The English teachers voice

  AI , How to Boost Writing, Speaking, and Vocabulary Skills After more than two decades of teaching English, I’ve learned to be cautious with trends. I’ve seen “revolutionary” methods come and go, often repackaged versions of ideas we were already using. So when AI tools first started appearing in education, I’ll admit my reaction was mixed: curiosity, skepticism, and a fair bit of concern. Fast forward to today, and I’m still cautious, but I’m also convinced of one thing: AI is not replacing good teaching, but it is changing how we can support learning. Used thoughtfully, it can significantly boost writing , speaking , and vocabulary skills . Used carelessly, it can do the opposite. What follows isn’t theory. It’s what I’ve been testing, adjusting, and sometimes abandoning in real classrooms and with real learners. AI and Writing : From Fear to Feedback Writing has always been one of the hardest skills to teach well. Students struggle with confidence, organization, and clarity—a...

Learner Autonomy and Personalized Learning : What 20+ Years in the Classroom Have Taught Me When I started teaching English more than twenty years ago, learner autonomy was not a buzzword. In fact, the idea that students could choose what they learned, how they learned it, or track their own progress would have sounded unrealistic, maybe even irresponsible. Teachers taught. Students followed. That was the model. Fast forward to today, and I can say this with complete honesty: the most successful learners I’ve worked with over the years were not the ones who depended on me the most, but the ones who slowly learned how to depend on themselves. That shift didn’t happen overnight, and it certainly didn’t happen because of a new app or platform. It happened because both teachers and learners began to ask a different question: “How can students take real ownership of their learning ?” From Control to Guidance Early in my career, I believed good teaching meant control: carefully planned l...