Five resources for teaching adults

At the moment, many services are still operating online. Teaching online is likely to be an area that expands in the future, certainly a lot quicker than many people realised. Learners are understanding the convenience and practical appeal of learning from home. I teach English language and am always looking out for new resources online that learners can use in their own time. I am retaking Cambridge Assessment English’s “Teaching English Online”. They provide a lot of advice and ideas for different resources for speaking, listening, reading and writing. Here are some of my new favourites which I recommend.

  1. Voki – learners can create an avatar online and add a voice to it to hear yourself speak.
  2. Breaking news English – many lessons available on topics related to current affairs. Learners can choose their difficulty level and adjust accordingly.
  3. Write & Improve- learners copy and paste their written work to receive feedback on it for free.
  4. BBC Learning English – there are many lessons available to help learners improve their pronunciation.
  5. YouTube – I enjoy YouTube far too much, but of course there are excellent videos on learning English and even videos posted in English language can aid and improve comprehension.

Continuing blending learning course

This week I finished my blended learning course; Blended Learning Essentials, Getting Started. I take the course via the Futurelearn platform, the course itself was developed by UCL and the university of Leeds. It is very interesting and I am saving a lot of resources for my own use. I have read many fascinating articles, and learnt a lot about new technologies which can be used in the classroom. As we know, technology updates so often and there are always new platforms being created. I am fairly confident with my digital skills, however, I did need a refresher and some tutorials as my teaching was moved online. I am interested to try the Learning Designer tool, but I will save that for my next round of lesson planning. Let me know if anyone here has used it. Thanks for reading!

Social constructivisim in the “New Normal”

Vygotzky’s zone of proximal development calls for learning from others as part of the learning and developmental process. For adult learners, their understanding of social relationships, etiquette and bonding is usually established. If they are now learning solely online, they are able to maintain a level of social learning through comments, interaction and feedback. However, I wonder how younger learners fare, particularly in their Early Years. So much crucial work is done in the first three years of a child’s life. School serves an important function in allowing children to socialise and interact with others outside their family. It also provides structure and routine for key children, those in social care or looked after children. School assists parents with advice about how to bring out the best in their children. Now, parents and educators are anxious and frazzled, trying to teach in unusual times and maintain a professional demeanour. I’m interested to hear how these important social interactions can be maintained during these trying times.

Blended Learning Course

I recently began a course on Futurelearn, “Blended Learning Essentials: Getting Started”. I studied some blended learning strategies, however, as my teaching is now solely online, I thought that I should use a refresher. I am not very confident using new technology, and am keen to improve my skill set. So far the course is interesting and there are a lot of useful downloads, as I often find with Futurelearn courses. I am glad that it is a free course, and there is even a second course which I will most likely complete if I have time. I notice that when I take online courses I often skim read a lot of the content, so I am really taking my time to absorb the information. I find that if I am interested in the subject this is a lot easier. Some courses I have taken and then abandoned purely because the content is not interesting or most often that the content is very straightforward and doesn’t really teach me anything. I do recommend this course to anyone teaching online or face-to-face. Please leave me a comment if you have any experience with studying Futurelearn courses.

Ways to learn from home

Whether you are homeschooling your children, teaching online, or sharing knowledge with family over Skype, now is the time to try a range of different activities. I have tried to include materials that you may already have in your home. These activities could be adapted for ESL and I will outline the key learning points or vocabulary as I go along.

