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Articles

Read articles written by expert teachers and English language professionals about a wide range of current English language teaching topics and issues. All of our articles feature ideas and suggestions about how you can develop your teaching and bring new ideas into your English language classroom.

Young black female student talking to her teacher in a classroom

Counselling learners

There are various ways of measuring learners’ progress. Whichever method you choose, you should take time out to counsel your learners.

Understanding my learners
diverse group of primary children standing up in classroom

Stirrers and settlers for the primary classroom

Young learners have a lot of energy! This article gives advice on when to 'stir’ and when to 'settle’ children, to help you achieve balanced lessons without children becoming over-excited on the one hand or bored on the other.

Managing the lesson
A class of primary learners with their hands up

Asking questions

Learn how effective questioning can increase participation, deepen understanding and drive meaningful communication in your classroom.

Managing the lesson
primary school children holding up fingers on their hands in a lesson

Strategies for keeping attention

Read this article to discover reasons why learners may get distracted and techniques to keep their attention.

Managing the lesson
Teacher at board in front of classroom

Peer observation

Read about what peer observation is, how it should be organised and its advantages for teachers and institutions.  

Understanding my professional identity
Evaluating teacher competence
Two female learners and one male working at a laptop

Throwing them in at ‘the deep end’

Syllabus writers - and teachers in general - commonly assume a ‘scaffolding approach’ to course design.

Planning lessons and courses
Managing the lesson