English Raven

Open English

 

 

 

This is a new section coming to the blog... VERY soon!

 

The basic idea?

 

Open source materials (with some of my more flamboyant attempts at design skills) to facilitate something along the lines of an emergent language teaching approach, with videos presenting ideas on how to use the materials as they are and/or adapt them as you like. They should be applicable to a wide range of ages and levels (not to mention contexts).

 

Opening soon... Stay tuned.

 

 

;-D

 

 

 

The 'Hard Talk' interview with an unplugged language teacher

 

 

 

If you're wondering what all these mentions of 'dogme' and 'teaching unplugged' around the blogtwittersphere refer to, I think the interview below (from the IATEFL 2011 conference) is both an outstanding overview of the concept and a brilliant probing of it from an interviewer quite good at playing devil's advocate:

 

 

 

 

 

That fellow doing an admirable job in the firing line is Anthony Gaughan from Teacher Training Unplugged, and the example he gives of a relatively inexperienced teacher experimenting with unplugged teaching techniques in a wonderfully principled and descriptive way refers to Dale Coulter, whose blog Language Moments - Reflections on Language and Teaching has become one of my regular go-tos for some serious inspiration. 

 

The interview and the blogs here are highly recommended.

 

 

;-D

 

 

 

The English Raven Halloween lesson materials design challenge!

 

 

 

October has arrived, and that means Halloween is very close. Experimenting with some of my own Halloween materials, a sudden thought came to me: How great would it be to see how different members of my PLN in different parts of the world use the same basic core input/ content but adapt, extend, abolish in whatever way suits their own teaching beliefs/and or the educational culture in which they are working?

 

The idea of the English Raven Halloween Lesson Material Design Challenge (as you can see, it took a while to get the idea out of my mouth!) was thus born... Find out more by watching the video I prepared for the challenge:

 

 

 

 

So, are you up for it? I hope so!

 

Remember that you can change any of the existing content and add and extend with your own activities in whatever ways work best for you and your learners.

 

Post your customised Halloween lesson material on your blog or site, then leave a link here on this page to the location of your efforts (so that we can all find it and give it a squiz).

 

 

I'm genuinely excited at the prospect of so many different versions of the basic template and core content...

 

Templates with content/input for you to download and work with...

Download Halloween 1 worksheet template (MS Word)

Download Halloween 1 worksheet template (MS Word Compatible)

 

Oh... and if you're interested in having some audio files to go along with the input/content already in the templates, here they are (right click and select "save as" if you want to save the files to your own computer):

 

Halloween_Track1

Halloween_Track2

 

 

Look forward to seeing some of your work and hearing from you!

 

 

;-D

 

 

[LATE ADD]: Just an idea, but you might like to try screencasting your lesson material! Try a tool like Screenr (free, allows you to sign in with your Twitter account), where you can present your material on the screen and explain it with accompanying audio. You could then post a direct link to the screencast here on the blog, or embed it as a video on your own blog. Give it a try, you'll love the results!

 

                            

A preview of bam!boo!

 

 

 

Thank you very much to all the teachers out there who posted kind comments of appreciation and encouragement on the recent materials design tutorial I uploaded here.

 

The snapshot above comes from Tutorial 8 in the series, which I have nick-named the Bamboo Mega-Tutorial. It basically demonstrates how to make something that looks just like the material you can see above (but hopefully you'll have something more exciting and inspiring than bamboo to showcase...), from blank page to finished product.

 

Don't for a minute think that smooth professional formatting of materials is the exclusive domain of the big publishers. You can make stuff of this quality, too... if you're willing to put in the time and learn (and have fun experimenting).

 

Tutorials from the ER Teaching Materials Design Masterclass series will be posted here every Wednesday over the next couple of months, so keep your screens peeled!

 

 

;-D

 

 

 

Five new lots of "Scene it!" materials

 

via jasonrenshaw.typepad.com

 

 

Original post/materials/explanations here.

Thought these materials and approach were worth re-blogging!

;-D

Teaching Materials Design Masterclass 1: Head to toe...

 

 

 

 

I've been meaning to get around to these for a while, ever since Barbara Sakamoto and James Taylor asked me for tutorials on the subject (I'll assume they were almost half serious!) and so many visitors to the blog and site were kind enough to leave compliments about how professional they felt some of my materials to be in terms of formatting and presentation.

 

So here it is: the first English Raven materials design masterclass!

 

This one looks at one of the beginning steps in setting up a professional looking document: creating headers and footers. It works with Microsoft Word, which I assume many people have access to (and for those who don't, hopefully the basic actions and principles can be somewhat instructive).

 

I'll try to post new tutorials every week or so for those who are interested enough to want to learn from  (or, just as likely -- and welcome -- critique) them.

 

For those who want to get more stuck into these sorts of skills NOW, you might like to check out the new materials design section of the main website. There are three full tutorials up there at the time of writing this post, with many more planned.

 

Oh, and if you think the formatting and ideas here are pretty plain crappy, by all means comment to that effect. I could well be deluding myself about my materials design prowess, and it would be nice for the readership to see the different perspective!

 

 

;-D

 

 

2.25 pm, according to the Sun...

 

 

 

I am regularly surprised by the power of my Samsung Galaxy S phone when it comes to the quality of the photographs it is capable of producing.

 

The above shot was taken today at ScienceWorks in Melbourne, with English Raven Jnr in the foreground pointing out the time according to the giant, vivid yellow sundial. The contrast of yellow against brilliant blue spring sky and the dark building -- gosh I love this shot!

 

This picture is one of many I took today and the collection will be used to generate a new audio/self-record book (The Science Museum) for the Little Readers section of my site.

 

 

Great fun... and great pics!

 

 

;-D

 

 

 

 

Outside (is) the English Raven boardroom...

 

English Raven and English Raven Jnr discuss their next digital learning project (apparently the Little Readers and some new, more interactive Halloween materials are in order). Little Miss Raven Jnr offers some feedback, but as always, appears to echo English Raven Jnr's sentiments...

 

 

;-D

 

 

Is this a grammar teaching gaffe?

 

 

Yesterday, I released a special online version of my GrammarGolf card game application. This is something I trialled and used extensively with younger learners as a classroom teacher, and based on the exciting levels of engagement and awareness it generated, I was looking forward to making a multi-media version for the English Raven site.

 

However, even as I am aware of the activity's strengths based on my own experiences, I also knew this was something of a risk; dare I feel happy about a teaching application that I know probably won't get that much uptake?

 

See, here's the thing... I got Mrs. Raven to try it out. Being an advanced learner herself (Certificate IV level in the local parlance), I wanted her impressions and feedback.

 

Surprise surprise: she didn't like it very much. And not really because, despite her advanced level, she got more than a few of the sentence options wrong!

 

"Why have more than one possible answer?"

"Why aren't the mistake options explained?"

"How am I supposed to understand why I got it wrong?"

 

 

Mrs. R has, in my opinion, voiced criticisms of GrammarGolf that I think will be shared by a very large number of learners.

 

I don't want to give too much away here, but this is NOT the way younger students generally react to the GrammarGolf application. And... that is precisely one of the reasons why I think it can be such an important learning tool.

 

Now, from a teaching perspective, I think there will be another serious objection. The sentences are not contextualised at all! Oh my goodness... there goes the neighbourhood. And absurdly enough, I am absolutely fine with this as well.

 

So here is my question to you:

 

Do you think GrammarGolf is a grammar teaching gaffe? Why or why not?

If not, why do you think I purposely avoid giving detailed explanations and emphasize the idea of 'have a swing, and if you miss, swing again!'? Why on earth would I think that sentences without communicative context could possibly be useful?

 

Is this Raven a teaching emperor with no clothes, or just a straight up moron???

 

 

;-D

 

 

 

Watch Raven Play...

 

 

 

I've been a tad... well, productive, I guess!

 

All of the above is now available for free access and use in the new e-Learning section of the revamped (and revamping) English Raven website.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

:-D

 

 

 

English Raven shows a bit of 'community spirit'!

 

 

 

As you can see, English Raven has been (self!) sentenced to some community work... The little offering above is another example of my ongoing quest to digitize more of my (originally print-based) flashcard materials and put them into a format that teachers might like to use on a screen in front of the class or even refer students to for some self study.

 

The entire set of community places cards consists of 48 images, including some of the following:

 

 

 

On the web page here, you can also find a set of activity suggestions utilising these cards and vocabulary for Cambridge ESOL YLE Starters, Movers and Flyers levels.

 

But here's a quick tip for those of you seeing this post, liking the look of the cards but not particularly wanting to pay for them:

 

Go up to that little search box at the top of the right-hand column of the blog and punch in some keywords along the lines of 'community places'... see what turns up!

 

 

:-)

 

 

Out of the big publishing square and into The Round? The potential for a 'PLN's publisher' beckons!

 

 

 

A person (well-known in English Language Teaching circles -- keep that circular idea in your head for a bit...) I happen to have a great deal of time and respect for caught up with me on Skype yesterday evening. It was Lindsay Clandfield and, as many of you tuned into things like Twitter and Facebook would now be aware, he had some pretty exciting news.

 

Lindsay and another rather admirable fellow we all know, Luke Meddings, have just officially launched The Round, 'an independent collective of creative individuals in English language teaching' which 'arose from a series of conversations about bridging the gap between blogs and books – and about the difficulty of placing innovative, niche or critical materials with the big ELT publishers.'

 

However you look at this, for goodness sake don't just walk away with the idea that this is just a publishing start-up. Having been honoured with some initial inside info, I can tell you now that this initiative is going to be far more than that.

 

I'll let Lindsay and Luke explain it all to you in their own words, over on their new site and by watching things unfold through things like their Twitter handle and Facebook page. 

 

The way I am reading this, what we are looking at is something not only innovative but sorely needed: a sort of 'publisher for thePLN.' We're not really looking at anyone making stacks of cash here, but we ARE looking at riches. In multiple currencies that don't necessarily equate to printed money but do correlate to a fair deal for authors. That and a fair offering to all the innovative and creative teachers out there who have been left starving at the rim of the 'profit at all costs/lowest common denominator' big publishing square shipping containers.

 

If you want to see new materials produced and shared in new and vastly more appealing ways, get behind The Round.

 

Because I have a feeling that what goes around in this initiative will come around... for the better!

 

 

Hope to see you there. This Raven is definitely IN!

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

'You might see some trees... or some rocks!'

 

 

 

 

I'm positively delighted with this latest addition to the ongoing nest of experiments on the English Raven website.

 

The video above shows English Raven Jnr trying out my online Little Readers application, which basically allows kids to flip through a simple little storybook with text accompanied by pictures, audio and an embedded recording device.

 

ER Jnr's efforts, done on his own (as he often likes for me to leave the room while he tries out this stuff), showcase a couple of the ways this helps to build reading and pronunciation skills:

 

 

1. He can flip through and take on the story at his own pace.

2. He reads what he can out loud, but uses the audio provided in one part when he's not sure how to say the sentence precisely.

3. He records his own voice using the provided audio recorder and really looks forward to playing back his reading aloud performance while he flips again through the story and looks over the text.

4. He skips the review stuff at the end. He's had enough by that stage and just wants to hear himself perform the story. That's fine. He can use this the way he wants to use it, and for just the parts or ways that most interest him.

 

 

There are another four of these Little Readers stories already in printed format, but ER Jnr wants them loaded up on a screen the way this one is. I flinch at the prospect of another late night catering to his enthusiasm for this, but mostly I'm pretty darned pleased with myself...

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

Which teacher are you: coming or going?

 

Image: MorBCN

 

 

For the sake of hypothesis, I'd like to ask you a question. And present you with an interesting choice.

