by Claire Venables | Apr 12, 2021 | Teaching tips
Flashcards are one of the most versatile and adaptable teaching resources out there. They work with all ages and levels of English learners and can be used in an endless number of ways. Teachers can use them for classroom management, to support understanding or...
by Claire Venables | Apr 12, 2021 | Teaching tips
Flashcards are so common in Young Learner classroom and when I first started teaching, they were definitely my favorite resource. Over the years a lot has changed in my teaching practice, including the way I use flashcards. I have a few things I stopped doing and I...
by Claire Venables | Apr 2, 2021 | Teaching tips
Every teacher needs a repertoire of games and activities that they know can be used at the drop of a hat to enliven a lesson. The 5 kids games I have listed here are classics from my classroom way before 2020 but can be easily adapted to new contexts such as hybrid,...
by Claire Venables | Sep 22, 2019 | Professional Development
In this post I’d like us to take a moment to think about this idea of belonging and what that means in early childhood and also why it is so relevant to the context of language teaching in pre-primary and primary contexts. To start with, I invite you to think about...
by Claire Venables | Feb 24, 2019 | Teaching tips
Storytelling is one of my favourite things to do with young children and it is a regular part of our weekly routine. There is an art to reading stories aloud to an audience of youngsters and if you take your young learner teaching seriously, it’s a skill that you...
by Claire Venables | Feb 9, 2019 | Contributions, Teaching tips
This beautiful project idea comes from Lilian Montalvão, a teacher in the Active English teaching community. She works with Primary aged students in Colégio Magnum Cidade Nova in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We think starting the new school year with a letter from...
by Claire Venables | Nov 22, 2018 | Professional Development, Teaching tips
What A Teacher Toolkit Is And Why You Should Have One The ‘Teacher Toolkit’ refers to the repertoire of games and activities that you know you can use at the drop of a hat to enliven your lesson. It contains a selection of reusable and multi-purposed materials,...
by Claire Venables | Mar 4, 2018 | Teaching tips
To kick start this post, I’d like to first start by inviting you all to reflect on the role of the Young Learner (YL) teacher and the current challenges we face every single day in the classroom. And I’d like to ask you all to answer this question…. Is it...
by Claire Venables | Feb 22, 2018 | Teaching tips
It’s back to school time! English teachers everywhere are busy planning lessons and preparing their materials for the new school year. The first day of class is always a special one and it’s so important to start off on the right foot. I love this time of...
by Claire Venables | Nov 27, 2017 | Professional Development
You and I don’t know each other but I’m guessing that if you are reading this, you are probably a lot like me when it comes to your professional development: committed, dedicated and pro-active. I think it’s also safe to assume that you are the kind...