This is a guest post by David Kapuler, K-12 educator, tech integration specialist, blogger, consultant, etc. It was originally posted here  30 hands is a wonderful free iOS app that is ideal for digital storytelling and mobile learning.  This is a very user friendly drag-n-drop app that allows students to create digital stories by importing photos from their iPhoto library.  Best of all, a user can add narration to a slide by recording their voice.  Finally, a finished story can then be published to their iPhoto library or shared to the 30hands Collaborative Learning Community.  There is even a very simple to follow walk-through that shows how to create your first story.I highly recommend checking out 30hands by clicking here!!!This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

Zarina Subhan-Brewer is a freelance teacher trainer and has been working in the field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) for over 20 years. Here she previews the upcoming webinar How to get students writing which takes place on Wednesday 18th June and Friday 20th June. Do you see more and more people whip out their smartphones to take a note of something instead of a notebook and pen? With the advent of technology, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the act of writing is dying out. I don’t know about you, but I still like to scribble ideas down on paper. I think better with a pen in my hand, and even while using technology, that circumnavigates the need to write, I have a pen and paper to hand, or even a pen in my mouth! In ELT, writing is a skill that tends to be developed later, once students become confident in listening, speaking and reading skills. This makes absolute pedagogical sense of course - immediate communication skills are strengthened in order to give students the ability to react and respond in real time to each other. These skills also lend themselves well to more fun-filled activities in the classroom, which can keep the learner engaged and motivated. As language teachers, however, we are also obliged to facilitate the learning of writing skills. Writing in English is no longer simply something students have to demonstrate in order to pass exams. It is a skill which affects employment opportunities and is actually put to practical use in the global village we now occupy. It is a skill that can open many doors and can be the deciding factor between one person being promoted and the next. Therefore we need to ensure that even though writing may be a skill that is taught and developed last of all of the four skills, it is not one that is ‘half-heartedly’ taught. So how can we get our students to spend time on writing activities that can make lessons less fun and more ‘serious’? In the webinar How to get students writing, we’re going to look at what constitutes writing, the difficulties students have with writing and the subsequent problems that arise for teachers and what can be done to overcome them.Filed under: Professional Development, Skills, Teenagers Tagged: #insightwebinar, insight, Writing, Zarina Subhan, Zarina Subhan-Brewer

Happy birthday Free Technology for Schools! On the 15th of January last year I published my first every blog post entitled "Where Should Schools Spend their Money?". The idea for the blog came from a general frustration with how schools waste so much money on technology without considering the excellent free solutions available. Creating Free Technology for Schools has helped me widen my professional network in ways I didn't know were possible and I have had some great help from the people I have connected with.There have been many highlights over the last year especially in the initial stages as I watched it grow, reaching a peak of over 17000 pageviews in May. I hope this year to increase this fivefold although I have been a little quiet lately due to my wife having a baby.  Another year of blogging deserves some resolutions, it is January after all so this is what I would like to achieve this year.Grow the blog to 100000 pageviews every month. In the first 4 months last year, the traffic to the site at least doubled every month for the first 4 months. More traffic means more connections and more sharing of ideas.Find the time to post at least once a week. It's not about lack of time, it's about making time. If I can find time to Facebook, I can find time to blog.Connect, connect connect. The best thing about blogging is the connections you make. I hope this year to meet many more wonderful colleagues to share ideas with. I have had so much help this year it has been amazingGet more guest bloggers involved. This blog is designed to be collaborative so drop me a line if you want to get involved.Keep finding things to blog about. The great thing about having this kind of blog is that it encourages/forces me to continually develop and find new technologies that enhance learning.If you are reading this, I hope you have found the blog useful over the last year and I hope you keep coming back. Don't forget to follow on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, RSS or email.  This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

This is a guest post by Lim Chuwei, a tutor working at www.championtutor.com and father of two teenagers, the author actively makes use of iPad apps in his own classes and has benefited much from the use of these apps.Every teacher has something to share and explore with their students. In today’s technology driven world, having a latest Apple gadget is not just trendy, but also very handy. Teachers can help unearth the hidden talent of their students using unique ways provided via iPad’s App pool. So, whatever the lesson, you can make apps part of the plan. The power lies on your mighty Palm with the presence of these Apps.iPad is touted today as a versatile tool in education. It is defined as "Everything you need to teach anything". With some of the Apps described further in the reading that make students feel delighted and captivate them on the topic being taught. These apps provide a deep insight into the new world of learning possibilities. EvernoteEvernote is very popular, easy-to-use, free app that helps you to stay organized. It helps you by collecting and finding everything that matters. Evernote app lets you take notes, capture images, record voice reminders, synchronize files across all your devices. With this you can remember everything about your ideas.CloudReadersCloudReaders is free book /movie viewer/ comic, which is fully optimized for iPad. With its new version 2.02, it’s now possible to share your books over WiFi. It also supports on iPhone/iPod touch too! This app is freely available on itunes store.iPad outlineiPad outline is completely free to download and use. Outline is a robust app for note taking and drawing. Everything you create using it is saved in a user friendly notebook format with sections, subsections, groups and pages. It is similar to exactly using the old paper notebook. Outline is very powerful text editor with a variety of features that came as a Built-in. It helps in emphasizing text and provides a good organizational framework. NumbersNumbers is the most innovative spreadsheet app designed for a mobile device like iPad. This amazing app lets you make interesting spreadsheets in minutes. Using just your fingers you can add tables, charts and images into this app.Teacher Tool OneTeacher Tool One is an app designed for updating teachers always. It offers a combined package of gradebook, calendar, notebook and course register in your pocket that is always available and complete.Super 8With the help of Super 8 you can make professional-quality videos, movies and also add the shake effects. You can also arrange clips and scenes the way you want.Teacher’s can add their own credits also.Science 360Science 360 app is the result of creativity from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for iPad. This app provides easy access to engaging Science and Engineering images and videos from around the globe. A news feed featuring breaking news from NSF-funded institutions is a bonus.Dictionary for iPadDictionary is an Excellent, intuitive, consistent, hyperlinked, consistent and integrated English illustrated dictionary and thesaurus, spell checker, vocabulary builder and Wikipedia browser. It is premium quality reference, fast, reliable, up-to-date and really easy to use. You will love it! ShowMeShowMe can be freely downloaded from iTunes. This app turns your iPad into your personal interactive whiteboard. ShowMe allows you to record voice-over whiteboard tutorials and share them online without any delay. It’s an amazingly simple app that is best suited for teachers.This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