 

You're teaching English to children who are aged about 10-11. They've been at this English caper for about four or five years already, and have a pretty good level. Let's say they're a bit beyond Cambridge YLE Flyers level, and somewhere in the vicinity of mid-PET (or getting reasonably close to pre-Intermediate).

 

You're on the hunt for some new ideas and materials to use with these kids, and you roll around to good ol' English Raven's site and you see two versions of an extended teaching/learning endeavour. We'll assume for now that both versions basically match the existing language level and learning needs of your students (in terms of the linguistic demands). 

 

Version A is a fully scripted out adventure story, complete with excellent pictures, audio files to accompany each passage of text, review questions with answer keys, and quizzes to help you with overall assessment. Oh, and a bunch of supplementary activity ideas.

 

Version B is the same adventure story, but almost none of the content has been provided--just the pictures. The general idea is that the learners, with assistance from the teacher, make the story up as they go, either as a class or in groups or--for those who prefer it--individually. There are prompts to help things along, as well as extensive teacher notes explaining ways to facilitate the story and to help the learners make it their own.

 

Please forgive me here, but I don't want any fence-sitting. It's not a crime to prefer one of these versions over the other (and yes, I know, they both have their positives and negatives).

 

In essence, which of them appeals to you and excites you in terms of what it could achieve in your classroom with these pre-Intermediate learners of English aged 10-11? Version A or Version B?

 

In some ways, I might dare to label Version A as the preference of the teacher who is coming (to the learners with planned and controlled input, first and foremost), while Version B is the tool of choice for the teacher who is going (with the learners away into new and mostly unplanned territory, working more or less from output). 

 

So, remembering again that this is not about judging either kind of teacher, which teacher are you: the one who is coming or the one who is going? What is your instinct telling you?

 

 

Would absolutely love to read your responses to this!

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

How to get your teacher resource site visitation stats through the roof?

 

 

 

Following the usual summer/winter lull in July and August (where hits to the English Raven site drop to a little under 100,000 per month), I confess to being pleasantly surprised with the numbers presented for September...

 

Half a million hits so far. And September ain't close to over yet.

 

But this got me to thinking: what exactly did I do that brought so much visitation to the site this month?

 

 

 

 

All I can really think of are newish things I haven't done a lot of for the site in the past, and those things are:

 

- Added a lot of fresh resources (as well as a refreshed interface)

- Really leveraged the power of social media across blog, Facebook and Twitter to get the word out there about things being added to the site

- Created something in the way of an interface between both the site and the blog in terms of making and explaining ELT materials

- Made much better use of YouTube to add audio-visual components to many of the resource pages

- Brought my son (affectionately known as English Raven Jnr) into the fold as a partner and participant, something he loves being part of and whom site visitors obviously take to given that (a) I maintain a site for teaching children and (b) he's just naturally charming and talented!

- Added a lot of free (and open source) stuff

- Added interactive components for several resources that allow learners to practise directly online (an interesting direction I've wanted to explore for a long time now: making English Raven a potential destination for learners as well as teachers)

- Perhaps just got lucky during what is (based on 10 years of site traffic to compare to) often a boom month for the site as teachers head back to classrooms for a new term

 

 

In any case, it looks like ER is in for a booming last quarter to the year (October has always been a massive month for visitation to the site).

 

Why post about it?

 

Believe it or not, for anyone out there looking at making and distributing their own ELT materials online, I thought this experience might be helpful to pass along... It's no longer a matter of making worksheets and flashcards and posting them on a members-only portal. Teachers are using different avenues to find their teaching ideas and materials and they (seem to?) expect to find different things on offer when they arrive somewhere.

 

Interesting to observe and think about!

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

 

The new Talk it Up! (online, for speaking and creative and critical thinking)

 

 

 

I'm happy to report that a new application of Talk it Up has been put together for the English Raven website, with the capacity for students to create and actually record their own conversations or individual talks based around open, thematic icons.

 

This will be especially useful to teachers who want to use a more emergent methodology with their learners (rather than serving everything up in listen and repeat format, in this application the starting point is the learners' own language and communication). Directions are provided on the webpage to explain a basic process of choosing a thematic icon, talking about it (together with a classmate or on one's own) and recording the effort, transcribing their own speaking onto paper based on listening to the recording, editing and improving their own production, and retrying the task again to see if it sounds better a second time around.

 

This application is 100% free to all site visitors. No catches or gimmicks. On the same page, teachers can also download print versions of the Talk it Up! application in PDF, MS Word or adaptable/compatible MS Word format (to change and adapt as you will). 

 

 

 

The website also provides some initial starting prompts for those teachers or students who need a little help converting the pics/icons into thematic topics for discussion:

 

 

 

 

So there it is, a new version of the Talk it Up! concept. Hope you'll give it a whirl with your learners, and if you do, please do let us know how it goes (or feel free to ask any questions)!

 

 

;-)

 

 

 

Let's Go (back ten years to see how far and how quickly we have come)

 

 

 

I'm not sure if this is a sign of (or a coping device to try and avoid) a mid-life crisis, but I seem to be a bit preoccupied this week with how things were a decade ago. Or perhaps, as I continue to dig up and revamp material from the English Raven website, I just continue to find it staggering how far back in history ten years ago now appears to be.

 

The picture above shows a listening test I developed in 2001. It was an ambitious exercise in some ways, because the school I was managing at the time was using Barb Sakamoto's excellent Let's Go series and I wanted to combine the Let's Go content with the Cambridge Young Learners of English test formats. What I did was draw on the themes, vocabulary and functional language in all six levels of Let's Go and apply them as listening tests which mirrored the sections and applications in Cambridge YLE Starters, Movers and Flyers sample tests.

 

Even the scripts I developed for the tests mirrored exactly the style and methodology used in the Cambridge YLE tests:

 

 

TN: Hello and welcome to this Listening Test for Let’s Go 4 Units 1-4.  Please listen carefully to the instructions and try to answer all questions on this test paper.  Good Luck!

Part One.  Look at the picture and listen to the example.

M: Today is Wednesday.  What was Ted doing yesterday?

W:– He was playing basketball.

M:— Oh, yes.  I see him now.

 

TN: Can you see Ted playing basketball yesterday?  Can you see the line going from Ted’s name to the picture?  Now listen and draw lines from the other names to the pictures.

W: What about Ted’s friend David?  What was he doing yesterday?

M: He was catching butterflies.  He caught a lot!

W: Really?  That must have been fun! Mmm, can you see Tracy?

M:— Yes, she’s right there.  She was feeding ducks yesterday at the lake.

W:– Right. What about Tim?  Was he taking pictures with his new camera yesterday?

M:— Yes, he was!  And can you see Sam?  Was he playing catch yesterday?

W:– No, he wasn’t.  He was picking up trash with his friend Sunny.  The park was so dirty yesterday!

M:— Right!  I can see that.  That just leaves Chris.  What was he up to yesterday?

W:– He was playing catch, of course.  Can’t you see him there?

M:— Oh yes, now I see him!

 

 

But of course, a script is useless without a sound track... How did we produce them?

 

That's right: myself and two other teachers stayed behind after school one night and recorded them all... on a cassette recorder that looked very much like the one you can see at the top of this page. Hold down the RECORD and PLAY buttons at the same time. Remember? Then use your master tape to record onto all the other tapes, one after another...

 

This was only ten years ago.

 

iPods and MP3 players weren't around then. Phones, while definitely quite small and very mobile, weren't taking pictures or recording things yet (much less taking 1 hour high quality video and connecting us to the Internet).

 

Today I had a teenager making assembly instructions for a catapult, and he couldn't access his CAD drawings. We popped out of the literacy classroom into the workshop, took a variety of different angle and close up photographs of his catapult with my Samsung Galaxy S, which I sent directly from the phone to his school email address. He had his assembly instructions done by the end of the class, complete with high quality photographs.

 

This evening, based on a quick request from yesterday on Facebook, I joined Marisa Constantinides and her YL teacher trainees in Athens via Skype for a brief video link up to discuss ELT materials design for young learners of English. As easy and convenient as glancing out the window, really.

 

 

 

 

Not long after that, I left the screencasting tool on and left the room while my son played my newly minted When-Who-What-Where card game online. The resulting video shows his screen actions, plays his voice and also the recorded voice files I had uploaded into the game. And I can show it all to you here (a fascinating example of child language experimentation and thinking out loud, I must add), basically with a flick of a (code embed) switch:

 

 

 

 

 

As I look at what we are doing today (and the relative ease involved) and compare it to me sitting at a table with a cassette recorder that (now) looks like a big black fridge, it really does hit me between the eyes that technology (and access to technology) has absolutely exploded over the past decade. To look back at 2001 and for it to feel like ancient history is exciting but eerie and even a little unnerving.   

 

In ten years from now, will that screencast above and the Skype session and my Samsung Galaxy S seem as crusty and clunky as the old cassette recorder appears to us now?

 

The mind boggles.

 

 

;-)

 

 

 

When? Who? What? and Where?

 

 

Ten years ago I made 135 cards as part of a simple card-flipping game designed to get students thinking about vocabulary, pronouns, verb tenses, subject-verb agreement and overall basic sentence structure. Students of all ages loved it, and that was pleasing. It took a hell of a long time to cut out, paste together, laminate and then cut out again those little cards.

 

 

 

I'm enjoying a sort of renaissance over on the English Raven site as I dig up all of the old flashcards and card games there and find ways to breathe new life and practicality into them via all the wonderful tools Web 2.0 (and Web 2.5 I'm starting to think...) has dished up for us.

 

The new online version of When? Who? What? Where? is a pretty good example of what I'm talking about here. It used to be something you had to download and cut out (and it is, of course, still excellent for that purpose), but the version I recently uploaded to the site allows for the cards to be flipped on the screen. It also allows learners to record themselves based on the cards they see before them, listen to what they've said, re-record it if they want to, and then compare with an example sentence I've provided for them.

 

It was surprisingly simple to put together, and we're not talking world-quaking technology or tech skills here. But even with the limitations of (my) simplicity, it is surprisingly powerful in terms of practical, engaging practice for learners.

 

It's up there now and it's fully free for any learners anywhere to try out.

 

If you'd like to give it a whirl with your learners, I'd love to hear how they get on and what they think of it.

 

 

;-)

 

 

 

Did you enjoy the weather? Well wait until you try the food!

 

 

 

My thanks to all the people who commented here on the blog and also on Facebook and Twitter about the English Raven -- English Raven Junior collaboration on weather and seasons vocabulary. As promised, our next installment is ready to hit the web waves and I can tell you now: if you thought the weather was good, wait until you try the food!

 

English Raven Junior was in class form for this latest video; here are some tidbits for you to watch/listen out for:

• Find out why, according to ER Jnr, hamburgers can be bad for you
• Listen for the correlations between 'unhealthy-like' and 'healthy-don't like'
• Why do you think the onion is depicted with a tear in its eye?
• We call them capsicums here, while others call them peppers; ER Jnr has a suggestion along the lines of a compromise
• Ever seen a chicken hanging from a palm tree?

 

In any case, I'm delighted with how these vids are turning out, and wish I'd had access to them when I was teaching English to little children. They're completely unscripted and beautifully enhanced with a real child's world view of things. They're real -- something we see and hear so little of in English language learning materials where pretty much everything is carefully staged.

 

I think they're also precious as ELT materials because while a central lexical direction is presented, it is wonderfully enhanced with all the peripheral language and comments. Even if children don't quite understand everything they hear, I think the targeted vocabulary will be very salient and there is enough use of recasting, follow up questions, intonation and emphasis to create excellent initial exposure to the language in natural use.

 

And most importantly of all: they can be pretty bloody funny. Kids everywhere love funny.

 

So get on over and see English Raven Jnr strut his stuff with food vocabulary!

