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‘My First Experience in Teaching English Pronunciation to ELT Teachers in Nepal’ by Rajendra Man Singh

As part of my master’s degree programme at Kathmandu University School of Education, I was involved in developing a training programme for the professional development of English Language teachers in Nepal. Before that, I visited three secondary schools located in Kathmandu and Lalitpur cities in Nepal. When I talked to the English language teachers there, one of the common areas of concern or need was the lack of or subpar proficiency in English speaking and it motivated me to develop a training program in English Pronunciation. There are many reasons for the poor English pronunciation in Nepal. According to Sharma (2020), learning English pronunciation receives the least attention in the curriculum in the Nepali academic sphere. Furthermore, the overuse of the mother tongue including the dominance of the Nepalese language (Chand, 2021) along with the interlanguage differences between English and the native languages spoken in Nepal (Khati, 2011) because of the difficulty with both fluency and pronunciation. Although, in Nepal,  English has a high prestige in the academic and social contexts, and while a lot is invested in English language teaching (ELT), the result is far from satisfactory. Koirala (2015) states that there is a clear distinction between government and private school students in relation to their English language proficiency levels resulting in the former students demonstrating poor  English language skills in relation to private school students. However, even private schools, at times, appear to have  insufficient language resources as well as qualified or trained ELT teachers and these have resulted in poor English language proficiency in Nepalese students (Bista, 2011) .

I extensively researched English phonemes and suprasegmental language features like stress and intonation and made them relevant in the context of Nepal. I also used the website that I built to help Nepali EFL speakers learn English pronunciation. The culmination of the six months of field visits, research work, and training material development enabled me to offer training sessions to 22 teachers from four different schools in Nepal. These teachers taught primary and secondary-level students.

The participating teachers were busy professionals, and they had to take their leave of absence from their respective schools. Hence, after consulting with the hosting school officials and programme facilitators, the training programme was adjusted to a two-day event on the 11th and 12th of June, 2022. It covered ten different sessions on English pronunciation. Initially, the desks and benches were arranged in a traditional way facing the whiteboard. However, the seating arrangement was reorganized into a number of  U-shape groups facing the whiteboard to increase the training participant interactions (see figure 1). The first day focused on English phonemes, IPA, silent letters, vowel and consonant alphabet combination sounds, and rules on breaking words into syllables. Ice-breaking games were included in between the sessions to help integrate the class participants. I used PowerPoint slides as primary instructional material. While teaching the 44 English phonemes, I first went through the consonant sounds individually. I explained how the sounds are articulated along with the place of articulation. I used pictures of the human vocal apparatus with tongue placement and proper labelling to help them emulate the correct sound reproduction. English phonemes that are not present in the Nepali language were introduced along with their correct pronunciation. Some signs of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) were easy and intuitive for the participants to learn as they looked similar to their English alphabet. This was followed by a session in which they practised pronouncing the combination of a consonant and a vowel, which was especially significant in showing how the letter ‘r’ did not follow the pronunciation convention followed by other consonant letters, or the vowel ‘g’ which could be pronounced as either /dʒ/ or /g/ depending on the adjacent vowel letter. Later, the training participants went over the rules for breaking words into syllables. This session was interactive and they received it enthusiastically.

On the second day, I intended on teaching word stress, sentence intonation, and commonly mispronounced English words in Nepal. Word stress and intonation were rather difficult for the training participants because of the lack of similar concepts in Nepali or other native languages in Nepal. Many of them had to repeat the examples several times to make sure that they were putting the stress on the right syllable or speaking with the right intonation tone depending on the sentence type. As a result, we spent about 30 minutes each for the practice session on word stress and sentence intonation. This was followed by a tutorial session on the English words that are commonly mispronounced in Nepal. Many English words are ‘Nepalicized’, meaning the words are pronounced distinctly which is peculiar to Nepali people. For example, the word ‘Film’ is pronounced as /fɪlɪm/, and the word ‘Tank’ is pronounced as /’tæŋkɪ/. The participants enjoyed going over the compilation of the English words that are pronounced differently in Nepal. Such variation in pronunciation can cause misunderstandings when speaking in English with foreigners.

Overall, the training programme on improving English pronunciation was well received by the participants and the school officials. I received a compliment from the hosting school principal that I was able to teach the course participants in two days what he learned in an entire semester as part of his bachelor’s degree in English. I feel that my objective in offering the training was achieved as I was able to help them understand or at least introduce different pronunciation aspects of the English language.   

