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"Our target is for them to bilingually proficient in Bahasa Malaysia and English," he said.

"Since English is widely used internationally, we have little choice but to encourage our children to be proficient.

He also emphasised the need to enhance command of the Malay language to promote national unity. This, he said, was important as studies have shown that some students could not even speak the national language. "I have given a directive to improve the curriculum and quality of teachers teaching Bahasa Melayu in national schools," he added.

Muhyiddin also noted that 121 of the 638 resolutions presented at the Umno general assembly were related to education issues.

Muhyiddin announced the setting-up of Parents Teachers Association Foundation with a start-up fund of RM200mil. "We will get more government-linked companies and the private sector to contribute towards the Foundation," he added.

in New Orleans. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, the city was notorious for its poorly performing schools, but since then, 88 charters have opened and are considered a lead cause of improved student achievement. What the policy's proponents won't tell you, though, is that charter school proposals in New Orleans are decided upon by the local school district, or they are independently evaluated.

In Florida, another frequently quoted "success" story, local districts have complete control over charter school applications.

At the hearings, local people are allowed to voice concerns or support for the planned school, obliging the potential founders to listen to the community they will serve

Any government writing a policy specifically avoiding this step must be doing so because it believes ordinary people could not possibly add anything to its perfect decision-making

That a government can be open about the application process yet still achieve great schools is perfectly demonstrated by Massachusetts and New York. Both have high-scoring charter schools and both require applicants who wish to start a school to face public hearings as part of the application process

The impact of charter schools appears to derive from the fact that those that are failing are closed more quickly than failing traditional schools

in England, there is no consistent process for closing a failing school or transferring its ownership to another group, with some poor performers forced to "restart", whereas others are left alone

The Credo report also admits that many charter schools perform worse than traditional ones

Lack of support and interpersonal conflict

Boredom

Do you feel run down and drained of physical or emotional energy? Do you find that you are prone to negative thinking about your job? Do you find that you are harder and less sympathetic with people than perhaps they deserve? Do you find yourself getting easily irritated by small problems, or by your co-workers and team? Do you feel misunderstood or unappreciated by your co-workers? Do you feel that you have no one to talk to? Do you feel under an unpleasant level of pressure to succeed? Do you feel that you are not getting what you want out of your job? Do you feel that you are in the wrong organization or the wrong profession? Are you becoming frustrated with parts of your job? Do you feel that organizational politics or bureaucracy frustrate your ability to do a good job?

“Michael Gove has to remember that this is tax payers’ money and the education of tax payers’ children that he is playing fast and loose with. The Government must be held to account for a policy that is neither needed, wanted, which lacks transparency and which is not even greatly understood”.

PISA is one of the few tools we have to compare the outcomes of high school students internationally.  PISA provides valuable information on how prepared high school students are for postsecondary success whether in the workplace, career training, or higher education.

PISA is designed to measure how well students can apply their knowledge to real-world situations. To measure such skills, the test items on PISA are primarily “constructed response,” meaning the test-taker has to write their answers to the questions, and there are few multiple-choice items.

Every industrialized country now educates all their students, including language minority, special needs and low-performing students. Every country that participates in PISA must adhere to strict sampling rules to ensure the country’s results are nationally representative of all 15-year-old students. Indeed, the decision to test secondary students at age 15 was made in part because young people at that age are still subject to compulsory schooling laws in most participating nations, which provides more assurance that PISA will capture the broadest sample.

OECD reports statistically significant differences in performance between nations, which is a more accurate way to look at PISA rankings than a straight listing of average scores.

Does PISA measure the effectiveness of public school systems? Not completely, for three reasons: 1) PISA results are representative of the performance of all 15-year-olds in participating countries including those  attending private schools; 2) PISA makes no attempt to isolate schools from outside factors such as poverty or high proportions of non-native language speakers that may have an impact on  performance —such factors are important to include in the mix when evaluating the effectiveness of each country’s schools; and 3) No single measure can incorporate every outcome we expect from our public schools

look at how much time other countries give teachers for professional development, how much they pay their teachers, how much time teachers spend in the classroom, how much flexibility exists at the local level, how special needs students are taught, and how much time students spend in school.

see PISA results as an opportunity to assess if best practices in teaching and learning in other countries can also work for secondary schools here in the U.S.

just because a high-performing or high-gaining country does something does not mean it will work in U.S. schools.

