I think even the most rabid of coursebook critics, amongst whom I count myself, would concede that, on the whole, published course materials have been getting better over time. New examples of unsuccessful work will always come to light, and older gems will always lead us into the fallacy that “they don’t make ’em like […]
Category: Training ideas
Posts summarising ideas for how to simplify initial teacher training courses (such as Cambridge CELTA, Trinity CertTESOL etc.)
Unplugged Radio Episode 6 – The Whites Of Their Eyes
Hello! Welcome to Teacher Training Unplugged Radio – my name is Anthony Gaughan. (if you can’t see the podcast player above, click this link for the audio.) There has been quite a long gap between episodes as Christmas and New Year got in the way. I had to do something to convince Father Christmas that […]
Celta hamburg podcast episode 3 – practice made pointless
I took a few minutes to record some thoughts about the past week on my current Celta course for my trainees, focusing on the question of what makes good controlled practice. I focus mainly on the problem of making controlled practice more than a mechanical exercise, and how to make it easier to check whether […]
Mr. Gaughan goes to (IH) London
Back in September, I was honoured to be invited by Varinder Unlu to give a short talk for her colleagues at International House London about unplugging teacher training. IH London record these sessions and so – thanks to their efforts and the magic of the internet – I can share this with you all! Huge […]
dogs, disasters and dodgy grammar rules – teaching the passive
A 20-minute exploration of how conventional treatment of the”rules” for using the passive voice (as, for example, presented in coursebooks or standard student grammar books) misses the chance to introduce learners to a simpler, more elegant and more generative rule.
Parachute training for teachers
Have you ever learnt to sky-dive?
If you have, you may recall receiving this instruction…
“Immediately after you pull the rip cord, shout out at the top of your lungs ONE THOUSAND, TWO THOUSAND, THREE THOUSAND – CHECK!!!!
When you shout CHECK!, tilt your head back and look above your head.
If you see your parachute canopy opening, relax and enjoy the ride.
If you don’t, reach for your reserve rip cord and pull it.
Repeat.
If you see your parachute canopy opening, relax and enjoy the ride.
If you don’t, relax anyway, because it will all be over before you know it.”
Macabre as the punchline is, there is actually a great deal of sense in this short lesson – both for novice sky-divers and for teachers of all levels of experience.
Learning to listen
I’ve been thinking about listening skills a lot since we decided to “unplug” our CELTA course back in 2009. Listening skills development is certainly not a new or novel topic; what is perhaps unusual about my preoccupation is that it hasn’t been the students’ listening skills that I’ve been thinking about, but the teachers’…
Poetry and the Art of Teaching Practice
Have you forgotten the way to my hut? Each evening, I wait for the sound of your footsteps But they are never there. I heard this haiku translation (or something close to it) in Berlin several years ago during a workshop on Big Words, Small Grammar by Scott Thornbury. I am not sure why, but […]
What Makes a Lesson GREAT? – slideshow
I’ve just finished my first Webinar on what makes a lesson GREAT and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it! It was strange talking into thin air for almost an hour but it was lovely to see so many people there and participating through comments: thank you all for coming. I know how busy […]
What makes a lesson GREAT? Part #5
Here is the final part in a five-part series of posts inspired by Mike Harrison, who asked on the IATEFL Facebook page “what makes a lesson GREAT?” My answer was: Group Dynamic Relevance to learners’ lives Emergent language Attentiveness Thoughtfulness You can find my posts on the first four characteristics by clicking on them above. […]