ELT Experiences

English Testing: Wall Street English eBook Contribution

2013-05-21T19:58:00.002+01:00

Wall Street English (WSE) in Korea have recently published my first authored free eBook aimed for language learners preparing for English examinations with some helpful tips and techniques. WSE have translated the eBook into Korean to assist understanding and knowledge for learners. I would like to say a big thank you to WSE for agreeing to publish my eBook for their learners and a big thank you for their patience. If you would like to read the eBook, it is available to download or view via Scribd.com. I have embedded both the English and Korean version for those learners or teachers that are interested. If you would like a copy emailed, please feel free to send me an email.

If you have any questions or would like to suggest a future blog post, please leave a question in the comment section below.

English Version

Korean Version

May Teacher Interview: Peter Clements

2013-05-19T21:53:00.003+01:00

Peter with a praying mantis

This month's teacher interview is with a teacher that I currently work with at LTC Eastbourne. Peter Clements has been teaching English since 2007 with experience in Yangsan, South Korea, as well as in the UK. He has worked at 4 different language schools in the UK. He is currently in the early stage of his career, but he hopes to start his next adventure abroad this coming September.

He has some very interesting takes on the language teaching and learner expectation and is a wonderful contribution to the monthly interviews. I hope Peter joins up on Twitter or starts a personal blog on his experiences in language teaching. Nevertheless, let's start with the interview!

Tell me how you got into English language teaching.

My interest in teaching English started at university. I studied modules in language teaching and learning, and undertook an equivalent to the CELTA over the summer of 2006. TEFL started off as my summer job – I used my qualification to work at summer schools during breaks in my studies. For a while I felt that secondary school teaching might be the right career path for me. I decided to do a PGCE back in 2009, but I hated every minute of it! My experiences on that course nearly turned me off teaching forever. If I hadn’t taught at a summer school that year after dropping out of the PGCE, I’d probably be in a boring office job right now... Instead I took a job on a great summer programme based in Edinburgh (ISIS Education and Travel). I loved every minute of it, and it kick-started my career as a language teacher!

Could you tell our readers about the countries you have taught in?

I’ve worked at three different summer schools in England, and I’ve spend two years working in a high school in South Korea. I’m currently teaching at LTC in Eastbourne, which offers short courses to foreign groups all year round.

You have been teaching in the UK for a short period and could you please tell me a bit more about any advantages and/or disadvantages to this?

I’d say the biggest advantage is cultural immersion for the students. You can teach students about English history, culture or customs, and they have the chance to go and explore it for themselves outside the classroom. I find students here are often highly-motivated... but then they do pay a lot to be here! I deal with groups who stay between three days and four weeks. I’d say this has its ups and downs. For shorter courses you can’t really expect a lot of improvement in their English ability, the focus is more on encouraging students to practice their speaking and to learn about British culture. For our Young Learner classes we don’t follow a particular course book, instead we do lots of task-based or topic-based learning, which can require a lot of planning for the teacher.I’d say the biggest advantage of teaching in the UK is to have mixed nationality classes. On occasions we get groups at the school who request classes with students of the same nationality, and it’s really hard to prevent them using their L1. I love it when classes are mixed – not only does it necessitate the use of English but it is a great opportunity to develop student’s awareness of other cultures.

Can you tell me a memorable activity or occurrence that has occurred from your classroom?

Actually, I had something happen recently that really made me chuckle. Our class were doing the ‘sinking ship’ scenario – the classic lesson where they have to choose which people they would save from a sinking ship and bring to a desert island to live with. They were a mixed nationality upper-intermediate class, with most students being either Austrian or Thai. I wish I had recorded some of the discussions that ensued – the Thai’s were advocating the need to save the Buddhist monk to preserve harmony on the island, whilst the Austrians insisted that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a good law enforcer and, despite his high protein diet, would be happy to agree to food rationing on the island if necessary! I’m a big fan of using drama in the classroom and allowing students to be creative. I’d really recommend any teacher flicking through ‘The Minimax Teacher’ (Jon Taylor) or ‘Being Creative’ (Chaz Pugliese) for some great student-centered activities with a creative focus. I’d say that some of my most memorable lessons have been built around concepts from these books.

It's already May but do you have any plans for the next 12 months?

I’m looking to get abroad again come September. I didn’t save any money when I lived in South Korea as I spent it all on Kimchi and bad beer. That means I need to work somewhere I can not only have a great experience, but earn a few bob too. Ideally I’d like to teach in Europe next (Germany or Spain), but I might spend another year in Asia first. I guess I have no plans really. I’m just mentioning a load of places I want to go!

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of classroom project work are?

Generally, I’d say its student centred and it involves group work which helps make things communicative. Also, with project work there can be a lot of other skills-practice apart from just learning the language – planning, problem-solving, task management, etc. You can learn a lot about your students, their characters and their learning styles by observing them during project work.A massive disadvantage to group work is that if students don’t buy into the project topic or if they aren’t interested at all in it can be like flogging a dead horse. Also, project work in groups of mixed nationality speakers can be quite a high order task for some students. You have to monitor project work well to ensure group are progressing, and support where necessary.

How would you describe your perfect student?

That’s hard to say as every student is different. I think there are some common traits I’ve noticed in the most successful students I’ve taught. They have all been self-motivated, they have all made great use of metacognitive learning strategies and they have all seemed to be able to laugh at themselves when they make mistakes. I’m actually quite a bad language learner – I get frustrated when I can’t do or say things perfectly, I hate not being able to express myself and probably take myself a bit too seriously. I really try to discourage these traits in my own students!

What advice would you give to any budding teachers keen to gain more experience abroad?

Firstly, ignore critics of the TEFL industry. I’m always meeting people who tell me that teaching abroad is a glorified gap year, or it’s for people who can’t get a real job, so on and so forth. Sure, teaching English is a great opportunity to see the world, but that doesn’t mean it will automatically be easy. Many people underestimate how difficult it can be to live for a long period of time in another country, so just be sure to give that some thought.I’m not greatly experienced in the industry compared to others, but I’ve had a fair few teaching jobs now – some of which have been dire! The best advice I could offer anyone starting out in TEFL is try to get the best you can from any teaching experience. Don’t become someone who just plods along and takes the money that some countries will throw at you as a native English speaker. Put the effort in, focus on professional development, and it can be a really rewarding job!

How would you describe your typical Korean language learner?

Shy but very respectful. I taught high school students aged 16-18 – there is a real emphasis on respect towards teachers in Korean culture, which creates a really positive environment. Its true that Korean students like to sleep a lot, but they work so hard that they need to rest!English lessons taught by Korean teachers tend to be quite didactic, so Korean learners often lack task knowledge with regards to communicative activities. Things that we might take for granted when setting up activities (like pair work or group work) can sometimes seem like an alien concept to Korean students as they just don’t work like that too often. Also, their shyness and their anxiety over making mistakes means they can often be scared to speak English. However, as with most young learners, Korean students love a bit of competition, and using games, problem solving or lateral thinking tasks in the class can bring them out of their shell a bit.Lastly, Koreans are really proud of their country. Many Korean learners I’ve encountered seem motivated to learn English as a medium through which to share their own culture with the world. This really is something that can be exploited in the classroom.

Finally, do you think there are particular nationalities which expect different things from their teachers?

Yes. I’ve been teaching a lot of Austrian students recently and they seem to expect a more formal approach to classes. I assume that they must study a heavily grammar based syllabus in their own country, as this is often their strength. They require a lot of encouragement to extend their speaking beyond the minimum amount required to ‘complete’ a task, and the purpose of an activity must be made very explicit to them. Of course, I am generalising by saying that ‘Austrians’ are like this – really I mean that this is a trait I’ve noticed in 5 different classes of 14 Austrian students all aged between 14-19, and of course some students in a class are exceptions and don’t fit with what I say. Speaking from my experience though, I’ve found Austrian students to be a little serious, quite reserved and seem to prefer the teacher to direct a class more than the students taking control.

ELT Experiences: Blogging, Teaching & Studying

2013-05-10T20:05:00.003+01:00

This blog post is a reflection for the past seven and a half years of teaching, with a couple years of blogging. I thought it would be a great opportunity to share my history and how I got into English language teaching and add this with a YouTube video for those to know a bit more about me, blogging, teaching and studying. It would be great if you could let me know what you would like me to cover for the next YouTube video and enjoy.

How I got into English Language Teaching

When I was in my final year of university, I went to the career advice centre to get some advice about employment after completing a three year degree in International Business. After receiving generic advice about going into sales or marketing and going to failed interviews and submitting my CV with numerous recruitment agencies, I decided I wanted to do something more than join the rat race and try to make a difference in something that I was really interested in: language, culture and travel. The final straw for my family and I was six months after graduating from my degree. I was in the Royal Air Force for three years and I initially enlisted to travel and see the world so I put two and two together and decided to relocate to South Korea with my family. I put all the money I had towards flight tickets and secured employment with a very small school in a rural area of Korea. Fortunately, my wife was Korean and we were able to settle into life and work quickly in Korea but it wasn’t without surprises. As I had no teaching certificate, I was branded a ‘backpacker teacher’ but I was really keen to do the best I could and learnt very quickly what worked and what didn’t. The first six months were a bit of a blur and I referred to a lot of websites and “Grammar in Use” by Murphy was my bible for learning how to teach the notions and reasons of English grammar. The ELT-related websites such as Dave’s ESL Café and ESL HQ were really helpful, particularly the forums to ask for advice. I learnt so much about teaching young learners and was keen to contribute. This was my first experience of social networking via websites.

After about twelve months of continuous teaching, I was ready to take my teaching to the next level and undertake a CELTA. I suppose the thought was “If I want to continue teaching as a career, confirm my desire and suitability of English language teaching as well as work in other countries, then a CELTA is a pre-requisite”. I researched a lot about the course and applied via the British Council in Seoul. I was invited for the interview and had to complete various tasks to ensure that I was a suitable candidate for the course. I passed the interview and, before I knew it, started the four week intensive course. My wife stood in for me at my school while I was commuting two hours to the Centre. My day started at five o’clock in the morning, then I caught a bus to the train station at six o’clock, and then catching the six thirty train to Seoul arriving in time to start at eight o’clock. It was a long day and one day I fell asleep on the train only to find that I missed my stop and had to catch the train back to my station. I went to bed at twelve, only to wake up five and start all over again. It was hard work, but well worth it.

After successfully completing the CELTA course, I felt it best to move on to a more challenging role in South Korea and applied with various other language schools. I started employment with Wall Street English in the centre of Seoul. It was wonderful and the organisation really pushed to achieve. Three months after commencing employment, I found myself in charge of teachers within a Centre and I felt more confident in my role having achieved a CELTA Certificate (quite rare in Korea). I suppose that a teaching qualification enhanced the professionalism of the industry as a whole and I had students who were keen to be taught by those that were certified. By the time I left the organisation, I was required to meet customers and business clients sometimes expected to communicate in Korean and this was when I felt my language skills were really starting to improve. It was the first time that I had really started learning a language and was keen to experience the culture. I met many friends in South Korea and was keen to communicate in Korean with friends and family. They were all very patient and helped me on my quest to enhance my Korean language skills. Unfortunately, I left Korea at a time when my linguistic ability was flowering.

Returning to the UK & Blogging

Back in early 2009, our family all returned back to the UK. It was quite a risk for our family at the height of the recession which took hold within the Europe and North America, but we bit the bullet and decided to return. After returning, I managed to secure employment with a language school in Eastbourne. I spent the next few months teaching at the school, ‘learning the ropes’, teaching multinational classes, as well as learning more about particular nationalities of learners. There was a real sense of ‘reverse culture shock’ which I experienced. I was used to taking my shoes off before I entered any rooms, bowing when entering and leaving various premises, as well as students ‘sugar-coating’ their words to keep teachers happy. I faced the entire opposite when I returned to the UK. At this point in my life, I felt that my career was a more than a short adventure and was a career which I felt passionate about. The teachers which I were working with helped with any questions that I had and I attended various workshops. I felt more and more confident with teaching and noticed that various individuals were not really networking on a physical basis but more virtually. This was about the time when I joined Twitter (although I had been a member for Facebook for a number of years). I initially called myself ‘@msketchley’ but then changed to ‘@ELTExperiences’ after realising that my name was not as important as my brand. I thought up “ELT Experiences” as a name when I was lying in bed one day thinking about Twitter and how best to use it for my language teaching. I was playing about with words such as “Experiences of a Teacher”, “Language Teacher and Experiences”, etc and it suddenly dawned on me “ELT Experiences”. It was so quick and easy to say. I remember attending the TESOL France Conference in Paris in January 2010 and someone asked me what my twitter handle was, to which I replied “@ELTExperiences”. His response was “Ohh! That sounds good!” and then I realised that the naming of my social networking was suitable.

I initially set up my blog to reflect on my MA course in English Language Teaching having decided to continue my professional development a year after arriving back in the UK. The course was more related to confidence and professionalism in the classroom as all my colleagues had a CELTA or DELTA and I felt a little under-qualified compared to my peers. Nevertheless, the first blog post was rather philosophical and I naturally found the best fit for my blogging. During my post-graduate study, I started gaining more and more interest from other ELT Bloggers as well as publishers. It was about this time that I saw that my blog was my pet, my project, my life. I gained so much interest from other teachers and was really useful when I was reflecting on my teaching. During the DELTA-equivalent course (as part as my MA studies), I was able to film myself teaching Dogme ELT and this gained a lot of interest and I decided to pursue research into the field of more unconventional teaching styles. I embraced this research: meeting other language teachers, handing out surveys and reading up on the relatively unknown subject of Dogme ELT. I had a wonderful supervisor at University who helped me and was there to share ideas, experiences and thoughts. From my research, I gained confidence to give a talk at the IATEFL Glasgow 2012 Conference and it was packed out. People had to be turned away from the door. It was such an honour to have so many people attend my talk and speak to me directly afterwards. I met so many people that I knew via Twitter or who knew my website and had some good memories.

Soon after my conference, I was back working with the British Council in Bucharest. It was a dream to work for the British Council since I was in Seoul having completed the CELTA course in Korea. I met so many inspirational people in Korea and I really wanted to work for the organisation for such a long time. I was incredibly lucky to teach in Romania my colleagues and supervisors were incredibly helpful and I continued my professional development with the Trinity Young Learner English Certificate (TYLEC) course.

The Future

I suppose when I look back at the past seven years of my ELT career, I have met so many inspirational people, been involved with so many things, met wonderful students who have gone on to bigger and better things as well as lived and worked in various countries. If someone were to ask me what I might be doing in seven years time, to be honest I haven’t the foggiest idea. I know I will continue my blogging and I would be happy to continue this to share my experiences. I would like to extend my website into something a bit more with perhaps with forums, job posts, etc but I know this is a bit of a dream and would require a bit more focus and support from those that could help. However, I know in seven years time I will be happy in the knowledge that I have achieved great things with my life and have been pleased to have helped others - whether it be my fellow teachers, students, friends or family. Where will ELT Experiences be in seven years time? Now there is an adventure!

Unplugged Recordings: Bognor Regis to George Orwell

2013-04-23T21:46:00.001+01:00

Notes from my 'unplugged' lesson. What a range of topics!

A number of weeks ago, I was asked to teach a small group of Thai adult learners. They were of an intermediate level of English and were present in the UK for a number of months. The first difficulty that I faced was trying to introduce the learners to a more 'hands-off' approach to learning English. I noticed that the learners were more used to a prescriptive style of acquiring their second language and I hoped to 'win the hearts and minds' of the students to an 'unplugged', yet more humanistic, style of education.