References

  • Bista, K. (2011). Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language in Nepal: Past and Present. Online Submission, 11(32), 1-9.
  • Chand, G. B. (2021). Challenges Faced by Bachelor-Level Students While Speaking English. Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, 6(1), 45-60.
  • Khati, A. R. (2011). When and why of mother tongue use in English classrooms. Journal of NELTA, 16(1-2), 42-51.
  • Koirala, A. (2015). Debate on public and private schools in Nepal. International Journal of Social Sciences and Management, 2(1), 3-8.
  • Sharma, L. R. Discerning the Reasons for Difficulties in Teaching English Pronunciation to Nepalese Students. NELTA Bagmati Journal, 1.

About Rajendra Man Singh

Rajendra Man Singh is an ELT learner and practitioner from Nepal. He is about to complete his master’s degree in English Language Teaching from Kathmandu University School of Education. He teaches the English language to bachelor-level students at a college in Kathmandu. In addition to that, he is involved as an IELTS instructor to Nepali students. He has been in the ELT field in Nepal for the last four years. He is a published author and enjoys contributing as an editor to Nepali journals. Currently, he is writing short stories for a book publication. 

Contribute to the blog

If you are a member of IATEFL and would like to contribute to the blog, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. We’re looking for stories from our members, news about projects you’ve been involved in, and anything else you think those connected to English language teaching would be interested in reading. We look forward to hearing from you! If you’re not a member, why not join us?

See blog guidelines and ideas

Simon Greenall Award 2023

The Simon Greenall Award 2023 is now open for applications.

The purpose of this Award is to support a language project which brings people together through learning English.

The award offers six hours of mentoring, as well as help in promoting and developing the project and making it more globally visible, and a small grant for equipment and expenses. The winning project could be a new or already running

For the guidelines and application go here.

Closing date: 31st March 2023

The award celebrates the life and work of Simon Greenall OBE, teacher, trainer, materials writer, President of IATEFL, trustee of International House. It is sponsored by Macmillan Education, International House London and International House World.

In the course of his work, Simon travelled around the world, and wherever he went, he made friends. He was a great communicator and in creating the award we decided that it should be about ‘bringing people together through learning English’.

The first mentors were Jill and Charlie Hadfield. Jill has an extensive career in materials writing and teacher training and Charlie has worked with the British Council helping to develop English Language Teaching projects.

The winner of the first award, in 2021, was the Dau Dau project run by Sirhajwan Idek and Nurazilah Othman of Keningau College in Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. Their work uses folk tales to bring together the different peoples of Malaysia with their different traditions and languages. Storytelling, dance, puppetry, theatre, and song are all part of the rich mix. Jill and Charlie held virtual mentoring meetings with the Dau Dau project, and during this time the project linked up with the Kuala Lumpur Shakespeare players, the Hands Up Project and David Heathfield’s Storytelling work. The Simon Greenall Award also enabled Dau Dau to present themselves on a more global stage, for example through the 2021 Macmillan Global Festival Conference, with the Ministry of Education, local and national press and broadcasters becoming interested in their work.

> More about the Dau Dau project here.

> More about the Simon Greenall Award Guidelines and Application here.

 

Sustainability and IATEFL in 2023

With sustainability being one of IATEFL’s main strategic focuses, we include environmental impacts in all areas of decision-making and planning within the association.

Here’s what IATEFL is currently doing to address the impact of the association on the environment. We share this information, and encourage additional ideas and suggestions, in order to give other organisations and individuals ideas of what they might do, and also to learn from others ourselves.

Practical initiatives IATEFL has taken as an association

  1. We have significantly reduced the amount of paperwork, forms and letters we print and post to members.
  2. All committee meetings are run online, or face-to-face at the annual conference. This reduced the amount of IATEFL-related travel, as well as making the most of the opportunity presented by the annual international conference.
  3. We have very significantly increased the ratio between our online events and our face-to-face events throughout the year.
  4. We have introduced digital versions of most of our publications for those who prefer this format.
  5. Almost all members join and renew their membership online, without the need for the printing and sending of paper forms.
  6. Delegates and exhibitors register for IATEFL events online.
  7. The printing we still do is on forestry commission assured sustainable paper and using natural (as opposed to synthetic) inks.
  8. The use of fully biodegradable polybags for the postage of membership publications.
  9. Members not requiring a membership card can opt out of receiving one by post, and instead have all their membership information sent only by email.
  10. We have a programme of regularly reviewing our online and digital footprint, and removing from the internet and archiving content and files wherever and whenever possible.

