Archive for January, 2011
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Local and Global
Before 1918 Russia had the Julian calendar, which lagged two weeks behind the Gregorian calendar, used in the rest of Europe. In 1918, however, the government decided to get rid of the two-week difference and adopted the Gregorian calendar, triggering dissatisfaction of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Church still uses […]more…
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Lesson plan 84: The gift of giving
This elementary to pre-intermediate eLesson looks at the tradition of giving presents in different cultures.more…
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Trained in combat
Walking in the city centre is tricky these days. Carrying your handbag, books and shopping, you dodge crowds of people who hand out leaflets, posters, flyers – general elections are coming soon! Well, you can’t say that all this stuff is completely useless – I have been given a small […]more…
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Lesson plan 83: Population 7 billion
This intermediate to upper intermediate eLesson is about the recent prediction that the world’s population is now 7 billion and looks at why and how this happenedmore…
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Snow and psychology
Hallowe’en seems to have been ages ago, but the colours of this day are still here – the pitch-black sky at eight in the morning when I walk to work, the orange balls of street lamps and large white snowflakes. Orange is everywhere – people tend to surround themselves with […]more…
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Lesson plan 82: The origins of sport
This elementary to pre-intermediate eLesson looks at the origins of the three of the most popular sports worldwide.more…
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Yes, we can!
At last – Russia has given up the idea of adjusting clocks! This is something I am really happy about. My own biological clock is not screaming in protest. The problem was that adjusting the clock coincided with the gloomiest season here, with clouds hanging low and fogs rising from […]more…
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Lesson plan 81: Sleep matters
This intermediate to upper intermediate eLesson is about recent research into sleeping and dreaming and how to get a good night’s sleep.more…
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Global Author Podcast Episode 18: Jim Scrivener
One of the last of the Global Author Podcasts in this series and Jim Scrivener tells us why pre-intermediate is one of the more ‘teachable’ levelsmore…
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Football and phonetics
There is no football in Russia. Well, there are lots of clubs. There are many kids eager to play. There is a lot of money invested in football. But the national team always teeters on the brink of a complete fiasco. However, I always have an impression that the only […]more…
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Global Author Podcast Episode 17: Duncan Foorde
Duncan Foorde talks us through how we can develop as teachers through our lessonsmore…
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Lesson plan 80: Taxing times
With tax as a hot topic at the moment, this elementary to pre-intermediate eLesson looks at unusual taxes in the past and nowmore…