Newsletter #5

Good morning!

Just wanted to start by saying a big Thank You to all of you who have taken the trouble to write to me about this weekly missive- great that you are enjoying it and finding it helpful.

A really productive way of working
I'm a person who likes to be busy but the truth is that, like all of us, I have a 'to do' list on which there are several things that I resist getting on with. Sometimes these are big things (finish a PhD!) but often they're little stupid, 15 minute jobs that I just don't fancy for some reason. So they linger on....

This week, I came across (via Gemma Gilbert) a really effective way of writing a 'to do' list and I've been zinging through my tasks (even some of the more neglected ones!) so I thought that I'd share it with you. It's not rocket science, but I'm finding it helpful.

You spend a bit of time at the beginning of the week, and identify 5 Most Important Things (MITs) to do for the week and five additional tasks. You then arrange these through the days of your week and review at the end of the week what you've achieved. As I was going through this week, I also wrote underneath the tasks that I need to do (to put on next week's chart). It helped me to prioritise things and took the panic out of my always-growing list of things to do.

Sneak preview
Thinking about To Do lists also gave me a great idea for using this in class for some grammar practice around the language of obligation. Here's your sneak preview of it!

Useful website
Finally, a website that I really like.
Using topical material in class is motivating for learners and keeps things interesting, but authentic news can often be much too difficult for lower (or even higher) level learners. News in levels has archives of hundreds of short, manageable news stories, each one at three levels of language difficulty, where Level 3 is the original and 1 and 2 are simplified. It's great for homework, flipped classroom work or you can use it for the basis of a class (online or face to face). Check it out.

OK- enough! Hope that you have a happy and productive week and see you again next Sunday, I hope.

Best
Jo