Global Bloggers
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Latest from rainy Auckland
This has been one of those mild and wet winter weeks here in Auckland. But good weather to sit inside and catch up on some studies! I had the pleasure of meeting my new student through English Language Partners: Navinder, who has come here from India and is starting a more…
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When words are not enough – wear a funny-looking hat!
I received a rather unusual looking hat as a gift from a student recently. I won’t say from which country, but it is … unique. My students love the hat, and have been pestering me for days to put it on. I declined. ‘I tell you what, I said, if more…
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Winter in Aotearoa
Brrrrr! We are in the coldest week of the year down here in Aotearoa (the Maori name for New Zealand). I had to pour water over my windscreen every morning this week before driving up to the University. However, the days have been bright and sunny – ideal weather for more…
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Just what the doctor ordered!
Yes, indeed. When the temperature hits 34 degrees Celsius, and you are looking at vocabulary of health and fitness, the only thing missing is calorie-laden ice-cream, and lots of it.
My conversation/vocabulary class were inspired by the chocolate-hazelnut combination, and though relaxed in approach eventually got going. Vocabulary exercise 1 on more… -
Time is money, except for the World Cup!
My Brazilian students arrived into class today after missing Monday’s session.
‘The World Cup, Teacher.’
Several dramatic shoulder shrugs later, and we settle into Unit 7 of Global. I have been looking forward to this unit as I know my students will get their teeth into it. The exercise What’s the best more… -
Kia Ora to our latest Global Blogger
We have a new Global Blogger starting with us this week. He’ll be with us over the next couple of months and giving us a Global perspective from the other side of the world. Over to Martin…
My name is Martin McMorrow. I am from London and have taught English in more… -
When an ESL classroom can be a musical feast!
Picture the scene. My IELTS students have just completed a rigorous 90-minute Reading exam. The mood is low. What do you do? How about several renditions of ‘Happy Birthday’ in several different languages? This scenario unfolded last week, for Asel, from Kazakhstan, whose birthday we celebrated. It got me pondering more…
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Thank you, Global!
I would like to thank everyone at Global and especially Lindsay Clandfield and Matthew Kay for giving me the opportunity to be guest blogger on the Global website and also for the material I received! My last blog post is dedicated to everyone at Macmillan!
As this is my last post more… -
Just happy to be here: sometimes teaching can be a very humbling experience
With the World Cup party in full swing, I asked my low intermediate conversation class which group of fans they thought were the most colourful. The majority went with the South Africans who they felt celebrated regardless of the team’s result, and who just dressed happily as Bruno, my Brazilian more…
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The working life of an ESL student
My afternoon Vocabulary/Conversation class had asked me recently if we could do a class focusing on the topic of work and all its related issues. They are an outgoing group of various levels and had suggested at the beginning of the session that they select the topics of discussion. I more…
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Brazilians and Borsch! Koreans and Kebabs! There’s nothing like food to bring your students together.
I had a wonderfully enjoyable time with my IELTS students last week. To say ‘thank you’ for all their efforts, I brought two apple pies into class. They were delighted, and, as always, I marvelled at how effective food is as a conversation topic. I decided to combine good food with more…
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English and German from many aspects
Last Tuesday at the bank we read David Crystal’s excellent text under the title of Global English: Same language but different in Global pre-intermediate, which is about how American and British English differ in terms of vocabulary, informal and formal language and abbreviations. They really enjoyed reading it out loud more…