This is a guest post by David Kaluper, Ed Tech blogger/ and consultant. Door 24 is a fantastic new iPad for Math grades 4th-8th. This app is aligned to Common Core Standards and focuses on basic Math facts, number sense, and logical/algebraic thinking. It uses fun interactive animated problems to help fix Victor Robot's circuits and find out the mystery of Door 24.From their press release, "The app’s focus on computational fluency supports problem solving and higher-order thinking and builds the mathematical processes and proficiencies that the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) identify in the Standards of Mathematical Practice (SMP)."I highly recommend checking out Door 24 by clicking here!!!This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

Beth Cagnol and Mike Hogan Ever thought about becoming a freelancer? This is the first of a six part series of articles from two ELT professionals who have successfully done just that: Mike Hogan and Bethany Cagnol. Here, they share advice on surviving financially, getting organised, managing your online reputation and getting work. Many ELT professionals are enticed by the flexible, independent nature of being a freelancer. You get to choose what sort of contracts to pursue, you are your own boss and you have more freedom on how you spend your time. However, going this route means that you and you alone are responsible for finding and maintaining enough hours to generate a sustainable income. You’re also responsible for paying your own taxes, health insurance, pension contributions, etc. In order to keep your head above water it’s essential to be well organised, maintain high-quality training services and stick with it even when the going gets tough. Organising yourself Whether you’re a teacher, teacher trainer, writer or other ELT professional, the starting point for freelancing means organising the budgeting and financial aspects of your career. By this, we mean assessing your current (or desired) standard of living on a monthly and yearly basis and then calculating the income necessary to sustain that lifestyle. From there, determine the average number of hours you need to work, per month, so that you can earn a living and still provide the best training for your learners. Obviously balancing the supply and demand fluctuations of the industry can be challenging. Your income will not be the same every month and there may be periods when you earn very little or nothing at all. Advanced preparation and proper management of your income and expenditure will give you more security and enable you to create a ‘rainy day’ fund for those quiet months. Solid administration skills are also necessary to stay organised. Paperwork is nobody’s best friend, but it’s essential to keep all of your documents, invoices, receipts, and records in order. Consider hiring an accountant to help you with your financial goals, at least initially. They can save you a great deal of money in the long run, are therefore a wise investment, and can also educate you about the standard aspects of freelancing such as pension contributions, health insurance, and tax deductible expenses. Getting work When seeking out teaching opportunities, it is essential you look the part, walk the talk and be a highly professional representative of the ELT industry. The person hiring you, or the client choosing to invest in your training, will be thinking, "Why should I choose you?" It’s crucial to distinguish yourself from everyone else offering the same services. Your CV, brochure and business cards should be clean, professional, easy to read, up-to-date and in the language of the individuals who will receive it. Take the time to manage your reputation. Don’t be afraid to Google yourself (images included) and be aware of what can be found. Prospective clients will do the same and it’s essential that you align your online appearance with who you are and what you want to be known for. On the other hand, if you can’t be found online, these days, your prospective client may wonder why - especially if you’re a freelancer. At the very least you should have an online profile, if not your own website. Most freelancing work today is obtained through word of mouth. Keeping work Reflect on what people think when they hear your name and what you want them to think. As a freelancer, your reputation is your brand; you should deliver the very best you can, every day. Adopt a quality-control process that enables you to collect and act upon any positive or negative feedback. Do this face-to-face, but also offer it anonymously, for example, through an online survey. As you build your business as a freelancer, satisfied clients will recommend you to others; this way, opportunities will start to find you and eventually you will spend less time looking for extra hours. Use that time to develop yourself professionally, so take courses, read up on the latest techniques, go to conferences, or volunteer for an association. The time you invest in yourself can lead to obtaining work more easily, possibly billing higher rates, and ultimately maintaining the high-quality teaching and training services you provide. This article first appeared in the September 2013 edition of the Teaching Adults Newsletter - a round-up of news, interviews and resources specifically for teachers of adults. If you teach adults, subscribe to the Teaching Adults Newsletter now.   © Mike Hogan and Bethany Cagnol, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the authors with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Business & English for Specific Purposes, Professional Development Tagged: Becoming a freelancer, Bethany Cagnol, ELT, ELT professionals, Freelancing, Mike Hogan, Teaching adults

