TeachingEnglish newsletter 29 November 2017

TeachingEnglish - the global home for teachers 29 November 2017 Welcome to the TeachingEnglish newsletter This week we announce the publication of a new freely downloadable book of training materials for teachers in 'low-resource' classrooms - Teaching in low-resource classrooms: voices of experience. For the classroom, we feature a series of lessons for kids. 'People who help us' and 'Pause & predict - YouTube technique' will give you ideas on how to use YouTube clips with teens or adults. We also have a blog post which gives you lots of ideas to help you adapt textbook activities so they are more engaging and effective for your students. Our featured article this week is by Adrian Underhill and focuses on the teaching of pronunciation. And finally, register for our latest webinar taking place on Saturday 2 December - 'Peace Education in the Secondary School ELT Curriculum'. We hope you find these resources useful. Deb TeachingEnglish team Teaching kids 'People who help us' is a topic which could be easily spread over several lessons by taking a different person, e.g. a firefighter, per week as the focus. In the first lesson, the children get an overview of all the people who help us with the help of flashcards. Each lesson raises awareness of the benefits of helping people, integrates cultural references (traditional poems, popular cartoons/storybooks) and introduces and practises vocabulary. Go to lesson ideas Teaching teens This 'Pause & predict' YouTube activity is quite simple and can be used with a variety of YouTube videos, especially those from Mr Bean. The clip used here is a great introduction to the theme of travel and can help students practise prediction, e.g. 'I think he'll pack his teddy bear' or 'He's definitely going to forget his suitcase.' Go to the activity Teaching adults In this article 'Pronunciation - the poor relation?', Adrian Underhill suggests that as we explore two key problems with pronunciation teaching and develop solutions, something remarkable can happen in terms of engagement for learners, impact across the 'whole' of language learning and the feeling of enjoyable, doable progress. Read more about these two problems and suggestions on how to move forward. Read the article Development Teaching in low-resource classrooms: voices of experience is a book of training materials for teachers in 'low-resource' classrooms. Throughout the world, English is often taught in low-resource classrooms, but there are few training materials which are derived from and which reflect this reality. This book, with associated video, is intended to help fill the gap, and is free to download in PDF format. Read more Events In this webinar on Saturday 2 December, Eduardo Amos will discuss 'Peace Education in the Secondary School ELT Curriculum', winner of the 2017 British Council ELTons Award for Course Innovation. Bringing real-life topics to the classroom and giving students room to voice their opinions and to listen to one another gives the ELT class a broader perspective and wider reach. The webinar will take place at 16.00 UK time.  Find out more and register for the event Magazine Many school districts and/or schools have adopted textbooks of varying quality as part of the curriculum for ELLs. Unfortunately, teachers may only be given the textbook without any professional development or additional curriculum resources. Read Larry Ferlazzo's post, 'Fifteen ways to adapt your textbook so your students aren't bored to death', to find out how textbook activities can be made more engaging and effective. 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 22 November 2017

