

Top 10 Ways to Teach Vowel Pronunciation in English

Here is a post from the Busy Teacher website about how to improve vowel pronunciation. Click on the link below for more information. 

 http://busyteacher.org/8168-top-10-ways-teach-vowel-pronunciation-in-english.html

More technology in the classroom.

Here is a post from Powtoon, a great website for creating presentations in your class. I have a free classroom account and I have used it a few times. It really helps integrate technology into your class in a fun way. Check out the link below.

 http://www.powtoon.com/blog/13-simple-ways-integrate-technology-lesson-plan/


OK that was the practical and now we have the theoretical. Here is a post from the TESOL connections blog on the effects of learners who grew up in an age of technology and teachers who had to learn that same technology later in life. 

http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolc/issues/2015-10-01/index.html 

The Holidays are coming! But how should I teach about them to my students?

This post from TESOL might have the answer. "Reasons for the Seasons-Making Holiday activities for your ELLs"  Click on the link below for more information.
 


http://blog.tesol.org/the-reasons-for-the-seasons-making-holiday-activities-for-ells/

The Reasons for the Seasons: Making Holiday Activities for ELLS - See more at: http://blog.tesol.org/the-reasons-for-the-seasons-making-holiday-activities-for-ells/#sthash.t6z99fR7.dpuf

The Reasons for the Seasons: Making Holiday Activities for ELLS - See more at: http://blog.tesol.org/the-reasons-for-the-seasons-making-holiday-activities-for-ells/#sthash.t6z99fR7.dpuf

We all use videos in the class room, but are we using the right ones?

Here is a blog I found called "English Teacher Exposed" that has a list of You Tube channels that might be useful in your classes. Click on the link below for more information. 

 
 http://english-teacher-exposed.blogspot.com/2015/08/5-great-youtube-channels-for-efl.html

So, why not give your ESL students some training wheels for writing?

Here is a post from Fluent U about ESL writing. Let's face it, writing is one of the most difficult skills to teach in an ESL classroom. This post is loaded with links for good resources in writing. Click on the link below. 

 http://www.fluentu.com/english/educator/blog/esl-writing-worksheets/

Some things to think about for your next teaching observation.

Here is an article from elteachertrainer.com about peer observations in the classroom. It is called eye on the classroom. Check out parts 1 thru 5 at the link below. 

http://elteachertrainer.com/2015/10/12/eye-on-the-classroom-1-peer-observation/

How different is your English from your students L1?

This post from the TESOL blog is about how we as teachers think about how the English language has developed and not so much about how other languages develop and how this impacts our teaching. Click on the link below.  

http://blog.tesol.org/how-different-is-english-from-my-students-l1/

Free publications in professional development for English language teachers

The British Council has down-loadable books that are free to educators. This book has research from a wide range of geographical areas about professional development. I am reading it now and it is very interesting. Click on the link below for more information.   

 


 http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/innovations-continuing-professional-development-english-language-teachers?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bc-teachingenglish

A brief introduction to digital literacies

Technological advancements in the language learning classroom are changing rapidly. This post from International House is about the basics of digital literacies. Click on the link below for more information.


 

 http://www.ihlondon.com/blog/posts/2014/a-brief-introduction-to-digital-literacies/

Writing for the ESL classroom

Here is a post from the TEFLEXPRESS website. Of the four skills in English, I think writing is the hardest for ESL students to engage in. The article gives links for writing templates which the author will email to you. 

http://teflexpress.co.uk/blog/engaging-tefl-writing-activities/ 


 

Five ways to spark a conversation in an ESL classroom.

Here is a post from FluentU to help motivate students into a conversation. Click on the kink for more information. 

http://www.fluentu.com/english/educator/blog/conversation-questions-for-the-esl-classroom/

 

The Real Deal

Whenever possible let your students experience the real things you are trying to teach them! Here is a post from ALLTHINGSELT.COM that discusses "realia" in the classroom. 

http://blog.allthingselt.com/authentic-material/

High Tech vs. Low Tech

Here are two posts from Ontesol that demonstrate the use of the internet and regular white boards in the language classroom. Click on the links below for more information. 

 http://how-to-teach-english.ontesol.com/using-the-internet-in-tesol/



 http://how-to-teach-english.ontesol.com/use-board-different-stages-lesson/

 

Something for teachers of younger learners

The Benefits of Play in the Education of Young ELs. 

 

Here is an article from the TESOL blog demonstrating how play in the classroom helps in later education. Click on the link below for more information. 

http://blog.tesol.org/the-benefits-of-play-in-the-education-of-young-els/

 

Here is something for your creative side.

