Why should we encourage bilingualism in the English-language classroom? When emergent bilingual students use their mother tongues meaningfully in classroom activity, they continue to value their home languages and cultures.

The flipped classroom or ‘flipped learning’ is something that many educators are now experimenting with. It’s a technique in which the lesson is turned ‘upside down’ with learning taking place remotely prior to contact with the teacher. Then, once the concepts have been explored by learners individually, they come to the lesson to consolidate them and/or seek clarification, so the teacher acts more as a facilitator rather than a provider of learning.

No matter if you are teaching in Timbuktu or Chicago, you will have to deal with students that are attentive, disruptive, well behaved, and some that might be better described as a bunch of monkeys. Is there a clear cut solution across the board that will work for every student? No! The solution that is available for all teachers everywhere is their ability to innovate and think creatively to help everyone learn.

Every year, thousands of teachers cross borders to teach foreign students. Some search for greener pastures while others do it for humanitarian purposes. Compared to travelling as a tourist where you are treated as a guest, it’s a more challenging task because you need to stay in a foreign country for a longer period and you are forced to adapt. Teachers can certainly experience culture shock in and out of the classroom. Here are 7 useful tips for a smoother transition into your new culture.

According to recent statistics, the number of expats in China is now over 240,000 and counting. HSBC’s Expat Explorer survey ranked China in the top 3 destinations for expats, based on quality of living standards. Moving to China might seem daunting at first, with factors such as pollution, language barrier and culture shock to take into account. However, it’s clear that China remains an attractive destination to live and work, with many teachers moving there to take up international teaching jobs.

In 2014 we launched our “Refer a friend” competition. Here was the deal: refer a friend to Teacher Horizons and get the chance to win two free flights to the destination of your choice. Over 100 teachers referred friends to us. Today we’re pleased to announce the first winners, Natacha and James.

It’s nearly a year since the marching parades on the streets of Bangkok which led to subsequent military coup taking power in May 2014.

At the time, I felt safe in my sleepy village but wondered what economic impact it would have on Thailand.

Iraq is a sometimes overlooked teaching destination which has seen more than its fair share of conflict for many years. This didn’t deter international teacher Chris Jamison, who decided to make Kurdistan his home. What is it like, and is it safe for expats? We asked Chris a few questions about his experience so far.

We strongly believe that ‘internationalising teaching’ isn’t about just working with privileged private international schools. Our vision has always been to work with a range of institutions that benefit from overseas teachers where teachers can learn and develop professionally in an international context. These organisations might be charity projects, local schools, social enterprises too – places where teachers can learn new transferable skills.

We support organisations like this in two ways. First, we offer free advertising on our website. Secondly we have committed to giving 10% of our profits to education charities in Cambodia – where our Asia office is based.

Azerbaijan might be a somewhat unconventional teaching location, but according to international teacher and seasoned expat Elaine Crawford, it’s a safe and comfortable place to work with plenty of advantages. We asked her a few questions to get the lowdown on teaching in Baku.