IN-CLASS

Research shows that building a sense of community in the classroom is an integral part of creating a positive learning environment. Community building begins on the first day students and [...]

MUSICAL CHAIRS

This activity serves different purposes. Here is a «First day at school» proposal. The same dynamics have been used in my class to revise and check banks of vocabulary and it works very well too. [...]

Elevenses

Gran got me started When I was at college I used to spend marvellous summers in the UK, the country I fell in love with when I was learning their language. Among the million things I liked to [...]

Take it personal

Connection before correction I have chosen to use this wise phrase by Jane Nelsen and Lynn Lott as the headline of my blog entry today: giving feedback to students. Time is golden, no need to say [...]

CHAIN OF AFFECTION

Exam stress can be dreadful The times I have heard good hardworking students say this, is innumerable: «after all that work my mind just went totally blank and that was the end of it!»  Which is [...]

emotional response

Music can evoke emotions You can actually change your students mood by just playing the right music. Perhaps something lively for after lunch lessons or end-of-day sessions. Or maybe some [...]

Learn by doing

Experiential stays Long experience as a teacher and most importantly as a long-life student, tells me that whatever one learns through practical instances gets registered best. Even more so if it [...]