  1. Making candles – This is an ideal way to highlight states of matter, between liquid and solid. You could also teach cooking associated vocabulary and scales of measurements. Use up old or nearly empty candles, birthday candles etc and melt them in a tin can in a bowl or pan of water on the hob. Supervision is required for young children. Have a stick or old paintbrush for stirring. Once the wax is melted, decant into a clean glass jar or container. Set aside to cool away from tiny hands!
  2. Baking- This activity makes use of kitchen/ cooking/ measuring vocabulary. When I taught baking lessons in Asia, it was a great chance to teach a variety of new verbs; sieving, shaking, stirring, rising etc. If you don’t have a lot of baking ingredients in your home, you can use up what you have by visiting this website; https://lovefoodhatewaste.com/recipes?search_api_views_fulltext=baking
  3. Painting- Using a paint by numbers or colouring book offers the chance to teach colours, numbers and offers a relaxing activity for a quite afternoon. For young learners, they may enjoy having their artwork displayed in the house, or you could post it to a family member. They could even have a go at writing the address o the envelope. It would surely bring joy to the recipient. If you don’t have paint at home you can use some making food colouring, water and flour.
  4. Who am I? – Using an old magazine or newspaper, cut out a picture featuring a few people (they can be well – known or not it doesn’t matter). Make a photocopy if possible or display in front of both of you. Have the learner study this picture for a minute. Then get them to ask you questions to determine “who” you are. E.g. Are you wearing glasses? This is a good language based activity for young learners who will be using full sentences, and is also a great activity for the ESL classroom.
  5. Sink or Float- This activity will foster a love of science. Gather a bowl of water and a variety of small objects, for example; a toy car, a pom pom, a pencil, a drawing pin, a rubber duck etc. Ask learners whether they will sink or float. For older children, you can ask them to describe the rationale behind their prediction and try to discover which objects are made of which materials. You could even draw a poster together to illustrate which items sunk or floated.

If you have any other ideas for homeschooling, I would love to read about them in the comments!

100 Things to do during Lock down

I must admit, that I have done most of these. Now, I have a well established morning routine, I feel less anxious about how to spend my free time when I am not working from home. I have taken some inspiration from YouTube, as well as my own hobbies. I hope you find some good ideas of things to do!

