I learnt to read at school. At first, that meant reading out loud while somebody listened. It was a public experience. This oralizing from words on a page felt strange but exciting, as if something was passing through me from the page to the sounds I uttered. It was like being part of something new. Although the ultimate goal would be to read silently, Mr Harding, a primary school teacher, reminded us that we could still sometimes break that rule.

Whatever your subject, your style, approach, 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.
So, teacher, how do you feel about the sound of your voice? Friend or foe? Let’s get to work on precisely that question.

We all know stories. But how can they become part of classroom learning?
When I first fell into teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in 1981, John Morgan and Mario Rinvolucri were already developing their ideas on the use of storytelling for the language classroom. A chance encounter with Mario Rinvolucri would set me up for a life with storytelling in the classroom. Here’s how it happened.