Online

resources

Tracker

Issue 129
July
www.etprofessional.com 2020

ia
ed
Recognising the

M
importance of teachers
Natalia Wright

nd
Moving teenage
classes online ga
hin
Enda Scott
lis

Food, glorious food!

b

Michelle Ocriciano
Pu

The chat box

ion

Ethan Mansur
vil
Pa
©

The practical resource for English language teachers worldwide

 ETpedia TM

New from
ETpedia
Teacher Training
500 ideas
for teacher
training in
English language
teaching

ETpedia Teacher Training

ia
ed
500 ideas for teacher training in English

M
language teaching

nd
Authors: Beth Melia-Leigh and Nicholas Northall
Series Editor: John Hughes

ga
New for 2020, ETpedia Teacher Training is a one-stop
resource for new and more experienced teacher trainers.
hin
It’s packed with ideas for beginning teacher training courses,
input sessions, teaching practice, lesson planning, lesson
lis

observations, self-reflection, giving feedback, assignments

and written tasks, different training contexts, further
b

development and ending teacher training courses.

Pu

NEW Ideal for: new and more experienced teacher trainers.

ion

10 reasons to use ETpedia Teacher Training

1. Learn more about the different aspects of a teacher trainer’s role
vil

2. Get support with making the transition from teacher to trainer

3. Make your training more engaging
Pa

4. Get inspiration for preparing input sessions

5. Recap techniques and activities you haven’t used in a while
©

6. Supplement your repertoire with fresh new ideas

7. Develop your mentoring skills
8. Use alternative approaches to observation
9. Fine-tune your feedback skills
10. Integrate online training techniques

Price: £34.95 ISBN: 9781913414160

Order today at: www.pavpub.com/pavilion-elt
Email: [email protected]
Call: +44 (0)1273 434 943
Contents Issue 129
July 2020

MAIN FEATURE TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

4 Recognising the importance of 20 Managing online fun

teachers Chris Roland sees structure as key when
Natalia Wright speaks up for educators teaching children online

24 Online classes for pre-schoolers

ia
FEATURES Riccardo Chiappini isn’t short of things to do
15 with small children

ed
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
6 Success with online activities TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

M
David Byrne and Mark Heffernan advocate
peer-monitoring 48 Working with emergent language
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Richard Chinn encourages teachers to react

nd
to learner language
8 The chat box
Ethan Mansur champions online chatting
TECHNOLOGY
20
ga
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
51 Intercultural collaboration
12 Moving teenage classes online
Sandi Ferdiansyah and Kenia Ninoska Obando
Enda Scott reflects on his experiences
hin
plot their experience of a cross-cultural project
of switching to online teaching
54 Five things you always wanted to
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM know about: teaching younger
lis

15 Food, glorious food! learners live online

Michelle Ocriciano takes her students Nicky Hockly gives advice on online classes
into her kitchen 36 for the very young
b

IN THE CLASSROOM 55 Webwatcher

Pu

18 Another way with SWOT Russell Stannard records his students

Ruth Little builds on the potential with Flipgrid
of a business analysis tool
ion

REGULAR FEATURES
IN THE CLASSROOM
30 Students’ stories 19 32 IT WORKS IN PRACTICE
43
vil

David Heathfield delights in a tale of 34 REVIEWS

mutual deceit
36 SCRAPBOOK
IN THE CLASSROOM 56 NOT ONLY, BUT ALSO ...
Pa

39 Let’s map it out! Chia Suan Chong suggests supporting

Margit Szesztay and Uwe Pohl present students’ wellbeing
patterns of interaction
©

EXAMS AND ASSESSMENT

43 Service, please! 2
Martina Dorn produces practical activities
for formative assessment

Includes materials designed to photocopy,

some of which can now be downloaded from
the ETp website (see page 3)

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 1

Editorial
The last issue of ETp included several articles giving from Indonesia and Nicaragua working together on
advice on the technical side of the sudden switch personal digital videos.
from face-to-face to online teaching occasioned by
Our main feature, by Natalia Wright, makes an
the Covid-19 lockdown. By the time you receive this
important point about teaching, whether this is done
issue, teachers in some countries may be starting to
face to face or online: the teacher remains fundamental.

ia
return to the classroom, but many others will still be
She is concerned that a complete switch to online
required to teach online. The articles chosen for this
teaching runs the risk of fulfilling science fiction writer

ed
issue reflect this duality and concentrate less on how
Isaac Asimov’s vision of a future in which students no
to set up your online classes, and more on what to
longer attend school or interact with each other, and

M
do with the students once you are firmly established
where the teacher is a robot rather than a human.
in your virtual classroom. I notice a recurrent theme
in many of the articles, suggesting that online Whether you are revelling in the possibilities of online

nd
teaching may be seen to have actual advantages, teaching, lamenting its restrictions or perhaps even
rather than merely being a poor substitute for ‘the celebrating your return to the classroom, albeit with
real thing’. I wonder how many teachers will continue social distancing precautions, I wish you all the best
to incorporate an online element in their teaching
once the virus crisis is over. ga
for the next few months, and hope that you, your
families and your students remain happy and healthy.
hin
One of the most inventive ideas comes from Michelle
Ocriciano, who takes the opportunity of having access
to her own kitchen (and possibly also the virtual
lis

kitchens of her students) during her English classes

to base her lessons on food – always a popular topic
b

– and actually demonstrate her favourite recipe for pizza.

Helena Gomm
Pu

Both Riccardo Chiappini and Nicky Hockly tackle the Editor

question of how to engage the very young (and their Email: [email protected]
parents) in online English lessons, whilst Chris Roland
ion

maintains that structure and support are crucial to Connect with us!
managing the fun that can be had with his online
activities for children.
vil

Sandi Ferdiansyah and Kenia Ninoska Obando have

@ETprofessional linkedin.com/ facebook.com/
found the Covid-19 lockdown a perfect time to run
etprofessional etprofessional
Pa

their intercultural collaboration project, with students

©

ENGLISH TEACHING PROFESSIONAL

Published by: Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd, Designer: Emma Dawe Subscriptions: Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
Blue Sky Offices, 25 Cecil Pashley Way, Advertising Sales Manager: Charlotte Baseley Email: [email protected]
Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5FF Email: [email protected] Web: www.etprofessional.com/etp-subscriptions/
Tel: +44 (0)1273 434943
Publisher: Kirsten Holt Numéro de Commission Paritaire: 1004 U 82181.
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected] Prix à l’unité = EUR14.75;
Fax: +44 (0)1273 227308
Photos: All pictures from Gettyimages.com à l’abonnement (6 numéros) = EUR59.
Web: www.etprofessional.com
unless otherwise stated Directeur de la Publication: Christine Hicks
© 2020, Pavilion Publishing and Media Ltd
ISSN 1362-5276
Editor: Helena Gomm Pages 31 and 36–38 include materials which are designed to photocopy. All other rights are reserved
Email: [email protected] and no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without
Editorial Consultant: Mike Burghall prior permission in writing from the publishers.

2 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 ONLINE RESOURCES

Resources online
Go to etprofessional.com/resources for your extra printable resources, ready for use in class.

ia
ed
M
nd
ga
hin
lis

ONLINE RESOURCES ONLINE RESOURCES

Wise Ma Sabe What did you do during Covid-19?

T
b

here was once a wise girl will not have to marry me. However, only she could see. She shouted out
1 2
whose name was Ma if the stone you pick is black, then with joy and then she laughed.
A: I’d been meaning to do it for years, but I’d just never A: So did you go out on it every day?
Sabe. She lived with her the debt is still cancelled, but you
‘I am safe, I do not have to marry the found the time. B: Yes, once we were told that we could exercise.
mother in a simple home will be my wife. What do you say?’
king. My mother has no more debts. B: But how did you get started? Did you just sit down at
by a river with a little land A: But wasn’t it really hard work? There are lots of hills
Pu

‘No!’ cried Ma Sabe’s mother. I am free to marry the man I want!’ your computer and begin writing? where you live.
which they farmed. They had to pay
a high rent to the king, who was a Ma Sabe paused to think. She She ran and jumped and span around A: Well, as I say, I had been intending to do it for some time, B: Ah, but I bought myself an electric one.
powerful, cruel and selfish man and guessed that the cruel king had put and threw the stone into the river. so I already had some ideas for the basic plot and the
A: I see. Isn’t that cheating?
two black stones in the bag. If she characters. Before I knew it, I’d completed ten chapters.
owned all the land. All the farmers The king shouted in confusion. B: Not really. I pedalled most of the way, but just got a bit of
owed him a lot of money. The king refused to play, she knew the king B: Wow!
extra help for going up the hills.
had 300 wives and was always would be angry, and would cause ‘What have you done?’
looking for a new one. Ma Sabe her mother problems. But if she took ‘Oh, dear king. I was so pleased at
loved a blacksmith and wished to out a black stone, she would have to not having to marry you that I
marry no one but him. marry the unkind and selfish king. accidentally dropped the stone into 3 4
She looked at the blacksmith, the the river.’
One day, the king was riding out on A: I’ve put on so much weight! A: So had you done any before?
man she loved, and thought about
his white elephant when he saw Ma ‘But you took the black stone!’ B: I’m not surprised. Did you make something every day? B: Well, I went to an evening class once, but I didn’t like the
what to do. Then she looked the
ion

Sabe near the river. ‘She will be my teacher much, so I gave up.
king in the eye. ‘My dear king, if you look in the bag A: Well, not every day. There were times when I couldn’t
new wife.’ get any yeast or the right type of flour. But when I could, A: Weren’t all the classes closed, though?
What do you think Ma Sabe did? you will see that the stone that is still
The king rode on to the small house I made several loaves at a time. B: Yes, but this was a class on YouTube. The teacher
What would you do? in there is black. So you know the
by the river and found Ma Sabe’s colour of the stone I dropped in the B: And ate them as well? demonstrated all the positions really clearly. The moves
mother. river was white.’ A: Well yes, it’s so much better than the shop-bought stuff. were quite simple and I felt really good afterwards.
Really relaxed.
‘I will marry your daughter.’ The king was confused and angry but A: So, can you stand on your head now?
‘No, that cannot be,’ said Ma Sabe’s could say nothing in front of his
B: No, but I can do all sorts of poses that stretch the
mother. She knew about the king’s ‘I will do it. I will play the game.’ soldiers. He climbed back onto his muscles and improve the balance.
cruelty and greed. elephant and rode away.
She walked towards the king and
5 6
‘You are saying no to me? I am the reached into the bag. She took out one With her mother’s blessing, wise Ma
A: I had lessons when I was a child. But I didn’t enjoy A: Before the lockdown, I used to go at least once a week.
stone, gripped tightly in her hand. She Sabe was soon married to the
vil

king and you owe me rent. You practising every day and my teacher used to get angry
held her hand close to her face and blacksmith, and they lived a long B: You must have missed it. How did you manage?
cannot refuse.’ if I played a wrong note. So I gave up.
opened her fingers just enough so that and happy life. A: Well, lots of places were putting recordings on the
The king was furious as he rode away. B: What made you take it up again now? internet. I saw several shows that I’d wanted to see live
A: Well, I knew I would have lots of time to practise, and I but had missed.
The next day, the king returned on
wanted to do something creative during the lockdown. B: Not quite the same as seeing them live, though.
his white elephant, which was now
A: But you must have needed something to practise on! A: No, but the camera work was really good and there were
decorated with bright colours. The
king was wearing a crown set with B: My grandfather died last year and he left me his. It was little details that I’d never have been able to see from my
rubies and was followed by a band taking up a huge amount of space in my spare room. I kept usual seat at the back of the circle!
a lot of books and things on top of it, so it was nice to use
of soldiers in shining armour. There,
it properly again.
Pa

outside the house beside the river,

Ma Sabe stood with her mother and 7 8
her beloved blacksmith. A: Wow! This looks great. There’s so much space! A: And these are carrots, potatoes and sweetcorn.
‘Ma Sabe,’ said the king, ‘I wish you B: I’d been meaning to do it for years, and the lockdown B: What was here before? I think I remember you had roses ...
to be my new wife, but your mother finally gave me the time. There were loads of things that A: Yes, this bed was all flowers. But I thought it would be
has other ideas, so I am giving you a I never use, and I just put them outside until I was left good to produce my own food.
chance. Here, I have a game for you with just the things I really like and really use.
B: So you dug everything up and replaced the flowers with
to play. In this beautiful embroidered A: What did you do with all of it? vegetables?
bag there are two small stones, one B: I took it all to a recycling centre as soon as they opened A: Well, not everything. I still have some flowers over there
white and one black. Put your hand again. outside the front door.
in the bag and take a stone. If you
©

choose the white stone, your

mother’s debt is cancelled and you

‘Scrapbook: What did you do during Covid-19?’

‘Students’ stories 19’ by David Heathfield www.etprofessional.com www.etprofessional.com
by Ian Waring Green

Wise Ma Sabe What did you do during Covid-19?

Accompanies ‘Students’ stories 19’ Accompanies ‘Scrapbook: hobbies’
by David Heathfield, page 30 by Ian Waring Green, page 36

Your subscription to English

Teaching professional gives you
full access to etprofessional.com,
which includes: Online
resources Tracker Digital issue

www.etprofessional.com
MAIN FEATURE

Recognising
the importance
of teachers

ia
ed
Natalia Wright voices
her vision of the future.

M
nd
ga
hin
b lis
Pu

T
ion

his article has been inspired by the many voices in ‘All the kids from the whole neighbourhood came, laughing
Issue 128 of ETp who responded to the sudden need and shouting in the schoolyard, sitting together in the schoolroom,
to switch to online teaching during the Covid-19 crisis. going home together at the end of the day. And the teachers
were people …’
vil

There is a mushrooming body of literature

which places the students at the forefront of To me, this portrayal of our present-day schools (seen from
everything teachers do. However, accounts of teachers as the the viewpoint of 2157) seems far from the reality that Asimov
Pa

driving force of education and their centrality in the intended. Indeed, the world of today bears very little similarity
educational landscape seem to be anecdotal rather than to the world of just a few years ago, when such a picture of
formally acknowledged. Therefore, in this article, I would like school life would have been more accurate (Asimov’s short story
to re-focus public attention away from the students and onto was written in 1951). The learning process these days reminds me
©

the teachers, who are the sine qua nons of successful learning. more of the distant future scenario so realistically painted by the
author, where the concept of school means regular hours spent
in a ‘schoolroom next to the bedroom’, in front of a flashing
Asimov’s vision came true screen with a mechanical teacher. Such a dystopian image of a
In Isaac Asimov’s short story ‘The fun they had’, Tommy school can hardly leave anybody untouched. Even the word
and Margie are two children of the future, both of whom are ‘school’ itself does not sound appropriate in the context of the
having unsatisfactory experiences with their education, global pandemic that the world is facing at the moment. With
which is conducted entirely online by robot teachers, in the closure of schools during the Covid-19 crisis, millions of
solitude and with no human interaction whatsoever. One day Margies and Tommys around the world unwillingly sit
in 2157, Tommy finds a book (an ancient artefact, almost themselves in front of their flashing screens every day and, with
unheard of in their time) in his attic. It describes the schools a considerable nudge from their parents, try to learn. One
of the past – in other words, those of our own time: important detail, though, is different from the 2157 school

4 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 MAIN FEATURE

described by Asimov: the teachers are still human beings who are technically (and technologically) equipped to teach online when
still (and I hope will always be) central to the whole teaching– we were suddenly called upon to do so?
learning process. It is for their energy and passion for teaching Rapidly changing technological tools have made it virtually
no matter what, their commitment to their chosen path, and impossible for teachers to keep up with all the latest
their unquestionable eagerness to respond in an adequate and developments, and many of us have found that our inability to
timely way to the ever-changing realities of our life, that I call do so has eroded our enthusiasm for technology.
teachers the ‘hearts and souls’ of learning.
Taking advantage of the perceived need for more and more
technology, major tech giants like Google or Microsoft have
A changing landscape continued to increase their power and hold over the market by
The Covid-19 situation has redefined the notion of teaching, and generating more and more pricey digital products. This is not
assigned teachers a completely new role: that of ‘online tutors’ or to say that we are not enjoying the benefits that technological

ia
‘virtual assistants’. It seems to me that society has placed too advances bring. However, the relentlessness of their promotion
much pressure on teachers to bridge the gaps and ensure that the is alarming. Having fallen in love with technology in the late

ed
established learning outcomes are met, without providing them 1990s, many of us have ended up resenting it. We feel that it is
with what they need to achieve this. Thus, the global situation driving us away from the face-to-face model of teaching
has revealed the unpreparedness of educators to respond preferred by many teaching professionals into the fashion of

M
efficiently to the sudden crisis. Lack of appropriate guidance, digitalised education delivery.
training and resources has put a lot of stress on teachers across
the globe, who already feel that the ground is shifting under their A possible future?

nd
feet. Online teaching is not something that is generally covered
One scenario of the post-pandemic future of teaching and
on teacher training courses. Teachers, in their turn, also place
learning, which is enthusiastically shared at many levels of society,
high expectations on their students, requiring them to become

ga
involves online education becoming a strategic priority at every
autonomous, technologically-literate learners overnight.
institution, gradually replacing classroom learning. If such a
To make matters worse, the pressure to teach online for six situation becomes a reality, then soon a ‘school’ as we once
to seven hours daily is amplified by an emerging appeal in
hin
perceived it – as a building where all students gathered to interact
recent articles that we should ‘make ourselves available’ to our with each other and their teachers – will become a memory of the
students and ‘be sensitive’ to their needs. I have come across old days. From this dystopian stance, the future of education
numerous websites which offer support to teachers, in the form somewhat resembles that described in Asimov’s story. What about
lis

of guides to online teaching and strategies for online learning. human teachers? Will mechanical teachers replace them? I really
In my opinion, the support that teachers really need involves hope not. Online learning undoubtedly provides opportunities, but
help with how to stay mentally healthy and motivated to teach,
b

can never replicate or replace face-to-face classroom interaction.

and this kind of information is sadly lacking.
Pu

Suddenly, parents – whose role has also undergone t t t

considerable transformation – have got a taste of what it is like
to school their children, and they have quickly realised that The lessons learnt during the Covid-19 pandemic should prompt
ion

teaching is an extremely challenging and laborious undertaking. us to engage in a period of reflection and to open up a dialogue
My students nostalgically reminisce about ‘the fun they had’ about how we want to educate future generations. I sincerely hope
in the real classroom, when they could interact with each other that teachers will be included in these debates, as they are the ones
and enjoy the other benefits that face-to-face learning inherently who are, and who will be, dealing with the complexities of
vil

possesses. The experience of being separated from my students teaching and making learning happen. They are the people who
by a screen and being unable to see their faces has made me should have the greatest say in the development of future
painfully aware that this new method of lesson delivery has education policies, as they might be able to guide the world to a
Pa

dehumanised the entire notion of teaching and learning. mutually favourable scenario where their role as the ‘hearts and
souls’ of learning will become more recognised and supported. n
Technology: blessing or curse?
©

Asimov, I ‘The fun they had’ The Magazine of Fantasy and Science
The process of globalisation and advances in digital technology Fiction 1954
have contributed significantly to increasing demands to reassess
the kind of knowledge that a teaching professional needs to Natalia Wright has been an EFL teacher and
have. It seems that there has never been a more urgent time teacher trainer for over 20 years in Russia and
than now, in these unprecedented circumstances, for teachers to other countries. Now based in Kuwait, she
be technologically literate; and technology is generally works as an English instructor at the
University of the Middle East. She holds an
perceived as something good that is here to ease our existence.
MA in Language Education from the
In light of recent circumstances, however, how many of us University of Chichester, UK, and is currently
can honestly say that this is true? In our CVs, we are proudly an EdD student at the University of Glasgow.
claiming the ability to use technology as a marker of our [email protected]
professionalism, but how many of us were actually ready and

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 5

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Success with
online activities
David Byrne and Mark Heffernan establish criteria for successful peer–peer monitoring.

ia
I
n a physical classroom there’s a lot we teachers can get away ■■ Accept the situation: You cannot be everywhere.

ed
with, but moving online (thank you, Covid-19) has shone the ■■ Adapt to the situation: Give more time to setting up the task
harsh glow of the computer screen on some of our common and create mini-monitors.
practices and bad habits. One question in particular that keeps

M
Let’s divide the latter into steps:
coming up amongst the teachers we’ve been speaking with is:
How do we monitor pair- and groupwork if our students are all in Step 1: Give more time
separate breakout rooms? We can’t be everywhere at once! Don’t rush the setting up. With online teaching, you can’t get away

nd
No, we can’t. But let’s consider the physical classroom for a with quick instructions. You need to ensure that everyone knows
moment. Of course, it’s easier to set up pairwork quickly and move what is expected of them and what to do if the task goes wrong.

ga
around the class monitoring when you’re in the same room as your Consider giving someone in the group the role of contacting you if
students, but perhaps this ease has made us a little complacent. they need help or are unsure of what to do. Ensure that all the

! Here are some questions we’d like you to mull over while students know what you will be doing while they are working:
hin
you read: ■■ Will you be taking a couple of minutes to set up the next
1 Can you monitor everyone in a physical classroom at the activity?
same time? ■■ Will you be silently moving around each breakout room and
monitoring for good examples?
lis

2 How much student output are you realistically

monitoring at any one time? ■■ Will you come into each group and get involved in their
3 How clear are your instructions before the task? discussion?
b

David is going to give you the answers for himself on an Step 2: Tripods
Pu

average teaching day: Instead of pairs, set up groups of three, so that two students
1 No. On a good day, I can probably listen to one group at a are carrying out the speaking task and one student is
time, and I like to think that my magical teaching ears are monitoring. Then they can swap.
ion

tuned to hear glaring errors across the room.