TeachingEnglish - the global home for teachers 22 November 2017 Welcome to the TeachingEnglish newsletter This week we are happy to announce the winner of our featured blog of the month award for October 2017 - Cristina Cabal and her post 'Lacking inspiration? 6 awesome resource websites to find stuff for your classes'. For the classroom we have two different-level lesson plans on the topic of photography for your teens and adults. And for kids, a look at resources on offer to help you promote diversity through children's literature. We have an interesting blog post which considers how teaching has changed over the centuries and the implications for those of us invested in English language teaching and learning. And finally, if you're interested in some practical ideas on how we can help learners build and retain vocabulary, take a look at this week's featured video tip - 'Building and retaining vocabulary'. We hope you find these resources useful. Deb TeachingEnglish team Teaching kids Storybooks act as a springboard for a wide variety of activities designed to develop children's English language skills as well as opportunities to develop the theme or content of the book. Take a look at a selection of stories the British Council in Paris has used to address different aspects of diversity. You can download activity plans and worksheets, together with an overview of all the titles in this series (as well as further recommended storybooks).  Read more Teaching teens This lesson is all about photography. Students brainstorm vocabulary related to the topic, do a mingle activity, practise giving opinions about a set of photos, invent a character based on a photo and take part in a role play about a celebrity-seeking paparazzi. Finally, there is a discussion activity so that students can discuss their attitudes to photos and photography. Go to the lesson plan Teaching adults This lesson plan for teachers of teenagers and adults at low intermediate level and above explores the theme of photographs. During the lesson, students get the chance to talk about photos on their mobiles or in their wallets, and then write a description of a favourite picture. Go to the lesson plan Development In this video, 'Building and retaining vocabulary', Adam Simpson, Lizzie Pinard, Rachael Roberts and George Chilton give practical ideas on the ways we can help our learners build their range of vocabulary and, more importantly, find ways to retain it. Throughout this video, they provide a number of useful activities that can be used to help students in this area. Watch the video tip Events Our featured blog of the month for October 2017 goes to Cristina Cabal and her post, 'Lacking inspiration? 6 awesome resource websites to find stuff for your classes'. In this post, Cristina talks about her choice of six websites offering free resources that make our lives as teachers so much easier. You can also find out more about our shortlisted posts for October here. Find out more Magazine How has teaching changed over the centuries and what is happening which is specific to ELT today? In this blog post, 'Plato's iPad', Richard Fielden-Watkinson looks at what advantages we have today with regard to the school, the methods, the teacher and the student.  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 15 November 2017

TeachingEnglish - the global home for teachers 15 November 2017 Welcome to the TeachingEnglish newsletter. This week we have a brand new lesson for kids to mark International Day of the Child on 20 November - 'Children's rights'. For teens we have an interesting lesson on the topic of military exemption, and for adults we have a series of lessons that focus on different aspects of meetings. We are also happy to announce our new blog topics for November/ December - new trends in ELT, using mobile devices, low-level students and learner diaries - and invite you to become a TeachingEnglish blogger. We feature a recorded discussion on the theme of 21st-century/core skills, together with a free brochure for you to download. And, finally, we announce the publication of a new paper that provides a comprehensive overview of the range and type of Master's courses in English language teaching (ELT) currently offered in the UK - ELT master's courses in the UK: students' expectations and experiences. We hope you find these resources useful. Deb TeachingEnglish team Teaching kids The United Nations has declared that 20 November is the International Day of the Child. To help raise awareness of this important issue, this lesson plan is about children's rights. First, pupils are introduced to the concept of 'rights'. Then they study a list of items and decide which ones are 'rights'. Next, they read and share missing information, and finally work in groups to make a booklet. Go to the lesson plan Teaching teens This lesson is about the process men had to go through in order to be excused from military service during the First World War. The role play personalises the events to make them more accessible and to bring the period alive, giving the historical events more meaning. Students will also practise their reading and speaking skills. Go to the lesson plan Teaching adults This lesson, Managing a meeting, is part of a series that focuses on two important aspects of managing a meeting: setting up the meeting with a series of emails, and keeping the meeting under control. Two other important parts of managing a meeting, introducing the meeting and closing the meeting, are covered in Lesson 1 and Lesson 5 Development This paper, ELT master's courses in the UK: students' expectations and experiences, provides a comprehensive overview of the range and type of Master's courses in English language teaching (ELT) currently offered in the UK. It includes the modes, formats and components of courses, as well as identifying the target students for the various programmes. Read more Events In this discussion forum, which took place during the Teaching for Success Online Conference last year, a panel of experts and practitioners discussed what 21st-century skills are and the importance of their integration into learning.  Watch a recording You can also find out more about 21st-century skills/core skills by downloading and reading the brochure  Unlocking a world of potential - core skills for learning, work and society Magazine Our blog topics for November and December 2017 look at new trends in ELT, using mobile devices, low-level students and learner diaries. Which new trends from the world of education or beyond do you think will spread or influence English language teaching and how? Phones off or phones on in class? What are your top tips for teaching very low-level learners? These are just some of the questions we are asking you to post about. Happy blogging! 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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