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

Weather and seasons for EFL/ESL delivered like you've never seen (or heard) it before

 

Check out Jason and Jamie presenting weather and seasons vocabulary here 

 

 

 

Converting all of my old (but still awesome, in my opinion) print-based flashcard material into a more digitally friendly audio-visual format has long been on my agenda. Tonight, English Raven Junior helped me to take the first step in superb style.

 

Forget the publisher-produced stuff with some lady paid to sound happy and bubbly as she reads aloud items of lexis to go with glossy pictures. Step up six-year-old James Renshaw, who talks his way through a set of weather and seasons pics in a performance that couldn't have been better even if you'd scripted it.

 

In fact, the whisper of "did I speak clearly?" and the sneeze that took place right when the winter cards were up on the screen were definitely not scripted (I swear by my sable feathers). And the little exchange at the end... priceless.

 

In all seriousness, though, I'm very keen to do a lot more of this with Jamie, because (1) he really loves doing it and (2) I think it is a much better way to present vocabulary and concepts to other children. The core vocabulary is there, but the richness of the totally natural peripheral conversation is precious. Jamie himself, who has only been around other English-speaking children for a little over 18 months, is still very much a lad with an ESL background. What better way to present vocabulary and language to young learners of English than via a similar aged peer interacting conversationally with an adult with pictures on the screen?

 

Oh, and (3) I don't have to pay him... much. 

 

And (4) he sounds sooooo much better than that lady the publishers hire to do this sort of thing. No offence intended, of course.

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

Search and you shall find (something at least...)

 

Image: Chris Roach

 

 

One of the great things about using Typepad is that it allows you to embed a really useful search box tool. I've been adding so much free content (teaching/learning material, open source content, etc.) to this blog over the past couple of years that even I ended up a little astounded when I did some random searching and saw just how much stuff is available here.

 

So if you've landed on this blog and you're looking for some teaching ideas or materials, I can highly recommend that SEARCH box up in the top right section of the main blog page (just below the silly picture of yours truly).

 

Punch something in and see what the blog rolls out for you. You might be surprised. I might be, too.

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

Why I'm starting to quite like "bottled" digital lesson content

 

Image: Mukumbura

 

 

About this time last year, I wrote a blog post called Ever wanted to clone yourself to help teach a class more effectively? and referred to the power of screencasting when it comes to sort of pre-planning and pre-delivering lesson content. The basic idea: you pre-record the main chunky content stuff in your lesson (drawing on the audio and visual aspects of screencasting to enhance the delivery) and play it in class, leaving you more freedom to monitor and respond to students as the content is delivered.

 

If you'd asked me five years ago whether this was a particularly good idea, I probably wouldn't have been all that receptive to the idea. Nothing can replace the live on the spot performance of good teaching in a classroom with all its spontaneity and adaptation to audience of the moment, I would have argued.

 

Today I might argue something similar but with the observation that some things can enhance (not necessarily replace) the performance and effectiveness of the live "in the room" teacher. This is based on some extensive classroom experimentation, the surprising success of my online TOEFL school (which has no live or "in the same room" teaching at all), and some more recent observations of an online literacy program I have been developing for a blended learning approach in a technical college for senior secondary school students. 

 

Here are some of the things I have noticed about "bottling" certain parts of lessons and presenting them through online screencasts (in classrooms where each student has access to a computer):

 

• Every student gets individualised access to the content, and by adding interactive elements (for example, requiring students to report or respond to the screencasted material) it becomes much more feasible to check how much of the content is actually being taken in;
• Five in ten students need no more than the screencast to "get it" and can then move on to the next task, effectively allowing them to learn at their own pace;
• Three in ten students get most of the screencasted material, but may need the occasional quick follow up or confirmation to proceed with confidence;
• Two in ten students have problems with the content and need more active assistance from the teacher (which has become much more feasible on account of another five in ten already moving ahead and another three in ten assisted on through it with a minimal amount of assistance);
• Students are much more willing to assist peers who get stuck or need help compared to the group teaching/learning scene;
• Students can replay and review the content at will, right there in the classroom or over in the school library or at home (or during a road trip with their 3G iPad, as a student informed me last Friday);
• More content is delivered and more take up of skills occurs, in most instances, than in the traditional one-teacher-teaching-to-a-group scenario;
• The teacher becomes less of a performer to an audience and more of a conversational facilitator and aide, creating a much less formal atmosphere in the classroom;
• Every student has something to focus on, at his/her own pace, which majorly reduces the chance of classroom distractions and disruptions;
• The teacher is able to prepare a lot in advance, which helps him to relax and move more with the flow (including adaptation and contextualisation) in the classroom itself.

 

 

Personally, I love teaching to groups and having the learners all seated in a circle or U with a shared 'stage' for the teaching and learning. I'm not about to suggest this is ineffective or needs to be shelved.

 

However, observational experience on my part is starting to present some powerful evidence that "bottling" (and learners pouring for themselves) certain parts of lessons is a really effective approach to education.

 

All of this ran through my head this morning as I was working on a new batch of LEAP Speaking material for the English Raven website. I began to wonder if it might not be a valuable addition to provide screencast versions of the materials that teachers could play in class and/or allow students to access for review or private study at home. 

 

Remember that I'm not suggesting for a moment that pre-recorded and pre-formatted lesson material replace the in-the-room-live-here-and-now teacher... any more than it already does through things like coursebooks, of course.

 

But I do think digital bottling can be something that really enhances what we're able to achieve in a classroom, and what learners are able to achieve on their own.

 

 

What do you think?

 

 

:-)

 

 

 

 

The Negotiator

 

 

Negotiating with learners should never reach this point, if at all possible...

Image: Andrew Becraft

 

 

 

It's a volatile situation.

 

Jim's fortified himself in the back corner of the classroom. He's taken hostages -- a good half dozen classmates -- and he's threatening them with distraction and possibly worse (like a virus, whereby they start to develop Jim's feelings about learning on an ongoing basis; the pedagogical equivalent of Stockholm Syndrome).

 

The teacher stands near the doorway to the classroom, looking relieved now that a few co-teachers and the head teacher herself has arrived.

 

Negotiations are well under way. Jim's being encouraged to surrender, through the megaphone of authority wielded by the head teacher. In her other hand she grips the shiny black barrel of suspension; she hasn't pointed it at Jim yet, but she will if she has to. Parents will be notified either way.

 

 

Rewind. Three weeks earlier...

 

Jim's looking down at the writing task. The word count stipulated has filled him with a sense of woe, and the 10 pointers outlining elements to appear in his report swim like black sharks in a milky bottomless sea.

 

Jim's despair is acute, almost like a knife. He wasn't ready for this surprise. He's been doing well all through the preceding class time, getting answers down to questions, receiving moderate praise from the teacher. He's not all that keen on reading and writing, but he appears to be holding his own.

 

Until now. Until this.

 

Screw it. Can't do it.

 

The teacher eventually appears over his shoulder, offers to help. But nothing the teacher says really seems to help at all. Jim tries to give it a bit of a go, trying his best to take on board the seemingly irrelevant advice, but it's just not happening.

 

"Can I write about something else?"

"No, unfortunately. But if you just... (assortment of Greek, Latin and Swahili drifts past Jim's ears)."

 

A little later: "Could I just, you know, change some parts of it a bit, to make it a bit simpler? I mean, I think I could maybe still write 400 words, but --"

"Look, I understand it's a bit hard, but no -- you really have to do it this way. That's the way everyone has to do it. So bear with me, Jim. You need to think about... (more Greek, Latin and Swahili)."

 

Eventually the teacher takes Jim's silence to be agreement or acceptance, and his baffled (frayed around the edges with frustration) look to be one of thoughtful deliberation. That's if he actually took a proper look at Jim's face. He wanders off towards another student's bowed head.

 

 

 

Tragically, the laws of this particular realm did in fact allow for (and even encourage) plenty of scope for task adaptation and personalisation. It isn't always the case, but in this instance there was actually more than one potential path through the forest.

 

 

The all-important negotiator just arrived three weeks too late, dressed in the wrong clothes, trying to measure temperature with a metre ruler.

 

 

 

=D

 

                                                                      

 

A price to swear by?

 

 

Image: sewitsforyou

 

 

Our state government here in Victoria has recently decided to go ahead with policy and laws that allow police to apply on-the-spot fines for foul language. The basic fine is about the same as what you'll get for speeding in a motor car.

 

This is an interesting issue in itself, but given that the lads I teach do have recurrent problems with swearing, I thought this would be excellent fodder for reading and discussion materials. As part of the general VCAL Literacy outcome requirements, learners are always asked to compare texts on topics, and I have sourced the following:

 

1. Big fines for those who cry foul (General expository news article)

2. I say fiddle sticks to your swearing fines Mr Baillieu (Opinion piece A)

3. Stop bans on cursing? Bugger that (Opinion piece B)

 

 

Swearing is one of those public issues that has resonance across language and culture, so I thought these articles might be of interest to teachers in other parts of the world as well. They basically provide a fairly neutral expository text followed by two different opinions/reactions to a rather strict public policy.

 

See what your students make of it all!

 

 

=D

 

                                      

Embracing Wordnik (featuring BoobsMcGeee...)

 

For some online vocabulary development activities I recently developed for my classes, I figured it might be a good idea to link words to some kind of online dictionary resource so that my learners could get a better sense of them. I ended up going with Wordnik and, watching learners in class today, realised it was an excellent choice.

 

Wordnik listings have all the features of most other online dictionary providers (things like definitions, linked thesaurus, examples, pronunciation, etc.), but a couple of their own which I think are particularly useful.

 

 

First up, I love the fact that the selected word appears at the top of the page in huge letters. This is so great for creating a real impact and a visual BANG which I honestly think helps some of my learners remember the spelling more easily.

 

I also think the live Twitter feed showing your selected word in use in real-world tweets is particularly brilliant. These examples are much more 'real' and raw (sometimes embarrassingly so - see below!) and make for a very useful comparative tool alongside the more traditional (formal) examples provided.

 

My 16-17 year old vocational trades learners liked referring to this part of the page, and when they can see examples like this one:

 

 

 

Well, I can assure you that it gets their attention!

 

But sniggering and smirking aside, I love the fact that this is real world language in use, pretty much live. And truth to tell, if this is the sort of thing that makes 'disengaged' teenage learners like looking up new words in a dictionary, then that's fine by me.

 

Another advantage with the stream being live is that, as the learners tend to come to different word landings at different times, the Twitter examples are different pretty much every single time.

 

 

The other thing I like about Wordnik is the Flickr image stream associated with particular words. I'm not sure how accurate or reliable it is, but for learners like mine (who are often much more visually inclined), it creates interesting 'anchors' for remembering words and discussing their broader (possible) meanings and applications.

 

 

If you're looking for an online vocabulary reference/resource tool for your learners, I'd really recommend taking a squiz at Wordnik - I'm surprised and happy with how it has engaged and helped my students with their vocabulary development.

 

 

=D

 

                                                     

 

The last hurrah (for now) - Part 2: Guest post about a teaching unplugged workshop

 

 

Is this the final raven appearance in an ELT workshop? A snapshot of my ‘teaching unplugged’ workshop (thanks very much to Daniel Craig for the pic!) at the KOTESOL National Conference in Daejeon, Korea, on May 14. Two of the participants very kindly agreed to write the guest post that follows.

 

 

 

As promised in my previous ‘the last hurrah’ post, here is the follow up account of my workshop on teaching unplugged. Somehow, if feels appropriate that the final post on this blog (at least for some time to come) not only focuses on the concept of teaching unplugged, but is written in the form of a guest post from two of the participants in the workshop.

 

Leanne Priestley and Kevin Arnold are two Brits teaching English to adults in a private language academy in Korea. Interestingly enough, they are working at the same chain school company I first started my time in Korea with all those years ago! I had already connected with Leanne and Kevin via Twitter prior to the conference, and at the event itself enjoyed a great chat with them and a number of other teachers over lunch.