Many analysts observe that poverty has a greater impact on student performance in the U.S. than elsewhere. For one thing, the U.S. has the highest child poverty rates among industrialized countries. For another, students in the U.S. who live in poverty tend to have less access to resources that research consistently shows impact student achievement, including highly effective teachers, access to rigorous curriculum, and high quality pre-k programs.

several challenges to improve the quality of special education services through integration opportunities, preservice teacher training, greater coordination among services, current educational and social initiatives and rhetoric, and societal vision.

Effective Ways to Use Authentic Materials with ESL/EFL StudentsBy Charles Kelly, Lawrence Kelly, Mark Offner and Bruce VorlandAuthentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL ClassroomsBy Ferit KilickayaUsing Creative Thinking to Find New Uses for RealiaBy Simon Mumford

My Philosophy for Teaching English for BusinessBy Lawrence BaronUsing Authentic Business Transcripts in the ESL ClassroomBy Jonathan CliftonTeaching Business Communication to LEP StudentsBy Ken LauFrameworking in Business English ClassesBy John AdamsonTeaching Tips for ESL University Business English InstructorsBy William BrooksMethodology for Using Case Studies in the Business English Language ClassroomBy Peter Daly

Matching Teaching Styles with Learning Styles in East Asian ContextsBy Rao ZhenhuiTeam Teaching Tips for Foreign Language TeachersBy Rebecca Benoit and Bridget HaughThe Importance of Eye Contact in the ClassroomBy Robert Ledbury, Ian White and Steve Darn

Three Activities to Promote Learners' AutonomyBy Galina KavaliauskienëGetting Students Actively Involved Using "The Mistake Buster" TechniqueBy Hai K.P. Huynh

Perpetual Motion: Keeping the Language Classroom MovingA technique that allows students to practice with as many different partners as possible.By Christopher KelenInteresting Ways to Call Roll in JapanBy Lawrence KlepingerLet Your Students Teach Their ClassBy Naoyoshi Ogawa and Dennis WilkinsonEncouraging Students to Interact with the TeacherBy Roger NunnWhat to Do with Failing StudentsBy Marty DawleyCultural Kickboxing in the ESL Classroom: Encouraging Active ParticipationBy Jan Guidry LacinaA Group Introduction Activity to Create a Safe AtmosphereBy Clay Bussinger

Using Presentation Software to Enhance Language LearningBy Miriam Schcolnik and Sara KolQuick Tips for the CALL LaboratoryBy Brian Cullen and John MorrisUsing PowerPoint for ESL TeachingBy Don L. Fisher

Encouraging English Expression through Script-based ImprovisationsBy Manette R. BerlingerTeaching Conversation Skills With Content Based MaterialsBy Greg GoodmacherUsing Pair TapingBy Peter H. SchneiderTeaching Conversation Strategies Through Pair-TapingBy Nancy Washburn and Kiel ChristiansonBoosting Speaking Fluency through Partner TapingBy David E. Kluge and Matthew A. TaylorOvercoming Chinese-English Colloquial Habits in WritingBy Ted KnoyCommunicative Language Teaching in a Multimedia Language LabBy Shih-Jen Huang and Hsiao-Fang LiuIt's on the Cards: Adapting a Board-game Communicative ActivityBy Bob Gibson Leaving the Room: An Introduction to Theme-Based Oral EnglishBy Stewart Wachs

