Engaging Generation Y with technology, 28th March 2013
Teachers Teacher Cafe TechnologyWe're not always teaching Generation Y, but learners think and behave differently than those from previous generations. These students were born into a world of information technology; they regularly multitask and they trust the ideas of peers and web videos more than their teachers.Generation Y is significant: it constitutes 20 percent of the world's population. As Gen-Y occupies the young end of the population demographic, we can assume many second language learners belong to this group; it demands our attention and understanding.
Louis Rogers - Academic Vocabulary
Teachers Teacher Cafe LanguageThe four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking have dominated the EAP classroom for many years; however in the last decade academic word lists has given much greater prominence to vocabulary teaching. This talk will give an overview of some of the main studies into creating Academic Word Lists and look at the impact of vocabulary knowledge of skills such as reading.
Learn English Apps
Teachers Teacher Cafe TechnologyCheck out these excellent apps for your mobile device of choice!
No Internet? No Problem!
Teachers Teacher Cafe TechnologyOne problem with integrating most technology is that schools and teachers rely too much on Internet access. We forget that even without the Internet, laptops and mobile devices are very powerful learning tools. Here are a few ideas of the many, I do with students that do not require a class Internet connection.
Steven Pinker on Language Pragmatics
Teachers Teacher Cafe LanguageSteven Pinker talks about Language Pragmatics and how language is learned through context.
100+ video sites every educator should bookmark
Teachers Teacher CafeBringing multimedia into the classroom is a great way to engage students in learning. Supplementing lessons, opening up new interests, and offering inspiration, online videos make for an incredible teaching tool. Check out the very best sources for educational videos on the web.
The learner-centred classroom
Teachers Teacher CafeThis webinar will explore different aspects of learner-centred teaching. What does it mean to be 'learner-centred'? Why is it important? We will examine some of the practical issues. What problems might arise? Is learner-centred teaching possible in all contexts? We will consider these and other questions, and also introduce some ideas which can help teachers to become more learner-centred.
ABC of SLA
Teachers History Teacher CafeScott Thornbury's history of second language acquisition (SLA) in a nutshell. A lot of great ideas.
The future of global English - coping with culture
Teachers Teacher CafeThis talk was given by David Crystal for The English-Speaking Union annual lecture, in partnership with the British Council.
There is a widely held view that one of the consequences of the rise of English as a world language is global intelligibility. However, at the level of everyday communication, cultural differences between the countries that use English often present a barrier to understanding.
The talk illustrates some of the conversational cross-purposes that have taken place, and discusses the kind of cultural awareness all English speakers need to have when they interact with others on a global scale.
The Everyday Language Learner Interview Series: Stephen Krashen
Teachers Teacher CafeDr. Krashen is perhaps best know for the general theory of second language acquisition.
Scaffolding as a Teaching Strategy
Teachers Teacher CafeLauren Scharff discusses the Scaffolding approach to teaching.
Jack C. Richards on Professional Development for ESL/ELT Professionals
Teachers Self Teacher CafeIn this video, Jack discusses professional development for ELT/ESL professionals.
The Lexical Approach - Leslie Hendra's Secrets
Teachers Teacher CafeLeslie Hendra reveals her secret teaching tip and the importance of the lexical approach to teaching English. Recorded at IATEFL 2012 in Glasgow.
Leslie is one of the co-authors of "English Unlimited" (Cambridge University Press)
Vicki Hollett and ELF
Teachers Teacher CafeAndi White from the BESIG online team interviews Vicki Hollett about ELF and BELF.
Loraine Kennedy: Coaching and mentoring skills for ELT
Teachers Leadership Teacher CafeWhether you are a teacher, a teacher trainer or an ELT manager, this session is relevant to your work. Coaching and mentoring skills are techniques used to help people achieve their goals, whether those are language learning goals, or professional development objectives, or career ambitions.
Six Big Ideas and One Little One
Teachers Teacher CafeIn this talk on English language teaching (ELT), Scott Thornbury, associate professor in the New School MA TESOL program, briefly reviews the work of six educationists whose ideas have helped shape his own practical theory of ELT. Professor Thornbury suggests that situating ELT within a broader educational context has important implications and benefits.
Cambridge English - Need a plan?
Teachers Education Teacher CafeCambridge has a great website with a teacher zone that has free lesson plans.
What we're learning from online education
Teachers Education Future Teacher CafeDaphne Koller is enticing top universities to put their most intriguing courses online for free -- not just as a service, but as a way to research how people learn. With Coursera (cofounded by Andrew Ng), each keystroke, quiz, peer-to-peer discussion and self-graded assignment builds an unprecedented pool of data on how knowledge is processed.
Dan Pink: The puzzle of motivation
Teachers Psychology Teacher CafeCareer analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward.
The Flipped Classroom
Teachers Teacher CafeThe Definition: The flipped classroom inverts traditional teaching methods, delivering instruction online outside of class and moving homework into the classroom.
Increasingly common in the last few years and made more popular by Khan Academy, the flipped classroom concept is a perfect match for the SMRT curriculum. ESL students in particular can benefit from watching grammar lectures before school starts and having�extra class time for active learning and skill building.
Want more information? Try the Teacher's Guide to Flipped Classrooms by Edudemic. �This technology education blog has compiled a comprehensive list of flipped class resources with teacher support, examples and videos.
Exploiting Infographics for ELT
Teachers Creativity Teacher CafeIn his blog Nik's Quickshout, Nik Peachy informs us of different ways to use these visually arresting and vocabulary rich resources in the ELT classroom. He also gives tips about finding and selecting the best infographics for students and designing appropriate tasks to accompany them. Infographics easily lend themselves to a vocabulary, writing or even a grammar lesson and are perfect for visual learners.