I looked through my first book, "Teaching Unplugged", and thought that it would take a bit of time to get them round to the more spontaneous style of teaching/learning. Thus, I decided to basically 'wean' them off the prescriptive methods of teaching towards a more interactive method of teaching. I pulled off a lot of self-made material, which had been developed from my years of teaching, and 'peppering' bits and pieces of 'Dogme' into the lessons.

During the first week, the first autonomous task set was to get the learners to introduce themselves in some form of writing based upon their weekend - much like a diary entry. The students returned at the beginning of the week with their corresponding writing about themselves and I was able to react to their language that they had produced over the weekend. It was a good opportunity to react to the language created by the learners, and scaffold suitable language/lexis. The second week involved developing more role-play (an opportunity for control yet sowing the seeds for more spontaneous conversation). This was recorded and the learners were able to listen to their role-play and make note of pronunciation issues. Again, this was recycled and pronunciation was reviewed during the week. The final week, I had the opportunity to introduce a special guest in the classroom. To prepare learners, I told the learners the day beforehand that a guest was to enter the classroom and they had to think of questions to ask this person. Some of the learners thought it was going to be me, but it turned out to be a fellow teacher colleague. The students were very surprised and were very keen to learn more about this new teacher at LTC Eastbourne (so a very big thank you to Pete for his time). The learners were given free reign over the discussion and they quizzed Peter at length of his interests, experiences, etc. Luckily, I managed to record the whole interaction and I was able to listen to this again, prior to providing feedback to the individual learners. Again, I forwarded the learners the recording so that they could listen to the speaking but I was very pleased of the results. I have never seen such a broad range of subjects being discussed during a 45 minute lesson: from Bognor Regis to George Orwell.

There is clear improvement since the initial recording from the role-play to the latest 'off the cuff' discussion with a teacher. I have embedded the latest recording so you can hear how this group on and please feel free to share recordings from your classroom.

It would be wonderful if you could add you comments to the recording as feedback to my learners. I am sure the Thai learners would be happy to hear any feedback you may have. I have started with some initial feedback but I will leave this to my readers now.

English Speaking Tests: WSI Korea Podcast

2013-04-18T19:52:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago, I was asked to record a podcast for Wall Street English (WSI Korea) for their English learners providing some advice with the speaking tasks of any reputable English test such as the FCE, IELTS, etc. It was a pleasure and an honour to develop a podcast for English learners.

I would highly recommend English learners to view the WSI Korea Podcast on iTunes and subscribe. Their podcasts are incredibly informative and offer practical tips on developing strategies to acquire and learn English.

As a reminder, I am currently taking on some ideas for my next video blog so if there is something that you would like me to talk about then please comment below or send me an email. On another note, if you are a teacher, educator or learner and would like to participate in the ELT Experiences Podcast then also please let me know.

Thanks.

Martin :-)

April Teacher Interview: Jim George

2013-04-16T20:49:00.000+01:00

It is with great pleasure to publish this month's teacher interview with a great general ELT guy. This monthly teacher's interview is with a person from Japan called Jim George. I have been following Jim on Twitter over the years and he does impart some wonderful experiences in ELT.

Apart from Twitter, you can find Jim on his school blog, Luna International, from time to time. His school blog is wonderful and occasionally, his other teachers and/or students share their experiences of teaching and/or learning English and is well worth a visit.

I don't know much more about Jim, and boy does he have some stories. So let's start with the interview without any further delay and hope you enjoy his background to ELT.

Tell us how you got into teaching.

Very much by financial & geographic necessity. Had run out of working visaes, hitch hiking/working around Australia & NZ. A trusted friend had earlier spent a year in Japan "shaking the money tree" (mid-80s) & it was that time in my travels to refill the coffers. Getting a job in Tokyo wearing fruit-picking clothes was not easy...so I got the job I deserved, which was dreadful!

Could you tell us what it is like teaching in Japan?

There are so many different kinds of "teaching" in Japan. The perception can be that it is easy, because to a certain extent any clown can still front up and call themselves a teacher (as I did) because we are native speakers. Some situations this is actually all that is needed - cheerful, fresh-faced, energetic, and the adoration that comes from students can be overwhelming - pop-star variety. Often-times the perception (students/parents/administrators) of the popularity of the teacher (entertainment) is all-important, and have very little to do with the quality of teaching (if any). In this, what the teacher looks like is also a far too important a factor. Japan is not racially diverse, and neither is the teaching gene-pool. There are also very few teachers of other foreign languages around, as the demand is just not there. It should be.

"Proper" teaching, for want of a better phrase, is a double-sided coin. You will never come across classroom management issues except with very young learners - and even then it will be enthusiasm/sugar rush rather than wanton bad behaviour. Students will always accept what the teacher says, and pretty much do as they are told. You will not be refereeing any in-class arguments or chairing a debate, be overwhelmed with over-eager learners or over-ambitious exam takers. You will see the same faces in your class week in week out and develop a bond of friendship & trust over time - in time the students will not want to change the teacher or class. Out of class/independent learning is a shock when it happens, and learners here are very reluctant to engage outside of the traditional EFL situation - table & chairs, pencil & paper (and electronic dictionary). You will have all the time in the world to consider what you will do next as the pace of classes will not be tiring.

I wish more of my students had broader horizons - ambitions to travel & experience life beyond their school clubs or 9-5 plus overtime jobs. I wish more of my students had a bit more spark & were self-motivating learners, and not tested to death in school, taught by undertrained/unworldy teachers with dreadful materials.
Can we read that as 'frustrating/could be better?'

You have set up your own school in Japan. Can you tell our readers about this experience.

I own my own school but I did not set it up; I bought it as a going concern, because at that time a foreigner setting up a business in Japan would have been prohibitively hard, time consuming & expensive. Not sure it's much easier now, and I still don't think I'd like to try. Buying a business so dependent on personality & the personal touch is fraught with risk. It does not matter how good a teacher/manager/communicator you are...you are not the person who built up the student roll, charmed parents & built up word of mouth locally. Doubly so if you are not immediately local or less than very proficient in the local language. If you are confident in what you can do, do it yourself without buying somebody else`s cast offs. Buying classes is one thing - a limited risk - but a business? Beware.

Although the school I bought was in the next city, and I had even lived within half a mile of it, I did not know quite what the previous owner had been up to. I inherited staff who were not interested, and students who were used to a different style. It was a very big jump into an unknown pool, becoming a boss/DoS/ with no training & at that time PLN. Not something you really want to be doing on the job training.

Being your own boss can be extremely rewarding, but don't delude yourself about getting rich. You are free to teach your own way, but your circle of friends will be limited to those who are not your competitors, and usually not your staff and their friends. Hiring the right people is vitally important and a minefield! Getting the wrong person can do a lot of damage that can take year(s) to recover from - organisationally & personally. The buck stops with you - are you emotionally big enough to wear that?

Tell us a bit more about your school.

We are a small, one location business these days, providing teachers (myself & one colleague) to some local schools/businesses here & there. Our core business takes place at the school, which is not far from the city's historic castle, in a nice quiet neighbourhood. Children can get here on foot/by bike, after school, which is nice. The building is an old bakery; we inherited mice. We have roomy, sunny classrooms - but the windows rattle when it's windy & always make me think 'earthquake'. We have far too many resources and not enough students to use them on; we are lucky, as we are very well looked after by publishers & are occassionally asked to pilot materials. We have also hosted a number of authors' workshops & events over the years; I have always encouraged my staff to try to develop themselves & to not be satisfied with just doing enough to get by. I want them to be ambitious for our students, and to be pushing themselves in the process.

We are one of very few Cambridge English Language Assessment (aka ESOL) Centres in the country. Candidature in Japan is woefully low, though educationally Japan is an exam-oriented nation. Just not in the right way. Too many of them; fixation on results; inappropriate materials/tasks; not well-recognised outside Japan; grammar laden/translation heavy...At Luna we aim to teach our learners in a fun, friendly environment - giving them the brain space to see how they can learn, interact with each other meaningfully. We try to choose coursebooks which are relevant & useful for them - and I do think coursebooks still have a very important role to play in the EFL classroom. Our classes are small, so we can adapt quickly. We like to encourage our learners to be creative, and I enjoy using iOS apps to enhance their enjoyment - be it cataloguing something they have done (catching a song or a project), reviewing again in a new way, or building their own version of a page eg labelling a picture of themselves.

What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of a school blog?

We use our school blog in two ways.

Firstly, for the teachers to reflect on their work. The physical act of sitting down & setting down your feelings about a lesson or an activity is a powerful tool. I try to read a lot of teachers' blogs and am inspired/in awe of the care & detail many involve. I often find the best lessons end up coming out of an abandoned lesson plan; my lesson plans are mostly sketches in any case. I like to be reactive to the students and go with them on their journey - I have an idea where we are going, but they are driving. So my postings tend to be along the lines of a mutual discovery & the surprise outcomes. I think some teachers would be in fear for their jobs if they blogged thus; I think a smart approach for a school is to ask teachers to produce A posting every once in a while (monthly?) about something positive - a project with a class, an exam result, game or a role play...as long as the author knows what the parameters are & that it is part of their professional development. So, my blog postings could really be my portfolio?

I like to encourage our students to post to the blog as well. This does take a lot of cajolling, and only really works with classes who have something to write about; graded readers are my preferred tool, and we try to get all of classes (children, as well as adults) reading as much as possible outside the classroom. The after reading exercises within are 'enough'. Posting to the blog makes them consider their audience, and gives them enormous satisfaction when there is any kind of response (even if it is just me). We have occassionally had an author respond, which has really rocked their world! A downside can be errors - the casual reader would be worried about Jim's sudden lack of coherence - or stage fright. With less confident or younger learners I often post 'on their behalf', recording their work in some way to share & show off.

Downsides? A blog is not just for Christmas - your pet needs feeding regularly! Be consistent, include useful links, reach out to other bloggers (as you do) and cite your sources/inspiration. DO be careful with privacy issues, and don't use your blog to slag other people off. And use Twitter to connect with a much larger & engaged audience.

Can you tell me a memorable experience from your teaching career?

My most meaningful & memorable teaching experiences actually happened in Thailand, working in a refugee camp for six months. The whole experience changed me, and really re-arranged my teaching antenna. I had previously spent a year and a half with mostly unmotivated, unexcited, unambitious but comparatively wealthy students. To see just how much any English skills at all could mean to these people from Cambodia, Vietnam & Laos was humbling in the extreme. I had no resources to use at all, apart from a gestetner and a serious rationing thereof, great colleagues, and overcrowded classes (no rooms - an outdoor bamboo lean to at best) with the most amazing students you could ever hope to meet. Being treated to lunch by a refugee in a camp is the biggest privilige I think I will ever enjoy. I still have the first homework my first class gave me - 'tell me about yourself'...possibly the dumbest question I have ever asked.

It is already April and IATEFL is currently the big thing this month. Are you going to and what sort of thing will you be following at IATEFL via the internet, Twitter, etc?

One of the reasons I am late with my homework for you, Martin is all IATEFL's fault! I followed it as best I could on twitter, after getting hooked on it last year - listening to Fish's plenary as a Marillion fan of yonks ago! Not a very scientific approach - especially with the time difference, but looking for cool 'new' people to follow & engage with, as well as checking out my "twitter crushes". Additionally, wanted to look for connections that will be relevant to conferences I am involved with promoting here in Japan this year - JALT PAN-SIG in Nagoya in May, JALTCALL & ER in Matsumoto in June, and the big daddy JALT Conference in Kobe in October.

My particular interest in apps & teaching younger learners - and sharing these through Scoop it, Livebinders etc.

I have found Asian students naturally quiet in the language classroom. How do you go about developing student confidence and speaking?

That is a headbanger of a question, Martin, and no silver bullet - but I am finding more "apps for that". Young children, generally no problem at all with production, but as they progress through school, all the personality & spark seems to be literally worn away - and this is a crime! But that's not your question...

I like to use any of a number of "Talking" apps - sound recorders with an animal character that repeats the speaker's words, with a different 'voice'. The app will start to repeat when there is a break in speaking. This makes students very aware of pausing, going too slowly etc and makes them determined to 'beat the app' ie get through their whole phrase or sentence in one go. No teacher interference at all! Students are their own best critics & direct all their ire at the iPod touch on the table. The free versions are enough - the paid ones allow you to save/upload to FB or YouTube etc. Students enjoy having their voices disguised, loosen up a lot.

Sock Puppets is another voice recorder type app (Thank you @shellterrell for this & many other discoveries) that I love with YL classes. I like my 30 second time limit of this app, as it makes learners really hurry up! Failing to beat the time limit again means the learners not the teacher, want to do it again - whatever it is; saying a tongue twister, acting out a mini-dialogue or story, asking & answering a mini-questionnaire eg "Can you x,y,z?"

Fotobabble works a treat with transferring written homework into speaking - I used this especially with a returnee who loved drawing & kept a diary. I'd take a picture of his art, then we'd talk about it for a minute (limit). Great portfolio builder too.

Audioboo I like to record songs, interviews, stories with. It has a longer (5 minutes) limit & you can save these recordings online/share, tag & comment on.

Tech is not the be all & end all, but the above are examples of finding a solution that looks/sounds.

The other very useful tool I have up my sleeve is my experience as a Cambridge English examiner, and the many teachers I have come across as an examiner trainer. Not so useful in getting reluctant students to talk (though you do learn not to leap in to the rescue at the first sign of a premature stop), but a fabulous eye-openner on how important my daily in-class job is to help my learners be capable of functioning outside my classroom - one where their teacher will not know what their idiosyncratic micro-gestures mean, what their L1 discourse management means etc. Very important to be aware of the bigger picture.

How would you describe your perfect teacher?

Wow. So many different answers, depending on your view point. Mums want an attractive young man with nice hair. Businessman want their manga fantasy girl. Children want someone goofy that has an endless stash of games or will let them play Uno for an hour. Managers want someone who turns up on time, already has a visa & won't upset the neighbours. How come so many Irish teachers don't have a driving licence? I want a CELTA with European experience who kids love & scrubs up nicely for a business class; fab colleague to share ideas with & be inspired by. Must be able to dance (summer festival), shovel snow, fix the photocopier, read a map, use social media purely for the benefit of my school. Be able to understand enough Japanese to get by but not use any in class. Not be on medication but enjoy a pint, have external interests but be willing to teach any/every class at the drop of a hat. Be charming, bright and engaging, and teach classes I can be jealous of. Be sensitive to the learners, listen to them, and pick up my vibes!

I've been very lucky - sometimes - we have enjoyed some really fine people with an eclectic blend of the above 'teaching' faculties! As with any other school owner though, plenty of misses too.

What advice would you give teachers who are starting on their teaching career?

Get a CELTA.

After that, do your homework & use social media to find horror stories (if there are any) about employers/countries/agents. Take your time & use a reputable website eg TEFL.com to find a job. Ask difficult questions before you go anywhere. Be bothered to write a proper cover letter for each job application.

And use to twitter to start building a network of ideas/resources/people. Your own staff room.

Finally, what are your plans for the rest of the year?

I really wanted to go & see the British & Irish Lions play at least one test in Australia again - saw the 3rd test in Sydney 12 years ago, brillant sea of red put the cousins firmly in their place. That won't be happening!

Will be working through conference programme scheds (see above) to deliver a barage of targetted/timed tweets; going to use Tagxedo for that. Hopefully Foursquare & other web 2.0 tools to enhance the venues, & run live twitter feeds within the venues.

