On writing

I’m in the midst of rethinking an academic writing class to include more fun and motivating tasks. It’s a one-week course, and I want to have them do all of their writing, reading and peer feedback in class, with no additional work at home. That means a lot of clicketty click in the computer lab, […]

Question: How do two of the things you do compare?

http://annehodgson.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/twothings.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe generally have more than one kind of task to do at work or at college. For instance, we might need to write up our research and then make a presentation, which are two entirely different kettles of fish (“2 versch. Töpfe mit Fischen” = 2 Paar Stiefel). Or […]

What’s the story, cupcake?

Sweet Dreams by Kirsten Lepore, Special Jury Award at SXSW 2009 Images and laughter help you learn, says Jo Westcombe, who sent this video and knows a thing or two about story telling. A fun assignment in a writing class could be to write this up in different genres: separate groups write a fairytale, a […]

How to learn English: Reflective journal

Can keeping a reflective journal help you learn? Yes, but you need focus: good guidelines with a catalogue of questions. Is feedback neccessary? Not really, but it can be motivating – especially feedback from your peers. At a recent conference on Personal Learning Environments, Marc Graber of the University of Zürich studied the progress that […]

Question: What do you do alone, by yourself, on your own?

One may be the loneliest number, and no man is an island, but some things are better, or turn out better, when you do them yourself. The process itself may be more effective or rewarding. Or the product may be better or more enjoyable if it’s yours alone. Perhaps you have learned to do something and there is just nobody else who can do it as well, even though you’re banging your head to find someone to delegate it to or share the job with. So you do it yourself. Let me tell you about the things I find myself doing alone in this week’s podcast. And I’d like to hear from you about what you prefer to do alone.

Sex and … grammar?

I’ve got a fun job, writing an exercise a week for learners of English. We think up a topic related to the magazine and a grammar issue that should be addressed, or a set of vocabulary items and an approach to learning them, and then I’m off and running. It’s funny: The more bizarre the […]