 

Leanne and Kevin represent, to me, all that can be great about teachers and teaching. They are friendly, polite, down-to-earth, sensitive to their local context while looking for the very best ways to innovate and create positive change. They also have that absolutely essential ingredient for making the teaching/learning elixir actually work: MOTIVATION!

 

 

 

They attended my workshop on teaching unplugged in the afternoon, and in follow up correspondence very kindly indicated they would be happy to write this guest post about what they experienced and thought (think) of teaching unplugged.

 

So, over to you Leanne and Kevin!

 

 

 

 

A Workshop on Teaching Unplugged

by Leanne Priestley and Kevin Arnold

 

 

When we were first asked to write this guest post, it was terrifying but we saw it as an exciting new challenge as this is our first one, ever. We hope it’ll give others an idea of how Jason’s workshop at the National KOTESOL Conference in Daejeon, South Korea on May 14^th helped two (and many, many more) ELT teachers.

 

Jason ended his plenary with an image that has now, for us at least, become synonymous with what his workshop was about. That image was of a plug, unplugged.

 

 
 

 

We’ve been very intrigued for a while by teaching unplugged, and were pleased to have the opportunity to find out more. And it didn’t disappoint! The workshop, all 90 minutes of it, although we honestly never even noticed the time, was thoroughly enjoyable and informative.

 

Our particular workshop began very simply with the question “Have you heard of teaching unplugged?” A few hands went up. Initially we hesitated. Should we put our hands up or not? After all we weren’t entirely too sure what it is, or isn’t for that matter.

 

The ‘lesson’ part of the workshop then began with Jason asking someone to leave. This was our very first introduction to the world of unplugged teaching and gathering content directly from the learners, which involved removing a learner from the classroom! A very intriguing technique, that was for sure.

 

Two participants, one now outside the room and one inside, chatted on the phone, while the rest of us listened to this one-sided conversation and wrote down as much of it as we could. The participant returned, and the part of the conversation we had heard was elicited and written on the board. Working in pairs with this emergent language, we guessed what the other side of the conversation might have been.  Now we had our content/material for the rest of the session and there still wasn’t a course-book (or handout) in sight. After each pair had completed their own version of the call, a few groups role-played what they had produced.  Needless to say there were some interesting variations.  As a group we talked about these variations and what made each conversation unique. This was followed by brainstorming some further activities which could be used to continue working with this material.  The ideas just kept coming, and we couldn’t help but smile, as this was why we were there – to exchange ideas.

 

The second half of our workshop took us in another direction. We were introduced to ‘live-reading’.

 

 

 

The quote in the picture was created with just a few simple questions – “Where are we? Why are we here?” Throughout the activity all the questions were very simple, but more importantly thought provoking, including “Are you sure?” and “Do we need this?” This was then followed by, as Jason calls it ‘Going, going, gone, (in)’ – a technique of reducing the text to mere lines to show where words once were.  A technique we’ve already borrowed, since experiencing it firsthand and seeing how affective it can be. We can’t get that passage out of our heads!

 

 

If we were now asked “Have you heard of teaching unplugged?” Neither of us would hesitate to raise our hands. We won’t pretend for a second to know as much as we’d like to about this particular methodology, but we now have a better understanding. Thanks Jason for giving us this glimpse into the unplugged world and helping us discover a few new things.

 

One question still remains “How well can it work in Korea?” The only place this can be answered is in the classrooms of Korea. Korean classrooms are traditionally teacher centred and book based. So with our new-found confidence, techniques and ideas neither of us can wait to give it a go. The good thing is we’re pretty sure we’re not going to be the only ones in Korea trying it out. There was genuine excitement in the room about it and we look forward to hearing about other people’s experiences.

 

 

Thanks also to KOTESOL Daejeon for providing an opportunity for so many great people to come together and exchange ideas in Korea.

 

And once again thanks Jason for inviting us to write this guest post. All the best in the future with your new challenge.

 

 

 

No, thank YOU Leanne and Kevin! To your excellent account here, I would just like to add (from the presenter/facilitator point of view) how truly energising the workshop was based on all the creative contributions of the participants. The two 'students' who performed the impromptu telephone conversation were brilliant, and the follow up variations and teaching/learning suggestions from all the other participants were outstanding - much better than any quick list I could come up with on my own.

 

This was an absolutely fantastic way to finish up (this particular stint?) for me in ELT. Thanks so much to Leanne, Kevin and all the other wonderful people who contributed to the workshop.

 

And... erm, Leanne and Kevin? Methinks it's high time for you two to get that ELT blog happening!!!

 

 

 

:-D

 

 

                                          

The last hurrah (for now) - Part 1

 

I know I have already announced the winding up of this blog in another post, but given I have just returned from an appearance at a major conference in Korea this past weekend, I thought it would be a waste not to post about that as a nice way to tie things up. I've divided this finale into two posts - one here to feature a plenary talk about ways ahead for ELT materials design (as well as a follow up interview), and another to follow soon in the way of a guest post from participants in the unplugged teaching workshop I facilitated at the event.

 

The KOTESOL National Conference 2011 was a fabulous event all round and definitely worth the trip. My sincere thanks and appreciation to the organisers and participants!

 

Here is the recorded version of the plenary talk:

 

 

 

And here is the follow up interview with the gifted Jeff Lebow from Koreabridge.net (among other things, I talk in detail about my decision to move away from ELT and try something new):

 

 

 

Stay tuned for Part 2 and the guest post about teaching unplugged!

 

Cheers,

 

- Jason

 

 

Are you teaching English to teenagers? Well, it's not TOO LATE for some Kendall Phyland in your class!

 

Now here's a bit of a "scoop" or exclusive I can claim to be genuinely proud of!

 

Many of us like to use songs in English as a Second or Foreign Language classrooms with teenagers. But how often do we get to feature original homegrown musical talent in the form of a teenager from somewhere else in the world?

 

It's my pleasure to introduce you to a very talented young lady (at the wise old age of 15) named Kendall Phyland, from the tiny town of Wycheproof in rural Victoria, Australia. Her song's called Too Late... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, as an extra special favour for all those English language learners out there, Kendall very kindly agreed to make another version of this great track so that listeners could also follow along to the lyrics (and perhaps she's got some English teaching in her, as she's provided a couple of small errors in the transcription for your learners to try and notice and rectify :-). Here it is:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've also made some downloadable versions of the lyrics for those who want to create classroom activities or worksheets from them. :-)

 

Here are all the lyrics on a single page, with links to the relevant YouTube versions of the track:

Too Late, by Kendall Phyland (PDF)

Too Late, by Kendall Phyland (MS Word)

Too Late, by Kendall Phyland (Compatible MS Word)

 

And here is a different printable version, with (de)suggestopedia-style language highlights in a column alongside to provide pivot points that learners could then use to explore more expressions.

 

Too Late, by Kendall Phyland - Lang Version (PDF)

Too Late, by Kendall Phyland - Lang Version (MS Word)

Too Late, by Kendall Phyland - Lang Version (Compatible MS Word)

 

 

Oh, and wordles appear to be all the go for language teaching/learning as well at the moment, so I've got a pre-lesson Wordle version of the lyrics here for you as well:

 

 

 

 

If this is something you think your learners would enjoy using as classroom and discussion content (and if they like the song), I'd recommend having them take a look at Kendall's YouTube page as well. In addition to a variety of other tracks there (and live performances in Kendall's home), this could actually be a superb chance for your students to connect with Kendall, tell her what they think of her music, ask questions, etc. :-)

 

Aside from the simple elegance of the lyrics here and the great tune, you might also be able to come up with some fun facts regarding the town where Kendall lives (throw 'Wycheproof' into Google and see what you come up with!). Smallest registered mountain in the world? Railway down the middle of the main road? What IS 'The King of the Mountain' all about, then?

 

 

Now, why do I figure this is so special?

 

Kendall is living in the same small town I spent several years growing up in as a teenager. We never had Internet and things like YouTube in those there olden days, I can tell you...

Her dad, Kevin, was my Physics teacher, and a bloody good one at that. When I consider educational concepts like 'experiential' and 'emergent'  and 'independent' learning, he's one of the teachers I recall most vividly. This whole post came about as a result of conversation Kevin and I had on Facebook two nights ago...

 

 

So I hope you'll introduce Kendall and her music to your teen classes, and smile a bit about the way she came to our attention!

 

 

 :-D

 

 

                                          

ELT materials development: The road ahead?

 

 

What lies ahead with ELT materials?  Image: Trey Ratcliff

 

 

I've started putting together my initial outline for the plenary I will be delivering in a couple of weeks from now at Korea TESOL's 2011 National Conference. The title of the plenary is Materials development for language learning: The next ten years.

 

It's always a somewhat daring endeavour to try and predict what is going to happen in the future (and do so in front of hundreds of very intelligent people!), and there is the constant challenge of trying to sort what realistically might happen from what one would like to see happen (I'll actually be looking at both of these angles). And then there is the issue of context, too. For example, being as tech, gadget and wifi-friendly as Korea is, in that particular country I can foresee certain developments that might not necessarily apply in other contexts.

 

But it occurred to me, as my thoughts and predictions begin to coalesce into something of a manageable set of points to explore, that it would be a pretty good idea to ask the question publicly here on the blog and see what thoughtful gems my readership might be able to come up with.

 

So what do you think is going to happen with ELT materials over the next ten years in your teaching/learning context? And, what would you like to see happen with ELT materials?

 

You might find it helpful to think about two separate streams here (content and delivery), though of course there is a good probability that one affects the other at least to some extent.

 

I've also been exploring the issue of print versus digital material demand over on my Facebook page, with some interesting findings on a quick survey (which I hope you might consider adding your own vote to) here.

 

 

Interested in your thoughts!

 

 

=D

 

                                                     

 

World News for Kids: Country for hire!

 

 

 

For those interested, this week's articles (at 'Eagle' level) are now up on World News for Kids, featuring the interesting news that Liechtenstein is apparently happy to hire itself out to visitors (and up to 150 guests) at the very reasonable rate of $70,000 per night!

 

For English Raven members, the complete study kit is also available in their individual download portals, with 8 pages covering:

 

- The original article script

- Reading skills and comprehension

- Follow up listening ('News Extra') providing background information about Liechtenstein

- Talk Time dialogue feature (where two students discuss the idea of 'hiring out' their country)

- Class Discussion prompts

- Email response to a notice asking for advice on how to attract visitors to the students' city

- Essay topic (advantages and disadvantages of tourism)

- Discussion topic for online submission via Voxopop

 

 

 

 

 

 

=D

 

                                                

 

Ways to extend news articles in the ELT classroom for multiple and integrated skills

 

 

Right, we've got some news... now where do we go with it?  Image: Cyberslayer

 

 

On my World News for Kids Teacher's Page, I demonstrate how I build extensive 'kits' based on initial news articles, working through reading, extending into listening with additional topical content, then working through a variety of different speaking and writing activities.

 

I figured some teachers out there might be interested in the how and why of this sort of kit creation, and even might like to work on making their own extensive study kits based on news articles. Or (and even better) they might like to explore how this could become more of an 'unplugged' learning application where learners choose and work with the content more on their own.

 

So here are some quick audio-visual guidelines I've produced, starting with the more 'teacher-led/created' side of things and finishing with some thoughts about taking it 'unplugged'...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, this is only a small selection of ways to build materials and activities around news articles for the ELT classroom, but I hope they at least give you some ideas to think about.

 

On the WNK Teacher's Page, towards the bottom, you can access four full 8-page samples (across four levels of difficulty/challenge) to see how my approach works on paper. I also heartily recommend a good look at Sean Banville's outstanding BreakingNewsEnglish.com for an alternative range of activities based on news articles. 

