The TEFL Times

The role of teacher educators is to develop the capacity in pre-service teachers for complex teaching that will prepare them to create and teach in “learning communities [that are] humane, intellectually challenging, and pluralistic” (Darling-Hammond, 1997, p. 33). To establish and maintain such learning communities, however, requires knowledge of intellectu […]

David Wray and Maureen Lewis remind us of the need to focus on the teaching of factual texts in primary classrooms. They offer one particular teaching strategy, ‘writing frames’, trialed by teachers in the EXEL (Exeter Extending Literacy) Project, as a useful strategy in assisting young writers learn to write factual texts. Introduction As members [...] […]

As it is known, ESP materials are developed in order to respond to the specific needs of English learners. ESP is a branch of applied linguistics in which investigators attempt to put their fingers on the specific needs of individuals or groups of individuals in English in order to design materials related to their specific [...] […]

Can whole language be ‘defined’ in the true sense of the word? Lorraine Wilson believes that while whole language can never be ‘defined’ in the sense suggested by the word’s Latin root (definire = to finish, finalise), certain core principles and assumptions can be made explicit. In this article she describes how a group of [...] […]

In this article Jo-Anne Reid postulates the benefits of postmodern thinking in language and literacy education. She encourages literacy educators to think about what we are doing, each and every time, without relying on what we might accept (without thinking) as rules for the genre of teaching. Rather, she says, we should be engaging ourselves [...] […]

TESOL is the condensed form of Teaching English to the Speaker of Other Languages, a globally acknowledged qualification. This course, suggests Manuel Kupka, offers you an insight into the fundamental approaches of instruction and learning in English. After finishing your course you will become a professional educator who can teach English to people who spea […]

By Paul Richardson It may be serendipity, or a function of the news media I sample during the course of each day, but I have increasingly heard it claimed from various sources that Australia is again facing a literacy crisis. Politicians, radio broadcasters and journalists have all claimed that a proportion of children in schools around [...] […]

There’s a lot of debate around online TEFL courses, notes Bruce Haxton. Are they as good as classroom TEFL courses? Do language schools accept them? And will they prepare you for a life of teaching English abroad? The truth is; they have their pros and their cons – just like classroom TEFL courses. For some [...] […]

The second of two articles on speed reading by Adam Harley: Speed reading is an essential skill when you need to read large information quickly. Speed of reading means how many words you read in a minute. Different people have different speed of reading which can be improved by using different techniques and methods. It is [...] […]

The first of two articles on speed reading by Adam Harley: Speed reading isn’t too difficult. Try a couple of these tips and techniques, and you can already increase your reading speed. Speed reading is an enhanced form of reading. It uses many of the same methods and ideas, but enhances them to the point where speed [...] […]