Here are a few websites that will help you make your classroom a colorful and engaging place!

 http://www.teachingideas.co.uk/


 This post reminded me when we had a healthy boy English camp at our school and the teachers had all their doors decorated differently. 





 http://www.buzzfeed.com/weareteachers/29-awesome-classroom-doors-for-back-to-school-h0xt?utm_content=buffer2a644&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Continuing Professional Development

I have found two websites for Continuing Professional Development. They are both free. The first is Future Learn sponsored by the BBC and includes several subject areas at different levels. I am taking one of these now called " Professional Practices For English Language Teaching" So far it is interesting. Educators can easily track their own progress through the course and can move at their own pace. Registered users can purchase a certificate which could be used to fulfill the requirements for renewal of the Thai teacher license. 

 https://www.futurelearn.com/


 The second site is from the University of Texas at Austin. It is geared towards Foreign Language Teaching at the high school and college levels. It is co-sponsored by COERLL the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning. The site hosts how to videos from expert instructors demonstrating theories and methodologies. I did not see any geared towards Asian Language Learners, but some of the techniques can be applied.

 https://coerll.utexas.edu/methods/

 

 http://coerll.utexas.edu/coerll/

IATEFL International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language

IATEFL is a UK based portal for language teaching professionals. There is a fee for membership. They hold an annual conference and host web events. I like the SIG, special interest groups that deal with topics of interest in our industry.  Click on the link below for more information.

 

http://www.iatefl.org/ 

 

The MOE conciders cutting school hours.

From the National News Bureau of Thailand. The MOE wants to cut school hours in 10% of OBEC controlled schools so students can relax more. I can see the validity in this as some students are overworked. But I hope some students don't see this as just "freetime" I hope there is some type of educational component between the time when classes are finished and time to go home.  

 


http://thainews.prd.go.th/website_en/news/news_detail/WNSOC5808270010072 



 

Three activities to try with your English Laguage Learners

This is a post from Edutopia. It is about beginning of the school year activities, but you might still find it useful. Click on the link for more information. 

 http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/3-activities-try-your-english-language-learners

Virtual Seminar

The TESOL International Association and VIF International education are co-sponsoring a virtual seminar in September. There is a fee, but there is a discount if you are a TESOL member. The seminar is about Supporting English language learners through parental support and community engagement.  

I don't know how much use this will be to foreign teachers in Thailand because schools tend to keep foreign teachers and parents at arms length. But the VIF International education website had some good content. Please click on the links below. 

 http://www.tesol.org/events-landing-page/2015/09/23/default-calendar/supporting-english-language-learners-through-parental-and-community-engagement


 http://www.vifprogram.com/index.php


 

Supporting English Language Learners Through Parental and Community Engagement - See more at: http://www.tesol.org/events-landing-page/2015/09/23/default-calendar/supporting-english-language-lear

Three useful websites

I found these websites while surfing the net the other day. The first is from ISL collective, it is created by language teachers and offers free resources.  I have used this site for some of my after school classes. 

https://en.islcollective.com/ 

The next site is TES connect. It is a portal for educators world wide. It has resources, job listings, free registration, and an educational news feed. 

 


 https://www.tes.com/home


Pearson ELT is the mega world wide company that specializes in education and languages. On this site registration is free, but I could not preview some of the resources until I registered. 


 



http://www.pearsonelt.com/ 
 

Professional Development for Teachers

Here is an article from a website called Slate. It is about how much is spent on teacher development and how little is gained. Teachers at well funded schools in big cities like Bangkok might receive some professional development, but there are schools in Thailand that have none. Click on the link below to know more.    





http://www.slate.com/blogs/schooled/2015/08/06/professional_development_for_teachers_new_study_questions_value_of_teacher.html

Here is a post from The Nation that might be of interest if you are an educator in Thailand.

NRC's reform proposals call for major overhaul of country's education sector

 

 

 http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/NRCs-reform-proposals-call-for-major-overhaul-of-c-30266555.html

 

ESL listening activities

Ever need some good listening activities for your class? Can't find exactly what you need for your class or level? Don't have the time to make the activities your self? Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab can help. There many topics/categories on the site just click on the link below for more information.  

 http://esl-lab.com/#basic

Thailand Educators Network

This is a group based in Bangkok. They meet informally once a month and have speakers at their events. The link is to their face book page.

https://www.facebook.com/ThailandEducatorsNetwork?ref=profile 

Do we need this in Thailand? Yes we do for both students and teachers.

Motivating the Unmotivated!

 



Check out this post from edutopia. Getting students and even teachers engaged and motivated is a difficult thing to do and maintain. Click on the link for more information.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/motivating-unmotivated-chelsea-dale 

Animated resources for your Interactive whiteboard and presentations

Want to make your presentations more engaging and lively? Here is a website that can help. Heathers Animations has thousands of animated GIFS in many categories.  Best of all they are free! Click on the link below for more information.

 http://www.heathersanimations.com/

The flipped classroom is becoming a hot topic in second language teaching!

This post from TESOL shows how the flipped classroom is becoming more and more popular. Click on the link below for more information. 





http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolvdmis/issues/2015-07-13/3.html

Ever have problems with students paying attention in class?

Here is a post from Edutopia that will give you seven ways to help. Click on the link below for more details.






 




 http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/7-ways-increase-students-attention-span

No place for timidity in education reform

Yes, changes are clearly needed but, 

 
Even if and when someone brave enough makes sweeping changes in the system, the effects wont be felt for several years. Click on the link for more information. 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/632024/no-place-for-timidity-in-education-reform