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Stress-timing, syllable-timing and mora-timing - what’s the difference?
When thinking about the pronunciation features of different languages, a common distinction is often drawn between ‘stress-timed’ and...

Tom Garside
Sep 106 min read


Learner motivation and engagement - what’s the difference?
A common goal among teachers is the desire to make their classes more motivating for their students. By this, they mean that they want their students to be happy and want to learn through the activities that the teacher prepares. This is clearly a great objective, and something that we should all strive for when we teach, but is ‘motivating’ the correct word to use here?

Tom Garside
Aug 44 min read


Teaching language skills Part 1: Are you really teaching language skills in your lessons?
When we think about teaching the four language skills - reading, writing, speaking and listening, we are really thinking about developing...

Tom Garside
Jun 216 min read


How do you deal with pronunciation in class? Moving from sounds to systems
Pronunciation is one of the fundamentals of language learning. It is the primary factor in spoken language when it comes to understanding

Tom Garside
Jun 712 min read


What Language Centres look for in new Teachers
How can a Language centre be sure that it is getting a teacher that can get results from the students? There is a set of core skills!

Tom Garside
May 248 min read


Common questions teachers get asked at a job interview
Any job interview can be a stressful experience, and school interviews are no exception. Here are some of the most common questions asked...

Tom Garside
May 106 min read


Why does(n’t) accent matter in TESOL
This article focuses on the positive aspects of the different sounds that Englishes use: accents, and benefit to ESL language learners

Tom Garside
Apr 265 min read


Ways of increasing student focus through tasks and activities
No matter what you teach, student engagement is a major challenge in every classroom. Learning increases when students are engaged

Tom Garside
Apr 127 min read


How to increase student engagement in the language classroom
Student engagement is a key factor for learning in any classroom, and each student has their own interests, reasons for learning, and prefer

Tom Garside
Mar 285 min read


5 Misconceptions about English Tenses
This article aims to clarify five common examples which come up for students and teachers, to help us understand the connected relationships

Tom Garside
Mar 2110 min read


Can teacher talk affect how students think? Harnessing classroom discourse to increase cognition
Cognitive approaches to language learning work under the assumption that the more deeply learners think about what they are learning

Tom Garside
Feb 168 min read


Slow down, teacher! An argument for less haste in language education
Any teacher working towards assessments or barrier tests experiences the familiar pressure to get through syllabus content so that their stu

Tom Garside
Feb 38 min read


What is the lexical approach?
Vocabulary is an essential part of language learning at any level. The way in which we learn and remember vocabulary is different from how

Tom Garside
Jan 164 min read


What is Test Teach Test? An impactful lesson structure for teachers and students
Any initial teacher training qualification in TESOL will rightly stress the importance of clear lesson structure for language lessons.

Tom Garside
Jan 35 min read


When did you last see yourself teach? Self-observation as a reflective development tool
Lesson observations are an integral part of most teacher education courses for good reason; we can learn an enormous amount by stepping back

Tom Garside
Dec 6, 20245 min read


After the TEFL Cert - what next? Teacher Education doesn’t stop with a first certificate
So you’ve finished your teacher training course, and are ready to go out into the world of teaching. Maybe you have a job lined up, maybe

Tom Garside
Nov 22, 20243 min read


Barrier to bridge: facilitating teachers to take control of their own professional development
In-depth, lasting Continuous Professional Development activity is often seen as either a luxury or a chore for public school teachers, as

Tom Garside
Nov 8, 20245 min read


Empowering teachers to define their own development pathways
Teacher development in any field can only work if teachers themselves take ownership over how they manage their own development plans. You

Tom Garside
Oct 25, 20244 min read


Sustaining TESOL teacher development
Teachers rarely have the time to step back and think about what they are, or are not, doing in their classrooms. For real, effective develop

Tom Garside
Oct 11, 20243 min read


10 simple steps to sustainable TESOL teacher development
TESOL qualifications tend to be seen as discrete products leading to fixed outcomes - a CertTESOL, CELTA or similar level of certificate.

Tom Garside
Sep 27, 20245 min read
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