English Workshop


Kiosk

An online English dictionary which I use regularly myself:  LEO

Some basic information on the history of the British Isles:
"Chronology of Great Britain" (PDF, 35 KB)

The American equivalent:
"Chronology of the United States" (PDF, 45 KB)

Planning a trip to London? Here is a unique little guide, connecting London places and sights to literary texts, some well-known, some unknown, and to appropriate illustrations.
"London Omnibus. An alternative guide to the metropolis" (PDF, 1.5 MB)


Confessions of a TEFL

The acronym TEFL has come into use as an abbreviation of Teaching English as a Foreign Language, or of Teacher(s) of English as a Foreign Language. By the same token, I assume a LEFL would be a Learner of English as a Foreign Language.

While I was a TEFL myself, I was occasionally tempted to associate with the acronym the German words "Teufel" (devil) or preferentially "Töffel" (moron), especially when my professional pride was challenged, and occasionally dwarfed, by the educational and administrative powers that be.

At any rate I feel that I owe so much of my professional routine to my colleagues and no less to my students of three and a half decades of teaching that it seems only fair to hand on at least some of it to present-day TEFLs and LEFLs.