The Talking Stick: An American Indian Tradition in the ESL ClassroomBy Kimberly FujiokaRole Playing/SimulationBy Patricia K. TompkinsBrainstorming Before Speaking TasksBy Brian CullenTeach Students to Interact, Not Just TalkBy Gerard CounihanFive Steps to Using Your Textbook to Build a More Dynamic EFL Conversation ClassBy Stephen B. RyanDialog Performances: Developing Effective Communication Strategies for Non-English Majors in Japanese UniversitiesBy Susan Gilfert and Robert CrokerOvercoming Common Problems Related to Communicative MethodologyBy Stephen B. RyanDesigning Simple Interactive Tasks for Small GroupsBy Roger NunnTips for Teaching Conversation in the Multilingual ESL ClassroomBy Cara PulickTeaching "How are You" to ESL StudentsBy Brendan DalyUsing Games to Promote Communicative Skills in Language LearningBy Chen, I-JungFacilitating English Conversation Development in Large ClassroomsBy Gerry GibsonHelping EFL/ESL Students by Asking Quality QuestionsBy Nasreen HussainSuccessful Classroom Discussions with Adult Korean ESL/EFL LearnersBy Hye-Yeon Lim & W. I. GriffithIncreasing Authentic Speech in Classroom DiscussionsBy Georgia SmyrniouDesigning Simple Interactive Tasks for Small GroupsBy Roger NunnA Practical and Effective Way to Enhance the ESL Students' Oral CompetenceBy Yichu Qi

Practical Techniques for Teaching Culture in the EFL ClassroomBy Brian Cullen and Kazuyoshi SatoRole Play in Teaching Culture: Six Quick Steps for Classroom ImplementationBy Maria A. KodotchigovaCompliments: Integrating Cultural Values into Oral English ClassesBy Chou, Yen-LinRole Play in Teaching Culture: Six Quick Steps for Classroom ImplementationBy Maria A. KodotchigovaGuidelines to Evaluate Cultural Content in TextbooksBy Ferit Kilickaya

Drama Techniques for Teaching EnglishBy Vani Chauhan

Using Picture Dictation Exercises for Practising All Four SkillsBy Sylvia Sao Leng IeongTeaching the Four Skills in the Primary EFL ClassroomBy Marcos Peñate Cabrera and Plácido Bazo

The Structural Drill in Remedial TeachingBy Felix MosesClassroom Techniques for Contextualization:How to make "This is a pen." a pragmatically motivated utterance.By Yoshinori SasakiA Technique for Practising Conditional SentencesBy Galina KavaliauskieneGrammar Correction in ESL/EFL Writing Classes May Not Be EffectiveBy Ronald GrayDoing Things with Sentences in the ESL ClassroomBy Simon MumfordTeaching ESL Students to "Notice" GrammarBy Francis J. Noonan IIIUsing Simple Poems to Teach GrammarBy Hawanum HusseinCommunicative Grammar -- It's Time to Talk.By Noriko NishiguchiEmpowering English Teachers to Grapple with Errors in GrammarBy Caroline Mei Lin HoHelping Students with ModalsBy Michael ThompsonA Technique for Practising Conditional SentencesBy Galina Kavaliauskiene

Using Humour in the Second Language ClassroomBy Paul-Emile Chiasson

Using the Internet in ESL Writing InstructionBy Jarek KrajkaSome Possibilities for Using On-line Newspapers in the ESL ClassroomBy Jarek KrajkaGetting Your Class ConnectedSome ideas on using e-mail and homepages.By Dennis E. WilkinsonActivities for Using Junk Email in the ESL/EFL ClassroomBy Suggested ways to use junk mail and some ready-to-use handouts for the classroom.By Michael IvyLet the E-mail Software Do the Work: Time Saving Features for the Writing TeacherBy Ron BelisleDiscussion Forums for ESL LearningBy Peter ConnellReport on a Penpal Project, and Tips for Penpal-Project SuccessBy Vera MelloUsing E-mail in Foreign Language Teaching: Rationale and SuggestionsBy Margaret Gonglewski, Christine Meloni and Jocelyne BrantHow to Build a Multimedia Website for Language StudyBy Randall S. DavisMaking Chat Activities with Native Speakers Meaningful for EFL LearnersBy Jo MynardInteractivity Tools in Online LearningBy Chien-Ching LeeTeaching Search Engines to ESL Students: Avoiding the AvalancheBy Kirsten LincolnTeaching EFL/ESL Students How to Use Search Engines and Develop their EnglishBy Rupert HeringtonInteractivity Tools in Online LearningBy Chien-Ching LeeMaking Chat Activities with Native Speakers Meaningful for EFL LearnersBy Jo MynardHow to Build a Multimedia Website for Language StudyBy Randall S. DavisQuick Tips for the CALL LaboratoryBy Brian Cullen and John MorrisCreating a Learning Community Through Electronic JournalingBy Anne BollatiA Model of Team Teaching in a Web-mediated EAP CourseBy Mihye Harker & Dimitra KoutsantoniUsing LiveJournal for Authentic Communication in EFL ClassesBy Aaron Patric CampbellWeblogs for Use with ESL ClassesBy Aaron Patric Campbell

