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Becoming a Better EFL Teacher
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This blog provides information and techniques for teaching and learning English as a foreign language and foreign language teaching and learning
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New “Look” and New Features Added to “Becoming a Better EFL Teacher” Blog
New EFL Teacher Blog Features Added Regular readers of this Foreign Language Learning and Teaching English as a Foreign Language blog will at once notice that the site now has a new “look” and several new features added. This is an effort to mak...
Part 2 - What Are the Best Toys for Your Young Learners to Play With?
Which Toys are Really “Best”?In considering what toys to provide for their children, parents should allow for a variety of toy types and kinds. Modern toys as well as traditional toys need to be available to permit a full range of emotional and i...
What Are the Best Toys for Your Young Learners to Play With? Part 1
Flash back to a Christmas MorningEyes wide and beaming with ear-to-ear smiles, a two year old boy and his five year old sister ripped open their Christmas presents one by one. A battery-powered doll that ”sings”, a new bike complete with flashers...
Teaching English in Cali, There is Salsa in the air
Problems in ColombiaEven with all the changes and problems in Colombia, Cali retains a homey charm, a personality different from other cities, an atmosphere you might expect to find in the Caribbean at times. Kathleen Romoli, author of “Colombia: G...
Teaching English in Colombia: Welcome to Cali
Welcome to Chango’sYou step through the darkened entranceway, leaving the tropical night behind. Suddenly, waves of sound crash over you like ocean surf. Breaking out in a sweat, your heart pounds to the rhythm of bass, bongos, bells and brass. The...
Living and Teaching English in Cali, Colombia – No Salsa, No Dates
No Salsa No DatesCali has all the amenities typically offered by most large, first-world cities. But undoubtedly for many, the principal attraction that lures them to this charming city is Salsa music. The sensuous, tropical rhythms of Salsa pervade ...
Cali, Salsa Capitol of the World
Different Styles and Variations of Salsa You don’t have to go far in this city of dancers to hear all the different styles and variations of Salsa. The suburb of Juanchito, w...
How Can a Content and Language Integrated Content Approach Improve the Learning of a Foreign Language?
Braj Kachru’s CirclesIt was language researcher and professor Braj Behari Kachru, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, USA, (shown in photo) who defined what are called “Kachru’s Circles”. These concentric circles identify the zones of E...
Using Communicative English Language Teaching Through Two Approaches
Communicative Language TeachingPreviously, in one of my articles I stated that I use the communicative language teaching through two approaches. The two approaches mentioned are: • Content-Based Instruction (CBI) • Task-Based language teaching (...
Can You Really Make a Living by Teaching English Abroad?
Teaching English Not Realistic? At the TEFL News Network site a post appeared which said, “I have recently read another article about teaching English in Mexico that indicated that the wages are very low and so if you are planning to go there to le...
How Can Limited Proficiency in English or a Foreign Language be Managed Using a Communicative Approach?
Teachers and Learners Alike Have Limited English ProficiencyAll of us, teachers and learners alike have “limited English language knowledge” or Limited English Proficiency (LEP) to some degree. Even I am still “learning the English language”,...
Why Did You Choose to Become an English as a Foreign Language Teacher?
Why, How and When Why, how and when did you choose to be an English language teacher? When this question came up recently during an online interview with Monica Haydee Di Santi, I had to seriously reflect, not on what to answer, but on how much to...
How Can Teachers Use Music in an EFL Class and Not Lose Group Control?
It’s Not Just Teenagers Who Love Music This is an excellent question in addition to being a somewhat “HOT” topic. It’s not just teenagers who love music either, but almost any language learner group or profile will be highly impacted by the ...
Which People or Trends in English Language Learning Have Most Influenced Your Way of Teaching?
The Theory of Multiple Intelligences A broad spectrum of educational innovations, trends, research papers, and other TEFL-related events have inspired me to make tweaks or small adjustments to my teaching in some way. However, the person and approa...
Learning a Foreign Language Faster: Does Using the Internet Help Students?