Step 3: Give clear success criteria
2 If I’m honest, I’m probably only hearing up to 25 percent
By this stage, your students know what to do if something goes
of the student output at any one time.
wrong in their groups, they are in tripods and one student is
vil

3 I like to think they’re reasonably clear, but that I can ready to monitor. But what are they monitoring for? How do
always fall back on reissuing instructions to any group they know what to listen for? One of the issues we’ve
that is off-task as I monitor. encountered in the past with peer-to-peer feedback is that it’s
Pa

either vague or quite subjective. Very often, it will focus on

Steps to success content as opposed to language or skills feedback. What we
For the purposes of this article, if we accept the above as more or have learnt over the years is that we have been asking too much
©

less average for the majority of teachers, then we can say that at of our students. We have been asking them to do something
any one time, even in a physical classroom, we are missing up to without giving them the tools to do so. We have been asking
75 percent of student output in a speaking activity. them to hang a painting without a hammer or a nail.
If we consider the online classroom, the situation worsens. They need more guidance. Let’s take exam classes as an
At any one time, we can only monitor the people in the breakout example. Over the years, I have often seen exam teachers
room we are currently in. Glaring errors in other groups will go encouraging their students to self-monitor or peer-monitor, and I
completely unnoticed. Wayward groups who are completely have seen their students do so effectively. What’s the difference?
off-task will be left to be so for even longer than normal. Unclear Well, in exam classes, thanks to exam handbooks, we have clear
instructions could lead to the students being off-task, or even criteria for each exam task, so the students know what is expected
worse, in groups who have no idea what to do and who sit in of them. They know how long they have to speak for, they know
silence awaiting your arrival in their breakout room. what language points they need to try to include: in short, they
So, what’s the answer? know what success looks like. This enables them to give each other

6 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

feedback. For example: You only spoke for 40 seconds, You had 20 advantages to including them in your lessons:
more seconds to use or You described the pictures, but you didn’t use ■■ The students are more aware of what is expected of them in
comparatives, so you’re not comparing them. the task.
To enable our general English students to do the same, we ■■ The students can choose to focus on all of them or just a few
need to give them success criteria for each speaking activity. But of them, depending on their weaknesses.
where can we find these? Your success criteria for a speaking
■■ Monitors can give more focused feedback, because they
activity should be based on what you’ve taught. Consider:
know what they’re looking out for.
■■ The language you want the students to use:
■■ The students can use them to reflect on their own production.
This could be the vocabulary you’ve taught in the lesson.
It could be the grammar point you’ve examined. ■■ The criteria can be negotiated with the students before the
task, so they feel more invested in the activity.
■■ The skills you want them to use:

ia
It could be that you have taught them about showing interest Now, you’re probably all thinking the same thing: Can we trust
or keeping a conversation going. the students to give feedback? They’ll inevitably give incorrect

ed
feedback at some point and we’ll miss it.
■■ The pronunciation you want them to focus on:
This could be some aspect of connected speech you’ve taught Yes, this may be the case, which is why it is crucial to ensure

M
them, related to the grammar point from the lesson. that the criteria are clear and that your students are aware of
what will happen after the task. If questions arise and they are
■■ The successful outcome of the speaking task:
unsure of the answer, should they bring you into the discussion
This could be to decide who had the best weekend or whose
immediately or will these questions be dealt with after the

nd
national dish sounds most delicious.
speaking task when you all come back together? It’s important
For example, if the topic of your lesson is national dishes and that this is established before the task, so that you can cut down

ga
you’ve taught your students adjectives for describing food, the on the issue above. The key here is ensuring that feedback is a
skill of showing interest and the skill of describing dishes to dialogue and that the students are involved in this discussion.
someone from another country, then the success criteria for the
And remember, the alternative is that the majority of their
activity might be as follows:
hin
production is missed entirely and the students leave the
What does successfully describing national speaking activity and the lesson with little to no feedback …
dishes include? and that just isn’t acceptable.
 Using the adjectives from today’s lesson (eg moreish,
lis

savoury, salty, sweet, delicious, warming). t t t

 Using sort of like, kind of like and similar to to compare
b

dishes. Teaching online has been something of a learning curve for

Pu

many of us. The real question is if we will take the lessons we’ve
 Using the weak form of of. learnt back with us to our physical classrooms when this is all
 Using that sounds amazing/delicious to show interest. over. Ensuring that our students have clear guidance and the
 Describing one dish each and deciding which one is the ability to give meaningful, objective feedback to their peers is one
ion

most delicious. lesson we hope will stay with us long after Covid-19 has gone. n
These criteria need to be communicated to the students prior to
the activity. By wording them in check-box form (as above), it’s David Byrne has taught in Spain, South Korea,
vil

Ireland and England. He is now based in

easier for the students to see them as steps to success. Breaking the
London as Curriculum Manager of EC English.
lesson and the production stage down into these criteria can help In his spare time, he writes (teaching materials
our learners to see that everything they have learnt today was not
Pa

and fiction). He and Mark have just released

just random, but was building towards a communicative goal. their first resource book: Textploitation: Mining
texts for all they are worth.
There are many ways to begin a discussion about your
[email protected]
success criteria, but here are a few ideas:
©

■■ Model a successful example and elicit what made it

successful. This could be a dialogue from earlier in the unit.
■■ Model an unsuccessful example and elicit what made it Mark Heffernan has been an English teacher
unsuccessful. Turn these points around to create success criteria. for 16 years. He works at Queen Mary
University, London, UK, teaching on their
■■ Use the criteria as a way of checking learning from the sessional programmes and their MA in Applied
lesson. Ask your students what they have learnt today that Linguistics for English Language Teaching. He
could help them with the final production task. and David share a blog, textploitationtefl.com,
which looks at mining texts.
Feedback as a dialogue [email protected]

This article merely scratches the surface of success criteria and

their use, but here are just a few of what we see as the key

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 7

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

ia
ed
M
nd
The ga
chat box
hin
blis

W
Pu

Ethan hen I had to switch abruptly from

Mansur teaching face-to-face lessons to
teaching online with Zoom, I was
zooms in drawn to the chat box for a couple
ion

on tips of reasons. My students and I

and tasks. were all comfortable using it, so it seemed like
there was nothing new to learn. And, besides
vil

sharing my screen, I didn’t know how to use any of

the other features of Zoom, so the chat box was all
I had! It didn’t take me long to discover what a
Pa

useful, flexible tool it could be for my lessons with

teens and adults.
The chat feature of Zoom can be opened by
©

clicking ‘Chat’ in the meeting control bar, or ‘More’

when sharing your screen, which opens a chat
window. When screen sharing, this window can be
conveniently moved around, enlarged or reduced,
depending on how you’d like it to appear on your
screen, how many comments you’d like to see at
once, how many other windows you have open, etc.
One nice thing about the Zoom chat feature is
that all the comments stay there until the room is
closed, even if you close the chat window and open
A Zoom it again, so you can still scroll back up to see a
chat box comment or correction made earlier in the lesson.

8 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

The chat can even be saved to your computer, to reticent teens: using short answers from the chat box
refer to later or send to your students after the as a jumping-off point for further discussion. It
lesson is finished. works much better than asking the students
questions out of the blue in open class. Plus, the
Brainstorming questions themselves are more personalised.
Perhaps the most obvious way of exploiting the chat
box is brainstorming. In practice, this ends up being Pictures
similar to having all the students up at the board at You can also combine your questions with pictures.
once – but without stepping on each other’s feet. It’s In a recent class with adults, I put up a picture of a
fun to see words or ideas spilling out of the deciduous forest in autumn, together with the
students’ heads in real time. In my experience, chat question: How does this picture make you feel? In

ia
box brainstorms work well as warmers or lead-ins, the chat box, I got calm, free, nostalgic, happy, etc
or even as the first test in a test–teach–test lesson, – another excellent jumping-off point for a nice

ed
to see how many words the students already know discussion. To make the lesson more student-
from the lexical area you’re planning to teach. An centred, you can also ask the students to display
added bonus is that brainstorming often creates their own photos by sharing their screens – or to

M
teaching opportunities – when, for example, a find a physical photo in their houses to show
student spells a word incorrectly, or perhaps invents everyone on the webcam. In my experience, a piece
a word based on their L1. of art can work just as well, or even better, than a

nd
photo for this type of activity.
Games
CCQs

ga
■■ One quick game to play involves displaying a
picture of, say, a messy bedroom, and then After introducing grammar or vocabulary, it’s
giving the students a short time to write down good practice to ask a few concept check
in the chat box as many objects as they can see questions (CCQs) to make sure the students have
hin
in the picture. A variation is to put up a picture actually understood it. If these questions are
for ten seconds or so and then take it away. answered by everyone at once in the chat box, you
Afterwards, the students write as many objects can get a quick feel for how well things are going
lis

as they can remember in the chat box. The and decide if there is still some teaching to do
winner is the student with the most correctly- before moving on to the practice stage. When you
identified objects. think about it, there is no way of checking up on
b

Another easy game to play is one I like to call the whole class at once so easily and efficiently in
Pu

■■
‘Private board’. It’s like ‘Backs to the board’, a physical classroom.
but without the backs or the boards. First, use
the chat box to send a private message to one Sending files
ion

student with a vocabulary item. That student One useful feature of the chat box in Zoom is the
then has to explain the word to the class, ‘send file’ function. This can allow you to set up
without actually using it. Mime is also possible, jigsaw reading or listening activities. It’s also handy
depending on the lexical area. A variation for sending the students questions or pictures to
vil

(without the chat box) is to put one student discuss in breakout rooms, because Zoom doesn’t
into a ‘waiting room’ (a setting where the allow you to share your screen with all the breakout
student is outside the ‘meeting’ and can only rooms at once. Note that PDFs work best, but be
Pa

rejoin when invited to do so by the ‘host’), give careful: for some reason, students working on
the rest of the class a word, and then bring that mobile phones or tablets can’t download files via the
one student back to guess the mystery word. chat box – something I found out the hard way.
©

Whenever possible, send important files by email

Questions with simple answers before the lesson, as a backup.
The chat box works well for any question with a
reasonably short answer. For example, I recently Correct this sentence
asked a group of teenagers What are you doing at A simple activity I’ve been using recently is to put
home to pass the time? They wrote things in the chat up a sentence containing a mistake for everyone
box like homework, Netflix, playing computer games, to correct in the chat box. You can have the
cooking, etc. I was then able to ask follow-up students send you their messages privately if you
questions based on their answers: So, Javier, you said don’t want them to copy each other, but I find in
Netflix. Have you seen anything good recently? practice that all the students are writing at once,
Anything you would recommend to your classmates? so this doesn’t end up being a problem. This
This is a strategy I find myself employing often with activity works particularly well for revision.

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 9

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Ideally, everyone fires their correction into the One issue I’ve had with teenagers is that
chat box with lightning speed, but sometimes only sometimes they start playing silly games with the
a few odd answers drift in, one at a time. That’s chat box, such as all typing the same letter,
when you know that a language point is in need instead of paying attention to my lesson.
of a bit more revision. Thankfully, this type of problem has a simple
technological solution. If you don’t like what’s
On-the-spot error correction happening in the chat box, don’t waste time
The chat box is good for doing on-the-spot error acting annoyed and telling the students off –
correction without actually interrupting the simply disable the chat box until you need it
students. This works equally well in open class or again. This can be done with the icon with three
in breakout rooms. It’s minimally distracting for dots on the right-hand side of the chat box and
selecting ‘participants can chat with: no one’.

ia
the person talking, and it gets the correction out
there for everyone to see. If you’re worried about One last non-chat-related warning: Zoom has

ed
embarrassing a student, you can use the private recently received some bad publicity about ‘Zoom
message function to send the correction only to bombing’, where uninvited guests join rooms and
the student who made the mistake. When you are wreak havoc. I’ve actually had the experience of

M
new to online teaching, it’s easy to focus on the strange people trying to join my lesson (I later
disadvantages. But this is one subtle form of found out they were students from another
correction that has no real equivalent in a teacher’s class), but it wasn’t a problem because

nd
physical classroom. my school has activated a ‘waiting room’ for all
our lessons. This way, the students are effectively
Plenary in limbo until manually accepted into the room by

ga
the host. But if the possibility of Zoom bombing
One nice way of rounding off a lesson is to ask the
keeps you up at night, please see Russell
students to tell you one or two things they learnt
Stannard’s article on Zoom in Issue 128 of ETp,
that day. In my normal classes, I have my students
hin
or his teacher training video on the topic: www.
line up and write on the board or I give them
youtube.com/watch?v=UzYWrkCD1uY&
individual sticky notes to use. On Zoom, the chat
feature=youtu.be.
box makes this activity even faster and simpler.
lis

A few words of warning t t t

b

Unless you change the settings to prevent them

from doing it, the students will have the ability For those of us who are used to face-to-face
Pu

to send private messages to each other through teaching, moving online can feel like a very steep
the Zoom chat box. This is an obvious problem technological and methodological hill to climb at
with groups of young learners, who might be first. Everything seems new and unfamiliar. My
ion

tempted to send each other silly, and possibly advice is to keep it simple and take it slow. Start by
even inappropriate, messages. Personally, I’ve trying to exploit simple functions like the chat box
chosen to disable ‘private chat’ completely, to do the same type of activities you would do in
which can be done by logging into the Zoom your classroom lessons. This will allow you and your
vil

portal (www.zoom.us), going to ‘My account’, students to gain confidence with the new medium
then ‘Settings’, and scrolling down until you see – and, most importantly, get back to teaching the
‘Private chat’ (see below). However, if you are type of fun, engaging lessons you give in your
Pa

only working with adults, this private chat function normal classroom. n
could allow you to do activities where information
is passed between individuals, who are perhaps Ethan Mansur has worked in
©

in the same group or on the same team. ELT since 2006. He currently
teaches at International House
Madrid, where he participates in
the professional development
programme. In addition to
contributing regularly to ELT
magazines, he has written
online and print materials for
Oxford University Press and the
Spanish Ministry of Education.
He holds the Cambridge Delta
diploma and an MA in Applied
Linguistics and TESOL.
[email protected]

10 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

Te a c h i n g E n g l i s h R e m o t e l y

Become an Online
English Teacher
Essential tools, strategies and methodologies

ia
for building a successful business

ed
Nestor Kiourtzidis

M
nd
Become an Online English Teacher offers new
and experienced online teachers a fantastic
range of practical information including:
ga
hin
„ essential online tools and applications
„ effective tactics for finding students online
lis

„ actionable steps on how to set up a blog

for your service
b
Pu

„ best practices for promoting your blog

„ recommended procedures for enrolling
ion

new students
„ efficient methods for processing online
vil

payments
„ practical lesson ideas and resources.
Pa

Refreshed for 2020, this one-stop guide to

©

setting up, promoting and delivering a successful

online tutoring service provides even the most
experienced teachers with valuable marketing
information to help increase your revenue.

Order yours at www.pavpub.com/pavilion-elt Refreshed

for
Price £14.95 2020
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +44(0)1273 434943
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

ia
ed
M
nd
Moving teenage ga
hin

classes online
b lis
Pu

O
Enda Scott nline learning and distance language technologies than their teachers and who will adapt
enthuses over courses are already well established. without problems is at best questionable. The
However, the restrictions imposed as a reality is that many students still have limited IT
ion

the potential result of Covid-19 have seen many skills, and their experience of using technology for
of online teachers moved from familiar learning may be restricted to downloading and
teaching. face-to-face (f2f) classrooms to online synchronous completing worksheets or cutting and pasting
vil

environments at very short notice. Here are some information from Google searches. The use of
reflections on my experiences with this changeover. hardware and software which is not up-to-date, and
the difficulty of finding an adequate space to study
Pa

Initial challenges in, must also be taken into account.

Teachers may be familiar with digital materials, the These are challenges indeed, but the good news
use of certain sites in and outside the classroom, but is that they are surmountable and that learning,
©

having to move existing classes online provides a even enhanced learning, can take place. Here are
new challenge. It’s like the beginning of the some observations and recommendations.
academic year all over again, with frantic attempts
to find material, organise classrooms and potentially Don’t panic!
spend hours planning each lesson in a new and Firstly, if an existing f2f class is moved online, there
unfamiliar school. Initially, it may seem that is one immediate advantage over starting such a
hard-earned classroom experience and tricks have course from scratch: the teachers and the students
been thrown out of the window – but, in reality, already know each other, and many of the
many are transferable to an online context. relationships, routines and general management
It is also, of course, a new experience for most techniques in place in the physical classroom can be
students. The idea that students are ‘digital natives’ replicated online. There may even be certain
who are far more comfortable with new advantages to the changeover: working from home

12 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

offers an opportunity for the students to behave as individuals new environment, and becoming at ease with how it works is a
and to be less intimidated by peer pressure. Issues with mixed process which requires patience. As always, the more involved
abilities, early finishers, chatting and other distractions may the students are in elaborating the instructions or explanations,
also be diluted in an environment where the students are the clearer they will be about what they have to do and,
obliged to become more independent and responsible for their therefore, the more productive they will be when they do start.
own learning, without losing the social aspect of being in class. Matching activities, dictations, sending instructions in chat
boxes, etc – and perhaps even audio or video recordings
First steps explaining the steps – are some of the tools that can be used.
It is vital to become familiar with the platform being used and It is worth remembering that, although students are ‘home
the basic tools the platform provides: chat boxes, breakout alone’ as it were, pair-, group- and whole-class work is still both
rooms, screen sharing, etc. These are essentially designed to feasible and necessary. It may be even easier to manage, as there

ia
replicate the f2f experience and, as a result, their application are fewer peer distractions and the students are under more
shouldn’t prove that difficult. The internet is full of amazing pressure to perform as individuals.

ed
resources, sites, apps, etc, but there will be plenty of time to As with any class, but again perhaps even more so online,
explore these later. Teachers will gradually build up their own variety and pace changing is essential. Sixty to 90 minutes is a
favourite arsenal of online ‘goodies’ but, when starting out, the long period to be glued to a screen, so breaks to allow some

M
priority should be to establish a working environment within social chat, a quick video or a team game can all be positive
which both students and teacher are comfortable. ways of adding variety and maintaining the students’ attention
and motivation throughout. These breaks can be planned, but

nd
General management as teachers gain confidence with the new environment, they can
As in any f2f environment, the general organisation of the be kept on hand and used when the mood or pace of the class
requires a nudge, when it is the moment for a virtual ‘stand up

ga
online class and how it is run is crucial. It may not be possible
to allocate seating arrangements or ask the students to get their and move around’ interval. Finally, once again, remember
books out and place them under their seats, but there are that things can take a lot longer to do online, especially at
equally important opening and closing routines necessary to the beginning. In order to build confidence, the students will
hin
make the online environment productive. From calling the need adequate time to prepare and process; rushing will only
attendance list, to checking that the students have the right generate confusion and frustration.
materials, including their coursebooks, pencils and notebooks,
lis

microphones, webcams and a quiet working area, a series of Correction and feedback
checks and reminders will help keep the online class familiar When it comes to correction and feedback, the first step again
and organised. A simple welcome routine where the students
b

is to check the tools available on the platform being used. Chat,

speak briefly, chat and bring each other up to date also aids a polls, breakout rooms, the virtual whiteboard and shared
Pu

sense of unity – a similar routine can be equally important at spaces can easily be exploited to replicate many traditional
the end of the lesson, so that it finishes on a positive note. correction and feedback methods. The new environment may
Consistency adds to the sense of being in a class. Providing even give old ideas and techniques a new lease of life. Using a
ion

an outline of what is going to be covered, or, at the end of the chat box is an interesting way to correct while someone is
class, a summary of what has been done, the use of symbols to speaking. Indeed, the chat box can become a type of live
indicate the skills being focused on, consistency in the design of whiteboard as the teacher adds comments or vocabulary during
presentation slides, etc will ease the transfer to a virtual classroom any activity. Randomly choosing students to respond keeps
vil

and highlight the fact that this is simply an alternative to the everyone on their toes and means participation is potentially
physical classroom. It is important to demonstrate that the more democratic and distributed than in f2f classes where, for
primary objective is to continue covering the given curriculum, different reasons, certain students may try to dominate. Teams,
Pa

etc; the technological environment is only a new way of doing this. points, rewards and competitive opportunities are very simple
Achieving and reinforcing this sense of familiarity provides a to include, just as they are in a standard class.
productive learning environment which, combined with the novelty In reality, it is surprising how similar life online can be, and
©

of online opportunities, stimulates motivation and participation. enhancing that familiarity boosts student participation and a
sense of comfort. Asynchronous feedback will also be necessary,
Setting up and organising activities so if the platform you are using doesn’t allow file sharing,
Effectively setting up activities is always a challenge, but more through which the students can download documents and
so online – initially, at least – when teachers are unable to see upload their work, you may want to explore the opportunities
their students’ reactions clearly, and evaluate whether or not an additional platform such as Google Classroom offers.
they have understood. Clear, step-by-step stages, concept What is interesting to remember is that once a file-sharing
checking, the involvement of the students in explaining and system is established, audio and video material can be
demonstrating a task, remain vital. It is also more important exchanged just as easily as text documents – and a new
than ever to provide both oral and visual input to compensate world suddenly opens up for oral and visual presentations
for the lack of classroom presence. Students also need adequate and feedback. If this is already being done in f2f classes, moving
time to process what is being asked of them as, again, it is a online speeds up the process and enriches such exchanges.

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 13

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

being involved in writing them. Reminding the

students of these rules at the beginning of each
class keeps them in mind, and returning to them
at the end may also serve as reinforcement.
■■ Points and other reward systems from f2f classes
can easily be translated online.
■■ As always, deal with potential problems swiftly, and
ideally on an individual level: a reminder or call to
attention in a private chat, or even holding a student
back after class finishes, may be all that is needed.

ia
Moving forward
Having established the basics of working with

ed
students online and discovering how traditional
classrooms become changed but not totally
Specific advantages

M
different, it may then be time to explore some of a
There are ways in which online teaching may score wide range of online options available and feed
over traditional f2f teaching. For example, the them gradually into the framework that has been

nd
students may focus more on the coursebook established. My recommendation is to try anything
material, with fewer distractions or the temptation new slowly, without being overly ambitious – and
to copy. In addition, some f2f activities may gain a also to be prepared to try it out more than once

ga
new lease of life online. Here are some examples: before fully evaluating its potential. Once something
new has become familiar, it quickly evolves into
■■ Any kind of task requiring the students to search
another tool to be incorporated when planning, or
for information and exchange their findings with
hin
simply to be used during class when a change of
their classmates.
pace is needed. There are hundreds of resources out
■■ Online treasure hunts, designed by the teacher or there: use them rather than letting them use you.
the students themselves.
Finally, as everyone gains confidence, there will
lis

■■ Oral presentations: the students are motivated to be more and more opportunities to explore flipping
produce better-quality presentations, and their the online classroom and encouraging the students
colleagues are motivated to listen more carefully
b

to develop their research, evaluation and

without classroom distractions. presentation skills. Increased learner autonomy can
Pu

■■ Jigsaw-type activities, including reading and be encouraged, using a step-by-step process of

listening, where individuals or groups do different exploring, consolidating and developing.
tasks and collaborate later to share their
ion

experiences and results.

t t t
Discipline
Moving f2f classes online is challenging, but not
vil

The students may have fewer distractions if they are

impossible by any means. The process, in fact, can
in a quiet environment with fewer opportunities for
be highly profitable for all involved, and will
chatting, playing the class clown or hiding behind the
undoubtedly have a lasting impact on all our
Pa

work of a stronger student. Having said that, there is

teaching. What is more, I’m convinced that,
also potential for abuse. Check the controls on your
whatever the future holds, the experiences of f2f
platform to limit or monitor the use of private chat
teaching in online environments will provide a rich
and shared notes ‘behind the teacher’s back’.
©

source of input for the future development of

Occasionally, certain students may use the online teaching and blended learning in general. n
online context or technology as an excuse not to
work (I have no microphone or I can’t use email to Enda Scott is a teacher trainer
send homework). In general, normal procedures can who has worked in ELT for over
be applied, and it may prove necessary to call the 30 years. He has given talks
and workshops all over Spain.
parents about their child’s participation if a student He has an MEd in Educational
really doesn’t get involved – and of course about Technology from the University
anything more serious. However, in general: of Manchester, UK, and is past
president of TESOL-SPAIN.
■■ Be observant.
[email protected]
■■ Establish clear rules for the running of the online
class. Your students will even get a kick out of

14 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

and social position: food can consciously or unconsciously be

Food,
used in attitudes and processes of stratification, that is, unequal
access to desired resources. This lack of access can lead to
exclusion and distinction of members in a given population. In
other words, what and how we eat can be used by others to

glorious
define who we are, what we deserve and where we fit in within
society. For this reason, teachers should not dismiss the
importance of the role food plays in education.