June 1-2 Shinshu Chapter of JALT (my local) hosting the JALT CALL/ER Conference & very excited about the unique welcome party we are planning at the castle.

Other than that, examiner training in Nagoya this weekend, and beautiful Yamagata city in July. Hoping we can welcome back some colleagues from the Tohoku region, after the various experiences they have been through since March 11th 2011.

Big issue looming for us is moving the school at the end of the year. We have a miserable landlord - not a reader, I trust - who has made the last two and a half years pretty grim. Looking forward to finding cheery new premises, but not the actual shift! Anyone want to help shift all our books & furniture?

Jim George
Luna International (owner)

Cambridge ESOL Centre JP004
Team Leader

Shinshu JALTPR Chair

Kyuboshi BldgMetoba 2-3-5Matsumoto cityNagano prefJapan 390-0806
Tel/fax 81 + (0)263-34-4481

"Innovations in English Language Teaching to Migrants and Refugees" by British Council

2013-03-23T13:04:00.002Z

A number of months ago, I was at the British Council in London for a seminar and asked to write a book review for the latest "Innovations in ..." series. The "Innovations in ..." series which was published in 2012 focuses on the teaching of migrants and refugees with various case studies. It is an interesting book and I would highly recommend this for those teachers which have an interest or involved in EAL or ESOL. You are able to read my latest review below. You can find more information about the "Innovations in English Language Teaching to Migrants and Refugees" at the following website. You will also be able to download a PDF version of this book from the link provided above.

NN Spring 2013 (Book Review)

Again thank you to Mike Harrison for his help and support in getting this book review included in the latest NATECLA News.

Lesson Idea: Money Idioms

2013-03-13T17:24:00.000Z

Level: Pre-Intermediate +
Primary Focus: Money Idioms
Secondary Focus: Awareness of Money and Cost
Main Activity: Gapfill and Discussion
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes (depending upon level)
Key Language: pay through the nose, cost an arm and a leg, cheapskate, loaded, bring home the bacon, make ends meet, pour money down the drain, tighten (someone's) belt, loaded, bread and butter

The other week, I prepared material on Money Idioms in response to a lesson that I was teaching to adults. Their main teacher taught vocabulary associated with money and the theme in the coursebook was related to money and shopping. I have found that this topic is quite common in coursebooks with various listening and speaking activities. The learners which I was teaching last week were Pre-Intermediate learners and their coursebook is a newly published book. Their main teacher is half-way in the book but I thought I would consolidate their learning and introduce them to more colloquial language through the use of money idioms. It was the first time that I had taught money idioms and it is usually more reserved for Intermediate and Upper Intermediate learners.

Staging:

The first thing to do is to generate interest and activate learner schema by introducing the theme of money and shopping. I would recommend that teachers write a couple of questions on the board for learners to discuss or to respond to with the teacher directing the questioning. Write the following questions on the board:

What was the last thing you bought?
Have you bought anything online before? If so, what have you bought?
"Money is the most important thing in the world". What do you think of this statement?
Which is more important health or money? Why?

Monitor learners' language and scaffold correction or lexis where appropriate. Provide some feedback. There might pronunciation, collocation or grammar issues so correct when required.
The next stage is to introduce learners to the money idioms and it is best to write an example sentence is context (i.e. a direct quote): "My friend bought a new car the other day and it cost an arm and a leg". Underline the idiomatic expression and elicit from learners what they think it might mean. If they are unsure, provide the meaning on the side of the board. Go through each of the idioms with the learners and try to
Hand out the Idiom Matching exercise to the learners and get learners to match idioms to their corresponding definitions. Let learners work alone and then compare together in pairs, then finally check all together as a class (answers are below):

Pay through the nose: to pay too much money for something.
Cost an arm and a leg: to pay a lot of money for something.
Bring home the bacon: to earn money for your family to live on.
Cheapskate: a person who does not like to spend money.
Make ends meet: to earn just enough money to be able to buy the things you need.
Pour money down the drain: to waste money.
Tighten (someone's) belt: to spend less money because there is less available.
Bread and butter: a person or company's main source of income.
Loaded: very rich.

After the matching exercise, get learners to create their own sentences using the idiom expressions. Use the example sentence (mentioned before) as a suitable sentence. Let learners to work in pairs so that they are able to help each other. Write up some of the student generated sentences on the board and either correct or use as other examples.
The next part of the lesson is to get learners to fill in the gaps with the second handout (Money Idioms Gapfill). Let learners complete the activity by themselves before checking their answers in pairs or groups. Just monitor and support where necessary.
The final stage of the lesson is to develop conversation about money and shopping by allowing learners the opportunity to incorporate the new language within a spoken context. Either write the questions below or get students to generate their own questions on the board.

Board work from the lesson after students create their own sentences.

What was the most expensive thing you have ever bought?

What is the average salary in your country?
Who do you often go shopping with?
What do you normally save money for? Why?
How many credit cards to you have? Why?
What do/don't you like spending money on? Why?

Monitor the class during the discussion and make a note of any language that emerges for correction or reviewing at the end of the speaking.
A final activity, if time permits, could be comparing the costs of different things (milk, bread, butter, coffee, etc) in the UK compared to the learners' home country/countries. It provides additional discussion if you are looking for a filler. If you are based abroad teaching English, you could get learners to complete a web-style quest to find the cost of particular items in the UK and then report back at the end of the class.

The materials for the lesson are available below but if you are unable to download them or you have problems guessing the answers for the gapfill, please feel free to email me.

Money Idioms Matching

Money Idioms Gapfill

Blog Competition: Easter Lesson Plans

2013-03-06T11:07:00.002Z

It is with great pleasure to announce a the first ELT Experiences Blogger Competition in association with Mary Glasgow Magazines. Bloggers have an opportunity to win free annual subscription with Mary Glasgow and their successful magazines for language learners. In order to have a chance to win free subscription, bloggers will need to write a lesson plan or blog about an Easter activity which you developed for class.

For bloggers to be considered for this competition, you should provide a link in the comments section below. The competition is open for March 2013 and it will close at the end of the month ... so best to get your thinking caps on now. Blog posts should include ideas associated with Easter and language learning. These could include lesson ideas/plans, classroom projects, etc. So how do you celebrate Easter in your country? Can you create a lesson plan to introduce Easter in your part of the world and include any photos? Are you able to incorporate culture in your lesson plan? Did you know that in America, kids usually eat Jelly Beans® rather than Easter Eggs? There was a lesson plan included in past issue of Mary Glasgow Magazine below:

Mary Glasgow Magazine: Easter in America by Martin Sketchley

All five winners will win annual subscription to all English magazines from Mary Glasgow, while the top winner will win annual subscriptions to the magazines, a poster and a special mention in a newsletter.

March Teacher Interview: Janet Bianchini

2013-03-03T11:14:00.003Z

Janet Bianchini

I am really excited this month to introduce a teacher who has is quite prominent in the world of language teaching via her blog and her Twitter. When I was thinking of starting to blog about my experiences of language teaching, I came across her blog and then I made my mind up to start my own blogging. In the early years of blogging, I paid close attention to her posts and I am quite honoured to have this teacher volunteer for this month's interview.

Janet Bianchini is currently living in Italy but has continued her links with The Lake School of English in Oxford. She has been a teacher for 34 years now with experience in the UK, Spain, Mallorca as well as East Germany. She has also left the UK to move to Abruzzo, but is able to teach for Lake School when she returns and also supports the Consultants-E as an online teacher and moderator. There are a range of other sources where you can view Janet's online contribution:

Janet's Abruzzo Edublog
Janet's About.me Page
Fluffy's Blog
Comic and Cartoons (Scoop.it)
Janet's Slideshare
Janet's Fun with Phrasal Verbs

So without any further hesitation, let's start the interview.

Tell me how you got into English language teaching.

Fluffy the cat

I had originally wanted to be a flight attendant for British Airways after leaving school but sadly I did not pass the entrance criteria because I was too short! I am just under 5 feet, and you needed to be at least 5 feet 6 inches tall in those days, so my application was turned down. My dream was to travel and see the world… Once I had finished my French and Italian degree at Leicester University, I decided the best way to learn another new language was to teach EFL there. I got accepted for a teaching post in Madrid with my degree, and no teaching qualifications whatsoever. I soon realized, however, that solely teaching from the company’s set books and nothing else, was a bit limiting. I decided to do a one year, full-time PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate in Education) specializing in EFL / ESL. My five-week Teaching Practice was in Mallorca. I taught in a secondary school and taught classes of up to 40 students. The PGCE opened up a whole world of opportunities for teaching abroad, and that’s what helped me get into English language teaching. After all my travels, I finally settled down to teach for over 20 years at the Lake School of English, Oxford. This is where I developed fully as a teacher and teacher trainer, and I learned a lot of the skills I have now. It was a wonderful time of my teaching career, with an excellent support network and great facilities. I am so lucky that I can still teach there, whenever I go back to England.

You have taught in a number countries, haven't you Janet? Could you tell our readers about the countries you have taught in and what has been your favourite?

As I mentioned above, I taught in Madrid for one year, and I enjoyed that experience for the cultural aspects and the friendly people I met. I felt I didn’t really know much about teaching but I managed to get by. I then went on to teach at the Technical University of Dresden, in the German Democratic Republic. This was a complete eye-opener for me and I saw how the GDR citizens lived in a repressive regime. However, students and friends managed to have an excellent social life and as a result I enjoyed myself very much. The teaching was mostly Beginner / Elementary level and classes consisted of specially chosen people who were going to be allowed to travel abroad on GDR business. I wrote a guest post for Ken Wilson’s blog called Living and Working behind the Iron Curtain. Link here:http://kenwilsonelt.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/living-and-working-behind-the-iron-curtain/I then went on to teach in a tiny village in Fuerteventura, in the Canary Islands for a whole year. That was indeed like living in paradise – sun all the year round, beautiful sea, freshly caught fish for barbecues on the beach, lots of fiestas every weekend in local villages, and a wonderful social life. I made lots of friends with the locals, most of whom I taught English. I even taught German lessons to groups of children, and that was a real challenge for me, but fun. From the Canary Islands, it was on to Patras, Greece. I fell in love with the country, the people, the language, the food and the traditions. I lived there for 3 years, teaching all levels and groups, in particular Cambridge FCE. I also took my Greek “O” level and passed. I was able to communicate quite well by the time I left, but sadly it has almost all gone now.I can honestly say that I enjoyed my time in all of these countries due to the lovely people, students and schools that I had the pleasure of working for.

You have a successful blog on language teaching. Please tell us more ... and could you tell our readers the advantages and disadvantages of blogging?

I have been writing my Janet’s Abruzzo Edublog since 2008, and I celebrated my 4^th anniversary last November. I had never thought of blogging until I came across some information for a short two-week online Blogs’ course run by the Consultants-E. I attended the course, (which I myself tutor on now), and this was the catalyst for me starting my main blog. It’s a mix of personal and educational posts and I enjoy writing it.The advantages are I get to keep up to date with other bloggers and educational trends via my RSS feed in my sidebar, and I have met many teachers online as a result of the comments I have received and also from posts that I have read from different bloggers, such as yourself, Martin! Also, writing a blog has made me think critically about how and what I teach, and it is useful to have all my thoughts and lesson ideas in one main area, for ease of reference.The disadvantages of blogging? I can’t think of any, bar the fact that I wish I had more time to focus on writing more posts!!

Can you tell me a memorable activity or occurrence that has developed from your classroom?

I have always enjoyed using images in my lessons, and over the past few years, I have become very interested in exploiting comics and cartoons. I have found that students tend to be keen on creating their own comics using the many free sites that are available. I created a short presentation called Fun with Comics and Cartoons for a Teach Meet International e-conference last year, and I have outlined some ideas for how to use them:http://www.slideshare.net/JanetBianchini/fun-with-comics-a-mini-presentation

Could you tell us why you moved to Italy and what it is like teaching in this country?

I moved to Italy with my husband Karl in order to experience a different lifestyle from the hectic life in a city. We wanted to live in the countryside, and have a bit of land and some animals. My parents are originally both from Abruzzo in central Italy, so this area seemed a natural choice to begin our hunt for a house here. We were thrilled when we saw the house of our dreams online. We have a 10-year plan to do renovations, and I can’t believe 5 years have already passed and there is still so much to do!!Due to family circumstances in the UK, I don’t currently have a teaching job in Italy but I keep myself busy with various online projects, thereby allowing me to be at home, which is ideal.

The first few months of 2013 have passed by (albeit it a bit too quick), but what are your plans for this year?

I’d like to be happy with whatever comes my way, maybe do a few more online courses to learn something new.I have just completed the EVO Digitalstorytelling4kids session and that was an enlightening experience. I had the opportunity to create some collaborative digital stories with other course participants and it was good to see how I felt from the viewpoint of a student doing such exciting projects.We have approximately 90 olive trees at the moment, and hopefully we’ll get a good crop of olives this year, as last year was very bad. I love using our homemade olive oil when cooking. Tending to the olive grove is an enjoyable pastime, and we would like to have 100 trees in the future.

Do you think there is a place for L1 in the classroom?

Yes, in small doses and depending on the situation. I taught monolingual classes for a number of years in the various countries I lived in, and in some cases, I allowed the use of L1, for ease and clarity of purpose. On the whole, I do prefer Direct Method and it has always been successful. I taught this method (and still do) for over 20 years with groups of multi-lingual students whilst working in Oxford for the Lake School of English.

How would you describe your perfect student?

One who listens carefully, is willing to make mistakes, accepts corrections, is independent, interacts in general with other students, and most important of all, has a keen desire to learn as much as possible.

What advice would you give teachers who find their teaching more of a chore?

Take time out, if it is possible in order to recharge one’s batteries, try to connect with other teachers who can provide a supportive network. I wrote a guest post for OUP ELT Blog called Renew the Passion, and Go with the Flow. It contains a few tips which may be of interest: http://oupeltglobalblog.com/2010/06/18/renew-the-passion-and-go-with-the-flow/

Finally, you are involved with the Consultants-E so are you able to tell us a bit more about your role with this organisation?

I have been involved with the Consultants-E since 2008, when I did some online courses with them. I liked the way the courses were run so efficiently, and I became hooked on e-learning from then on. This led me to do some online moderation projects run by and on behalf of the Consultants-E, which I enjoy tremendously. I am currently the tutor on the March E-Moderation course.

ELT Experiences eNewsletter: Article Submissions

2013-02-27T14:22:00.000Z

Hello to all my readers. Earlier this year I decided to look at creating an eNewsletter and I initially thought about a spring release but as this year has suddenly jumped upon us, I believe that a summer or an autumn date is more suitable.

To give some idea with regard to the content of the eNewsletter, I thought I would write this short blog post to provide some ideas for potential submission. The current layout for the eNewsletter includes the following content:

Voices of Experience (an extension of the monthly teacher interviews with about two or three teachers interviewed for the eNewsletter)
Thoughts and Reflections (general articles related to teaching methodology and pedagogy, experiences from the classroom, technology, etc)
Book Reviews (reviews of newly published or more established books suitable for different teachers)
Lesson Ideas (some lesson ideas or activities to share other readers, etc)
Best Blog Bits (I will be reading blog posts from the web)
Jobs and Careers (some job advertisements: currently looking for submission for jobs or general advice about working in particular countries)
Events and Workshops (a summary of future ELT related workshops, seminars and conferences)

As mentioned before, I am looking for articles and submissions related to any of the above topics/chapters. I am also looking for images (which will be referenced) for the eNewsletter. If you believe you have a wonderful picture which represents each topic, then please get in touch. If you would like to submit an article or provide an image, you are more than welcome to contact me.

