Category Archives: ESL Links

Bumpkin Country

Posted on August 30, 2008 by dowbrigade

The Dowbrigade uses an icebreaking exercise with groups of recently arrived students in which one of the categories for discussion is “One thing you really want to do before you leave Boston”. When our turn came we always list visiting … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, ESL Links, Friends and Family | 2 Comments

Scary scary costumes

Posted on November 1, 2007 by dowbrigade

Can you spot the real Dowbrigade? On Halloween (which would have been game 7 of the World Series that wasn’t) we were confronted, at the ungodly hour of 9 AM, by an apparition that would curdle the hair of any … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, ESL Links, Friends and Family | 3 Comments

Calling Adam Curry

Posted on June 24, 2007 by dowbrigade

God help us, we’re going back to England. Back to the Olde Sod, back to that deranged and diseased island which has spawned the best and the worst of modern culture, from Pink Floyd to Princess Diana. Our track record … Continue reading →

Posted in ESL Links, Latin America, Media News | 3 Comments

Don’t Quit the Day Job

Posted on February 6, 2007 by glasscastle

Haven’t been posting much lately, as a result of real, interesting work in our non-blogging existence, lack of any specific focus for our spleen or wit, and general indolence. However, any readers interested in the application of technology to higher … Continue reading →

Posted in ESL Links | 22 Comments

English as an Insulting Language

Posted on June 14, 2006 by glasscastle

They say the fastest ways to learn a foreign language are to fall in love or get sent to jail. Groundbreaking media like this are bound to put the Dowbrigade out of business, one way or another, sooner or later. … Continue reading →

Posted in ESL Links | 1 Comment

Can’t Stand the Sight of You

Posted on June 13, 2006 by glasscastle

width=”228″ height=”169″ align=”left”>They say the fastest ways to learn a foreign language are to fall in love or get sent to jail. Groundbreaking media like this are bound to put the Dowbrigade out of business, one way or another, sooner … Continue reading →

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Fetus Eating Sect in South China

Posted on April 19, 2006 by glasscastle

Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages are known for xeno-philiac eccentricity and bizarre, unstable behavior, but this is mostly due to the weird and exotic locals in which we often end up plying our trade. Be that as … Continue reading →

Posted in ESL Links | 164 Comments

So What’s Up in San Francisco?

Posted on March 12, 2006 by glasscastle

It looks like the Dowbrigade won’t be making his big presentation next week to the 40th annual National Teachers of English as a Second Language conference in St. Petersburg (Florida not Russia). We wanted to take Norma Yvonne as a … Continue reading →

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Language Arts: Buzzwords

Posted on November 28, 2005 by glasscastle

Tomorrow, we plan to introduce the following paragraph in class as part of the language component of the Science and Technology section we are currently teaching. ”Yo! It’s the buzzphrases, stupid. Is this a no-brainer, or what? What we need … Continue reading →

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Cash for Class – Paying Students to Study

Posted on July 30, 2005 by glasscastle

CHELSEA — The high school here will try a new way this fall to make students show up for school: Pay them. Under a privately funded program, students will get up to $125 a year for perfect attendance all year, … Continue reading →

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North Korea Goldmine for ESL

Posted on July 24, 2005 by glasscastle

Any day now the Dowbrigade may be looking for a new job as far off the beaten track as possible.  We are keeping our eyes, and our options, open. The following article makes North Korea sound like a promising possibility – … Continue reading →

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Mea Culpa

Posted on July 7, 2005 by glasscastle

The Dowbrigade has just finished editing, or correcting, his last student paper of the Summer One semester at a Major Boston University. Somewhat ill-advisedly, we volunteered to teach the night section of "Advanced Academic and Professional Writing." We like teaching … Continue reading →

Posted in ESL Links | 31 Comments