Food and emotions

food!
Food connects people, and the act of cooking, sharing or

ia
providing food can potentially lead to empathy and broaden
interpersonal closeness. Food is also closely related to emotion

ed
regulation, the extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for
monitoring, evaluating and modifying emotional reactions. Recent
research suggests that when offering food, the provider is not only

M
trying to make the receiver feel better, but also themselves.
Therefore, as Myrte Hamburg and her colleagues put it, food
offering ‘becomes a means to increase positive affect for both

nd
recipient and – when the offer has the desired effect – provider’.
There is a growing body of research that discusses food and

ga
its effects on the body. One of the effects of food consumption
is how its physiological properties affect mood by means of the
body’s chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters. Research
Michelle Ocriciano finds a feast of ideas for in psychology and cognition argues that eating can decrease
hin
online classes. feelings of helplessness and depression, and increase feelings of

I
joy. Most importantly, as Julie Locher and her colleagues claim,
was born and raised in Brazil in an Italian family, and cooking food has the power to enhance positive feelings by its
lis

has always been part of my life – so much so that my best associations with certain situations and contexts.
memories involve the kitchen and my mother and grandmother
cooking. In 2014, my partner and I moved to Australia, where I Food and lessons
b

was lucky to land a job as a teacher after only two weeks in the Inspired by the Facebook group ‘ELT Footprint’, I have been
Pu

country. After the first few weeks of teaching in Australia, I trying to bring more topics related to the environment and
realised that food was the new tool that I was going to use to build more sustainable living into my lessons. The following are some
rapport and get to know my international students. Since then, suggestions on topics related to food:
ion

food has become my staple topic, and I have even cooked in an ■■ Access to food
IELTS preparation class. In my classes, whenever we have some
time, we talk about food. I give the students the time to explain ■■ Conscious food-buying habits
recipes, discuss cooking methods and show pictures. The students ■■ Food and water access
vil

enjoy it greatly, and so do I. I can see their faces light up, and their ■■ Genetically modified food
engagement is almost tangible. At first, these occasions seemed
■■ Packaging and over-packaging
little more than ‘good lessons’. It was only when I received an
Pa

email from one class that I realised how important this type of ■■ Reuse of food waste, scraps and leftovers
lesson was. The students wrote that, for the first time, they had felt Other topics could also include food as medicine, the ‘slow
welcomed and that they thought they themselves and their culture cooking’ movement, eating healthily on a budget, eating habits,
©

were important – and also that they had a voice. eating disorders, festival food, food ethics, food-shaming,
hunger and whole food versus processed food.
Food and society Teachers can also have a more directive approach and focus
When international students leave their home country, or when on vocabulary about ingredients, cooking methods and
people simply move to another city or even another part of preparations, kitchen tools and appliances, food idioms, and
town, they usually go through a process of trying to integrate to adjectives to describe food. There is also the language for
the new place, and food is a part of this process. Apart from its giving/following instructions, imperative forms, quantifiers,
nourishing aspects, food is used by families and groups to teach words for measuring things, food ordering, restaurant booking,
behaviour and show what is appropriate and inappropriate in comparatives and superlatives and compare and contrast.
specific settings. Eating and feeding practices can highlight how Students from the same country, or those who share the
they are anchored to social position. A good example of this is same cultural background, can still engage in the discovery of
how Pierre Bourdieu describes the correspondence between taste food. Different areas may have different names and/or different

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 15

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

preparation for similar dishes. Discussing these issues is a great numbers of items. One list was about ingredients and the
opportunity for the students to talk about their own culture other procedures and equipment.
and also to introduce a discussion on the standards of English, ■■ Using Zoom, I recorded myself dictating each set of words
World Englishes and language variation. Simple examples can separately. I chose the option ‘save in the cloud’ and copied
be short vocabulary lists comparing two different varieties of the links to my lesson plan.
English, or the different functions of politeness. ■■ I found pictures to correspond to the items in my two
vocabulary lists on Pixabay, a free online image database,
Food and online lessons and put the pictures in two separate documents. I then saved
One of the benefits of teaching online is that each teacher and the documents to my account on Google Drive and copied
student is in their own home, with access to their own cooking the links of both documents to my lesson plan.
facilities. To use that to your advantage, consider a whole-school ■■ I prepared the ingredients for small pizzette (see the box on

ia
project with different teachers teaching different levels and the next page) and placed them in small bowls. (As the dough
getting together in the last part of the lesson for a cooking class. needs to rest for two hours, I made a batch in advance.)

ed
This can be done regularly, with one teacher showing one recipe
at a time. Once the students are comfortable with the format, 2 During class
consider asking them to conduct a cooking demonstration

M
■■ To introduce the topic of food, I assigned the students
themselves. They can even prepare the entire lesson together, randomly to Zoom breakout rooms and used the chat box to
including the vocabulary presentation. If this idea suits you and send a link to one of my sets of questions to each student.
the other members of staff, make sure to ask the students and (I didn’t want each student to have access to all the questions.)

nd
check if they feel comfortable doing it. Don’t just assign it!
■■ Each group was given ten minutes to discuss the questions
Another idea is the creation of a school cookbook with in their breakout rooms. I visited every room and

ga
recipes that are special to the students and staff. The cookbook monitored each group for around two minutes.
can include stories explaining why those particular recipes are
meaningful. It is a great opportunity for some creative and
■■ I then brought the students back to the main room to share
meaningful writing. There are many digital tools that can be with the whole class some of the ideas they had discussed.
hin
used as a depository, such as Padlet. If you are feeling more I told them I was going to demonstrate how to make small
adventurous, try creating a real cookbook with a free digital pizzas, called pizzette, and asked what they needed to follow
magazine maker such as FlipHTML5 and share it with all the the recipe. They replied they needed to know the ingredients.
lis

students in the school or even the wider community, such as the I then separated them in two groups, A and B. I shared via the
neighbourhood around the school. chat box the links to my recording of the dictation of the list
of ingredients and the corresponding pictures with Group A.
b

My food lesson I sent Group B the links to my dictation of the words for the
Pu

procedures and equipment and the corresponding pictures.

I constantly use the game ‘Two truths one lie’ when getting to The students listened to their different recordings and tried to
know my students. One of the truths that I use is I always make match the words and pictures.
and eat pizza on Friday nights. This generates a lot of conversation
I then put the students into pairs, A and B, in breakout rooms,
ion

■■
about food and culture, and I end up baking pizza at home and
and sent the A students the document with the pictures that
bringing it to class the next day. Because of Covid-19, sharing
the B students had received, and vice versa. Student A asked
pizza is not possible at the moment, so I decided to show my
their partner the word for the first picture. Student B replied,
students how to make pizzette from my kitchen. Pizzette is just a
vil

and Student A asked Student B to spell the word. Then

small pizza with a slightly different dough which is easier to make
Student B asked Student A the word for their first picture, and
and handle. This is my grandmother’s recipe and it is certainly not
so on, until they had been through all the words.
difficult. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, but if you already
Pa

have a recipe you trust, go ahead and use that. ■■ Back in the main room, I elicited the recipe and the
instructions and went to the kitchen. I showed the students the
Procedure ingredients and elicited what I had to do, and we ‘cooked
©

The first time I met my students, they learnt that I love to make together’, although we were apart. I portioned and rolled out
my own pizza, and they asked me to teach them. The following the dough, and the students decided on the toppings. In the
is a description of what I did in my online lesson. ten minutes while the small pizzette were baking, we talked
about their favourite recipes and they gave me tips on how to
1 Before class make the perfect dumpling.
■■ I wrote eight questions about food. I then created four ■■ When the pizzette were ready, I showed them to the students
different documents using Google Docs and pasted two and we went back to the ‘classroom’. For homework, the
questions in each. After that, I clicked on the Google Docs students had to share a recipe of their own, with ingredients and
‘document share’ button, copied the links and added those to instructions, making a brief comment about why this recipe was
my lesson plan. particularly important to them. Half the class wanted to do the
■■ I made a list of the vocabulary items the students would need activity as a group and the other half wrote individually. As a
for the lesson and separated them into categories with equal result, the students and I now have 13 great new recipes to try.

16 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Pizzette recipe
Ingredients
500 grams flour
250 ml milk
50 ml olive oil
7 grams yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
For toppings, use your favourite tomato sauce
recipe and top the small pizzas with anything you
like that is available. My favourite is mozzarella

ia
cheese and basil leaves.

ed
Method
Mix up everything for the dough and let it rest for
two hours. Divide the dough into nine or 12 equal

M
portions. Make small flat discs of dough and prick
them with a fork. Add your favourite toppings and
bake for around ten minutes at 180 degrees.

nd
Final tips Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and

ga
Send the recipe to the students in advance – some remember that emotions do affect learning. As
might try to cook live with you. teachers, we have a duty of care, and we are in a
position to assist our students in navigating this
If you are going to cook anything with your
hin
weird process.
students, make sure you choose a recipe that:
Consider emotions and wellbeing first and then
■■ is simple and easy;
curriculum: basically, Maslow before Bloom
is fast or can be broken into steps;
lis

■■
(Maslow’s hierarchy of needs before Bloom’s
■■ has few ingredients; taxonomy of educational objectives). As we discover
has ingredients that the students are not allergic to; and adapt to the ‘new normal’, give food some
b

■■
thought and consider using it in your next classes. n
■■ you really know how to cook.
Pu

Before the cooking demonstration: Bourdieu, P Distinction: A Social Critique of the

Judgement of Taste Harvard University Press 1984
■■ test the video conferencing device you are going
Hamburg, M E, Finkenauer, C and Schuengel, C ‘Food
ion

to use;
for love: the role of food offering in empathic emotion
■■ test the positioning of the device: most of the regulation’ Frontiers in Psychology 5 2014 https://doi.
time, the students should see your hands and the org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00032
ingredients. I put my laptop on a big bowl, placed
vil

Heick, T ‘What is Bloom’s Taxonomy? A definition for

upside down on the kitchen counter. teachers’ www.teachthought.com/learning/what-is-
blooms-taxonomy-a-definition-for-teachers 2020
■■ make sure the students can see and hear; Locher, J L, Yoels, W C, Maurer, D and Van Ells, J ‘Comfort
Pa

■■ make sure your batteries are fully charged; foods: an exploratory journey into the social and emotional
significance of food’ Food Foodways 13 2005
■■ prepare your tools and ingredients.
McLeod, S A ‘Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’ Simply
Psychology www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html 2020
©

t t t
Michelle Ocriciano has worked
in the world of ELT for over 20
In a nutshell, my aim with the pizzette class was years and has worn many hats
to build rapport with my students and offer them – teacher, teacher educator and
a skill to assist with the management of anxiety. academic manager. She is
To do this, as I teach a high-stakes university currently an EAP teacher at the
University of Queensland in
EAP course with a very prescriptive curriculum, Australia, and has embarked on
I deliberately skipped activities so I could cook a new MA in Psychology and
with the students. I am not suggesting you do the Counselling.
same, all I am asking is – especially right now in [email protected]
the Covid-19 crisis – that you be inspired by

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 17

IN THE CLASSROOM

Another way
I tell them that everyone mentions ‘lack of
time’ as a threat, so that they are aware
that this is a problem for everyone and that
they need to make a commitment to the

with SWOT
course. Another example that I usually
mention is that some people are afraid of
speaking because they don’t want to make
mistakes. By bringing this out into the
open, anyone who is shy of speaking feels
that they will be supported. I then invite
Ruth Little applies a business analysis to general language skills. the students to share their ‘threats’ with me

I
and the rest of the class. It is very helpful

ia
have recently heard many business They will have discussed this in their
for them to hear that others may struggle
English trainers talking about how intake interviews, but it is useful for them
with the same difficulties that they

ed
they use a SWOT analysis in the to talk about it at the start of the course,
themselves do, and it gives them more
classroom. For those of you who as I can then help them to formulate
confidence as they start the course.
aren’t familiar with this, it is a tool objectives for the course. Also, if this

M
used to analyse businesses for their takes place in class, it reduces Here is an example from one of my
potential. The initials stand for: insecurities: the students may hear that students:
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities others have similar ‘weaknesses’, or find Strengths Weaknesses

nd
and Threats. out that others are less confident about Reading and Speaking and
Trainers often use this in business skills that they themselves are strong in. listening writing
It is also useful for me to hear what the

ga
English courses by, for example, asking Opportunities Threats
the students to apply it to their own students would particularly like to
Read English Frightened to
company or a fictional company. It is a improve, because they often pinpoint books / magazines speak
good way of expanding their vocabulary different skills from those they / internet sites
hin
in a realistic setting, such as creating a mentioned in their intake interviews! Listening –
roleplay meeting or discussion. podcasts, apps
Opportunities Speak to English
However, I have discovered that the
lis

I ask the students to note down any colleagues

analysis can be applied to anything, and
opportunities they have to practise their
I have found it very profitable as an
English outside the classroom. This is an t t t
b

activity at the start of a course. It can

opportunity for me to gently make them
be used for any type of English course,
Pu

aware that they need to do more than I find that this activity works extremely
not just a business one, and can be
just attend the course sessions if they well for the first lesson of a course. It can
adapted to any level.
want to make a significant improvement focus the students’ attention on their goals
to their skills. It is also a chance for me at the outset, as well as on what they need
Procedure
ion

to give them ideas and tips on how to to do to achieve them – and what possible
I give out a template – basically a grid of practise. Many of them say that they will obstacles they might meet along the way.
four boxes, labelled Strengths, start reading an English book, because Done with a class, it serves as a bonding
vil

Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that is what they did at school. However, exercise to help the students feel supported
– and explain what a SWOT analysis is if they are not in the habit of reading in as members of a group and by the teacher.
and what the initials stand for, if the their own language, they won’t keep this However, it also works well in a one-to-one
Pa

students don’t already know. Then I up in English. I introduce them to the lesson. Finally, it helps me as a teacher by
explain that this analysis will apply to idea of reading magazines, internet giving me invaluable information on which
their English skills, and I ask them to jot articles, newspapers or websites, and to build the rest of the course. n
down a few notes in each square. assure them that these do ‘count’.
©

Ruth Little started

I also tell them that listening is just as
Strengths her career in Italy
useful for vocabulary expansion as it is for as a freelance
I ask them to note what they can do well. improving listening skills, and I suggest teacher of adults.
Students often focus on what they can’t podcasts, audio books and internet radio She is now based
do or what they feel they do badly, so as possibilities, pointing out that they can in the Netherlands,
asking them to think about their strengths where she teaches
listen while doing other things. I invite business English
can help them to build confidence. them to share tips, apps and useful and exam
websites with the rest of the class. preparation
Weaknesses courses and gives
I formulate this as what they would like Threats workshops on exam preparation courses
for new teachers.
to improve, rather than talking about Here, I ask the students to make a note of
weaknesses, which is rather negative. [email protected]
anything that might hinder their progress.

18 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 Te a c h i n g E n g l i s h
NEW
Structuring Fun
for Young Learners
in the ELT Classroom

ia
Practical ideas and advice for teaching English to children to
engage and inspire them throughout their primary schooling

ed
M
New from Chris Roland, Structuring Fun for Young Chris Roland

nd
Learners in the ELT Classroom is full of lesson
ideas, exercises and tips for teaching English as a

ga
foreign language to young learners.
When fun in the classroom is properly structured,
hin
everyone is a winner. Your students will remember
those activities for years – and you’ll be able to
cover your course content without compromising
lis

on classroom management.
b

In order for all this to happen, important questions

Pu

have to be asked: ‘How do children behave in

classrooms?’ ‘Why do they want to do some
tasks and refuse to do others?’ ‘What is learning
ion

anyway and how can we tie our target words and

sentences to the activities we do?’
vil

Structuring Fun for Young Learners in the ELT

Classroom covers all of these fundamentals and
Pa

explores movement, text, space, novelty objects,

teacher-student dialogue, personalisation, clips,
©

images, support for learners, use of coursebooks

and your own professional development as a
young learner teacher.

Order now: https://www.pavpub.com/structuring-fun-for-young-learners-in-the-elt-classroom

Order today for just £34.95

Email: [email protected] Call: 01273 434 943
TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

Managing
online fun
Chris Roland sees the advantages of teaching online – with a structured and supportive approach.

ia
have been forgotten (for example, we can double up by typing in
the coursebook page number the learners need to turn to, as well

ed
as saying it) but it is also another opportunity to increase the
learners’ exposure to the written form of words.

M
Providing support
No learner is ever going to enjoy a lesson if they are stressed.

nd
Nobody enjoys stress. Overloading young learners by asking
them to type in too many full-length responses or unfamiliar
words in the chat box will create stress. On the other hand, we

ga
still want to have our learners process as much text as possible
– especially half-familiar items that they are in the process of
assimilating. The following is a simple solution.
hin
On the beach
This week I have been working on a set of beach activities with
lis

my seven and eight year olds (mostly taken from Carol Read and
Mark Ormerod’s New Tiger 3) that includes building sandcastles,
swimming in the sea, snorkelling, lying in the shade, putting sun
b

cream on and playing with a bat and a ball. My learners already

Pu

recognise the picture flashcards and word cards, but have not
practised writing the phrases yet. Typing out these items in full

I
would be too much for most of them, but if I type b_ilding
n any young learner class, be it face-to-face or remote, if you
sandcastles into the chat box, they can easily type in a one-letter
have children bouncing up and down in their chairs because
ion

response, so the exchange looks like this:

they are eager to answer a question, or leaning forward on the
edge of those chairs to see what you are going to write or say T: b_ilding sandcastles
or show them, then you have the potential for a memorable S4: u
vil

time together. If you can structure that eagerness, giving it shape

S9: u
and centring activity on increased familiarity with, and production
of, words and sentences in English, you have all the makings of a S2: u
Pa

successful lesson. S7: u

In this article, we will look at how, whilst not needing to depart Here, I have taken the strain off my learners, allowing them to
from the basic principles of learning we are familiar with, we can respond quickly, which will maintain dynamism, even though this
©

make the most of some characteristics of online teaching, as well as is a text-based portion of the class. By choosing my missing
manage one or two issues that the new medium might throw up. letters carefully, I can also draw attention to specific spelling
features. Additionally, all this time, the learners are increasing
The elements of an online lesson their whole-word recognition of these items. In terms of
On most online platforms, we have three main elements. There is differentiation, the more advanced typers in the class may decide
a central display area to be used as a whiteboard, to display a to provide the whole word or phrase anyway, and that is fine too
PowerPoint presentation or to show the pages of digital books. – in fact, I leave this option open to every learner.
There is a box where the learners can see a video image of the Finally, I can provide an additional layer of support by
teacher, where the teacher can see their own image (and perhaps prompting the learners to have their coursebooks open at the
images of the learners). Finally, there is a chat box. page where all the items are introduced with thumbnail pictures.
Personally, I love the fact that I have a chat box. Not only does In general, the best motto when it comes to online teaching with
it act as a safety net for when the teacher’s spoken instructions young learners is: Support, support and more support.

20 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

Daily routines
This extends to working from the central display area. In the
1
activity shown in picture 1, the children were trying to guess the
activity from my rather questionable sketches. This time, we were
working on a very familiar set of phrases for daily routines.
As the language was well known, I did ask for full sentences,
but still provided various layers of support. Firstly, I wrote up and
said the time (which was actually a primer for the end of the
particular unit they were on, particular to my own context, and
the reason the time appears twice). Then I began to draw. Any
student who was able to guess at this point could type a full

ia
sentence into the chat box: I go to school at 7.00. In this
scenario, because I was busy drawing for some time, the children
At the end of the ‘guess the activity’ drawing, the learners also had the

ed
had longer to prepare their sentences. In addition, those who language they needed to produce their own sentences.
might have struggled to put the sentence together had their
faster colleagues’ offerings to use as a guide. 2

M
The support continued. When I had finished the drawing, I wrote
in the sentence myself. The learners who still had not put the
sentence together could now use this as guide, typing in the very

nd
same sentence that I had written, whilst I turned my attention to the
chat box and acknowledged the answers that had come in so far.

Guessing games
Regular readers of ETp may remember the set of toy animals I ga
hin
mentioned in Issue 110. Using these online is in some ways even
easier to manage, because when we hold a model up to the
camera, everyone in the class can see it easily. In fact, in this
aspect, online teaching has an advantage over classroom lessons
lis

as we can show any small object to all our students at once.

‘Guess the animal’ activity
b

Guess the animal

3
Pu

The game shown in picture 2 is a simple guessing game from

clues. The teacher enters a short text into the chat box while at
the same time reading it out. For example:
It’s got wings and feathers.
ion

It’s got an orange beak and orange feet.

The children then get to see a close-up of the model, wrapped in
tinfoil or even inside a sock if you do not wish to be wasteful.
vil

They can type in the animal that they think it is.

I hope you can see that the activities so far are very close to
Pa

what we might do in regular face-to-face classes and are very

quick and easy to set up.

Class mascots
©

Class mascots such as dolls, puppets and cuddly toys might

cause squabbles when we are all in a classroom together, but
when teaching remotely, nobody gets to hold them, so they can
play a more prominent part in lessons. It also means that you can
use that teddy bear you have had since you were four or the fluffy
unicorn your best friend bought you on holiday – pieces that you
might not otherwise risk taking in to school.