Practical initiatives taken at IATEFL Head Office

  1. Head Office staff have moved to partial working from home. This has substancially reduced the carbon impact of travelling to work, as well as energy usage at Head Office.
  2. We use one communal printer/photocopier at our Head Office for the limited printing we do, rather than individual printers each with their own consumables.
  3. We have an ongoing strategy of digitising information and data wherever possible, to avoid printing and unnecessary use of paper.
  4. Old computer equipment is donated to relevant charities.
  5. We recycle paper, boxes, containers and food waste, with our shredded organisational paperwork being used locally as beddings for animals.
  6. We use tea towels, Tupperware pots and plates, cups, glasses and cutlery to avoid disposable and throw-away alternatives.
  7. Our heating is set on timers to ensure no energy is wasted overnight, on working from home days, at weekends, and in areas of the building and times of the year when heating is not required.
  8. Our staff car share and use public transport for work travel where and whenever possible.

Practical initiatives at IATEFL’s annual international conference

  1. Our delegate badges are printed on hard-wearing paper cards, without needing clear plastic badge holders.
  2. We have recycle bins for delegate badges and programmes, as well as around the venue for all other waste.
  3. We use recycled cardboard signage for delegate information where appropriate / possible.
  4. We have reusable cups for delegates, replacing the previous reusable bottles so that they can be used for both hot and cold drinks.
  5. We ensure there are water stations at the venue for delegates to refill their own cup or container.
  6. We distribute IATEFL pens made from recycled cardboard.
  7. Our printed conference programme is supplemented by a more comprehensive digital version (session abstracts, speaker bios etc.) thus reducing the impact of printing, transporting and distributing a larger, heavier printed programme.
  8. We promote the use of public transport (negotiating discounts for delegates wherever possible) and car shares as ways for delegates to travel to and from the conference.
  9. We encouraging speakers to share their handouts and PowerPoints online, rather than printing out lots of copies in order to give to delegates.
  10. We encourage exhibitors to think and be more environmentally aware, celebrate the steps they have taken, and share our environmental objectives with them.
  11. We have a ‘Sustainability partner’ to champion delegate engagement on how, they too, can make a difference.
  12. Our delegate bags are made of cloth, rather than plastic, which can then be folded up and reused as a shopping bag.
  13. We use suppliers close to the conference venue wherever possible to reduce the impact of transportation, including the printing of our conference programme.
  14. Delegates can download their certificates from their ‘dashboards’ rather than us printing one for each delegate or sending them out afterwards by post.
  15. We engage with the venue to identify their sustainability credentials, making clear this is part of our decision-making process. We share and celebrate where significant steps have been taken.

If you have an idea or suggestion for how IATEFL can further reduce it’s carbon footprint please email your idea to:

[email protected]

 

‘Methodology in teaching – special needs education’ by Tamara Bradonjić

A teacher’s role in the classroom should not only be focused on teaching and passing knowledge on students. The more important roles are focused on motivating students and developing methods for fostering their critical thinking. Thus, a teacher is a motivator, facilitator, educator, psychologist, etc. Ours is a multifaceted role. If we observe our students in the classroom, we may identify four groups of students in heterogeneous classrooms. Somehow the majority of teachers first notice high achievers, the students who are usually leaders of the discussions, who know answers to all the questions and who do well in tests. On the other side, there are low achievers, students who are usually shy, they do listen in class but don’t raise their hands, perhaps being afraid of making mistakes. They are also low achievers in tests. Medium achievers are somewhere in between these two groups of students, seemingly passive in classes but doing well in tests. The fourth group of students is special needs students. They can belong to any of the previous three groups, and in the majority of cases they can be high achievers. Nevertheless, a lot depends on the role of the teacher in class.

Special needs education refers to the practice of educating students in order to accommodate  their individual differences, disabilities and special needs. When talking about disabilities, we refer to learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral disabilities, developmental and physical disabilities and many other disabilities. Today special needs education is integrated in the regular school system, but it used to be different. Thus, there are four periods of this kind of education. Initially, children with disabilities were excluded from schools and they attended specialized schools. Gradually, care for disabled children was established, but still they were segregated into homogeneous groups. After introducing the principle of normalization and integration, educational equality and equal educational services were established and inclusion became a part of the regular school system.

Speaking of disability, there are two definitions both relevant for special needs education. In medical terms, disability is regarded as the necessity of a person to adapt to the society and disabled people need to be made more normal. On the other hand, social definition emphasizes the necessity of the society to change the point of view and regard the disabled people almost as equal as the others. In social context, disability is mainly a consequence of discrimination, prejudice and exclusion. Inclusion is based on social definition. The right to a more inclusive education is covered in several significant international declarations:

  1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
  2. UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
  3. World Declaration for Education for All (1990)
  4. Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disability (1993)
  5. UNESCO Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action (1994)
  6. Dakar Framework for Action (2000)
  7. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) 

Did you know that the 3 December is celebrated as the International Day of persons with disabilities? There are many famous people with various disabilities who prove the theory that disability does not need to hold you back. Frieda Kahlo, Stephen Hawking, Helen Keller, Stevie Wonder and Chris Brooke all had (have) various disabilities, but they achieved great success in their fields.