This is a guest post by David Kaluper. it was originally posted hereBeen, the innovative site for visually bookmarking a site and collaborating has just launched a educational portal that makes it perfect for educators to use with their class. This free web tool is not only ideal for social bookmarking in schools but real-time collaborative web browsing as well. Been's new web portal now allows for educators to create student accounts, and communicate with them in real-time while bookmarking/browsing the web.This is ideal for Guided Learning, Flipping a Classroom, Project Based Learning, and can be used by any subject or curriculum. Educators can use it to create internet scavenger hunts, to research/introduce a topic, or any other number of possibilities.The educator account is perfect for moderating student's 'Beens' (bookmarks/collections), comments, resetting passwords, etc. Being "housed" inside of an educational portal allows for educators to see public Beens but only allows for students to see those of their teacher. Teachers can also collaborate w/ their peers to allow for collective Beens that can be use for group projects.Finally, the ability to collaboratively surf the web when being on the same page allows for students/educators to share comments and surf together to guide instruction. Also, educators can assess students who have questions when surfing the web or researching a topic.I highly recommend checking out Been for Education by clicking here!!!This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

Ever thought about writing your own teaching materials? Stephen Greene is an English language teacher, teacher trainer, and materials developer. Here, he takes us through the process he undertook to write his first published materials. I have always written materials for my students. My first job was in a school in Poland where we had a grand total of two resource books to help us. The fact the course books we had ordered didn’t turn up until almost the end of the first term meant that we had very little choice but to get creative. There are many reasons why we occasionally need to look outside the course book, but for me one of the main reasons is just the fun and the interest of doing it. I simply love writing for my students. When OUP offered me the chance to co-write the Teacher’s Pack for Cambridge English Proficiency Masterclass with Jeanette Lindsey-Clark, I jumped at the chance. I thought to myself that all I would have to do was replicate my endeavours over the last 15 years, but on a grander scale. I could write a book, no problem. It turned out that I had a lot to learn. Doing your research Normally, I just wrote. I knew my students, my syllabus and my course book. I knew the strengths and weaknesses of all of them. If there was something lacking, and I felt inspired, I would sit down at my computer and write something to make up for it. But when writing on this project I had to study. I needed to study the brief from the publisher in detail. I had to go through the Student’s Book to understand how it had been put together and the methodology that the author had used. I also had to check the changes in the Cambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) exam and ensure I understood what the new questions demanded from the candidates. And all of this before I could even start doing any writing. Constrained creativity A number of times I had a great idea and spent some time developing it only to realise that it didn’t fit the criteria I was supposed to be working to. I found this to be one of the more difficult aspects of writing for somebody else; coming up with ideas wasn’t the hard part. Instead, coming up with ideas that fit the requirements of the project constrained and restricted my creativity. After a while, though, this restriction actually led to a better focus. Being disciplined The romantic image I had of sitting down at my computer and letting the creative juices flow through me to the screen just didn’t happen. Or at least, when it did happen it was as a result of being very disciplined and working through the times when I just couldn’t think of what I was supposed to write about. Balancing writing with teaching, family and having some sort of life isn’t easy so I often had to force myself to stay up until the early hours of the morning to keep to schedule. Deadline is king One of my favourite (non-ELT) writers, Douglas Adams, had a thing about deadlines: "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." This might be fine for a famous author, but for the likes of me, struggling to even get one book published, this was never going to be possible. If there is one thing that is going to make an editor angry with you and so not invite you back to the party it is to miss a deadline. Just don’t do it, under any circumstances. The results Despite the hard work and the steep learning curve the whole process was worth every minute. I learned an incredible amount about the publishing process and I believe this has made me a better teacher because I clearer insight as to why certain things have been selected in course books. The discipline, focus and awareness of objectives have also improved the writing I do for my students and I feel sure that my personal materials are of a much higher standard now. I am a much better writer now, but I know I still have a lot more to learn. This article first appeared in the September 2013 edition of the Teaching Adults Newsletter - a round-up of news, interviews and resources specifically for teachers of adults. If you teach adults, subscribe to the Teaching Adults Newsletter now.Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Business & English for Specific Purposes, Professional Development Tagged: Creativity, Deadlines, Discipline, Materials writing, Research, Stephen Greene, Teaching adults, Writing process

It has been a while since I have posted anything due to the time constraints of fatherhood and this post will not be technology related. As most of you fellow teachers normally like to read a lot during the summer, I thought I would recommend a book written by a teacher.An ex-colleague of mine who teaches English has written this hilarious book called 'I Never Liked Mrs Carlsberg Even Before She Made That Bomb'. It is about about Billy Rivers, a fifteen year old boy who gets into hot water involving his useless Geography teacher, a bomb, a world-famous sprinter, a peculiar almost-superpower and the most beautiful girl in school.Any teacher who is constantly told about what to do for the 'perfect' lesson will love the fifteen year old's dissection of what we think results in good learning.Happy reading!This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

