identifying what works and why
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Learning to play rugby – tackle and scrum
How do people learn to play rugby? In my case, it was at school in England with John Davies, scrum half with London Welsh, who was also the PE teacher at my school. My learner's tale takes the form of two poems - both also available in audio versions.
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Smoke Signals in the classroom
Storytelling in the language classroom is a powerful tool. But what happens if nobody wants to listen? Or if, at least, that's how it feels? The problem is often not with the story. It's about the smoke signal you're sending out : people can't see the signal, all they can see is the smoke. Here are some ways to change that.
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Slow down, teacher, enjoy the journey
As a beginning teacher, I regularly had uncomfortable moments in class when I suddenly realised that everyone was listening to me. I could command people's attention in such moments, but was slightly overwhelmed by being the focus. I didn't exactly panic. However, I did feel myself reel a little as a rush of energy caused a slight dizziness to the head, coupled with a sense of a sudden stuffiness in the room. It was like being caught in a traffic jam of my own making. The flow was gone. All I could do was pull over to the side of the road for a moment and let the flow pick…
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Teacher’s voice – friend or foe?
Teaching involves speaking in public. Beginning teachers often become aware of the sound of their voice for the first time in their lives in the classroom. But when we say "voice", which voice are we talking about? We all have several. In fact, we have a different voice for everyone we talk to. This post uses the example of preparing to tell a story in class, as a way of becoming more confident with your voice.