75 ESL Teaching IdeasBy Hall Houston

Redesigning Non-Task-Based Materials to Fit a Task-Based FrameworkBy Kevin RooneyA Holistic Classroom Activity - The Class SurveyBy Roger NunnThree Activities to Promote Learners' AutonomyBy Galina Kavaliauskienë

Music and Song in DiscussionBy Brian CullenSong DictationBy Brian CullenTeaching Phrasal Verbs Using SongsBy Subrahmanian UpendranHelping Prospective EFL Teachers Learn How to Use Songs in Teaching Conversation ClassesBy Natalia F. OrlovaFocused Listening with SongsBy Isaiah WonHo Yoo

Getting the Most from Textbook Listening ActivitiesBy Thomas LavelleTraining for Impromptu Speaking and Testing Active Listening With a Focus on Japanese StudentsBy Cecilia B-IkeguchiDictation DrawingBy Brian GroverReal Audio to Augment Real Listening in the ESL ClassroomBy Frank TuziSelf-Instruction by Audio CassetteBy John SmallDictation as a Language Learning DeviceBy Scott AlkireFocused Listening with SongsBy Isaiah WonHo YooListening Activities for Effective Top-down ProcessingBy Ji LingzhuDictation as a Language Learning DeviceBy Scott Alkire

Sustaining an Interest in Learning English and Increasing the Motivation to Learn English: An Enrichment ProgramBy Supyan Hussin, Nooreiny Maarof, and J. V. D'CruzHelping ESL Learners to See Their Own ImprovementBy Upendran SubrahmanianCommunicating SuccessBy Trevor SargentCreative and Critical Thinking in Language ClassroomsBy Muhammad Kamarul KabilanLearner Training for Learner Autonomy on Summer Language CoursesBy Ciarán P. McCarthyEncouraging Students to Become Stakeholders in the ESL ClassroomBy Karen BordonaroMotivation in the ESL ClassroomBy William T. Lile

Some Techniques for Teaching PronunciationBy David F. DaltonTesting Some Suprasegmental Features of English SpeechBy Mehmet CelikTeaching English Intonation to EFL/ESLStudentsBy Mehmet CelikReverse Accent Mimicry: An Accent Reduction Technique for Second Language LearnersBy Laurence M. HiltonA Quick Way to Improve /r/ and /l/ PronunciationBy Tim GreerTeaching English Intonation to EFL/ESLStudentsBy Mehmet Celik

Teaching Debate to ESL Students: A Six-Class UnitBy Daniel KriegerGuiding ESL Students Towards Independent Speech MakingBy Françoise Nunn and Roger NunnA Genre Approach to Oral PresentationsBy Fiona Webster

Teaching EFL/ESL Students How to Read Time and NewsweekBy J. Ignacio BermejoGraffiti for ESL ReadersDescribes an activity using content-based articles.By Brent BuhlerReading and Writing through Neuro-Linguistic ProgrammingBy Tom MaguireHow to Read Nonfictional English Text Faster and More EffectivelyBy Helmut StiefenhöferWhat Do We Test When We Test Reading Comprehension?By Akmar MohamadTeaching ESL Reading Using ComputersBy Saad AlKahtaniAn Integrated Approach to Teaching Literature in the EFL ClassroomBy Christine SavvidouA Fun Reading Quiz GameBy Madhavi Gayathri RamanReading Aloud (Out Loud) in Conversational English Classes By Derek KellyUsing Children's Literature with Young LearnersBy Eowyn BrownUsing News Stories in the ESL ClassroomBy Robin Antepara

