After sinking or swimming in the virtual world of remote education, many teachers will probably look back at 2020 as when they learnt how to use most of the digital tools in the shortest of time. Some may look back and remember it as a time when they first recognised the English language ability of certain students that had previously gone unnoticed. Others might have concluded that completing the curriculum should not be their one and only goal and that their students also needed them for maintaining a level of wellbeing. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Technology
Become A Pretesting Partner And Shape The Future Of Assessment!
Have you ever wanted to give your students stress-free practice taking online assessments, without the pressure of taking a real exam? Or have you ever dreamed of finding out where students need more practice, without having to spend hours marking their tests? Our Pretesting Research Partners work with us to trial our exam questions before they become part of our live tests – helping us to shape the future of English language assessment. And it’s completely free! Continue reading
Digital Divide: What Is It And How Can You Bridge The Gap?
We can safely say that, through the difficulties of 2020, English language teachers have grown accustomed to delivering online classes and learning to use new digital tools. Some teachers may face many weeks ahead of continuing such classes if high Covid-19 cases see a resurgence, their new academic year does not start until 2021, or they have become ‘online teachers’ on a semi-permanent basis.
As a result, some teachers have found themselves dependent on the help of parents to ensure their children are online at designated times and able to access class materials. Parent support is especially important for younger students who perhaps did not originally have the necessary computing skills to act independently.
But what about our students who cannot access the internet from home, or do not have reliable electricity supplies? Continue reading
Top 10 Tips To Help Your Online Lessons Run Smoothly!
For many of us, it’s been a while since our teaching world got turned upside down and we found ourselves moving from a physical classroom to online lessons in a matter of hours. It feels like a lifetime ago since we were left wondering what the best practice for online teaching was. In this initial online period, often referred to as the period of emergency remote teaching (ERT), the best advice for running a smooth lesson included such sage things as to ensure you have a good microphone and lighting. Continue reading
Step By Step: Using Your Dictionary To Expand Topic Vocabulary
These days, there might only be one topic of conversation in the news, on social media, and in our own chats to friends and family. Along with new ways of working, teaching and learning, we are even adopting a new lexicon to help us talk about it. My own personal “Health” topic vocabulary has grown to include such words and phrases as self-isolation, social distancing and herd immunity. Continue reading