One of the great delights of the annual IATEFL conference is seeing young teachers find their own voices and deliver confident, well thought-out presentations. One of the talks I enjoyed most in Birmingham this year was by Sebastian Lesniewski, and…
CELTA, the native-speaker bias and possible paths forward
Last week at IATEFL, Silvana Richardson delivered a rousing, righteous plenary tracing the historical roots of - and critiquing - the institutionalised mechanisms and habits of mind that continue to privilege native=speaker teachers over non-natives. The talk can be viewed…
Complicating the anti-coursebook debate: Part 1
As some of you may be aware, there's been a fair bit of coursebook bashing going on in the blogosphere over recent weeks, much of it carried out by Geoff Jordan. Given this, I've decided to lay down a few…
Politics, pronunciation and the pursuit of perfection
Tomorrow is election day here in the United Kingdom, and it looks set to be one of the most unpredictable results in many, many years. Depressingly, one of the key features of the political landscape over the last few years…
In so many words: on the importance and shape of vocabulary lists
Today we're delighted to feature a guest post by Bruno Leys. Bruno works at VIVES University College in Bruges, Belgium. He's published several coursebook series such as Breakaway, Takeaway and High Five and he regularly gives talks and workshops for…
When less is more: freeing students from the burden of choice
There's a reason why Starbucks will never catch on it Italy. Go to any branch of the global chain and try ordering a cappuccino and you'll be met with a barrage of questions: What size do you want? Do you…