Special needs education requires a process of adaptation. The first step is identifying a child with special needs. In order for the inclusion program to be successfully integrated, the social environment in the classroom must be involved. Successful implementation of the inclusion is dependent upon the modifications that should be based on the individual needs. Modifications are part of the instructional techniques besides accommodations. Modifications are changes or adaptations of materials to make it easier to students’ needs. It affects the change of what is learned according to the difficulty of the material and the way students are assessed or what they are expected to learn. There are numerous examples of how teachers can modify their teaching materials like skipping subjects, simplifying the assignments or shortening them. They could offer extra aids or extend time in flexible settings for taking tests. Speaking of accommodations, we sensibly adjust to teaching practices so that the student is able to learn from the same material but in a more accessible way. It can be achieved with response accommodations (instead of writing homework the student can be tested verbally), presentation accommodations (audiobooks, text to speech software, talking calculator), setting accommodations (changing setting for assessment) or scheduling accommodation (giving rest breaks or extending time during tests)

Judging by the fact that special needs education is based on a student’s individual needs, a teacher is expected to design an individual learning plan . There is no specific form; still there are patterns to be followed. The patterns are based on first selecting the topic out of which the activities are further developed. Each activity in the plan should contain the expected change with the objectives from the topic. Implementers are the teachers, who might be helped by a parent or assistant (if a special needs student needs an assistant). The teacher decides on the time or duration of the selected topic and the number of activities). Finally, models of accommodations are applied with various activities and according to the individual needs. Having designed and applied the individual learning plan, the teacher needs to evaluate it in three- or six-months’ time. When evaluating it, teachers should emphasize the expected changes and explain whether they were partially or completely accomplished and how effectively the accommodations were implemented. It is significant to note that when writing comments about students, teachers should write initials only, avoiding the student’s full name ,and emphasizing the positive achievement with suggestions for further improvement.

Special needs education is highly beneficial both for students and teachers for numerous reasons. Introducing students with disabilities into the classroom improves diversity and the classroom becomes strengthened. Special needs students can help create a healthy climate in the classroom where other students can learn how to be human. Students with disabilities can make far better progress in a regular class than in “specialized” groups. Finally, teachers are challenged to work with all kinds of students and develop various ways of teaching.

About Tamara Bradonjić

Tamara Bradonjić was born in 1981 in Kragujevac. She graduated in English language and literature from the Faculty of Philology in Belgrade in 2005. Besides education as a teacher, she is also educated as a translator in the Association of Scientific and Technical Translators of Serbia. She has taught  for 16 years in a primary school “Milan Blagojević” in Natalinci. In her work she combines various techniques such as teaching with music and teaching with graphic novels. Translation is her hobby, especially translating legal and economic documents for university professors. Her other hobbies are listening to music, cooking, reading books and writing poetry.

Contribute to the blog

If you are a member of IATEFL and would like to contribute to the blog, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. We’re looking for stories from our members, news about projects you’ve been involved in, and anything else you think those connected to English language teaching would be interested in reading. We look forward to hearing from you! If you’re not a member, why not join us?

See VIEWS Guidelines and Ideas

Call for IATEFL trustee positions

Would you like to make a difference in the English language teaching profession and help shape the future of IATEFL?

With the current incumbants reaching the end of their terms, we welcome nominations for two positions on IATEFL’s board of trustees:

Company Secretary and Chair of the Membership Committee

Being an IATEFL trustee gives you opportunity to help shape the association’s future, to drive change, to support English language teachers around the world, and to make a difference. It is also a wonderful way to build your profile and professional network within the English language teaching profession, working as part of a team in collaboration with seven other trustees, and supported by IATEFL’s Head Office team. Being an IATEFL trustee is regarded by many as an internationally recognised and respected position to hold in the world of English language teaching.

Please read the role descriptions below, and complete the relevant nomination form. This call is only for current individual members of IATEFL (including individual, student early career, retired and Associate members). The closing date for applications is Thursday 9 February 2023.

Key links:

Meet the IATEFL Ambassadors

Our IATEFL Ambassadors having been taking part in livestreams, talking about their backgrounds, their connections to IATEFL, how they benefitted, and how the association can help English language teaching professionals develop. You can also find out more about the role of our Ambassadors and discover more about each of their professional journeys by selecting ‘IATEFL Ambassadors’ on our Who’s Who page.

You can watch the livestreams below:

(Interview starts at 6:26)

[VIDEO::https://youtu.be/Bxk3Dy2s2_U?t=291]
 
 
(Interview starts at 5:30)
 
[VIDEO::https://youtu.be/5nq1pOE8kqE]
 

 

 

Is it easy to make your students think?

 by Shoghig Keoshkerian  

It has been said that we cannot make our students learn but we can make them think. If you agree with this statement, therefore, it is worth shedding light on learning strategies.

