How I Became a Teacher — Building Your Teaching Identity
1. What is a reflective journal for? To notice patterns in your teaching — what you repeat, avoid, improve. Evidence-based self-development.
Category: Resources
LLFE-T01 · What Is a Lesson Aim? — Writing Learner-Facing Aims
📖 From the teacher's desk: On my CELTA course, writing lesson aims was the first thing I had to master — and the first thing I got wrong. My early aims were teacher-focused ("to teach…
LLFE-YL04 · My Body — Body Parts TPR
📖 From the teacher's desk: At my son's crèche in Saint-Pierre, the teachers use "Simon Says" in French every morning — "Simon dit: touchez votre nez!" I now play the same game in English at…
Writing Effective Lesson Aims: The One Sentence That Drives Everything
In the feedback room after a lesson observation, the first question is always the same: 'What was your main aim?' If you can't answer in one clear sentence, the lesson was probably unclear. I had…
Writing Learning Aims — What Makes a Good Lesson Objective?
🎙 From the classroom: My lesson plan from week two of teacher training had this aim: 'To improve speaking skills.' My observer handed it back. 'What will they be able to do by the end?'…
YL · Assessment with Young Learners
Written tests rarely reflect what young learners know because they conflate language ability with writing ability. Observation, game performance, and oral tasks give a truer picture.
5-Min Pro · Error Correction: Deciding When and How
The idea — Not all errors need correcting immediately. Interrupting a fluency task for accuracy correction kills communication. Correcting everything demoralises. The question is always: what is this task for?
5-Min Pro · Professional Development on a Budget
The idea — Paid CPD is not the only CPD. The most effective professional development often costs nothing and happens between lessons: peer observation, reading one article, watching one teaching video, reflecting on one moment.
5-Min Pro · Assessment for Learning: Quick Tools
The idea — Assessment for learning means using information about what learners know to adjust your teaching in real time. It is not a test at the end — it is a pulse-check during.
5-Min Pro · How to Plan a 45-Minute Lesson from Scratch
The idea — A lesson without a plan is a sequence of activities. A plan answers: what will learners be better able to do at the end? Everything else — tasks, stages, timing — serves…