James Heal

Here are some comments provided by some of my colleagues. ‘Retirement is quite daunting, not having to lesson plan and error correct people and attend training sessions and reading and writing. You lose your sense of usefulness and part of your identity.’ (CG) ‘I am terrified of retirement, and it is scary how much teaching has changed throughout my career. Will I continue in this field or will my job become obsolete and be forced to retrain?’ (CB) ‘Thoughts about retirement are inevitably linked to financial difficulties (KT and DE) and the idea that our salaries and contract types won’t entitle us...

Starting point A few years ago, I attended a training session on artificial intelligence (AI). It had become something that everybody was talking about and our school programme had not covered anything about it. I went along because I was curious but, I have to say, I was in a very bad mood and not very receptive (no, not a positive, growth mindset at that moment). I was a bit sceptical and unsure how it would really change or help my life or my teaching. I will confess that the session was a real starting point but, at that point,...

‘Reading is boring!’ says Juan. ‘There’s no need to read,’ agrees Ana, ‘I can find everything I need on YouTube or on the internet.’ ‘I can’t concentrate long enough or read till the end to find out what happens. I’ll wait for the Hollywood version, ’ chips in Roberto. ‘How sad,’ says Maria. You can hardly hear what she says because she barely admits to her thoughts before this group of reading Luddites (!). But before she can be stopped, she bravely goes on: ‘Reading opens up a new world of adventures and characters I would never be able...

Starting point I have recently been asked to do tandem teaching (known as teaching assistant) at a mainstream school and it has been an enlightening experience. I will share my impressions on how this has provided me with an invaluable opportunity to develop professionally and to see how English is taught in a very different context to mine. Hopefully it will also help anybody who is or might be in the same position as mine. I have always worked in language schools with small groups, where students come to us to work solely on their English. It is an optional extracurricular activity....

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.