ELT Experiences - Teaching, Recruitment and Consultancy

10 Ideas to Use Songs in Class

June 15, 2018June 15, 2018Martin Sketchley

Earlier yesterday, I observed a lesson which revolved around the worksheet on The Food Blues: BusyTeacher, that also included a song. I believe there is a lot more you can actually do with songs in class, as well as exploiting the resource and make it more engaging. It is a great resource and what the teacher actually did in the lead up to the listening task was wonderful but there are still a few things that you can exploit from the worksheet. This blog post looks at 10 practical ideas of using songs in class.

“Wacky Races” Lesson Plan

June 7, 2018June 7, 2018Martin Sketchley

I few months ago, I was sitting with my Director of Studies and some teachers and we were discussing of ways to engage some Colombian young learners with material in relation to cars. One idea that was thought up was the old TV series, “Wacky Races”. I sat down for a half a week and created a lesson around this TV series. If you have never watched “Wacky Races” before, I would definitely recommend watching the following clip below. It is funny to know that the TV series was first shown on TV in 1968. Some of the best TV series never get old.

10 Tips for Teaching Young Learners

June 7, 2018June 7, 2018Martin Sketchley

When teachers complete their CELTA (or equivalent course), they are more than likely going to be teaching young learners. Something which is not necessarily covered in great detail during their course. You are expected to teach young learners of any age – and I have written a blog post about teaching primary aged learners – I hope this post is more focused on the teaching of learners which are from the ages of 10 years or above. I personally remember completing the CELTA course, only to return to teaching young learners. Much of what I learnt teaching young learners was through personal experience in the classroom and chatting to other young learner teachers. However, it can be quite daunting for any newly certified teacher to enter a YL class and expect to teach. Hopefully, this post will give teachers – no matter their experience – ten practical ideas to develop confidence when entering a young learner class.

Teacher Resources: Phrasal Verb Videos

February 14, 2018February 14, 2018Martin Sketchley

It has been a cold start to the year in the UK, especially here in the South East. A few weeks ago, we had snow on two separate occasions – which was a pleasant surprise. Anyhow, I thought I would write a new blog post with some videos that were shared with me and what I think would benefit the English language classroom.

These short videos are both comical and have a phrasal verb focus. For example, the first part of the phrasal verb video, by Phrasal Verbs Friends, looks at the different meanings of the word “take out”. The second video in this series looks at the different meanings of “get over”, while the final video looks at the meanings of “set up”. All phrasal verbs placed into a context and situation within a dialogue and then the meanings are given within the videos themselves.

Top Ten Lesson Ideas for QR Codes

February 5, 2018February 13, 2018Martin Sketchley

Notes that I kept from my previous blog post on QR Codes — Notes from 2 years ago with my original blog post about QR Codes. Glad I kept them.

I wrote this post two years ago but unfortunately it was removed without me knowing. I am assuming it was related to my transfer from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. However, I thought I would rewrite this popular blog post and offer English teachers some ideas about how to incorporate QR Codes into lessons.

If you are unsure what a QR Code is, don’t worry. A QR Code, also known as a Quick Response Code, is essentially a two dimensional barcode which can be used by mobile devices (such as smartphones or tablets) to link to websites, embed text within them or even include MP3 files within the QR Code itself. However, you may be asking how to create a code. Not to worry, I have a tutorial below to help. Read more →

Top Ten Tips for Teaching English to Primary Learners

October 27, 2017October 27, 2017Martin Sketchley

A few weeks ago, I was honoured to teach a group of Chinese primary learners (aged between 4 and 8 years of age) for the first time in a long time. The last time that I had taught primary-aged English language learners was in my initial few years of teaching in South Korea. However, it was a rewarding and highly motivating group of learners to teach. Fortunately, I had a chance to reflect much of my knowledge and awareness of primary learners from a Young Learner Extension Certificate which I undertook a number of years ago. With much reflection and consideration, I have now thought of my top ten tips for teaching primary learners.

Top Five Tips to Start Online ESL Teaching

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017Martin Sketchley

Online English teaching is becoming more and more popular with many students and teachers communicating and learning through the medium of technology. It is now a growing business with many teachers opting to teach online. I have been teaching English for over a year now with one organisation and usually teach at the weekend. It is different to teaching in the classroom and there is greater flexibility for teachers as well as students. If you want to consider a career teaching English to students then there are some great opportunities available. In this blog post, Daniel offers readers five important tips to consider when starting your online ESL teacher career.

Top 10 Tips for Teaching in South Korea

September 21, 2017September 21, 2017Martin Sketchley

Our last blog contribution was from Kim Ooi about teaching in China, but in this blog post we are now looking at teaching in South Korea. Jackie Bolen has taught English in South Korea and she is offering 10 top tips for surviving as a teacher in this country. She offers advice with regards to understanding the culture more and also provides some invaluable insights to living and working in this wonderful country. So, if you are considering teaching in South Korea, look no further and read more about it here.

How To Survive as an English Teacher in China by Kim Ooi

August 31, 2017August 31, 2017Martin Sketchley

Teaching in China is becoming more and more of a popular destination for teachers of English who are keen to earn a decent salary and developing their career in English language teaching. Looking at recent job posts on this website, the majority of the job submissions are from China. So, what is the best way to survive as an English teacher in China? In this blog contribution, Kim Ooi attempts to answer this question.

Classroom Community Builders: Book Review

August 25, 2017August 31, 2017Martin Sketchley

Introduction

I was kindly asked a few weeks ago by Alphabet Publishing to review a recent publication, “Classroom Community Builders: Activities for the First Day & Beyond“, written by Walton Burns. After a few weeks of waiting, the book finally arrived along with a personalised letter from the publisher.

The publisher, Alphabet Publishing, is one of those small independent organisations which specialise with practical ideas for teaching and lesson ideas. The first book that I reviewed for them was “50 Activities for the First Day of School” as a video book review. You can watch the video below or find out a bit more from a previous blog post.