If you want to bring songs into your class but are not sure what to do with them, the first thing you can do is all the boring stuff that students usually hate. If you just add the music element they will happily indulge in exercises that usually make them groan and learn language points that usually scare them off. This is also great practice for exams, for example...Read On

Teachers and Inanimate Objects

You’ve just got your lesson ready and then you drop the box of paperclips all over the floor. Of course, you might have been lucky enough to avoid this, but personally in 7 years of teaching I’m sure I must have done this at least 20 times. So, rather than just throw in the towel, I decided to take practical steps against those little annoyances that are produced not by other teachers (uncleaned boards) or students (“Teacher, I’ve done this grammar before”) but by the interaction between inanimate objects and myself...Read On

Time Management

Think about 'the world's least efficient teacher' and list all the things that take up their time when they are at work. There are suggestions on the next page. Now decide how long it takes you to prepare for one lesson. If it varies a lot, either take an average or just pick a number that sounds reasonable. Draw a circle to represent that preparation time. Divide it into five or ten minute segments...Read On

You can e-mail Alex Case to discuss his writings at alexcase@hotmail.com