The Internet Has Many Useful AspectsYes in fact, the internet has many useful aspects in English and foreign language teaching or learning. It’s a fine resource for those teachers and learners who like technology. So it definitely can help students...
More Useful Websites for English as a Foreign Language Teachers
In a previous article post we began with some websites for English as a foreign language teachers who may be short on funds and TEFL resources. Here I’d like to continue with a few more personally-selected websites I think you might benefit from. ...
Useful Websites for English as a Foreign Language Teachers
Few, Limited or No Resources for English Language Teaching Where to go for up-to-date, relevant English as a foreign language information and resources is a constant concern for many ELT professionals around the world. Some countries may have few, li...
What is a Communicative Approach to English Language Teaching?
A Communicative Approach? There are a variety of approaches to teaching English as a second or foreign language. One aspect of English and foreign language teaching involves using a Communicative Approach. But what exactly does using a communicative ...
How Would YOU Teach English as a Foreign Language to a Group of Complete Beginners?
Which English for Them? The first requirement in teaching a group of complete beginners (English 1) is to understand the purpose of their learning, i.e., General English, Technical English, and English for travel or for their employment, needs to be ...
Make Your Own English Language Learning DVDs Using These Seven Simple Steps
Having Trouble Learning English? When you find yourself having problems with learning English or some other foreign language, you can quickly and easily produce your very own language practice and study aids. How? By making your own videos and sound...
What to Do When Your EFL Learners Don’t Like to Read
They Don’t Like to Read? “But teacher, I don’t like to read!” Many of my EFL learners here in Colombia chant this so many times it’s almost a mantra. Despite efforts to the contrary, elaborate bookstore displays and campaigns, “fun” rea...
Where This EFL Teaching and Learning Blog is Read : The Final Top Ten Countries
Here is a Countdown of the Final Top Ten Countries by Number of Readers6. Spain Some of my post-graduate studies and research were done in Barcelona, so I’m not too surprised that there is a distinctive readership from there. EFL programs, the vast...
A Countdown of the Top Ten Countries Where This EFL Teaching and Learning Blog is Read
Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico While this English Language teaching and learning blog has actually been online for more than three years now, its popularity has dramatically risen within the past year or so. Although I originally intended to have a pos...
Three Benefits of Blogging for English as a Foreign Language Teachers
Blogging for ELTIn a companion article post we discussed, “Five Reasons that Every EFL Teacher Should Blog”. In this article post, we’ll continue with the overall theme of blogging for English and foreign language teaching professionals with th...
Five Reasons Why Every English as a Foreign Language Teacher Should Blog
Deeper and Deeper into the 21st Century As we delve deeper and deeper into the 21st century, blogs and blogging are becoming an essential tool for English and foreign language teaching professionals world wide. Why is this happening? Here are eight r...
Unique Ways of Evaluating Foreign Language Learners
Testing, Evaluation and Assessment in EFL You know the looks you’re going to get whenever you “announce” an upcoming quiz, test or evaluation. Whether these are administration-mandated, curriculum-included, make-up or “recuperation-type” e...
Seven Guaranteed Ways to Fail English as a Foreign Language Class
Learning English or Other Foreign Language? If learning English or some other foreign language simply doesn’t interest you at all, but you find yourself having to take English classes, here are seven guaranteed ways to ensure that you will fail. A...
The Seven Best Places in Your Town to Learn English
Why Travel Abroad? Who said that the only way to learn English or other foreign language was to travel abroad? True, this is an excellent way to acquire a second or foreign language, but it’s hardly the only way. You can delve into and deepen your...
Classical Music Videos to Use in the English Language Classroom
Using Classical Music Videos in the EFL ClassroomNaturally, most of your English as a foreign language learners love music. They also most certainly enjoy music videos too. It’s very likely they watch more music videos in a week than you might in a...
Seven English Language Literary Writers You Should Know
English Language Learners Welcome Whether your learners come from a reading-based culture or not, you should have them become familiar with written English. There are a number of authors whose works your English language learners would welcome, belie...
