Two Teachers Talking

How many bad - or good - apples does it take to change the atmosphere or personality of your classroom? What can and can’t a teacher do to use that influence to optimize learning? Sometimes it’s just a matter of throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.

One of the least savory aspects of the job is coming to terms with plagiarism and then dealing with it fairly. While “it’s the teacher’s fault” is as unpalatable to us as is it no doubt is to you, we look at what we can do to minimize plagiari

Failure by design. Ever have one of those days when you look around and wonder how things got so dysfunctional? That doesn't just happen, you think. You're right. We pop the hood on the system, poke around, and look at some of the systemic gotchas the teacher is up against.

How administration affects school culture. Administrative factors that influence the university environment, what it means for you in your classroom and your job, and how to negotiate the geography. 猿も木から落ちる. “Even monkeys fall from trees.” Seems the old farts passed over the most obvious tell of all when trying to divine a school’s culture: English language support, translation of information into English. Forest, trees. Apologies to all!

The more schools one teaches at, the more one sees it: the incredible differences in the behavior and attitudes of students, and the overall atmosphere of the institutions. Today we look at the student end: why are students so damn different at different schools? We try to unthread some of the contributing factors and discuss ways of coping with (or enjoying) the results.

What happens when you find yourself with an "unteachable" student...or, perhaps, unteachable by you. Is there such a thing as an unteachable student? Is it them or us? When, if ever, is it acceptable to "give up"? Also, please check the web page (twoteacherstalking.com) for some important announcements.

D. J. Condon (Canadian Academy), Alison Kitzman (Kinki University), and Frances Shiobohara (Kobe Shoin Women's University) join Tony and Charles for a discussion about their teaching and how it has evolved over the years. A spirited and enthusiastic analysis of the past, present, and future of teaching English in Japan.

A harvest of graduates leaves, a new crop of freshmen enters. Success? Failure? What do those look like? A pretty intense thrashing of the tea leaves looking for an answer.

A look at the different kinds and evolution of teacher-student interaction and its slippery nature. How can the teacher tweak his/her interaction with students to maximize the chances of quality learning. It's like magic, only harder.

The many differences between teaching oral and written communication, pitfalls to be aware of, kinds of writing classes, and, and, and…

A room full of students. Create an assessment task that results in a 0-100 numerical representation of their learning in your class. Go.

Five first year foreign language majors from Osaka University look back at the academic year and talk about their experiences and observations.

A look at a (possibly) misguided call to bring fear and threat back to the classroom. Discussed: Why tough teachers get good results, Joanne Lipman, Wall Street Journal. http://bit.ly/toughteacher

The conscious and unconscious role of cultural and personal values in English language education. Where do we draw the line? At a certain point, discussion of cultural values becomes a necessary component of foreign language education. How do we deal with it?

What is a coordinated program and what is it good for? How much coordination is enough and how much is too much? Clarity of purpose or chafing at the neck?

With everyone about to start sketching out their letters to Santa, we thought it might be interesting to share some of the tools and toys we use regularly, from wheels, to hardware, to software. Maybe you’ll get an idea for a teacher on your list.

Can you make a teacher? Excellence or effectiveness? Objectives? Wrestling with the conundrum of teacher training.

A more detailed look at various ways teachers and students can communicate, share, and exchange work online. Google Drive, Survey Monkey, Edublog, Wordpress, Moodle, and Edmodo.

Getting information online for students. Down to the basics of getting information online for your students, as well as some advice on arranging for digital submission of their work.

A look at the beginning of the second semester. How does the new start affect our students, our teaching, and our sanity? Maybe we'll get it right this time.