E V O L V E S C H O O L: TeachingEnglish newsletter 16 September 2020

TeachingEnglish newsletter

16 September 2020

Welcome to the latest edition of the TeachingEnglish newsletter!

The British Council is committed to supporting teachers and teacher educators during the Covid-19 crisis.

This week we invite you to take part in a webinar focused on schools reopening and pupil well-being. We also have two lesson plans to help primary and secondary learners transition back to school and reflect on remote learning, and an encouraging video about setting up a WhatsApp School in Pakistan.

We also bring you tips and resources from the ELTons Local Innovation 2020 finalists, a new report on the professional development needs of teacher educators in Cameroon and a series of videos which publicise the 10th edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

And finally, we are pleased to announce the World Teachers' Day Web Conference 2020, to be held Saturday 3 October. Don't forget to register!

We hope you find these resources useful.

The TeachingEnglish team

New things

This lesson is designed to help primary children’s transition back to school in the English classroom, giving them opportunities to think about and share experiences from their time at home, and to establish a set of rules for the classroom where Covid-19 restrictions apply. Use this lesson in face-to-face, online or hybrid teaching to discuss new things students have learned or done differently during Covid-19.

World Teachers' Day Web Conference 2020

2020 has been one of the most challenging years in many ways, and particularly for schools and teachers who have had to adjust to new ways of working. More than ever, there is a need for educators around the world to connect and learn from each other in order to find effective ways of ensuring students continue learning, either remotely from home, in physically distanced face-to-face classrooms or a combination of the two. Join British Council and IATEFL on Saturday 3 October 2020 for a series of online talks, workshops and panel discussions.

Positives and negatives of remote learning

This lesson plan is designed to be used with secondary students who have had recent experience of remote learning. Students reflect on some of the differences between remote and face-to-face learning by completing a survey about the remote learning that they have done. They also watch a video and prepare a report. There are two versions of this lesson plan – one specifically for online lessons and one for face-to-face classrooms where physical-distancing procedures are in place.

Education exchange: Schools reopening – pupil well-being

Many children are now returning to the physical classroom, having spent significant time in remote learning environments. This webinar will focus on how we continue to ensure children have optimal learning experiences while managing the well-being challenges of returning to the physical classroom. Join us 23 September, 15.00 UK summer time.

Local Innovation 2020 finalists – tips and resources

The ELTons Local Innovation Award is about overcoming challenges. It is given for resourcefulness where resources are limited, extra efforts where circumstances are trying and overcoming challenges to meet specific local needs. Standout submissions in the Local Innovation category this year include STEAM project-based English learning for young learners in Brazil, bilingual readers improving the English proficiency in India, learning through enquiry in Mexico, English-medium instruction (EMI) in Sri Lanka, and bridging inequality in Nigeria. Read their tips and open-access resources for teachers and learners.

A teacher's resolve creates a WhatsApp School

This is a very interesting and encouraging short video from Rabiah Chaudhry of Teach for Pakistan 2.0. Rabiah describes how she and her colleagues, Fajarna Huda and Sannia Salman, took on the challenge of low-tech learning and set up a WhatsApp School. The results were very positive in terms of inclusivity, learner agency and parent involvement.

The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 10th edition

To celebrate the tenth edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (OALD), Oxford University Press has produced a video about AS Hornby, called The Man Who Made Dictionaries. Other videos produced that you may be interested in are: The most important words to learn in English and How an editor writes a dictionary definition.There are also several interviews with Hornby scholars here.

Professional development needs of teacher educators at a Higher Teacher Training College in Cameroon

In Cameroon, as in other contexts, many teacher educators are university professors with doctorate degrees but have no teacher training or teaching experience in primary/secondary schools (Tambo, 1995; Ndame, 2019; Wiysahnyuy, 2019). The problem outlined in this report, simply put, is: they train the teachers, but who trains them? This report was funded by the British Council's online community of practice for teacher educators and is freely available to download.