 

 

=D

 

 

                                       

Wistful glances at that Open Source bottle on a material designer's kitchen table...

 

 

A couple of minutes ago, I finished uploading open source versions of my latest World News for Kids study kits to the members' section of my resource site, English Raven. This is part of a general promise I have been making: that henceforth most of the material I produce will be in open source, editable format.

 

I'll admit, this is a fairly difficult thing to do when you try it for the first time. As in, when you've spent close to a decade striving to protect the identity and ownership of your materials, going to sometimes extreme lengths to keep it out of the hands of those filthy site scavengers who slink about the Internet looking for quality things to lift and pass off as their own on sites bulging with Google ads (making them money), going open source with your material on the Internet can feel rather like -- after doing the rounds and making it available to good people who will respect it and acknowledge your original authorship or design -- you are taking up to a week's worth of hard work at a time, placing it on a waiter's tray and wandering out onto a plain to hand-feed it to a pack of grunting and grinning hyenas.

 

Aside from that being a wildly over-long sentence, you might be raising your eyebrows at the strong rhetoric it contains. But I can tell you that, for materials designers (and especially those who work at it as something close to a full-time job), having your work lifted and any of your authorship notation removed so that someone else can basically 'sell' it as their own feels very much like having someone come into your bedroom and rob you while you are asleep a couple of feet away.

 

But open source, adaptable materials... This is clearly what teachers are starting to demand, and certainly something that they need if they are to both do their classroom jobs better and also develop more as producers and users of materials in their own right.

 

And that is the dilemma. The very processes many of us needed to put in place to protect our authorship and our (often quite meagre) revenue stream for the work we produce are also the very ones that prevent good, committed, professional teachers from getting the most out of them. Sticking to things like non-editable PDF versions of materials meant that, even though we couldn't always prevent them from being lifted and sharked around the Internet, at least we could protect the original version and authorship of the material. And, erm, yeah: produce stuff that teachers couldn't adapt (in the 'on paper' sense) for their own classrooms.

 

However, that all said, I've started seeing all of this in a different light.

 

Realistically speaking, there is no way to prevent someone from appropriating and 'messing' with your material if they are really committed to doing so. That goes for print, image, audio and video. While things like PDFs and access through secure membership portals can certainly reduce this risk, basically no matter how many safeguards you put in place, if it's on the Internet, it can be taken and abused.

 

I've watched fellow materials developers raise quite righteous flames of public ire on things like Twitter and blogs and forums when their stuff is filched. I stopped doing that years ago. To me, spending that many hours chasing and wailing about it just reduces the amount of time I have to get on with the job I enjoy: making more good materials for good people to use with good people in classrooms.

 

Basically, just making and attempting to sell educational material "as is" on the Internet is no longer a very viable business (if in fact it ever was, to tell the truth). One of the essential things to do, in my opinion, is to focus on those aspects of your creativity and expertise that really can't be copied. That can only be found in one place: your place.

 

What are some of those things (for online materials providers)? That can't be copied and can only really be found on your own well-established turf?

 

 

- A reputation for quality and consistency

 

- Regular, well presented and well organised materials all in one place

 

- Access to advice and tips on how best to use (and adapt) the materials

 

- A positive and productive interactive relationship between materials writer/designer and teacher/user/adapter

 

- Ethical goodwill (even loyalty?)

 

 

 

Probably most important of all is to understand that the scavengers and most of the freeloaders were/are never likely to become a paying customer interested in interacting with you.

 

And, when you are dealing with educators, much more often than not, they do the right thing.

 

For the past year or so, I've let members of my site choose their own subscription fee for access to all of the materials. Many would assume this results in teachers choosing the most paltry fee possible. The self-selected fee varies of course, but when I look at the contexts the various teachers come from, in almost all cases they choose a pretty generous fee (considering how much they earn).

 

Likewise, on this blog for a number of years now I have been providing free resources and downloads. Over the past year this has included a lot of open source/adaptable material. I see these materials appearing in adapted form on other blogs and sites, and in most cases I see very clear and conscientious referencing from the teacher concered: acknowledging the original idea and author and providing a clear link back to the source.

 

In fact, as I see it, the call for open source is gathering rather enormous momentum. Anyone interested in making material will need to heed it, or risk locking themselves away in their own cupboard.

 

So, as I ponder that open source bottle on my materials design kitchen table, I figure this has to be the way forward.

 

There will always be the scavengers and the crooks, as well as the naïve collectors and distributors who honestly don't know better when it comes to the ethics and 'done thing'. They are a bit of an occupational hazard for the maker of online educational materials.

 

But I also think there will be more of the 'good guys': professional and ethical people who will respect the material and sources, who will help spread the word about the services we provide, who will also be intrinsically interested in more of those non-copiable aspects I listed above as part of what they are seeking in a good materials/resources provider.

 

 

If worse comes to worst, I'll go down a raving optimist...!

 

 

=D

 

 

                                                  

World News for Kids: Brazilian children build a new world record!

 

 

 

Latest World News for Kids articles are up, talking about the fabulous Lego building efforts of the children of São Paulo in Brazil, with the News Extra providing some information about the history of the company called Lego (based on the Danish words for "play well", appropriately enough).

 

The 8-page supplementary activities and practice kit for these stories will be uploaded to the members area of the English Raven site a couple of hours later (first, got to get the kids to bed and read some stories to them :-)

 

 

=D

 

                                                             

 

Does choice need to remain an agony in coursework design?

 

 

 

 

Ever since reading Autonomy and development: living in the materials world (by Julian Edge and Sue Wharton, in Tomlinson's Materials Development in Language Teaching -- CUP, 1998) several years ago, I've been fascinated by the idea that we can build coursebook materials that provide choices for learners and teachers, and facilitate more autonomy and diversity in the way material is selected and used in the classroom.

 

I liked the examples provided in that article from a commercial coursebook that provided a 'choices' section at the bottom of select pages, which basically allowed learners to choose the way in which they progressed forward at that point in terms of specific practice or follow up. Similarly, I quite liked seeing the same basic principle applied in Ken Wilson's Smart Choice series (OUP), which also went a bit further by providing a digital supplement to the books allowing teachers to tailor make their own worksheets.

 

From my own perspective, my only criticism is that, while it is great to see commercial coursebooks provide these 'choices', I don't think they go far enough. I think classrooms need more than two choices at the bottom of every second or third page.

 

Let's avoid, for a moment, the pragmatic view of commercial publishers that this would all be fine and dandy if it didn't result in too many pages in a coursebook to make it economically viable, and if it didn't result in coursebooks that would upset teachers, students and parents based on them coming home with sections of them passed over or not completed. Let's pretend, for a moment, that digital versions and/or delivery of such material could avoid such complications. Heck, let's be dreamers and go so far as to say that, whether print-based or digital or both, course material of this nature has major potential for the development of autonomous learners who pick and choose the sorts of additional language work they might like to try beyond what ends up selected and covered in the limited confines of the classroom...

 

So let's take this notion of choices and really swing it around a bit on a coursebook page. For the sake of exploration.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a reading passage I developed for a post elsewhere on this blog, but here I have adapted it to explore the 'major range of choices' idea.

 

Below the main text, there are three sets of options:

 

A: Options for doing particular types of practice or extension, linked closely to the text on this page.

 

B: Options for sticking with the general topic or theme represented here, but switching skill 'mode' (to say listening, writing, speaking or project work integrating all of the skills).

 

C: Leave the topic and passage altogether and try something new.

 

 

So, in A, the options basically extend from the main text. Learners can answer comprehension questions, develop vocabulary, convert the text to listening practice (say filling in gaps or doing dictation or dictogloss based on this original text), pick out grammar patterns and rules based on the input text, rewrite or extend/adapt the text, or use the text as a basis for classroom discussion and debate.

 

In B, the options are to switch to a another skill mode and a new text of some sort, but related to the general topic or theme represented here. (Think from earthquakes to tsunamis to world aid organisations, etc.).

 

And, of course, C recognises that the topic and text may not be of much further interest or relevance to the students, and it is time to make a more dramatic change...

 

 

These options could follow immediately on from the page here, or they could be packpaged into their own sections later in the coursebook. For example, the coursebook might start with 20 topics and reading passages, then sections dedicated more to the other skills as starting points, then all the follow up language practice and extension activities, each gathered into its own section (but with page number references/links to help learners continue to navigate their way through the material).

 

 

The homework aspect and group work notions (where learners get together and plot their own way through a coursebook) are intriguing ones.

 

 

Of course, a digital version of this format would mean the options linked directly to a particular text can become pop up or insertion options within the interface itself...

 

 

Sure, this sort of approach would result in a rather voluminous amount of material and options. Just what so many teachers and learners have been telling us they want for years.

 

Or am I wrong in that conclusion? Do teachers and learners (for the most part) want everything compact, packaged and sequenced in advance?

 

As a teacher, would you be interested in using materials of this nature (and format) with your learners? Do you want this range of choice, or would you like to see the concept of 'choice' applied differently?

 

 

=D

 

                                                                     

 

World News for Kids returns to English Raven!

 

 

 

 

It took a while (I had to discontinue the initial foray with World News for Kids in late 2009), but I'm happy to say that World News for Kids is now BACK on English Raven!

 

My problem with the first try at this was producing too much each week (8 stories with listening files and 32 pages of worksheets) in an endeavour that doesn't exactly earn me any income. In the end, it needed to be shelved to allow me to concentrate more on making a living!

 

The new approach cuts things back to one level (of four) per week, hence two news stories and 8 pages of worksheet material. This will hopefully be a manageable enough load that I can produce news articles on a more regular basis without burning myself out.

 

So, the latest story (covering April Fools' Day and Google's Gmail Motion prank) is now up here.

 

To see how it all works and what is involved in the supplementary worksheets, check out the Teacher's WNK page.

 

 

=D

 

                                             

 

 

Animal flashcards: How simple can you get? (Right?)

 

 

 

 

Okay, yes, pretty simple!

 

However, there are a couple of subtle things that can be built into flashcards to make them more interesting and effective for language learning purposes.

 

Take a look at my new Animals Flashcards page to see what I mean...

 

 

=D

 

                                             

 

Beak to the grindstone with new English Raven website design

 

 

 

 

Well I've made a start on re-designing the English Raven website, and realised why it's taken me so long to give it a good red-hot update... Really hard work, especially when you consider the hundreds and hundreds of public pages on a site that has grown rather organically over a period of more than a decade.

 

The image at the top of this post shows a re-design of the overall interface, applied to one of the oldest resource pages (the Animal Flashcards page). I've cleaned up the menus and overall design, retained Google ads (but kept them well to the side and out of the way of the main content), and put in a rolling ad space for targeted ELT products that I've reviewed on this blog. Later that targeted space will be tweaked so that it features ELT products of potentially direct relevance to the resources or learning activities on a particular page on the site.

 

I've also gone beyond just listing, illustrating and describing the resource, adding three quick activity applications (in this case, for a young learner resource, describing teaching activities that might be suitable for learners at starter, mover and flyer level, roughly corresponding to the levels represented in the Cambridge YLE Tests).

 

Later, I'll look to insert a screencast or video to introduce the resources, what went into the design, and how I've used them in actual classrooms.

 

Still grappling a little with the usual compromise between attractive visual design and functional design, but overall I'm pleased with the progress!

 

And, erm, I'm pretty sure this is a big improvement on the current appearance of the page (the basics of which were done 10 years ago, adapted a little later to squeeze in Google ads to help generate a little income from the page -- see my thoughts on this and new thinking about using advertising on resource sites here):

 

 

 

 

 

Huge task ahead... The English Raven site is so huge, I think it could take a good year to update and redesign the whole thing (even if I cut off a certain amount of dead wood on the site).

 

Back (and beak) to the grindstone, it appears!

