Pavilion ELT blog from Gerhard Erasmus

Marketing is key for brand awareness and attracting customers, and the growth of social media and the internet has increased the need for successful organisations to engage with digital marketing. But how can language schools, of any size, get started? In this blog, Gerhard Erasmus provides an introduction to digital marketing for language schools.

We often hear the words controlled and freer practice in lesson planning. The second P in PPP is practice. So how can we make sure we get the most out of practice in lessons? Gerhard considers what we should practice and suggests some activities.

Pronunciation is often overlooked in lessons, and some teachers even avoid teaching it if they don’t have enough support or know how. As a tutor, Gerhard is often asked how to incorporate pronunciation in writing lessons without it feeling shoehorned in. Here’s how he responds.

The end of the year is always a time to look back and reflect. Much of it will always be positive, but inevitably there may also be regrets. Whether personal or professional, regrets can cause lots of negative emotions and hold us back from reaching our full potential. So, how can we deal with regret better?

What do we mean by affordances? How can we use them to help us become more better managers or leaders? As we explore how affordances can provide learning opportunities for learning about management and leadership you will discover the answers to these questions and much more besides.

When I started in management, I dreaded having difficult conversations with parents and students. I even couldn’t sleep the night before! Experience has made conversations like that much easier, especially if we keep reflecting and learning from them.

With the new semester and new school year starting, it offers us the opportunity to have a new take on New Year’s resolutions. Here are my twelve. Simply because there are twelve months in a year. It’s another shot at trying to make those resolutions work.

It is almost inevitable that as a trainer or manager, at some point you will have to have a difficult conversation with a trainee or a teacher, or even a student! This post looks at how to approach difficult conversations and get the most out of them.

Starting off just after an initial qualification is exciting, and the thrill of being in the classroom is a great experience. For many teachers, the new insight into grammar and vocabulary continues to grow, but even for Diploma candidates, pronunciation often remains a challenge.

Whatever your role in the ELT industry, understanding exactly what service you offer and how that meets your customers’ needs is vital. But how can you do this effectively? We reveal how having a value proposition can greatly enhance your ability to match what you do to what your customers want.

They fidget. They make noises. They randomly walk around. They cannot concentrate. They underachieve. And, they drive me mad! This blog post looks at how ADHD or Tourette’s might appear in the classroom and explains ways to understand rather than control the behaviour.

Do you ever get into knots explaining the differences between similar words? Or perhaps you just focus on what the word means, and what words commonly appear with it? Gerhard looks at how to explain the subtler meanings of words via colligation and how to use it in your classes.

How many schools use inductions to get their new teachers settled in, and are they truly effective? In this post, Gerhard Erasmus discuss why we need inductions and suggests a revamped induction process with tips about ways you can adapt yours.

An important measure of success is how our success is perceived and how we decide to measure success. In his first blog post of 2021, Gerhard Erasmus looks at how to manage expectations, including the expectations of customers, students, teachers, and ourselves.

Having taught for a few years, it might be exciting to consider the freedom of going solo, working on your own and for yourself. This blog looks at how to make the decision, why you might become self-employed, what planning might be needed, and how to ensure your finances work.