Category Archives: survival tips

Social Distanced teaching

Posted on 07/06/2020 by

I wrote recently about the challenges of post-confinement teaching and promised you some ideas. They’ve taken a while coming, things haven’t been easy, as you’ve probably guessed; no handouts, no group or pair work (without students yelling at each other … Continue reading →

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10 things to do when you finish the coursebook

Posted on 01/05/2018 by

I don’t want to rub it in but we have less than two months of school left and that time is filled with school trips, bank holidays, exams etc. This means we’re arriving at the time when we get to … Continue reading →

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A reflection on the first month back

Posted on 02/10/2016 by

So, we’ve been back to school for a month now, and I finally have time to sit down and think about it. Here, in no particular order are a ramble of those thoughts. OMG It’s so hard and tiring!! I … Continue reading →

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Three things that spark up my life

Posted on 11/10/2015 by

As you probably know by now I’m a sucker for challenges, lists, anything to make me (feel) more effective. The first is audible.com an audio book site run by amazon, this means a) I can buy at the click of a mouse, … Continue reading →

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Connect, Notice, Learn, Exercise, Volunteer

Posted on 23/09/2015 by

As an EFL teacher in a secondary school in Geneva I sometimes feel on the edge of everything; -the teaching PLN on twitter seems to be mainly UK based (maybe I’m missing an enormous vibrant community of motivated French-speaking teachers … Continue reading →

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Pay it Forward

Posted on 13/09/2015 by

Yesterday I had a fantastic time at the ETAS Professional Development day, the wonderful new website was presented, and I’m proud to say I’ve helped on the Geneva and Teen SIG pages. During the conference I had the chance to do two … Continue reading →

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I wish my students knew…

Posted on 26/04/2015 by

The other day I came across David Deubelbeiss’ post I wish my students knew… in which he flips Kyle Schwartz’ question to her students a while back that went viral; “what do you wish your teacher knew?” As so often, David got … Continue reading →

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How to reboot your CPD

Posted on 07/12/2014 by

I’ve just watched a recording of Fiona Dunlop‘s webinar for IATEFL, entitled “How to access your CPD“. This, for me illustrates the availability of CPD today compared to when I started teaching, can you imagine it?- no internet, no blogs, … Continue reading →

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Downhill from now on and a ridiculously simple “back to class” activity

Posted on 27/04/2014 by

So it’s the Sunday before school starts again and I’m tackling my marking pile, but I don’t care because I had a great holiday, took a trip with my family and bought a new coffee machine – can life get … Continue reading →

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49 ways to Teach like a Champion – a book review

Posted on 14/04/2014 by

I’m a sucker for motivational teaching books, such as the brilliant Teaching Like a Champion by Doug Lemov and Norman Atkins. This may have something to do with the not-so motivational atmosphere in our staffroom. After spending break-time avoiding the mood hoovers … Continue reading →

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