 

 

=D

 

                                                    

                             

Rethinking the authenticity issue in ELT input material

 

 

If input isn't completely authentic, does that automatically make it any less genuine for language learning purposes?  Image: Damon Styer

 

 

 

In my last post, I presented an experimental speaking unit that toys with new methods of material presentation and distribution. I'm eternally thankful to all the teachers out there who made the effort to leave some thoughts and suggestions in relation to the material, as I think this is the way we ought to be exploring and developing new language learning material: putting it out there, talking about it, playing with it, wrestling with it (etc.) -- before we go with any final versions that might then be placed before learners.

 

Now, one issue that came up (and I really did expect it to!) with a lot of teachers was the relative authenticity and "natural sound" of the input speaking dialogue featured in the sample material. Quite rightly, too. I think it is a dilemma a lot of teachers are wrestling with these days. They're tired of contrived and unnatural-sounding language input that (potentially) just models simplified and sanitized language that native and proficient users are highly unlikely to use in real situations. They want to give their learners a more authentic picture of the language in use in the real world.

 

I share these concerns.

 

But I've also come to look at the issue a bit differently, thanks (surprisingly?) to the experience of being a parent and observing the processes by which my children are developing their language and what role (and how) different forms of input play in this.

 

I've now come to the conclusion that, for input designed to help demonstrate how language can be used for speaking, it may not always be authentic (in terms of how proficient speakers use it in the real world), but it could well be reasonably genuine (in terms of the way people gradually learn how to speak).

 

That's a very important distinction: models of proficient use versus models designed for developmental use.

 

It's pretty common for methodologists to talk about speaking and language learning by starting with how speaking happens in the real world. I'm not so sure many of them have taken into account how speaking develops in the real world.

 

Let's look at the way children learn how to talk. Okay, I'll use my children for the purposes of this argument, but I think it's reasonably generalisable.

 

There are many things happening with their speaking development in terms of input, but here are five of the key ones I've recently noticed and thought about a little more:

 

 

1. Authentic input from proficient speakers (parents, other adults, older children using natural speech), with all its false starts, elipses, competitive rather than cooperative tendencies, etc.

 

2. Scaffolded input from proficient speakers who adjust their speech for the specific needs of children (parents, carers, but also children's entertainment programs on television).

 

3. Written input in the form of age-appropriate stories and games (including the dialogues and other "spoken language" that appears in these texts), quite often delivered orally, but rarely exactly mirroring the language/modes we see in (1) above. 

 

4. "Peer" input as children interact with each other.

 

5. "Internal" input as children think (and think aloud), sorting and experimenting with language.

 

 

 

You'd be hard pressed to find anyone claim that any of these don't play an important role in a child's speaking development. Of course, any one of them in isolation is hardly going to be totally effective, but they all play a role to some extent and together they are a highly potent engine for driving oral language development.

 

Now, older and adult foreign language learners are no longer children, but they certainly are developing language users.

 

What I think we need to be careful of, as we clamour and leap eagerly onto the authentic language input bandwagon, is ignoring what I consider to be quite valid and useful kinds of developmental input that we know play a fundamental role in L1 language acquisition, but may be forgetting about.

 

In terms of what we present in coursebooks and other paper (or screen) based materials, I don't think it is detrimental to feature models and input that have a lot in common with types 2 and 3 from my list above. I like to think of it as developmental input that creates a platform for learners to start effectively using the language within parameters that are accessible to them. I see it as genuine input (as opposed to "authentic"), and believe in its potential because of what I see it doing for L1 language development as well.

 

Of course, to create a full picture, we really want to make the most of all five types of input in our classroom. Not all of them will plant well on coursebook pages, but that doesn't mean we can't plant them in other ways (and via other means) to create the sort of language learning environment in which they can really thrive.

 

I'm not sure... Perhaps we've become so good at slagging off coursebook content that we have become accustomed to blaming it for not doing what it essentially can't do (but what teachers can do, or can find ways to do).

 

 

What do you think?

 

 

 

=D

 

 

                                                  

LEAP Speaking - New classroom presentation format to try out

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've read the excellent feedback and suggestions blog visitors generously made on the post here about a new style and format of lesson material I am developing, and put some of it into action!

 

Illustrated above (and featured as downloads below) you can see a new unit in this sequence, with two different versions.

 

The first unit is basically identical in format to the one I presented earlier this week (but with different unit content). I now call this the "student version", as it presents everything on a single page which can be printed out and distributed, and/or sent directly to students in digital format. All the relevant listening files are embedded directly in the page for immediate access without having to upload accompanying files. This means students can work directly off the digital page, or just refer to a paper version of it for classroom application purposes.

 

LEAP Speaking Sample 3a - Student Version

 

 

I've also made what I call a "lesson presentation version" as an alternative teachers might like to use on a beam projector or IWB for the whole class to see during class. This consists of six "slides" which present a basic lesson in the following stages:

 

1. Picture for initial discussion and predictions, plus audio version of the main dialogue

2. Main dialogue in written form, so it can be read as well as listened to

3. Main dialogue plus simple skill noticing ideas

4. Main dialogue, skill noticing ideas, plus listen and repeat/adapt practice

5. Main dialogue, skill notes, listen/repeat/adapt plus targeted pronunciation practice

6. Final open prompt and picture encouraging learners to communicate with classmates

  

LEAP Speaking Sample 3a - Lesson Presentation Version

 

 

So this version can be used with the whole class as a simple set of stages to create a basic speaking lesson, the core of which corresponds to the students' own printed and/or digital versions that have been kept to one page. Both versions have all relevant audio embedded into the documents at every stage.

 

Of course, this isn't supposed to represent a whole unit/approach (unless the teacher chooses to use it that way), it's more like a "core" that teachers can work around and add various things to in order to create their own brand of speaking lesson. It also represents (to me) what it might be most useful for students to take away for their own reference and practice based on this sort of lesson/material.

 

Late Edit!

I've just remembered that I have already blogged some extensive notes on a rich variety of application options for some of the main stages mentioned above and represented in the lesson materials:

Supplementary Speaking Activities (Part I): Warm-up activities

Supplementary Speaking Activities (Part II): Working with speaking dialogue models

Supplementary Speaking Activities (Part III): Using and expanding speaking drills

Supplementary Speaking Activities (Part IV): Pronunciation Activities

 

The ideas there should give you plenty to think about in terms of ways to really vary, expand and enrich those general content/activity areas featured on the worksheets/lesson materials!

 

Anyway, getting back to the materials at hand...

This is obviously a lot more work at the design and formatting end of things, but if this is the sort of thing that appeals to teachers, I'm more than happy to develop the materials in these two separate formats (one basically for teaching and classroom presentation, the other for printing and/or at home use in digital format).

 

So what do you think? Useful? Presentable? Practical?

 

Love to hear your thoughts!

 

 

=D

 

                                                                

                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating 10 years of English Raven...

 

 

 

 

My recent post discussing the role of advertising in creating income for online resource sites had me looking through my site's web history, and a bit of a startling discovery. I began building the English Raven website late in 2000, and officially "launched" it sometime in March, 2001. So this month basically marks English Raven's 10th anniversary as a resource website!

 

Wow, time flies (when you're having fun?), doesn't it?

 

This is a bit of an important milestone for me in a variety of ways.

 

First of all, it's staggering to think about how much attention the site has been given. When I first launched it, there was only a very small handful of resource websites for ELT about. In addition to the 10th year on the web milestone, I noticed that the site recently notched up it's 2,000,000th visitor and 10,000,000th page view (the use of all the zeros is deliberate!). And, despite an explosion of other resource sites, forums and subsequent things like YouTube and blogs, as well as a shift in my own dedication to things like online tutoring and this blog, the site has continued to grow in visitation in a surprisingly regular pattern:

 

 

 

But it's important in another way as well, as I very nearly gave the ELT game away (for good) earlier this year. I hate being away from classroom teaching, but a recent realisation that a classroom teaching wage here in Australia amounted to less per hour than a part time job around the corner in my mate's wine shop, and that this would never allow me to adequately support a growing family, really made me seriously consider getting out and trying something different.

 

Looking back over the English Raven site, after 10 years of building, made me reconsider.

 

The site is "old" in a lot of ways, and while this blog (which I consider to be an extension of the site in some ways) has explored many different aspects of new materials design and language teaching delivery, the site could do with a major update that embraces all the fantastic web 2.0 tools that have recently emerged. I'm talking screencasts and videos to enhance or demonstrate some of the tried and true resources. Adding reams of new resources that target the needs of teachers beyond the noughties. Creating more templates and open source versions of my work. Perhaps building more of a platform for publishing new coursebook series, both paper-based and digital. That sort of thing.

 

English Raven was also originally set up to provide resources to teachers of YLs and younger teens, which is what I was doing at the time. I now have massive banks of stuff for teenagers and adult learners as well (in both EFL and ESL contexts), following a path that I have taken in my own teaching roles, so perhaps the site can widen its offerings.

 

It's worth a red-hot go before I settle for staying in or leaving ELT for good. Even if I "go out", perhaps English Raven can go out with a bit of a bang!

 

 

Let's see where it goes, shall we?

 

 

=D

 

 

                                                                     

Revenue for your online resource site: Ad but subtract?

 

 

A page on the English Raven site, which earns a tiny bit of income -- but at what cost?

 

 

It's the dilemma that many providers of online teaching resources have been struggling with for years: how in heck do you manage to make a reasonable income for all your hard work?

 

Do you try to charge for individual resources? Or offer a pay-for subscription for a period of time, granting users access to anything/everything on the site?

 

Or, do you offer everything for free, try to build up a colossal amount of visitation, and run with pay-per-click advertisements?

 

With my own resource site, which has been around since 2001, I've tried all three avenues at various times in isolation or combination. The only one that really worked and made me a modest level of income was the basic one year fee for access to everything on the site.

 

"But oh," I hear you say, "this can't be good because many teachers can't afford to pay for access to online materials." I somewhat agree, which is why my current model allows members to choose their own fee for a year of access, alongside unconditional free access for teachers working in non-profit and volunteer-based teaching settings, and certain professional organisations (for example: all current members of IATEFL's YLT-SIG get free access to all of my materials).

 

Given that I also provide a heck of a lot of freely available material and resources on the public pages of the site, I also run with Google Ads to help make up some of my costs. I see several other prominent resource sites out there that offer everything publicly for free and seek to create a revenue stream for their site through Google Ads as well.

 

Here's the thing: when you use pay-per-click ads on your resource site, it creates losers as well as winners.

 

The first question you have to ask yourself is: "is it worth it?"

 

Some quick figures for you:

English Raven receives, on average, 35,000 visitors and 100,000 page views per month.

The Google ads on the public pages of the site generate a monthly income of about $300 USD.

 

So 35,000 visitors and 100,000 page views generates $300 in revenue (per month).

 

Of course, I could be doing more work with the ads and settings and layout to improve this revenue stream. For example, I could be formatting more of my pages so they appear like the one presented at the top of this post. More ads "above the fold." More banner adverts done as text links so that they "appear" to be a natural part of my site menu options. More "in text" ads so that they appear to be part of my own content and commentary.

 

In other words, layout and selection that results in more click-thrus. Or, if you'll forgive my frankness, use of ads that creates ugly looking webpages with potentially confusing content that basically misleads site visitors into clicking on the ads, thinking this is part of my own site content.

 

But that's okay, right? If I'm giving free content away to teachers, it's only fair/logical that they put up with some ugly looking content which whisks them away to other sites with products they're most probably never going to purchase, with the owners of those ads then paying me money for visitors who (most probably, in my opinion) aren't actually going to buy anything from them.

 

And everyone wins. Right?

 

Personally, I don't think so. This process is starting to resemble something like 3 steps back then 2.5 steps forward. I think most people are actually losing through this approach.

