08 jul 2019

by | in Reflections about Education

Most adult students complain they don't have time to study English at home and because of that, they can't improve as much as they would like to. With a little bit of effort and focus, it's possible to change this mindset and reach more satisfying results. In the book The Miracle Morning, author Hal Elrod defends the idea that there is no such a thing as a 'morning person' and anyone can be productive at the break of day, if 1) they really want to and believe they can...

30 jun 2019

by | in Grammar, Reflections about Education, Teacher Development, Trends in ELT

As the title may reveal, the language is in constant change, no one owns it and everybody does. Therefore, we can all play with it as we wish. Can we? While some of us stand as the grammar police to correct tests, written tasks, posts on Facebook or so many other things people say and write around the world, many of us (also) fight to help learners better communicate in a world where English is frequently used as a lingua franca. Today I propose a discussion on priorities...

21 jun 2019

by | in Reflections about Education

Recently, a colleague from work introduced me to a discussion happening on the internet about whether could really prove a method works or not, or works better than another one. This discussion was very well presented in Luiz Otavio Barros’ blog. At this point, we have to turn to empirical analysis - how it is done and the data it produces. Data collection is too hard work to be ignored. We usually trust empirical data with much more decisive matters - even our lives when we take medicine...

16 jun 2019

by | in Classroom Experiences, Classroom Management, Games, Lesson Ideas, Reflections about Education

Have you ever changed your lesson plan (or part of it) halfway through due to students’ lack of engagement? And have you ever regretted changing it because students asked you to do something different in class? If you answered yes for both questions, you face the same dilemma that we do; which is how much of the lesson plan it is fine to adapt in order to please our students’ imminent needs. Let’s face it: English isn’t generally taken so seriously by students (and their parents) as much as other...

10 jun 2019

by | in Classroom Experiences, Learner Autonomy, Lesson Ideas, Reflections about Education

Before I start this post, I must warn you: this was NOT written by someone who has great expertise on this area. It was elaborated by someone who, like many other teachers, have an inquisitive mind and a wish to make students’ language-learning path a bit less of a bumpy ride. I am also not a specialist, and if you came here looking for universal answers, I’m afraid you’ll end up with even more questions. I am a big nerd, that’s what I am. But enough of me. I was...

02 jun 2019

by | in Classroom Experiences, Reflections about Education, Skills, Teacher Development, Trends in ELT

Taking the DELTA has changed me as a teacher in many ways, but I believe that it has most influenced the way I perceive and teach listening. I first came across the term ‘decoding’ when my dear tutor Melissa Lamb from IH London introduced me to John Field’s book ‘Listening in the Language Classroom’. Later on, I came across Richard Cauldwell’s brilliant book ‘A Syllabus for Listening – Decoding’. This is the second post inspired by these brilliant minds which have also shaped me as a teacher and...

30 maio 2019

by | in Reflections about Education

Exactly twenty years ago, doing research on the use of technology in language learning for my first MA, one of the questions I was often asked was the one on the title. Teachers, publishers, learners seemed to have various theories on how, when, why technology would or not replace teachers. The concern seems to be as current as ever among professionals and stakeholders. Science fiction, often represented by the cinema masterpiece Blade Runner, highlights the possibilities of what experts can bring to life. In this post I will discuss some...

27 maio 2019

by | in Bilingual Education, Classroom Management, ELT Management, Reflections about Education, Trends in ELT

You probably have heard of the term Glocalization, which translates the idea of thinking globally and acting locally. It seems obvious, and it doesn't seem something difficult to do. But yet we continue to find excuses not to do it. Especially here in Brazil, our culture is one where we expect changes to come from someone above us. We don't take responsibility for the things we can do to change the reality around us. We think that God is going to help us, that the new president is going to make...

21 maio 2019

by | in Reflections about Education, Teacher Development

I remember my first days as a teacher when I was afraid of every listening activity because I thought that spoken texts were too difficult for my students. But then a celestial voice told me “any listening text is possible depending on the task you assign.” That blew my mind. I also remember when I came across a more recent finding that indicated that, in many cases, students have a better performance speaking L2 if grammar clarification is supported by their L1. After both discoveries, I immediately went on...

20 maio 2019

by | in Career, Reflections about Education, Teacher Development

Exactly one year ago, I had my first go at presenting in conferences. Back then, I was just someone trying to show the results of a small-scale research I had carried out on a topic that happened to be of major importance in my teaching career, inclusive education. However excited, I had never felt completely prepared for it nor even capable of doing so on a regular basis. What actually made me confident enough to apply for it was the limitless support I had always had from my dear...