The Silent Student — Managing Mixed-Ability Classes
1. A strong student finishes the task in 2 minutes. What next? Give an extension: 'Now do the same with a different example', 'Can you think of an exception?', 'Explain it to your partner.'
Tag: teacher training
When Mistakes Help You Learn — Error Correction
1. Student says 'I goed to the shop' during a speaking task. What do you do? Note it. Feed back after the task — don't interrupt fluency unless it blocks communication.
Three Seconds Before You Tell — Eliciting
1. Why is eliciting better than telling? Students process and produce the language actively — it sticks better. The 'generation effect'.
The Question That Changed My Teaching — CCQs
Target: 'You must wear a seatbelt.' — Is option A or B better? A: 'Do you understand must?' B: 'Is this a rule or a choice?' B — it checks the concept (obligation vs choice)…
Error Correction: When to Step In and When to Step Back
💬 From my own experience: My first year of teaching, I corrected every error the moment it appeared. Lessons became error-correction sessions. My students stopped speaking. The day I learned to hold a correction until…
LLFE-T08 · Board Work Basics — Writing Form Clearly on the Board
📖 From the teacher's desk: In my very first observed lesson on the CELTA course, my board work was a disaster — cramped, inconsistent fonts, no clear sections, and I talked while writing with my…
LLFE-T07 · Fixing Errors — On-the-Spot vs Delayed Correction
📖 From the teacher's desk: When I first received feedback on my own teaching in Landerneau, my tutor noted that I was interrupting students mid-speech to correct them — which was killing the fluency phase…
LLFE-T06 · Eliciting vs Telling — Getting Language from Learners
📖 From the teacher's desk: As a sommelier, I quickly learned that guests who chose a wine themselves were far more satisfied than guests I chose for. The same psychology applies in the classroom. When…
LLFE-T05 · The Lead-In — Setting Context Before Language
📖 From the teacher's desk: In hospitality, we always briefed the team before service — setting the scene, building anticipation, making everyone feel ready. The classroom lead-in does exactly the same thing. When I first…
LLFE-T04 · Drilling Done Right — Choral and Individual Drilling
📖 From the teacher's desk: In my CELTA observed lessons in Landerneau, drilling was the technique I had the most physical resistance to. It felt mechanical — almost old-fashioned. But watching it done well by…