Food for Henry

In picture 3, you can see Henry, a ball of cuteness that my
partner and I have been using with our students for a number
of years. Incorporating class mascots is easier online

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 21

TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

In this activity, the learners are asked to Taking a vote

4 guess what food Henry would like. They I decided to unwrap the chocolate
can choose anything from the current set of mentioned above (see picture 4) and, to all
food items we are studying. Their script is: our surprise, the surface of it had faded,
Henry, do you want [+ food item]? as chocolate tends to do over time.
I then pick up the corresponding word Again, we went ‘offroad’ and had an
card or flashcard, checking with the improvised lesson stage. My students
student whose turn it is that I have the each voted as to whether I should still
right one. I offer it to Henry, who either eat the chocolate. For a vote to count,
shakes his head, or nods and takes the I insisted they produce a full sentence,
food item off me. Henry usually only nods which was either Eat the chocolate,

ia
his head when we are getting to the end teacher! or Don’t eat the chocolate!
Would you eat this chocolate?
of the set of flashcards, although I recorded their votes manually on

ed
occasionally he will accept the first or a mini-whiteboard (see picture 5), holding
5 second item offered to him – but still be it up for the children to see and, on this
hungry, so the activity can go on – in occasion, the consensus was that I should

M
order to avoid predictable patterns. eat the chocolate. For the following class,
So what are we actually doing here? I engineered a similar situation, having
We are doing nothing more than asking prepared a special ‘green egg’.

nd
our learners to try to remember the food To make my green egg (see pictures
vocabulary we have already covered (we 6, 7 and 8), I adapted a procedure that

ga
are also giving those who can’t another the Chinese use to make marbled tea
look at the language). Everything else eggs, replacing the tea with food
is adornment – but it is cute, low-prep colouring. (As a sidenote, tea has a mild
adornment that will help the language stick.
hin
antibacterial effect, whereas the food
colouring solution does not, so I let the
Foodstuffs egg soak for a few hours, rather than
One particular advantage of teaching overnight as per the traditional recipe.)
lis

remotely from home is that we have at our Obviously this was a short novelty
disposal the entire contents of our fridge portion of the class, but when the
b

and food cupboards. If we buy our food students see that there is going to be
from the same supermarkets as our a very real outcome that results from
Pu

Here, old technology complements new, as we

keep a record of votes on a mini-board students’ parents do, which I imagine is giving their opinion, they are happier
reasonably likely, then here we have the to reformulate their previous one-word
6 opportunity to expand our students’ offerings, such as No or Yes, into full
ion

lexis on the topic, in a meaningful way, sentences, such as Eat the egg! Don’t
beyond the core vocabulary of our eat the egg! or, if we want to introduce
coursebook or syllabus. a modal, I think you should eat the egg!
or I don’t think you should eat the egg!
vil

Food I like/dislike There are a couple of key principles

Prior to the lesson, I grab four or five items at work here. The first is that when the
Pa

from my pantry and display them one by enthusiasm comes from the students, the
one to my students via the webcam. I say teacher has control. The second is that for
the word for each one and type it into the those students, giving an opinion, even if it
chat box. Then each student gets to does only involve choosing between two
©

respond with I like ... or I don’t like ... . predetermined options, is always more
In my last lesson, I showed them engaging than being told exactly what to
mustard, gherkins, tinned fish and a say. If you are not an egg person, or if you
chocolate in a shiny wrapper. With some are teaching in a country where tea eggs
flexibility, we can allow our responses are a common sight, and so not likely
to be reactive here by providing to arouse much curiosity, your students
individual students with additional could always vote on whether or not you
scripts, as and when the situation arises take a bite of a burnt piece of toast or eat
(most likely when they tell us in their L1). a strange combination of food, such as a
Such language might be: I don’t mind ..., strawberry with peanut butter on it.
I’ve never tried ..., I’m allergic to ... Getting away from food altogether,
A little fun with foodstuffs and I can’t stand ... . the students could decide what colour

22 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

7 8

ia
ed
M
You can arouse curiosity with something your students do not see every day

nd
clothes you are going to wear in the next lesson or, these set opening messages to explain how we
indeed, if they can see each other, choose a were all going to mute our microphones during

ga
predominant colour or specific item of clothing for certain portions of the class according to my
everyone to wear next time. instructions. The particular technological issues you
have will depend upon the platform you are using
hin
Using chat boxes and your group profiles, as will the dynamic and
mode in which you wish your students to employ
The beauty of the chat box means that we can play
their microphones.
our learners a YouTube clip and provide comments
lis

or questions on it without needing to pause the Tailoring your own set messages, and having
action. For this to work, a little priming is necessary. them at the ready, can save you a great deal of time
I say to my students: If you keep answering the and tension, and allow you to focus on enjoying your
b

questions in the chat box, I won’t stop the clip. lesson and reacting to the language content of the
Pu

majority of your students’ contributions, rather than

Preparing set messages getting sidetracked by individual tech problems or the
one child who is going crazy on their keyboard.
At some point, you may find that your chat box fills
ion

up with too much ‘noise’ – students typing in

random strings of letters or chains of emojis. Much t t t
of my classroom management is done between
lessons, and so when this happens, I prepare a set I hope that your online classes are productive, and I
vil

message for the following day, which I display in hope that you manage to enjoy them along the way.
the chat box area right at the start of the lessons. It is worth remembering that if you do, then your
This was a recent one, which I provided in both
Pa

students most probably will too. n

English and my learners’ L1:

Read, C and Ormerod, M New Tiger 3 Macmillan 2018

Hi everyone! Girls, boys, mums, dads and older
©

brothers or sisters. To start with, can I ask you all to

please remember that the chat box is only for Chris Roland is a trainer based
answers to the teacher. It is not for students to send at ELI, a language academy in
messages to each other or for typing long chains of Seville, Spain, where he teaches
letters or words. Thanks! young learners, teens and adult
groups. He tutors on the Trinity
Diploma course for OxfordTEFL
I have a bank of these, saved as a Word document, and his most recent
so that I can copy and paste them during the methodology book Structuring
lesson if a reminder is needed, all in English and in Fun for Young Learners in the
ELT Classroom is published by
my students’ L1. I also have a series of pre-written Pavilion.
messages addressing any technology issues that
[email protected]
seem to recur, and I most recently used one of

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 23

TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

Online classes
for preschoolers
B
Riccardo ecause of the Covid-19 lockdown 1 Make it loud and proud!

ia
situation, many schools have had to move
Chiappini Use trumpets and air horns, silly clown noses and
all their classes online. This is also the fancy dress costumes. Invite your students to do
offers ten tips.

ed
case with classes for preschoolers. If you the same. The parents might want to skip wearing
are teaching children from age three to five costumes, but they could be encouraged to help
online, you will know how different it is from working their children make a pair of cardboard fairy wings in

M
within the comfort of your classroom’s four walls. preparation for your fairy tales, or cut a superhero’s
Nonetheless, you and your colleagues will no doubt cape out of an old blanket for your superhero
have taken the situation as an opportunity to roll up stories. Don’t forget to shriek when you’re miming a

nd
your sleeves and show how creative and resourceful parrot or make a voice for each of the characters in
you can be in making online learning as fruitful and the story you’re reading. Both children and parents
fun as possible, even for your youngest pupils.

ga
will surely appreciate the effort!
Here are my ten tips for teaching preschoolers
online. 2 Make and use visuals.
hin
It is always important to use visual as well as aural
stimuli to capture the attention of small children, and
this is even more so now that they have to be in front
of a screen.
lis

Use big pictures and posters. For teaching the

vocabulary for animals and places on a farm, for
b

example, stick a big picture, poster or drawing of a

Pu

farm on the wall behind you. Elicit the target words

using flashcards, and stick them in the right place on
Fairy wings the poster (eg horse on barn, piglet on pigsty, etc)
– or in the wrong place, so that the children can
ion

correct you.
If you’re missing the flashcards for a given set of
vocabulary, you can create them yourself and
vil

customise them according to the type of language you

want your pupils to practise: describing size (big/small,
tiny/gigantic), colours (black/white, bright/dark), etc.
Pa

Here are some nice flashcard activities that work

well for online classes with preschoolers:
■■ Slow reveal: Take a picture flashcard and place
©

the back of another flashcard in front of it so

that the picture is concealed. Then slowly slide
the picture up bit by bit and encourage the
children to shout out the word it represents as
soon as they identify it. To give the activity a
more lively twist, you could flash the card,
showing the picture for just a second or so,
instead of slowly revealing it.
■■  uess what I can see: Make the most of your
G
flashcards by eliciting phrases and sentences
as well as individual words. Hold a deck of
flashcards so that only you can see the first
Child with fairy wings Home-made superhero cape

24 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

one. Tell the children they have to guess the word, phrase
or sentence that matches the flashcard you are looking at.
The first child who raises their hand gets the chance to
guess the word, phrase or sentence. With a set of
flashcards representing musical instruments, for example,
as well as practising indefinite articles and individual items
(a piano, an oboe), the children could be pushed to
produce sentences and questions, such as She is playing
the piano, Is she playing the guitar? Is it a flute? etc.
■■  es. No. What? Even with simple words like blue, chocolate
Y
or cake, you can get children to produce positive, negative

ia
and interrogative structures. To elicit affirmative sentences,
show the flashcard as you would normally do and elicit, for

ed
example, I like chocolate. For the children to produce the
negative, show the flashcard upside down, eliciting I don’t
like chocolate. And for the interrogative, show the flashcard

M
turned 90º, left or right: Do you like chocolate?

Instead of spending money ordering a book you don’t have for

your storytelling sessions, check if a reading of it is available

nd
online. There are quite a few nice animated or ‘read aloud’ books
shown on YouTube. To use these effectively, share your screen

ga
with all the participants, mute the audio and scroll the timeline
backwards and forwards as you read it yourself from the screen.
If you do have a copy of the book, though, remember to hold it
up where everyone can see it. And keep it still!
hin
3 Continue using TPR.
Attending and teaching classes online means that children,
lis

parents and teachers don’t need to think twice about making

themselves at home. So take pride in sporting your most
b

comfortable outfit for Total Physical Response activities. Instead

of sitting on your chair or sofa, try sitting on the floor. Make sure
Pu

that you have some clear space around you to perform your
movements, and invite the children and their parents to join in.
They can copy your dance moves, mime words or entire songs,
ion

run to the left or right and jump twice, etc. As in a normal

face-to-face class, alternate sitting/reflecting time with TPR/
move-your-body time in your online classes, too.
vil

4 Encourage arts and crafts.

You will probably want to set aside some of your class time
Pa

for the children to do activities in which they make something.

First, be realistic. There are things children can do at school
but not at home, for obvious reasons: not everyone will have
all the right materials.
©

Start by having the final product ready to show the children

and their parents, so they can see what they will be making. Well
before running any arts and crafts sessions in class, though,
make sure you’ve emailed the instructions you’ll be giving to the
parents, along with a list of the supplies (and possible substitutes)
that they will need to do the activity.
Here’s a short list of fun arts and crafts activities you could do
with your preschoolers online:
■■ ‘A Little Stuck’ tree collage: (A Little Stuck, by Oliver
Jeffers, is a short story about a boy who gets his kite
stuck in a tree. He keeps throwing things at a tree to

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 25

TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

release it, but everything he throws at it just keeps getting translate into less stress for them but also for you. Besides
stuck.) Children make their own ‘A Little Stuck’ tree by saving you precious time at the beginning of a lesson (which
gluing paper, sweet wrappers, tissues or whatever else you would otherwise be spending explaining what you are all
they have to an outline of a tree, in order to make objects going to do and what materials they’ll have to use), keeping
that get stuck on their tree. the parents up to date with the programme will also save you
■■ Maracas: You can make noisy maracas out of yoghurt pots from losing your students’ attention before even venturing into
and dry beans. To make one maraca, the children will need the first activity.
two clean yoghurt pots (or other plastic food containers), As well as receiving a clear calendar and information about
lots of dry beans, rice or anything else that will rattle, and the content of the lessons, the parents (just like their children)
sticky tape (or tinfoil). Put the beans in one yoghurt pot. will benefit from knowing your class routine. Do establish one
Then tape (or tinfoil) the other yoghurt pot onto the one and stick to it. Once they have got used to it, the children will

ia
with the beans inside. find it easier to follow your lessons, and their parents will find it
■■  xplorer’s tools: You can turn the simplest thing in the
E easier to prepare for your lessons.

ed
world (like empty toilet paper rolls) into a pair of cool
binoculars. Children decorate the rolls (with paint, crayons 6 Remember that the children are your
or stickers). Then, they glue or, if helped by a parent, staple
main audience.

M
the two rolls together. Older children who can already
handle scissors and tie knots could make their binoculars Some teachers feel so threatened by the presence of their
even more professional by poking two tiny holes into the students’ parents that they can end up engaging more with

nd
sides and tying on a piece of string. them than with the children – when explaining an activity, for
example. Establish a communication pattern with the children,
5 Help the parents as much as you can. similar to the one you’ve already established for your normal

ga
face-to-face lessons. If you need to explain something to the
As the children are so young, it will inevitably be the parents parents (eg because you forgot to do it when you emailed them
who have to prepare in advance for their children’s class, so the plan for the week), try to get the children to explain it to
hin
you need to give them all the help you can. them instead: they could use classroom language, such as It’s
Keep the parents regularly informed: email them your like an insect or It means ... in Spanish. This will also avoid the
week’s plan, the aims of each lesson, and information about risk of you undermining the normal classroom dynamics or
how the children are going to achieve these aims. This will using the children’s L1 disproportionately.
b lis
Pu
ion
vil
Pa
©

26 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

show them how to do it yourself first – even better if you have

7 Do get the parents involved. little children of your own! Email them tips on how to plan their
The fact that the children are your main audience doesn’t mean storytelling or show-and-tell session: using different voices for
you should forget about their parents. Do get the parents to join different characters, using gestures and facial expressions,
in with your activities. Some simple activities where the parents wielding props (swords, paper clouds, hats, etc), and so on.
can participate include: It’s important to give them plenty of time to prepare – some
■■  ing after me: Choose a short song your students know
S parents (not their children, of course) just can’t manage the
well or have just learnt. The child sings it first and then it’s stress of performance! So make room for one storytelling/
the parents’ turn. show-and-tell session every two or three days or more.
■■  ind an object: The child goes and finds a toy, a crayon, a
F ■■  how me what you can do: Ask the children to think about
S
lego brick (things that are easy and safe to find and handle) something they know how to do really well. Give them

ia
and the parent goes and finds a cup, a book or blanket. ideas: jumping, walking, throwing or catching a tennis ball,
Once they get back in front of the screen, they have to etc. The parents can help their children prepare for a brief

ed
decide what to do with both (eg put the toy in the cup, demonstration of their wonderful skill, in which the child will
colour in the book with the crayon, hide the lego brick say what they are great at and explain as they do so (even
under the blanket, etc). if the language they use is as simple as This is how you do

M
■■  e a (cow). The child and parent take turns to mime an
B it, You move your hands/legs/feet like this or I can jump
animal and say the word in English. Older students could once/twice/three times in a row). They can then
also say where each animal lives, if it jumps or flies, or even demonstrate the next day during class or, if they prefer,

nd
what food it eats, for example. the parents can record a video of their child doing the
demonstration and then share it with you for appraisal.
Children love showing off and can often do amazing things.
8 Don’t forget that some children
might be on their own!
One thing to bear in mind is that some of your students might not
ga
10 Keep negative thoughts at bay.
If the parents want to share their negative thoughts about the
hin
have a parent partnering with them one day, or that a parent difficulties of the current situation (this has happened to me a couple
might well be around but busy on their own computer. So always of times), do your best to keep it short. Even parents can sometimes
have something up your sleeve for those days: if you have forget that their children don’t appreciate hearing certain things and
lis

planned an activity like ‘Find an object’, you could email the may be worried by what they say. This might also lead the children
parents the day before class with a list of objects to use for the to have a change of heart and want to do something else instead of
activity and ask them to put these somewhere easy (and safe) so attending their English class. Politely remind everyone to look on the
b

that their child will be able to find them safely without their help. bright side. You could point out to the parents that they are doing
Pu

For the ‘Sing after me’ activity, you could ask the child to sing the incredible things with their children like never before, or that they
song twice and imitate one of their parents’ voices the second finally have the opportunity to brush up their basic English (perhaps
time they sing it. Don’t forget to reward them for doing such a one of their recurrent new year’s resolutions).
wonderful job without their parents’ help!
ion

t t t
9 Set homework.
Homework for preschoolers is done when both children and Staying at home doesn’t mean that we can’t be the usual thrilling,
vil

parents are in the same place at the same time and join forces to sparkling teachers we are in class. I recently read a social media
do or make something together. Here are some basic activities post from a teacher I know. She wrote that the current crisis had
they might enjoy doing together for homework: left her students ‘in the middle of nowhere’. This made me think.
Pa

■■  raw, colour in and cut out: The children and parents draw,
D It’s true that we and our students may be feeling lost. But we are
colour in and cut out five little speckled frogs and a where we are and we have what we have. We’re always in the
speckled log. They attach the frogs to the log with Blu Tack middle of ‘somewhere’! So let’s just start from there. Let’s brace
©

and then practise singing the ‘frog song’ together for a ourselves and get better at this! n
special singalong in the next class:
Riccardo Chiappini is a Delta-qualified EFL
Five little speckled frogs
teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer
Sat on a speckled log based in Madrid. He has developed materials
Eating the most delicious grubs (yum yum) for online teacher training and language
One jumped into the pool courses for Oxford University Press and the
Where it was nice and cool Spanish Ministry of Education. Most recently,
he has been doing research on distance
Then there were four green speckled frogs. (glup glup) etc. learning for very young learners and how to
■■  our favourite book/toy: With the help of their parents, the
Y help primary and secondary students develop
children rehearse reading their favourite book or prepare for a critical thinking and leadership strategies in the
English language classroom.
show-and-tell about their favourite toy. For your students (and
[email protected]
parents) to get the most out of this experience, you could

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 27

 Advertorial

Career
quandary?
Pavilion ELT is
here to help...

ia
ed
M
nd
I’m always so busy, and the lack of time is leaving
my lesson planning in a rut. I need practical
new ideas, and I need them yesterday.

ga
hin
Time poor? Why not try a subscription to English Teaching professional, the
practical resource for English language teachers worldwide, to help give you
fresh ideas or a new way of doing something for those pesky lesson plans?
lis

English Teaching professional is written for teachers by teachers, which

means that the tips, ideas, and ready-to-go activities we bring you are all
b

tried and tested. Each issue includes printable classroom resources, and your
Pu

subscription gives you access to our online resources centre and over 2,500
articles on our website. You’ll get access to digital editions too, so you can
dip in on the go.
ion
vil

I’m about to start teaching in a

scenario I’m not that experienced in.
Pa

I really need some support!

©

Don’t panic! The ETpedia range has you covered,

whether you’re completely new to teaching or just new
to teaching in a particular context. Each ETpedia is
divided into units containing 10 bite-sized tips to give
you real practical help with planning and preparing for
your lessons. The list format makes it easy for you to
find exactly what you’re looking for, when you need it –
leaving you free to reflect, develop, and focus on your
teaching and students.

Inspiring and developing teachers the world over.

 Advertorial

I’m ready to take my teaching career to the

next level. I need to expand my horizons with
more academic and research-based content.

Whether you’re embarking on a Diploma or MA, moving into a management

or teacher trainer role, or just keen to dig deeper into research and reflection, a
subscription to Modern English Teacher will help you rise to the challenge. Each
issue combines articles on a focus topic – such as EAP or classroom research –
along with features addressing the full spectrum of English language teaching.
If you need to really push yourself in CPD, Modern English Teacher is the

ia
subscription for you.

ed
M
I’m working towards a promotion, and I need

nd
to demonstrate my continuing professional
development… but evidencing my progress
gets so complicated. I’ve been told listing the
conferences I’ve been to won’t be good enough. ga
hin
How about trying an intuitive, easy-to-use digital tracking tool like
lis

MyCPD? Designed to help you to be autonomous and effective in your

own professional development, it gives you one convenient place to
b

log all your professional activity and reflect on your learning. When you
need a copy of your CPD record, simply click to download one. And, if you
Pu

need to show how you support members of your team with their specific
professional development needs, it’s ideal for that, too. MyCPD is free to
subscribers of English Teaching professional and Modern English Teacher.
ion
vil

I’ve heard of a new teaching technique or method

I’d like to try, but I’m not sure where to begin…
Pa

I don’t have much time to search the internet

so I really need easy-to-digest information with
suggestions of classroom application in one place.
©

The Teaching English series is here to help you bring methodology

to your classroom. Each handbook focuses on a different aspect
of teaching, from blended learning to teaching one-to-one classes
to teaching specific age groups. Addressing both the theory and
practice, these titles will give you a detailed grounding in not just
the what and why of a new-to-you teaching approach, but also the
how – supporting you with practical tips and ideas for applying it.

Find out more at www.pavpub.com/pavilion-elt

IN THE CLASSROOM

Students’
19
Invite them to listen to you telling
the story, but warn them that you are
going to stop at the climax and that they
will create their own endings.

stories
While telling
Use the camera on your device to
communicate directly with your
audience. The space will be very different
from the physical classroom, but you can
David Heathfield tells a tale of an impossible choice. play with it just as effectively.

‘
W
If I’m using my laptop, I generally place

ia
■■
ise Ma Sabe’ is a because the students can take a little it on a shelf at shoulder height and
Burmese folktale more time to formulate and self-edit stand up. This is allows me freedom to

ed
about an their utterances before posting them. play with space and proximity in a way
extraordinarily which is less easy in a classroom. For
Before telling

M
quick-thinking and example, I can move in very close and
resourceful young woman. It was told Ask the students if they have ever been look into the camera to show Ma Sabe’s
beautifully by Subhaporn Paenoi from in a situation where they felt they had no vulnerability and inner thoughts when
Thailand in a general English class

nd
control over what was happening to she is faced with the impossible choice,
I was teaching in the UK before the them. Invite them to share their feelings and then move away from the laptop to
Coronavirus lockdown. She seemed to live in the chat if they wish. Let them know be physically expressive when Ma Sabe

ga
the story as she told it to her classmates, that the Burmese folktale you are going dances with the stone in her hand and
identifying closely with the clever young to tell them involves a young woman throws it into the river.
heroine. In this issue, we concentrate called Ma Sabe (/mӕ sӕbeɪ/) who finds ■■ Using my mobile gives a sense of
on the online potential of the story.
hin
herself stuck in this kind of situation.
intimacy and the chance to take the
Introduce the cast of characters in students with me into different physical
‘Wise Ma Sabe’ the story by holding a sheet of paper up spaces with different backgrounds.
Storytelling tip: Storytelling and to your camera and revealing and However, holding my mobile limits my
lis

online chat boxes explaining the characters one by one: ability to move physically in front of
Like many teachers in the current crisis, ■■ Ma Sabe the camera, unless I sometimes balance
b

I have had to learn to teach in a very it on a surface.

■■ Her mother
Pu

different way. It can be a challenge to Tell the story and stop at the moment
maintain a close relationship with our
■■ The blacksmith she wants to marry
when Ma Sabe has to make her decision.
students when teaching online, but one ■■ The cruel king Invite the students to imagine what will
of the most powerful ways to engage The king’s soldiers happen. When I told the story to a small
ion

■■
them emotionally is through class of teenagers on Zoom, they went
storytelling. This is easier to do in Also show them two small stones, one into breakout rooms in pairs to create
regular classroom teaching, but it is also black and one white, and a beautiful bag. their endings orally. When I told it on
vil

possible to reach our students Invite the students to quiz you for Facebook Live to a large global audience,
meaningfully by sharing stories online. three minutes about the plot of the story. I invited the students to write their ideas
As a member of the Hands Up Project This can be done orally but, where in the chat box, where possible talking
Pa

team of storytelling teachers, I have technical issues make oral communication about their ideas with another person in
used Facebook Live and Zoom to tell challenging, I find it works well if the their home before writing.
‘Wise Ma Sabe’ to an audience of students ask questions using the chat. Reading out and valuing a student’s
teenage students from around the globe. Read out each question as it appears,
©

written ending which everyone can see

This story is about a young woman who reformulating it into natural spoken in the chat is an act of trust and
finds her way out of a seemingly English where necessary, and give a intimacy and can be validating and
impossible situation, and it can give a simple, brief, spoken answer – but don’t encouraging for the student. If the
powerful message to our students in the give away the plot of the story. sound quality is clear enough, the
midst of the current uncertainties. Give the students another three students in a Zoom class can tell their
Teachers can still engage with their minutes to predict and write in the chat endings orally, but there is often a risk
students creatively and emotionally the story outline they imagine, based on of audio distortion or the internet
through inventive use of online chat your answers. As they post their outlines, connection being interrupted, so it can
facilities. Posting comments in a chat box encourage them to read other outlines be advantageous if they write their
is perfect for practising informal writing and respond with emojis or short ideas in the chat first. I often ask the
– and equally good for simulating and comments to ones they particularly like students to record me telling their
developing spoken English. This is or find surprising. endings, so that they can later review

30 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 IN THE CLASSROOM

the language used as I reformulate their of personal response questions from You can view the same recording
words into more natural English while which the students can choose a few, (without the interactive chat) at
doing my best not to rob them of their writing their answers in the chat, or https://youtu.be/Joy4nXjmRgA. n
own storytelling voice. inviting them to choose a gift for one of
the characters at the end of the story. David Heathfield is
After telling a freelance
One student gave Ma Sabe the power to storyteller, teacher
Allow the students a couple of minutes free the king’s 300 wives and, through and teacher trainer.
to respond to the story spontaneously her wisdom, bring about gender equality. He is the author of
in the chat. Storytelling With
You can learn this story by reading Our Students:
Creative response activities, such as it below (you can also download it from Techniques for
composing and performing a song or the ETp website at www.etprofessional Telling Tales from

ia
poem or making and displaying artwork, .com/media/35519/etp129onlineresources Around the World
and Spontaneous
take time and these can be done after _heathfield.pdf), or by listening
Speaking: Drama Activities for Confidence

ed
class, and recordings or photos can be to me telling it to international and Fluency, both published by DELTA
displayed in a shared virtual space. students on the Hands Up Project at Publishing. He is a member of The
Quicker activities can easily be done www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=152051 Creativity Group.

