Top tips for the teenage classroom - MacMillan Publishing

A range of short videos showing activities which can be used with young learners, easily adaptable for other age groups.

English as she is spoke - poem on the difficulties of English pronunication

Below is an old poem on the difficulties of English pronunciation - no author given just 'G'

English as she is spoke

I take it you already know

of tough and bough and cough and dough.

Others may stumble but not you

on hiccough, thorough, laugh and through.

Well done!  And now you wish perhaps

To know, of less familiar traps.

Beware of heard, a dreadful word

that looks like beard, and sounds like bird.

And dead, it’s said like bed not bead,

For goodness sake’s, don’t call it deed!

Watch out for meat and great and threat

(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt)

A moth is not a moth in mother

Nor both in bother, broth in brother,

And here is not a match for there

Nor dear and fear for bear and pear

And then there’s rose and close and lose

Just look them up – and goose and choose

And cork and work and card and ward

And font and front and word and sword

And do and go and thwart and cart.

Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start

A dreadful language? Man alive!

I’d mastered it when I was five.

G

There 's a new FREE course coming up on Futurelearn, if you'd like to undertake some CPD over the summer break (you'll also get a certificate of participation upon completion)  details as follows:

 ttps://www.futurelearn.com/courses/english-language-teaching?utm_source=FL_DB&utm_medium=crm&utm_campaign=09_06_2015_FL_newsletter

  

Professional Practices for English Language Teaching

A free online continuing professional development (CPD) course for people who are teaching English as a foreign language.

About the course

This free online course is for English language teachers around the world. It will help you develop the skills and practices you need for your continuing professional development (CPD).
The course will be useful for teachers of English at primary, secondary or higher levels.
Each week, we will look at a different professional practice that helps make a successful teacher. Weekly topics will include lesson planning, classroom management, classroom resources and continuing professional development.
Short video interviews with experienced teachers will be combined with classroom films from around the world to illustrate the main points of each week.
Video tutors, Suzanne and Claire, will guide you through each week’s content, offering tips, advice and downloadable resources at every stage.
You will be asked to share your own experiences and opinions as you become part of a global community of English language teachers discussing what leads to success.
The course draws on the British Council’s many years of expertise in teacher training and development around the world.

• FREE online course
• Duration: 6 weeks
• 2 hours pw
• Certificates available

Requirements

The course is aimed at teachers of English as a foreign language at all levels. Intermediate level English (around B1 on the CEFR) is required.

Get a personalised, printed certificate

You can buy a Statement of Participation for this course — a personalised, printed certificate to show that you’ve taken part.

Join the conversation on social media

Use the hashtag #FLTeachEnglish to join and contribute to social media conversations about this course.

© Copyright 2015 FutureLearn

York English School, Fuzhou, China November 2014

We received the following advertisement for teachers late last year, they may still be interested in applications:

York English is a progressive English training center, specializing in children’s education, with three locations in Fuzhou, the capital city of the Fujian Province. Here at York we enjoy an excellent reputation in the community as a high-quality education provider. We currently are employing over 60 full-time teachers in five schools across the city and we are now looking to recruit dedicated teachers to join our cause.

Position Details

We offer:

• A starting salary of 7,000 – 8,000 RMB per month plus quarterly raises of up to 250 RMB.
• Free shared accommodation or a housing allowance of up to 1250 RMB per month
• Flight reimbursement of 8,000 RMB
• A total of roughly five weeks paid holiday including all Chinese public holidays, Christmas, and an end of summer break.
• A working visa and medical insurance
• A teaching-support system for staff that is unmatched in Fuzhou with training for all our staff members
• A management team that will support teachers in their efforts to shape the lives of young learners
• An opportunity for advancement as the school grows and opens more locations.

Job Description:

• An average of 15 – 18 teaching hours per week
• Classes have a maximum of 16 students
• Students are between 4 – 16 years old.
• Teachers are expected to plan and prepare lessons for which the school provides an ample supply of resources and materials to use
• Teachers are expected to give lively and interesting lessons based on the topic for the lesson and the curriculum provided

Qualifications

Teachers must:

• Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher; having an educational background in Education or English is a plus
• Have a TEFL / TESOL / or CELTA certificate
• Experience teaching children or ESL is a plus
• Be from a native English speaking country (Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, or America)
• Be energetic and engaging in the classroom
• Be passionate about teaching English in China

For more information on York School of Foreign Languages you can visit our website at http://www.yorkenglish.com or visit us on Facebook.  Additionally you can e-mail us for a detailed information package or any further questions.

