Every year in July a unique teacher training event takes place in Oxford. Approximately thirty-five non-native teachers come from all parts of Europe and this year also Latin America and the Middle East to spend three days discussing approaches to language teaching, trying out new ideas and activities and reflecting on their own practice.
The Oxford Teachers Academy is an 18 hour refresher course for language teachers and is divided up into three 90-minute workshops per day for three days, interspersed with periods of reflection and feedback.
Normally these courses take place outside the UK, and the participating teachers tend to be mainly the same nationality, have similar educational backgrounds and in some cases all work in the same institution. The difference with the OTA held annually in Oxford is that teachers are all from different countries and have a wide range of different attitudes and experiences to bring to the course.
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Tags: Teachers, Teachers Find
London has been voted the best place to visit in the world according to travellers on the popular travel website tripadvisor.com. This is the first time that London has reached the top spot and it’s yet another reason to visit the city this summer, with the London 2012 Olympic games happening as well.
London ranked highest out of 440 destinations around the world based on analysis of tourist feedback from millions of reviews on the site. It was top or near the top of all the categories including sightseeing, dining and events. Many travellers said positive things about cities which hosted big events such as last years Royal Wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton. This summer London of course hosts the London 2012 Olympics as well as the Queen’s diamond Jubilee celebrations, so this is the year to visit, with even more attractions and events going on than usual!
Some of the comments of visitors to London on Tripadvisor this year included: “It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Nice parks, gardens and locations to visit. Go an
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Tags: Destination World, World
Summer is also a perfect time to start this project of yard jungle you always have been dreamed about. Any kid would jump for joy at the opportunity to play on a new set of climbing frames. And toy scooters for children are very popular, as kids imagine they drive a real car. Outdoor toys are a great option to combine having fun and doing exercises.
There are lots of outdoor toys available, but a trampoline is such a thrill for the kids. It generally keeps the kids entertained for hours while the parents can just watch over them. Trampolines are truly a gift for the whole family. Even if parents say they buy it for the kids, you can rest assured they will have to take the test once they have set up, just to ensure the safety. Buying a trampoline, don’t forget about tp replacement trampoline nets and other spares.
That’s the funny thing with trampolines, no matter how old you are, you have a desire to bounce for a little. Jus Read more…
Tags: Kid
This past year, I had the great pleasure to be involved in the Everybody Up Global Sing-along as one of the songwriters, a contest judge, and a workshop leader. The entire experience reinforced and reminded me of the strong feelings I have about 1) the power of songs in the classroom, and 2) the importance of learning from other teachers.
The Global Sing-along received over 70 entries from countries all over the world. When you see classrooms around the world all enjoying singing the same songs, it really brings home the universal benefits of songs as teaching tools. Songs allow all ages to participate and learn at their levels. In the Global Sing-along videos, we see pre-schoolers and kindergartners doing some very simple dancing, picking up a few words, and getting a feel for the rhythm. For very young students who are just beginning to learn English, songs provide a fun, welcoming way to get that oh-so-valuable input, and gestures and dancing help them understand and internalize the meaning.
Older and more advanced students are able go beyond the basics and to express their creativity with songs.
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I used to be told off my mother. Dont read books any more. If you started reading, you couldnt do anything until finish. Basically I really have liked reading since I was a child.
There are many ways to improve your English: chatting with your friends, watching the movies, writing daily or reading books. What is the best way? I think this depends on what you prefer. At least I can learn many things from books.
Reading Club started in January this year and we read books or poetry with drink and cupcakes. When the club first started, we used Bookworms Club Gold — Stories for Reading Circles, which is a very good book of short stories. The stories were written by great authors, such as Edgar Allan Poe and Thomas Hardy, but each story was rewritten to make it easier to read. I really enjoyed this book as I couldnt stop until I finished. In addition, the good point of Reading Club is that I can ask about words that I cannot understand in the novel. Sometimes the word is not in the dictionary, but I can know the meaning of everything in Reading Club.
We are currently reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth. I
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Tags: Reading, Reading Club