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The importance of Internet safety for students

Bambi Majumdar Education

Is the boogeyman out there on the Internet? What do children need to know about the danger of Internet usage so they can take advantage of progress without succumbing to its pitfalls? The technology revolution has completely opened up our world and changed the way we learn, sift through and absorb information. But progress does not come without pains. For every new development, a price is attached.

Learning to lead through learning to follow

Andy Curtis

My previous article prompted several readers to respond. Many of the messages posted and emails sent confirmed that, compared with books on methodology and other areas in our field, this area of leadership in English language teaching does appear to have been relatively overlooked. We have, then, decided to make this a series of articles, and we hope to hear from more readers about their experiences of leadership in ELT.

Fostering STEM vocabulary development in ESL students

Beth Crumpler

With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, content-area literacy is a huge focus right now. The Common Core State Standards emphasize the literacy of math, science and technical subjects in English language arts. Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) content areas difficult for ESL students.

Texas schools are expanding the reach of technology

Bambi Majumdar

Texas has a nationwide reputation for having good schools that show both academic excellence and all-around development of students, compared to most other states. The Texas Education Agency is working to integrate technology with the needs of students, teachers and librarians, thus creating a 360-degree learning advantage.

Comprehension: Do your English learners understand your instruction?

Erick Herrmann

Every teacher intuitively knows the importance of student comprehension of instruction. Without comprehension, there is no learning. It is our duty and charge as teachers to make sure that our students are able to grasp what we are teaching, be it the sounds of the letters, the meaning of the text they are reading, a discussion on an important event in history, a science experiment, or any other concept or skill students are expected to learn.

Stop arms: Why do motorists ignore them?

Mark Hewitt

All of the school buses that I have had the pleasure of driving have had some sort of stop arm attached — some even have two — so why is it that the most common line heard when I report a stop arm violation is “I didn't see you there”?

Empowering connected learning in TESOL

Beth Crumpler

Educators of TESOL are a globally connected audience by means of the profession. Connected Educator Month is an excellent time to expand connected learning in the field of TESOL through globally connected interactions that transcend content area boundaries. Through interdisciplinary connectedness, Teachers of English to speakers of other languages can expand English development through multifaceted learning means.

Is startup biotech funding at risk?

Mike Wokasch

Over the past couple of decades, small biotech companies have been an invaluable source of exciting new drug treatments. As a result, investors have been handsomely rewarded for funding these high-risk, speculative technologies that helped fill depleted Big Pharma pipelines. Companies with any hope for delivering a return on investor money have two possibilities; have one of their technologies acquired or have the entire company acquired by a cash rich Big Pharma or Big Biotech.

A gap in our field: Leadership in language education

Andy Curtis

Books in our field on leadership and management are relatively rare, compared with books on methodology in TESOL, and compared with books on leadership and management in other fields, such as health care.

Working memory in English language development

Beth Crumpler

Working memory is crucial to learning. It is the human mind’s processing of information to complete tasks. Working memory plays into deciding which information to remember and which information is not important. When people have problems with their working memory, they struggle with retaining information in the short term that is vital to learning in the long term.

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