DEVELOPING TEACHERS.COM Newsletter

Welcome to the October Newsletter.

This month there is the usual crop of sections; articles, plans & teaching links to help you in your job & PS links for time off wandering around the net. Hope you find it all interesting & useful.

We get quite a few e-mails asking us about different aspects of teaching & although we try to answer them, it is sometimes very difficult to answer them all. So if you have a question, please don't send them to us but please use the Forums. We will see them there & will answer them there. After all, it's what the Forums are about. Thanks. http://foro.developingteachers.com/

If you are after a quote on language or communication, there are a couple of pages on the site.

Happy teaching!

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INDEX

1. THE SITE - plans & articles

2. FORUMS

3. E-MAIL COURSES

4. TEACHING LINKS

5. A COUPLE OF STORIES

6. CVs & JOBS

7. WEEKLY TEACHING TIPS

8. PS - Internet/computer-related links

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ADVERTISEMENT

STREAMING SPEECH: A Course in Listening and Pronunciation for
Advanced Learners of English - An electronic publication that aims to solve the problem of the misrepresentation of speech. http://www.speechinaction.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

If you'd like to buy a Streaming Speech course you will receive a discount if you tell Richard you heard about it at Developing Teachers.com!

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1. THE SITE

Some of the new content on the site:

October 10th is John Lennon's birthday so we have designed a lesson around his life & music. It is for intermediate & up, & here are the main aims:

To give extensive & intensive reading practice
To extend the stds' store of vocab connected to music
To give listening practice - for detail & for pleasure
To review 2nd conditional sentences
To give freer speaking practice

To read the plan

Here are a few more links to Lennon stuff on the web:

http://www.bagism.com
'Bagism is the place for fans of John Lennon and The Beatles to come together and learn, educate, and have fun.'

http://www.instantkarma.com/

http://www.workingclasshero.com/

http://www.lennonworld.com/Lennon's lyrics

http://www.petitiononline.com/Imagine/petition.html
John Lennon Day For Peace And Love On Earth - sign the petition.

http://www.quickamerican.com/links.htm Lennon links

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Speaking and Conversation with a Focus at Elementary Level by Sam Smith

In my experience of teaching English I have often noticed that my
students have been continuing to commit the same errors again and
again with little being gained from my focus on speaking practice.
This problem has been particularly noticeable in the last 2 years while I have been teaching 'conversation classes' at various levels. I have wondered if what I have been doing with my students has been helping my students to improve anything but their spoken fluency and communication strategies without making any real advances in accuracy, syntactic and lexical complexity and range, lexical selection or collocation and particularly in conversational structures, strategies and the use of functions and meaning in conversation.
I have decided to look at this problem from the point of view of elementary students to try and attack this problem from the beginning, in an attempt to get my students off on the right path. While I will be looking at improving speaking in general, I shall try and relate this to my students' needs at this level. I will begin by looking at the complexities of speaking, particularly conversation, then go on to look at some problems before suggesting some solutions.

To read the article

The lesson plan is for elementary students & the aims are as follows:

Main Aims:
To raise awareness of and practice features of conversation for showing interest in what
another speaker is saying.
To practice narrative skills in the form of an anecdote about a childhood memory and help students tell it better by giving them preparation time, an example to compare with and follow, and a 2nd chance to tell the anecdote.

Subsidiary Aims:
To practice listening skills of: making and checking predictions; listening for specific functional and discoursal exponents.
To raise awareness of students' own performance through self evaluation and peer evaluation.

To read the plan

Thanks to Sam.

ARTICLES - If you've given a course or seminar or have a lesson plan & would like to give it a public airing then do send it to:

articles@developingteachers.com

ADVERTISING - We reach a few thousand teachers every week with the Weekly Teaching Tip & the same each month with the Newsletter, not to mention the 1000+ unique visitors a day to the site. If you've got a book, course, job...anything that you'd like to advertise, then do get in touch at:

advertising@developingteachers.com

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2. FORUMS

Lots of different Forums to choose from. Post your jobs, your CV, your questions, finds on the net, ideas, activities, questions, grumbles, suggestions, your language courses, your training courses...they are there for you to use. http://foro.developingteachers.com/

Adeline wants to know the best places for a CELTA course in London:
http://foro.developingteachers.com/viewtopic.php?t=259

Do you 'graduate at a school' of 'from a school':
http://foro.developingteachers.com/viewtopic.php?t=253

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3. E-MAIL COURSES

Relax & maximise your time by getting started on a quality personalised teacher development course.