Image courtesy of pixabay. Stacey Hughes, former EFL teacher, is a teacher trainer in our Professional Development team. Here she uses course material from Network to explore how social media can be used in the classroom to motivate young adults learning English. Want to get young adult learners really motivated? Then make the language they are learning meaningful by linking it to authentic English practice opportunities. One way to do this is to set up a social networking project in which students can apply the vocabulary, grammar and communication skills they have built up in class. In this blog I will first list some of the pedagogical benefits of using a social media project. I’ll then suggest a few ideas for projects before outlining how a social media project can be set up in class. Why use a social media project? A social media project provides English practice opportunities in an environment that is familiar. Many of our students frequently use social media already when they tweet, post questions or comments online, blog, share videos or links, and chat online. By linking this social media use to English learning, students feel that what they are learning is meaningful for authentic communication and they can personalise learning as they build a network of classmates and peers to communicate with. Social media also provides plenty of models for how language is actually used and endless opportunities to use critical thinking skills to evaluate sources of information. Finally, social media projects can show young adults how to apply social media skills to further their professional growth. Examples of social media projects Social media projects aim to get students to use social networks to perform authentic tasks or solve authentic problems. Smaller projects include creating a profile or uploading and sharing a photo with a comment. An example of a larger project might be researching to find a place to live or places to stay on holiday. The projects can be chosen to suit the language level of the student. Below is a list of social media projects you can do with your students. Build a personal or professional profile Students decide how much information to share and the best image of themselves to project, where to post the profile and how to share it so others can see it. Post a blog or comment Students respond to another blog or set up their own personal or professional blog. They comment on and rate an article, product or event. Connect online Students find an old school friend or a new friend in another country, join a group online that shares their interests, or collaborate on a project. Investigate something local Students learn about a local problem, find out about local events, or contact an organisation in their community. Find out Students find places to stay when travelling, find a job or a place to live, find a suitable restaurant - the possibilities are endless. Evaluate a website Students decide whether the information on a website is credible or not, or if a site or posting adheres to accepted ‘netiquette’. Game This may seem an odd choice, but there is a lot of language involved in learning the rules of the game and playing it well. Many games also have online forums and opportunities to link up online with other gamers. Lesson plan for setting up a social media project The following example of a social media project could be done over several weeks. Use social networking to find a job Level: Elementary and above Aim: Students will research job finding resources and present their findings to the rest of the class. Lead-in: use an image or anecdote to begin a discussion about finding a job. Ask students if they have experience looking for a job and what resources they used to find one. Find out if they use any social networks (friends, family connections or social networks online) to look for jobs. This discussion could bring up some interesting cultural differences. Put students into pairs or small groups to brainstorm resources they could use to find a job. They should list a variety of resources, not just online ones. Ask each group to share their list with the class. Example resources include a career centre at school, newspapers, websites, professional networks, company web pages, jobs fairs, and personal networks (friends and families). Write the following questions on the board: Where is it? Who can use it? How? What kind of information is available? Do you get personal attention? Can you set up interviews? What employers use this resource? Ask each group to research the job-finding resources they have brainstormed and answer the questions. You may ask each member of the group to research a different type of resource, or each student could research them all. The research can be assigned for homework. If you are doing the project over the course of several weeks, ask students to bring in examples of new vocabulary they have found. Use these new terms to create vocabulary walls or a class wiki. Bring the groups back together to share the information they found. Ask them to create a group presentation. The presentation could be on a poster or could use presentation software such as PowerPoint or Prezi. Encourage them to use tables, charts or bullet-points for a good visual effect. Each group can practice their presentation in front of another group. Ask the groups to give each other feedback by posing questions: Was there anything you didn’t understand? Do you have any questions about the information that the group didn’t answer? Ask each group to give their presentation. Encourage groups to listen to each other, take notes and ask questions. As a follow-up, ask the class to write a short blog listing ways to use social networking to find a job. Ask each group to list 1-2 ideas, then collate these into one document. Share the document online and invite other classes in the school to read it. (This project plan was adapted from Network 1 Teacher’s book, page vii) In conclusion The plan above demonstrates how a social media project can bring the real world into the classroom and make language learning meaningful for authentic tasks. It brings in a range of related vocabulary and grammar, and practices all four skills, but keeps the focus on the task. This focus is motivating and completing the task can give students a sense of achievement, especially if they then have a live audience to share with.Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Multimedia & Digital Tagged: Language practice, Lesson plan, Motivation, Network, Project work, Projects, Social Media, Social networking, Stacey Hughes, Young Adults

One of the most common questions I get asked by colleagues is how to usefully collect and collate information using Google Forms. Google forms are extremely useful for polling students, conducting short assessments and keeping records of staff activities.Rather than re-invent the wheel with this one, I thought I would point you towards Google's own support pages. These are worth exploring in detail as there is wealth of information on using Google apps but for now, check out how to use forms and then give it a go yourself.Here is the linkThis post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

Ahead of his forthcoming webinar on the subject, John Hughes, ELT teacher, teacher trainer and course book author, looks at the growing need for critical thinking skills to be integrated into Business English teaching. In a recent article on the subject of technology and the 21st century workplace, The Economist (January 18th, 2004) made the following demand: "Schools need to change, to foster the creativity that humans will need to set them apart from computers. There should be less rote-learning and more critical thinking." As teachers and educators, many of you will be familiar with this viewpoint; after all, the calls for more critical thinking in education grow louder all the time. But the fact that this comment appears in a business magazine like The Economist reflects a growing view from the world of work that ‘critical thinking’ is a key skill. Critical thinking in the workplace Employers, Human Resource recruiters and business schools globally also report a lack of suitable graduates and candidates with ‘critical thinking skills.’ A recent article in The Wall Street Journal highlighted the problem and looked at the high number of business schools that now include critical thinking as a key course component. In other words, you are increasingly likely to see the term ‘Critical thinking skills’ listed on the syllabus of a business course programme next to course components such as ‘Presentation skills’ or ‘Negotiating Skills’. Fostering sub-skills to develop critical thinking So if companies require critical thinking skills and business schools are teaching these skills, is it time for Business English teachers to consider how critical thinking skills might be integrated into their Business English courses? After all, we readily teach the skills and language for presenting, negotiating, meetings and so on. So why not critical thinking In fact, some language schools specialising in business English and corporate training ARE already offering critical thinking in English as part of their courses. And I suspect that many Business English teachers probably help students to develop this skill as part of their typical Business English lessons without realising it. Take the use of Case Studies, for example. A case study requires students to identify evidence, recognise different perspectives, express opinions with supported arguments and negotiate a final outcome. These are all sub-skills that go towards developing critical thinking as well as improving language fluency. In my forthcoming webinar on the 25th & 26th June I’ll be going into much more detail on this topic. We’ll define the sub-skills of critical thinking in Business and what language we need to teach students in order to support those skills. I’ll also suggest a variety of practical activities that you can use in your lessons to start developing the skills whilst at the same time - of course - improving students’ business English.   Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Business & English for Specific Purposes, Professional Development, Skills Tagged: Adult Learners, Business English, Critical thinking, Professional Development, Skills, Teacher Development

