by Claire Venables | Jun 9, 2022 | Teaching tips
Hi there young learner teachers! If any of you follow me on social media and know my work today, you might be surprised to hear that I used to be a really traditional English teacher. In fact, you might have even heard me say something like…“give me a blob of blutak...
by Claire Venables | May 5, 2022 | Download, Professional Development, Teaching tips
Loose parts play refers to the use of materials that can moved, put together, taken apart and used in any way children desire. In this post, I’d like to share what I have learned about loose parts through extensive reading on the topic but mostly through my own...
by Kenia Santos | Mar 24, 2022 | Teaching tips
It’s not rare to use a coursebook that students complain doesn’t have enough space for them to write or draw, that we feel doesn’t cover relevant vocabulary, or that touches only superficially the needs and interests of the children we teach. What do...
by Claire Venables | Mar 21, 2022 | Download, Teaching tips
Hello Young Learner Teachers! If you would like to start planning a story-based lesson this involves much more than reading the book itself. Whether you are teaching remotely or in the classroom with your students, there are lesson stages that you need to include to...
by Claire Venables | Mar 15, 2022 | Download, Professional Development, Teaching tips
If you’re new to teaching Pre-Primary and you are struggling, then this post is for you! Hi there! I’m Claire and I’ve been teaching English to Pre-Primary learners for a very long time now. These days, my lessons flow beautifully but it wasn’t always this way....
by James Taylor | Feb 4, 2022 | Professional Development, Uncategorized
Like any dedicated teacher, over the years I’ve given a lot of thought to my professional development, and while I’m glad to be where I am today, I can’t help but wonder if I could have taken a better, more organised approach. And if you’re a teacher who has...
by Claire Venables | Jan 25, 2022 | Professional Development
There is this quote by Lewis Carrol that you might have heard. It goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” Well, that is very a romantic idea if you are a backpacker or a Sunday driver but it’s not great advice to live by if you...
by Claire Venables | Jan 17, 2022 | Download, Teaching tips
Looking back over my teaching career, I feel like the most successful experiences have been those in which friendship and fun were present in every lesson. These two elements are essential for developing the kind of healthy classroom environment that supports the...
by Claire Venables | Apr 17, 2021 | Self-Care
Vocal Hygiene is a priority. We here in the Active English teaching community have been sharing information, resources and support to help teachers face the challenge of teaching in the hybrid and physically distanced classroom. People who have been following me here...
by Claire Venables | Apr 12, 2021 | Contributions, Teaching tips
I came across a post I published back in 2018 about my Toolkit for the language teacher. It made me realize that an updated version of this was long overdue. I think there are many things about our profession that have changed dramatically since 2020 and many of...