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Author: dylangateselt

The 6 Principles of Polite Speaking

If you want to learn how to speak politely in English, you will have to: a) notice how […]

March 17, 2014 teaching English

5 Very Common Polite Responses in English

5 Very Common Polite Responses This is a lesson from my popular Master Polite English course. Let’s imagine […]

March 13, 2014 teaching English

What is Politeness and Why Should We Be Polite?

You may use a wide range of grammatical structures. You may have an impressive vocabulary. You may have […]

March 12, 2014 teaching English

How to Give Advice in English

In this lesson, you will hear many phrases we use for giving advice. What is advice? advice (noun) […]

February 13, 2014 teaching English

Last-minute Love Lessons

Whoops! You’ve completely forgotten that Valentine’s Day is round the corner and you haven’t planned anything with a romantic […]

February 11, 2014 Teaching English Blog

How to respond to great news.

Imagine you are an actor who has just won an academy award (an Oscar). A reporter comes up […]

February 3, 2014 teaching English

5 things to do before starting your TEFL course

So, you’ve been accepted onto a TEFL course. How are you feeling? Relaxed because you are a fluent […]

February 2, 2014 Teaching English Blog

10 commandments of TEFL – An accidental manifesto

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A TEFL MANIFESTO Somebody asked  me the other day if I had a philosophy about TEFL, a manifesto […]

February 2, 2014 teaching English

10 Things you shouldn’t say in an interview for a TEFL job

Over the years, I’ve interviewed about 50 TEFL teachers. Some people walked through the door and I automatically […]

January 28, 2014 Teaching English Blog

Can non-native speakers of English become good TEFL teachers?

This is a source of constant debate in the TEFL world. Here in Spain, many Spaniards (employers and […]

January 27, 2014 Teaching English Blog

Reasons why 3 is the magic number in ELT

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Throughout human history, the number three has been seen as something magical. Stories have a beginning, a middle […]

January 23, 2014 Teaching English Blog

The Rule of Three – It’s as easy as A,B,C

Watch the slide show and guess what all the phrases have in common. I’m sure you’ve worked it […]

January 23, 2014 teaching English

Talking about emotions and feelings

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How are you feeling today? I’m feeling happy. What kind of happy? Um…very happy. Why are you feeling […]

January 21, 2014 teaching English

How to express emotions and feelings

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How are you feeling today? I’m feeling happy. What kind of happy? Um…very happy. Why are you feeling […]

January 21, 2014 teaching English

We all have questions

What is a conversation? Conversation is interactive, spontaneous communication between two or more people. As language learners, you […]

January 16, 2014 teaching English

How to interrupt politely (and not so politely) in English

A few years ago, I was observing a teacher giving his class. He was an experienced teacher and […]

January 14, 2014 teaching English

What would you do if you spoke perfect English?

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Imagine you woke up one morning and discovered you could speak perfect English. What would you do if […]

January 11, 2014 teaching English

How to show you’re annoyed in English

Sometimes we need to complain. We need to express our negative feelings about something and tell somebody how […]

January 10, 2014 teaching English

15 running idioms in English

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On December 8, I ran my first marathon. It was absolutely exhausting but I somehow managed to cross […]

December 12, 2013 teaching English

Free ebook: Speaking Unplugged: 30 Activities for One-to-One Classes

Hi everybody, Finding interactive and communicative speaking activities for one-to-one classes can be difficult. Here is an ebook […]

November 6, 2013 teaching English

Am I the right age or nationality to get into TEFL?

I’ve worked with and trained recent graduates who were able to manage classes without raising their voices and […]

November 1, 2013 Teaching English Blog

The Minimalist One-to-One Classroom

  Sometimes I think the ideal one-to-one class is just two people talking about things that matter to […]

October 31, 2013 Teaching English Blog

What kind of people become TEFL teachers?

  I’ve been in the business since 1996 and I’ve watched a wide range of people enter a […]

October 31, 2013 Teaching English Blog

5 Quick and Easy ways to use YouTube in class with the sound turned off!

YouTube is a wonderful resource for language teachers and learners. When I mention this to trainee teachers, many […]

October 23, 2013 Teaching English Blog

One-to-One Teaching: “Getting to know you” Questionnaire

Asking a series of questions to a new private student has many benefits as you get some idea […]

October 22, 2013 Teaching English Blog

Coffee, biscuits and the Past Participle

I’m sitting here, drinking a cup of coffee and eating a chocolate biscuit and thoughts pop into my […]