M
immediately, such as showing a short list 2144783070&ref=watch_permalink. www.davidheathfield.co.uk

Wise Ma Sabe

nd
T
here was once a wise girl whose Here, I have a game for you to play.

ga
name was Ma Sabe. She lived with In this beautiful embroidered bag
her mother in a simple home by a there are two small stones, one white
river with a little land which they and one black. Put your hand in the
farmed. They had to pay a high rent to the bag and take a stone. If you choose
hin
king, who was a powerful, cruel and selfish the white stone, your mother’s debt is
man and owned all the land. All the farmers cancelled and you will not have to
owed him a lot of money. The king had 300 marry me. However, if the stone you
lis

wives and was always looking for a new pick is black, then the debt is still
one. Ma Sabe loved a blacksmith and cancelled, but you will be my wife.
wished to marry no one but him. What do you say?’
b

One day, the king was riding out on ‘No!’ cried Ma Sabe’s mother.
Pu

his white elephant when he saw Ma Sabe Ma Sabe paused to think. She
near the river. ‘She will be my new wife.’ ‘I am safe, I do not have to marry the
guessed that the cruel king had put two
king. My mother has no more debts. I am
The king rode on to the small house black stones in the bag. If she refused to
free to marry the man I want!’
ion

by the river and found Ma Sabe’s mother. play, she knew the king would be angry,
and would cause her mother problems. She ran and jumped and span around
‘I will marry your daughter.’
But if she took out a black stone, she and threw the stone into the river.
‘No, that cannot be,’ said Ma Sabe’s
would have to marry the unkind and selfish The king shouted in confusion.
vil

mother. She knew about the king’s cruelty

king. She looked at the blacksmith, the ‘What have you done?’
and greed.
man she loved, and thought about what to
‘You are saying no to me? I am the ‘Oh, dear king. I was so pleased at not
do. Then she looked the king in the eye.
Pa

king and you owe me rent. You cannot having to marry you that I accidentally
What do you think Ma Sabe did? dropped the stone into the river.’
refuse.’
What would you do?
The king was furious as he rode away. ‘But you took the black stone!’
©

The next day, the king returned on his ‘My dear king, if you look in the bag
white elephant, which was now decorated you will see that the stone that is still in
with bright colours. The king was wearing there is black. So you know the colour of
a crown set with rubies and was followed ‘I will do it. I will play the game.’ the stone I dropped in the river was white.’
by a band of soldiers in shining armour. The king was confused and angry but
She walked towards the king and
There, outside the house beside the river, reached into the bag. She took out one could say nothing in front of his soldiers.
Ma Sabe stood with her mother and her He climbed back onto his elephant and
stone, gripped tightly in her hand. She
beloved blacksmith. rode away.
held her hand close to her face and
‘Ma Sabe,’ said the king, ‘I wish you opened her fingers just enough so that With her mother’s blessing, wise Ma
to be my new wife, but your mother has only she could see. She shouted out with Sabe was soon married to the blacksmith,
other ideas, so I am giving you a chance. joy and then she laughed. and they lived a long and happy life.

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 31

 IT WORKS
IN PRACTICE
More tested lessons, suggestions, tips and techniques which have all worked
for ETp readers. Try them out for yourself – and then send us your own
contribution. All the contributors to this issue will receive a digital subscription
to Modern English Teacher.

ia
ed
M
STUDENT-AUTHORED TESTS ■■  rovide a challenge for your classmates (don’t make the
P
questions too easy).
Stephanie Hirschman, Lewes, UK
 reate a separate answer key with the correct answers
C

nd
■■
In common with most teachers, the Covid-19 pandemic has
and say which famous person the sentence is about.
meant that I have been doing lots of training and scrambling
to move my teaching online. The take-home message for
■■ We will then try all the exercises.

ga
me has been that good teaching online is actually just good As I was monitoring and supporting, I observed that some of the
teaching, harnessing the technology to make sure that students recognised that the different question types can relate
interactivity is preserved as much as possible. to specific areas of mastery. For example, gap-fills test form and
hin
I tried the activity described here with my class before the meaning; multiple-choice questions work well for collocations;
lockdown, and was pleased with the results. Happily, it will anagrams support spelling; and word re-ordering tests the
also work really well online, where it will inject some lively syntax of multi-word expressions. Obviously, error correction
tests common mistakes. If any students hadn’t made these
lis

pair- or groupwork into what might otherwise be a very dry

testing interlude. connections, I was able to nudge them in the right direction.

Here’s the context: my class were advanced and highly In the physical classroom, I quickly proofread the exercises,
b

motivated. We were using a coursebook with a very heavy and then we put them up on the walls. The students walked
Pu

focus on lexis, including lots of lexical chunks. I was around doing the different exercises – we had six groups, so each
underwhelmed by the progress tests which came with the student did at least 30 exercises. They could collaborate if they
coursebook – they were too easy, too dull and lacking in the wanted to, and then check their answers after each mini-test.
Online, the students could work collaboratively in a breakout room
ion

richness needed to contextualise natural expressions. Yet

the students wanted to be tested to measure their progress, (or similar) to write their tests and then submit them to the teacher
and my institution requires regular testing. I could have for checking. The tests could then be posted on Padlet, or on a
written my own test, but then it occurred to me that this was shared Word document, or even rewritten by the teacher in a VLE
vil

something the students could do for each other; they would quiz function and made available to all the students to try out.
write a better test than I would, because they would know User comments could be added, eg This was a tough question!
what had been tricky for them to master, and they would be or I think there might be another correct answer.
Pa

learning twice – once when they wrote the questions, and Student feedback was positive, and some interesting
again when they answered them. variations were suggested. Some students thought it would be
I started with a model – five different exercise types using helpful if specific lexical items had been assigned to each pair,
©

the target language (related to describing people and first as, inevitably, some items were repeated across the tests. Others
impressions): error correction, multiple choice, gap-fill, put thought this repetition was helpful – presumably, the students
the letters in order (anagram) to make a word within a chose the most difficult items to test each other on. I made a
sentence, and put the words in order (to make a sentence). note to myself that we could also include a pronunciation
The students first completed examples of these exercises exercise, eg number of syllables and stress – I used this as an
and identified the exercise types. Then, working in pairs, they extension activity for early finishers. I also wondered if grouping
followed these instructions: students with the same L1, to write questions for other students
with the same L1, might be interesting, but obviously this
Now write more exercises to test your classmates:
wouldn’t always be possible. The students said they enjoyed the
■■  sing the topic of famous people, write one of each
U testing phase more than creating the tests – they wanted to be
exercise type – as a minimum. able to see their mistakes. In any event, the students wanted to
■■  est the language from pages 16 and 17 of the
T try this again and, with more experience under their belts, I think
coursebook. they will do an even better job next time. n

32 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 IT WORKS IN PRACTICE

BOARD GAMES
Shiromi Upulaneththa, Kandy, Sri Lanka
The language learning classroom should be full of fun,
irrespective of age or gender. The activity described here is
one that I used at the end of a session with my pre-service
trainee teachers.
First, I put the trainees into six groups with four members
in each. I gave each group a simple board game – the sort
where you throw dice and move counters around a board
according to the number thrown – and let them play for about
15 minutes.

ia
Afterwards, I asked each group to select a particular area

ed
of grammar (eg past tenses, passive voice, reported speech,
etc), and I told them that we were going to create some board PECHA KUCHA
games for secondary school classes. I also asked each group Shiromi Upulaneththa, Kandy, Sri Lanka

M
to select a particular level of proficiency. This is another activity I have used with my trainee teachers
Next, I asked them to write some questions related to their in a linguistics class. However, I believe it could be adapted
chosen grammar area and suitable for the level they had to make it suitable for use with language learners.

nd
selected. They then had to draw a board game grid and put Pecha kucha is a Japanese expression used to describe a
their questions into the squares. They found the activity type of presentation limited to six minutes and 40 seconds, in

ga
interesting, and many of them indicated that they would try which the presenter has only 20 slides, which are set to
their game out with the students in their next teaching practice change automatically on PowerPoint or some other video
session. They suggested that the board game would be useful presentation software.
as a reflection tool, or as a way of assessing the students at
hin
Before the lesson, I asked the trainees to bring in a few
the end of a lesson.
items of stationery – some light-coloured pieces of A4 paper,
The following week, I asked the trainees to bring their pens, etc. Then, in class, I wrote pecha kucha on the board
notebooks for all the different subjects that they study in the and asked them if the term was familiar to them. It wasn’t, so I
lis

training college. Again, putting them into groups, I asked each asked them to get out their smartphones and search for the
group to select one particular subject that they would like to term online. They found many websites and YouTube clips
work with, eg educational psychology, the principles of
b

which explained and demonstrated the concept. Then I asked

education, educational sociology, literature, etc. Then, I asked them to form groups of five and to make notes on the key
Pu

them to create board games for selected areas of those features of this mode of presentation.
subjects. Later, we were able to hand the games over to the
I then told them that we were going to have our own
appropriate class tutors. The tutors found these very useful: if
pecha kucha, but with some differences: ours would be a
ion

they were absent for any reason, the trainees could use the
shorter version, with only ten slides and limited to three
time profitably by playing the games. n
minutes. In addition, all our ‘slides’ would be made manually
with coloured A4 paper, rather then being PowerPoint slides.
I explained the rules:
vil

■■ They could only use ten slides.

■■  ach group would get only three minutes to make their
E
Pa

presentation.
■■  very member of the group must talk at some point
E
during the presentation.
©

I asked each group to choose a particular word class (eg

nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, etc) on
which to base their presentation. Then, I gave them only ten
minutes of preparation time, asking them to refer to their
notes as well as any websites to help them with the content.
I kept the preparation time short, to match the presentation
mode. The students all succeeded in gathering the necessary
information and preparing the slides within the given time.
When they had finished the preparation, I asked them to
make their presentations to the class. Even though it was
challenging for them, once they got into the work, they
really enjoyed it. n

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 33

Reviews
Activities for Cooperative Although it is tempting just to and functions involved), a list of key
Learning plunge in and try out the activities with advantages and a section of important
by Jason Anderson your students, I would recommend notes and variations. These ensure that
Delta Publishing 2019 reading the introduction carefully first, the teacher is fully prepared before
as it gives much information about the embarking on any activity. The activities
978-3-12-501734-4
reasoning behind cooperative learning themselves have clear step-by-step
and many ideas for how to make it work preparation and procedural notes, plus
successfully in your classroom. It is also ideas for extension tasks. The level of
worth taking a look at the cooperative each task, together with the age of the

ia
learning assessment form at the end of students for which it is suitable (mainly
the introduction. Using this with your teens to adults, and quite precisely

ed
students will make it clear to them specified), the amount of time it will take
precisely what it is that you expect from and the grammar and lexis that it

M
them when they are working on a practises, are given in a shaded bar at the
cooperative learning activity (eg being start of the preparation notes.
polite and friendly to their classmates, I particularly like the activities in

nd
listening to their classmates’ ideas and Chapter 8 (Flipped cooperative learning)
letting them finish before speaking, where the students do research activities
helping classmates who have difficulties, at home before coming together in pairs

ga
listening carefully to feedback). Some of or groups for more interactive tasks. It
these are things that the students may seems to me that some of these would be
not have thought about before. Having ideal for online teaching during the
hin
to give themselves a score from 1–5 on Covid-19 lockdown. The teacher could
the various points and comparing this assign the research elements to be done
with the score that their teacher gives outside class time and then bring the
them may be a salutary exercise! pairs or groups of students together in
lis

The rest of the book is divided into breakout rooms during an online lesson
eight chapters. Chapter 1 concentrates to pool their information and complete
As the title suggests, this book is based
b

on strategies and tools rather than the task. Other activities throughout the
on the principles of cooperative
specific activities, but the seven chapters book could also be made to work well in
Pu

learning, a concept that is explained

that follow are full of activity online classes.
thoroughly in the introduction. A
suggestions, with photocopiable All in all, I think this is an excellent
distinction is made between
elements. The chapters are organised resource book which many teachers will
collaborative learning (the use of
ion

according to type (eg Chapter 2 has want to use. The activities are not only
pairwork, groupwork and any activity
pairwork activities, Chapter 3 has interesting, but also very well presented,
in which the students work together –
activities where the students start in pairs with good explanations and clear stages
with the possibility that stronger or
and then form groups, Chapter 4 has
vil

more dominant students may do most set out to follow.

teamwork activities). Each activity
of the work) and cooperative learning, Vanessa Willis
within a chapter is preceded by a
which embodies two key principles: Exeter, UK
summary (with a chart of the main skills
Pa

positive independence (group members

work together towards a shared goal,
not in competition, and must sink or
swim together) and individual
©

accountability (group success depends

on contributions from all the students,
who are each accountable, not only for
their own learning, but also for that of
their fellow group members). The
author makes it clear that the design
of an activity is crucial to promoting a
combination of positive independence
and individual accountability, and he
has made sure that he practises what he
preaches in the design and construction
of the activities in this book.

34 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 REVIEWS

of the explanations and to adjudicate middle of a sentence as a conjunction,

Grammar Matrix over some of the answers. as in the given answer to one question
by Lucy Becker, Carol Frain As with many grammar exercise in this section (I don’t know his wife,
and Karen Thomas books with a tendency to be all things to however I know his children), which I
all people, space is tight and there are would consider just plain wrong!
Helbling 2019
978-3-99089-006-6 quite a few exercises (often gap-fills) in The grammar explanations that
which the sentences are discrete and precede the exercises are, on the whole,
without context. As a result, some of the admirably clear. In addition, there are
answers are debatable, and students who FAQ boxes throughout in which common
produce answers that are just as valid as student questions about grammar are
those given in the key may be justifiably answered briefly but clearly. For example:

ia
aggrieved if those answers are marked as What is the difference between ‘a pair of’
incorrect. An example comes in Unit 12, and ‘a couple of’? I’ve heard people say ‘In

ed
where the students are invited to complete my bedroom, there’s a wardrobe, a desk
gaps in sentences with wherever, whoever, and two chairs’. Why is it ‘there’s’ and not
whatever or whenever. Although the ‘there are’, given that it’s about several

M
number of times each word is required things? What’s the difference between ‘I
within the exercise is given, so eventually wish I had a car’ and ‘I’d like to have a
the expected answers can be discerned, car’? These add greatly to the helpfulness

nd
there is not enough context in a sentence of the book, because they are things that
like I will find them, .................. they are students do often ask, and which some
to determine which is the correct answer. teachers may struggle to explain.

ga
The required, and perhaps most likely, Another useful feature is a ‘Visual
answer is wherever, but – depending on grammar’ section in the appendices at
the context and the meaning of ‘them’ – the end of the book, in which diagrams,
hin
other answers are possible: I will find charts and mindmaps are used to present
them, whoever they are (the children who some of the grammar structures in the
This book sets itself quite a challenge: to
broke my window); I will find them, book in a different way. The students
present, within its 484 pages, a grammar
whatever they are (the pests that have been
lis

reference that is suitable for students have to complete these, as well as simply
eating my cabbage plants). More inventive look at them. Representation of
from level A1 to B2+ of the Common
minds than mine might even find a grammar structures in some sort of
European Framework of Reference for
b

context for I will find them, whenever they pictorial way is becoming popular with
Languages (CEFR), which is quite a
are. Making an exercise ‘watertight’ by
Pu

spread of proficiency. The book is teachers, so this section has considerable

specifying the number of times a word appeal. A mindmap section at the
divided into two main sections. The
should be used is always a bit of a cheat; beginning of the book provides an
‘Basics’ section (Units 1 to 6) covers
it is better to spend the time making sure excellent visual reference of the main
relatively simple structures, such as
ion

the context demands one answer and grammatical terms (noun, verb, adjective,
nouns and articles, personal pronouns,
one answer alone. pronoun, etc) with examples of their
the verb be, adjectives, the present
simple, -ing forms and the present This is not to say that all the subgroups (eg uncountable nouns,
vil

continuous. The ‘Main’ section (Units 7 exercises are without context, and it is auxiliary verbs, possessive adjectives,
to 21) goes into more intricate matters, great to see that space has been found relative pronouns, etc).
such as modal verbs, relative clauses, for an admirable number of continuous There are also pages in the
Pa

word order, passive forms and texts and dialogues. Some of the more appendices with the main grammatical
conditionals. In each unit, there are four difficult exercises (a coding system is differences between British and
lessons, each with an explanation of a used, with a single dot representing the American English, the international
easiest exercises and four dots the most
©

grammar point, followed by practice phonemic alphabet, an explanation of

exercises. At the end of each unit, there difficult) are in the style of those that punctuation marks, verb tables and
is a ‘Roundup’ section with revision appear in the Cambridge exams. This is irregular verb lists. In such a complicated
exercises and a ‘Reflecting on grammar’ a good idea, because it means that and all-embracing book, it is good to see
section to test the students’ knowledge particular grammar points that may that there is also an index.
of the grammar they have just studied. well be tested in such exams appear all
In keeping with the book’s aim to
together in one exercise. As a result, the
The edition reviewed here has an cater for everybody, further practice
contrast between the use of, say,
answer key, and the ‘Letter to students’ at exercises are available online, and these
although, but, though, however and even
the beginning says the book is, therefore, include simplified activities for learners
though can be seen and practised in one
‘perfect’ for self-study. However, I feel that with special educational needs.
place. I would hope, however, that no
many students, certainly those at A1 level, Danielle Weston
Cambridge exam item writer would ask
may still need a teacher to interpret some
the students to use however in the York, UK

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 35

 SCRAPBOOK Gems, titbits, puzzles, foibles, quirks, bits & pieces, quotations,
snippets, odds & ends, what you will
It was widely predicted that the computer age would herald a life of leisure, with the drudgery of actual work
being done (and perhaps being done better) by machines. However, as many of us are – thanks to Covid-19 –
currently experiencing some of the leisure time that computers have consistently failed to deliver, our thoughts
may turn to hobbies.

ia
It is interesting to read a number of opinions on what actually constitutes a hobby:

ed
‘When a habit begins to cost money, it’s called a hobby.’ (Jewish proverb) The oft-quoted example of this is boating
of any kind, but especially motor-powered – it is like standing under a shower while tearing up £50 notes …
‘Find three hobbies you love: One to make you money, one to keep you in shape and one to be creative.’

M
(Author unknown)
‘Happy is the man who is living by his hobby.’ (George Bernard Shaw, British playwright)

nd
‘Hobbies are for people who don’t read books.’ (Lissa Evans, British novelist)

ga
Bookworms More exciting ways to pass
The final quotation above reminds the time
hin
us that reading is firmly on the list
Reading may be fine for those who yearn for
of the most popular hobbies, along
a quiet life, but it is always interesting to see
with sports and fishing (more
what constitutes a more exotic pastime:
people go fishing in the UK than
lis

attend football matches). For many Extreme ironing

people, the greatest relaxation- Yes, it’s a competitive sport, also known as
time pleasure is to be found in a ‘EI’. Extreme ironing consists of ironing
b

book, and it seems that reading clothing in different, usually extreme,

Pu

has topped the popularity list situations, such as whilst rock climbing, surfing, on a kayak …
throughout the ages:
Stone skipping
‘If you have a garden and a library, Skipping stones is exactly that. You
ion

you have everything you need.’ take a flat, oval-shaped stone and a
(Cicero, Roman philosopher) nice calm lake or river, and you try to
‘My personal hobbies are reading, make the stone bounce across the
water as many times as possible.
vil

listening to music, and silence.’

Edith Sitwell, British poet) The current record holder managed
‘Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s a 51-bounce throw.
Pa

best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too Competitive duck herding

dark to read.’ (attributed to Groucho You learn to herd ducks like you
Marx, American comedian) would sheep. Apparently, it has
©

become a popular activity for

corporate team-building days out.
I am assuming that the title doesn’t
refer to ambitious ducks …

Element collecting
This hobby consists of collecting
elements from the Periodic Table.
People do this in different ways, and
with the elements in different
purities. It is not recommended that
you collect heavy, poisonous and
radioactive elements (security at nuclear sites is usually fairly high!)

36 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 What your hobby says about you
Less exciting ways to My personal award for the most boring activity, frequently listed under
‘Hobbies’ in a CV, has to be shopping!
pass the time Talking of CVs, it has long been part of the character-assessment process
At the other end of the scale, there are some to ask a job applicant to list their hobbies. It doesn’t seem to have occurred
hobbies which might conceivably be thought less to some job seekers that their answers might need rather more careful
than fascinating: consideration than they have given them. Here are some examples of what
prospective job applicants have put as their hobbies. Would you offer any
Train station spotting of them an actual job?
Spotting trains, ie recording the engine numbers, is
bad enough, but stations? ■■ Honestly, I like doing nothing. ■■ Streaking.

Keeping a lawn mowing diary

■■ Painting my toenails. ■■ Racing.
Seventy-seven-year-old David Grisenthwaite kept ■■ Talking. ■■ Handcuff-collecting.

ia
a 20-year record of exactly when he mowed his ■■  earning languages – I’m currently
L ■■ Sleeping.
lawn; he also kept notes of how much garden teaching myself to speak Wookie. ■■  ooking dogs. (a typing
C

ed
waste he produced. (a Wookie is a hairy alien from the error, one hopes)
Star Wars films)
Collecting traffic ■■ Owls.

M
■■ Travel.
cones ■■ Playing dead.
This might get more ■■ Skin collecting.
■■ You don’t want to know …
exciting if the police ■■ Arguing with people online.

nd
catch you at it.
Of course, unless the interviewer was a fan of The Lord of the Rings, this
Becoming a applicant is unlikely to have got the job:

ga
roundabout To conclude your job interview, what are your favorite hobbies?
Interviewer 
enthusiast
Applicant Bilbo, Frodo and Sam.
This is possibly more
hin
exciting than train
station spotting (see above)
if you have to cross busy
roads and actually stand
More bizarre ways of passing
the time
lis

on each roundabout in
order for it to count. In Wisconsin, USA, a competition takes place in which the
b

Collecting bricks entrants must do their best impression of a cow. The latest
winner was a ten-year-old boy named Austin, who received
Pu

An easy hobby for a

builder or a demolition $1,000, a cow-print jacket, and a golden cow bell, among
expert, I suppose. other prizes.
Australian Graham Barker has been collecting and storing his
ion

navel fluff since 1984. With his hefty collection now weighing in at

Hobby jokes 22.1 grams, this is arguably the most bizarre hobby of them all.
Believe it or not, websites are available for ‘baggists’ to buy
vil

One of my hobbies is time travel; I do it from time to time. and trade aeroplane sick bags. One of the original baggists,
from Singapore, has an impressive collection of 388 bags
I’m going to combine my hobbies of taxidermy and bomb
from 186 airlines.
making – and make you an otter you can’t defuse.
Pa

Giant baseball painting began in 1977, when Mike Carmichael

My wife says I have too many hobbies. I’ve already given up from Indiana, USA, decided to paint and repaint a baseball,
tennis and swimming, but painting is where I draw the line. leading to the creation of a 3,500-pound paint-covered ball, six
©

feet in diameter and with over 22,894 coats of paint on it. This has
I was talking to my friend over the weekend, when the
subject of hobbies came up. ‘What do you do in your free become a local tourist attraction, and visitors are invited to join in
time?’ I asked. by adding yet another coat to the ball. Carmichael’s only rule is
‘I stalk people,’ he responded. that each coat must be a different colour from the previous one.
‘Oh,’ I exclaimed. ‘Really? I enjoy walks in the park or
going to the cinema with friends.’
‘I know.’ What did you do during
My three favourite hobbies are eating my family and not Covid-19?
using commas.
On the following page is an activity to use with your students. It is
Why do herb pickers have so many hobbies? based on conversations about leisure activities done during the
They’ve got a lot of thyme on their hands. Covid-19 lockdown.

Scrapbook compiled by Ian Waring Green

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 37

 What did you do during Covid-19?
Copy and cut out the conversation cards and give one to each pair of students (the cards can also be
downloaded from the ETp website at www.etprofessional.com/media/35520/etp-129-onlineresources_
scrapbook_green.pdf). Each conversation is about an activity that one of the speakers did during the
Covid-19 lockdown. Ask each pair to decide what this activity was (they can check with you). They should
then perform their conversation to the class and get the other students to listen and guess what it was.
Afterwards, have a discussion about what leisure activities the students themselves did during the lockdown.
Each pair might like to make their own ‘mystery activity’ conversation to test the rest of the class.