If you have any questions, then please leave a comment below.

February Teacher Interview: Lusine Avetisyan

2013-02-13T01:34:00.000Z

Hello to all my readers. I would like to wish all my valuable readers a wonderful New Year ... a Lunar New Year that is. It is now the Year of the Snake and what better way to kick start this Lunar New Year than with another monthly teacher interview, this time with a newly qualified teacher. This teacher is Lusine Avetisyan. She has been quite active with the CELTA Facebook Group, which I set up a number of years ago in response to the CELTA Course that I undertook at the British Council in Seoul. I was so moved by my experiences, that I wanted to continue with correspondence with those candidates from the course and this was a response with the founding of one such group. It has now grown to over 1,200 members and Lusine was one particular member who was keen to answer some questions for this month's blog post. Nevertheless, "Who is Lusine?" I hear you ask.

Lusine Avetisyan is a newly certified English language teacher having recently completed the CELTA Course from Armenia. She currently holds a BA in Foreign Languages, a graduate from the State Teacher Training University of Armenia, as well as undertook General and Business English courses from St Giles International based in London. Her interests include languages, travelling, reading and cooking. She also mentions that she loves photography.

So ... let's get down to the questions about her experiences of teaching.

Tell me how you got into teaching.

It was always funny how I never imagined myself in a teaching career even though I was studying at the State Teacher Training University at that time (2006-2010) unless right after the graduation. I felt I missed something and that was the communication with learners, the strong wish to pass my gained knowledge to others in need of it. I had internships at local schools and other educational institutions, as well as working for my old school for one year on voluntary bases then and ... I just loved it! My biggest step after in my career was the employment as a language instructor at one of the most important organisations in the country from where my actual EFL teacher story began.

I don't know anything about Armenia. Could you tell our readers about the country and potential teaching opportunities?

Well ... Armenia is a small Christian country that connects Europe to Asia. It the third largest state in the Near East after the Roman Empire over 2000 years ago. Now Armenia is a modern country with nice and talented people, ancient history, historical monuments, traditional hospitality, delicious food, and beautiful nature. RA is a member of the United Nations, Council of Europe and other international organisations. As for teaching opportunities, being a developing country Armenia is getting more and more connected to the outside world, hence the knowledge of English is getting very important in international relations and business, as well as to be a part of today’s English speaking public. With the requirement of language awareness, teaching is becoming very much in demand nowadays. Consequently, language schools are growing like mushrooms!

Before you completed your CELTA Course, you were teaching as a language instructor for the Ministry of Defence in Armenia. Could you tell me a bit more about your prior CELTA experience?

My teaching period at the Ministry of Defence of RA gave me an introduction to life as an EFL teacher. The job was quite challenging since I was dealing with officials holding important roles in the country. I had 3 groups of students with a maximum of 14 students in each. I grew professionally along with each lesson, my materials became more achievable, my lessons got more enjoyable and my students became much better familiarised with the language. The positive results each time gave me the motivation for the upcoming lesson. I absolutely loved teaching there. Being though not familiar with CELTA methods yet, I used to have more traditional approaches to teaching which considerably changed after I took the course in UK and started to follow its advantageous teaching policy. At the moment I conduct my lessons based on the CELTA.

Having recently completed the CELTA, what advice would you give other potential CELTA candidates for the course?

My advice to the candidates would be as follows: forget all your social and private lives for that short period in order to be completely devoted to the course, since it's really challenging with the massive potential and input on you as an EFL teacher. Be ready for lots of self-study, team-work, and more importantly be open to feedback. The effort is definitely worth the incredible results!

What is the most memorable thing that has occurred during your teaching career within the classroom?

You know there are students with behavioural difficulties at times (not always, luckily). There we go, I remember having my, so far one and only classroom crash at the earliest days of my teaching career when I was standing in front of the class so speechless and unfamiliar with how to deal with similar situations. Fortunately, I handled it well after a while! This served a great lesson as a starter in causing me to do the relevant research on similar cases. Though there are many more fun experiences in the classroom, like being the teacher of a group of doctors so curious to learn every word about body parts!

Do you have any classroom or teacher related New Year resolutions or plans for this year?

Oh yes! This year is going to be fully devoted to teaching – I am planning to get as deep in the field as possible with the relevent work and exchange programmes. So far it's going smooth and according to the plan.

What do you think are the potential benefits and drawbacks for teacher-centred lessons?

After the CELTA my opinion on this differs hugely to what it was before. I attach much importance to interaction. To my belief, teacher-centred lessons have got more disadvantages than the opposite since students study and enjoy the language when they are encouraged to use it as much as possible and to be able to resolve the language barriers on their own (of course with supervision of the teacher). This gives them the feeling of achievement, whereas teacher-centred lessons may build walls for the students to talk and the chance for them to be a natural user of the language gets less and less. Even though in the earlier years of a teacher-centred policy being adopted, which still is strong in most places in my country, I strongly stand for the former - lessons should be student-centred with the supervision and right monitoring of the teacher.

How would you describe your perfect classroom?

My perfect classroom naturally has got the image filled with all study related aids but because I am familiar with the negative sides of technology and how it can let the teacher down, I prefer making use of mostly the basic tools with the whiteboard being my first best assistant.

Finally, what advice would you give to newly certified teachers that have just completed their course?

Teachers that have been newly qualified should use every possible opportunity to put their knowledge into practice. Use it or lose it, that’s how it works. Do lots of research. The sooner you start grabbing something and working, the better and more confident you will get in teaching. Even if it’s voluntary, paid or not, just give your best and always plan and conduct your lessons as nicely and thorough as you did during your CELTA course.

Thank you Lusine for participating in the interview and I wish you the very best of luck for your future teaching career. It is very interesting to hear your views on interaction and a student-centred classroom. Next month, we have a very special interview so keep your eyes peeled. It is really going to be a great interview and I am sure you will really like this special guest for next month. I will let you know who the special guest interview is nearer March 2013. Anyhow, best of luck with your teaching this year and if you have any additional questions you would like to ask Lusine, then add your questions in the comments below. Finally, I haven't forgotten my lesson plans for this year ... I am just taking a break from creating classroom resources for the time being but I will be back with some more resources to share later in the year (having promised myself to focus more on my teaching and less on blogging) ... but, as Terminator mentioned in the movie, "I'll be back" to blogging about lesson ideas in the near future after a little rest and recuperation.

ELTChat Summary: Spoken Narratives and Anecdotes in the Language Classroom

2013-02-05T20:35:00.003Z

Kittens in a box © ELTPics

As I enjoyed writing up a previous #ELTChat summary on the use of surprise in the classroom, I decided to volunteer to write up another summary for the Twitter discussion group. On the 19 December 2012, the discussion group #ELTChat decided to focus on the use of spoken narrative and anecdotes in the language classroom. Upon tackling this discussion, many tweets initially questioned whether teachers incorporated anecdotes in the classroom. Some tweets suggested there was a mixed response:

TEFLGeek: Yes, anecdotes have featured in my classes / No, not as a lesson focus per se.

LizziePinard: Good question - does anyone do it? I have - it works well with learners who enjoy speaking (e.g. Spanish).

Shaunwilden: Guess i am the same mainly used to for another purpose rather than be the whole lesson.

TheTeacherJames: Anecdotes are a fundamental part of conversation and small talk, so I guess I encourage them without realising it.

MarjorieRosenbe: I tell stories and anecdotes all the time.

At this point in the conversation, other contributors agreed that they provided anecdotes in the classroom and TheTeacherJames suggested that anecdotes were ‘bottom-up’ rather than ‘top-down’ and that these anecdotes or jokes were associated with a ‘natural’ context instead of a ‘traditional’ classroom. Towards this part of the discussion, some teachers shared their experiences of anecdotes in coursebooks:

TEFLGeek: Anecdotes feature prominently in the Inside Out series, but I haven't used that since Poland (six years ago).

LizziePinard: think also in Natural English Upper Int there's a bit.

One point raised during the discussion related to teachers unwilling to incorporate anecdotes in the classroom due to teacher talking time, whilst another contributor suggested that teachers could encourage students to share anecdotes. It is assumed that 'teacher talking time' is related to the quantity which teachers are speaking, thereby curbing 'student talking time' but I guess the point is related to 'quality talking time'.

David_Boughton: Are we too discouraged to tell stories now that we are obsessed with lowering teacher talk time?

JennyJohnson10: and do we mean students anecdoting away? or teachers - seems to be what has been mentioned so far.

One contributor rose to Jenny’s assertion that most of the ELTChat focused solely on teachers providing anecdotes with their experience of getting students to share anecdotes during the lesson. However, there was one point raised that considered the other learners in the classroom if a learner was sharing an anecdote.

BobK99: I used to get student to tell anecdote and record it. The we'd play it back, both (1:1) commenting/discussing/improving.

TEFLGeek: biggest problem with sts telling anecdotes is getting other sts to listen. One st speaking to class can be boring for others.

Another contributor highlighted that sharing anecdotes could forge rapport with the learners in the classroom. It would also suggest that this ‘slipping off the cloak’ of a teacher would humanise the classroom and that ‘natural’ based lessons would encourage this ‘bottom-up’ focus and one good way to generate rapport and humanism in the classroom is to incorporate anecdotes in the classroom.

Steven_odonnell: my own anecdotes in the classroom let me slip off the cloak of being a teacher and become human, forging rapport with ss.

TheTeacherJames: Yes, telling anecdotes is a great way to build rapport. Breaks down barriers, makes you more accessible and real.

Nevertheless, one question raised during the discussion is what to do with teacher or learner focused anecdotes. Some of the contributors to the discussion provided some interesting lesson ideas, with some ideas suggestions that pair-work or pyramid conversation is more beneficial than one learner sharing an anecdote to the class.

MarjorieRosenbe: Do it in small groups - have them do it as snowball effect and repeat last one they heard, etc.

Annabooklover: One solution to this is to pair them up! Then there is also more effective use of time.

TEFLGeek: I do use pairwork a lot! But I think there needs to be a structure around the anecdote.

MarjorieRosenbe: Getting ideas here - maybe give out 'secret' words and they have to listen for them in anecdote. Will try it and let you know.

There was a wealth of ideas for using anecdotes during a lesson without much indication towards ‘dictagloss’ and had direct experience of telling an anecdote to a group of university lecturers about picking up the wrong passport when travelling to Romania. Travel problems were mentioned during the discussion as potential anecdotal material:

GetAheadinEng: Anecdotes about travel problems always worked well when teaching at a school in central London!

MarjorieRosenbe: Also anecdotes about travel problems or worst presentations ever seen.

At this point in the conversation (which focused solely on speaking practice for learners and teachers sharing experiences), it was directed towards using anecdotes as listening material.

TheTeacherJames: We've talked a lot about anecdotes as a form of speaking, but how would you use them as a listening activity?

OyaJimbo: As L activity, draw the map or connect characters, events, timeline it.

MarjorieRosenbe: Like I mentioned - have them listen for 'secret' words or give oral summary and pass on to others.

ShaunWilden: Isn’t understanding the anecdote evidence of listening?

This naturally progressed to the checking of understanding, with some suggestions such as ‘dictagloss’, grammar dictation, or ask leading questions “What would you have done?”, etc. Towards the end of the ELTChat discussion, one lesson idea was for teachers or learners to tell an anecdote and get learners to guess whether they were true or false with one final idea to steal an anecdote if it was better than yours:

Jo_Cummins: Has anyone mentioned the 'truth, truth, lie' game? Good for anecdotes...

TheTeacherJames: Yes, I like the idea of a mingle where you can steal someone elses anecdote if it's better than yours.

Unfortunately, this was the end of the ELTChat discussion. To top it off, there was a wonderful suggestion for a lesson idea or further reading to consider when referring to anecdotes in the classroom. I have added two additional books which I consider suitable for getting those learners to talk. Finally, it was a relief to see that there was no mention of Dogme ELT in the talk and a conversation-driven approach to anecdotes but "Teaching Unplugged" would be a wonderful source for those looking at ideas to develop anecdotes in the lesson for use during classes. Again, a big thank you to all those at ELTChat for giving me the opportunity to write up this summary and it is over to my readers:

How do you use, or have you ever used, anecdotes in the classroom?
What is the advantages/disadvantages of anecdotes during the lesson?
How could teachers develop anecdotes for (future) lessons?
Are there specific classes which anecdotes are more suitable for?

Further Reading
Thornbury, S. (2005) “How To Teach Speaking”
Klippel, F. (1985) “Keep Talking: Communicative Fluency Activities for Language Teaching”
Ur, P. (1981) “Discussions That Work: Task-centred Fluency Practice”

Lesson Ideas
Marisa Constantinides “True Story Worksheet”
Martin Sketchley “The Wrong Passport”

January Teacher Interview: Adam Simpson

2013-01-16T09:56:00.000Z

I hope my readers had a wonderful Christmas and all the best for the New Year. I made a few resolutions for this year which I will save writing about for another blog post. Nevertheless, the first blog post of this month is for the monthly Teacher Interview. The interview is with Adam Simpson who some may notice from Twitter, Facebook or his wonderful blog "Teach Them English". There is some information about Adam below:

Adam has been fortunate enough to spend the last twelve years of his journey as a life long learner working with others in what some call the ‘language classroom’. He is currently privileged to have the opportunity to help young adults meet their educational goals at Sabanci University in Istanbul. His professional interests include flexibility within the curriculum and the considered use of technology in the classroom. He occasionally finds time to blog about his life: www.teachthemenglish.com

So ... let's start off the year with the very first Teacher Interview for 2013.

Tell me how you got into teaching.

A couple of factors got me into the game. Firstly I got into ELT by following what could be called the traditional rite of passage: I was traveling around and it seemed like a good way to start earning some money. Actually, I don’t want to come across as one of those backpackers who ended up getting stuck doing this job. Basically, I was in Istanbul and decided I wanted to stay on a fairly permanent basis. My degree was only going to get me a very poor entry level position if that, so teaching English was the only viable option for a liveable wage.

Which countries have you taught in and which has been your favourite so far?

I’ve only ever taught in Turkey. Twelve years and counting…

You are quite prominent on Twitter and also run quite a successful blog. What do you see are the benefits, as well as the drawbacks, for teachers who try to gain presence online?

Blogging has totally reinvigorated my career. By having to write something worthwhile for my blog, I had to do something good in class. By doing new things in class I had more opportunities for reflection. These reflections fed into classroom research which led to conference presentations, better lessons and a greater involvement in my students’ learning. These in turn have led to more blog posts, and so on. It has been one giant virtuous circle, which has seen my teaching improve through the action of regularly share my teaching with the wider community.

What is the most memorable thing that has occurred in your teaching career within the classroom?

On the last day of every class I write each person’s name – mine included – on a piece of A4. I tape these to the walls and then require every person in the room to write something nice about each other. Please consider doing this, as it’s a magical experience. The papers I’ve collected with students comments about me are my prized possessions.

It is now 2013, so Happy New Year. Do you have any classroom or teacher related New Year resolutions or plans for the next twelve months?

How many do you want! Let me try and focus on a few that might get your readers thinking about what they intend to do with their teaching in the coming year. I set myself a number of targets for this year back in September.

