Gerhard Erasmus

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Gerhard Erasmus started blogging for Pavilion ELT in December 2019. He moved over to blog for the new look Modern English Teacher in January 2022 where he will continue to write about teaching and management issues, ways to teach pronunciation and other teaching/teacher training techniques. Gerhard has been involved in ELT management since 2006 as senior teacher, academic manager, and director of studies. He is currently based in Taiwan where he is Director of Studies and Course Director at a language school and teacher training centre. He is also a Trinity Certificate TESOL, TYLEC, and Trinity Diploma TESOL tutor. Alongside all of this, Gerhard is Coordinator of IATEFL LAMSIG (Leadership and Management Special Interest Group) and draws lots of his inspiration from the connections he has built with managers and leaders in ELT from across the globe. His management interests involve learning and development of managers, specifically those starting their careers as teachers, and it is also the focus of his current Educational Doctorate studies.

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Meaning, form and pronunciation of complex sentences?

2025-10-09

Perhaps this blog is partially an admission of guilt. It is also something I hope to share with future trainees, because it is a question I get very often from trainees after our teacher training courses. The time on a CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL is often so little that, at times, things feel rushed. We go over many different parts of grammar and lexis, lots of new terminology, features of pronunciation, and how to teach them. And with us, we quickly venture into materials development, comprehensible input driven methodologies, and task-based teaching, predominantly for two reasons. One, we deal...

“AI, like the internet and extensive reading, will replace teachers”

2025-08-15

Gerhard Erasmus explores why he believes it is unlikely that AI, like the internet will replace teachers and explains why this is not really a new phenomenon. As a teacher trainer, I get asked this question so often that I almost have a memorised formulaic response to it now. ‘Will AI replace teachers or change how we learn languages?’ Those are really two separate questions, but I will mostly be addressing the first part of the question in this blog. For the second question, I will just use one paragraph in the introduction part. Will AI change how we...

Young Learner Exams – Who is it for?

2025-06-09

Every month, I make a short video that we post on our social media. These are mostly to promote the school, but also to provide some guidance for parents and teachers. A few months ago, I did a video on young learner exams, and how they are interpreted. Quite a few school owners and examiners messaged me saying they disagree with what I had said. Now, I was quite happy that they were actually watching the videos, but felt many had missed the point of what I was saying. So, with the full intention of being somewhat confrontational, this...

Value or valued? Are you dating or married?

2025-02-20

In a recent consultation session with a school manager, I used an analogy that came to me at the time, and I am going to re-use it in this blog. She was upset about lack of development of a teacher she had employed. In the recruitment process, this teacher stood out as better prepared than all the other candidates. She felt it was an easy choice in the recruitment process but now feels the teacher has failed to live up to the high expectations she had had of them. There was some conflict between them, and I was ‘hired’...

Grammar me this, grammar me that

2025-01-17

Before we get started, please do not take any of the examples in this blog as evidence of anything. They are purely to get you to rethink grammar, and grammar teaching, and obviously, to have a bit of light-hearted fun. For evidence, do read a little further. Now, let’s get right to into it. Do you agree with the following statement. If you do, can you think of another example. If not, why not? Walk cannot be used as a noun unless you add an ‘ing’ (Walking is good for you) or an article like ‘A walk in the park’ or...

Organisational cycles – Is it a new year yet?

2024-12-19

A new year, of whatever kind, is often a time of celebration, a fresh start, plans for the coming year, but at times, it can mean despair and confusion. Here, Gerhard Erasmus looks at how different cycles in your organisation can mean a ‘new year’ for different people you work with at different times, and how you can best address their needs.

Morphology and Syntax: What do we teach and assess vs What do they learn

2024-12-05

Gerhard Erasmus was a decade into his teaching career before he heard the word morphosyntax. Here, he explains why thinking about grammar as morphology and syntax opened up a whole new teaching world to him, as he explores what this means in practice.

Is Santa real? The gift of giving anonymously

2024-10-25

As we start to approach Christmas, children are keenly awaiting Santa, and adults vary from excited to dreading the money they might need to spend. Here, Gerhard Erasmus looks at Santa from a different perspective, and suggests why we must keep Santa alive, not just for Christmas, but for the whole year.

The customer isn’t always right

2024-09-24

Is the customer always right? And what does this mean for schools and managers? Here, Gerhard Erasmus explores why the customer actually isn’t always right, and instead puts the focus on being a student-centred organisation.

TPRS and how we use storytelling

2024-09-04

The idea that comprehensible input is a key component of language acquisition is almost universally accepted by language teachers. Here, Gerhard Erasmus looks at how to use storytelling as a basis for comprehensible input, alongside examples of how he uses it in his school.

The man who planted trees

2024-07-16

We often wonder if what we do has any effect. Sometimes we get positive feedback, but often we don’t. Here, Gerhard Erasmus looks at the story ‘The man who planted trees’ and draws out some useful lessons for teachers.

IATEFL 2024: Two months on

2024-07-05

Immediately after IATEFL each year, the internet is full of reflections on IATEFL. However, this year Gerhard Erasmus decided to wait two months before reflecting, so that he could think about the effect that IATEFL has had on his school and his practice.

Teacher recruitment and retention – A reflection on the LAMSIG PCE

2024-06-06

One of the highlights of the year for those who can attend is the annual IATEFL conference. Here, Gerhard Erasmus reflects on the LAMSIG PCE. The theme of the day was teacher recruitment and retention with Andy Hockley and Silvana Richardson.

The climate crisis – What can educators and school leaders do?

2024-05-02

Educators and school leaders have a responsibility to work towards a bright future for their students. That future will not exist without a sustainable planet. But what can we actually do? Gerhard Erasmus explores a few practical ideas to get you started thinking about the climate crisis and implementing sustainability actions.

Is a CELTA or Trinity CertTESOL really still necessary – Part 2

2024-04-11

The CELTA and the Trinity CertTESOL have often been considered the ‘gold standard’ in ELT teaching. But is that still the case? In the second of two blogs, Gerhard Erasmus looks at them from an organisation’s point of view, and highlights some of the responsibilities we have towards newly qualified teachers.