Every now and then, when Google Now predicts where I am going to walk to on Sunday, I do get a little bit worried. Should we worry or should we trust that they will 'do no evil'.You can also find more infographics at VisualistanThis post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

Freelance teacher trainer, Edmund Dudley looks some of the issues related to promoting speaking skills in mixed-ability groups ahead of his upcoming webinar on Solutions Speaking Challenge #3: "It’s so hard getting the weaker students to join in". Mixed-ability groups present a particular challenge for teachers when trying to promote speaking skills. For every student who gets actively involved in class, there is another who does as little as possible. For every student who speaks, there is another who stays quiet. For every hand that goes up, there is another which stays down. Naturally, our aim is to get all the students involved. In reality, however, when a lesson is not going as well as hoped we tend to modify our goals. Unable to involve everyone, we settle for what we can get.  Rather than noticing that only the stronger students are getting involved, we are simply grateful that at least somebody is saying something. The fact that weaker students are getting a free ride in the lesson can pass us by. So how can we get the weaker students to join in speaking tasks? The following questions are crucial to a full understanding of the challenge: What do we mean by weaker students? In most cases we mean students whose level of spoken English is below that of the other members of the group.  What we need to be careful of, however, is making the assumption that level of spoken language proficiency matches strengths and weaknesses in other areas. A student who is weaker at speaking may have strengths in other areas which can be capitalised on when it comes to speaking. What do we mean by a mixed-ability group? The groups we teach are ‘mixed ability’ not only in the sense that they are heterogeneous but also in the sense that the students themselves are simultaneously proficient at some things and weak at others. Every student we teach has strengths, talents and skills. The first thing we need to do if we are to encourage weaker students to speak in class is to boost their confidence. And the best way we can do that is to find their strengths and focus on them in a real, relevant and constructive way. Can’t speak or won’t speak? When we open our mouths to speak we become vulnerable. In many situations, when weaker students decide not to join in, they are making an entirely understandable decision. Why risk making a mistake or looking foolish in front of the rest of the class? This is where teachers come in. We need to create a classroom dynamic which nurtures confidence. We need to be attentive, appreciative, sensitive, supportive and - where necessary - protective.  The only way students will find the confidence to speak is if they feel they can put their trust in the teacher and the learning environment s/he creates in the classroom. Before we rush to experiment methodologically, it is vital to remember that the ideas and techniques we implement will only be effective if the essential foundations of trust and confidence are already in place. That brings us to the practicalities of the lesson: how we set up, manage and review speaking tasks. We have already established that it is hard to get weaker students to join in. Is there anything practical we can provide them with that will make a positive difference? - Time This has both a micro- and a macro-dimension. In the context of a single lesson, students need to be given enough time to formulate a response or utterance, as well as a chance to plan it and rehearse it. At the start of a course, meanwhile, we should not expect students to start speaking a great deal in the very first lesson - they need to be given enough time to acclimatise and feel secure in the classroom. - Options Speaking tasks tend to work best when they have options built in - options regarding roles, tasks and outcomes. For example, providing different speakers with a number of different communicative roles to choose from is an effective way of ensuring that all students feel confident and in control. - Variety within tasks and modes of interaction Differentiated activities can enable weaker students to complete speaking tasks at a level appropriate to their abilities. This does not necessarily mean segregating the weaker students from the stronger ones: in fact, as we shall see, some of the best differentiated speaking activities are based on weaker and stronger students working together to complete a joint task. - Resources Less confident speakers are more likely to lose their nerve before a speaking activity begins. We need to provide them with three important resources: information, language and encouragement. They need to have a clear idea of what to do and how to do it. They need to know how much time is available to prepare and for how long they have to speak. They need plenty of language resources, such as useful phrases and expressions. And as they prepare, they need to have someone they can ask for help, someone to encourage them. Yes, it’s hard getting the weaker students to join in. There are days when it cannot be done. With the right strategies in place, however, we can expect to see some positive changes over time. Register for Edmund Dudley’s webinar ‘Solutions Speaking Challenge #3: Promoting speaking in the mixed ability classroom’ on either Wednesday 25th July or Friday 27th July to explore this challenge further. Filed under: Skills, Teenagers Tagged: ELT, Professional Development, Skills, Solutions second edition, Speaking, Speaking in class, Teacher Development, Teenagers

