http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Brenda+Townsend+Hall Education Brenda Townsend Hall Tue, 05 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=81155&ca=Education A discussion is needed about the importance of offering students a range of learning experiences. I always feel aware of learners' frustrations when I watch classes based purely on reading and writing. Yet often learners don't themselves understand these frustrations. For many learners, studying is... Education Brenda Townsend Hall Mon, 04 Sep 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=81157&ca=Education I've noticed how many schools have difficulties that, when analyzed, are essentially communication problems. All organizations have to communicate externally and internally. As external communications affect enrolments, more effort is often put into external communications: PR, advertising, attendan... Career Brenda Townsend Hall Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=75867&ca=Career Many new teachers will be preparing to set off for exciting new locations to take up teaching positions in September. I have already posted some entries about culture shock and how the teachers need support during their period of adapting to a new way of life. But the truth is that a proportion of t... Business Management Brenda Townsend Hall Sun, 13 Aug 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=74433&ca=Business+Management I was talking to a DOS [Director of Studies] recently who told me how she hated having to do lesson observations. It wasn't that she had any objections to the idea of a quality check but she found that teachers were very defensive and clearly didn't welcome her presence. It's a difficult issue, isn'... Education Brenda Townsend Hall Sun, 30 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=70822&ca=Education Since the London bomb attacks, I have been thinking a lot about the courageous people there who have to go about their daily business despite the threat. I worked in the capital during the years of the IRA bombings and my greatest fear was of just such an event, as I used the transport system daily.... Career Brenda Townsend Hall Sun, 30 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=70823&ca=Career I met a retired engineer the other day and she told me she was half way through a TEFL training course. She wanted to know what I thought her chances were of finding a teaching job when she has completed the course. Well, I can't disguise the fact that there is a lot of age prejudice in the world of... Education Brenda Townsend Hall Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=67566&ca=Education Learner power is the topic of this article. I wonder how many school directors think about asking their students how they want to learn. The idea of conducting a needs analysis to find out what students want to learn is nothing new, but I’m not sure if we are quite so used to trying to find out thei... Culture Brenda Townsend Hall Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=67569&ca=Culture I am very interested in how cultural values influence behavior. This is also true of our linguistic behavior. The way we use language shows preferences for some types of communicative behavior while discouraging others. Culture will affect, for example, the extent to which we speak loudly and animat... Career Brenda Townsend Hall Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=63476&ca=Career Teaching English in a foreign country can be an incredible challenge... and it can also be one of the most fulfilling experiences you'll ever have. Living abroad, absorbing the culture of another people, and using your native English knowledge to enlighten your students are all wonderful aspects of... Career Brenda Townsend Hall Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=63475&ca=Career It seems that some schools combine long hours with revolving days off so that teachers find it hard to recharge their batteries, let alone keep up the quality of their teaching. As so often this comes back to cultural norms. Many teachers come from a background in which it is normal for the working...