 

First of all, on the basic visual aesthetics front, sites full of ads look crap. Even the webmasters who have found ingenious ways to blend the ads into the page format can't escape the fact that their pages are losing a certain visual appeal.

 

Secondly, relevance inevitably suffers, which in turn results in potential time-wasting. No matter how carefully you screen your ad settings, there will always be content presented there that is irrelevant to your site visitors. Just glancing through all of these additions to your page potentially wastes time. Clicking on them (especially by accident, thinking it is part of this reliable site's content) usually results in even more time-wasting.

 

Third -- and this is the one that personally bothers me the most -- there is a potentially a certain promotion or at least unstated tolerance of basic deception often going on here. At a surface level, when we 'blend in' our ads, or give them positions of priority in our basic page layout, we really need to ask ourselves an important question: Are we formatting our page to facilitate access to the resources teachers expect and have come to this site (often via recommendation) in particular to find, or are we basically trying to get as many click-thrus as possible?

 

Fair enough, we want to generate some income for our hard work. Many of us are also dedicated to providing good resources to teachers who don't have the sort of finances that would allow them to pay for anything. I'm just not sure that compromising the basic quality and content of our pages, creating avenues that result in potential time-wasting, potentially deceiving our site visitors and taking money from other site owners are the most positive or productive ways to go about this.

 

Especially when the returns from online ads, in all truth, are pretty meagre.

 

The only real winner and grinner in all this is the ad provider, who is laughing at our folly all the way to its very large bank...

 

I think there are better ways to go about this.

 

As I work away at a revision and relaunch of my own site (a pretty massive undertaking, I have to confess), I'm looking forward to exploring different ways to create materials and a site that generates income for me but also caters to teachers' means.

 

I'll let you know how it gets on!

 

 

=D

 

 

                                                       

 

ELT materials design question: Can one size fit all?

 

 

 

 

I'm interested in your opinion. Yep, that's you! I don't often ask you for favours, but I hope you won't mind passing on some of your thoughts here... Please? :-)

 

I've been experimenting with yet another materials design format, potentially to become a whole new section of the English Raven resource website. The general idea is to create material that provides input/models and certain kinds of targeted practice all on one screen or sheet of paper.

 

Here's a sample I've been working on:

LEAP Speaking Sample 

 

It's still a bit rough on the design and content fronts at the moment (and this is only one of several 'strands' I am experimenting with), but bear with me...

 

For the screen format, this allows everything to be presented on one beam projector or IWB screen (with the teacher then able to zoom in or out to focus on various sections), and for all relevant sound files to be played directly in/from the screen.

For the paper format (which basically mirrors what would appear on screen), the idea is for the learners to have everything on one piece of paper. That way it could be used in a variety of ways as part of a broader lesson. For example, they can be folded in half (with the print content inside the fold), and a teacher could do a variety of more open pre- and post activities on the front and back covers of the folded paper (which, when opened up, has the input and practice stuff on the open spread). Alternatively, (without any folding) all the pre-provided content can be on one side of the handout, and something else can be done with the back (before, while or after using the practice material on the other side).

 

Of course, the digital format with all sound files embedded would also allow learners to use it on their own computers, in-class or at home, etc...

 

I think the benefits of only having one screen to refer to and only one potential page for photocopying purposes are pretty obvious to a lot of teachers, but a few questions are still giving me pause for thought:

 

1. Does this format result in material that is too cluttered, with type that is too small to read with ease (on screen or on paper)?

2. Is this actually the sort of content and format that teachers would be interested in using?

 

 

So what do you reckon?

Go ahead with this sort of material, re-think it, or shelve it?

 

 

=D

 

 

                                                   

ESLlibrary.com: A quick review

 

 

 

 

Well, I've done a few coursebook reviews here on the blog, and thought it was high time I took a bit more of a look at some of the online resource sites out there as well. There are plenty of these out there on the web, but one that has seriously impressed me is ESLlibrary.com (an offshoot of Red River Press, based in Canada).

 

I signed up as a member and it cost me $22 USD for three months of access. If you want access for a year, they're asking for $55 USD. Having had a good look through the materials and resources on offer, I can honestly say that this is an absolute bargain.

 

It's a pretty common marketing splurt for online resource sites to mention how much stuff they have. ESLlibrary certainly has the quantity, with hundreds and hundreds of lesson plans and worksheets, and literally thousands of flashcard resources.

 

But it's the quality that really appeals to me, and the resources here represent quality in spades. My teaching/materials designer eye immediately noticed how much thought and care has gone into the worksheets. While the presentation itself is clear and crisp, the content is spot on and brilliantly thought out.

 

And it doesn't always follow the standard, predictable approach to print-based content. For example, in the Grammar Worksheets section, I like the fact that learners are encouraged to notice and pick up patterns in usage basically by getting stuck into a large quantity of sentences and statements (as opposed to the more common approach of presenting a chart and having students refer to it as they fill in gaps). In the (in my opinion, absolutely brilliant!) whodunit? Detective style materials, learners are encouraged to work with and make sense of the dialogues as they actually read them (rather than as a follow up).

 

I was also most impressed with the calibre of the materials presented in the Living in English section of the lesson plans menu. Highly detailed, very well thought out and with huge potential relevance to students who are looking to improve their English in contexts where they may need it for everyday purposes.

 

And that's just a small selection of what the site has on offer. Other sections include Weekly Warm-ups, Discussion Starters, Mini-Debates, Everyday Idioms, Everyday Dialogues, Famous People, Famous Places, Famous Things, Mini Biographies, Office Life/Business English, Travelling in English, Holidays, Grammar Stories, and Easy Grammar Sentences.

 

There is more than enough material here to pick and choose from and create a very comprehensive curriculum for learners in EFL or ESL contexts. It's well organised, easy to browse through (they also have a simple function that allows you to create your own library) and, as I mentioned earlier, from the content/quality/methodology angles, it is top-notch -- easily as good as anything you see from the big commercial publishers and in some cases a whole lot better.

 

 

I don't have any real criticisms, but I do have some suggestions in terms of how I think the site might improve its offerings:

 

1. Ease off on the quantity priority (you have more than enough good quality material up there now) and look at how what's up there can be improved and added to. For example, with so many teachers now having access to things like beam projectors and IWBs, it should be possible to embed sound files into many of the PDFs so that they can be played directly on screen. I also think a range of quick video tutorials from the material designers (including things like screencasts) would be great for giving members a preview of various materials and how they might be applied.

 

2. Work a little bit more on the levelling side of things. While the materials do represent North American English, I think they would really appeal to teachers in Europe as well. That would be helped with some reference to how each resource slots into something like the CEF bands.

 

3. Consider making more of the material open source. We all know now that PDF formatting doesn't safeguard copyright very much in the online sphere, and I think if the material was available in adaptable formats where teachers could tinker with the content for their own contexts it would definitely improve the functionality and appeal. Include things like screencasts and tutorials to help teachers work out how to do this, and you'll probably gather a more loyal membership who aren't there purely for stuff to download and print 5 minutes before class (and/or start uploading to those hyena-like 'free' resource sites who mine others' content and present it as their own).

 

4. Look at adding material that caters to test preparation. You've already shown you have some excellent ways to work in alternative ways with more 'standard' material and I think you could come up with some excellent ideas for motivating test prep. This will expand your market majorly, while at the same time bringing in more people who can then see the other excellent stuff you have on offer.

 

5. Keep up the excellent work!

 

 

 

Basically, ESLlibrary.com is well worth the money and will add a lot of great material to your resource bank. You should definitely check them out.

 

 

 

=D

 

 

                                                   

Ripples

 

 

 

 

A catastrophe of proportions that almost beggar belief. My thoughts have been with the people of Japan this weekend, as I'm sure yours have as well. And to the Japanese students I taught last year, some of whom have become close friends with my wife here in Australia, we hope your families and loved ones back home are safe.

 

And to all the great ELTers I've met based in Japan, I hope you are safe as well.

 

"Ripples" is the only word I can think of to describe this sort of event. And not the ripples we saw on the television, which from the helicopters made the event look like an amazing lego display being washed away. I found myself wanting to grab the helicopter pilot by the scruff and tell him to stop concentrating on the dramatic footage and get over to the roads where cars were still driving about, seemingly oblivious to the wall of water about to surge up and wash them away. Warn them. Get them to turn around and head the other way. I don't need to see the waves as much as those people need to realise they are coming.

 

Easy enough to make such judgments from afar.

 

Most of the people reading this blog are ELTers, and no doubt the topic of earthquake and tsunami is going to be on the tips of students' tongues this week. How do you handle such a sensitive topic?

 

I like what Anna has done over at Magpie Moments.

 

She let her students decide on the content, plugging in to the pulse of the unplugged classroom, and came up with some excellent student-generated content followed up with some insightful project ideas.

 

There are other ripples there, given Anna has drawn on several of my activity suggestions and adaptable templates. I'm flattered to see them tried out in another context, and wildly impressed with the results. 

 

Mind, I'll feel a darn side more cheerful when I see them applied around happier tidings in the world (as I'm sure Anna will, too).

 

 

 

=(

 

 

                                                        

 

Update [2] from the ELT writing therapy initiative

  

 

 

 

 

Following on from my first update on my personal ELT writing therapy initiative, I'm now going to give interested people a closer peek at what I'm up to with this project.

 

Here's a downloadable version of the sample you can see at the top of this post:

 

JR's ELT Writing Therapy March Sample

 

 

I'm unwilling to add any more specific information at the moment besides the following tidbits:

 

- EFL/ESL learners aged 9-14

- CLIL

- 1 book per class (teacher version all that's needed)

- CD (or downloadable file) of special images referred to in the text

- Fun

- As a profit-making venture, destined to become an absolute fizzer

 

 

Till next update, happy teaching (and happy guessing, if you're intrigued by this project)!

 

 

=D

 

 

                                                        

Experimenting with screen-based lesson materials

 

 

 

 

I'm in the process of experimenting with some material design (just for a change, really...) and thought I might run this by my blog readership for feedback.

 

What do you think of material designed purely for display/presentation through something like an IWB or beam projector, with learners then working from that through a variety of activities that take place in notebooks?

 

As in, the material is not dished up on a handout or on a coursebook page. It's presented on a screen, and the activities work from there.

 

For example, the screenshot at the top of this post presents a PDF sample designed to be used on a screen for the whole class to see. It's meant to showcase a topic and writing sample (with sound file embedded into the document for easy playback). The general idea is that the teacher would (with the help of some TG notes if necessary) guide the class through some noticing activities based on the model, language and lesson points. Students would then copy the sample into their own notebooks, marking or highlighting relevant aspects of it, before moving on to some practice and then hopefully written production of their own.

 

Here's the relevant file so that you can take a look at it (and play the embedded soundtrack!):

 

 Writeways Sample Screen Lesson A (PDF)

 

 

I know this isn't a revolution in materials design and application (I've been using all sorts of documents on screens for years as primary input or supplements to lessons), but it is something I'm keen to experiment with more. I see a lot of potential for more digital material for whole-class viewing and accompanying activities that happen alongside it, or (in the case of written work) in notebooks.

 

Could anyone tell me how that sample document above looks on their IWB or beam projector? Is the writing big enough for the whole class to see? Is it useful having the sound file embedded into the material like that?

 

For you, as a teacher, is this sort of thing a viable alternative to having everything charted out in coursebooks?

 

Would love to hear your thoughts and impressions!

 

 

=D

 

 

                                                       

 

We Teach | We Learn: A Review

 

 

 

 

 

We Teach | We Learn is a recent independently published textbook offering from David Deubelweiss, the energy behind the popular EFL Classroom 2.0 community. I purchased this a week or so ago and gave it a good look over. It's certainly great to see an educator getting out there and doing something in the self-publishing arena, and I really do hope this will be a growing movement that sees a wealth of alternative coursework material options becoming available across the World Wide Web.