Erika Osvath, an experienced teacher and teacher-trainer, explores the third of our Solutions Speaking Challenges: ‘It’s so hard getting the weaker students to join in’.  As I am sitting at my desk thinking over the issue of how to get weaker students to join in, my thoughts keep returning to the same questions: Who are the weaker students? What makes them ‘weaker’? How do I want them to "join in"? I can’t seem to escape them. I could just list various activities that may encourage students to participate more actively in speaking activities, but I feel have to go deeper this time. And as a result, I find myself wondering about my own preconceptions as a teacher. I expect a "weaker student" to say less, come up with fewer ideas, make more mistakes, and be more insecure. As a result, when they join in - if they ever do - they will be like this. Does this sound familiar to you? This is known as the Pygmalion effect, a psychological principle asserting that expectations decisively influence performance. So what can we do to adjust our expectations and thus create situations where "weaker students" feel more comfortable contributing? First of all - and this seems quite obvious - we can create a warmer atmosphere for all the students. Research has shown that we tend to unconsciously build a more relaxed climate for students that we have more favourable expectations of - we tend to be nicer to them both in terms of what we say and how we express it. We need to consciously try to do this for all the students in the class, regardless of ability, by using accepting words, true smiles, and demonstrating understanding and openness towards them. Secondly, we tend to teach more material to students we consider more able. The key here, then, is to expect more of the students we perceive as "weaker". So, when setting up a speaking activity, make it clear what you expect from all students. Tell students that they must offer a minimum of three ideas during the activity and use the past perfect at least once. Students will be able to live up to these challenges if you elicit some examples and note them down on the board before they start preparing their own ideas. Then, as you are monitoring their work during the preparation time and the speaking activity, make it clear that you expect them to do the task you had set. Of course, it is important not to be pushy or unrealistic, but make your expectations clear in a gentle and supportive manner. However, the following two factors are the most important ones in influencing the way our students perform in all activities, including speaking. Firstly, when giving students the opportunity to respond to a question in class, we tend to call on the students we think of as "stronger ones" more often. A simple way that we can encourage less able students to join in speaking activities is to increase the number of opportunities they are given to respond - and if they need more time and support, shape the answers with them and give them longer to formulate their response. Do not give up on them thinking that "they cannot do better than this anyway", something that can often occur unconsciously. Instead, offer small anchors in constructing ideas and sentences together in front of the class, this way encouraging them to speak and contribute in small group activities as well. One way you can ensure equal speaking opportunities in pair or group activities is by giving every student say, three slips of paper - signs of their contribution to the task. The aim of the speaking activity is to get rid of the paper, and students can put one card down only if they contributed at least one idea or sentence. The second important factor is the quality of the feedback we give. If more is expected of a student, they are praised more. If the teacher thinks less of a student, they are more willing to accept low quality answers with the undertone of "not worth the time or effort, because they won’t know it anyway". Our task is to reverse this process, making sure that we do expect higher quality responses from students who might need more support too. All these four factors will greatly influence the way less able students perform. They will start raising their own challenges and demonstrate a greater willingness to join in with speaking activities and other activities too!Filed under: Professional Development, Skills, Teenagers Tagged: Mixed-ability, Solutions, Solutions Speaking Challenges, Speaking, Speaking in class, Teenagers

This is the second of a six part series of articles from two ELT professionals who have successfully done just that: Mike Hogan and Bethany Cagnol. Here, they share advice on producing a business plan, goal-setting, and planning actions to achieve them. As a freelancer you are a business, albeit a one-person business, but you still need a plan. It doesn’t have to be a formalised plan, but a simple overview of your finances, your goals, and how you plan to achieve them. This process can help keep you on track and stay focused. Finances The first step in writing a business plan is often carrying out a basic financial analysis of your current situation. It can be very helpful to create a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel) with all of your regular expenses, broken into columns representing weekly, monthly and yearly expenses. For example, on the left-hand side, put: Fixed expenditure: Rent or mortgage payments, car insurance, public transport card, gym or association membership, phone bills etc. Variable expenditure: Estimates of items such as food, clothing, entertainment, etc. Sundry items: Regular savings, donations, a new computer, further training, and an emergency fund you can dip into in case you have a few quiet weeks or months. Add up the columns and divide by ten to give you an idea of the monthly income needed to sustain your current lifestyle. Why ten rather than twelve? a) There will always be quiet months b) You may need a few sick days c) Everyone deserves a holiday! In another column on the right, type your expected, realistic, monthly income and review it every 14 days or so to check that you are still on track with relation to the expenses listed on the left. As your income grows you can increase your expenditure, or conversely, if your expenditure grows you’ll either need to earn more, or cut back on spending. Goals Once you have an overview of your financial standing, move on to evaluating your short-, medium- and long-term goals. Creating SMART goals can help you stay on track; these are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely. As with your finances, goals need to be realistic and defined; avoid statements such as "I’d like more clients." or "I want to work less for language schools." Set quantifiable targets: "I want to get three new clients by the end of this year." or "I’d like to increase my income by 10% / reduce my working hours by 10%." Once you’ve set realistic targets you can then focus on any investment in marketing, further training, quality control, etc. in order to reach those targets. A SWOT Analysis Whether you are teaching, editing, translating or doing other ELT-related work, we suggest you carry out a SWOT analysis on yourself and the services you provide. A SWOT analysis looks at the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats associated with a proposed course of action, project or plan. Your strengths are the areas in which you excel as an ELT professional. Strengths can be skills and services that are exclusive to your business, that no one else can provide. Use this differentiation to your advantage. Keep a close eye on your weaknesses. Don’t worry, we all have them! But don’t take on tasks you aren’t fully capable of carrying out or services for which you aren’t qualified. Doing so might get you that first contract, but probably not the second; and it certainly won’t help your reputation. In order to identify the opportunities, you’ll need to do some market research. Find out what your potential clients are looking for and what your competitors are offering. Keep your eyes and ears open so that you don’t miss opportunities. If you focus on your strengths, opportunities will find you, so be ready! And finally, as Lao Tzu wrote in the Art of War, "If you know yourself and know your enemy you can win a hundred battles without a single loss." Know your threats. When assessing your competitors, don’t concentrate on taking their business or being better than them. It’s healthier and more beneficial to think about how you can differentiate yourself from companies offering similar services to yours. You can do this in a number of ways: price, quality, and simple things such as reliability and professionalism. Be prepared to lose a client every now and then through no fault of your own and have the financial safety net set up to catch you. Further to your financial plan and SWOT analysis you should also create a checklist to: Define your customer (even if this is a language school) Define your services Define your added value Conduct market research into potential clients and competitors In the next article in this series we’ll look at implementation and how to put your plan into practice with a clear sales and marketing strategy. This article first appeared in the November 2013 edition of the Teaching Adults Newsletter - a round-up of news, interviews and resources specifically for teachers of adults. If you teach adults, subscribe to the Teaching Adults Newsletter now.   © Mike Hogan and Bethany Cagnol, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the authors with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Business & English for Specific Purposes, Professional Development Tagged: Becoming a freelancer, Bethany Cagnol, ELT, ELT professionals, Freelancing, Mike Hogan, Teaching adults