If you meet the above requirements and are interested in taking on a rewarding position with our school please send your C/V, copy of degrees and certificates, a recent photo, and a copy of your passport to adrian.yorkenglish@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you.

Recruitment Contact: Adrian Booth

Director of Studies: Cody Klassen

York English

Saxoncourt Advertisement: Teaching in Japan, Taiwan and China March 2015

We have received a recruitment document from Saxoncourt looking for teachers for Japan, Taiwan and China, please find contact information below.  Their website contains information about available posts and their application form.

CELTA at Merton Adult Education: Part-time April - July 2015

There are still places available on the part-time CELTA course at Merton Adult Education.  The course runs on Mondays and Wednesdays, 9.15-4.15 and will start on Monday 27th April.  If you are interested in applying for the course please check the details on http://www.maec.ac.uk and email Susan.Taylor@merton.gov.uk.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Guardian video debate on whether schools should ban slang

An interesting 5 minute debate on whether schools should ban street slang, debaters are Lindsay Johns, a writer who mentors young people in London, and writer and professor of children's literature Michael Rosen on:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2013/dec/09/should-schools-ban-slang-video-debate

Teaching in Thailand - May 2014 onwards

The following request was received on the 18th November 2014:

　
Experience Teaching Abroad Ltd, www.experienceteachingabroad.com UK Company Registered in England & Wales, Company No. 06877086 Registered Office Address: 13 A John Street, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 3JF Phone: 0208 1 333 885, Email: info@experienceteachingabroad.com

　
Experience Teaching Abroad Ltd. are looking for enthusiastic English teachers who are available for the new semester starting in May 2014!

The Job

Teaching jobs pay 30,000 Thai Baht. You will be required to teach conversational English to Thai students in secondary school. Teaching is usually done through using songs and games to encourage learning English as being fun and engaging. Teaching hours are 25 per week (50 minutes classes).

We have positions available all over Thailand and we suggest to apply as early as possible in order to secure your favourite locations – please note that locations on the beach or on islands are rarely!

Benefits
 Salary of 30000 THB per month
 Visa assistance
 Work permit
 Accommodation assistance
 Bank account
 3 sick days per semester

Requirements

 Native English speaker
 Bachelor degree holder
 TEFL certificate OR experience teaching English (at least four months) OR both

The new semester will start on the 15th May 2014. Please note that you have to be open-minded and flexible towards the location.

How to Apply

Please send your CV/ resume and a smiley picture to jobs@experienceteachingabroad.com
Once successful on this stage we will set up a short skype chat with you.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by email info@experienceteachingabroad.com or telephone +44 (0) 208 1 333 885.

Adapted from the article: Speaking it in the family

by Harriet Powney in The Guardian, 19th July 2013

Familects – home dialects in which words are given private meanings – reveal that everyone has a creative and playful linguistic story

Hearing a couple I know ask each other to pass the "splinkers" – their word for sweeteners – reminded me of the English Project's collection of family slang, Kitchen Table Lingo, the blurb of which asks: "Does it sometimes seem like your family speaks its own language? Whether it's a slip of the tongue that becomes a permanent part of the family vernacular or a word invented when all others fail, Kitchen Table Lingo is part of what makes our language so rich and creative. After all, what other language has 57 words for the TV remote control?"

David Crystal, who wrote the book's afterword, expanded on what he described as these dialects of the home, or familects, in his blog: "The book has collected a fascinating group of the private and personal word-creations that are found in every household and in every social group, but which never get into the dictionary ... Everyone has been a word-coiner at some time or other – if not around the kitchen table, then in the garden, bedroom, office, or pub. The words in this book are the tip of an unexplored linguistic iceberg."

