We’re moving

January 26, 2021 shaunsweeney

If you’re interested in more posts reflecting on teaching, online lesson ideas, gaining further TESOL qualifications, developing listening, classroom interaction etc. etc. do head on over and subscribe to get all the latest posts delivered straight to your inbox. Some of the TD Lab posts will be updated and migrate over to dublintefl so all your favourites will be found there. Fear not, however, we won’t be deleting this blog, so you can still access posts in their original format should you wish. Hope to see you soon on http://www.dublintefl.com Continue reading We’re moving

Teacher Reflections4 Comments

CAE Inexpert: Show you care

November 4, 2019 shaunsweeney

I’m not normally the type to go for motivational quotations or trite exhortations to remember that the kids are our future and need nurturing etc. etc. Writing the subheading ‘show you care’ above made the ever-present cynic inside me cringe, … Continue reading CAE Inexpert: Show you care

Teacher Reflections2 Comments

CAE Inexpert: Class 1 – Needs Analysis and Lesson Planning

October 20, 2019November 1, 2019 shaunsweeney

Since getting into teacher training, I’ve long been interested in the theory-praxis gap. How is it that what we preach as trainers doesn’t always match what we practise? How should things be and how are they really? My first three-hour class gives me food for thought in terms of planning and needs analysis. Planning – how it should be: I have 20 years ELT experience. I’m a teacher trainer. I spend a lot of my time marking and coaching people through course design assignments for Delta Module 3. Many of these are specialised on exam classes and/or young learners. I … Continue reading CAE Inexpert: Class 1 – Needs Analysis and Lesson Planning

Teacher ReflectionsLeave a comment

CAE Inexpert: Back to the chalkface

October 16, 2019November 4, 2019 shaunsweeney

Back to school. Back to the whiteboard. Back to basics. Back to the future (perfect passive continuous). Back to the blog… It’s been around 18 months since we posted anything on this blog. Funnily enough, our son is 18 months old. I wonder if that has anything to do with it…. This academic year, I thought I’d have another stab at sustaining regular posts. This year I have a class of teenagers studying for the CAE exam. Most of the time these days I work in teacher training on Delta and CELTA courses. Last year I had very few classes … Continue reading CAE Inexpert: Back to the chalkface

Conference Talks, Listening5 Comments

iELT2018: Listening, just for the phon of it

May 17, 2018October 28, 2021 shaunsweeney

‘Who wants to get meta?’ asked Kyle. The 2018 Innovate ELT conference was once again a rewarding (don’t say fun!) day’s professional development. Rather than do a talk, I thought a live lesson with real learners would make a nice … Continue reading iELT2018: Listening, just for the phon of it

collaboration, Conference Talks, decoding, Lesson materials, Listening, phonology, skills development, Uncategorized5 Comments

Stop, Collaborate & Listen.

March 7, 2018 shaunsweeney

IH BCN ELT Conference 2018 Almost, but not quite a month has passed since the IH Barcelona 2018 conference – time enough for various work and life priorities to bump this talk write-up further down the to-do list. As in … Continue reading Stop, Collaborate & Listen.

Listening, skills development, syllabi, Uncategorized3 Comments

An Interview with John Field

February 21, 2018February 21, 2018 shaunsweeney

I was lucky enough to catch up with John Field the other week following his plenary talk at the IH Barcelona Conference. He kindly agreed to spare a few minutes to talk about skills development, and listening in particular. We … Continue reading An Interview with John Field

collaboration, Lesson materials, Listening, phonology, Teacher Development7 Comments

Back to skoool!

January 7, 2018January 7, 2018 shaunsweeney

It’s Sunday night and for many of us, classes start tomorrow. Fancy some free material? How about a collaborative TD project for the new year? Read (or skip) to the end for both! It’s that time of year again. A … Continue reading Back to skoool!

Lesson materials, Seasonal, Uncategorized4 Comments

‘Tis the season

December 18, 2017December 18, 2017 shaunsweeney

…to be preparing end-of-term assessments?…to be writing reports?…to be casting around for ideas on how to suitably round off the calendar year with your class? That’s how my season feels. And in an attempt to get into the spirit of … Continue reading ‘Tis the season

Classroom interaction, Conference Talks, Emerging language, feedback, Learning opportunities, Teacher talk, UncategorizedLeave a comment

We need to talk about Teacher Talk

April 26, 2017April 29, 2017 TD Lab

Focus on the quality, rather than the amount of teacher talk in the classroom. Continue reading We need to talk about Teacher Talk

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