Survival Guides

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Introduction to Survival Guide

We’re Lindsay Clandfield and Duncan Foord; two language teachers, teacher trainers and writers based in Spain. With more than forty years’ experience between us, we also consider ourselves survivors.

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Survival Guide: Teacher’s survival kit

Lindsay Clandfield and Duncan Foord give a run-down of the ten most important tools in a teacher’s locker, plus five survival tools for mobile devices.

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Survival Guide: First classes

Prepare yourself for an influx of new students with twenty exciting activities to kick off the new term in style.

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Survival Guide: Surviving the staffroom

Have you ever worked at a school where the staff morale was terrible? Have you ever felt lonely and disconnected because no one talked to each other in the staffroom? This article takes a look at staffroom blues and offers a range of possible cures.

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Survival Guide: International TEFL qualifications

A quick guide explaining which qualifications teachers might want to get before or during their English teaching career.

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Survival Guide: EFL exams

Here is a quick guide to EFL exams to help you choose the right ones for your students.

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Survival Guide: Effective teacher body language

Do you come across as relaxed and at ease in the classroom? Or do you give off signals of nervousness and discomfort? Like it or not, your body language speaks volumes about how you feel in class.

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Survival Guide: Surviving grammar

How’s your grammar knowledge? Before you read about surviving grammar, take this short test to find out how much you know and how much grammar you are comfortable with!

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Survival Guide: Troubleshooting

Oh no! The photocopier isn’t working again … and it’s not just the photocopier! Teachers come up against all sorts of minor and major frustrations every day. Relax and take a deep breath. Our troubleshooting guide will sort everything out for you.

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Survival Guide: Using L1 in the classroom

Every language teacher has, at some point, felt guilty, puzzled and frustrated about their students’ overuse of their mother tongue in the classroom. In a monolingual context this can become quite a problem.

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Survival Guide: Surviving acronyms

The world of English language teaching (ELT) is awash with acronyms! Here’s a collection of the most common ones.

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Survival Guide: Surviving technology

We have put together a list of ten things you need to know to get the most out of technology such as the internet, computers, phones, tablets, email, apps, social networks, blogs and so on, followed by a few ideas on how to use technology inside and outside the classroom. ...

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Survival Guide: Surviving teaching in companies

Teaching English in companies can involve teachers working in an unfamiliar environment with restricted resources and a range of cultures, customs and constraints they are not accustomed to.

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Survival Guide: Professional development

Keeping yourself interested in your work and becoming a better teacher is important for you and important for your students – but it takes a bit of effort.

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Survival Guide: The emergency activity file

Some of our favourite activities requiring little or no preparation - designed to be used in a minor or major emergency!

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Survival Guide: Culture shock

Lindsay Clandfield and Duncan Foord highlight signs of culture shock and give us tried and tested tips on how to deal with it.

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Survival Guide: Surviving young learners

Jo Budden and Lindsay Clandfield delve into the world of young learners, sharing tips to help you manage your class and suggesting fun activities to try with your students.

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Survival Guide: Surviving the job interview

Here we offer support in preparing for a job interview, including practical advice, questions you wished you’d asked and, importantly, what NOT to say!

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Survival Guide: Teaching under the influence

Lindsay Clandfield and Duncan Foord ask you to consider what impact different teaching methods have had on your teaching and learning and present a brief history of EFL.