  1. Watch “Keep Crafting and Carry On” – this is on Channel 4 (UK) and is a lovely crafting programme hosted by Kirstie Allsop. It features excellent crafting ideas!
  2. Try Yoga – Yoga with Adrienne is my favourite! https://www.youtube.com/user/yogawithadriene
  3. Listen to a podcast. I enjoy many of Russell Brand’s “Under The Skin” podcasts and he often features interesting guest speakers, including Jordan Peterson.
  4. Make a cake – BBC Good Food has great recipes.
  5. Read a good book – I am fortunate that my town bookshop is leaving free books outside for people to take. I have read three so far. (Make sure to sanitise them!)
  6. Try Calisthenics – I love THENX videos and am currently working on building up my plank. https://www.youtube.com/user/TheMiamiTrainer
  7. Cook dinner for your family, housemates, partner, or yourself!
  8. Organise a daily wave at the window with your neighbour.
  9. Water or re-pot your plants.
  10. Clean out your pantry/ baking supplies/ store food.
  11. Using ingredients from the clear out, make a stew, hotpot, soup, stir fry or omelette.
  12. Take a free online course.
  13. Learn sign language.
  14. Look for freebies online
  15. Start a new Netflix series (I love The Durrells and Vikings)
  16. Do some redecorating, touch up the walls, fix broken cupboard doors etc.
  17. Clean up your wardrobe and list unwanted items on depop
  18. Clean up social media contacts, delete any unused profile, unsubscribe from junk emails.
  19. Take a look at your finances and make a budget. I follow Dave Ramsey (US) https://www.daveramsey.com/and Martin Lewis (UK)https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/?msclkid=0d9c7b27085b1921b20c258da9aa6a65. Both have excellent advice for budgeting.
  20. Call a friend or relative who is on their own to check in on them
  21. Send a care package of craft items/ colouring books/ stories/ crosswords to a parent with young children.
  22. Write a letter to your friend/ grandparents/ partner/ parents etc.
  23. Write down important addresses in your address book and update old contacts/ telephone numbers.
  24. Listen to Lo Fi late at night. I love Bootleg Boy https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0fiLCwTmAukotCXYnqfj0A
  25. Listen to a lecture by Alan Watts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VD4m2jc9S90
  26. Book an online therapy session
  27. Update your CV.
  28. Write a blog post or start a blog about your specialist subject.
  29. Delete old or unwanted emails.
  30. Go through your paperwork and shred anything you know longer need.
  31. Update your virus software on your computer.
  32. Go through your Skype contacts and delete any unknown or unwanted contacts.
  33. Polish, clean and display your shoes nicely.
  34. Have a Tarot reading. I love Star Girl; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC48SY–ei1_Z6Ij70Kkr1Ww
  35. If Tarot is your thing, try learning to read the cards yourself. https://www.7thsensepsychics.com/tarot-book/TarotBook.pdf
  36. Go through your bank statements and cancel any unnecessary subscriptions and check for services you no longer use or need.
  37. Create a vision board or collage from old magazines.
  38. Write a post lock down bucket list.
  39. Clear out old art supplies and set aside to donate to a school or a charity.
  40. Read your favourite Manga online.
  41. Learn to brew coffee and create a Home Cafe. I love Zoe’s videos. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPo70pynefJ90wBqCEryZWg
  42. Start a YouTube channel.
  43. Create an eBay or Amazon site to sell unwanted goods.
  44. Sign up for a CV check from The Young Women’s Trust or your local job centre.
  45. Reconnect and check in with old friends on social media.
  46. Cancel old insurances, (especially travel).
  47. Shop around for deals on electricity, energy, internet and insurance providers. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/energy/
  48. Clean up your phone photos and send them off to be printed via Free Prints.
  49. Do some ironing.
  50. Deep clean your entire house.
  51. Declutter your book collection and consider posting ones that you have read to a friend. A good friend of mine was very happy about this!
  52. Recycle old magazines, greetings cards, newspapers etc. These could also be up cycled into gift tags or new cards/ wrapping paper.
  53. Write everyone’s birthday in your diary.
  54. Clear out your make up bag, throw out expired make up and make a resolution to use the make up you have (even for Zoom parties).
  55. Clear out your toiletries and skincare.
  56. Clean your washing machine by running it empty with a cap full of white vinegar.
  57. Write a list of goals you want to achieve, they could be fitness, professional development, personal relationships etc.
  58. Organise your pantry by putting stock items into glass jars.
  59. Make candles from old candle stubs.
  60. Give your pet a bath and grooming session.
  61. Do a face mask in the bath. (You can DIY these if you don’t have any)
  62. Purchase vitamins to take every day.
  63. Write a list of appointments to make after lock down, including dental, hair, opticians etc.
  64. Go through your clothes and order any thing you need, e.g. a pair of wellies for this changing weather!
  65. Go through loyalty cards and discard unused ones. See if you can redeem any points/ vouchers.
  66. Order water saving freebies. https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/cut-water-bills/#gadgets
  67. Buy or clean your reusable travel cup. Take a cup of tea or coffee on a walk with you.
  68. Paint your nails and do an at home pedicure.
  69. Use up all the last dregs of lotions and potions and recycle the bottles.
  70. Read Pride and Prejudice.
  71. Watch Planet Terror. (18 Rating)
  72. Call your mum.
  73. Fold and organise your drawers neatly.
  74. Hang up pictures and change the pictures in picture frames.
  75. Learn to make homebrew
  76. Learn a new language using DuoLingo
  77. Create a bullet journal or visual diary – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0suJL0cUWH4
  78. Clean out your dishwasher or your sink.
  79. Create a filing system for post and bills, and conduct general life admin of all the tasks you had been putting off.
  80. Go and pick wildflowers to brighten up your room.
  81. Check for areas to forage, I read Alys Fowler’s; The Thrifty Forager for different foraging tips. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alys-Fowler/e/B0034PKT2W%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
  82. Make some jam or chutney to share with friends or family.
  83. Watch a cosy film, such as a studio Ghibli film and have popcorn and hot chocolate.
  84. Make an indoor fort or tent using chairs, blankets and pillows.
  85. Organise and declutter your spare linen. You could re purpose nice fabrics into a cushion cover or bunting.
  86. Read; “The Life changing magic of tidying up“.
  87. Watch skateboarding videos on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siopbTVGQic
  88. Write a list of all the good things about yourself.
  89. Send someone a letter and tell them how you really feel about them. Positive vibes only.
  90. Create an “activity jar” for your friends and family.
  91. Have a girl’s night in on Skype/ Whatsapp and call the girl’s to catch up on the week’s gossip.
  92. Send cards to anyone having a birthday.
  93. Learn about aromatherapy and treat yourself to some essential oils.
  94. Learn to make jewellery.
  95. Read about the life of your favourite artist.
  96. Submit illustrations to Grayson Perry’s art club.
  97. Host a Karaoke party either with your family or friends on Zoom.
  98. Make a fruit salad to build up your immunity.
  99. Create a DIY bath salt or toiletries. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFu738L0Adw
  100. Share this list with your family!