Image source: http://images.cdn.fotopedia.com/flickr-281194868-hd.jpg Mark Bartram, a teacher trainer and materials writer, explores different approaches for processing written and spoken text, and how they can be integrated into the English language classroom.  Are you a top-downer or a bottom-upper? The debate as to the relative importance of these two approaches to understanding spoken or written text has been going on for decades. Most people would agree that both approaches are useful at different times and for different reasons. In this blog I will attempt to explain why the bottom-up approach should not be neglected. First, some definitions. Top-down processing starts from the reader or listener. It assumes that the learner brings to the text certain knowledge - of the world, of texts (including how certain types of conversation typically unfold), and of language. This knowledge is likely to be useful in understanding a text (whether written or spoken), but it often needs to be activated, and activities such as discussions, questionnaires, quizzes, brainstorms, and vocabulary-anticipation can all be used to do this. For example, when you saw the title of this piece, you probably started thinking about what it might mean, what the arguments in the piece were likely to be, whether you wanted to read it, and so on. So assuming you still do want to read it… Bottom-up processing starts from the text. It assumes that by working on a combination of different aspects of the written or spoken text, the learner can increase their ability to comprehend it. These might be very "micro-" elements, such as the fact that we tend to insert a "w" sound between certain vowels; or they could be at a more "macro-" level, such as searching for synonyms within a text. The key idea here is decoding. For example, in order to understand the second sentence of this piece (the one that starts "The debate…"), you needed to work out that the first 17 words are the subject (a complex noun phrase), that the verb comes next ("has been going on"), followed by an adverbial (though unless you are a grammar geek, you won’t have used these terms). Identifying the verb is a key aspect of decoding complex texts. Improving the ability to decode Most people would agree that we use a combination of the two approaches when we are processing a text. We tend to switch from one to another as is needed. But whereas it used to be thought that we revert to bottom-up processing when we are unable to use top-down (for example, if we are unable to predict the content, we have to listen to the actual words!), research suggests that in fact the reverse is true. If you are in a noisy café, and can’t "decode" what your friend is saying (bottom-up), you tend to fill in the gaps with your knowledge of the world, or your friend’s usual speech habits. Within this framework, the idea of "comprehending a text" needs to be defined. Many activities in coursebooks are essentially asking the learners: "Did you understand this text?" - i.e. the one in front of them. This can work as an assessment or diagnostic tool, but the danger is that it does not prepare the learners for the next text. In other words, we need to train learners in transferable skills that can be used for any text in the future. We can do this to a limited extent with top-down activities - for example, we can train learners to use prediction techniques to anticipate the content and language of a text. Furthermore, classroom research and teacher experience tell us that top-down activities such as the ones listed above can be integrated easily into lessons, are motivating and fun, and enhance the overall experience for the learner. So we should not discount top-down activities entirely. However, common sense tells us that we are often in situations where we are less able to use top-down skills, for example, in exams, or simply when we turn on the radio at random. At this point, our ability to decode becomes key. And it is with bottom-up approaches that the training aspect comes into its own. Vocabulary, of course, is vital. The wider your vocabulary, the more fluent your reading or listening is likely to be. However, bottom-up skills remain important because they work on aspects of the text that are useful even when the learner’s vocabulary level is high. We have all heard learners say plaintively "Well, I know all these words, but I still didn’t get what they were saying!" For this reason, reading and listening activities need to include work on decoding text. Subsequent blog articles will explore how training in bottom-up decoding can be introduced painlessly into the classroom.Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Skills Tagged: bottom-up skills, decoding, ELT, Listening, Reading, Teaching English, transferable skills, Vocabulary

I have always been reluctant to spend money on software when there are so many free options available but I have always thought that buying expensive hardware was a good investment. That was until recently when my expensive investment in an iMac has been slowly gathering dust in the corner.When I first bought it 3 years ago, I used it for almost everything. Now, I use it to watch a movie about once a week. So what changed?About a year ago we were investigating a possible implementation of Chromebooks so I was given a Samsung Series 3 to test its functionality. From the moment I took it out of the box I was impressed. I pressed the power button and within 10 seconds, it was ready to go. The look and feel was a bit like a Macbook Air, albeit on a budget. I am not going to lie and say it is a better machine than a Macbook Air, but if you work on a principle of 'good enough to do everything I need' then it is truly impressive.What I didn't realise when I first used the Chromebook was how much of my computing was done in the cloud. I expected to have to use my iMac regularly but I found that almost everything I had to do, both work and personal I could do on the Chromebook. There were occasional frustrations and barriers (like no Skype for one!) but in most cases, you can find a Chrome Extension or App that does what you need.There is also another advantage. I happen to use Chrome as my primary browser in school so when I close the lid on my Chromebook at home and go in to school, I can open up where I left off on my desktop. Also the range of useful third party apps is remarkable. If you already use Google Chrome, check out the web store.With every OS upgrade, my Mac is getting slower and slower. Soon it will need to be replaced. I think it is highly unlikely that I will buy another Mac, as excellent as they are, when I can buy a Chromebook for a fraction of the price with all the functionality I need. Right now I have my eye on this one, but I will keep using my Mac until it dies and who knows what model will be available then.This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