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4. TEACHING LINKS

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/

'A monster online dictionary of the rich colourful language we call slang... all from a British perspective, with new slang added every month.'

http://www.ourdocuments.gov

100 milestone US documents to view & vote on the ones that most shaped US history.

http://allwords.com/

Words.

http://www.martindalecenter.com/Language_3_English.html

A link retrieved from the PS section when I stumbled on this Language & Translation Center for English section of the Martindale's - The Reference Desk http://www.martindalecenter.com/ - links galore.

http://www.rhymer.com/

Find rhyming words.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/download/britlit/britlit.shtml

A Beryl Bainbridge story has been added to the BritLit page -story & resource materials.

http://www.brainpop.com/

Attractive & informative educational site for the younger learners. Check out the English section at: http://www.brainpop.com/english/seeall.weml

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5. A COUPLE OF STORIES

Michael Berman from The Storyteller sent the following two stories in:

Peter Klepec, a traditional folktale from Slovenia, serves to remind us that nobody is ever a lost cause. Fire can be produced by a stone taken from the bottom of a river and a candle can light up a place that has been dark for a billion years:

Peter Klepec

Peter Klepec was a poor, weak shepherd. Every day he climbed into the hills above the village and he sat under a tree and watched his sheep. The other boys from the village always used to beat Peter because he was weak and he never fought back. Some even threw stones at him. One day while he was watching over his sheep, he found out that one of them was missing. He went higher and higher into the mountains, where he saw a beautiful girl who had fallen asleep while sunbathing. He carried her into the shade and made a bed of flowers for her to lie on. When she woke up and opened her eyes, she saw the boy standing beside her. She was very thankful and she gave him a drink of powerful mountain water. Before he knew it this made him as strong as an ox, and he tested his newfound strength on a tree. He pulled the tree up by its roots and tossed it over his head into the distance without any trouble at all. So the next time the village boys decided to bully him, he showed them all what a mistake they had made. And the village boys never bullied him again.

Teacher notes: As a pre-listening activity, the following questions could be discussed in small groups: Have you ever been bullied, or do you know anybody who has? Tell me about it. Why do people become bullies? What is the most effective way to deal with such behaviour? As a post-listening activity for students of EFL/ESOL, the learners can be invited to change the verbs in brackets in the text below into the correct tenses:

Peter Klepec was a poor, weak shepherd. Every day he climbed into the hills above the village and he (sit) under a tree and (watch) his sheep. The other boys from the village always used to beat Peter because he was weak and he never (fight) back. Some even (throw) stones at him. One day while he (watch) over his sheep, he (find) out that one of them was missing. He went higher and higher into the mountains, where he (see) a beautiful girl who (fall) asleep while sunbathing. He carried her into the shade and (make) a bed of flowers for her to lie on. When she (wake) up and opened her eyes, she saw the boy standing beside her. She was very thankful and she (give) him a drink of powerful mountain water. Before he (know) it this made him as strong as an ox, and he (test) his newfound strength on a tree. He pulled the tree up by its roots and tossed it over his head into the distance without any trouble at all. So the next time the village boys (decide) to bully him, he showed them all what a mistake they (make). And the village boys never bullied him again.

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The witches that have such bad reputations in most fairy stories were often no more than harmless medical herbalists, as is clear from the following tale. It comes from Lithuania:

A Witch & a Girl

Once upon a time a witch was sitting on a rock under an old oak tree when she saw a girl gathering grass.

"Why are you gathering grass?" The witch asked.

"To make medicine for my mother."

"What's wrong with your mother?"

"I don't know and my mother doesn't know either. She's getting weaker every day and I'm very worried about her."

"I know some medicine which will cure your mother. But I won't tell you what it is for nothing. You'll have to give me the goat which gives you milk every day. Then, when your mother gets better, you'll have to come and live in my house for a whole year and you'll have to work for me. Do you agree to my conditions?"

"Yes," the girl replied without hesitation. "I'm prepared to do anything to cure my mother."

"I can see you love your mother very much and I was just joking about all those conditions. Here are three berries. Give your mother one berry every morning and she'll soon feel better. Now go home and cure your mother."

After four days the patient got out of bed. And the first thing she did was to go into the wood where the oak tree was in order to thank the witch. But the witch was not there anymore.

Teacher notes: The following points for discussion could be considered by the participants in small groups as a post-listening activity:

What kind of reputation do witches have in your country? What stories do you know about them? What would you be prepared to do or to give up to save someone you loved?