Thank you for reading, please leave any comments below.

Authentic materials for teaching online

Many of us are homeschooling or teaching from home via the internet. Without the convenience of having a classroom, a library and shared school resources, we may find it difficult to engage our learners. When tutoring online, I found that even having even basic teaching aids can engage students and elevate the learning experience. Below are some suggestions of authentic materials that you most likely have in your home or can easily make.

  1. Photos – Whether you are discussing holidays, travels, significant events or even sharing pictures of your life to build rapport, using (appropriate) can assist understanding and encourage discussion. It’s also a good opportunity to sort through, organise and even order prints of photos.
  2. Shadow puppets – Ideal for teaching young learners, you can use any that you have around or DIY your own, following this tutorial here; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWp4PJDJ8lo
  3. Story books-If you have children’s books laying around, these can break up a long or perhaps dry lesson, and is a good bonding activity between you and the children. One of my friends enjoyed reading a story to her year six class via zoom. Ensure your stories are suitable for the age group you are teaching and include appropriate language.
  4. Magazines – If you have older students, you may want to scan and send an article ahead of time and include a task for them to work on ahead of time. This could be discussed during the lesson or in small groups, depending on your class size. I often buy The Big Issue and have often used articles from it in class.
  5. Cinema / Bus / Theatre tickets- These are items that you may have floating around your house, and can add authenticity to a role play or even be used in a discussion of hobbies. Having something tactile can make an activity seem a lot more interesting, and again these could be scanned ahead of time. Investigating the information seen on each of these tickets could be an interesting activity.
  6. Realia/ Kitchenware/ Props – some stories have vocabulary that is unknown in different varieties of English, so if you are teaching learners of English it can be useful to have prompts on hand to assist understanding. For example, a hedgehog is not a common animal in Asia, so having a stuffed toy or even a pre-drawn picture can aid understanding during a lesson on “Mrs Tigglywinkle”, for example. Similarly, having an iron on hand, may assist with differentiating between the noun and the verb, and different interpretations of the noun.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. If you have any suggestions to expand on the ideas here please leave a comment below. Thank you!

Five ways to enhance your online teaching

As my teaching has now been moved online, I’ve had to adapt my teaching style and resources to suit the online setting. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I’ve taken a number of professional courses in order to re-familiarise myself with technologies such as Zoom and Edmodo. Every educational setting will have their own VLE or method for teaching online. It is important to familiarise yourself with these before taking on any other courses or tutorials.

Here are the ways I have enhanced my online teaching.

