Random Quote
To get something done, a committee should consist of no more than three men, two of whom are absent.
---- Robert Copeland
It is a paradoxical but profoundly true and important principle of life that the most likely way to reach a goal is to be aiming not at that goal itself but at some more ambitious goal beyond it.
---- Arnold Toynbee
Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.
---- Robert Frost
"It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.'"
---- Sam Levenson
One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork.
---- Edward Abbey
I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.
---- Terry Pratchett
Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation.
---- Kin Hubbard
A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.
---- John Ciardi
The important thing is not to stop questioning.
---- Albert Einstein
America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year than a professional athlete earns in a whole week.
---- Evan Esar
Arguments over grammar and style are often as fierce as those over IBM versus Mac, and as fruitless as Coke versus Pepsi and boxers versus briefs.
---- Jack Lynch
Isn't it interesting that the same people who laugh at science fiction listen to weather forecasts and economists?"
---- Kelvin Throop III
I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.
---- Albert Einstein
Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.
---- Gail Godwin
Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.
---- Terry Pratchett
Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.
---- Leonardo DaVinci (1452-1519)
We don't know a millionth of one percent about anything.
---- Thomas A. Edison
Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.
---- H. G. Wells
Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation.
---- Author Unknown
As soon as I buy the moose head, I have to go pick up some KY jelly.
---- Mary Roninette Kowal
I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later.
---- Mitch Hedberg
Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.
---- Abigail Adams (1744 - 1818)
The voodoo priest and all his powders were as nothing compared to espresso, cappuccino, and mocha, which are stronger than all the religions of the world combined, and perhaps stronger than the human soul itself.
---- Mark Helprin, Memoir from Antproof Case, 1995
Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.
---- Lily Tomlin
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
---- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Saying Good Bye
If there are any readers left of this blog, I’m sure you’ve noticed the incredibly slow trickle of entries over the last year or two compared to the frequent posts of yesteryear. I’ve kept this blog alive for a couple of reasons. One, I still get a lot of hits on the older articles and I’ve met several people over the years (and recently as well) who told me they’ve come across the blog while googling for something and found their answer.
Second I was hoping to get reinspired to write like I did in the past. However that has not happened and I don’t see anything changing in the future. I do have things to write, but most of it is negative and I am not interested in putting the effort necessary to write it – especially in light of the Korean laws on libel and slander (even if it’s true, if it damages someones reputation you can be sued and will lose).
I’ve also been planning my move back to Canada in Summer 2011 and once there I will not be teaching English but doing web development. Once I made that decision last year, a switch inside my mind flipped and I 100% lost the drive to blog about language teaching.
This is my final post on the EFL Geek. The domain here will expire in 1 year and 2 months (April 2011) and when it does this blog will disappear. I am willing to sell the domain if anyone is interested in purchasing it – make me an offer and it’s yours. I will not however sell the content.
I would like to thank all my commenters and readers for dropping by and visiting.
delete me
This video made me bust my gut laughing.
Presentations Textbooks
The past couple of semesters my university has switched our program focus from 4 skills to presentation skills. In this time I’ve used a couple of textbooks aimed at teaching presentation skills to non-native speakers. While no textbook is perfect I’ve noticed that none of the books I’ve looked at teach anything about using note cards when presenting. This seems to me to be a glaring omission.
Using note cards (or the notes field in PowerPoint) is essential to giving an effective presentation especially for non-native speakers. When they don’t do this one of two things happens. First they will bring a script and just read from it, despite being told not to read. Second they’ll memorize the entire speech, but then forget it and spend their time looking at the ceiling while trying to remember.
I have prepared a couple of lessons around the principles including a sample presentation and note cards for students too look at and will be testing them out this coming week. But really I fail to see why this is not included in commercial textbooks. Students can have the best organization, transitions and visuals, but if do not use note cards they will end up having no body language or eye contact due to the negative effects of reading and memorization. The result is a boring, forgetful and wasted presentation.
I don’t teach, nor allow, PowerPoint with my lower level students but with intermediate and above I do teach it. It’s more about teaching them what not to do – i.e. flashy transitions, multiple fonts, multiple styles, poor contrast etcetera. One thing that every presenter should be using is presenter view. This allows you to see the current slide, upcoming slides and the notes field all on one space – on your laptop screen while on the projector the audience sees the regular presentation view.
here is a screenshot (click for full size):
Sean. inscribed these words of wisdom on Saturday Oct 31, 2009 at 10:02 AM
Teaching | teaching_application |
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6 Things About Multiple Intelligences
Yesterday on twitter I saw a tweet by @cotterhue that directed me to this post titled Six Things About Multiple Intelligences You Might Not Know. This is definitely worth reading especially if you haven’t thought critically about the theory of multiple intelligences.
In a nutshell here are the six
- Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory is not a theory in the scientific sense.
- The Intelligences do not exist in any measurable way.
- Gardner has substantially more supporters in the world of education than in the world of psychology.
- Gardner is horrified by some of the practical applications of his ideas that he has witnessed in classrooms.
- In a conversation about MI if you hear certain expressions, such as Rinvolucri (and others), run away
- ‘Multiple Intelligences theory’, ‘neuro-linguistic programming’, ‘brain gym’, ‘shamanism’, ‘psychodrama’ and ‘life coaching’ are not related in any way.