October 11, 2013 Teaching English Blog

The Curse of Knowledge

Do you ever despair of your learners and wonder why they can’t understand your explanations of grammatical structures? […]

September 26, 2013 Teaching English Blog

50 FCE Speaking Questions for Part 1: The Interview

If any of you are teaching FCE (First Certificate), you will need to give your learners lots of […]

September 25, 2013 teaching English

Rolling Dice: Speaking Games for TEFL teachers

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All you need for these fun speaking games are some dice. I recommend you buy a few sets […]

September 15, 2013 Teaching English Blog

The Pixar Pitch Lesson

What do these animated movies have in common? Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., The […]

September 11, 2013 Teaching English Blog

English teachers are now in the improvement business

The times they are a-changin’ Back in the old days of TEFL, learners could count themselves lucky if […]

September 4, 2013 Teaching English Blog

Teaching One-to-One: Stop teaching, start coaching!

Do you find one-to-one teaching frustrating? Do you find it hard to keep your students interested and motivated? […]

September 4, 2013 Teaching English Blog

15 ways to use ‘post-it notes’ to teach English

Although they may not be great for the environment, the humble ‘post-it note’ is one of my favourite […]

August 15, 2013 Teaching English Blog

10 Reasons why you should become a TEFL Teacher

The other day, I came across my old Trinity TESOL certificate. After leaving university, I took a 4-week […]

May 27, 2013 teaching English

10 Reasons why you should become an EFL Teacher

d d Read More

The other day, I came across my old Trinity TESOL certificate. After leaving university, I took a 4-week […]

May 27, 2013 teaching English

How should I correct errors and mistakes?

First of all, it is common in ELT to establish a difference between an error and a mistake. […]

May 24, 2013 Teaching English Blog

What is eliciting?

Back in the good old day, teachers would stand in front of a blackboard with a piece of […]

May 24, 2013 Teaching English Blog

What is monitoring?

Once we have instructed our learners, they can begin doing the task or activity we have set them. […]

May 24, 2013 Teaching English Blog

What are Instruction Check Questions?

As well as presenting, explaining and defining new language, teachers also have to give students plenty of activities […]

May 24, 2013 Teaching English Blog

What are Concept Check Questions?

Concept check questions, also known as CCQs, are used extensively in English language teaching. They are used when […]

May 21, 2013 Teaching English Blog

25 BBC Podcasts for Advanced English Learners

When my advanced students tell me they want to improve their listening skills, I always tell them to […]

April 25, 2013 teaching English

Quick Guide to Phrasal Verb Types

Watch this short video and learn about 4 different types of phrasal verb. Next time you see a […]

April 23, 2013 teaching English

Careful with ‘anglicismos’ !

Originally posted on Learn More English Today:
Top ten ‘English’ words invented by the Spanish How Spanish people are reinventing Shakespeare’s tongue… See…

April 18, 2013 teaching English

10 Fun Activities for Business English classes

Summer is on its way here in Southern Spain but the 10 teachers on the TEFL in Spain […]

April 16, 2013 Teaching English Blog

10 problems Spanish learners have when speaking English

When you have been teaching Spanish learners for a while, you realise that many of them have the […]

February 19, 2013 teaching English

Lost in Translation: The answers to last week’s quiz

Here they are…..the answers to last week’s quiz about Spanish titles of famous English language movies. 1. Casarse […]

February 7, 2013 teaching English

Lost in Translation

The other day, my Spanish ‘suegra’ starting talking to me about one of her favourite musical called ‘Sonrisas […]

February 1, 2013 teaching English

Bad English

I’ve recently participated in an online discussion about “corruptions in the English language”. Here are a few of […]

January 16, 2013 Teaching English Blog

5 reasons why Spanish are (or could be) good at learning English – according to an English teacher

As ’tis the season to be jolly‘, I’d like to begin this post on a positive note: Actually, […]

December 27, 2012 Teaching English Blog

5 reasons why Spanish are bad at learning English (according to some Spanish friends)

There I was, having a copa (Rum and Coke) on Sunday evening with some Spanish friends and a […]

December 17, 2012 Learning English Blog

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  • Introduction to the 6 Principles of Polite Speaking
    • 1. The Uncertainty Principle of Polite Speaking
    • 2. The Indirect Question Principle of Polite Speaking
    • 3. The Respect Intelligence Principle of Polite Speaking
    • 4. The Sensitive Correction Principle of Polite Speaking
    • 5. The Disagree Reluctantly Principle of Polite Speaking
    • 6. The Avoid Direct Commands Principle of Polite Speaking
    • Review of Polite Speaking in English
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