Neurodiversity in the ELT classroom

Neurodiversity in the ELT classroom

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: the ELT classroom is designed for neurotypical students.  Controversial? Perhaps. But a lot of what we do in the classroom seems to be geared towards more extroverted, social students under the guise of communicative...
What about the teachers?

What about the teachers?

Like many ELT teachers, I used to go over to the UK in the summer and work at a summer school. I worked at the same residential school for 11 to 14-year-olds for several years, as a teacher and later Director of Studies. As a DoS, my responsibilities included setting...
Making your classroom right for everyone

Making your classroom right for everyone

This weekend I went to a music festival in the nearby city of Cadiz. This is the third time I’ve been to this particular festival and it’s always a well-organised event with some great performances by bands from the Spanish indie scene.  As with all...

Relinquishing control and learner autonomy

I’m going to tell you a true story about a nine-year-old boy. For his anonymity, I’m going to call him Sam.  Sam was a fairly normal nine-year-old. He loved skateboarding, drawing, and playing Minecraft. He was doing well at school and he had friends. But...

New course launch!

If you’re here it may be because you’ve found my website by chance. It’s more likely, however, seeing as Google doesn’t think my SEO is good enough yet, that you saw something on LinkedIn or Instagram and decided to give it a read. Introducing… An Introduction to...