This website has been created for me to share my materials and my thoughts on education with whoever is interested. I spend a lot of money, time and energy on producing my materials and I would be pleased if they were of use to others.

At ENAD, my current school, teachers are expected to provide their own materials, a policy which I basically endorse. Teachers should know their classes and their students better than coursebook designers and should therefore be more qualified to produce truly learner-centred materials. Moreover, as teachers do not have to produce materials that are commercially successful in a competitive international market. They are less concerned by the so-called taboo topics such as ‘politics, alcohol, religion, sex, narcotics, -isms, and pork’ (PARSNIP) in the EFL classroom. They can pass on information of immediate interest and importance to their students and stimulate their critical thinking by dealing with controversial topics in a sensitive way. By relating their courses to the real world, they can turn them into much more than mere language courses.

As the student population at ENAD is rather unique, some of my materials differ quite a lot from conventional materials. As a general rule, the classes I teach consist of about 15 students aged between 16 and 28. Whereas some of them have only recently arrived in Luxembourg, a majority of them are Luxembourgers with a migration background. Few of them know a lot about Luxembourg as a country, its institutions and its culture. On the other hand, a lot of them are acquainted with the hardships of life. All too often their lives are marked by dreadful experiences such as financial worries, school failure, child abuse, domestic violence, illnesses and addictions. Quite a number of them have already set up their own homes, and some of them have even started families. Their educational ambitions range from becoming admissible for an apprenticeship to getting access to further studies. As for their proficiency levels in English, they vary from ‘A0’ to C1 (CEFR). I consider that describing them as mixed-ability groups as a serious understatement.

I need materials that are as diverse as my students, in other words materials for beginners, intermediate students and advanced students, materials covering a wide range of interests and topics, materials for group work and materials for self-learning. Moreover, I want to work with materials which are not only varied and entertaining, but also impart useful knowledge about Luxembourg and life in general.

When designing my materials, I make serious efforts to comply with copyright rules. I conceive most of the tasks myself and use images that have been purchased from stock photography sites or are covered by a Creative Commons Zero license. However, for the sake of authenticity, I insist on working with realia, in other words I design prompts inspired by or adapted from real sources. Unfortunately, it is enormously difficult not to infringe with copyright rules. I am simply not equipped to produce good realistic audio recordings for listening materials. What is more, I use materials and readers that are no longer published and I have no information on who to contact to negotiate copyright.