What Teachers Make

Teaching is a tough job: long hours, low pay, and constant criticism when test scores don't measure up. Teachers work hard, and sometimes do not get the recogniton and pay they deserve. But...

Watch this inspirational video and love what you make...

A Gift

Here is a beautiful song for all teachers 

who love teaching English. Enjoy!

A Good Teacher...

Everybody has got an opinion of good teachers. In most of the current literature, there are descriptions of the qualities and characteristics that make a good teacher.

When I think about what makes a good teacher, the following comes to mind:

In this video secondary students talk about what characteristics of a teacher have the most positive effect on their learning. It is good to know about what their opinions are. 

The Starfish

You are in the classroom with a group of students every weekday, and you see what happens... They have lots of problems. However, they learn, develop, and have a life changing experience in the classroom, so...

This is a short video based on the Starfish story, with an inspirational message for all teachers to "Never give up''. Enjoy!

The Teacher

Teachers can change lives with...

technology tools and challenges.

The way they learn

Being a teacher is being there as a role model to guide the students in their lives. It is not only being there to teach academically, it is...

• To allow students to figure things out

• To allow students to construct the answers

• To instill curiosity

• To extend possibilities

Teachers need to be...

The following video is about what future teachers need to consider when preparing students for the 21st Century.

I am a Teacher

My students will create the world of tomorrow. 

I am a Teacher. I shape the future...

Teach for Tomorrow

A nice inspirational poster on the true meaning of teaching. The quote by John Dewey is a reminder of the great responsabilities of teaching. 

When designing lessons, teachers will ask themselves, how will this "impact student learning'' and how will this get students ''ready for their future?''

So, how to prepare students for the future?

More than a Teacher

Through my experiences, I have become aware that teaching is so much more than merely informing students about subject areas in school. 

The previous poster describes that many roles in which a teacher undergoes daily as well as emphasises what it truly means to be a teacher. There is nothing more to say about this...

New Challenges

It is clear that technology is everywhere. It influences the way we perform daily tasks, such as shopping, selling, banking, communicating, among many others. In this context, we cannot ignore the fact that teaching and learning are also affected by technology. 

We must bear in mind that our students are in permanent contact with technology at home and it seems that our classrooms are still behind their time. So, we need to overcome this home-school dichotomy by opening the classroom doors to the electronic era.

For those teachers who lack the experience with technology, this approach presents some challenges. As they feel intimidated by thousands of sites, links, web pages, new terminology, the natural answer is resistance to change. It is important to point out that we do not need to be experts, but competent users of the tools we are trying to apply in the classroom.

Yes. It is hard work, but if we do it properly, the advantages overweigh the drawbacks. Enjoy!

2014 New Year's Resolutions

A New Year is a great opportunity to reflect on how far we have come and where we hope to go next. It is good to reflect on our teching.

Do you make New Year's Resolutions?

Each year I make New Year's Resolutions. Today I created new ones for 2014 that I would like to share with you. 

This year I will...

• challenge myself and continue to learn through reading, researching, blogging, connecting with language teachers and most importantly listening to my students.

• think sistematically about my practice and learn from experience to make it more effective.

• experiment with new technology in the classroom.

• help teachers with best practices and use of technology in teaching foreign languages.

Think about how you can accomplish your goal. If you want it, you will achieve it. Make 2014 the best year of your teaching carreer - and I will try to do the same!