Present at local conferences
Consider specific aspects of my teaching and how I might develop them
Interact with my colleagues more with regards sharing ideas about teaching
Learn new stuff

1) Last year I was fortunate enough to go to both TESOL Arabia and IATEFL in Glasgow, so this year I’ve decided to stick to Turkey and aim to go to five or 6 conferences over the course of the year. So, how am I going to realise this ‘dream’? Firstly, I joined ELT related Facebook groups. There are loads of them now and you can hardly avoid them; many post conference announcements from time to time. Secondly, I signed up to Conference Alerts, an excellent website which enables you to receive a monthly email detailing conferences tailored to the keyword criteria you choose. If you’re planning on doing something similar, think about when you have enough time and where you want to go. Do you want to present? If so, remember that calls for submissions are often many months before the actual event.

2) During last summer I looked through everything I’d written on my blog and noticed that I wasn’t actually talking about what was going on in my classes as often as I’d planned to when starting it. This is something I hope to remedy this year. You can’t possibly hope to examine every aspect of your teaching constantly, so what I suggest is to think about one thing you want to look at each year. For the next two semesters, I hope to think a bit more critically about how I use technology in the classroom; with specific reference to the TPaCK model (I talked about this in a post on my blog a short while ago).

3) One thing that saddens me is how little time I have to talk to my colleagues about teaching. This might sound like a ridiculous notion, but it’s a surprisingly commonplace phenomenon among teachers. Basically, I just don’t see this changing unless I make a concerted effort to give workshops to my peers. If I’m going to create a forum for idea sharing I’m going to have to do it through workshops. I’ve started this in earnest, just short fifteen minute idea exchanges and it’s going well. My advice would be to always consider sharing what you’re doing in class. OK, some people won’t have the slightest interest in either what you’re doing or in professional development as a whole. Don’t worry about them, do this for those colleagues who will appreciate it. They’ll learn from you and you’ll also get new ideas from them. Oh, and keep it short: don’t feel that you have to have this immaculately planned out 90-minute session. A quick demo of an activity followed by a discussion can work a treat.

4) As part of my reflection on my teaching, I’ve decided to try and up my content knowledge in certain areas. Should I have to? Damn right! As an EAP instructor, I have to know the subjects I’m dealing with, and this includes everything from philosophy through to space exploration and history. Saying, ‘I’m a language teacher; I shouldn’t be expected to know that much about any of these subjects’ isn’t good enough. I’ve decided this year to take advantage in the explosion of MOOCs to develop my knowledge in a number of subject areas. A MOOC, for those not familiar with the term, is a Massive Online Open Course, and they are becoming increasingly available from the world’s top universities. I recently completed my first course via the excellent and highly recommended the Coursera website, an 8-week ‘Introduction to Sustainability’. While this might seem like a strange choice for a language teacher, it actually covers a lot of subjects that I have to teach language through. Consequently, it has built up my background knowledge and thus facilitated a better understanding of what the main issues are. Knowing more means I can teach it better: simple as that. I plan to write up my experiences on my blog some time soon, so that’s all I’ll say on the subject of MOOCs, for now!

Do you think there is something considered as the best method for teaching English for second language learners?

Yes. The best method for teaching is that method that works best with whatever particular class you are teaching. If that sounds like I’m avoiding the question, I’m not. To exemplify, I’d like to mention the two situations I’m working in at present. During the day, I teach teenagers who are in class after three or four hours sleep and so don’t always see the need for learner centeredness. In the evening, I teach adults who want to talk, talk and talk some more. Trying to suggest there is some perfect methodology for these two groups is just crazy. Some would call this principled eclecticism; I’d agree, it the principle is, ‘base your eclecticism on the people you’re teaching and not your personal preferences’.

How would you describe your perfect classroom?

I’ll have to split my answer into the ‘physical’ and the ‘spiritual’ if that’s ok!

The physical: I’ve recently finished a series of posts looking into what makes the perfect physical setting for teaching. If you’re interested, you can find them here.

The spiritual: As a teacher who strives for a positive classroom environment, I tend to focus on a number of elements which include good relationships between all members of the class, deliver lessons inspire all students to learn and grow, set classroom routines that are consistent and clear, and have high expectations for learning.

Classrooms in which all students feel respected and valued as people and learners will have a positive atmosphere; teachers who set a good example and have high expectations for positive social interactions seem more likely to develop a classroom environment where students feel safe and confident. As far as I’m concerned, we absolutely need to be active in the spiritual sense of the classroom, supervising learning and giving constructive feedback, so that students know that we are a constant positive presence. A teacher with authentic passion for teaching will inspire learners, while teachers who show belief in their learners’ abilities to learn will be rewarded with students who are willing to try harder.

Another fundamental to developing the spiritual classroom is cooperative learning, i.e. those lessons where students work in pairs or small groups to accomplish a learning goal. Each learner should have specific tasks to complete in tandem with the others in the group. However, learners need mentoring in how to work together and encourage each other to reach their goals. We have an important role to play in facilitating effective cooperative learning.

To create a spiritual classroom environment, we nevertheless need procedures for dealing with classroom activities as well as behaviour issues. Learners need to know what the classroom routines and rules are and what the consequences are for not respecting these. Your structure must be clear and fair. Also, a stepped system of consequences allows learners to adjust their own behavior before the consequences progress to more serious levels. Such systems enable learners to take control of their own behaviour and minimize negative behaviors that lead to a stressful classroom atmosphere.

Finally, what advice would you give to new teachers that have just completed the CELTA or equivalent?

Don’t panic and don’t expect too much of yourself. You will go through a learning curve at a fast and frantic pace. Accept the fact that you might give some crap lessons and don’t beat yourself up about it.
Be honest about your experience and don’t be frightened to say you don’t know. As long as you try to find out, people will understand.
Treat the learners as humans and respect their rights as individuals. When they have something on their mind(s), discuss it. However, don’t go over the top trying to be friends with them.
Teach the person and not the book. If they suggest something or ask a question, roll with it. Engaging with people is more important than covering material. Nevertheless, be aware that you still have to work according to the requirements of your employer.
Don’t make any vows to teach according to a certain ethos or particular method. Remember: you can only really know how a class is going to go when you walk into it. Sometimes people are energetic and motivated, the next day they might not want to do anything: always gauge the class and don’t push on ahead regardless.
Don’t take indifference or worse personally. It’s almost certainly not aimed at you.
Enjoy it: this job is great.

If you want more advice, check out my Hippocratic Oath for the teachers of the world.

eBELTE 2013

2012-12-17T00:06:00.001Z

The new eConference for the BELTE on 20 April 2013

The BELTE conference is now a regular event held in Brighton every year in October. Now the organisers are preparing to hold an event in April 2013, named the eBELTE. This conference will focus on the use of technology and e-learning within an educational context for language teaching. It will be an electronic version of the already popular BELTE conference. Further information about the conference is detailed below.

A-Z Details for exhibitors and presenters for eBELTE13 Saturday 20 April 2013
Accommodation Jury’s Inn, Brighton is immediately adjacent. Please make your own arrangements by contacting Central Reservations to get best available rates. (Contact Tel: 0870 4100 800)
Advertising We will be advertising and promoting the event on the eBELTE, Studygroup, Sussex DoSA and other websites and directly to 900+ ELT professionals and companies/organisations. We are also blogging and using Twitter, directly and through presenters, previous visitors, networks etc. We trust that all of you will be promoting the event to your client base.
Attendance We are looking for at least 300+ delegates over the day; as there is no pre-booking, they will be able to sign up for their sessions in the exhibition hall, bringing early footfall. Some sessions will be ‘turn up without signing up.’ We are targeting language schools, FE colleges, university staff and diploma and Masters students in ELT related areas, ESOL providers and state schools with overseas students. Entry for all visitors is FREE.
Booking a show space Please return the attached Exhibitor and Presenter application form as soon as possible so that we can start pulling the advertising together. If you want to send a speaker[s], please let us have a short biography and session outline as soon as possible; this may need editing, but we will send a pre-copy of the programme prior to printing if time allows.
Booking a speaking slot If you want to speak without exhibiting, please note that we do not pay for this. There are a variety of session types that we can offer; we are also open to suggestions. Again we will need a short bio and session outline.
Building Futures Income generated from this event is used to pay for necessities such as staff, advertising etc. Any profit is donated to Building Futures, our supported charity, which builds schools in third world and disaster areas.
Case Study Room[s] we can show continuous loops of materials/programmes if you wish. This function can be booked for one hour slots if you wish
Computer suite We have some rooms set up with up to 14 PCs as well as an IWB; if you require this type of room please let us know on the booking form.
Cost The maximum price charged for exhibition space is £250, invoiced before the event. Some small companies have asked for a discount and we have usually managed to reach a negotiated agreement.
CPD As usual, SDoSA will be producing a certificate for all attendees for the event
Delegate bags Delegates will be packing their own e-BELTE / BELTE branded bags. Please send your freebies prior to the event; paper catalogues are not a good idea as they are heavy and most catalogues are available on-line so USB sticks, pens, pads, key-rings, flyers, worksheets, stress relievers etc are all popular, but I am sure you are more familiar with this side of things than us.
Deliveries and Collections We are accepting deliveries during the week commencing Monday 15 April for those who wish to courier stock and/or stands prior to the set-up. Please mark packages e-BELTE and f.t.a.o. G Watts and deliver them to StudyGroup, 1 Billinton Way, Brighton BN1 4LF. Similarly, we can store materials after the event for a limited time; ideally please arrange for couriers to collect as early in the following week as possible; all returns will need re-packing and labelling.
Display area There are two spaces; the Hall and the Atrium. The Hall will have a stage area as well as stands. The Atrium will include more stands, refreshment facilities and reception.
Geek Room There will be room where attendees can bring their problems and queries on tools/software/ programmes etc and be shown how to resolve them.
Infohub based at reception this will give general info about what is going on as well as there being a central screen for ‘visible tweets’ for up to the minute feedback etc.
Next year Next year, we would hope to repeat the event and for it to become a regular feature in the ELT and e-learning calendar.
Parking Brighton Station car park is immediately adjacent to the venue
Participants Book publishers, distributors, hard and software producers, authors, trainers, exam and test producers, ELT publications, teacher support organisations and recruitment providers will all be represented.
Plenary Sessions To maintain the distinction between teacher-centred eBELTE and other ‘traditional’ conferences, there will be no plenary session. We are playing with ideas for a mid-time break feature [live lesson altered ‘on the hoof’ from instructions/suggestions tweeted from an audience; a version of Room 101 where a panel can decide to ditch their least favourite e-learning tool etc]
Presentation rooms The session rooms can be set up in a variety of layouts for presentations: lecture, café, open space etc style. Sessions cannot be pre-booked before the event and places are filled on a first come first served basis on the day. Some sessions can be ‘drop in’ and sessions can be repeated throughout the day if you wish. We have up to 60 rooms at our disposal and there is a room specification section in this document (see below); we will need to know your presenters IT requirements in advance. There will be a room ‘monitor’ for each room; the rooms are equipped with Smart IWBs so USBs or discs are ideal unless linking/downloading from the internet; we do not have clickers so you will need to bring your own if you want to use one; otherwise it will be mouse, keyboard or screen.
Programme We will try to balance the sessions as much as possible but as sessions are unlikely to be the same length or may be repeated, this may be less of a problem than it might appear.
Refreshments will be available at lunchtime; a sandwich lunch will be provided for stand holders. Water is provided on all stands and for all speakers. The coffee cart and our pop-up shop and coffee bar will also be open. There is a range of take away shops and supermarkets nearby as well as the Jurys Inn bar and coffee shop next door.
Room specificaton A standard, average IWB room consists of 1x PC running Windows XP + monitor & peripherals.
1x projector with floor or wall mounted connection faceplate with the following connections:

VGA input,

Component input (sound and video)

3.5mm stereo jack input,

USB connection interface for IWB.

Some PCs have a passive video splitter installed (1 VGA in – 2 VGA out cable) others have a powered VGA Video splitter with similar 1 or 2 video in and 2 video out connections.
If you require a room set up with a number of PCs, we have several rooms of this type available [see Computer suite above]
Sessions can be of 20/40/60 minutes duration plus a short Q/A session. They need to be teacher-centred rather than promotional so that delegates can go away with something they can use in class; if using a specific tool, please refer to how to use it or how the author envisaged it being used in class. We are able to deal with webinars, podcasting, any IWB based tools, apps etc. Visitors will be reminded to bring their own i-phones etc to participate. You can have repeat sessions at different times if you wish. [See: Booking a speaking slot above]
Setting up The exhibition hall will be open on Friday 19 April from 15.30-19.30 for setting up. You will need to bring a table covering of some sort as the tables [approx. 72’’ x 27’’] are very basic! If you want to set up on the Saturday, you will need to be here by 08.30 please, as we open the doors at 09.15. Session sign-up sheets will be located in the corners of the Main Hall thus bringing most people to the room.
Staffing provision Our IT helpdesk will be available during the event for solving any tech-hiccups. The stands will have access to power as requested and the whole building has WiFi. We also have security and maintenance staff on duty for any other requirements. Stewarding is carried out by SDoSA members.
Streaming materials We intend to record some sessions for future streaming; the inherent difficulties of streaming live will be tackled at future events.
Reflection room There will be a reflection room [like the Big Brother diary room, where attendees can leave audio/visual comments on any aspects of the event/sessions; these will be edited and either shown later in the main room or used for online promotion subsequently.
Twitter We have started tweeting #eBELTE13 to attract advance interest and will continue right up to the event as well as during.
Website www.ebelteorg.wordpress.com

Should potential presenters wish to submit a talk or possible exhibitors (or those with interests involved with technology and education) wish to market at this hugely popular event, you should follow the following link and submit further information. Otherwise you could email Gordon Watts for further information. I look forward to seeing other language teachers at this great ELT event in Brighton during April 2013.

Zeitgeist 2012: A Lesson Plan

2012-12-15T21:32:00.001Z

Last year, I wrote a lesson plan in relation to Zeitgeist 2011. As 2012 is drawing to a close, I thought it suitable to reflect, as I had done with the #12from12 challenge, and to review the year in a greater context to world events. Many events occurred during this year which are highlighted very well in the Google Zeitgeist video below.

As with last year's lesson plan, you could review learner's of the year, reflect on their achievements and aims for the future, perhaps with the use or the making of a poster. Get learners to bring in their most important photos of 2012 and get them to share them with the class.

Context & Introduction to Topic

When starting the class ask students:

what they have achieved during 2012

what is their most memorable event during the year

what was the most surprising element of 2012

learner and/or teacher resolutions for 2013

Monitor language for correct tense usage, monitor language as well as boarding and scaffolding emergent language.

Zeitgeist 2012 YouTube Video

Tell learners that they are going to be watching a video but put learners in pairs or small groups.
Describe to each pair or group of learners that before they watch the video, they need to work together and think of five important events that happened in 2012.
Elicit possible important events during 2012 from the learners and write their suggestions on the whiteboard.
Tell learners that they are going to watch a video that is related to 2012. The learners need to watch the video and check to see if any of their suggestions are in the video.
Play the video.
Once the video has been played, ask learners to mention what events that were suggested (and transcribed on the whiteboard) are in the video.
Elicit any other important events from 2012 the learners and add these to the whiteboard (if the learners can remember some of the other important events in the video).
Play the video for a second time.

Discussion Time

Once several events from 2012 have been written on the board, tell students that they are going to be working in groups and have to re-order the events in importance (one being the most important and the last one being least important). All learners within the group must accept the order of importance.
Monitor learners for suitable or potential language that could be used to scaffold (I think ... is the most important, Why do you think ...?, What do you think?, etc).
After learners have completed the re-ordering activity, get several groups together and to compare results with the potential to debate.
Allow sometime once the debate/discussion has finished for feedback and error correction.

