Iain MacDonald
Helping children learn and grow is a powerful thing. Seeing wonder in their eyes is especially warming when they are starting to understand something new about the world.
Iain MacDonald graduated from the University of Manchester with a BEng in Chemical Engineering. He then moved to Hong Kong to pursue a career in teaching. Iain has a passion for outdoor pursuits and brings energy and fun to all of his English classes at i-Learner.
Qualifications
- BEng (Chemical Engineering) University of Manchester
- PG (Chemical Engineering) University of Manchester
Articles
Sources of Good Listening Materials
When you’re learning a language, one of the hardest skills to acquire can be good listening skills. Being able to listen, decode and understand a language spoken at a natural pace can be extremely challenging. For this reason, having a good supply of interesting, clear, and easy to understand things to listen to is a great help. Here are some great places to find listening… Read More
Science and the Wider World
I studied engineering at university. During my time there, I gained many practical skills in my engineering mathematics courses and my tortuous thermodynamics modules. However, one of the most important skills I learnt was to look at and analyse the world critically with a scientific lense. There’s no escaping science and engineering in the real world. We’re all affected daily by news stories involving the… Read More
Expanding Vocabulary through the Parts of Speech
When teaching lessons on parts of speech, I often bring along word tables (showing different forms of each word) that have blanks for students to fill in. At first, they groan at the long lists of nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs. Then they realise, the activity is like a game. Students who enjoy finding patterns love to see the links between words in the same… Read More
STEM Resources to Explore at Home
Just like my students, I once had to study for my exams. Some people learn well by repetition and memorising. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them. For me to be able to answer questions on a topic, I have to experiment until I fully understand it. There are lots of learners like me, who do better by learning a subject deeply rather than quickly. Read More
Maths Puzzles to Improve Logical Thinking
There are many ways to keep your brain active and improve your logical thinking skills. Some people love to delve into a great work of fiction and immerse themselves in a fantasy world; others are creative enough to produce fascinating works of art. One of my favourite ways to get the cogs turning is with maths and logic puzzles. These puzzles often start with a… Read More
How to Structure Revision Time
Preparing for exams should not be a last-minute rush of activity. If you think of it like self-organised homework, this helps you be more productive, get better grades, and feel less stressed. I often help my students prepare for their exams, and it’s always the ones who are organised and structured in their preparation who do best. During my own studies, I learned several useful… Read More