  1. Volunteering – I have recently begun volunteer teaching to help out some school age learners of English. During the current situation, many parents are faced with working from home, home schooling and childcare in a very uncertain time. To alleviate this pressure, why not offer your services to your community or even to a friend who has young children. It will certainly take the pressure off the parents and will allow you the opportunity to trial and error online teaching technologies.
  2. Move your teaching onto YouTube – When I was learning Romanian, I followed a fantastic channel which broke down the language into easily memorable segments. If you are confident on camera this could be something you could do! A former colleague of mine has taken the free time working from home allows and started a YouTube channel reading stories and creating educational videos aimed at young learners. Many employers find editing and content creation skills highly desirable, so this is a good chance to enhance your skill set. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzKrAcUGNwkSMOhLgNuQAwg)
  3. Teaching for an online company – I have mentioned this before in a previous post, but companies such as “Tutoring Go”, “Dada” and “Cambly” are often hiring for full time teachers. They provide all the curriculum, and have their own VLE so there is very little preparation required. These posts require you to have some experience of teaching (any subject) or ideally a teaching certificate.
  4. Take part in a seminar – I recently began contacting the Young Women’s Trust (England and Wales only I’m afraid) for some ideas about my career enhancement. They run seminars and offer free career coaching over the phone. I also had my CV checked for free by a HR professional. I really recommend using this time to contact them and see how they can assist you in starting your career, getting an internship or just provide general advice. The charity is for women aged 18-30 living in the UK. (https://www.youngwomenstrust.org/)
  5. Take tutorials for online teaching software-If you are used to using different online software, or your teaching has been placed online and you are confident using it, a course is for you. I recommend “Take your teaching online” by NILE (Norwich Institute of Language Education). https://www.nile-elt.com/. The course was informative, and as someone who is not very competent with using technology in the classroom, it was extremely helpful.

I hope you found this list useful, and please post any other suggestions in the comments below! Thanks for reading!

Five ways to learn English at home

For those of you learning from home, or having to home school your children during this difficult time, fear not! I’ve put together a list of ways to learn or improve your English from home.

  1. Listen to podcasts or watch a new series. This will help to familiarise yourself with spoken English and phrases that you may not have exposure to from a textbook. It will also allow you to become familiar with various accents of the English language. I enjoy watching Vikings, Belgravia and The Durrells.
  2. Record yourself speaking. Lots of people are using this time to create content, via YouTube or TikTok. You don’t necessarily have to publish or post the videos, but it can be handy to record yourself and build your confidence in spoken English. You could even prepare a presentation on your favourite subject to ensure that you have lots to say!
  3. Take an online course. My favourite online platform for learning is Futurelearn. It is free and the courses are well organised and not too demanding. Usually the study time averages three hours a week, so can easily be taken alongside work or school. I have taken many courses for professional development, and recommend the British Council courses for improving English.
  4. Read a book. Often we read because we have to, work university, school or work. Take some time to read a short book about something that interests you. If you can’t get to the bookshop, there are many e-books available online. If you are not such a strong reader, perhaps begin with a comic or manga that has been translated into English and is less of a demanding read. This will give you the opportunity to acquire new vocabulary.
  5. Get an online tutor. Some learners, myself included prefer to have a teacher or tutor to assist with their learning and provide some accountability. There are many fantastic resources available for online tutoring, and Ms A Tutoring is offering tuition via Skype. If you would like to make a booking to improve your English skills, please contact us.

Teaching from home

Many teachers in the UK are now working from home and teaching online. Recently, I have begun teaching online myself, and wanted to give some tips for those who need to get use to this big adjustment.

Firstly, having a schedule and a realistic set of goals of what you want the learning to achieve is important. It is difficult for some students to study from home due to family distractions, unreliable wifi, sharing computers etc. Try to give them small daily tasks to achieve, which are manageable and realistic. Additionally, having some pre-recorded videos or live feeds may help them feel as if the students are in a learning setting. By relying on third party content, it can cause the student to feel a bit detached.

Secondly, if you are not so familiar with online teaching technology, I suggest taking some courses from Futurelearn or NILE elt, which have fantastic *free* courses, which will help you. I recently took the “Take your teaching online” course from NILE and found it extremely helpful. It offers a good introduction to using virtual learning environments (VLE) and video conferencing software such as zoom. Many of you may be familiar with such software since working from home. I found it a great, basic guide and very helpful for me.

Thirdly, depending on your teaching setting, a school, language centre or private tuition, it may be useful to use Edmodo, which allows parents to track their child’s progress. This gives the child accountability and reassures the parent that work is being set and progress is being made. It also allows you to share additional resources, which the child could use for self-study or with their parents.

I am relatively new to teaching online, so if you have any additional tips, I would love to hear them. Please leave me a comment.

Here is a list of useful resources;

https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects/teaching-courses/teaching-english-tefl

https://www.nile-elt.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/crete1987

https://www.edmodo.com/

Thank you for reading!

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