If you would like to review 2011 with the class, then feel free to develop the lesson with the Google Zeitgeist 2011 video (available below). This will broaden potential discussion and greater reflection for language learners.

As ever, any comments or feedback on the lesson idea above would be greatly appreciated. I would like to wish all my fellow readers a wonderful Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

Using Prezi in Talks and Workshops

2012-12-11T23:32:00.000Z

I have been invited for a talk on Wednesday 12 December for the postgraduate students on the MA ELT course about Dogme ELT. It is an honour to be asked up to give a talk on this subject. Furthermore, it is the first time that I am going to be trying to Prezi in the classroom instead of carrying around my MacBook Air and all the paraphernalia to give a talk. Fortunately, the computers at the University of Sussex are all connected to the internet and I will be able to use Prezi (fingers crossed). The Prezi for this talk can be viewed below.

On the off chance that the Prezi talk fails, I have a backup on my external hard-drive with a copy with PowerPoint.

The handout for this talk (available for attendees) is embedded below. Feel free to contact me should you wish for a copy to be emailed.

Incorporating Dogme ELT in the Classroom Handout

Anyhow, has anyone else used Prezi for a presentation before? What do you think are the benefits or disadvantages of using cloud presentation software? Have you tried the iPad or iPhone Prezi app before to present before?

So many questions and please leave your thoughts or reflections below in the comments section. :-)

Reflection of 2012 - The #12from12 Challenge

2012-12-10T01:25:00.000Z

It has been an incredibly interesting year, although it has passed by so quick. Last year as part of Adam Simpson's blog challenge (funnily he is continuing the blog challenge of 12 from '12), I thought I would repost this challenge with my 12 favourite or most thought provoking posts of 2012. I would like continue this tradition with my most important blog posts. So here we go.

1. Old Wife's Tales

The first blog post of 2012, I decided to share a lesson plan related to cultural traditions and ideas suitable for the classroom. It developed from 'fan death' in South Korea with a wonderful video ...

2. The New Job

After graduating from the University of Sussex, I decided to take a job with the British Council in Bucharest. I was so pleased to be offered employment and arrived with a spring in my step ...

3. Dogme Lesson: Sea Creatures to Question Tags

I was preparing for my talk at the IATEFL Conference in Glasgow earlier this year, photocopying handouts and preparing presentation slides. When I was covering a YL class, it contained an element of Dogme ...

4. What's The Best Approach?

After a few months of teaching in Bucharest, I received my first complaint from a student. It was very puzzling with requests for more grammar, speaking and listening. I am still stumped to this day and wonder whether the student actually knew what he wanted ...

5. The Final TYLEC Observation

This year, I decided to focus on a Young Learner extension course during my short time at the British Council in Bucharest. It was a wonderful course and it was such a relief to finish off the TYLEC. In this blog post I reflect on my final lesson observation with some wonderful feedback from the trainer ...

6. Olympics Lesson Plan

This summer saw the Olympics in London. I decided to develop a lesson plan associated with one of the greatest sporting events for my summer class. There are various presentation files available to download and some ideas to consider ...

7. A Day in the Life of the Queen Lesson Plan

As a continuation of the Olympics lesson plan (above), I decided to develop a lesson plan associated with the Queen for my British Culture class in the UK. There are some sources of video, presentation, and lesson ideas to incorporate in the classroom ...

8. Drilling and Repetition Workshop

During my last few weeks in Bucharest with the British Council, I decided to attend the annual ELT Conference at a hotel with some colleagues. The first talk which I attended was one by Jeremy Harmer. His interactional talk during the session highlighted some interesting ideas to develop for future lessons ...

9. Using Dictionaries During Classes: Lesson Ideas

The ninth favourite blog post is about the use of dictionaries within the classroom. I decided to develop some ideas after never really exploiting the biggest book in the teachers' room. Have a read to get ten ideas for using dictionaries during the lesson and with your classroom ...

10. Using Smartphones During Classes: Lesson Ideas

The tenth blog post in this list is related to the one above. I wrote up a blog post in reaction to many of my learners (not just young learners) using their smartphones during the lesson. I thought how to use this and developed some practical lesson ideas ...

11. BELTE 2012 Summary

The eleventh blog post that I thought would be worthy of a mention was one about a conference that I attend on a regular basis. As usual, I attended the BELTE Conference in Brighton, took some pictures and blogged about the event. It was great (as always) and attended some wonderful talks ...

12. Teaching in ESOL: Encouraging Talk

The final blog post in this list which I feel is worthy of a mention is associated with ESOL and the encouragement of talk/conversation. I liked Carol Goodey's blog post about talk and prompting this during lessons. I felt some sense of agreement and understanding with Carol's post, as I work within ESOL and I also enjoyed the similarity with Dogme ELT ...

So these are my 12 blogs of the year. It has been quite tough trying to decide which postings were worthy but I feel that the blogs above are related to personal experiences, ideas and musings I had in relation to particular lessons as well as the conferences that I managed to attend during the year. I shall now leave it up to my readers now to share their 12 personal favourite blog posts of 2012. So what are you waiting for? Are you up for the challenge?

Please leave a link so I can read up on contribution to the challenge and Merry Christmas everyone.

December Teacher Interview: Frances Eales

2012-12-06T21:32:00.001Z

Frances Eales pictured in Bulgaria

This month's teacher interview is with Frances Eales. I met Frances at the last BELTE conference in Brighton. So a big thank you to Frances for agreeing to be interviewed for this Christmas Teacher Interview. Frances Eales is a teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer who has worked in many countries including the UK, Hungary, Germany, Egypt, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and Thailand.

She is a co-author of the Cutting Edge series and author of three levels of Speakout, winner of the English-Speaking Union, Duke of Edinburgh 2011 English Language Book Award. She also co-wrote and was a co-ordinator of the British Council/International House Distance DELTA course for experienced teachers and regularly works on the design and assessment of teaching and training exams for Cambridge ESOL.

She is interested in all aspects of language, in task-based learning, the use of authentic video in class, giving and getting feedback, Dogme and e-learning. She lives near Brighton, UK and loves singing, qi gong, walking, sailing, and in fact anything outdoors.

So let's crack on with the interview.

Tell me how you got into teaching.

I’d just finished university and was having a gap year before going on to do a further degree at Cambridge and a friend of mine invited me to his EFL class in Piccadilly Circus. After one hour I was hooked… what was not to like? Communicating with interesting people, being creative, working with language… and traveling too! I immediately jettisoned study plans, enrolled in a four week course and I have never looked back. (My main trainer was Ken Wilson, by the way. I was going to say ‘taught me everything I know’ but that’s not quite true. Anyway, thanks, Ken!)

What has been your favourite country that you have taught in and why?

That is a really difficult one to answer. I think on a professional and personal level, probably Hungary. I was at IH in Budapest at an interesting time a few years after the fall of communism and the teaching was truly challenging. I remember 7.30 a.m. classes with people from the Ministry of the Environment, mayhem in my first teenagers’ class, struggling with teaching 6 year-olds in the kiddies’ class. Then there were difficult but rewarding language and methodology classes with teachers of Russian who were being forced to retrain as English teachers, evening courses with business people and once a week, trainees on our part-time CELTA courses. Talk about steep learning curves.

All this was punctuated by Friday afternoons in the Turkish baths, learning my colours in Hungarian on long treks in the forests (the paths are colour-coded), skiing in Slovakia at the weekends, camping in Romania, putting on the first pantomime ever seen in Budapest (much to the bemusement of the students), coffee and cakes in the spectacular coffee shops and swimming outside amongst the chess players and surrounded by the snow in the hot pools at Széchenyi park. These and of course, the life-long friends I met, all made a deep and lasting impression.

You have teacher training experience, could you tell our readers how you got into teacher training?

I worked for many years at IH London and even as a newish teacher became very used to trainee observers in my classes. There was (and is) a fantastic culture in the school of encouraging professional development and I started by giving TD sessions, then became a teaching practice tutor and so on. If anyone were to ask me how to get into teacher training, I’d advise joining a school that already does some training, and offering to do sessions at staff meetings and/or local conferences and/or developing an online presence, all showing that you are keen to progress into the field.

You don't have a blog at the moment but are you planning on blogging in the future?

Not in the foreseeable future. At the moment I don’t feel I can do proper justice to a blog and at the same time maintain a work/life balance. I’m already in front of a screen too many hours!

You are quite new to Twitter, aren't you? What are the possible benefits and any disadvantages for teachers when using Twitter?

My colleague and friend Antonia Clare had been singing the praises of Twitter for all of a year before I finally joined. I think the benefits for teachers are the exchange of ideas that’s possible, particularly in a chat room such as #ELTChat, which I’ve really enjoyed. Then there’s the chance to share interesting articles or links to blog entries about other teachers’ experiences in different contexts. And also to meet like-minded colleagues who may then become friends and who one day you may meet up with at a conference or when travelling.

The disadvantage is pretty evident after even a few hours. It’s the sheer number of tweets; I felt like I was drowning and then found myself becoming anxious because I couldn’t catch them all. So thank you @antoniaclare for pointing me in the direction of tweetdeck to organize the tweets; to @AnthonyGaughan for his advice to bookmark or favourite anything that catches your attention so you can read it at your leisure and to @sandymillin, whose blog entry was so helpful.

You were one of the writers on Cutting Edge and Speakout. How would you suggest readers to get into materials and coursebook writing?

I think things are changing significantly as publishers adapt to a rapidly digitalised world. To answer this one, I can’t do better than refer you to a fantastic resource by Lindsay Clandfield where he has put together a number of links and articles on how to get started in writing.

What is the most memorable or unexpected thing that occurred in the classroom?

That’s another impossible question so I’ll give just one memory that has stayed with me because it was a wake-up call and very significant for a naïve and brash young teacher who prided herself on her rapport.
It was in a multi-cultural class in the UK and there was a mature Arabic speaking man in an elementary class - I think he was from the UAE.

We were talking about families and he said he had two wives and fifteen children. Cue exaggerated interest and a kind of humorous amazement from me the teacher, ‘What, fifteen children!’ Then pulling the rest of the class into the ‘wow how amazing/strange is that?’ kind of feeling. Even now I cringe when I think of it. Cultural sensitivity zilch!

At the end of the lesson this extremely nice man stayed behind and explained to me slowly and seriously in his elementary English that his brother had been killed and so it was his duty to take responsibility and care for his brother’s family, which included marrying the widow and looking after her children. I felt really ashamed of myself. It taught me a valuable lesson about respecting other cultures and the disrespect of making assumptions about any other person.

What are your future plans for the next twelve months?

It looks as if there’s more writing connected with Speakout on the cards. If so, it will be heads down 24/7 for several months and not so much teaching or training. However, I’m also spending time with teachers who’ve been using the books to see if I can help with any issues that have arisen and to listen to how people are finding them in class. This may mean a trip to Argentina and Peru in the spring. I’m continuing DELTA-related work with Cambridge ESOL.

At the same time, there’s my family, singing, sailing, qi gong, and a plan to walk the coast-to-coast trail (309 km) across England in late summer. And, of course, Twitter! Also, I was inspired by Claire Hunter at IATEFL to listen to this.

I thought it was a great idea and in the last few months I’ve joined Facebook, taken up sailing again, joined Twitter, and this month I am currently exploring the whole area of ‘mindfulness’. The next twelve months will be another twelve fresh experiences. Watch this space!

Finally, what advice would you give another teacher that has just completed their CELTA?

Go for whatever experience you can as soon after the course as possible so that you can get some teaching under your belt. I think each person has to find their own way through that first year of teaching; as in any job, everything’s new and it can be a real roller-coaster. It takes time to begin to feel more confident about language issues, for example. So ask for help and ideas. ELT staffrooms are usually great places, with teachers who are generous in sharing their experiences and ideas and if you have a Director of Studies, then go to them for help and to check out any problems.

If you’re in a new country, find out about the language, the culture, the students. You’re bound to make mistakes (I remember my first class sending a deputation to the Director of Studies at the end of my first week complaining that they didn’t understand what was going on!) but you’ll survive and learn from them.

Remember that the people in front of you are people not just students, prepare your content in a professional way but be alert and responsive to what comes up in class. Often that’s when the best learning happens. And it’s up to you, if you’re that kind of person and feel able, go the extra mile and get involved in the social programme or the clubs or even a pantomime, but look after your own health and well-being too. And enjoy yourself! It’s an amazing job!

Thank you ever so much for the interview (with all the wonderful links) Frances and we wish you a very happy Christmas and all the best for the New Year. I am sure some of the readers will have some questions which they can leave below.

Christmas in the Classroom: Lesson and Classroom Ideas

2012-12-03T22:23:00.002Z

It is that festive period again when the artificial Christmas tree is brought out of the small cupboard at your school and dusted down. And what better way to start this month off on my website with a few Christmas lesson and classroom ideas for my readers. Obviously, you have to be sensitive where you are teaching and whether Christmas is celebrated in the host country. Nevertheless, I would like to thank my followers on Twitter and other teachers for their contribution for this blog post as well. So, let's start with the first lesson idea.

Preparing the Classroom

What is the first thing that students see when they attend a lesson? That's right, the classroom. The classroom will reflect the mood of the day so you will have to prepare a few things to get learners into the Christmas spirit. You don't need to spend a fortune and if you are teaching young learners, you could get the students to decorate the classroom. Get some coloured pieces of paper, some glue, some scissors, coloured pencils/crayons and some glitter. Hand these out to the young learners and tell them they have an hour to decorate the classroom and just let them be as creative as possible. You will be amazed at what young learners can achieve if you let them have a little control over what they want to do. For more older young learners, you could get them to colour in some artwork or draw things related to Christmas. Once they have finished their artwork, you could pin them up around the room.

Christmas Cards

One thing that some nationalities do (if not most) is hand out Christmas cards to each other. You could combine one relatively international tradition with language learning. Ask learners what they write in Christmas cards in their own language and get them to translate. Board some of these ideas up on the whiteboard or IWB and scaffold language where appropriate. Once you have learner language boarded and scaffolded, you could get learners into pairs to write a Christmas card to their parents or guardians. This activity would be great for young learners or teenagers alike. With regards to their Christmas cards, you could either supply Christmas cards, pictures about Christmas (which could be cut and glued on supplied card) or hand out blank pieces of card (A4 size) which could folded in half then used as a template for Christmas cards.

Christmas Songs

There are some wonderful Christmas songs which could be played and used in the classroom to generate interest or motivate learners for the festive period. If you have experienced a dip in motivation during this period of the year, it is a good time to get the jukebox out and get some songs blasting (especially when learners are doing some sort of art and craft activity). I remember a few years ago, I bought a compilation album of Christmas songs on iTunes and use these songs in the classroom. All learners respond well to the songs and they are familiar to them as they are played in their home country also. Typical Christmas music activities could include gap-fills, reordering music lyrics or students learning the lyrics of a song and having a type of karaoke competition in class. In my first year of teaching in South Korea, the non-native teachers prepared young learners to sing a Christmas Carol in front of their parents and their parents were really proud. This is something which could also be incorporated in the classroom.

Christmas Quiz

A good activity which adult students could learn more about the culture of Christmas could be with the use of a quiz. I have created a quiz and it is available to download below. It could either be used as a web-quest or as a team quiz.

Christmas Quiz (Questions)

Christmas Quiz (Answers)

You could either use the quiz as a dictation exercise or you could do a "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" style of quiz.