 

I'll let David himself introduce the book to you, shall I?

 

 

 

 

My own impressions of We Teach | We Learn involve (as with any ELT coursework out there, including my own of course!) a variety of positives and doubts.

 

Beginning with the positives, I found the activities very well-designed, with a clear (and good) emphasis on getting the learners involved and interacting with each other. The range of topics and activity types is well selected and balanced. The physical design is minimalist, consistent and clear, with a nice sense of space. I really like the use of weblinks embedded into the bottom footer of most pages, allowing further exploration of video, texts and voicethreads available around the Internet. The support offerings in the form of wiki, online community, access to editable versions of the material, etc.  are fantastic.

 

However, I think We Teach | We Learn has some ways to go if anyone is going to bill it as a viable alternative 'coursebook' offering, and hence, its price tag of $9.99 USD.

 

The first thing I would point out is the issue of formatting and editing. The weblinks provided at the bottom of pages in the PDF version of the material wouldn't work for me. I'm not ruling out a mistake on my behalf here, but I regularly produce and use PDF documents with weblinks embedded in them and they work fine on my computer. My guess is that the PDF settings used when creating the document didn't cover activation of the weblinks - but again, I could be wrong here.

 

I managed to access some of the weblinks by using the .rtf versions of the worksheets on the wiki provided. Good, but I'm not sure it's a good thing to have so many links heading directly onto pages of the EFL Classroom 2.0 ning pages. As a teacher forum, I don't know how healthy it is to have students straying over into the content there, and the format of the pages allows for too many potential distractions. 

 

And call me fussy, but a textbook that finishes with a grand-looking certificate awarding outstanding performance in English as Second Lenguage just doesn't quite cut it!

 

These are relatively minor glitches that can be repaired fairly easily by the author, I should think, but in some ways this reinforces the attractiveness of more commercial publishers who won't take a product to market until it has been fully edited and tested for reliability -- especially for any of the technical and user-friendly aspects. There is a valuable lesson for budding self-publishers here: Check your work carefully using multiple sources and make sure you've got it right before asking teachers around the world to pay for it!

 

What concerns me somewhat more, however, is the 'marketing angle' adopted by David with this work. He calls it a collection of SCC (Student Created Content) and alludes to it as an approach which deemphasises the (tyrannical?) role of the teacher or coursework writer as 'expert', to whom students and their learning are made subject.

 

Personally, I thought the material and activities here were great, but potentially just as prescriptive (or even proscriptive) and teacher/coursebook led as anything else being produced in ELT. The topics are pre-set. The instructions are clear -- there is a particular way to complete an activity using certain kinds of topics and language. Students are invited to add their own feelings and responses, but again: no more than I regularly see through mainstream coursebooks and their associated workbooks, supplements and online offerings.

 

If SCC were a continuum, I would place it fairly well short of the middle of the spectrum. More towards the teacher/coursework led end of things, that is.

 

In fact, what you get with We teach | We Learn is a collection of short supplements (well-designed and with good pedagogical goals), just as you regularly get with good commercial coursebooks available, only minus the well-designed input and controlled practice elements. I personally can manage quite well with such supplements, but I don't really see the (progressive) point in portraying teachers as slaves to an evil coursebook publishing regime just because they want to use pre-provided syllabus, reading and listening passages, grammar points and controlled practice elements as well as the more open and personalisable extensions.

 

 

An excellent set of materials it is.

An excellent example of independently produced material (and how to market and distribute it) that I hope more teachers will be inspired by and seek to emulate.

 

A revolutionary approach to teaching and learning that turns the work of mainstream ELT authors and their publishers completely on its head... it is not.

 

 

David has made a brave start in this area, which was essentially why I chose to purchase the book myself rather than ask for a free review copy. But there's work to be done to improve the offering as well as the ideological stance accompanying it.

 

 

And I wish David and any other budding self-publishing ELTers out there all the very best with it. Don't give up! You'll get at least one sale from this blog writer, because I believe in what you're trying to accomplish.

 

Part of that, of course, will involve learning to handle the reviews and criticism -- just as the 'big' ELT writers and publishers have to!

 

 

 

=D

 

 

                                              

Preparing students for language tests: How one coursebook series attempted it for young/teenage learners (#ELTChat)

 

 

 

During the first session of #ELTChat last Wednesday, we discussed the topic of how to prepare students for language exams. A pretty important topic, really, given the dominance of testing in our field of work.

 

During the discussion, I generally advocated unplugged and task-based approaches to exam preparation, involving students themselves in the generation of content and tasks that can correlate to the exams they have to face later.

 

One point that came up in the conversation was that many exam-prep coursebooks are pretty woeful to use in class, mainly because they are so boring and detract from student-oriented communication in the classroom.

 

However, something that didn't come up really at all was how regular coursebooks try to cater to the more important English exams as one of a great many priorities when it comes to content, format and activity selections.

 

Following the chat, this took me down memory lane a little, and I recalled how I had tried to address exam preparation in my own series of coursebooks. Among a variety of content writing challenges, I didn't just have to incorporate practice for a huge range of tests (basically, all levels of Cambridge YLE, KET, PET, FCE, IELTS and TOEFL, TOEIC), I also needed to do this in a way that would feel natural and accessible for younger teenage learners. Learners who were still a couple of years away from some of the more important tests, but nonetheless learning English in contexts that were extremely fixated on good results in those tests -- sooner rather than later.

 

In the end, this turned out to be surprisingly easy to accomplish. By pulling all the exam sections and questions back to their more basic formats, it became quite feasible to work them into a variety of existing theme-based units and utilise content and tasks that might be considered quite accessible and relevant to younger learners.

 

Here are some quick examples (drawing on a formal presentation I did at the Korea TESOL conference in 2008, targeted at demonstrating to teachers how the 'popular' iBT TOEFL was being considered and prepared for as part of the Boost! Speaking strand):  

 

 

 

 

TOEFL Speaking question 3 integrates a campus-related notice with a discussion about the notice between two students. In a lower level of Boost! Speaking, this is adapted to feature a notice about an upcoming Halloween party and an accompanying conversation (and attached to a unit generally about organising parties and special events).

 

 

And in a later unit at the same level (this one targeting free time activities), the same TOEFL question format is applied through a notice about after-school clubs and a conversation specifically addressing the information in that notice.

 

 

 

And that was just one question format from one of the major tests. In fact, a detailed chart showing exactly which parts of the coursebooks provided initial preparation just for the different sections of the TOEFL speaking test alone looked like this:

 

 

 

 

Similarly, tests like Cambride YLE, KET, PET, FCE, IELTS and TOEIC were all systematically catered to in the coursework content.

 

What I personally find very interesting in all this is... most teachers (and certainly most students) never even noticed! One of the reasons I had to do the presentation shown in part above was because we had teachers and schools clamouring for coursebooks to address their exam prep needs (even at younger ages), without being "just test books", and the content and task types were already there in the books in front of them...

 

This shows me one or both of two things:

 

- Exams can be adapted and integrated quite seamlessly into existing coursebook content, to the point that teachers and students don't even realise they are getting test prep as part of the natural progress through their coursework;

 

- Many teachers and schools are good at yabbering on about tests, without actually knowing much about them, and/or assuming that the only 'good/effective' preparation for exams is through explicitly labeled materials or books.

 

 

In any case, I have to confess to not being all that bothered about having to cater to language exams through coursebook content, even when the learners are a little younger. It can all be bent and directed in ways to match the original thematic thrust of a unit, and even the various emphases in skills-based coursebook units.

 

Dare I say it... sometimes the exam formats gave me some interesting new ideas for ways to extend and redirect content, too!

 

 

So what are your thoughts on this sort of thing? How do you feel about exam prep through coursebook content (without the coursebook necessarily being about specific tests)?

 

 

 

=D

 

 

                                              

Coursebooks with a slight digital boost...

 

Some (amateurish) digital remastering of a Boost! Speaking unit so that an adaptable PDF version now includes embedded sound files and textboxes for students to add their own work and notes...

 

 

 

There's no question, when it comes to development of digital coursework material, that we essentially need to go back to the drawing board and redesign material from the ground up (in order to maximise the digital opportunities but also maintain user-friendly design).

 

However, it's interesting how simple and functional improvements can be made to existing coursebook material just by experimenting with Acrobat features.

 

It took me approximately 15 minutes this morning to adjust a PDF version of a Boost! Speaking unit so that:

 

- It can be edited and changed;

 

- All relevant sound files are actually embedded into the sections of coursework they apply to;

 

- There are textboxes for students to add their own work as well as any additional notes they or the class might come up with (and these textboxes feature a scroll function which technically means there's no limit to how much students add to the existing material);

 

- The PDF format allows students and teacher to zoom in and adjust frames to create a viewing experience that suits their own preferences.

 

- It can be saved as a new file once changes have been made, and it can be printed out.

 

 

Here's the new PDF version of the unit I produced:

 

Boost! Speaking Level 2 / Unit 1 (digital PDF version)

 

 

Okay, it's simple and presentation wise (icons and formatting of text boxes) it needs more polishing. But what we now have is a digital version of the unit that can be used on computers in the classroom and/or on an IWB at the front of the class (or independently at home, for that matter). Plug in some links to relevant videos and websites... goodness, suddenly it's a very versatile and personalisable unit of coursework!

 

And all in about 15 minutes...

 

 

Interesting!

 

 

 

=D

 

 

                                 

 

Book it!

 

 

 

 

After the previous post on this blog, where I took talons to the design/layout of a page spread from Global, I thought it only fair that I follow up with an alternative. This is a chance to demonstrate some essential design principles that I personally believe in when it comes to course materials, but it also reflects the fact that I enjoy just playing around with content and design -- rather like a hobby, actually...

 

Of course, it also provides an opportunity for readers to rip into my design approach! It's okay. I can take it. I don't have any formal qualifications or training in graphic design or any other related field, I've learned and experimented on the go, basically -- with the odd couple of hours here or there. And I think it is a good thing to play around with design and have people critique and discuss it. Therein lie the seeds of positive course material development.

 

Here is the initial double page spread (the first two of perhaps around 6 pages overall) for a simple unit I oriented around the theme/topic of books (whipped up in about 90 minutes -- so understand the content and design still need some work and improvement!):

 

 

Book it! Experimental course material  (PDF version)

 

Book it! Experimental course material  (Adaptable MS Word version)

 

Book it! Experimental course material  (Compatible .doc version)

 

 

Besides the standard PDF version there, I've included MS Word and compatible .doc formats for teacher-designers interested in playing around with the material and adapting it (or just dipping inside the formatting to see how I make it work).

 

 

Now here are some basic principles (based on my own beliefs and preferences) which I hope the material demonstrates:

 

 

- The material/activities are blocked into sections, roughly half a page each (or 25% of the space when viewing the entire double page spread), to allow for focus and a minimalisation of distraction from other sections. Each is designed to be a sort of "mini canvas" for different stages of the lesson.

 

- There is deliberate use of larger fonts and space to help for overall readibility (hopefully without necessarily making any teenage or adult user of the material feel like they are having things dumbed down for them).

 

- There is emphasis on salience in terms of language I might want the learners to be able to find and focus on (and later look at for review purposes), by using larger and darker fonts and leaving clear space around each part.

 

- There is space provided around key language input that should allow learners to add their own notes above, below or alongside the text without obscuring it.

 

- There is deliberate provision of spaces for learners to add their own input, questions, discoveries, etc.

 

- Certain basics of teaching are assumed and not stipulated in the material. In other words, I don't think every discussion or potential language analysis opportunity needs to be charted onto the page in advance. Teachers can and ought to make more of their own decisions about how to utilise the content.

 

 

 

So there you have it.

 

Over to you, then...

 

 

 

=D