🎙 From the classroom: At The Ivy in Sydney, I managed a team of twelve. When someone made a mistake with a VIP guest, I didn't interrupt mid-sentence. I waited. I debriefed after. Constant mid-sentence…
🎙 From the classroom: I once watched a tutor walk into a classroom, write a word on the board, and spend twelve minutes explaining it. Then she asked if anyone had questions. They didn't —…
🎙 From the classroom: When I was observed teaching in Brittany, my observer timed every minute. I was talking for sixty-three percent of a forty-minute lesson. I thought I was helping. I was blocking practice.…
🎙 From the classroom: My first week in the classroom in Landerneau, Brittany, I asked 'Does everyone understand?' about twenty times. A row of nodding heads. Then the task collapsed. One good concept-check question would…
Digital tools in YL classes work best when they extend activity, not replace it. A flashcard app is more effective when followed by a physical game using the same vocabulary. Screen time needs a clear…
Young learners spend more waking hours with their families than in class. Parent involvement — even minimal — multiplies the contact time available for English. The teacher’s job is to make it easy.
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.
Young learner energy is not a classroom problem — it is a classroom resource. The challenge is directing it. Transition activities regulate energy between high-focus tasks and physical activities.
Grammar games work because they create a need to use target structures to play. The game is the production task; the grammar is the tool learners use to participate.
TPR (Asher, 1969) pairs language with physical action. Learners respond to commands with movement before they produce language. This reduces anxiety and embeds meaning physically, not just linguistically.
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Sourov Deb EI · SIRET 106 764 061 00011 · Saint-Pierre, La Réunion