It’s a given that learning words in isolation is not particularly helpful when it comes to learning a foreign language. Words rarely appear in isolation when we communicate, and ELT has come a long way from the days in which vocabulary appeared as single words in a vocabulary box to the presentation of manageable language… Read More
Do conversation-driven lessons make any sense? (Part 2)
Language is quite a complex system – one which we try to organise according rules and norms. One of the common ways for us to think about such organisation is prescriptively, the way many of us were taught a second or a foreign language. If we look at what David Crystal says about prescriptivism, we… Read More
Do conversation-driven lessons make any sense?
The short answer to this question is a resounding ‘yes’, and I could base my answer on experience – mine and also the one’s from lots of colleagues. However, we should all be wary of such things as “it’s worked with all my groups,” or the converse “it didn’t work with any of my groups.”… Read More
Eleven – A blog challenge to end 2013
There were way too many things that I went through in 2013. These way too many things – not necessarily time issues – have somehow gotten in the way of doing many things I thought I’d be doing throughout the year. Yet, there’s always something that keeps calling you back to the things you like.… Read More
Doing some thinking nominated for Best English Blog awards 2013
Doing Some Thinking has been nominated for Best English Blog Awards 2013 by the folks at Really Learn English. One of the most interesting parts of this award in particular is that, as Adam said in his post about his nomination, they were careful enough so as to interview each blogger and they have given… Read More
Education 3.0: Altering Round Peg in Round Hole Education
Originally posted on User Generated Education:
What follows is my Ignite talk for ISTE 2013. It was rejected by the selection committee. As I already conceptualized the talk and think it is such an important topic, I am disseminating my text and slides via my blog and Slideshare. First, Education 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 are…
Teaching for Learning – Why Helping Learners Earn their Learning Matters
A while ago I wrote a text about teaching, and even though teaching is one of the key elements in lessons, learning is, obviously, part and parcel of the process that takes place in lessons – it’s the actual aim of lessons. If teaching is a lot more than transmitting information, learning is more than… Read More
