This video is about the brain one of the mysteries that is still to be unfolded by scientists. What makes the brain so special? So mysterious? Why is it reluctant to reveal the secret of the grey matter it uses?
The video is an animation from Episode 5 of Dara O Briain’s Science Club on BBC Two.
The video can be used as a material for language learners

What is 21st century-learning. What will be our priorities? How shall we deal with learning and teaching? Will the methods have to change? What about technology?

21st Century Classroom from ISU Workforce Training

English as a global Language?
Patricia Ryan, an English teacher who has spent a long time teaching in the gulf,  asks a provocative question:
Is the world’s focus on English preventing the spread of great ideas in other languages? (For instance: what if Einstein had to pass the TOEFL?)
Patricia is a passionate defender of translating and sharing ideas. She is not against teaching English but against using it as a barrier. What if English is preventing the emergence of original ideas?
Insisting on English as an international language of research may, according to …

Conscious listening
Julian Treasure says in this video that we exercise filters when listening. According to him, we “filter out ” the less important to reach what we really pay attention to, in the following order:

Culture
Language
Values
Beliefs
Attitudes
Expectations
Intentions

Julian also states that people are losing listening skills. We are unable to really listen to what is  happening around us. It has become harder for us to pay attention to the quiet, to the subtle, the understated. Julian also stresses the importance of conscious listening because it creates an understanding. He provides exercises to train …

How to take better advantage of brain plasticity?
This is a two-minute video of author David Shenk explaining how our brain physically changes as we learn new things:
How to push yourself beyond your abilities.
How to persevere?
Who is David Shenk?
David Shenk is an American writer, lecturer, and filmmaker. He is an author of six books, including:

The Genius in All of Us (2010),
Data Smog (1997), The Forgetting (2001),
and The Immortal Game (2006),

He has contributed to

National Geographic,
Slate,
The New York Times,
Gourmet,
Harper’s,
Wired,
The New Yorker,
The New Republic,
The Nation,
The American Scholar,
NPR and PBS.

In mid-2009, he joined TheAtlantic.com as …

When I try to recall the days when I felt terribly sick, like having a flu, a stomach ache, a terrible headache, I almost always recall that it happened just after being too much stressed or anxious about something either in my professional or in my personal life. You might say that must be a coincidence.
I don’t think so.
Emotional states can affect your physical health. Often teachers suffer from illnesses that come on suddenly and literally knock them out. This happens particularly because teaching is a stressful job. It is a …

The battle of the sexes, is it a myth?
I’ve just finished reading an article bout how the world came to organize the relationship between men and women in the way it is nowadays.
If the topic of gender inequalities, sexism, patriarchy/matriarchy, etc are of interest to you, you need to read this article by Roy F. Baumeister:
Is There Anything Good About Men?

Exam Success Tips
To be successful in exams students must take into consideration factors that affect success before and during exams.  But before presenting some tips for exam success, it is worthwhile noting that success requires motivation. In fact, no real exam preparation can be undertaken by a demotivated student.
Ten Tips for Success

Students need to plan and organize in an orderly way.
They need to set preparation timetables and set measurable, attainable and realistic goals.
Each subject should be given its due importance.
Students should use mind maps, short notes summaries to revise lessons.
Previous …

What affects exam success?
There are various factors that affect success in an exam. This includes subject knowledge, exam preparation, exam practice, writing skills, use of time and attitudes towards the exam.
Subject knowledge
The better students know their subject the easier it is to succeed. Knowing the subject will help them:

Have self-confidence and reduce stress.
Manage time effectively.
Recognize what is significant. Therefore, They will understand what must be included and what can be left out
Identify links and connections between different aspects of the subject. These associations will help students have a global view …

Stress in student’s life
Being able to cope with stress makes students stand a better chance of exam success. This  would be possible only if students recognize stressful patterns of behaviour and find healthy ways of dealing with them. It goes without saying that the first thing for students to do is to recognize that they have a problem. Students face a lot of difficulties and burdens at school and in their personal life. This affects negatively their abilities if stress becomes dangerously chronic.
Realization of the problem and quick fixes
Admitting that …