It is that time of the year again! As an early Christmas gift I present to you: CLIL Magazine Fall 2016! Opinionated pieces Janet Streeter shares her ideas on the purpose of competitions in a lesson and the reason this might be a great way to motivate students. Phil Ball…
I have always had the up most respect for primary school teachers, for various reasons. One of the most important things a primary school teacher does is facilitate differentiation: allowing each and every student to receive instruction and work on his or her own level. At secondary schools, differentiation is still…
The school year has started again after summer. Or at least in my part of the world. Students get ready for school, enter your classroom, do their work. And take notes ferociously. Or do they? In my experience, students have to take a lot of notes. (Remember, it’s ‘taking notes’,…
For some time now, I have asked students to create activities for each other. According to Bloom, creating is a high level thinking skill, so asking this of students could be quite a challenge. Another reason for doing this activity is to help students remember things better. After all, you…
A couple of years ago Peeter Mehisto (co-author of “Uncovering CLIL”) observed one of my lessons and commented I could think about tasks I could give to students. Tasks I would normally do myself. I even went a little further than that. I tried to get my students to create their own…
A lot has been written about CLIL activities. The very good book “CLIL Activities” by Liz Dale and Rosie Tanner, but also “CLIL Skills” and “The TKT Course CLIL Module” are very interesting reads if you want to find inspiration for your own CLIL activity. However, I still hear teachers say…
In the posts on this website I usually share my opinion on CLIL as well as share some ideas of others. This time however, I would like to share CLIL resources that I think are really worth your time and can be used to advance both your knowledge of CLIL…
This week I have four tests planned and a project and a small test are still waiting to be checked. Resting in a pile right next to my keyboard, I hope to find the motivation and time to really start with it today. Not to mention the lengthy meeting I…
Lesson stages Beginning of the lesson | Discussing homework | Instruct students | Individual work | Group work | Lesson Reflection Why so often forgotten? Every teacher gives instruction. Most teachers discuss homework. Quite a few activate prior knowledge. But when it comes to reflection activities in a lesson, you have to start looking…
There is (at least) one thing every teacher does at every school. Worldwide. Discussing a test. But how can you do this in a way that is CLIL? In other words, by activating the language and engaging the students? Let me tell you how I do this, and feel free…
The number one priority of every CLIL teacher is to activate language. To do that, teachers themselves speak English all the time, but teach a subject of their own. Nothing new so far However, with the focus primarily on the subject, language can fall behind. Or worse, you might revert…
My students looked at me as if I had just started speaking Chinese. ” Isn’t that your job?” one of them asked, not really sure what to make of my question. ” Nope,” I answered. ” This time it’s yours. Good luck!” This was the way my students responded the…
Lesson stages Beginning of the lesson | Discussing homework | Instruct students | Individual work | Group work | Lesson Reflection Homework. One of those necessary evils of education. “Flipping the classroom” is gaining momentum, but many teachers still use homework as an important tool in their lessons. I don’t want to start a…
In my new job I will have to teach for 70 minutes in a row. I have experienced this before and I remember colleagues responding saying: I can’t make students work for 70 minutes! I agree. That’s why you should have a wide variety of activities in your lesson. Variation…
Lesson stages Beginning of the lesson | Discussing homework | Instruct students | Individual work | Group work | Lesson Reflection The opening of a lesson is an important moment of your lesson in which you establish the contact with your students and set the stage for your lesson. Just a few things you are…
The students were running towards the blackboard, eager to write down their word before someone else could. For a moment, it was complete chaos in my classroom. A few smart ones stayed behind to wait and see what options would be left open, confident they would be able to fill…