The past week or so, while I wrestled with trying to tackle another column on the five-paragraph essay, I found myself monitoring all those little things I say in class. So, as the school year begins to rev up into high gear, I thought maybe something more lighthearted would be fun.  Continue reading...

Did you know that Friday, September 24th is National Punctuation Day? Get in the mood by submitting an entry to the Punctuation Haiku Contest, sponsored by the organizers of NPD. Read all about it here.

Looking for great ELL teaching ideas and resources? Check out these sites:

Colorín Colorado

British Council's LearnEnglish Kids

ESL Partyland

Stan Carey, a professional editor from Ireland, writes:

We think of balance as a good thing, associating it with poise, equilibrium, evenness and harmony, as stability in unpredictable circumstances or as a healthy mix of disparate elements. It's a versatile metaphor. We try to balance our lives by living a balanced lifestyle, holding balanced views and following, on balance, a balanced diet. We balance work and play, overtime and downtime, business and pleasure. Mostly business: we balance our books, accounts, loans, budgets and balance sheets.  Continue reading...

This Sunday's New York Times Magazine was a special issue on education, with a focus on education technology. I used the opportunity to write an On Language column that explored new theoretical approaches to language learning that are having important practical applications in the English-language classroom.  Continue reading...

Veteran Baltimore Sun copy editor John E. McIntyre writes:

When a new word pops into the language, or an old one acquires a new sense, there is a probationary period during which it either lodges itself in the language or fades away. As with electronic gadgets, the early adopters latch onto these words eagerly, the Luddites fiercely resist them, and the rest of us stand uncertainly in the middle.  Continue reading...

On Bloggingheads, Visual Thesaurus executive producer Ben Zimmer joins fellow linguist John McWhorter to talk about a wide range of language issues, from new approaches to the teaching of English to the language of "Mad Men." Watch the conversation here.