FeedbackPanda vs. Spreadsheets I just googled the person who created the first electronic spreadsheet. His name is Dan Bricklin, and he started the spreadsheet movement in the late 1970s. This is an incredible accomplishment; programs such as Excel and Google Sheets have completely changed [...]
Preparing Feedback for Upcoming Classes The aim of FeedbackPanda is to reduce the time spent on the pre-class and post-class busywork while maintaining or improving the quality of our teaching. One of the best time-saving tips is to enter your feedback before your classes [...]
Do Online Teachers Need Makeup? First and foremost, appearance has nothing to do with our teaching ability; how we choose to present ourselves is a personal choice. However, teaching online brings about another challenge--the camera. We are forced to think of our appearance a [...]
WeChat: What Is It, and Should I Use It? Owned by media conglomerate Tencent, WeChat is China’s answer to Facebook. It is the largest social media platform by volume of users. If your student requests your WeChat ID, they want to connect with you [...]
The Effectiveness of Songs in EFL I lived in Los Angeles for most of life. When I was a teen, an advertisement for an auto dealer was aired on the radio. It was comprised of two lines put to an annoying tune. Even though [...]
Learning (to Write) a New Language is Hard (Part 2) A few months ago, in a previous blog post, I talked about my experiences trying to learn to speak Arabic (read about it here). During my last month of living in Morocco, I decided to [...]
Teachers Make Mistakes Too! Gail Godwin famously said, “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation, and three-fourths theater.” Teaching is like a Broadway show, not only because active learning takes place in a fun environment, but also because teachers don’t get a second take. When many [...]
English: The New Universal Language English has often been derided for its lack of purity. It is a mash-up of different languages--mostly from the continent of Europe, but with elements from non-Western regions too. The reasons for its ubiquitous nature are numerous and varied, [...]
Conversation Topics for Kids with Limited English Proficiency Teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) to children of any nationality under the age of twelve poses two major obstacles. First, they normally don’t have a large enough vocabulary with which to express their thoughts. [...]
Teaching English Online: The Nomad Experience vs. The B&M Classroom For the last year and half, I have enjoyed life as a semi-nomadic VIPKID teacher; however, prior to teaching online, I was a high school English teacher for eight years. I can honestly say that [...]