Suggested answers
1 wrote a novel 2 exercised on an electric bicycle 3 baked bread 4 did yoga 5 played the piano 6 watched recordings of theatre/opera/
ballet productions 7 had a clearout of the house 8 grew vegetables in the garden

ia
1 2

ed
A: I’d been meaning to do it for years, but I’d just never found A: So did you go out on it every day?
the time. B: Yes, once we were told that we could exercise.

M
B: B
 ut how did you get started? Did you just sit down at your A: B
 ut wasn’t it really hard work? There are lots of hills where
computer and begin writing? you live.
A: Well, as I say, I had been intending to do it for some time, so B: Ah, but I bought myself an electric one.

nd
I already had some ideas for the basic plot and the characters.
A: I see. Isn’t that cheating?
Before I knew it, I’d completed ten chapters.
B: N
 ot really. I pedalled most of the way, but just got a bit of
B: Wow!

ga
extra help for going up the hills.

3 4
hin
A: I’ve put on so much weight! A: So had you done any before?
B: I’m not surprised. Did you make something every day? B: W
 ell, I went to an evening class once, but I didn’t like the
A: W
 ell, not every day. There were times when I couldn’t get any teacher much, so I gave up.
lis

yeast or the right type of flour. But when I could, I made A: Weren’t all the classes closed, though?
several loaves at a time.  es, but this was a class on YouTube. The teacher
B: Y
B: And ate them as well? demonstrated all the positions really clearly. The moves were
b

A: W
 ell yes, it’s so much better than the shop-bought stuff. quite simple and I felt really good afterwards. Really relaxed.
Pu

A: So, can you stand on your head now?

B: N
 o, but I can do all sorts of poses that stretch the muscles
and improve the balance.
ion

5 6
A: I had lessons when I was a child. But I didn’t enjoy practising A: Before the lockdown, I used to go at least once a week.
every day and my teacher used to get angry if I played a
vil

B: You must have missed it. How did you manage?

wrong note. So I gave up.
A: W
 ell, lots of places were putting recordings on the internet.
B: What made you take it up again now? I saw several shows that I’d wanted to see live but had missed.
Pa

A: W
 ell, I knew I would have lots of time to practise, and I wanted B: Not quite the same as seeing them live, though.
to do something creative during the lockdown.
A: N
 o, but the camera work was really good and there were little
A: B
 ut you must have needed something to practise on! details that I’d never have been able to see from my usual
B: M
 y grandfather died last year and he left me his. It was taking up seat at the back of the circle!
©

a huge amount of space in my spare room. I kept a lot of books

and things on top of it, so it was nice to use it properly again.

7 8
A: Wow! This looks great. There’s so much space! A: And these are carrots, potatoes and sweetcorn.
B: I’d been meaning to do it for years, and the lockdown finally B: What was here before? I think I remember you had roses ...
gave me the time. There were loads of things that I never use, A: Y
 es, this bed was all flowers. But I thought it would be good
and I just put them outside until I was left with just the things to produce my own food.
I really like and really use.
B: S
 o you dug everything up and replaced the flowers with
A: What did you do with all of it? vegetables?
B: I took it all to a recycling centre as soon as they opened again. A: W
 ell, not everything. I still have some flowers over there
outside the front door.

38 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 IN THE CLASSROOM

Let’s map it out!

Margit Szesztay and Uwe Pohl consider interactive work modes in the classroom.

W
hy an article on face-to-face interaction at a teacher training. We will also highlight some key benefits of
time when there is a move to online making interactive work patterns central to thinking about how
teaching, not just in ELT but in education in we manage our classrooms.

ia
general? As we are writing these lines, the
world is in the midst of the corona Interactive work modes

ed
epidemic, with schools and universities in most countries When we were entering the ELT profession some 30 years ago,
having to change over to ‘virtual mode’. Perhaps this global it was customary to refer to individual work, pairwork,
experiment with online teaching will help us to see more

M
groupwork and frontal work as broad labels for how teachers
clearly what it is that can and what it is that cannot be done and students can interact. In recent years, with the emergence
online. One positive outcome, then, might be a greater of approaches such as student-centred education, active
understanding and appreciation of face-to-face classroom

nd
learning and learner autonomy, as well as techniques such as
interaction. It is our hope that the visual representation of cooperative learning, project work and small-group work, a
interaction formats provided by this article will help teachers number of further work modes have entered classrooms in
to make the most of those occasions when their students can

ga
primary, secondary and tertiary education. Methodology books
come together in real time. and manuals on teaching methods these days abound in
activities which have the potential to engage the students in
Patterns of work
hin
diverse ways. Fundamentally, this reflects the recognition that,
Encouraging meaningful interaction between our students is a in order to become effective communicators in English outside
central concern for most teachers of English, and there have the classroom, our students need plenty of opportunities to
been a number of helpful publications on this topic. Here, we hone their communication skills in the classroom.
lis

would just like to mention Jim Scrivener’s comprehensive The chart that follows provides a kind of classroom map of
treatment of classroom management, and the ETp article by such interactive work modes. A diagram illustrates the
b

Mary Cerutti and her colleagues, ‘Invitation to interaction’, interaction patterns that characterise a particular way of
which provides a very useful categorisation of communication working, alongside a brief description of each mode and the
Pu

activities, based on their purpose and possible benefits. aims that can be achieved by using it. It is important to note,
Our aim with this article has not been to come up with though, that not all work formats suit all educational contexts.
brand new work modes. Rather, we would like to provide an Some formats may be better suited to classrooms with more
ion

overview of the patterns of work which we feel are particularly conventional settings or where the students are used to more
relevant for meaningful interaction in general language restricted interaction patterns. Others offer greater flexibility,
teaching and content-based language teaching, as well as in but also require more self-direction on the part of the students.
vil

An overview of interactive modes

Interactive work modes
Pa

Name Description
Buzz pairs Short, one- to two-minute oral task that pairs of students perform simultaneously. Open-
©

ended brainstorming tasks with no single correct answer are especially suitable.
Aims: Wake up minds, create energy, get ideas flowing; a good way to warm up the students
before a whole-class activity.

Mingle A ‘market place’ type of activity, during which the students keep changing partners. They
carry out a mini-task in pairs, then move on, form new pairs and carry out the mini-task once
again.
Aims: Move around; gather ideas; initiate a conversation; communicate with other students
that they don’t usually talk to.

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 39

IN THE CLASSROOM

Gallery walk The teacher turns the classroom into a ’gallery’ by displaying a set of pictures, quotes,
puzzles, questions, etc on the walls. The students then walk around in pairs, discuss the
questions, place comments on sticky notes on the pictures, etc.
Aims: Introduce a new topic; create a relaxed atmosphere; activate the students; build
learner autonomy.

Round Students respond one by one to the same talking point – a question or a sentence stem to
complete. For example: What’s the best place for you to study? The response needs to be
short and the activity needs to move at a brisk pace.
Aims: Brainstorm ideas; give everyone a voice; get into group mode.

ia
ed
Random This is similar to a Round – every student makes a short contribution – but the order in which
round the students speak is not based on where they are sitting. For example, the students can

M
nominate the next speaker by throwing a ball, or the one who wants to go next can signal
this by raising their hand. This makes it possible for the students to link up to each other’s
contributions.

nd
Aims: Allow attention to move around; create energy and flow in the classroom.
(Partial) The students are asked a question or given a task to think about and then find their place in

ga
Line-up a line, based on their responses. For example: Line up based on your height. A Partial line-up
entails only some of the students forming a line, and the rest of the class observing,
commenting and answering questions, eg Who is the tallest in the line?
hin
Aims: Create energy; move out of sitting-passively mode; appreciate the richness of
backgrounds and viewpoints; form groups randomly by counting off students in the line.
Opinion line The teacher calls out a controversial statement and the students have to find their position
lis

on an imaginary Opinion line with ‘fully agree’ at one end and ‘strongly disagree’ at the other.
Option A: the students indicate where they stand by physically moving to that place.
b

Option B: the teacher walks along the line and the students stand up when she gets to their
Pu

position. The teacher asks the students to justify their position. This is suitable for large
classes, as well.
Yes No
Aims: Appreciate the richness of perspectives; justify your views; listen to one another;
ion

develop critical thinking.

Team The teacher divides the class into two teams, which then compete to do a given set of tasks.
competition For example, the two teams line up facing the board and the two students at the front have
vil

to run to the board on a given signal and complete a task. Then they go to the end of the line
and the activity continues with the students who are now at the front.
Aims: Collaborate; build team spirit; create energy.
Pa

Pass-around The teacher forms pairs. With a traditional seating arrangement, the students in alternating
rows move one down so everyone gets a new partner. Then each pair completes a mini-task
©

in writing and, on a given signal, passes their paper down the line. After several turns, the
papers go back to the pairs who wrote on them first. For example, the task could be
brainstorming or story building.
Aims: Appreciate the richness of ideas and viewpoints in the class; prepare for a class
discussion.
Group Many traditional classroom tasks can be transformed into a Group challenge. The whole
challenge class acts as a group to carry out a task in a given amount of time – to beat the clock, with
individual members contributing. Open-ended, brainstorming activities are especially
suitable.
Aims: Boost whole-class energies; group building.

40 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 IN THE CLASSROOM

Partial The students respond to prompts by standing up/sitting down/looking around, etc. The
physical teacher might use prompts such as: You can sit down if [you have a pet], Stand up and look
response around if ..., Raise your right hand if ..., Change places if ... .
Aims: Essentially, this is a listening comprehension exercise with the potential to energise the
students. It is also a group-building activity as you compare personal information, eg about
hobbies, pets, passions, birthdays.
Think–pair– This is a three-staged activity that ensures that a diversity of views and ideas are brought
share into a whole-class discussion. First, the students think individually about a question; next,
they discuss their ideas in pairs; and finally, there is a whole-class stage where the pairs
report back in plenary mode.

ia
Aims: Maximise involvement during whole-class discussions; bring in diverse viewpoints.

ed
M
Fishbowl The teacher divides the students into Observers and Speakers. The Speakers move into the
centre of the class, ie becoming the ‘fish’ in the fishbowl. They engage in a discussion task
while the rest of the class – sitting in the outer circle(s) – observe the interaction, take notes

nd
and later give feedback on how the discussion went.
Aims: Practise active listening, tuning in to one another, giving feedback; raise awareness of

ga
what makes a good discussion.
Groupwork The teacher divides the class into groups of four or five, and gives each member a different
with roles role, eg note-taker, discussion leader, time-keeper, summariser, encourager. Depending on
hin
the type of task, different roles might also be relevant, eg illustrator, word-concept checker.
Aims: Maximise participation; practise groupwork skills.
b lis

Jigsaw The teacher divides the class into groups of four or five and within each group assigns the
Pu

groupwork students a letter. This way, there will be students A, B, C, D (and E) in each group. Next, the
students are given a short text to read related to a given topic – students with the same letter
get the same text. Finally, in groups, the students summarise their text – putting together the
ion

pieces of a jigsaw.
Aims: Maximise participation during groupwork; promote learner autonomy and learner
collaboration.
vil

Cross-over Groups rotate among different workstations. The ‘stations’ can contain different tasks to
groups carry out, posters to comment on, etc. It is similar to a Gallery walk in which the groups move
from station to station jointly at a given signal.
Pa

Aims: Learner autonomy and learner collaboration; can give space for diverse tasks.
©

Benefits of mapping out interactive good starting point for considering lesson aims, language focus,
work modes variety or timing. For example, modes like Groupwork with roles
and Jigsaw groupwork are effective whenever a teacher wants the
Visualising lesson planning students to tackle a more complex task independently. This
In our work as teacher trainers, we have found that thinking automatically begs questions about the composition of groups
about what interactive modes to use should not be treated as an (number, level, gender), the clarity of steps and instructions, time
afterthought. It really pays off if our trainees make them central limits and tangible work outcomes for each group.
to planning individual lessons. Visualising the way they want Experienced teachers will have developed lesson routines that
their students to interact – with them and with each other – is a serve them well. But the mapping of alternative, less familiar

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 41

IN THE CLASSROOM

routes for a lesson to unfold can prompt them to explore ways aims and that extending the range of classroom interaction
of student engagement that lie outside a repertoire of tried and patterns is central to achieving these aims.
tested patterns. A class discussion organised as a Fishbowl or a Going up to someone and initiating a conversation,
Round, for example, may surprise the students at first. But once learning to take turns in groups, asking open-ended questions,
they have tried out less familiar arrangements, students (and staying focused during a discussion and finding our public
teachers) may appreciate the different dynamics of attention voice as speakers within the classroom community are all
and participation these modes allow for. important skills which need a great deal of practice. We have
found that, as students get more comfortable with a range of
Student engagement work modes, their sense of agency tends to become stronger,
We can observe a growing international interest in facilitating as well. As they share their stories, ask questions, listen to
students’ access to the globalised world of business, intercultural different viewpoints and work together, they start to see
communication and academia. At the same time, a lecture or

ia
themselves as active shapers of the classroom community.
presentation in a language other than their mother tongue can be
Here is how one of our teacher trainees put it: ‘In the
very demanding for many students, especially if the subject needs

ed
traditional classroom, we face the blackboard and the teacher
to be studied in its own right. This is especially true for Content
and perhaps are occasionally asked to face each other. In the
and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and English as a
communicative classroom this is turned around: we usually face

M
Medium of Instruction (EMI). In both approaches, teachers or
each other, and are occasionally asked to turn to the teacher.
lecturers put greater emphasis on increasing student engagement
In my opinion, this can plant the seeds of cooperation.’
with subject content. In our training of EMI instructors at

nd
Chinese universities, for example, we have been using Buzz pairs, t t t
Think–pair–share and Gallery walk to good effect. Using these
modes encourages the lecturers to think through their classes Ultimately, it is up to the individual teacher to decide what

ga
from the students’ perspective, which helps them to see the value modes to incorporate in their school context and what kind of
of lecture breaks, giving the students processing time or adaptation would be needed to make the basic format work.
incorporating short review tasks. One Chinese university lecturer Whichever adaptation we choose, once we start experimenting,
we will notice that each work mode changes the atmosphere
hin
in EMI described how this has affected his perception of the
teacher and student role metaphorically: ‘In Chinese classrooms, somewhat and enables a different interaction between the
the teacher is usually the actor and the students are the audience. teacher and the students and among the students themselves.
You have changed that. The teacher becomes the director and the This often encourages the formation of new habits of working
lis

students the actors.’ together which, over time, creates a richer and more
communicative culture in the classroom. n
Energy management
b

Bentley, T Facilitation: Providing Opportunities for Learning

When students learn together as a group, teachers can feel their
Pu

McGraw-Hill 1994
combined energy as a force that can work for or against them. Cerutti, M, Guill, L, Pierson, C and Sharp, M ‘Invitation to interaction’
Trevor Bentley describes this force as the ‘fluctuating balance of English Teaching Professional 87 2013
mental, emotional and physical intensity and vitality that can be Goleman, D and Senge, P The Triple Focus: A New Approach to
ion

felt like a positive or negative electrical charge in the air as if the Education More Than Sound Publications 2014
group is switched on or off’. To manage this energy, the students’ Scrivener, J Classroom Management Techniques CUP 2012
diverse, sometimes conflicting, perceptions and interests need
to be managed – that is, harmonised and given direction.
vil

Margit Szesztay has been involved in

A teacher who is sensitive to this will know how to use teacher education for the past 30 years.
Her professional interests include learning
different interactive modes purposefully in order to channel
through discussion, creativity in ELT, the
Pa

energies in the classroom. Think, for example, of the familiar teacher as facilitator, global issues and
first-class-of-the-day scenario with sleepy, unfocused students. building professional communities. She
This might call for the teacher choosing a Partial physical works at the Department of English
response activity, a Team competition or a Group challenge. Language Pedagogy, Eötvös Loránd
©

University in Budapest, Hungary.

Involving the whole class in a simple show-and-tell, some
[email protected]
movement or solving a brain teaser will likely raise the energy
level and send a signal that class has started, before perhaps
moving on to a coursebook-based listening or reading task. Uwe Pohl is a teacher and teacher trainer
at the Department of English Language
Students as agents Pedagogy (DELP) of Eötvös Loránd
University in Budapest, Hungary. He also has
In their book The Triple Focus, Daniel Goleman and Peter training experience in the UK, Ethiopia,
Senge highlight the need for teachers to help develop self- Turkey and China. His current professional
awareness (inner focus), social intelligence (other focus) and an interests are intercultural learning, trainer
understanding of the complex, interconnected, globalised training, mentoring and English as Medium
of Instruction (EMI).
world we all inhabit (outer focus). We believe that the world of
[email protected]
ELT can make a big contribution to these wider educational

42 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 EXAMS AND ASSESSMENT

Service,
please! 2 Martina Dorn continues her
exploration of formative assessment
with practical activities.

I
n the first part of this article, in ETp Issue 128, I used the might be unwilling, for whatever reason, to employ it in their

ia
following soup-cooking analogy to explain the difference own practice. One does not need to read around the topic
between formative and summative assessment: extensively to realise that simple adjustments made to our

ed
 ormative assessment occurs when the cook tastes the soup in
F delivery could have profound effects on and raise the standards
the kitchen, whereas summative assessment occurs when the of teaching and learning. Paul Black and Dylan William’s

M
patron tastes the soup in the restaurant. research findings and conclusions – namely that formative
assessment is likely to raise teaching and learning standards,
Here, I would like to reflect on the effectiveness of some
lead to greater teacher and learner involvement, empower
activities that employ Assessment for Learning (AfL) and
learners and encourage their independence and self-regulation

nd
Assessment as Learning (AaL) strategies (both part of formative
– are hard to disagree with, although the absoluteness of their
assessment). I have used all these activities in my own classes.
claims might be contested by some. Once practitioners are

ga
familiar with the concept of formative assessment, I find the
Formative assessment main reason why AfL and AaL strategies are not fully exploited
The ‘soup-tasting’ analogy usually strikes a chord with anyone and embedded in teaching and learning processes is the
to whom it is presented. I have yet to meet anyone who would difficulty that instructors and teachers have in translating the
hin
deny the multiple benefits of formative assessment, even if they concept into practical ideas.
b lis
Pu
ion
vil
Pa
©

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 43

EXAMS AND ASSESSMENT

Exploiting the strategies The students complete a jigsaw reading activity in groups using
It may have sounded harsh when I complained in the first three or four versions of the course/programme SLO
part of this article that formative assessment is largely document, with blanks in different places.
unaddressed in ELT. However, although the concept is well
covered in mainstream teacher training courses (including 2 Poster creation (AfL and AaL)
those for would-be teachers of modern foreign languages), Materials: Sheets of A3 paper and marker pens
it is rarely addressed on ELT training courses. One might In groups, the students consider the SLOs and produce posters,
conclude from this that its principles do not apply to ELT. depicting their perceived usefulness and importance. In
Furthermore, the vast majority of ELT practitioners do not addition, each group member writes their name next to the
encounter formative assessment, nor are they asked to employ SLO or SLOs which they believe they need to concentrate on.
it, unless they enter the sphere of mainstream teaching or are
3 Digital distribution and ‘exposure’ to SLOs (AfL)

ia
employed by an organisation where English is the medium
of instruction. Materials: E-learning tools

ed
Not all is lost, however. The British Council, as is often the The document with the SLOs is emailed to the students, or
case, leads the way, and there are several pages on their links/copies are placed on organisational e-learning platforms,
Teaching English website devoted to the concept. There are also such as Moodle or BlackBoard, educational or other apps, and

M
links to web pages with practical formative assessment teaching relevant items from the SLOs are included in, for example,
and learning ideas for English teachers, many of which require PowerPoint presentations, when teaching, so that the students
very little preparation and resources. Additionally, some of the are aware of the rationale of the activities.

nd
links on the Teaching English website point formative
assessment enthusiasts to the Times Educational Supplement Comments
website, with access to numerous free resources.

ga
By conducting the jigsaw reading activity with the class, my
students’ attention was drawn to the key points in the
Evaluating the strategies document containing the SLOs of the programme (provided to
me by my course coordinator, with the instruction to distribute
hin
Since returning to teaching last year, I have been in the
fortunate position of being able to utilise formative assessment copies to the students). Such documents often end up at the
and evaluate its effectiveness. I am working in a higher bottom of the students’ bags or in the bin. The jigsaw reading
education context, but the three pillars upon which formative activity clearly served its purpose because, afterwards, some
lis

assessment is based are applicable to all ELT settings: students asked me pertinent questions regarding the structure
of the course and why more importance was placed on some
1 Creating an environment in which the students are fully
skills rather than others.
b

informed of the course objectives, assessment criteria/expected

standards, and in which they are encouraged to believe they The poster activity was well received, too. It was fascinating
Pu

can improve. to see how the groups identified with the SLOs and then used
creativity to portray them. The activity had a deep and
2 Providing and receiving feedback in order to gauge to
personal dimension, as each student had to self-evaluate their
what degree learning has taken place, and responding to and
ion

current ability/level within the SLOs. The posters, displayed on

adjusting teaching according to the received feedback.
the class noticeboard, were regularly referred to during the
3 Raising the students’ awareness of what and how they are 16-week semester. Furthermore, I ensured that the SLOs were
learning, and leading them to take control of their own posted in multiple places, and either elicited them from the
vil

learning and develop skills of self-regulation. students or drew attention to them. As a result, each teaching
and learning activity gained more significance and relevance
Example activities when cross-referenced with the SLOs. It was obvious that the
Pa

The following example activities containing AfL and AaL students had not previously experienced this approach.
strategies are commonly used by teachers. I employed them in Nevertheless, their adjustment was surprisingly quick and, as
my teaching practice last semester, but the list is by no means the semester progressed, they started to comment
©

exhaustive or definitive. Naturally, adaptations may be spontaneously on the SLOs in relation to the assigned tasks,
required to some of the activities I describe, and I would urge and their current and desired ability or level.
everyone to experiment with what works for them and their
groups of learners. Assessment criteria/standards and
proposed tasks
Course/programme student learning
objectives (SLOs) 1 Student-friendly assessment criteria (AfL)
Materials: Digital or paper copies of the assessment criteria
1 Jigsaw reading (AfL) In groups, the students interpret the assessment criteria for
Materials: Copies of adapted text from the original SLO different tasks and reformulate them in terms to which they
document can relate.