Language learning strategies are self-directed specific actions, techniques that the learners intentionally use in order to improve their progress in developing L2 skills and retain the newly acquired knowledge or language. I have implemented some behavior-changing strategies in my classes, which were extremely helpful for my learners. The good news is that the strategies can be taught as they expand the role of educators, they are usually problem-oriented but flexible, and finally, they go beyond the cognitive aspect to stimulate metacognition in teaching and learning.

“Think aloud” strategy is one of the techniques that I have  used for my students to answer questions aloud to the class before, during, and after reading. I usually demonstrate the technique by answering the questions myself for example, “What do I know about this topic?”, “This reminds me of …”, “I got confused when …”, etc. Once the questions are introduced and demonstrated by the teacher, students read parts of the text and start answering aloud the questions about the text or their background knowledge of the topic. Needless to say, the teacher should facilitate the discussion based on students’ responses. Additionally, it is always a good idea to let students choose questions randomly from a basket or box.

Moreover, the task could be conducted differently for more fun and for the sake of giving students multiple opportunities to share as they can rotate partners in a circle for activities with multiple questions.  This socio-affective strategy, entitled  “Think-Pair-Share” enables students to respond to questions aloud to the class before, during, and after reading. In this case, teachers ask students to think about the given topic independently, after that, students are paired out, and share their thoughts and ideas about the topic with their partners. It is worth mentioning that teachers can group students creatively – students could be given the flexibility to choose which partner shares the information. Toward the end of the activity, it might be a good idea to expand the share into a whole class discussion and record students’ responses in a graph or mind map on the board. However, if the topic is sensitive, consider giving your students a chance to answer questions anonymously.

As you can see, the think aloud or self-reflect technique requires readers to just stop for a while and reflect on what they do or do not understand when they listen or read. Therefore, the teacher’s modelling of “think aloud technique” can definitely ease the process by making their own comprehension process visible. It is of high importance that students are taught to respond using some sentence starters or prompts such as “I got stuck on the …”, “I would like to learn more about …”, and “I wonder if …”, etc.

As for some practical ways to enhance metacognitive strategies, it is always crucial to incorporate them into daily lessons. Always make sure to highlight the usefulness of strategies so that your students take the ownership of their own learning process and see the strategies as an added value. Moreover, help students to monitor their own use of strategies by using checklists or exit tickets. Additionally, you can always follow some fundamental steps to ensure you cover all the components of metacognition, which are planning for learning, selecting appropriate learning strategies, monitoring strategy use, and the learning itself.

As long as you are eager to involve learners in taking an active role in their own learning process, you might consider using some of the following reading strategies such as relating the text to themselves and to the world, making inferences or predicting what happens next, creating mental images and visualizing of what was read to make their thinking process visible to themselves and others, summarizing and synthesizing texts, interacting with the text by thinking aloud and finally by making them aware of their mental processes and own learning strategies.

It is important to develop the 21st-century skills such as critical thinking and problem posing/solving skills by repeatedly exposing students to higher order thinking tasks and assessments, providing sufficient wait time for them to think and process both the ideas and the language. It is useful to practise self-reflection and employing metacognitive strategies at the higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation rather than activating only the lower levels of cognition, understanding and remembering.

Be a successful teacher and enable your students to acquire effective learning strategies which will facilitate their learning, secure their success, understand the world around them, and make good and deep connections between theory and practice thus taking an active role in their own learning.

Reference:
Anderson, N.J. (2002). The role of metacognition in second language teaching and learning, Eric Digest, April.

 

About  Shoghig Keoshkerian  

Shoghig has been teaching English at different institutes for a long time. She holds a master’s degree MA in TEFL. Shoghig is an EFL instructor at the American University of Armenia.

She is also a trainer of trainers, mentorship support specialist and instructional designer. She has been awarded a certificate of Teaching Excellence and Achievement from Claremont Graduate University in California.

 

 

Contribute to the blog

If you are a member of IATEFL and would like to contribute to the blog, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. We’re looking for stories from our members, news about projects you’ve been involved in, and anything else you think those connected to English language teaching would be interested in reading. We look forward to hearing from you! If you’re not a member, why not join us?

See VIEWS Guidelines and Ideas

PRELIM 3 teacher training project opens for applications from teaching associations

The PRELIM teacher training project, pairing teaching associations throughout the world with UK training insitutions, is moving into a new phase. PRELIM 3 (Partnered Remote Language Improvement Project) opens for applications this week. Up to 20 partnerships will be created between English teacher associations around the world and language centres in the United Kingdom, working together to create resources designed specifically for teachers in the target country to use in their own classrooms with their students. The projects will run from January 2023 to March 2024, each with £15k funding from the British Council. 

