TeachingEnglish newsletter 26 April 2017

TeachingEnglish - the global home for teachers 26 April 2017 Welcome to the TeachingEnglish newsletter This week we invite you to take part in our free MOOC 'Understanding Language: Learning and teaching'. And, if you finish the course, you will qualify for a 30% discount on our online MA in ELT. We also announce a free and practical training module for teachers of young learners, 'Assessing Young Learners'. Our featured blog of the month is Kieran Donaghy's FilmEnglish and his lesson idea based on the video 'Alike'. And our featured blog post 'Are iStudents the future of our classrooms?'describes how technology can revolutionise teaching and learning by adopting the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) approach. Finally, for the classroom we have a lesson plan for teens and adults on the topic of alternative power, plus a listening and speaking activity on the theme of dating. We hope you find these resources useful. Deb TeachingEnglish team Teaching kids The materials in the free 'Assessing Young Learners' toolkit were developed as part of a British Council funded research project which explored teacher attitudes to assessment and their training needs. The emphasis in the materials is on practical approaches, but in line with our participants' stated needs it includes a basic introduction to theoretical perspectives. In this module we will explore why assessing young learners might be challenging and offer some practical suggestions. Find out more Teaching teens This lesson plan 'Alternative power: A car that runs on air' for teenagers and adults at pre-intermediate level and above explores the theme of alternative power. Students will have an opportunity to develop their reading skills, deduce the meaning of words from their context, and discuss some of the important issues that surround the text. Go to the lesson plan Teaching adults 'Asking someone out on a date' is is an activity which provides short listening practice based around a dialogue in a workplace. Students will listen to someone asking a colleague out on a date, match phrases and rearrange a dialogue. There are also suggestions for developing the theme of dating to practise specific areas of grammar. Go to the activity Development Join and finish our free MOOC 'Understanding Language: Learning and teaching' starting on 24 April and qualify for a 30% discount on our online MA in ELT. The MA in ELT has been developed by the British Council in collaboration with Southampton University and is completely online, offering you an affordable and convenient way to study. It takes 2.5 years and is aimed at experienced English teachers.  Find out more about both courses Events Our featured blog of the month award for February 2017 went to Kieran Donaghy's FilmEnglish and his lesson idea based on the video 'Alike'. FilmEnglish has created an engaging lesson based on this beautiful short video, 'Alike'. It gives students practice using adjectives to describe character and routines. It is suitable for intermediate+ (B1+) students. Find out more Magazine The use of technology can revolutionise teaching and learning and lead us, teachers, to new paths in our teaching practices. If you work in an institution which lacks the technology or a reliable Wi-Fi connection, why not get the students to use their own devices and mobile data? Read more about how to adopt the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) approach to your teaching in this week's featured blog post 'Are iStudents the future of our classrooms?' Read more You have received this newsletter because you registered on our website or previously showed interest in British Council news. If you wish to opt out of future newsletters please unsubscribe here.

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TeachingEnglish newsletter 19 April 2017

