What Have You Learned From Teaching? At the end of my first term in a High School classroom full-time, I wrote a post about five of the things I wish I’d known about teaching before I’d started. Since that time, I’ve finished a school year and am preparing for anothe
Helping EAL Students Develop a Diverse Vocabulary How do you help English learners identify and understand new vocabulary and then use it? I’ve put together some English as an Additional Language (EAL) vocabulary resources I’ve been using to support new word usage, and to
B.C. Addresses Racism through Curriculum Change In May 2014, a formal apology was delivered by the BC Provincial Legislature to Chinese-Canadians in BC. The province acknowledged and apologised for the historical wrongs committed by previous Provincial governments against Chinese-Cana
What is reflective practice in teaching? When new teachers go through their teacher training, a lot of time is spent on feedback and personal reflection – sometimes called reflective practice. You do something – plan a lesson, teach a lesson, develop a unit – see how
Teaching the Language of Sexual and Gender Minorities: Sex Ed can actually be quite boring. After we’ve gotten the giggles out about the words for the reproductive system, and looked at the after effects of letting an STI go untreated for far too long (“if it burns, if it
Fresh Off the Boat: A Success or Stereotyping? I have started to watch Fresh Off the Boat, which is about a Chinese American family that moves from Washington DC to Orlando, Florida. Fresh off the Boat is based on a memoir written by Eddie Huang, about his own childhood growing up in
Which is better for kids? Public vs Private Education Through a series of lucky circumstances, I’m teaching at a brand new independent school. Our school is tiny. Our largest classes have 10 students at a time. We play badminton together on Fridays. One of the teachers is person
Language Learning through Current Event Analysis: A lot has happened in the world over the past few weeks that affects all of us, regardless of where we live or the language we speak. Often, when a learner is in a new language environment they are focusing on textbooks, grammar and me
What Do You Wish You’d Known When You Started Teaching ? Another year has come and gone! As I wrap up another year in the classroom, I’ve been reflecting on what I know now, and what I wish I had known when I started teaching nearly 8 years ago. After working with students
Facebook Founder Learns Mandarin Two weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg spoke with students at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Apparently he has been learning Mandarin Chinese, because he surprised everybody by speaking in Mandarin. So, how did he do? From my own limited, but immersive, expe