44 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 EXAMS AND ASSESSMENT

2 Pie chart (AaL) ■■ What they found difficult.

Materials: A4 paper and marker pens ■■ Something they would like to learn in the future.
The students produce pie charts to illustrate what proportion
of the overall course grade each task or assessment activity 3 I have a question (AfL)
comprises, and compare their ideas. Materials: Strips of paper, pens
The students are asked at the end of a lesson to write on strips
3 Timeline (AaL) of paper something that is still puzzling them – something
Materials: A3 paper and marker pens specific, rather than a sweeping statement such as ‘everything’.
The students complete a timeline (for our 16-week course) with The strips of paper with the students’ comments/questions are
information related to the key deadlines for the completion of collected by the teacher.
all the tasks.

ia
Comments
Comments How can we truly know the extent of our students’

ed
When they were first presented with the assessment criteria/ understanding? We will all agree that the sole application of
expected standards, it became apparent that my students were Assessment of Learning (AoL) does not suffice: we need to dig
not accustomed to using these actively in learning. They were deeper and involve the students themselves. That is why I

M
even puzzled, and queried why a document meant for teachers decided to employ the K–W–L activity regularly during the
should be shared with them. First, I got them to ‘decipher’ the 16-week course of study. It lent itself perfectly to encouraging
assessment criteria, and subsequently encouraged them to the students to consider their existing knowledge, reflect on

nd
employ their understanding of the standards before, during what new knowledge they had learnt, and also recognise what
and after the completion of teaching, learning and assessment other themes could/should be explored by them in the future.

ga
tasks. That made them conscious of their current level and Initially, the students struggled with this AfL strategy, but I
what knowledge/skills they lacked, which led to them persevered and utilised it frequently and consistently.
considering various strategies to enhance their performance. The other two AfL strategies also took a while to ‘take off’.
hin
Through teaching the students, I realised very quickly that The students seemed perplexed as to why I was asking them to
they were pragmatic individuals. With heavy schedules and complete the activities at all. That was the perfect starting point
heaps of coursework they had to complete on other courses, for discussing the importance of any learners ascertaining their
they needed to prioritise. The pie chart activity was appreciated own understanding and communicating it to their teachers or
lis

greatly because the students gained a clear overview of the instructors. I assured my students that admitting to not fully
weightings of the different continuous assessment tasks. As a understanding something is not a weakness. I gained the
students’ trust and confidence and, as a result, I was able to
b

result, they were able to make conscious, and frequently

calculated, decisions regarding the amount of time and effort obtain insightful information about their learning and fine-tune
Pu

they would devote to each task. my subsequent lessons. I sometimes had to take hard decisions
The timeline activity was a natural continuation of my about going over certain elements of the curriculum again,
efforts to encourage the students to organise and manage their rather than moving on, as dictated by the schedule. I feel now,
ion

time. I was happy that I spent time raising their awareness of as I did then, that the action I took was correct, because I was
some of the aspects of the programme, because it created teaching the students, rather than delivering a course ‘in a
opportunities to develop their organisational, study and timely manner’. Many of the students remarked that they
decision-making skills. preferred this thorough coverage of the curriculum to one
vil

which is superficial and rushed.

Evaluation of learning
Evaluation of teaching
Pa

1 K–W–L (AfL)
1 Rate my teaching (AfL)
Materials: Scrap paper and pens
Materials: An online survey
At the beginning of a topic, the students create a grid with
©

three columns: what they know; what they want to know; what The students complete a short online survey to rate the
they have learnt. They start by brainstorming and filling in the teacher’s teaching on that day (using a scale from 0 to 100%).
first two columns, and then return to the third at the end of the For any score lower than 70%, a reason and a suggestion for
task/unit. improvement must be given (you need to set this up before the
survey’s electronic submission is enabled).
2 Pair share (AfL)
2 Most … thing (AfL)
Materials: None
Materials: Strips of paper, pens
At the end of a lesson, the students share the following with
their partner: The students are asked what was the most interesting,
surprising, useful, challenging, etc thing that they learnt on that
■■ Three new things they have learnt.
day or in the current unit, and to explain why. They write their
■■ What they found easy. answers on strips of paper and hand them to the teacher.

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 45

EXAMS AND ASSESSMENT

3 Stick ’em up (AfL) Feedback

Materials: Sticky notes in at least three colours, pens
1 Comment-only marking (AfL and AaL)
The students are given coloured sticky notes, eg green, yellow
and red. Thinking about the lesson, they write on them: Materials: Assessment criteria
green – something that was effective; The teacher only writes comments on the students’ work,
and doesn’t give marks or scores. This helps the students to
yellow – something that worked partially and could be
focus on their progress instead of rewards or punishments.
improved on (they have to say how);
The teacher uses assessment criteria and highlights the
red – something that did not work at all (they have to say why). sections that refer to the students’ current level of
performance. The teacher arranges to speak to individual
Comments students (dialogic feedback) if they have any questions
This facet of formative assessment is probably the least

ia
about the comments.
favourite amongst teachers. Does anyone enjoy having their
2 Feedback sandwich (AfL)

ed
lessons scrutinised? Probably not. However, it is critical if we
are serious about making a difference to our students’ Materials: None
performance, overall learning experience and the formation of
The teacher uses a ‘feedback sandwich’ to give comments,

M
their higher-order skills. I subjected myself to this scrutiny
placing any negative feedback between two positive comments.
throughout the 16-week course. On one occasion, one of my
For example:
lessons was rated at only 65%! How do you think I, an ELT

nd
practitioner of 20 years, felt? Mortified! Nevertheless, I Positive comment: I like ... because ...
appreciated the highly perceptive comments which Constructive feedback, with explanation: This is not quite
accompanied it. The practice of regularly conducting surveys correct – check the information with ...

ga
forced me to reconsider and adjust what and how I did things; Positive comment: You have written a very clear ...
and the students and I benefited positively from the
modifications and tweaks. 3 My favourite ‘No’ (AfL)
hin
The activities ‘Most ... thing’ and ‘Stick ’em up’ were more Materials: Assessment criteria
time-consuming, and I carried them out less often. However, After marking all the students’ work, the teacher chooses
these activities revealed features of my teaching practice, both ‘the best wrong answer’ (ie a thesis statement, a whole
lis

effective and not so effective, to which I would probably paragraph, the way an idea is developed) – something that
otherwise have paid little or no attention. Consequently, I was caught their attention, or which the students got wrong
able to exploit the findings, and displayed to the students my frequently. The teacher presents it to the class before their
b

commitment to their success and how I adapted to improve the work is handed back. The students have to identify why it is
Pu

overall quality of my teaching. incorrect and make suggestions to improve it.

Comments
No teacher can ever claim that they use formative
ion

assessment if they do not provide meaningful and action-

prompting feedback. I am no exception. Despite the fact
that I realised that it would require a lot of time (I taught
vil

74 students), I knew I had to approach marking in a

different way. I also recognised that my students would
need time and sufficient coaching before they came around
Pa

to accepting any radical change. In the first few weeks of

the semester, they seemed outraged when I handed back
their work without any grades. With every completed task,
©

I worked patiently with them, referred them to the SLOs

and assessment criteria, cross-referencing these with my
‘feedback sandwich’ comments.
The students gradually got used to this innovative
approach and changed their attitudes. So much so, that
many of my students started to contact me via email to
discuss what they could do to get better. I was often stopped
in the corridor, so that the students could exchange a few
words about their latest assignment. Some students would
‘interrupt’ my ten-minute breather between double sessions
or seek me out in my office; others would arrange to see me
formally during assigned office hours.

46 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 EXAMS AND ASSESSMENT

Personal and academic goals, a lot of value in it. They took it seriously and indicated
reflection, and peer- and self- truthfully how hard they worked and what their perceived level
of performance was. The two line charts were very revealing.
assessment The students were often critical of themselves, especially if
their work rate had lapsed or if their performance dipped. They
1 Chart plotting (AaL) also diligently filled out the comment boxes, and I learnt a great
Materials: An A4 booklet deal through their accounts. This resulted in my getting to
The students plot two line graphs on page 1 of a booklet, based know them better, both as learners and individuals.
on their perceived effort and level of performance. (In my case, Furthermore, the students were able to recognise how
the x axis represented the 16-week course; the y axis was important it was to set goals and continue reviewing them
marked from 1 to 100%.) The students reflect on any increases according to their situations. It is no exaggeration when I say
or decreases in effort and performance, and afterwards write that, because of this strategy, I felt in an advantageous position

ia
their thoughts in comment boxes (one for each week on the when it came to assisting them. The ‘Chart plotting’ booklets
subsequent pages of the booklet). They also suggest what were kept in a locked cupboard in the classroom, which allowed

ed
action they can take to improve. me to remind myself of individual student’s circumstances.
Consequently, the feedback I gave was not generic but precisely

M
2 It’s good to talk (AaL) targeted advice. Also, through this knowledge of my students,
Materials: None I was able to apply effective strategies to encourage them to be
The teacher suggests time slots (between double sessions, lunch more proactive. They became more willing to experiment with

nd
time, office hours, etc) and places (classroom, communal study different strategies, and search for and select alternative English
areas, office, etc) when the students are able to speak to them language practice sources which suited them and their interests,
informally and briefly on a range of topics. No formal booking thus becoming more independent.

ga
system is required, and the students also need to be made aware
of when and where to see their teacher formally.
hin
3 Peer check (AfL) Overall, I had a positive experience with formative assessment
Materials: Assessment criteria last semester. I threw myself whole-heartedly into the ‘soup-
The students are asked to read each other’s written work to cooking’ process and devoted a considerable amount of time
lis

look for specific points, such as spelling mistakes, past tense and effort to it. I used a wide range of ‘tools’, and added plenty
verbs, organisation of ideas, etc. During speaking activities, of aromatic ‘herbs and spices’. When the ‘soup was served and
such as roleplays and presentations, they are asked to give each tasted’, my students and I were proud and satisfied, but we also
b

other feedback on specific points, eg whether they understood realised there was no time to rest on our laurels. As we parted,
Pu

what was said, how interesting it was, and any questions we discussed what strategies they would employ as learners on
they have. their next courses, English or non-English. Likewise, I reflected
on what was effective, what I would tweak or ditch, and also
Comments searched for activities containing AfL and AaL strategies to try
ion

When teachers come across the term formative assessment, out in the next semester. One thing I know for sure – formative
many immediately think of peer-evaluation. Based on my assessment is to stay in my teaching practice. n
observations, although there has been a strong movement in
vil

ELT to promote this teaching and learning strategy, it is still

largely under-utilised and fairly unpopular. I encountered the The British Council Teaching English: ‘Assessment for learning’
usual challenges with peer-evaluation – my students were www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/assessment-learning 2020
Pa

unfamiliar with the approach, generally reluctant to work Times Educational Supplement ‘Formative assessment’ www.tes.
collaboratively, and often dismissive of their peers’ ability to com/resources/search/?q=formative%20assessment 2020
give any worthwhile feedback. However, with my strong William, D and Black, P Inside the Black Box King’s College, London
convictions of its usefulness, and willingness and patience to 1998
©

carry it out, I was suitably armed to tackle any issues. My

efforts soon paid off and I was thrilled to see my students at
Martina Dorn has the CELTA, CertEd, DELTA,
ease when checking each other’s work against the assessment an MA in Education and an MSc in Technology
criteria, and offering their counterparts suggestions for Management. She has worked as an English
improvement. teacher, teacher trainer, director of studies,
IELTS examiner and assessment specialist in
During the course, I required the students to reflect upon the UK and UAE. She is currently employed as
and state with honesty how much effort they put into their an English instructor by the Center for
English studies and how well they thought they performed. Language Education (CLE) at the Southern
I reserved 15 minutes of class time for this activity at the end of University of Science and Technology
(SUSTech) in Shenzhen, China.
each week. I was not sure what to expect, as this was the first
time I had employed this type of activity, but the students saw www.linkedin.com/in/martina-dorn-11a59b23

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 47

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

Working
with
emergent
language

ia
ed
I
M
Richard n the work I do, I am fortunate to have the Thomas Farrell and of Steve Mann and Steve
opportunity to observe teachers in a range of Walsh), I believe that pre-service and in-service
Chinn offers
contexts. I have found that, more and more, when schemes should have a focus on developing the

nd
reflective we move beyond the technicalities of classroom teacher as a reflective practitioner. However, time
advice to management, what often becomes the focus of pressures on training courses and in teachers’
the teacher feedback on lessons is classroom interaction and, more daily lives can often leave little room for reflection.
and the
teacher trainer.
specifically, the teacher’s intervention in response to
learner output or needs. This is a complex area,
fraught with myriad choices and variables, such as: ga With this in mind, I sought to help in-service
teachers on a training course to work with
emergent language, engage in ‘exploratory
hin
■■ Should the intervention be on the spot or delayed? practice’ and become researchers of their own
practice. In order to do this, they would need to
■■ What is an appropriate reformulation, extension
gather data from their teaching to make their
or upgrade?
lis

reflection ‘evidence-based’. To facilitate this,

■■ Is it relevant to highlight a piece of emergent I designed a workshop which included awareness-
language for the whole class? raising and practical examples of teaching that
b

and so on. Because of all these questions, working related to the following dimensions of
Pu

with emergent language can be seen as a complex teacher knowledge:

teaching skill and, as such, needs to be addressed on ■■ What is emergent language? (the phenomenon
practical training courses. It can also be the focus and the types of language that can emerge, eg
for ongoing CPD initiatives. lexis, grammar, etc)
ion

As Rod Ellis points out, there is a consensus ■■ Why include work on it? (underlying theoretical
that feedback on language can lead to learners principles and examining teachers’ beliefs about
developing linguistically. However, as Danny working with learner language)
vil

Norrington-Davies stated in his article on emergent ■■ When should we address it? (the stages of the
language in ETp Issue 128, teachers can often be
lesson when language can emerge and the teacher
unsure about when, why and how to provide
can intervene)
Pa

feedback to learners.
■■ How should we deal with it? (techniques)
Considering this, I recently decided to examine
the type of help I provide on training courses by
Incorporating reflective practice
©

raising the teachers’ awareness of how to work more

with emergent language and offering ways in which into teacher development
they can examine their own practice. This article programmes
will suggest different reflective instruments that
readers may wish to experiment with on training The session provided the participants with reflective
programmes, INSETT sessions and on their own instruments that they could adapt and use to
action research projects. monitor their own teaching on the course. However,
these instruments could equally be used in other
teacher development schemes, INSETT sessions and
Teacher development and action research projects. The reflective instruments
reflective practice I used were using video, sensitising teachers to
As reflective practice is widely agreed to be highly learner language through transcripts and recordings,
effective for teacher development (see the work of and examining boardwork.

48 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

Using video training room. To do this, they make recordings and short
In recent years, as shown in 2019 by Steve Mann and his transcripts of their lessons to analyse. By looking at their own
colleagues, there has been increasing interest in using video practice, they can notice effective techniques and gaps and
in teacher development and education. Video is often used identify areas that they want to work on. This means that what
as an awareness-raising tool by getting trainees to watch they learn is more likely to be ‘owned’ by the teacher, as it has
more experienced teachers in action. However, this can be been gained through experience. We also find the discussions
problematic, as many of the commercially-produced lessons about the nature of their classroom interaction very stimulating.
available for teachers to use can either be rather dated or are Through examining videos of experienced teachers
created to display particular teaching techniques and teaching, the ‘what’, the ‘why’, the ‘when to’ and the ‘how’ are
procedures. As a result, it is hard to find clips of natural addressed. In addition, these dimensions of knowledge
teaching with examples of genuine interaction and emergent surrounding emergent language are further explored when the
language in them. So, on my courses, we used a video of an

ia
teachers investigate their own teaching. The role of the teacher
experienced teacher teaching a normal class and isolated a part developer, in consultation with the teachers, is to stimulate
of the lesson where the teacher and learners are involved in

ed
open and non-judgmental discussion about interaction and to
genuine interaction, for example using genuine questions in help the teacher summarise findings and select goals for future
feedback to explore the learners’ answers. This captured the inquiry. It also works well if developing teachers can work

M
messiness of real interaction and allowed us to explore the collaboratively to compare and discuss findings, as this can
subtle moves the teacher made to prompt, probe, reformulate facilitate a collegial and supportive environment for
and extend learner language. Although we just noted emergent development and encourage communities of practice. Those

nd
language and discussed teacher interventions, a task adapted teachers who may feel apprehensive about watching themselves
from Danny Norrington-Davies and Nick Andon’s taxonomy teach could look at how other hesitant teachers have benefited
could be used as an awareness-raising tool. For example, the from videoing themselves. A good resource for this and using

ga
trainee teacher watches a stretch of video and fills in a table video in language teaching is the VILTE project (https://vilte.
(see Figure 1). This activity serves to focus attention on warwick.ac.uk/items/show/13).
classroom interaction and how the teacher on the video
hin
responds to emergent language. There is also scope to explore Reformulating learner language
how the learners respond to the teacher’s intervention.
A further way in which video and transcripts can be used is to
Observing how experienced teachers deal with emergent help sensitise developing teachers to learner language, which
lis

language and respond to learner needs in everyday lessons can many of them suggest is difficult to hear and respond to in the
provide developing teachers with examples of what is possible moment. One way I have done this it to use a video of a learner
in a lesson and create an opportunity for conversation about or small group of learners doing a speaking task. The first time
b

the choices we have at different intersections of a lesson. In the I play the recording is to orient the participants to the topic, the
Pu

absence of videos, or when the sound on our recordings hasn’t level of the learner/s and their overall intelligibility. A good
been perfect, I have also used short transcripts of classroom question to ask is: How well have the learners completed the task
discourse to help awareness-raising on training courses. or answered the question? The second time the recording is
Teachers read the transcripts and complete the awareness- played, the participants are given the following simple note-
ion

raising task. As well as raising awareness, this task also taking task on ‘What did the learner say/What would I say?’ (see
provides a framework for the teachers to use for examining Figure 2). First, the teachers watch the extract of the lesson and
their own classroom interaction. note down examples of learner language in the first column.
vil

Additionally, following the advice of Steve Walsh, I Then, they consider what they would upgrade, reformulate or
encourage developing teachers to examine their own teaching extend, and discuss their choices with their peers. Once they’ve
and bring evidence of areas they wish to investigate into the chosen which items would be most useful to work with, they fill
Pa
©

Figure 1 Awareness-raising task Figure 2 Reformulation task

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 49

TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

ia
Figure 3 Completed reformulation task Figure 4 A teacher’s boardwork

ed
in the second column with what they think is the most suitable provide opportunities to challenge and push the learners
reformulation (see Figure 3). linguistically as well. However, there is very little published

M
This is a very simple task, but it has proved highly effective advice on how teachers can work with emergent language,
for many of the teachers I have worked with. Teachers I have and this article has hopefully provided the reader with
interviewed after using this task have commented that they found awareness-raising and experiential activities to aid teacher

nd
it a useful exercise when examining their own teaching or learning in this complex area. These activities do not set out
watching colleagues teach. Some found it a useful tool for to provide hard and fast guidelines for working with
monitoring, whilst others found it useful for deciding what emergent language, but, rather, to stimulate noticing of

ga
language they could put up on the board for feedback on tasks. classroom interaction and the language that emerges from
Again, it is good if you can demonstrate how the task works in it, and to create a space for discussion about teaching and
an input session or workshop first, as, by having experience of learning. Finally, they seek to put the teacher in control
hin
using the task and seeing how it works, you can encourage the of their own development and sow the seeds for further
teachers to try it out for themselves. This task mainly focuses on investigation of classroom interaction and how they
the ‘what’ of emergent language, and there are not necessarily respond to learners and learner language. n
lis

correct or incorrect options: rather, choices that can be explored.

In turn, this can help frame discussions on when and how to deal Andon, N and Norrington-Davies, D ‘How do experienced teachers
with language – ie delayed or on the spot – and how to use the deal with emergent language?’ Paper presented at IATEFL,
b

board to record feedback. A further resource that readers might Liverpool, UK 2019
Pu

like to look at with more ideas like this is an IH London Blog Ellis, R ‘Corrective feedback and teacher development’ L2 Journal 1
from 2014 a colleague and I wrote on the topic (www.ihlondon. (1) 2009
com/blog/posts/2014/giving-feedback-on-language/). Farrell, T S ‘Anniversary article: The practices of encouraging TESOL
teachers to engage in reflective practice: An appraisal of recent
ion

research contributions’ Language Teaching Research 20 (2) 2016

Recording language on the board
Mann, S and Walsh, S Reflective Practice in English Language
The next task is one I still use myself when I teach, and this is Teaching: Research-based Principles and Practices Routledge 2017
something that I encourage teachers that I work with to do. Mann, S, Davidson, A, Davis, M, Gakonga, J, Gamero, M, Harrison, T,
vil

Firstly, the teacher photographs their board, so that they can Mosavian, P and Richards, L ‘Video in language teacher education’
see what emergent language has arisen in the lesson and how it British Council ELT Research Papers (www.teachingenglish.org.uk/
was dealt with. In a follow-up input session or workshop, sites/teacheng/files/J201%20ELT%20Video%20in%20language%20
teacher%20education%20FINAL_Web.pdf) 2019
Pa

participating teachers bring in examples of their boards and,

together, identify the topic of the lessons and the technique the Norrington-Davies, D ‘Emergent language’ English Teaching
Professional 128 2020
teacher may have used to draw attention to language, eg gaps,
Walsh, S Classroom Discourse and Teacher Development Edinburgh
blank boxes, colours to highlight form and phonology, etc (see
©

University Press 2013

Figure 4). Good questions to ask are: What areas of language
are being focused on in the feedback? What techniques has the
teacher used to elicit reformulations? This activity can provide Richard Chinn is a teacher trainer at
teachers with options of how to draw attention to emergent International House London and visiting
language and involve the learners in reformulation work. It also teaching associate at King’s College London.
His professional interests are in classroom
provides a record of what has arisen in class, and what can be
interaction and reflective practice in teacher
followed up in future lessons. development.
[email protected]
t t t
Working with emergent language is necessary, as it responds
to the demands of the learners’ internal syllabus and can

50 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 TECHNOLOGY

Intercultural
professional training. This project created
a great opportunity to provide the two
groups of learners with the chance to
explore and recognise cultural differences

collaboration
using authentic sources and to become
culturally sensitive by discovering the
cultural riches of different societies.
Sandi: When I contacted Kenia for the
first time about this online
Sandi Ferdiansyah and Kenia Ninoska Obando tell a tale of collaboration, I asked her about the
international cooperation – online. course that she was currently teaching,

ia
so that we both could figure out a goal

C
ommunicating in a foreign Nicaragua (seven men and eight for our project. She was teaching a

ed
language across different women) were also in their junior year course on general pedagogy in EFL,
cultures can be a challenging and ranged in age from 18 to 22. All and I was teaching an intercultural
communication course, so I suggested

M
task for language learners, the participants had reached between
as there are different pre-intermediate and intermediate level that we ask our students to get involved
elements that have to be taken into of English proficiency and were in interculturally-based digital
storytelling. We define intercultural

nd
consideration, such as history, beliefs, expected to reach at least upper-
values, etc. Developing the students’ intermediate level when they graduated digital storytelling as the art of telling
intercultural communication competence from university. All the participants stories, created digitally, that share the
author’s own experiences of interaction

ga
is, therefore, a key element in English came from diverse sociocultural
language teaching – and it is important, backgrounds. For example, while the between their own culture and another
because it promotes sensitivity in each Indonesian students spoke Bahasa culture. Our students were required to
make use of photos, either their own
hin
individual, as they become aware of the Indonesia – the official language of
value of their own culture and, at the Indonesia – most also spoke a number or taken from the internet, to illustrate
same time, come to understand the of different indigenous languages their stories, use video effects, music,
diversity of the cultures of others. (eg Javanese, Madurese and Osingnese). their recorded voices, etc, meshed
lis

together using a digital tool such as

To help our learners to get a The following questions – about
Photo Story 3 from Windows,
first-hand experience of intercultural how the online project started, how it
Viva Video, etc. The examples of
b

communication, we set up an online was designed and implemented, what

intercultural digital storytelling which
collaboration project between a opportunities and challenges both
Pu

we used as models can be accessed at

university in East Java, Indonesia – the teachers and students experienced, and
http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu. A QR
Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) in what ways the project was monitored
code for this site is provided in Figure 1.
Jember – and a university in Nicaragua and evaluated – are formulated to guide
ion