A Method for Oral Testing in University English Programs at Korean UniversitiesBy David B. KentMeasuring Word Recognition Using a PictureBy Jungok Bae

Developing Film Study GuidesBy Donna Hurst TatsukiDeveloping an English for Specific Purposes Course Using a Learner Centered Approach: A Russian ExperienceBy Pavel V. SysoyevVideotaping an English Mini-drama in Your ClassroomBy David G. MagnussonUsing CNN News Video in the EFL ClassroomBy Alan S. MackenzieContent Video in the EFL ClassroomBy Michael FurmanovskyCaptioned Video: Making it Work for YouBy Randall S. DavisUsing Movie Trailers in an ESL CALL ClassBy John GebhardtVideo Production in the Foreign Language Classroom: Some Practical IdeasBy Sebastian Brooke

Personal Vocabulary NotesBy Joshua KurzweilLearner-centered Vocabulary Building PracticeBy Sadia Yasser AliA Learner-Centred Approach to Vocabulary Review Using BingoBy Galina KavaliauskienëSongs, Verse and Games for Teaching GrammarBy Arif Saricoban & Esen MetinDeductive & Inductive Lessons for Saudi EFL Freshmen StudentsBy Mohammed Y. Al-KharratWarm-up Exercises in Listening ClassesBy Zhang Yi JunGetting Japanese Children to Make Use of Naturally-sounding English in the ClassroomBy Junko YamamotoVocabulary Teaching Using Student-Written DialoguesBy Alice Dana Delaney WalkerTeaching Vocabulary to Japanese Students: A Lexical ApproachBy Kwabena AsareDrilling Can Be FunBy Simon MumfordThe Use of Corpora in the Vocabulary ClassroomBy Yu Hua ChenBuilding Vocabulary Through Prefixes, Roots & SuffixesBy William PittmanPersonal Vocabulary NotesBy Joshua KurzweilTeaching Vocabulary to Japanese Students: A Lexical ApproachBy Kwabena AsareMeasuring Word Recognition Using a PictureBy Jungok Bae

Secret Partner Journals for Motivation, Fluency and FunBy Timothy StewartReading and Writing through Neuro-Linguistic ProgrammingBy Tom MaguireA Peer Review Activity for Essay OrganizationBy Bob GibsonMaking Jigsaw Activities Using Newspaper ArticlesBy David DycusUsing Postcards in the ClassroomBy Peter LobellLess Is More: Summary Writing and Sentence Structure in the Advanced ESL ClassroomBy George L. GreaneyTeaching Integrated Writing SkillsBy Cecilia B-IkeguchiCorrecting Students' WritingBy Bryan MurphyUsing E-mail in EFL Writing ClassesBy Eui-Kap LeeApproaching Writing Skills through Fairy TalesBy Silvia BrutiTeaching ESL/EFL Students to Write BetterBy Yesim CimcozEnglish Writing Program for Engineering StudentsBy Hui Mien TanFreewriting, Prompts and FeedbackBy Kenneth J. DicksonPortfolios and Process Writing: A Practical ApproachBy Simon ReaInteractive Writing in the EFL Class: A Repertoire of TasksBy María Palmira Massi

Using Cooperative Learning to Integrate Thinking and Information Technology in a Content-Based Writing LessonBy Gabriel Tan, Patrick B Gallo, George M Jacobs and Christine Kim-Eng LeeEncouraging Engineering Students to Write Simple EssaysBy Thevy RajaretnamIntegrating Writing with ReadingBy Yang ShuyingThe Process Writing MethodBy Daniel J. JarvisSuggestions for Evaluating ESL Writing HolisticallyBy Matthew W. CurrierDeveloping Writing Skills in a Foreign Language via the InternetBy Roger C. KenworthyCreating a Writing Course Utilizing Class and Student BlogsBy Andrew JohnsonA Fun Way to Generate Ideas for Comparison ParagraphsBy Melodie CookSeeing is Understanding: Improving Coherence in Students' Writing By Chien-Ching LeeDeveloping Task-based Writing with Adolescent EFL StudentsBy Maria CabralProviding Feedback on ESL Students' Written AssignmentsBy Jason Gordon WilliamsSimple Steps to Successful Revision in L2 WritingBy Catherine ColemanTeaching TESOL Undergraduates to Organize and Write Literature ReviewsBy Roberto CriolloThe Process Writing MethodBy Daniel J. JarvisIntegrating Writing with ReadingBy Yang ShuyingEncouraging Engineering Students to Write Simple EssaysBy Thevy Rajaretnam

