James Heal

We have all lived this scenario: ‘Morning, so and so is ill. You will need to teach for them today’. Although you are fully aware that you are on call or that your timetables include a substitution slot, you are not completely prepared when the day comes. You are suddenly asked to sub with very short notice and it sends shivers down your spine. There are generally systems in place, with an exchange of information to help the teacher who will be going into the new class. However, there are instances when this is not possible and the sub teacher...

Teaching writing? Why on earth would we bother about teaching writing nowadays? In this day and age, nobody writes – let alone reads what has been written. That’s, in fact, what many people’s reaction would be to the question ‘should we do more writing in class?’. I personally believe that writing is still happening, although not in the way perhaps we traditionally associate it with. We might not write in pen or on paper but we are all still writing quite a lot. We are active on digital platforms such as Instagram or Facebook; we are still sending numerous written...

The activity is designed for teaching children.

The article covers a wide range of topics of great importance to young learners such as surprise, games, story-telling and fun.

The article offers a list of tips to help create opportunities for individualisation within a large group class.

This activity can be adapted for any level.

This activity can be adapted for any level.

The article looks at a number of easily accessible resources which will add interest and variety to your classes.

The article describes ways of taking advantage of a new class or activity to develop as a teacher and to improve the quality of the instruction.

This activity can be adapted for any level but is useful at the start of the year.

The author offers a range of ideas for helping avoid getting into a rut. From teaching new levels, to working on new materials or getting involved in assessment – any change will be positive.

The author took advantage of the weather to teach some of his classes outside offering a change of pace, more space, and some unique opportunities for learning.

The article covers a wide range of tips from setting rules to toilet breaks, from being patient to being firm.

In this article James Heal lists nine areas of learning where teachers might need to be a bit more understanding of their learners from repeating the same errors, to not prioritising homework or coping with difficult pronunciation elements.

Most schools and institutions ask for evaluation at various stages of the course. How important is such feedback and how can we act on it to improve our teaching?