tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68013416933130509112024-03-14T00:35:58.905+08:00Dave Kees Teach English In ChinaIt's a new day with a new way in an old country.<br /> Teaching English in China is exciting.<br /> You never know what will happen next.<br /> They never know what I will do next.Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-44813287511247320522009-05-22T14:14:00.000+08:002009-05-22T14:14:00.369+08:00Teaching IELTS writing - keeping it simpleOne of the big problems with all of the IELTS writing books is that they use very complex high-level examples of writing to demonstrate how it’s done. This is the most ridiculous thing!I talked to a couple teachers who supported such an idea and they told me that the student will not learn everything from the samples but they will catch some of it.I disagree.If you want to learn how to ride a Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-69616675360881886532009-05-15T19:36:00.002+08:002009-05-15T19:36:00.400+08:00Understand oral English testing in schools better1. According to research, it is too difficult for highly trained examiners to measure English proficiency spanning more than 9-10 levels. (Covering a scale of no ability to highly proficient.)2. Even measuring 10 levels professional examiners can be wrong 27% of the time.3. On such a scale, for classes that meet once or twice a week for 45-minutes, it may take a full year of training or more to Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-36084310104119402392009-05-08T19:21:00.001+08:002009-05-08T19:21:00.789+08:00Those #&!*% boring books!One major problem teachers have brought up is that material is boring. Although it is quite easy to find that material is boring it actually leads us to a much more difficult but important and useful question. What material is exciting? What coursebook do you know of that makes students excited to come to class? What books have made your class the most interesting class the students attend in Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-16541132681411943052009-05-03T09:52:00.000+08:002009-05-03T15:37:49.066+08:00Grab your students with suspense!A teacher asked for help, "A student has asked me to suggest TV shows that have easy-to-understand dialog. I'm afraid that I'm not well versed in current TV programming. Does anyone have any suggestions? We're looking for shows in the North American market."I am always on the lookout for material that really interests my students and is at a level my students can understand, ie: Krashen's i+1.I Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-3176210996483528522009-04-24T15:55:00.000+08:002009-04-24T15:55:00.827+08:00Literati and ScrabbleOne of the most popular on-line games on Yahoo is Literati. It is just like Scrabble. I described this game to this list several months ago and invited everyone to join me for a game which we played one night.It's a great game to play with friends or students. While you play there is a little 'chat' window where you can talk about words, the weather, whatever. I think the maximum number to play Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-51940958579234825382009-04-17T00:10:00.002+08:002009-04-17T00:10:00.531+08:00Scrabble and Liar Liar for vocabulary practiceSPELLING AND VOCABULARY REVIEWSCRABBLE: It's almost embarrassing to get paid money to play Scrabble but we're professionals and have to be ready to endure anything. As I've mentioned in earlier posts I like to teach from our coursebook for an hour and then like to do something else with the class. I was really surprised at how appealing Scrabble turned out to be. Especially when my students foundEditorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-62151596117672986882009-04-12T00:03:00.000+08:002009-04-12T00:03:00.142+08:00High-speed correctingIf you find yourself with a large number of tests to correct and little time to do them you could make a cut-out template to help you.What I like to do though is to make a recording of the answers on my computer, using the 'sound recording' feature under Windows accessories. I then play the recording, sometimes even speeding it up to 200%, and check the papers.The advantage of recording it on theEditorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-3820737088866408062009-03-28T13:50:00.000+08:002009-03-28T13:50:01.004+08:0012 frequently asked questions about IELTSAs a former IELTS examiner I have been asked many questions about the test. Here are some answers: 1. "I HAVE A DOUBT, CAN WE UNDERLINE THE TEXT, WHAT WE WANT IN THE READING PARAGRAPHS. IS IT ALLOWED? OR NOT? I THOUGHT IT IS NOT ALLOWED. PLEASE CLEAR THIS.” Yes, you can mark on the reading and listening test booklets or make notes on the writing task sheet, underline, anything you want. All Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-59841484856120709752009-03-25T23:17:00.002+08:002009-03-25T23:38:35.433+08:00Business dilemmas for business speakingFor business related dilemmas, problems and issues for your students to sort out I recommend two books by Cambridge. These are part of their 'photocopiable resource' book series and has teacher instructions, etc, etc."BUSINESS ROLES - 12 simulations for Business English"Two of the twelve units are:"Polluting the river - This US fridge maker has been secretly polluting the river for decades. Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-23903464417678944322009-03-22T13:45:00.003+08:002009-03-25T23:39:23.177+08:00Favorite materials & teaching via telephoneI am using 'Discussions A-Z, A resource book of speaking activities' published by Cambridge. It's expensive, but worth it to me as I've been able to use it a lot in my training.It has photocopiable pages. I'm teaching an IELTS class and will photocopy 3 pages for the students. During the week, the students will call me three times and we'll do a page each time. This is an English by telephone Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-9369064165473858702009-03-21T13:52:00.004+08:002009-03-29T21:02:35.113+08:00The power of One - personal tutoring for a finance managerLinda couldn't talk to me. She had studied English for about 12 years during her schooldays. She studied grammar and memorized words.Her friend, a finance manager in an American company, wanted to introduce me to her. I met them at the Starbucks in the center of Guangzhou, China.Linda was the finance manager in a state-owned enterprise in the cold food chain logistics industry. Her company was Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-747781691929936112009-02-11T01:10:00.005+08:002009-02-11T01:20:51.674+08:00What students wantA teacher shared what he thought students want. I added my own thoughts. "I HOPE THE TEACHER CAN HELP ENHANCE MY INTEREST TOWARDS ENGLISH LEARNING THROUGH VIVID METHODS, SUCH AS GAMES, SONGS, SHORT PLAYS, STORIES, ETC."I've found that students don't want games all the time. They don't want movies all the time. But they do want a variety of activities."I HOPE THE TEACHER CAN CORRECT MY Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-13975506924957106832008-10-03T22:28:00.000+08:002008-10-03T22:29:44.021+08:00Replying to students' EmailsTOO MANY STUDENT MESSAGESI get a lot of Emails from my students. As I mentioned before, I am seriously spamming my hundreds of students with thousands of messages. So I get quite a few Emails back from them, usually telling me what they are doing to improve their English in response to my tips and encouragement. I also get a lot of Emails of holiday greetings from them during the holiday season. Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-7668857937748839502008-10-03T21:32:00.000+08:002008-10-03T21:34:02.157+08:00"To be (a corrector) or not to be (a corrector), that is the question!' (with apologies to Shakespeare)Krashen tells an interesting story of the time he studied French. He talks about how his "excellent" teacher taught grammar and taught vocabulary and corrected errors -- and how they learned through comprehensible input.~~~A Summer as an Intermediate French StudentBy way of conclusion, I would like to report on some recent personal experiences as a student of French. The class I attended in the Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-16903862059145421272008-10-03T21:29:00.001+08:002008-10-08T22:52:29.871+08:00Grammar teaching? Try it, observe & convince yourselfI don't think I ever stated people should not teach grammar. I only said it does not work.I never teach grammar rules. My students have had enough of that and after about 10 years they still don't have their grammar straight.However, I do correct incorrect grammar when I hear it. So does that indicate that I believe teaching grammar works? No, to the contrary. I have students that I have Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-25710427379741047322008-10-03T21:26:00.002+08:002008-10-03T21:29:48.210+08:00Why I teach grammarWhy do I continue to correct their grammar? I consider it a form of Comprehensible Input. It is a feedback of their own sentence. I believe they will NOT benefit in a conscious grammar rule way: "Oh, right! Grammar rule #27: Pronouns of gender. Females = she & her, Males = he & his." Krashen brought this out very clearly in his description of learning French which I published previously.But Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-74819902395599556792008-10-03T21:25:00.006+08:002008-10-08T22:56:30.459+08:00What can teaching students pronouns of gender teach teachers?A teacher, implying the near impossibility of the effectiveness of Comprehensible Input, wrote:"How many hours of standard, educated English will a native speaker