As the application document explains: “These might range from resources which support teachers to make the most effective use of the existing materials they are required to use by their local education authorities, to additional teaching and learning materials. The aim, therefore, is to enable teachers to make optimal use of their current materials and for those materials to be complemented sustainably – beyond the life of PRELIM 3 itself – with a range of easily disseminated context-appropriate resources and activities owned by association members.”

Hear from the project partners: British Council, IATEFL, English UK and Nile

PRELIM is a partnership between the British Council, IATEFL and English UK, with support from ELT teacher training organisation Norwich Institute of Language Education (NILE).

Michael Connolly, Director of English Programmes at the British Council, said:

“We are delighted to invite English language educators from around the world to take part in this next phase of the PRELIM scheme. The first two phases of the programme have been a huge success among participants. UK-international partnership and innovation is at the heart of the initiative, and we know educators from the UK and overseas have found the exchange invaluable. We look forward to continuing our work with our partners, encouraging co-creation and mutual learning.”

Jon Burton, chief executive of IATEFL said:

“Having PRELIM return for a third time is something I know many English language teaching associations across the globe will appreciate, the first two having produced such positive outcomes. IATEFL is delighted to be part of this initiative once again, and to help bring together English language teaching professionals from such a wide range of locations and circumstances.”

Annie Wright, English UK’s joint acting chief executive, said:

“We are very excited that PRELIM has evolved into longer-term projects with the opportunity to develop deeper relationships between the ELT centres and the overseas teachers’ associations. Centres will relish this new challenge and also see it as fantastic CPD to create bespoke materials for teachers working in very different contexts to their own.”

Thom Kiddle of NILE added: 

“At NILE we are very excited to be able to continue as managing consultants for the third phase of PRELIM and support the UK institutes and global English Teacher Associations to develop their skills in new directions, still keeping teachers at the heart of each partnered project.”

Creating bespoke resources for teachers to use in their classrooms

Where PRELIM 1 and 2 were aimed at improving the confidence of teachers working in English, PRELIM 3 will create bespoke packages to support them in their own classrooms considering their curriculum, class sizes, local teaching methods, available technology and so on. 

“Where feasible, depending on the curriculum/grades the resources are supporting, an element exploring the cultural features of the local context and the local culture of the UKI home base,” the application document says. Ways in which the partnership may develop include workshops, video presentations, online platforms and webinars, and mentor or buddy schemes. 

IATEFL has sent out information about this exciting programme, and how to apply, to its global network of IATEFL Associate teaching associations, so check your inbox for information if you are a representative.

Useful links

  • If your association isn’t an IATEFL Associate you can get further information on joining our global network of non-profit teaching associations here: https://www.www.iatefl.org/get-involved/iatefl-associates
  • Read reports on previous years’ PRELIM projects here: https://www.www.iatefl.org/prelim-3

Practice what you preach, study what you teach by Ian Butcher

Great teachers often don’t make the best students, at least in my experience. Over the years, I have collected a number of tips and tricks which I relentlessly try to embed into my students’ approach to language learning, but it was not until the lockdown that I actually started taking my own advice. Doing so, Ι  took my German from A2 to B2 in a matter of months; 81 days to be exact. Since then I’ve been asking myself, in German, warum did I leave it so lange to start taking my own advice?

At different stages of my teaching career, I think back to my training in the hope of  hopes of gaining some deeper insight. At first, I would pick over the remnants of those memories in an attempt to dust off a technique or unearth a solid-gem of an activity that I could integrate into my current teaching context. More now than ever, I find myself reflecting on how I was taught to teach. I think about the activities garnered from an eclectic cocktail of teacher trainers that I enthusiastically guzzled down, garnished with their practices and beliefs, and realise there is a slightly sour taste in my mouth.

“A sour taste” might sound a bit harsh, but there was something not quite right with the execution. I’ve never understood why any TEFL or SLA course would stress the importance, let’s say, of learning style preferences, and then have students write essays in response to long strands of text in order to demonstrate their acquisition of the concept. This was exactly what happened on an asynchronous course that I took part in. Surely the best way of teaching students techniques for the classroom is to implement them into how you teach such techniques. Where are the videos? The podcasts? The video message systems? There is clearly a disconnect between theory and practice found at many levels of education. 

It is clear that this is something many of us within the profession are aware of. Whilst discussing the idea for this article with various colleagues, one described a workshop on differentiated teaching strategies that she attended. Surprise, surprise, the same tasks were set for all attendees, and the same mode of delivery was used for the content of the workshop. 

