15
APR
2016
The Wizard of Oz goes to TESOL

The Wizard of Oz: A TESOL Tale

This spring marked the 50th anniversary of the TESOL International Association. The convention in Baltimore was sprinkled with various celebrations of the big event. One such celebration was a musical production, The Wizard of Oz: A TESOL Tale.  In this retelling of the Wizard of...
02
NOV
2015
Joanna Colwell

Inspiration from a yoga teacher

A number of years ago I was feeling very stressed. I had a lot of tension in my shoulders and neck. At my wife’s urging, I reluctantly agreed to try a yoga class. There was a beginning class just starting up in our town in Vermont. I went, and I was glad I did, partly because the...
18
OCT
2015
Tennis

Silencing the inner critic

I’ve been thinking lately about the role of the self in teaching. It’s hard to be true to yourself in the classroom when you feel like you’re performing. On top of everything, that critical voice in your head is always telling you that you can do better. In his book, The Inner...
19
SEP
2015

New editions of Q: Skills for Success

I’m delighted to report that the second editions of both the Intro and Level 2 books of Q Skills for Success Reading/Writing are now in print. The second edition of the Special Edition of Reading/Writing 2 for Saudi Arabia is also now available. These new editions have a number...
13
JUL
2015

Thoughts on TESOL Interest Sections

I’ve been appointed to chair a task force for the TESOL International Association to look at how Interest Sections work within the association. I’ve often thought that these special interest groups are part of the heart and soul of how we work as an organization. But there are...
07
APR
2015
Teachers at a workshop in Castilla-La Mancha

Muchas gracias a todos

Thanks to all the teachers from Castilla-La Mancha who joined the State Department sponsored workshops in Albacete, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Ciudad Real, Thanks so much to all of the teachers in Castilla-La Mancha and Toledo. Special thanks to the bilingual coordinators. It was a...
12
FEB
2015

CLIL in Castilla-La Mancha

I’m looking forward to meeting elementary and secondary teachers in Castilla-La Mancha, Spain for a series of workshops on CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) between March 2nd and 13th.  I’ll be speaking in Albacete, Cuenca, Guadalajara, Cuidad Real, and...
10
JAN
2015

Intercultural Communication in Spain

Thanks to everyone who came to my talk at the American Space at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid on February 26th. I spoke about intercultural communication and language teaching and shared some ideas for how to help students deal with other cultures in the classroom.  Remember, if you...
06
NOV
2014

Using movies to raise cultural awareness

Using movies or films in class is a great way to help student both learn more about language and also about culture and cultural differences.  These days there are tons of films available that deal with interesting intercultural issues. Here are some thoughts on how to use film...
10
SEP
2014

Building intercultural competence in young learners

At TESOL in Portland in March 2014, I was part of a panel that discussed issues of raising intercultural awareness for young learners. A synthesis of my talk is now available as an article from the newsletter of TESOL’s Applied Linguistics Interest Section. Here’s the...