If, as is often suggested, the use of jargon confirms its speakers' insider status, I suspect family words serve a similar function. Unlike jargon, however, family words are usually playful, creating both a sense of belonging and somewhere to let your hair down. Although that doesn't mean serious territorial issues aren't at stake. A friend reported how his girlfriend's use of his best friend's nickname for him, in front of the friend, was met with a chilly silence broken only by the rustle of passing tumbleweed.

Although family words are often funny, they're also shorthand for moments from a shared past and as such carry an emotional resonance. In another friend's house "Geoffrey's" means it's time to get ready for dinner. It's a long story that I won't recount, but it's known to most branches of his wife's family and helps keep alive the memory of an uncle who's no longer with them. Indeed, relationships often involve learning each other's family shorthand and creating a new, joint one. I still remember the jolt I felt, after a long relationship ended, when I went to use one of "our" words to someone new but realised it had been emptied of meaning.

In a process known as relexicalisation, kitchen table lingo generally uses the same grammar as English but a different vocabulary, the creation of which falls into clear categories. Children's coinings are one of the most popular – a friend's family still use "foo foos" (her brother's word for shoes) and everyone in my family understands "bontoo" (my brother's word for broken).  Other categories include malapropisms or mispronunciations ("desecrated coconut", "Neolopitan ice-cream") or particularly boring objects, which brings us back to those 57 words for the remote control ("hoofa doofa", "doojie" or "pogger" are just three). Then there are things that are difficult to define or lack a word. I can't imagine how I managed before I adopted a friend's "poggle" (a verb or a noun) for any remnants of lunch that remain stuck to your jumper.

When I asked friends for examples for this post, I was impressed by how many they came up with and loved hearing the stories behind them. If, for David Crystal, familects confirm his belief that everyone has a linguistic story to tell, then they also illustrate how playful, creative and emotional that linguistic story, and our relationship with language, can be.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2013/jul/19/mind-your-language-family-slang  (Accessed 18^th November 2013)

 

 

 

Liverpool - Summer 2013 teaching young learners

Young Learner Residential Summer School Vacancies

Now recruiting EFL Teachers

The Liverpool School of English is seeking to recruit enthusiastic and reliable EFL teachers for their Young Learner Summer Schools to be held this summer at various venues across the UK.

The General English classes will have a maximum of 15 students and students will be placed in groups on arrival according to their level of English. The lessons will be communicative and designed to develop all four skills, with a focus on speaking and listening.

The classes will be both task-based and content-based, allowing the students to personalise the topic and themes of the day and to prepare for the afternoon and weekend excursions.

All classrooms are well-equipped and teachers will use videos, webquests and power point to ensure lessons are creative and dynamic.

Teachers will also be expected to participate in the afternoon and evening activities on a rota basis.

With many years’ experience, The Liverpool School of English knows what makes the perfect summer school programme – academic excellence, an exciting cultural, social and sports programme and exceptional pastoral care. Our Young Learner Residential Summer Schools are tailored to suit overseas students who are aged 13-17 and run between June and August.

We run these courses in Liverpool, Chester, Salford and the South-East. Each venue provides both staff and students with excellent premises and facilities where we offer accommodation, meals and sports activities.

Person Specification

Essential

·         CELTA or CertTESOL qualified or equivalent

·         IT literate

·         Proficiency in time management

·         Adaptable and hard-working

·         Excellent communication skills

·         Native speaker fluency required

Desirable

·         Degree qualified or equivalent

·         Residential, young learner experience

·         Teaching experience

·         Interest in sports, drama and/or music

·         Experience and/or an interest in working with single and mixed nationality groups

·         The Liverpool School of English is committed to promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. We are British Council and Independent Schools Inspectorate accredited. A CRB/DBS check will be requested in the event of a successful application.

Salary & Benefits

·         £350 per week

·         Accommodation and meals

·         Excellent facilities and resources

·         A full staff induction and well established operating procedures with personalised staff support

Applications

Please send your application form, CV and lesson plan to lauraowens@lse.uk.net . The first round of interviews will be between 25-28 February, the second round between the 11-15 March and the third round between the 8-12 April.

Please let us know when you are available for interview and whether you require a Skype interview or you can attend in person.

Further information

For an application form and lesson plan template please see our recruitment page: http://www.lse.uk.net/about/recruitment.aspx