English Toolbox Tips

Our last contest asked our American teachers if they’ve encountered more hostility lately towards their native land due to the Iraq War, George Bush, et al. Most of those who wrote in said that they regularly hear negative comments about Bush, the war and U.S. foreign policy in general, but that it never becomes personal against the American English teacher. As Charlie A. in Athens wrote, "The diatribes I hear usually end with the speaker saying that this doesn’t apply to me, because I’m 'not a typical American' (which I consider to be a compliment)." Well, here’s something else to cheer you up, Charlie: five free English Toolbox credits!

For our next contest, tell us if you ever use your students’ native language in the classroom. Do you think that knowing some of the local L1 is helpful in explaining things in English, or do you insist on an English-only environment? The most interesting response will win its author five free English Toolbox credits, even if s/he does not currently subscribe. Send your contributions to info@englishtoolbox.com by 5 February.

Our last contest asked you to tell us about any disputes you’ve had with your supervisor, school owner, DOS, etc., concerning teaching methodologies or classroom activities. But we didn’t anticipate the large number of e-mails that reported disputes with the boss over whether or not to teach at all! Typical was Jenny L. in Charleston, South Carolina, who remembers her days as a teacher in a Japanese kindergarten: "The director really wanted me to play games, sing songs and draw pictures with the kids, because she wanted them to tell their parents they were having lots of fun, and thereby encourage them to keep paying the tuition. Even though the kids seemed to like learning English, the boss thought it was enough for them to hear me speaking the language while I was playing with them: I guess she figured they’d learn by osmosis!" We hear you, Jenny--hopefully you can use your five free English Toolbox credits for some real teaching!

For our next contest, we’re asking our American teachers if they’ve encountered more hostility lately towards their native land due to the Iraq War, George Bush, et al. The most interesting response will win its author five free English Toolbox credits, even if s/he does not currently subscribe. Send your contributions to info@englishtoolbox.com by 25 January.

Is there a grammar point or business skill you'd like to see more of in our exercises?  Then let us know!  We've seen a large increase in downloads for our Presentations worksheets, and will be adding more in the weeks ahead.  If you're looking for something specific, send us an e-mail and we'll add it--or add more of it--to our library.

We hope all of you had a pleasant and peaceful holiday, and we wish you all a Happy New Year. Our last contest asked the question, "What do you hate to teach as a TEFL teacher?" Most of the responses targeted a particular grammar point, including our winning submission from Guy S. in San Antonio, Texas. He hates trying to teach gerunds and infinitives, because (as he put it), "There’s nothing to teach--it’s simply a matter of memorizing tables. This is very frustrating, because I can’t give them any logical reasons for the rules, or even any helpful hints for remembering them: they just have to memorize it." Sad but true, Guy--try to console yourself with five free English Toolbox credits!

For our next contest, tell us about any disputes you’ve had with your supervisor, school owner, DOS, etc., concerning teaching methodologies or classroom activities. The person with the most interesting conflict will win five free English Toolbox credits, even if s/he does not currently subscribe. Send your contributions to info@englishtoolbox.com by 15 January.