have been exposed to by, say, age 15. Whatever number you pick, if you expect an EFL student to use the language at an equivalent level without error correction or grammar instruction, you'll have to find a way to get that student an Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-57287530013519301592008-10-03T21:24:00.000+08:002008-10-03T21:25:16.539+08:00Grammar teaching teacher challenge!To settle this point and answer the question, I would like to invite teachers who support grammar teaching to design a lesson or series of lessons to teach pronouns of gender in such a way that a student could "learn" it in one week or even one month in such a way that a student will use it correctly more or less consistently.Then I suggest that teachers who do not support grammar teaching, with Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-89620958564599558382008-10-03T21:22:00.001+08:002008-10-03T21:24:00.013+08:00Welcome to my party!...Or is grammar teaching necessary?To answer those who argue that grammar teaching is necessary, I would like you to engage in a thought experiment.Imagine that I am having a party. There is music, snacks, drinks and many guests. All of the guests are my friends. I am delighted when you arrive. "Hi! I'm so happy you could make it! Here, have a drink! Let me take you around and introduce you to some of my friends."This is Bob. He Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-84292228101501290392008-10-03T21:20:00.001+08:002008-10-03T21:21:36.747+08:00Spamming my students with "BOB"A teacher asked about spamming my students, "How much time do you estimate it takes to compose and send out a message?"I use an Excel file and a Visual Basic program I wrote called "BOB". On one Excel sheet I keep the student names, Email addresses and some other information. On the other sheet I keep the "content" for the messages like message subject and message body.Most of my BOB messages Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-67304744943424683052008-10-03T21:11:00.004+08:002008-10-03T21:19:04.411+08:00Tablet computers in the classroomA teacher referred to my experimentation with a tablet computer so I'd like to tell everyone about that. Five years ago I bought an ACER C110 Travelmate 11 inch notebook computer. You can twist the screen on this computer and lay it down on top of the keyboard and use it like a tablet computer. It was quite small and had an external DVD drive. I bought it here in Guangzhou and it cost 16,OOO Rmb.Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-81447576166934545222008-07-05T22:26:00.005+08:002008-07-05T23:02:17.312+08:00Tapping the power of commercialsThe following is a post of mine to the TESL-L teacher list in May 2006:A teacher asks, "What makes a commercial more or less useful for classroom use? If you had to choose between two commercials to use in your class, how would you make the choice?"I think commercials are becoming increasingly sophisticated as advertisers rely more and more on the soft sell approach. No longer can the housewife Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-24664668391289447052008-05-08T13:50:00.003+08:002008-05-08T13:57:13.390+08:00The future just ain't what it used to beA teacher describes his experience at using tele- & videoconferencing in teaching: "While teaching in France I was asked to teach on an online course. IMHO it was a disaster. People came and went from the virtual room and nobody seemed to know what was going on. It was a bit like one of those horrible dreams you have about having no control of a class. I think it MIGHT work IF you have the Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-5431481505403732402008-05-02T19:55:00.006+08:002008-05-02T21:02:25.858+08:00LIMO means Little In Much OutSome people have written me for information about some games I have been using. I got one or two of them off the TEFL-China website but then modified them. So I'll just explain them here.There is a certain quality to finding good learning and practice activities that require no prep on the teacher's part. Sometimes these types of things work out much better than activities consuming many hours ofEditorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6801341693313050911.post-89152264023171634452008-04-30T11:26:00.001+08:002008-04-30T11:30:37.975+08:00On using songs to teach vocabularyI would venture to say it is risky to use any songs that the students themselves don't recommend. Just ask them who and what they like and they are eager to let you know. Remember, if you like it they probably don't.I believe teaching songs may be one of the most undervalued methods of TESL. Just think: the students usually love them (low affective barrier), they are catchy and easy to remember, Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10503105418344773336noreply@blogger.com0