Evidently, it’s often easier to know how to do something than to actually make it happen. as was the case for the German state-exam exam board (oh, I know this one…Staatsexamensprüfungsausschuss). Another colleague recalled having once taken an exam on how to set German state exams, and was shocked by how little thought had gone into preparing it. They commented that had the roles been reversed, the German state-exam examiners might have failed. 

A further example can be found in how courses address the affective filter hypothesis. In fairness, at least many of these courses do mention it. They introduce it to their students, they plant the seed, but what next? After exploring how anxiety can negatively impact the learning process, they then pile it on. Time sensitive tasks, final grade weight-bearing deadlines, the warnings that precede and follow from both trainers and former trainees, it isn’t exactly a bubble bath, more so a baptism of fire. 

It is a real shame how many people are scared off from the idea of taking advanced teaching courses. Think just how many more incredible teachers there would be. Even now, I’m speaking with teachers with years of cultivated experience and passion who are choosing not to delve deeper for fears of how they would cope doing such teaching development courses. Their own passion for learning is quashed by the way these courses are designed and implemented. 

But does it have to be this way? Obtaining an education can be stressful enough, with the costs incurred and the concerns of what to do with it once you’ve gotten it. Does the process really have to be quite so painstaking? 

I’ve fallen guilty of this myself having just delivered a workshop on concept checking questions without including a single one; hindsight is a wonderful thing, although sometimes, it’s also just embarrassing. 

At the risk of causing myself even further embarrassment, I should reveal to you, dear supportive reader, that I have done it again; in this article no less! Over the last 2 years, I have been teaching EAP writing courses. I regularly stress the importance of brainstorming and planning. However, with this article, I skipped the planning phase. Fortunately, a good friend pointed out the disconnect and encouraged me to practice what I preach!

Of course, this isn’t just in our professional field. My mother has 40 years of experience raising children; 6 of whom were her own sons, many more were other people’s children. The one thing that has constantly tested her resilience and desire to continue doing what she is so incredibly good at? The constant training that is imposed, the way that it is delivered and the disconnect between theory and practice.. 

In order for this to change, we need to have a closer look at our own practices. The old saying “If you can’t do, teach,” only applies to those that let it. We shouldn’t let this be a defining quality of our profession, and everytime we forget to ask that CCQ in a workshop or put result levels over anxiety levels, that is exactly what is happening. 

In future, I’ll be making a more conscious effort to consider the content of my lessons and to what degree I am modelling what it is I want my learners to do more successfully. It may be a simple case of being more mindful during the planning stages and taking the time to reflect on the success of the class; an approach that I picked up from one of the more successful developmental courses. 

About Ian Butcher

 

Ian Butcher is currently teaching at the University of Munich. He’s half-way through the 

Distance Delta and weeks away from getting married to a truly wonderful woman. 

 

 

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Follow-up to Webinar “The Neuroscience Factor in Language Learning”

On 3rd September, I had the pleasure of delivering this Webinar for the IATEFL community of teachers and followers. I do hope this follow-up article triggers more questions than answers. THANK YOU!

The end of an era

It’s not difficult to see now that some paradigms are falling. The traditional educational system is undoubtedly one of them.

In the era of technology in which the workforce is being replaced by machines, robots, computers, etc., we can easily see how jobs that were once needed are now disappearing, at the same time and speed that new ones are being created. This era of rapid changes cannot wait. It is here to stay and evolve and the ones who are unable to adapt to it, will eventually “lose”.

The traditional educational system or the industrial education was designed with one purpose in mind: to create automated workforce that could work in factories, performing automatic tasks. There was no creativity, interaction, discussion, evolution or growth in them. Basically, they received orders. The educational system that started in the industrial era and still continues today (yes, today in the technological era), only prepared students to obey, not to create. Students and later workers were not considered as humans but as machines that needed to produce. What about their feelings? What about their wishes and dreams? What about their talents? What about their personal and professional evolution? None of it existed.

We watched this video to better illustrate this idea: (https://youtu.be/okpg-lVWLbE )

Neuroscience and Education

Neuroscience in the area of education, Educational Neuroscience or Neuroeducation, is a relatively new field. It emerged in the 90s to offer an alternative view to approach education; in a holistic way. What does it mean approaching education holistically? It means considering the human being as a whole by a deep understanding of how our brain and our mind work. Backed up by the latest research of neuroscience, cognitive psychology, biology, human evolution, emotions, among others, we can now access tons of information just a click away. When you start seeing yourself as a holistic individual and learner, you’ll be able to understand others and be able to help them. It’s a transformative path that we, as educators in this era, should be willing to walk on. You could find suggested bibliography and renowned authors in this document I’ve carefully created (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nfXvaJAj6dM53bHb82rlOSQilhakA-sh/view?usp=sharing)

The theory of the three brains (The Triune Brain) by Paul McLean

Paul MacLean, an American psychologist from the 60s developed the theory of the Triune Brain which proposed a division of the brain in the order it evolved through history. Of course, it’s an oversimplified model and explanation of how it works since it has been proved and demonstrated that such a division doesn’t exist, all the parts of the brain are connected. Anyway, it’s still a useful way to understand the relationship between structures and functions of the human brain.