TeachingEnglish - the global home for teachers 19 April 2017 Welcome to the TeachingEnglish newsletter This week we feature another two recordings of events from IATEFL 2017. Watch JJ Wilson's plenary talk 'ELT and social justice: opportunities in a time of chaos', and an interview with Anna Young who talks about her classroom research using ten minute writing activities to engage learners. We also feature a practical blog post by Jvl Narasimha Rao, who describes how a diary entry can be used to get children to dramatise and write dialogues. For the classroom this week we have practical articles on how to use tales to focus learners on language chunks, and the importance of creativity in the language classroom. We also have a lesson for kids based on the BritLit kit 'A Handful of Poems' by Tony Mitton. And finally, don't forget that you can watch recordings of talks and interviews from IATEFL 2017 on IATEFL Online We hope you find these resources useful. Deb TeachingEnglish team Teaching kids The four poems in this BritLit collection are all by Tony Mitton, and the materials are designed to be used with 9 - 11 year olds. Each kit includes the text and audio of the poem as well as learning activities, teacher's notes and visual support. The four poems are: Robin Hood Rap, I Wanna Be A Star, Key, and Arabian Nights. Go to the BritLit kit Teaching teens 'Creativity in the language classroom' is the first of four articles looking at theories and practice for introducing creativity into the language classroom. This article addresses the key questions: What is creativity? Why is creativity important? Am I ever creative? Are my students creative in my lessons? Read the article The second article in the series focuses on the four Features of Creativity Teaching adults Memorising language chunks through repetition is an effective way of scaffolding learners' language use and is also at the heart of how people have always told stories. A feature that is common both to language teaching and to traditional folk and fairy tales is the repetition of phrases or 'language chunks'. In this article David Heathfield describes a procedure for using storytelling with all ages to support English language students' learning of a range of grammatical structures. Read more Development Anna Young talks about her classroom research using ten minute writing activities to engage learners. Her approach includes involving learners in choosing the topics, agreeing success criteria and individual feedback. Learners responded really well to this approach. Watch a recording of the interview Events "The job of a citizen is to keep his mouth open." (Günther Grass) Teaching is never neutral. Through our methods, classroom persona, and the materials we use, teachers advocate certain values. These values depend on one's beliefs - one's conception of education and the teacher's role. In his plenary talk, 'ELT and social justice: opportunities in a time of chaos', JJ Wilson looks at the arguments for including social justice issues in ELT classrooms. Read more and watch a recording of the talk Magazine In this blog post by Jvl Narasimha Rao describes how a diary entry can be used to get children to dramatise and write dialogues. By providing a context familiar to the learners and appropriate feedback, he shows how children can be encouraged to write creatively. Read his latest blog post 'How to Encourage Children to Write Discourse and give Feedback'. Read more You have received this newsletter because you registered on our website or previously showed interest in British Council news. If you wish to opt out of future newsletters please unsubscribe here.

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TeachingEnglish newsletter 12 April 2017

TeachingEnglish - the global home for teachers 12 April 2017 Welcome to the TeachingEnglish newsletter  This week we feature another two recordings of events from IATEFL 2017. Watch Sarah Mercer's plenary talk 'Connecting minds: language learner and teacher psychologies', and an interview with Malu Sciamarelli on how we can use art to encourage students to produce language and the importance of creativity in language teaching. We also have a practical blog post by Becky Wilson on planning lessons for the early primary stages. For the classroom this week we have a special lesson for kids to celebrate the International Day of Human Space Flight. We also have a lesson for teens which looks at the possibility of life on other planets. And for adults, we have a fun listening activity which exploits the Big City Small World audio soap from LearnEnglish. And finally, don't forget that you can watch recordings of talks and interviews from IATEFL 2017 on IATEFL Online We hope you find these resources useful. Deb TeachingEnglish team Teaching kids The United Nations have declared 12th April as being the International Day of Human Space Flight. In this lesson for students aged 10-11, learners find out some key facts and figures related to space exploration. First, they do a jigsaw reading activity in which they practise question forms and saying numbers. They then work in groups to make classroom posters. Go to the lesson plan Teaching teens This lesson plan 'Life on Other Planets' for teenagers at level A2/B1 and above explores the theme of space exploration. Students will read a text to learn about recent developments in the search for habitable planets and the possibility of life on other planets, and then discuss their ideas. Go to the lesson plan Teaching adults This is a fun listening activity that can be used with adults and secondary groups. It exploits the Big City Small World audio soap from LearnEnglish. There is a lead-in activity that students do individually and then a follow on task where students write their own true or false worksheet based on a second listening. Go to the activity Development Watch a recording of an interview with Malu Sciamarelli, who talks about how we can use art to encourage students to produce language. Malu also discusses the importance of the role of creativity in language teaching, and makes reference to the new British Council book on combining creativity with the sustainable development goals. Watch a recording of the interview Events Language learning is a deeply social and emotional undertaking for both teachers and learners. In this talk, Sarah Mercer reflects on the fundamental role played by psychology in the learning and teaching of foreign languages. She describes just how crucial an understanding of psychology is, given that people and their relationships lie at the heart of the teaching/learning interaction.  Read more and watch a recording of the talk Magazine In this practical and informative blog post Becky Wilson describes how she teaches literacy using a multi-sensory approach using stories, songs and hands-on activities to reinforce the student's comprehension and language acquisition. She also gives an outline of a lesson plan to show how to integrate vocabulary and grammar. Read Becky's latest blog post on 'Planning for the Early Primary Stages'. Read more You have received this newsletter because you registered on our website or previously showed interest in British Council news. If you wish to opt out of future newsletters please unsubscribe here.

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