Two collections of stories by Michael Berman - Cat Tales & Folklore/Dog Tales & Folklore - can now be ordered from www.ebooksonthe.net The September/October edition of The Storyteller in now available at www.Thestoryteller.org.uk

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6. WEEKLY TEACHING TIPS

Free weekly practical teaching tips by e-mail.

Recent Tips have included:
- Space - ideas for giving students more space
- European Day of Languages
- Grade the reader 2
- ideas on using readers
- SQ3R - extensive study reading

To see the Past Tips

To sign up to receive them

If you have any teaching tips you would like to pass on, do send them in & we will publish them as the Weekly Tip. You will, of course, be given full credit!

weeklytip@developingteachers.com

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7. CVs & JOBS

For the Jobs Forum

Beijing, China
International House Beijing is looking for well-qualified, experienced teachers to work at our new campus in Oriental Plaza. Candidates must have a first degree, at least the CELTA (DELTA preferred) and two years of teaching experience. Preference will also be given to candidates with Business Training experience, as well as those that hold IELTS examiner status. Attractive salary package and career opportunties in return for a dedication to quality and professionalism. For further information, please contact Mark Falvo at ihrecruitment@yahoo.com.au

Shanghai, China
ESL teachers required to teach in a training school in Shanghai. Applicants must: -
be a native speaker - have a at least one year of teaching experience in teaching adults - have a bachelor's degree and TESL or equivalent qualification - prior work experience in the banking / accounting / finance /insurance industries or secretarial / administrative / sales roles preferred.
Interested candidates should email us the following: (a) detailed cv; (b) salary expectation; (c) earliest start date; (d) marital status. Mitsion Corporation (China) Co. Ltd, Shanghai
enquiry@mitsion.com    http://www.mitsion.com

China
Dear Sir or Madam, I'm the marketing manager of C&C International Culture&Commerce Centre Corp. (CANADA). We are authorized by some Chinese high schools to look for some Canadian Esl teachers to work in China. The work condition and reward is as follows. There are two terms every year and about four months per term. And the work time is about 16 hours a week. The salary is 3000--5000 RMB (about 500-900 CAD) every month. Otherwise there is about 1000 RMB (about 200 CAD) as traveling allowance per term. It has to be mentioned that working as an Esl teacher in China is not difficult. Please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you very much!
Sincerely, Ann Xu

China office: Address: 4 floor, No.34 Wuai road, Wuxi city, Jiangsu province, PRC China 214031 Tel: 86-510-2791740, 86-510-8911653 Fax: 86-510-2791740 http://www.canadaandchina.com   canadaandchina2@hotmail.com

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8. PS - Internet/computer-related links

A few computer use rules of thumb:
- make copies of all important files
- run scan disk & then defragment the hard drive
- use firewall software
- use a virus scan & update the files every week
- install security patches that software providers offer
- update your DirectX files regularly
- don't open attachments without scanning for viruses first
- don't respond to spam - just delete & forget
- don't send personal or bank information by email
- turn off your computer at night

http://www.alternet.org/

Independent news site with Michael Moore among their writers.

http://www.oneacross.com/

Crossword help.

http://www.orangegray.com/

Catch the insects.

http://www.newshax.com/modules/news/

US satire news site

http://www.ou.edu/oupd/selfarr2.htm

Do us all a favour - the citizen's self-arrest.

http://www.citycreator.com/

Some free time on your hands? Build a city.

http://www.derivo.ch/rabailkal-test/hypnose/hypnose.htm

Dr J.H.Rabailkals will shock you with his hypnosis.

http://mistupid.com/

The Online Knowledge Magazine - 'Information that everyone should know, wants to know, or forgot'

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/atplay/lifeline.jsp

Lifeline Calculator - seems that I will live until the ripe old age of 81.

http://www.wewantyoursoul.com/

Need cash? Sell your soul.

http://dsc.discovery.com/anthology/unsolvedhistory/earthquake/interactive/
interactive.html

Make a quake.

http://www.mantlepies.com/poorlittlekitty.html

Not for cat lovers.

http://www.globalrichlist.com/

Make yourself feel better, we hope, by finding out where you are on the world's rich list.

http://www.chthonic.f9.co.uk/sumo/index.html

Very simple sumo wrestling - these things take time to develop & design!!

http://www.spassmonkey.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/flash/counting_sheep.html

Brings a new meaning to counting sheep

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