– the Universidad Centroamericana the writing of this article so that other

UCA. This online collaboration had the teachers around the globe can reflect on
aim of helping the students of both how this experience might be adapted in
countries to develop their intercultural their own contexts.
vil

awareness, to enhance their technological Figure 1 QR code

literacy through the use of different tools How did you start this for some examples
of intercultural
to create audiovisual content, to online collaboration?
Pa

digital storytelling
encourage them to share their opinions
Kenia: Sandi and I both participated in a
and ideas –particularly in the context of
ELT – and, hopefully, to build friendship
‘Study of the United States Institutes’ How did you design and
programme with the University of implement this project?
©

between the two ELT communities. At

Montana, USA, in 2016. Since then, we
the end of the project, the students were Kenia: The first thing was to share the
had been trying to find opportunities to
expected to create digital stories that programme/syllabus of the courses each
work collaboratively. However, it wasn’t
incorporated intercultural values. of us would be teaching, in order to find
until this year that we found a way to set
Thirty students participated up a project that could involve our elements in common that could form
voluntarily in this online collaboration. students. I was in charge of teaching a part of our collaboration. Once these
The 15 undergraduate students from general pedagogy course for an EFL elements were identified, we started to
Indonesia were in their junior year. sophomore group. These were students organise the project itself. We agreed
Their ages ranged from 20 to 21. who were training to become English that it would involve getting the
Fourteen of them were women and language teachers themselves, so students to use storytelling to describe
there was one man. The 15 developing competence in intercultural their reasons for becoming English
undergraduate students from communication was a crucial part of their language teachers. We decided that it

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 51

TECHNOLOGY

would be necessary to make use of an online Weeks Tasks Goals

platform that would enable us to monitor the Week 1 The students introduced themselves. They ■■  o help the students
T
students’ interactions. For that reason, an Edmodo each wrote a description of themselves (50 get along and create a
group was created, as a way to facilitate effective words minimum). They followed up this pleasant atmosphere
communication between the students of both introduction with questions and answers ■■  o engage the students
T
countries. Next, a weekly programme was exchanged via Edmodo. in communication
established and introduced to both groups of Week 2 The students were asked to talk about the ■■ To build the students’
students. After that, the students and teachers reasons why they were learning English interest in learning
started to introduce themselves through the and/or wanted to become an English ■■  o help the students
T
platform, in order to create a sense of community teacher in the future. Additionally, they were recognise the similarities
that would foster further communication. Then, asked to talk about the educational system and differences in their
the students were put into smaller groups, each in their countries. They continued with goals as language

ia
including both Nicaraguan and Indonesian questions and answers if they were learners
interested in finding out more details.
students, so that they could start exchanging ideas

ed
■■  o help the students
T
about their stories. To ensure that the students gain knowledge about
were making equal contributions, we divided them each other’s countries

M
into groups of four and asked each group member Week 3 The students were divided into groups of four ■■ To develop the

to choose a different role, based on their interests (two Nicaraguans and two Indonesians) to students’ collaboration
and ability: story writer, language editor, video work together for the entire project. During skills
this stage, the teachers provided examples of

nd
editor and photographer/browser. In this project, ■■  o build their
T
digital storytelling (see Figure 1), followed by knowledge of digital
the story writer could either write his or her own
discussion questions about the intrinsic and storytelling
story or interview the other group members and
extrinsic elements of these digital stories. The

ga
discuss a joint story together with them. After that, intrinsic elements included character, setting
the language editor checked the language, made and time, while the extrinsic elements
any necessary revisions, and presented it to the included the values embodied by the story.
hin
group for discussion. Next, the photographer or Week 4 The students were encouraged to think ■■  o help the students
T
photo browser searched for photos, either from the about their own digital story ideas. find topics for their
internet or their own collection, to illustrate the Suggested topics that they could choose stories
story, alongside the story narration, and to make included: becoming an English teacher in  o exercise their critical
T
lis

■■
it more alive. When everything was set, the video an EFL country, a pre-service teacher’s thinking and creativity
editor was responsible for mixing the voice-over perception of English language teaching
and learning, awareness of intercultural
b

narration, the photos, the video effects and the

communication, etc.
music, using the digital tool they selected to create
Pu

a digital story. Figure 2 shows the draft of one They were asked to share their story topic
and their reason for selecting it. They were
student’s story as it was presented to the others in
also told that their digital stories should be
her Edmodo group.
limited to a maximum of five minutes.
ion

Sandi: We set a timeline for making this project Week 5 Each group was encouraged to share the ■■  o encourage the
T
effective and meaningful. This is shown in Figure early progress of their stories on the Edmodo students to share
3. We designed a task-based digital storytelling platform. The members of the other groups opinions and feedback
provided feedback, comments and
vil

activity that would incorporate intercultural ■■  o help them build

T
appreciation of their friends’ work. respect and
values, such as beliefs, attitudes and identity –
things which would later influence the students’ appreciation
Pa

Week 6 The students continued to work with their ■■ To help the students
groups to complete their stories, double- develop their language
checking the language, making any skills
necessary adjustments to the photographs, ■■  o help them develop
T
©

visual effects, music and voice-over, their technical skills

producing the story digitally using a digital
tool such as Photo Story 3, Viva Video, etc.
Week 7 The students were asked to present their ■■  o build the students’
T
digital stories to each other and celebrate confidence
their success in completing the project. ■■  o encourage them to
T
show respect for the
other students’ work
Week 8 The students were given self-assessment ■■ To help the students
forms and asked to complete reflective develop their reflective
journals to reveal how much they had practice
contributed to the project and what
experience they gained from the project.
Figure 2 An example draft of one student’s story Figure 3 Project timeline

52 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 TECHNOLOGY

perceptions and behaviour when they this online collaboration was done form. This used a scale from 1–5 on their
were interacting with people from during Ramadan (the Muslim holy performance in the areas of contribution,
different cultures. The intention was month) when the Indonesian Muslim creativity, collaboration, language
that these values should be infused in students fasted for the whole month. learning and intercultural learning.
the stories they created. Although the Indonesian students In addition to this self-assessment,
We began by building the students’ might have had to work harder and the students were asked to write a
knowledge of the digital story genre, spend more energy on this project, it learning journal that described their
helping them develop the structure of became an opportunity for them to learning experience. There is an example
their stories, engaging them in the share their religious and spiritual in Figure 4.
process of writing and publishing and routines with their new friends. From
presenting their work. Each week, the this, I expected that this sharing would t t t
build tolerance among the students. In

ia
students submitted a report via Edmodo.
Although the tasks were scheduled, both addition, this project not only
represented a great opportunity for the In the middle of this project, the

ed
Kenia and I agreed to be very flexible in
students to exchange experiences with Covid-19 pandemic affected many
terms of timing and deadlines.
other language learners from a totally countries, including Indonesia and

M
Nicaragua. It forced all of us to stay
What were the challenges different culture and to learn from them
away from school, learning and working
to embrace diversity, but also they could
and the opportunities? practise their English outside the from home. Our online collaboration

nd
Kenia: One of the challenges the classroom in a more authentic and project enabled the participants to
students had during the implementation meaningful environment. For example, reflect on the use of technology for
of this project had to do with time they could build confidence in speaking educational purposes and to engage in

ga
difference: between Nicaragua and totally in English with their partners virtual communication. Additionally, it
Indonesia there is a 12-hour difference. through chatting or videoconferencing helped the teachers and students from
This made it difficult for the students to and practise peer-reviewing. two different cultural and geographical
hin
communicate at a time that was backgrounds to gain a real-life
experience of how to communicate
convenient for all and to discuss the How did you monitor and using language which was not their
elements of their project together. To
solve this issue, some of the groups evaluate the project? mother tongue, and to respect the
lis

agreed on establishing a specific time Kenia: Through the creation of a common cultural diversity of the two countries. n
during the day that would work for all Edmodo group, it was possible to monitor
b

of them – a time that was not too late some of the interactions the students and Sandi Ferdiansyah
for some or too early for others. teachers had through that platform. As all is an English
Pu

lecturer at Institut
Another challenge was that Edmodo the students were studying from home
Agama Islam
is an asynchronous online learning because of the Covid-19 epidemic, most Negeri (IAIN)
platform. Although this fact helped the communication was done via emails and Jember, East Java,
ion

Zoom sessions, and the students informed Indonesia. His

students a lot when they did not have
their teacher about their advances or academic interests
internet access – they could catch up on include ELT
another day – lack of internet access doubts. Also, the students had to methodology,
resulted in huge delays in the complete certain tasks every week, such as technology-
vil

interaction and discussion. To fill the defining their storytelling topic, sharing enhanced language learning and teacher
their first draft, etc, so this allowed the professional development.
gap, Sandi and I agreed that each group
teachers to monitor and assess the [email protected]
Pa

of students could use a low-cost

messaging app such as WhatsApp, so progress that the students were making
that they could interact and discuss the throughout the process. Kenia Ninoska
project in a more timely way. Obando teaches
Sandi: To help us monitor their learning
©

and coordinates
Sandi: Intercultural communication and encourage them to reflect on how the Teaching
provided the students with new yet much they had contributed to their group, English as a
the students were given a self-assessment Foreign Language
meaningful information. For example,
major at the
Department of
Education of
Universidad
Centroamericana
(UCA), Nicaragua. Her academic interests
include English language teaching
methodology, English course design and
teacher professional development.
[email protected]

Figure 4 An excerpt from one student’s learning journal

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 53

TECHNOLOGY In
In this
this series,
series,
Nicky Hockly explains
Nicky Hockly explains
aspects of
aspects of technology
technology
Five things you always wanted to know about whichsome
which somepeople
peoplemaymaybe

teaching younger be embarrassed

embarrassed
theythat
don’tthey don’t
really
to confess
to confess
really
that
understand.

learners live online

In understand. In this
this article, she article,live
explores
she
online explores
classes live
for younger
online classes for
primary-school-aged
(but were too afraid to ask) younger learners.
learners.

ia
Why hold live online classes with younger strengthen the home–school connection, which research shows
learners? can positively affect student outcomes over the long term.

ed
The recent (current, at the time of writing) Covid-19 pandemic
has seen school closures and teachers suddenly having to teach What activities can I do in a live online class
online. In most cases, this has meant young learners doing a lot with younger learners?

M
of asynchronous work from home, eg using online language Some of the activities that you do in your face-to-face classes
learning materials, apps and games, etc. But in many cases, can be carried out online very effectively, by exploiting the
it has also meant teachers holding real-time online classes with camera. For example:

nd
their learners via videoconferencing. ■■  ave a regular (eg weekly) ‘story time’, in which you read a
H

2 I teach young learners aged five to eight.

storybook aloud to your learners, showing the pictures to

ga
camera and eliciting words.
How do I start teaching live online? ■■ Include activities with movement, eg ‘Mime and guess
First, ask yourself some questions. For example: What the verb’; the ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’ song;
hin
videoconferencing tool should I use? Should I involve the parents ‘Simon says’.
and, if so, how? What activities can I do in my live online classes? ■■  old a scavenger hunt to review vocabulary: ask your
H
How can I keep my young learners engaged and motivated? learners to fetch items from around the house, and to show
Now read on for some suggested answers ... them to the group via the camera, eg items of clothing,
lis

3
stationery, a favourite toy, objects of a specified colour, etc.
What about safety and privacy concerns? I’ve ■■  each your learners a new song and sing it together every
T
b

heard that some videoconferencing tools are not time you meet online.
safe for young learners.
Pu

■■  o a picture dictation: describe a picture that your learners

D
The security features of videoconferencing tools have been in the have to draw with coloured pencils; the learners then share
spotlight recently, and security has been improved. For example, their drawings with the class via the camera, pointing out
Zoom has added additional default password protection to permit the items and colours.
ion

access to a live class, a default waiting room from where the ■■  se flashcards: to review vocabulary, hold flashcards up to
U
teacher allows individuals to join, and the capacity for teachers to the camera and ask the learners to say the words. Ask
be able to lock meetings. Google Meet is part of the Google suite each student to choose a word and to draw their own
vil

of tools, and teachers can create a meeting room for learners flashcard to show to the class in the next lesson.
from within the secure environment of Google Classroom. The key to successful live online classes with very young learners
Whatever videoconferencing tool you or your school uses, carry is to include a variety of (connected!) activities, to involve the
Pa

out an online search to check what the latest security features learners in activities by getting them to do something, and to keep
are. Security for most videoconferencing tools is pretty good now, things short. The younger the learners, the shorter the online class
certainly compared to a year ago! should be. For younger learners, classes of 15–30 minutes several

4
©

times a week are more effective than hour-long classes once or

What should I do about the parents? twice a week. But most importantly – have fun! n
It is crucial for parents to understand the benefits of live online
classes. First, inform the parents (for example, by email) of how, Nicky Hockly is Director of Pedagogy of
when and why live classes will be held with their children. Include The Consultants-E, an online teacher training
and development consultancy, and she is the
information about the types of activities you will do, how long and prize-winning author of many books about
how often the children will need to be online, and what the parent language teaching and technology. The
or caregiver’s role will be. Explain how safety and privacy is Consultants-E (www.theconsultants-e.com)
maintained in your chosen videoconferencing platform. Then hold offers online educational technology training
courses for English language teachers,
a live online meeting in the platform with the parents only, to
including Teaching Live Online and
discuss all of this and to answer their questions and concerns. e-Moderation.
Working collaboratively with the parents from the outset will help [email protected]
to ensure that they support your live online classes. It can also

54 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 TECHNOLOGY
Russell
Russell Stannard
Stannard

Webwatcher
recommends
recommends
recording
recording with
with
Flipgrid.
Flipgrid.

O
ne thing we often want to do, as teachers, is to answer before they record it. Try to encourage them not to
get our students speaking. For most students, script the whole answer but, rather, just have a plan for how
this is one of the main reasons they want to learn they are going to respond. However, some will inevitably end
English, and yet it can often pose some of the up scripting the whole thing, and my feeling is that, at the
biggest challenges both inside and outside class. start, that is fine. Slowly, as they build up confidence, they

ia
Flipgrid is a tool that has been around for a while now. It offers will stop doing that.
the chance for the students to create video recordings to

ed
answer questions that you have posed. So, instead of the Feedback options
students writing their answers in forum posts, they record them.
When you receive the recorded answers from your students, you

M
This encourages sharing of information and, of course, helps
them develop their oral skills. can send them feedback. So you could set a series of questions,
wait until all the students have answered them and then go
through their answers one by one, providing feedback and

nd
Getting started grades. My worry is that, for many teachers, this might be too
Setting up a Flipgrid account is straightforward, using either a time-consuming.

ga
Microsoft or Google account to sign in. You can’t sign up any However, there are alternatives. If you do recordings on a
other way, and it is important to understand this, because the regular basis, you could tell the students that you are going to
same applies to your students. They will also have to log in ‘dip into’ their recordings and that you aim to listen to, say,
using an email account. Some teachers don’t like this.
hin
20 percent of them each time. You could also draw their
Personally, I always suggest that my students create a ‘spare’ attention to one or two recordings when you do a live lesson,
email account that they can use to sign up to the various useful so that the students can see that you are listening to them.
websites and online learning tools. It is easy to create an extra Another possibiltiy is to think about peer-evaluation. In the
lis

Gmail account. past, I have put the students into pairs and got them to provide
When you have set up your account and recorded your first feedback to their partner. This works best if you do some
question, you will need to share a link to that question, so that training on giving feedback.
b

the students can listen to it and then record their answers.

Pu

t t t
Grids and topics
There are not many tools around that offer anything similar to
Creating your account basically means setting up your grid. In the
ion

Flipgrid. However, setting up and running it can be a bit

free version of Flipgrid, you are only allowed to have one grid, but
confusing. In my opinion, it offers far too many features, and
you can have several topics within that grid. Think of the grid as
my advice is to keep it simple, particularly at the start. It is a
like the general subject, eg What people do to stay healthy, and
technology that, unfortunately, you do need to spend some
vil

then, as topics, you may have several questions you want your
time learning, but it can offer you a great way of encouraging
students to answer.
your students to record themselves speaking, especially
You don’t have to record your questions, but it obviously outside class. n
Pa

makes things more interesting, as the students can develop both

their listening and speaking skills by first listening to your
I have created a video to help you to set up and get started
question and then recording their response. The students can
with Flipgrid. You can watch this at
©

only record for 90 seconds, but it is surprising how much they

www.teachertrainingvideos.com/flipgrid_tutorial.
can say in that time!

Student recordings Russell Stannard is the founder of

My suggestion is that you spend time in class (in Zoom, www.teachertrainingvideos.com, which won
Microsoft Teams, etc) getting the students to prepare for their a British Council ELTons award for
technology.
recordings, but that they actually do the recordings for He is a freelance teacher and writer and also
homework. I have watched a couple of teachers using a NILE Associate Trainer.
Flipgrid, and to really get value out of the recordings, the Keep sending your favourite sites to Russell:
students need to plan and craft their replies. In class, they [email protected]
might brainstorm the vocabulary they are going to need to
answer the question, and they might actually plan their

www.etprofessional.com Issue 129 • July 2020 55

 Not only, but also • • •
Chia Suan Chong looks at what English teachers teach apart from language.
In this issue, she looks at how we support our students’ wellbeing.
Wellbeing is roughly defined as a state of being comfortable,
healthy and happy. It is the feeling that we are enjoying a good
quality of life. And, unfortunately, as different forms of social
isolation and distancing continue in many countries, many
2 Taking notice
Being aware of ourselves and the things around us can help us
enhance our wellbeing, and it is with this knowledge that
mindfulness exercises have grown in popularity both in schools
T
S
aspects of our wellbeing are starting to suffer because of our and companies over the last decade. By getting the students to
circumstances – whether we are that parent trying to juggle take a moment to inhale deeply and notice the sights, smells or
working from home with homeschooling and childcare, or the sounds around them, or finding time to appreciate the things we

ia
recently-unemployed whose financial situation is keeping them are grateful for, we can help them clear their minds, become more
up at night, or someone who lives alone or estranged from their centred and focus on the positives.

ed
family and is struggling with loneliness – our circumstances may
be different, but many of us are feeling the effects of our ‘new 3 Giving

M
normal’ and unsure of how to deal with it. Research has shown that being kind and helping others has a
direct correlation with our own wellbeing. An internet search of
• • • the term ‘random acts of kindness’ brings up many ideas for
In a face-to-face situation, teachers might notice students who students to take on. Which of these could be done from home?

nd
display a sudden change in mood or behaviour, but virtual Combining the theme of ‘giving’ with ‘taking notice’, the website
classes have made it much more difficult for teachers to spot ActionForHappiness.org contains free calendars with daily
students who are struggling with wellbeing issues. That said,

ga
challenges for people to focus on (24th June requires you to
some students might find it safer to express their true thank a friend for the joy they bring to your life, while 25th June
emotions and thoughts when hiding behind the security of a encourages you to savour the food that makes you feel good).
keyboard. And with the right tasks and discussion questions,
hin
we could potentially find out how our students are really 4 Learning
coping in these difficult times. As educators, we might already know of the therapeutic benefits
• • • of learning – it motivates, improves self-esteem and gives the
lis

learners something to focus on. What can we do to get our

According to the old saying, a problem shared is a problem halved,
students to continue learning outside the (virtual) classroom?
and the first step towards supporting our students’ wellbeing is
Could we encourage them to watch a film in English? Or have an
b

getting them to talk about what they’re going through and how
ongoing discussion on WhatsApp? Or perhaps we could get
they’re feeling. Undoubtedly, these are difficult topics, and we
Pu

them to pick some TED Talks on topics they are interested in and
need to approach them with large amounts of sensitivity and
summarise them for the class.
understanding. A colleague of mine got her class to create a
combined word cloud using words that expressed how they felt 5 Connecting
ion

about their situation. In one of my webinars, a ‘List the top ten The very human need to be close to others is probably the trickiest
things you need in a lockdown’ activity had my trainees really one to fulfil with rules of social distancing in place. However,
opening up in the chat box. Whether you’re asking your students thanks to broadband, many of us are still able to communicate
to express how they are feeling using emojis/gifs, or putting them with our family and friends. Ask the students to share the most
vil

into pairs to debate the pros and cons of working from home, interesting/uplifting/innovative social conversation they had during
there are a variety of ways of broaching the subject in a light and the week. Have they attempted to have a virtual dinner with a
unintimidating manner. But for classes that know each other well, a
Pa

friend? Were they able to play a board game on Skype?

simple How are you all doing during these mad times? might be all
that is needed for the students to share their thoughts and feelings. • • •
Through conversations, we might then notice that our For some of our students, meeting their teacher and classmates
©

students’ wellbeing needs improving. Recent research has shown online could possibly be the one ‘social outing’ they’ve been
that individuals can actively maintain and improve their wellbeing looking forward to all day. By simply remembering that our
through these five key ways: students are coming to class not just to learn English, but also for
the social interaction, we might realise that, as teachers, we
1 Being active
cannot avoid our role of supporting our students’ wellbeing.
Doing exercise and staying active can be challenging in a
lockdown situation, so it might be helpful to get the students to
Chia Suan Chong is a teacher trainer, a communication skills trainer,
suggest innovative ways of doing this from home. Teachers
a materials writer and the author of Successful International
could set challenges in the forms of YouTube workouts or TikTok Communication (Pavilion Publishing). She has been delivering online
dance challenges for the students to do in their own time. The and face-to-face training to clients around the globe since 2005.
students could even share photos of their accomplishments Based in York, UK, Chia was ETp’s resident blogger from 2012 to 2019.
with their classmates. [email protected]

56 Issue 129 • July 2020 www.etprofessional.com

 Te a c h i n g E n g l i s h

TITLE
SUB TITLE
The Creative Teacher’s
Compendium NEW
for
An A–Z guide of creative activities Summer

ia
2020
for the language classroom

ed
M
Creativity is a hugely exciting concept in learning Antonia Clare and Alan Marsh

nd
and teaching today, not least in ELT.
The Creative Teacher’s Compendium is a resource book for
language teachers looking for creative ideas and techniques.
Presented in an easily-referenced A to Z format, it brings you
an extensive variety of low-preparation, practical teaching
ga
hin
ideas on topics such as Art, Beginnings, Conversations, and so
on. Each chapter begins with a relevant quote related to the
lis

topic and a short discussion of why this area is important for

creative language teaching – providing a clear rationale and
encouraging reflection on the principles and practices applied.
b
Pu

Whatever context you teach in, The Creative Teacher’s

Compendium will equip you with the tools, inspiration and
encouragement to explore the increasingly vital role of
ion

creativity in the 21st century classroom.

About the authors:
vil

Antonia Clare and Alan Marsh both deliver teacher training

in various countries around the world, and regularly speak at
conferences. The teachers they meet are forever asking where
Pa

they can get hold of all their lovely ideas – so they decided to
put them in a book.
©

Perfect for you if:

„ You’d like to teach more creatively but you’re unsure how to go about it
„ You feel bound by a tight language syllabus that doesn’t seem to leave much room for creative activities
„ You’re simply looking to refresh your repertoire of creative teaching ideas and techniques.

Pre-order yours at: www.pavpub.com/the-creative-teachers-compendium

Price: £39.99
Email: [email protected] Call: 01273 434 943
modernenglishteacher
Bringing the latest research
to your classroom

ia
ed
M
nd
Digital library

ga Tracker
hin
b lis

Keep the teachers in your school up-to-date with the

Pu

latest developments in English language teaching

ion

Packed with interesting, relevant articles and resources Modern English

Teacher offers support to teachers who want to apply the latest research to
vil

their teaching practice and have their own CPD programme, all in one place.
Pa
©

Individual Small school Medium school Large school

Print and digital Print and digital Print and digital Print and digital
1 yr - from £41 Digital for up to 10 teachers Digital for up to 49 teachers Digital for up to 100 teachers
and 1 print copy and 5 print copies and 10 print copies
1 yr - from £170 1 yr - from £236 1 yr - from £556

Find the subscription that’s right for you

at www.pavpub.com/pavilion-elt