Which of these words do you recognize:    borage, bugloss, ragwort, teasel, tutsan?  If the answer is none, you shouldn’t feel a failure.  Most British adults probably wouldn’t know them either.  Here’s a clue. They belong to one of these categories.

A early musical instruments  

B Shakespearean insults

C wild flowers of Britain and western Europe

D tools and materials used in hat making

E architectural features of  Saxon churches

Puzzles may be fun ….

Καλοκαίρι 2015 και στην Ελλάδα οι δραστηριότητες και οι επιχειρήσεις, δέχονται πολλαπλά πλήγματα από πολλαπλά μέτωπα.

Παρόμοιες οι συνθήκες και για τους μαθητές και τις μαθήτριές μας, τους γονείς, καθώς και για τους συναδέλφους μας στον κλάδο.

Can B1 Learners really handle a TED Talk?

Watch Keynote authors Paul Dummett and Lewis Lansford show how TED Talks can be used just as successfully with B1 learners as they can with higher level students.

Why is reading so important?

Studies have shown that students who read extensively for their own enjoyment both in and out of the class not only have higher vocabulary and fluency but do better in all subjects against national standards.

Reading extensively offers an antidote to small granular bits of information that are so prevalent in social media

Creating a reading habit early on can open up a world of enjoyment for your students for life.

We’ve experienced significant change to our daily lives across the world over the last weeks. One of these, is the move from face-to-face teaching in the classroom, to teaching online. Kate Brierton is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and Wellbeing & Special Educational Needs Governor at Impington Village College. She presents and blogs for Cambridge University Press on compassion and wellbeing in education. This time, she’s sharing her 3 mindfulness tips for teachers facing big changes in their everyday work lives.

According to Mark Twain “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words”. However, this is not a common thought among teenagers, who generally believe that writing is something complex. This way of thinking means we can be met with bored faces whenever students are asked to write in class. What are the reasons behind it? How can we help turn those expressions into smiles?

 QUESTION:  How can I encourage my learners to read English outside of class and how can I ‘check’ that they do read?

ANSWER:  There are two major language learning strategies, which we definitely want our learners to develop:  extensive reading and notetaking.  For both strategies to develop into continuous practices and  habits, our learners must do them outside of class.