Maximizing Study Trips AbroadBy Howard HigaThe Application of Universal Instructional Design to ESL TeachingBy Kregg C. StrehornBaFa BaFa: Does it Work with University EFL Learners?By Donald Glenn CarrollA Tutor-Guided Learning Scheme in a Self-Access CentreBy Lai Lai KwanImproving Science Students' Fluency through Project WorkBy Nebila Dhieb-HeniaUsing Service-Learning as Part of an ESL ProgramBy James M. MinorIncorporating Critical Thinking Skills Development into ESL/EFL CoursesBy Andy HalvorsenHelping ESL Learners to Minimize Collocational ErrorsBy Rotimi TaiwoUsing Concept Maps to Gauge Students' UnderstandingBy Lee Chien ChingContent Based ESL Curriculum and Academic Language ProficiencyBy Clara Lee BrownUsing Pictures from MagazinesBy Joep van der WerffEnhancing Critical Thinking with Structured Controversial DialoguesBy Hanizah Zainuddin & Rashid A. MooreUsing Expectations to Improve LearningBy Gena BennettIntegrating Language Learning Strategy Instruction into ESL/EFL LessonsBy Catherine Y. KinoshitaUsing Checklists to "Standardise" ContentBy Chien-Ching LeeGames in the ESL and EFL ClassBy Angkana DeesriOvercoming Common Problems Related to Communicative MethodologyBy Stephen B. Ryan

Creating optimal routines and patterns prior to the school year supports balance

making time for relationships can be difficult.  Making a plan as to when and how you'll meet up with friends and relatives throughout the year helps

Research shows that when we work collaboratively, we do a better job.  Also, getting involved in new initiatives and endeavors with colleagues is energizing and in the end, makes you more targeted and efficient in the classroom

"If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem."

make it a rule not to deal with issues on the fly and without all the facts

A positive, pleasing, professional demeanor is integral to doing the job well

It's important to make the time at the start of the year to teach the students about your classroom organization and routines, so that they can help you to keep the room organized to best serve learning endeavors.

Add Questions and Quizzes to YouTube Videos! (17) (00:45) This one is on the bare bones side, as YouTube has plenty of other features to work on -- but if you need something quick and easy, you can also add questions to your own uploaded YouTube videos with YouTube's Questions Editor (18) (still in beta mode).

Wanting to string a few videos together and add text and graphics overlays? Metta (15) is the tool for you -- although it had one of the more confusing interfaces on the list. Still, it's unique from the others in that it's creating less of a wrapper than a whole new media experience, a mashup -- for some applications, this could be amazing. See an example (16).

How to Use Vialogues (10) (04:54) If you'd like to have a discussion around a particular video, Vialogues (11) is a useful way to allow threaded conversations on a clip. You can also add surveys and open-ended questions with this tool, which was developed by the EdLab at Columbia University Teachers College (12). See an example (13).

TED-Ed Website Tour (7) (03:08) Most educators know TED-Ed (8) publishes amazing animations, but did you know their platform allows users to build lessons by adding questions and notes to any video on YouTube? The elegant interface allows your students to watch and then dig deeper into resources you've provided, via a unique URL that allows you to track their responses. See an example (9).

With Zaption (4), transform your students from passive watchers to active learners by adding links, multiple-choice questions, polls, discussions, and more to any video to create a "tour" -- or group a few together for a more complex lesson. Check out the tutorials on Zaption's YouTube channel (5); they also offer analytics to see if your tours are engaging. See some examples (6).