Brexit
. I won't attempt to express all the thoughts that have gone through my head in the last 36 hours or so, therapeutic as that would be. But given that the UK's decision - or do I mean 'decision' (sic)...
Of paranoia and victimismo
My first head of department growled to me one day “We all fail, David, what matters is how we fail”. This bit of world-weary wisdom impressed me greatly, partly because I was young, pink-eared and impressionable,...
Exercises & drills
A major new development in this website is being stimulated by technical developments provided by Jordi and Ruben, Inthinking's website magicians. They have produced the fundamental software to create...
Online exams
A research team in Barcelona has produced a system for ensuring the validity of online assessment - essentially, by making sure that the person taking the assessment online is who they ought to be, and...
Word games
. Language is the supreme medium of politics ... or is it? On the one hand, all of the concepts of politics - ideals, principles, policies, targets, goals - are usually and best expressed in language....
On the topic of Topics
Why are Topics such a major feature of the Language B Subject Guide? What should be the significance of Topics in devising a programme of work for English B? And how important are Topics in the assessment...
#romeo&juliet
I spend quite a lot of time advising teachers about their students' suggestions for Extended Essays. I came across the following proposal the other day : How would Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet be different...
Intellectual Vacuity Test
The bizarre use of language in politics continues to boggle my mind. I recall an article written by Simon Hoggart, long-time parliamentary sketch writer for The Guardian, in which he revealed his professional...
Adapting to ATLs
I am engaged in another major re-organisation and development of the site. If you look at the sitemap, you'll see that the right-hand column is now called Approaches... (it was formerly called Activities...
Text types & writing purposes
I have been revising and re-organising the 'writing' section of the site over the last few days. This means that there are now a complete set of pages about the text types, and this is distinguished from...