Image 1: The Triune Brain

According to this theory, the first brain, the reptilian brain, is worried about survival. In relation to learning, we understand that the basic needs have to be covered in order to be able to learn properly: feeding, sleeping, body temperature, clothing, etc.

In this automatic and repetitive mode, the reptilian brain will always be on the alert, trying to spot dangers – threats – (in the case of education it could be the classroom, classmates, teachers, contents, grammar). Thus, one of the tasks of the teacher should be to reduce threats.

The limbic system is considered the emotional system, which in education can also be related to motivation, and it’s also connected to our memories (partly short term, but mostly long-term memories). And of course, it also has to do with the social part, the interaction and bonds we create with peers and teachers.

 

The third brain is the Neocortex, the rational brain (the most evolved area and the one that involves cognitive functions such as planning, organizing, creating, thinking, reflecting, etc.) Of course, this is essential to have in mind when designing and proposing tasks, but not the only one.

ALL of them are important when learning, we should know and integrate the “3 parts” and not only focus on the cognitive area.

Learn more about this theory here: (https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/the-concept-of-the-triune-brain)

How do we learn? Neural Networks

Our brain is made up of networks of interconnecting nerve cells called neurons. A neuron is made up of three (main) parts: A Dendrite, an Axon and a Cell Body. The dendrites receive (they are receptors) the chemical signals from the axon (they are transmitters).

The information travels along the axon body and when it reaches the end, it releases chemical signals (neurotransmitters) into the synaptic cleft (they don’t touch each other)

Image 2: Neural Networks

The creation of a neural network is like blazing a new trail in a thick forest. Every step requires effort and you’ll have to walk many times through it in order to make it visible. Therefore, in order to learn or unlearn something, we have to make an effort to do it repetitively and constantly, until it becomes automatic, a habit (and do it with our subconscious brain). (https://youtu.be/_nWMP68DqHE)

Releasing Neurotransmitters

What are the neurotransmitters we want our students to release?

There are two groups of neurotransmitters, called the “positive” and the “negative” ones depending on what they produce on our brain and body. The negative ones, or the enemies in learning are for example, cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline; they block the brain since it feels threatened, which activates the fight or flight response.

The positive ones, the “Happy Neurotransmitters” are the ones we want our students to release: dopamine, endorphin, oxytocin and serotonin. The powerful mix of these will create an ideal learning state in which the brain will be willing and excited to learn. What should I, as a holistic teacher or coach, do to trigger their release? What should I consider adding or changing in my lessons? What should my role be? Will my practices change after knowing about neuroscience? Food for thought!

In this era, not only of technological changes but also of consciousness in many different areas, we, teachers, should be the main actors and promoters of this evolution in education. What we actually DO will make a difference, not what we KNOW.

If you want to know more about Neuroscience, Coaching and NLP in Teaching, please feel free download this short E-book with some useful tips to start putting into practice right away.

DOWNLOAD it from this link: https://dreamon-elc.com/lp-ebk-free-002/

About Roxana Areán

Roxana Areán is a graduate English Teacher and Translator with a Master’s degree in Audiovisual translation from the University of Cadiz, Spain.

She is also a certified Neurolanguage Coach® (Efficient Language Coaching, UK), a Neuropsycho educator (Asociación Educar, Argentina), a certified Biodecoder, and is currently studying NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming).

In the last years, she’s been fully devoted to studying the human brain and the mind and applying scientifically proven techniques that have had great results and which keep thousands of students satisfied.

With over 15 years of teaching experience and the knowledge of all these complementary disciplines, she is eager to share and expand this new and revolutionary way of education, which not only improves but also empowers our students’ learning.

She is the founder of Dream On ELC (Argentina); an online academy which offers courses and Webinars – both for students and teachers – integrating neuroscience, coaching and emotional intelligence.

Contribute to the blog

If you are a member of IATEFL and would like to contribute to the blog, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected]. We’re looking for stories from our members, news about projects you’ve been involved in, and anything else you think those connected to English language teaching would be interested in reading. We look forward to hearing from you! If you’re not a member, why not join us?

See VIEWS Guidelines and Ideas