Christmas Wordsearch

Wordsearches were the very first vocabulary activity that I used in the classroom with young learners. I thought they enjoyed them and it was something that they could add to their learning portfolio. Nevertheless, there is a place for wordsearch activities and I have embedded a Christmas wordsearch below which could be used in the classroom.

Christmas Wordsearch

If you have an IWB and are keen to get learners up and out of their seats, you could use the electronic wordsearch as well. The link for the IWB version is available here.

Again, the Teachers Direct website is a wonderful source of information and you could create your very own wordsearch puzzle. Just a quick note: the IWB version for wordsearch puzzles can only be created with a 15 by 15 wordsearch dimension. So what are you waiting for? Go to this website to create your own puzzles.

Christmas Nativity

For many children, the nativity play is a wonderful opportunity for them to work towards. There is a lot of effort by many teachers across the country to organise the plays and it is a great chance for children to shine. So why not have your very own nativity play in your language school? You could get learners to dress up, make their own costumes or act in front of peers or parents. It is incredibly motivating being recognised when acting in a foreign language and parents are very proud with their little kids when they are able to act a play in their L2. Naturally, the teacher will have to be aware of the local culture in order not to upset local culture or religion.

Christmas Videos

A few months ago, I shared a video lesson plan with some ideas of using "Love Actually" in the classroom. Feel free to use this with your adult language learners. You should note that there is strong language in the video and make sure that learners are happy to watch the video. Some extracts from a previous blog post is available below:

Love Actually - Intro Scenes

The second task that I set for learners was for them to complete a character matching exercise: match the character and their job/occupation. Before watching the movie, we studied up on various occupations (housekeeper, housemaid, etc) and then I handed out a matching worksheet after the initial activity for learners to complete (which is below). As there were a number of different characters/names, it was difficult work for students to learn about them and their occupations. The learners were listening intensively to the dialogue and for any clues. To check that they were listening with the first activity, I elicited the name of the Rock & Roll Legend (Billy Mack) and then told learners that they had to complete the rest of the matching activity whilst they watched the rest of the movie.

Love Actually - Characters

At one scene in the movie, where Mark and Juliet meet to discuss about a video from a wedding (about the first two minutes of the scene with the YouTube video below), I paused the movie and elicited their names. I then went on to say that they are going to watch the next scene with Mark and Juliet with no sound and they have to predict/guess what they are saying. I handed out a blank script and the learners will have to complete the script to the best of their ability. It was mentioned that it made no difference whether they attempted to complete it and was wrong as it was all good practice. I played the video and I was acting as a human remote control and learners were telling me: "pause", "rewind", "fast forward", etc. The scene was played a number of times until learners were happy to complete the activity and then act the scene out. There was a lot of laughing and the students really got into the scene.

Love Actually - Script Juliet and Mark

Next, I played the scene with the sound off and then just the subtitles so that they could see what things were similar or different to their script. We then played the video with the sound on and the subtitles off. It was a wonderful activity and were quite responsive. In the second lesson of the week, we continued with the movie and watched the ending. I handed out a worksheet for learners to complete and it was a character summarisation. Learners had to choose one character from the movie and write about him/her. Luckily, all learners chose someone different and they had a look on Wikipedia or other websites to learn a bit more about their chosen character. Fortunately, they decided not to plagiarise from Wikipedia and their writing was commendable.

Love Actually - About a Character

Christmas Links

There are some wonderful resources available on the internet and I hope that you really make some use of these and share your own experiences.

ESOL Courses: Christmas English Exercises
ESL Flow: Christmas Lesson Plans
Michelle Henry: Christmas Activities
Anglomaniacy: Christmas Worksheets

Don't be a grinch and share your ideas of Christmas from the classroom.

Bringing The Surprise Element into Your Lesson: An #ELTChat Summary

2012-11-30T02:04:00.001Z

Surprise! It's me!

For teachers of English, we are constantly reviewing approaches and techniques as an alternative to commonly predicted forms of teaching and we sometimes have to incorporate more experimental styles of language education. With this in mind, ELTChat focused on the incorporation and element of surprise in the classroom, on Wednesday 28 November, at 9pm GMT. The chat offered participants the opportunity to share tips and techniques to develop for potential future classroom use.

Just a few words to say thank you to Marisa for allowing me the opportunity to write up my very first ELTChat summary on my blog. It was very interesting to read the transcript and read the progress of the discussion.

Why Use Surprise in the Classroom?

As professionals we must question why surprise should be used during lessons. This was answered early on in the discussion by some of the following:

SueAnnan: I think surprise stops the lessons becoming humdrum.
AnnLoseva: Unexpected turns of the lesson keep students wide-awake and it's fun and refreshing!
AntoniaClare: I think surprise keeps students awake, alert, engaged, therefore ready to learn.
MarjorieRosenbe: Adding surprise elements wakes everyone up. Students don't learn if they are asleep.
pjgallantry: I feel novelty and surprise aid memorisation, but students then still to work on consolidation.

Based upon the above reactions from regular ELTChatterers, it was noted that surprise would stop possible lessons becoming boring with improved motivation which would alert and engage learners. However, theteacherjames tweeted: "I'm struggling to see much benefit to surprising students. Isn't there also something to be said for reliability?". James has a point with reference to reliability and predictability but many others saw the potential of developing some form unpredictability in the classroom. Nevertheless, what tips and suggestions were recommended during the discussion? Read further for some very interesting and engaging ideas to implement surprise in the classroom.

Surprising Tips and Techniques

During the ELTChat discussion, there many ideas and tips exchanged for incorporating some element of surprise in the classroom with Vicky Loras quick off the mark with the first idea shared:

VickyLoras: I like scenarios with students. For example, I come in knocking on the door and pretend I am a colleague/problem - they love it!

It is welcoming to note some exploitation of scenarios being suggested by Vicky and this one area of teaching that is not really developed. It engages learners and, as Marjorie mentioned above, wakes them up as well. This idea was followed by lauraahaha.

Lauraahaha: Sometimes a nice surprise is to take the students outside the classroom (where possible).

Other ideas included:

Antoniaclare: I like to use stories or anecdotes with a twist, in fact I think every text / lesson needs a new angle to keep sts (and Ts) interest.
MarjorieRosenbe: We draw lines on board and guess whose is longest, etc. Then I pull out tape measure-sts love this.
pjgallantry: which is a more memorable example of past continuous: I was having a bath when the phone rang, or I was talking to my friend when the cat exploded?
KerrCarolyn: I love circular writing. Great collective activity. Prepares for real life. Few reports in business are work of just one
eltknowledge: Has any1 mentioned the 'silent conversation' yet? Walk in2 class and not say a word and write the instructions on the board. Shocks sts!
miss_Trika: Sometimes I surprise my sts bytaking them to the garden and they love it.
Lauraahaha: I like exploiting things that surprise even ME (e.g. strange laugh from class next door, colleague entering our room by mistake)

Some of the ideas suggested included changing the actual classroom dynamics to enable some element of surprise during lessons. This was first suggested by KerrCarolyn by an example from a lesson which noticed was 'dragging' so she took out all chairs from the classroom. Others suggested additional ideas such as:

SueAnnan: I also move the tables around sometimes to make new groupings.
leoselivan: new seating arrangements certainly break a routine and adds a surprise element.
pjgallantry: another way to shake things up is how you make groups - e.g. say apple, banana, orange etc and tell ss to become bunches of fruit!
Antoniaclare: I like using an empty chair and sts need to introduce me to the 'character' they invent, he gets a name, life etc

In reference to Hartle requesting some ideas for teaching an academic writing class who are taught on a Friday evening and lack any form of motivation. One of the ideas included:

Antoniaclare: Academic writing? get sts writing sentences or paragraphs on posters on the walls as they walk around, filling in sections

Additional ideas that prompted surprise which were suggested included the use of teacher silence in the classroom, bringing in food (particularly chocolate) to develop chatter and surprise, the use of jokes and humour, as well as games to develop motivation in various lesson activities.

Surprising Links

Throughout the discussion, there were recommendations to a variety of online and offline resources. These included:

jankenb2: 5secondfilms (see video embedded below)

muranava: The Other Things Matter
muranava: A Comedian Who Faked Mexican Accent (a story during the chat which prompted the sharing of this news article)
hartle: Englishlab Discussions (a Facebook Group)
teacherthom: Notes from a Shetland ESOL Classroom (the sharing of an ELT blogger's website)

The sharing of a YouTube video (see the above video embedded) was used to illustrate the key concept of surprising situations that could arise from various activities. It is a wonderful video with lauraahaha and antoniaclare recommending the using of stories which contained a twist to add elements of surprise within the classroom.

Further Surprising Reading

Additional reading that could be used to develop techniques to improve surprise or spontaneity in the classroom could include the following.

ELT Experiences Newsletter: A New Project

2012-11-28T09:57:00.002Z

Today, well this month actually, is a special day for me. I reached a milestone with my blog with over 120,000 viewings on my blog since I started a number of years ago. This month alone, I have seen a whopping 17,000 hits on my website and I can't thank all my readers enough for their support and encouragement over the years. When I think back about when I started blogging, I really thought about just getting some of my own ideas online which I could refer to after a period of time.

The very first and rather cringe-worthy blog post that I wrote on 4 April 2010 was the following:

Welcome: If a lion could speak English ...
When I hear this quote from the famous philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, about a lion speaking English it really does highlight the difference between a language (even for those that speak different forms of English) and culture.

For example, a language is closely related to the culture, the arts and other relevant contexts. I learnt very quickly in Korea that to teach effectively, the culture amd relevance for learner's first language should be appreciated. I had to appreciate confucianism in the classroom (not to embarrass the elder, most senior in a company, etc), abide by unspoken rules (not to put particular students on the spot), which were expected by students, as well as accommodate requests for future lessons (normally individually mentioned from students after the class). The above highlights important factors which require attention before even stepping in a classroom (especially in Korea). It is the cultural aspect which really is the "lion speaking" and teachers aiming to "understand".

It is my aim with the blog to jot down and highlight experiences (particularly in the classroom) as an English Language Teacher and learn from these.

I arrived in the UK a year before and spent my time teaching at a local language school and essentially learning the ropes of teaching English in the UK. I suppose it was my aim over two and half years ago to write about experiences as well as reflect and learn. I was new to blogging and I look back at my first blog post whilst cringing at the poorly written post. Nowadays, I am more aware of my aims of blogging and I suppose I have developed further by writing up lesson plans, developing monthly teacher interviews, writing book reviews as well as reflecting on classroom experiences.

With these achievements to date, I suppose I am left wondering where else I am able to develop my blog. I have finally decided to develop and write up a newsletter (probably called the ELT Experiences Reader or something like this). I envisage this newsletter will be accessible 24 hours a day, rather than be massed emailed to my contacts, contain adverts in from the usual organisations, book reviews, teacher interviews and various articles about English language teaching in the UK or abroad. I am seeking contributors and support from my readers to develop this idea and hope you are able to help. I would really like to get this newsletter available for March 2013 (perhaps it is a bit short but nothing is impossible). I will keep my readers informed about my new project and thank you again for making this website what it is today.

Therefore, people that wish to contribute to articles or are willing to be interviewed for the newsletter (Teachers Interviewed) and if you are a publisher or related to the ELT industry and are seeking free advertising for the foreseeable future with this newsletter, then please get in touch.

“CLIL Activities” by Liz Dale and Rosie Tanner

2012-11-24T22:33:00.001Z

“CLIL Activities” is written by Liz Dale and Rosie Tanner and published under the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers series by Cambridge University Press. If you have taught young learners, you have probably heard a buzz word ‘CLIL’ bounding the teachers’ room. However, what is ‘CLIL’ and what does it actually mean? It is defined as Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and the European Commission defines it as the “teaching a curricular subject through the medium of a language other than that normally used”. Here you can see the relationship between language learning through education and young learners. However, one should question whether there is a place for CLIL in an adult language learning setting. Nevertheless, “CLIL Activities” is intended for subject teachers who teach their subjects through English, language educators working within a bilingual context, or those that are training to become subject teachers or language educators in a bilingual context (p.1). The book is just over 280 pages and split into three sections. Part 1 (Background to CLIL) includes a comprehensive background to CLIL, Part 2 (Subject pages) focuses on subject matter with CLIL and Part 3 (Practical activities), which offers practical activities, is split into six chapters which include the following: Activating, Guiding understanding, Focus on language, Focus on speaking, Focus on writing, and Assessment, review and feedback. The book attempts to consider the benefits of a ‘multi-faceted’ approach with the teaching of CLIL. These benefits are also echoed on the European Commission’s website which are illustrated below.

European Commission: CLIL's Benefits (2012)

The main emphasis of CLIL is that it immerses language learners with particular subject knowledge and this in itself motivates learners. Thereby, language educators are teaching through a language rather than in another language which assists learners acquiring “both language and content as they learn a school subject” (Dale and Tanner 2012 p.5). However, one criticism of CLIL is that learners are only learning how to communicate in English through a course subject and their are other stakeholders in education who appear to suggest that it may hinder the learners’ first language as well as perhaps jeopardising their language status inside or outside the classroom (International CLIL Research Journal 2010 p.47). Nevertheless, “CLIL Activities” attempts to introduce newly qualified or more experienced teachers who have little practical or background experience with a CLIL-based classroom with the publication of this book.

Part 1: Background to CLIL

The first section to the book, “CLIL Activities”, introduces the reader to the whole subject of CLIL with the authors considering the benefits, challenges and suitability of CLIL in the classroom as well as comparing CLIL with content-based language teaching (CBLT) and immersion. As noted before (and also highlighted above), the benefits of CLIL include aspects of motivation with CLIL, development of language production and meaningful communicative ability, as well as learning the culture of a subject (Dale and Tanner 2012 p.11-13). One of the first activities, which is accessible with an attached and highly invaluable CD, is a questionnaire, which could be incorporated into CLIL-based workshops or Teacher Training Sessions, and develops the noticing and awareness-raising of CLIL in the language classroom. Other aspects to the background of CLIL include the use of scaffolding learner produced language, the relationship with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (henceforth CEFR) as well as the rubric that might be created to assess learning from the classroom.

Part 2: Subject pages

The second section illustrated attempts to answer the most common question facing English language teachers: What subjects could I teach with CLIL? “CLIL Activities” breaks down particular subjects which could adopt a CLIL approach: Art, design and technology, Economics and business studies, Geography, History, Information and communication technology (ICT), Maths, Music and drama, Physical education (PE), as well as Science. Essentially, throughout Part 2 there is a “collection of subject-specific pages” (p.41) and offer examples of CLIL material with each of the nine subjects above. The authors also consider potential challenges facing CLIL learners with “subject-specific” lessons that are then incorporated in the classroom. These include affective, emotional, as well as cultural implications and are covered with further explanation. The first “subject-specific” example (which is arranged alphabetically) is based on Art, design and technology and offers readers the opportunity to see ‘CLIL in action’ which is broken down into how language is used in the subject. Furthermore, there is a sample text and is broken down into different grammar functions. The third part in the ‘subject-specific’ section refers to the CEFR level and is split into the differing productions of English which is related to possible aims. The second part of the book, is wonderful and can be referred to by potential CLIL subject teachers and also could support the development of a CLIL curriculum by potential schools.

