Hello and Happy New Year! For those of you who celebrated it, I hope you had plenty of festive fun over the Christmas period and everyone had a good start to 2018! This week it's all about the news, which calls for a tune from The Jam. Let's have a look at the lyrics. If … Continue reading The Jam – News of the World
Ok, hands up who thought they were Irish? ME, TOO! Well, it turns out they’re also British, which means I get to feature them on the the blog. Hurrah! Only a few moments before writing did I find out that the Celtic punk folk band responsible for making the best Christmas tune ever met in King’s … Continue reading The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale of New York
Hello and welcome another ELTune! I went to see this Leicester-based band a few weeks ago and they really were on fire! I’m a huge fan of their self-titled first album and some tracks off the second, then I didn’t really follow them for a few years. Their gig has changed that and I’d like … Continue reading Kasabian – Fire
A bit of ska this week, for Intermediate learners and above, with great little tune by Coventry-based ska revival band The Specials. This could be used for the end of the year to talk about future plans, when lessons are coming to a close and your students are moving on to bigger and brighter things, … Continue reading A Message to You Rudy – The Specials
This post is a tribute to those affected by the Manchester attack at the Ariane Grande concert last week, now an anthem from one of the biggest bands to come from this fantastic city. Use it for its range of vocabulary, mixed grammar structures and pronunciation practice as you see fit and follow it up with a … Continue reading Don’t Look Back In Anger – Oasis
Tune #2! This is a catchy one by the 2006 X Factor winner Leona Lewis from Islington, London. I used this as a musical lead-in to a lesson about the body with a class of intermediate 15 year olds, creating a gap fill and lyrics mix-up for them to do, followed by a brief discussion about their opinion … Continue reading Fire (Under My Feet) – Leona Lewis
Hello and welcome to another ELTune! Apologies for the lack of posts in recent weeks. To make up for it, you're getting a trio of tunes to play with! First off, I'm going to tell you about a great little number by the 90s Britpop band Pulp that I recently used with a class of 18 year … Continue reading Common People – Pulp
Happy May Day/Labor Day! Here's a great little tune from indie band The Rakes to use in a lesson about work. They sing about a situation that may ring true for many Brits, poking fun at leaving university then going to work in the city on an average salary (London, in this case), always talking about that girl … Continue reading 22 Grand Job – The Rakes
Hello everyone! I'm back and I hope you all had a lovely Easter. This week, I'd like to tell you about how you can use one of Coldplay's fantastic earlier tunes, and the opener to one of the greatest albums ever made, "Parachutes". Most of my students like their new stuff more, but I'll always prefer the old … Continue reading Don’t Panic – Coldplay
A terrific tune from English/Tamil rapper M.I.A. to discuss the refugee crisis and immigration in the ELT classroom. M.I.A. (a play on her own name and reference to the acronym "Missing In Action") and her family had to flee conflict in Jaffna during the Sri Lankan Civil War and go into hiding from the Sri … Continue reading Paper Planes – M.I.A.
Set on Fire to Spread Love and Inspire
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Lessons between the Angel and the Lion
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Asking big and small questions in ELT
a teacher/trainer/learner reflecting on shifts from confusion to clarity (and the other way 'round)
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A teacher's journey away from safe harbor
A Global Directory of Journals for Readers and Researchers
'Ginger,' 'Bits,' 'Whinge,' and other U.K. expressions that have got popular in the U.S.
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Tried and tested ELT ideas