Part 3: Practical activities

The final part of “CLIL Activities” offers readers the opportunity to incorporate ‘CLIL-related’ activities by using the accompanying CDs with the book. The activities are split into six sub-chapters and are named: Activating, Guiding understanding, Focus on language, Focus on speaking, Focus on writing and Assessment, review and feedback. The first sub-chapter (Activating) aims to initiate learner interest in “subject-specific” activities. For example, the first CLIL activity aims learners to complete sentences from prompts and it is quite entertaining to view some of the suggested activities which could be developed for variation of CLIL subjects. The second sub-chapter (Guiding understanding) and a wonderful example of a related lesson suggested by the authors include the use of an “Interactive PowerPoint®” lesson. It advises teachers to prepare different images referenced to specific subjects and teacher created questions which correspond to the images. An example is provided in the book with in reference to Geography: Who is affected by logging? What does deforestation mean for the world climate? (p.126-127). The third sub-chapter (Focus on language), aims to develop as well as differentiate learner awareness of CLIL-related vocabulary with a wonderful example suggested with the first activity (a differentiation between Academic Word List and General Vocabulary: happen/occur, main/major, etc). The authors recommend an Academic Word List from the University of Nottingham and is a wonderful resource for future reference and the development of similar word lists. The fourth sub-chapter (Focus on speaking) is predictably related to prompting CLIL learners to develop their speaking skills with fourteen suggested activities. Any teacher which adopts a ‘conversation-driven’ approach, a continuing complication is prompting learners to authentically converse in English with other learners as well as with the teacher in the classroom. The fourteen suggested lesson ideas in “CLIL Activities” offers teachers additional ideas to essentially get learners speaking with different prompts used such as questionnaires, debates, etc. The fifth sub-chapter (Focus on writing) develops ideas on CLIL-based writing through the use of fourteen suggested lesson ideas. Many of the ideas suggested by the authors include class magazines, posters, as well as framing and using prompts to develop writing. The final sub-chapter (Assessment, review and feedback) obviously provides CLIL teachers the opportunity to continuously assess learner progress with different lesson templates, the use of learner-centred correction, as well as developing learner awareness of language and commonly produced mistakes by using of jigsaw activities. Within the appendix the authors offer additional reference to the CEFR as well as additional resources for reading related to CLIL. There are lesson plans and notes related to CLIL material which are accessible via the BBC Skillswise website. There are also a range of different reading suggested by Dale and Tanner in appendix.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the book is a lovely introduction to CLIL and the background reading offers budding teachers the opportunity to develop further understanding so that one could create a CLIL-related curriculum for their language institutes. “CLIL Activities” could be used to teach CLIL-type lessons but additional resources and materials would be recommended to create more dynamic and engaging lessons, such as the use of English based school materials and books. It is a challenging and time consuming process to create CLIL material for language institutes, as having developed a lesson related to British Culture (art, history, the Royal Family, etc) but the book's authors develop ideas and tips to assist with the creation of materials and lesson activities. Therefore, this book should be accessible in the Teachers’ Room and I would recommend those teachers (native and non-native), who are teaching in a public or private language school context, to refer to this book to develop ideas and techniques to essentially teach language through the use of a subject. Finally, it is great to see an accompanying CD included with “CLIL Activities” which can be used for a variety of operating systems such as Windows® and Mac®.

Additional Resources

CEFR (2012) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, [Online], Available: http://www.examenglish.com/CEFR/cefr.php (22 Nov 2012)

Coyle, D., Hood, P. and Marsh, D. (2010) “CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Dale, L. and Tanner, R. (2012) “CLIL Activities” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Deller, S. and Price, C. (2007) “Teaching Other Subjects Through English” Oxford: Oxford University Press.

European Commission Languages (2012) Content and Language Integrated Learning, [Online], Available: http://ec.europa.eu/languages/language-teaching/content-and-language-integrated-learning_en.htm (22 Nov 2012).

Yassin, S. M., Tek, O. E., Alimon, H., Baharom, S. and Ying, L. Y. (2010) “Teaching Science Through English: Engaging Pupils Cognitively” International CLIL Research Journal, Vol. 1 No. 3 (2010), [Online], Available: http://www.icrj.eu/13/article5.html (22 Nov 2012).

“Classroom Management Techniques” by Jim Scrivener

2012-11-21T16:34:00.000Z

Written by Jim Scrivener, who has authored other popular ELT titles such as “Learning Teaching” and “Teaching English Grammar”, “Classroom Management Techniques” is one of the latest from the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers series. The book itself is over 300 pages and is divided into seven chapters related to English language teaching with each chapter focusing on individual aspects of teaching: The classroom, The teacher, The learners, Key teacher interventions, Facilitating interaction, Establishing and maintaining appropriate behaviour and Lessons. The book is intended for teachers of varying experiences, native as well as non-native teachers, those that are teaching young learners as well as adults, those teaching monolingual or multilingual classes as well as those teachers that are experienced or newly qualified. Scrivener (2012) highlights that the book is expected to be referred rather than “to read from cover to cover” (p.4) but there are numerous cross-references where the reader can read more about particular areas in another chapter and this in itself suggests that some thought has gone into the structure of the book. Nevertheless, the first chapter focuses on the setting of the classroom.

The classroom

The first chapter looks at the space where most teaching and learning takes place where there are various suggestions to best organise and exploit its potential. There are nine suggestions that prompt thought and reflection on the organisation of the classroom with thought on classroom layouts, setting up the classroom with seating and tables for specific activities as well as varying the position of the teacher in the classroom. Each of the nine ideas suggested for reflection are ideally written with an aim, brief background reading and questions for reflection. Furthermore, the pictures within the chapter are invaluable to capture an essence for organising the classroom and offer practical ideas for readers. For example, the differing seating arrangement is accompanied by a picture. Scrivener also offers techniques to develop awareness of the classroom with ideas such as putting yourself in the shoes of the learners as well as organising the decoration of the classroom.

The teacher

The following chapter focuses on the teacher and, as above, tries to develop reader awareness of the subject, offers practical ideas to develop for lessons and questions educator behaviour. Within this chapter, there are ten units, with the first units setting the scene with an example of developing authenticity. Other aspects introduced within the chapter include establishing rapport, listening to learner production of language as well as gestures and facial expressions, which, as in the previous chapter, offers some wonderful illustrations of possible expressions which could be incorporated in the classroom. Personally I was able to develop some expressions and incorporate these in lessons with some success.

The learners

If you are like me when teaching a new class, I find myself with butterflies in my stomach, worrying how the learners will develop as well as whether I will get on well with the learners. Scrivener attempts to defuse potential problems arising when teaching a new class within chapter three, with some techniques to develop greater learner and teacher (and vice versa) rapport such as strategies to learn names (with some wonderful suggestions such as name cards, developing learner posters or learner profiles on the internet as well as creating a room map to name just a few), get to know you (GTKY) activities, as well as teaching mixed-levels. As with the other chapters, there are questions for teachers to reflect upon as well as some wonderful illustrations. Finally, there is some explanation of learner style and Scrivener questions the suitability of stereotyping with learners with the thought provoking read within the chapter.

Key teacher interventions

The following chapter, which is related to teacher authenticity (introduced and related to chapter one), attempts to develop reader awareness of possible teacher intervention within the classroom. Scrivener describes teacher interventions as those things in which the teacher does or say particular things (p.119). The chapter is supported by fourteen units which develops awareness of potentially positive interventions and include various tips such as being supportive, giving instructions, elicitation techniques as well as checking understanding and potential learning. Within this chapter, there are limited illustrations and the reader can notice that the majority of the suggestions are more thought provoking. However, I should mention that the ideas put forward are not solely theoretical but they also balance practical ideas as well. I find this chapter is more suited for experienced teachers and provides continual reflection and there are some practical ideas that I will be incorporating in future language lessons.

Facilitating interaction

Transactional functions of language includes the execution and delivery of predicted language within particular circumstances: booking a ticket at the cinema, posting a letter at the Post Office, ordering a train ticket, etc. The language which is expected by both parties in these situations are used to transact particular functions, for example: “Can I a first class stamp?”, “Two adults for the seven o’clock showing of Skyfall”, “A return to London please”, etc. Obviously, interaction is unpredictable and develops greater fluency in English and it is always challenging for any teacher to develop a learner’s confidence in interaction. However, Scrivener dedicates fourteen units towards ideas to incorporate in the language classroom. These units include ideas such as creating the right conditions learner to learner (as well as learner to teacher) interaction, using cues to prompt language production. researching interaction during the lesson, training learners to listen to each other as well as ideas to assist the quieter learners to interact in pairs or groups. The chapter develops interest for those teachers that are interested in a ‘conversation-driven’ approach to language acquisition and Dogme ELT, and I am keen to incorporate some interactional ideas in future lessons. The final unit in this chapter, Scrivener develops ideas to improve interaction outside of the classroom and I am keen to see more development in this area as learners have continuous access to the internet through using smartphones or tablets.

Establishing and maintaining appropriate behaviour

Chapter six, which is rather smaller compared to the other chapters with only three units, seeks to support teachers within a secondary school context but much of the ideas can be developed and incorporated in other classroom contexts such as young learners and teenagers. Some of the techniques include rewarding positive behaviour, dealing with small disruptions as well as dealing with more severe disruptions. Nevertheless, Scrivener highlights an interesting point about ex-army personnel retraining to become teachers so as to instill discipline within the classroom. Obviously, it is also highlighted that being a teacher is very different to being in the Armed Forces. Having served three years in the Royal Air Force, I personally find it difficult to incorporate any training techniques acquired form my time in the forces and I would rather not shout or bully learners into good behaviour. However, Scrivener does highlight various levels of poor behaviour such as coming late to class, cheating in tests or missing school without permission and offers some ideas to incorporate in such situations. I believe that this section is highly recommended for any director of studies or other managers in the language school.

Lessons

The final chapter Scrivener decides to analyse lessons and it is split into ten other units. Each unit focus on individual stages of a lesson with the first unit predictably looking at starting lessons. Other units include the use of the board, timing and pace within the classroom, preparing improved handouts as well as low-tech resources. I am very interested in the use of low-tech resources in the classroom due to the emphasis of a ‘materials-light’ focus with Dogme ELT and this particular unit would be invaluable for any budding or practicing dogmeticians. However, much of this information can be read in reference towards other books dedicated to lesson planning, staging and the delivery of lessons. For example, some of the ideas suggested for the use of technology in the classroom include the organisation of the computer(s) in the classroom into particular areas: islands, standard computer rows, computers around the edge of the classroom, etc. Much of this can be read in greater detail with other books dedicated to technology in the classroom. Notwithstanding, the illustrations within this chapter are invaluable for the reader and offer some further ideas on how to develop the lesson and classroom.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the book is a wonderful complement to the already large collection of English language teaching books. It is practical and encourages readers to develop greater understanding of classroom management techniques through the viewing of many different aspects: the learners, the teacher, the classroom, etc. One thing that is sorely missed is an accompanying CD which could have been included with the book. The CD could have included teacher or student handouts from the book which would have supplemented the various chapters. For example, with each of the units a corresponding PDF worksheet could have been created, such as a worksheet that supports the analysis of learner interaction or name card templates. However, the book is highly regarded and should be in available in any school library so that teachers are able to improve their knowledge of classroom management through the numerous techniques.

Teaching in ESOL: Encouraging Talk

2012-11-20T23:17:00.001Z

Reading Carol Goodey's blog post, "Encouraging talk, encouraging learning", resonated similarities with my personal experiences of teaching ESOL as well as organising and delivering teacher training workshops for ESOL volunteer teachers. Essentially, the training that was delivered for the ESOL Charity focused on Dogme ELT and was held in two locations: one in Eastbourne and one in St Leonards. During my first year of teaching ESOL for the charity, I found myself stripping back all the materials, removing the coursebook and reacting to the learners during the course of the lesson. It was much a learning curve for me as well as for the learners. The learners were used to popping into class, being 'spoon-fed' lexical and grammatical chunks (as much in a way as a 'coffee-fix' is important for budding coffee drinkers), tested and being expected to complete various activities from the workbook. I must mention that I have no qualms with coursebooks per se, they are invaluable and provide newly qualified teachers the structure and direction that both learners and educators expect. However, if decisions based upon language teaching are directed by the coursebook then perhaps teachers have their priorities askew. From practical experience, as well as supporting research, I have come to the assertion that language teaching should arise from learner aims and expectations rather than coursebook aims and expectations. This is the basis of the ESOL Curriculum Framework and the image to the left (which was also included in Carol Goodey's blog post) is a wonderful example of decisions arising from the learners rather than from teachers.

Nonetheless, I remember fondly coming into class one Saturday afternoon and asking the learners (the majority whom were absolute beginners) how they were. They just sat there unable to respond, staring and at that point I literally threw the coursebook out of the room and we looked at various responses to this question. I separated the board into two halves: one for positive responses the other for negative responses. We boarded various ideas and put these phrases up on the board. With various responses boarded, we recast and recycle the language within the classroom with various drills that even Jeremy Harmer would be proud of. The language was immediate to the learners' needs and provided support to the much requested answer to the "How are you?" question. The small group of learners were enthusiastic and keen to practice asking and answering each other so they were paired up and got some language practice. The pace of the class was very slow but it was incredibly rewarding to see learners walk out of the classroom with a smile on their faces and returning the following week able to answer a familiar question. It motivated the learners and demonstrated that they were able to achieve. I should mention that some of the ESOL learners are immigrants and asylum seekers with little to no previous educational experience with very minimal knowledge of English. Some of the learners are unable to write their name and teachers have to be very very patient. There is one phrase that comes to mind when teaching absolute beginners in an ESOL setting: "Quality not quantity".

I have taught in various settings and the natural response to teaching in a new environment is to return to the familiar: use materials, CDs, worksheets, etc and teach the book rather than the learners. I will hold my hand up and say that I have returned to the familiar when teaching learners for the first time. However, some of the best lessons that I have delivered have been developed from more reactive lessons with that 'magic moment'. Furthermore, the majority of quality lessons have focused less on the materials and more on the learner with the teacher bringing language learning to life for learners present. I have seen some teachers in various organisations walk into a classroom and deliver a lesson with huge amounts of worksheets and handouts. It is fascinating to see that some teachers may feel a sense of awkwardness by walking into the class without any materials and are essentially returning to the familiar and delivering lessons which are monitored by the quantity of materials, handouts and worksheets rather than the delivery of quality lessons. It is awkward changing the boundaries of familiarity and pushing towards more eclectic forms of teaching, with change being challenged inside or outside the classroom by any stakeholder.

Finally, I love some of the suggestions by Carol in her blog post and I would also recommend teachers (who are willing to experiment in an unplugged way) to use pictures, objects as well as various props to prompt natural learner speaking. It is always difficult to encourage natural learner interaction and I have noticed that (as with teachers unwilling to change or return to the familiar) learners have difficulty or are unwilling to develop their language production in a natural and supportive manner. The language produced is commendable but natural language is really regarded as the aims of language teaching. I love to bring in Post-It © notes to class so learners are able to write down a word they have learnt recently or stick them on articles that they are reading to indicate preference. You can get different colours and get learners into teams by the use of differing colours of Post-It © notes. Obviously, with the teaching ESOL it is always important to bring in objects (as Luke Meddings refers to some material) which are important to learner aims and objectives. For example, the teacher could bring in a train timetable, a voucher or poster about the library with a special event. Not only does it make the language learner more aware of language around their town but it also provides some opportunity for teachers to use authentic objects/materials from around town.

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“CLIL Activities” by Liz Dale and Rosie Tanner

“Classroom Management Techniques” by Jim Scrivener

Teaching in ESOL: Encouraging Talk