What exactly are authentic texts, and how should we use them? Edward de Chazal is a freelance consultant, author and presenter. In the first of three articles on the subject, Edward takes an in-depth look at authentic texts and how bring them into the EAP classroom. Authentic texts are widely used in EAP, and clearly there are good reasons for doing so. When students are studying in their chosen disciplines, they have to read authentic academic texts such as textbooks and journal articles, so it makes sense to bring these into the EAP classroom. I have been doing this for years, which has prompted me to think more deeply about exactly what authentic texts are and how to use them. What is an authentic text? An authentic text is usually taken to mean a text which was not written for the language classroom, and which hasn’t been messed with - it retains its original vocabulary and grammar, and bits of the text have not been cut out. Preferably it is unprocessed, i.e. not retyped, so it still looks the same as it always did: the same font and graphics. In other words, authentic texts are written for any purpose other than language learning, and are intact rather than processed, adapted, or simplified. Authenticity is a broader concept, however. Not only is the text itself authentic, but also its context and related tasks. For instance, in EAP an authentic text (such as an extract from a university textbook) needs to be situated to some extent in its intended academic context. This means EAP students need to read the text in order to gain knowledge and use selected parts of it in their own new text (such as an essay or presentation), just as they would in their university department. Choosing an authentic text for your class When you’re choosing an authentic text to use in class, there is also the question of level to consider. By ‘level’ we usually mean language level - whether a text is at B1 or B2, for example - but there’s another crucial aspect: cognitive level. Some texts are much more challenging than others in terms of how difficult their ideas and concepts are. When selecting a text, it’s important to think about what you want your students to get out of it. Do you want them to gain a comprehensive understanding of the whole text, or will they use it more superficially - for example, in order to identify key words? In this way, you can use authentic texts which are at a high linguistic level in your lower level classes, so long as you set appropriate, achievable tasks. Let’s try and bring all these questions together in a possible scenario. Suppose our EAP students are recent high-school graduates planning to go to university. Their English language level is solid B1. They will have recent experience of high school exams such as IB (International Baccalaureate) or A-level. Using an IB text is ideal in this scenario: it is at an appropriate level, both linguistically and cognitively. These students usually approach such textbooks in order to learn something new, as well as to develop their English. Developing tasks and learning outcomes Similarly, in the EAP classroom we can come up with learning outcomes and tasks which engage with the content of the text and develop language. For instance, students learn to write a summary of a textbook extract (the learning outcome), and achieve this by identifying and noting down the main points (the task), which they then use to form the basis of their summary. In this way we’ve got an example of authentic text, context, and tasks. The EAP context reflects their future academic context as they will have to read and summarize texts in the disciplines. In short, using authentic texts means not only selecting an authentic text, but also setting up an authentic context and authentic tasks. The concept of authenticity also applies to the level of the text, including its language level and cognitive level. In my next article I will be discussing the nature of academic listening texts and how we can use them in the EAP classroom.Filed under: Business & English for Specific Purposes Tagged: Authentic texts, Critical thinking, EAP, Edward De Chazal, English for Academic Purposes, Methodology, Teacher Development, Teaching EAP

I'm just going to put it out there. I'm not a cat lover. Dogs are way more fun. Just to clarify in case some of you are cat lovers, I don't hate cats, I just have a preference for dogs so don't hate me. Because of my mild dislike of felines, I was quite amused when I heard about an online platform game called Erase all Kittens. In the game you are a character called Arca, a creature banished to the ruins of the ancient internet. Arca's only friends were kittens but they then start to go missing. Arca must try to save the kittens or risk being alone for ever.The beauty of the game is that it teaches children how to code and create on the web. It does this by encouraging them to hack into levels written in html5 and CSS to complete the game. An early example is lengthening a platform by changing the code inside (simply done by increasing the amount of text in the box) so that the main character can then jump across a narrower gap. I guarantee you will find this game a fun way to teach kids how to code. Check it out.This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

Sam McCarter is a teacher, consultant and freelance writer/editor with special interests in medical English communication skills, and IELTS. He is the author of Medicine 1 from the Oxford English for Careers series. In this post he explores some practical ways of bringing language to life for professionals. Teaching professionals such as postgraduate doctors requires a number of modifications in approach on the part of any teacher coming into ESP. At a recent event, a participant was reporting a discussion with a volunteer tutor about what he, a retired consultant in the medical field, should call the members of the group he was teaching. He didn’t feel it was right to call his fellow professionals ‘students’. A seemingly minor episode, but it does highlight the shifts that we as professionals need to think about when teaching other professionals. It may be that our students carry on being ‘students’, but our attitude towards them, our behaviour and way of working does need to undergo some transformation. Working in a team In the medical field, if you are lucky enough, you may find yourself working as an ESP teacher with a team of health professionals in a hospital setting. You may be part of a team made up of other language professionals, a general practitioner, a nurse, a social worker, (a) consultant(s) along with professional actors/ actresses, all working together in the same training session. You may, however, be working on your own in a language school and feel that you are isolated, but realise there is more to teaching in the medical field than just doing language practice. In this case, it may be possible to bring in retired or practising health professionals such as consultants or doctors or nurses to help with training, or arrange a visit to a local hospital or clinic. The aim is to make any classroom training as close to the hospital setting as possible, which the Medicine 1 and 2 and Nursing 1 and 2 in the Oxford English For Careers series have aimed to do with their task-based approach. Training in a hospital setting A typical training session in communication skills for doctors might involve a multidisciplinary approach with one or more team members where the language itself may appear incidental, but is integral, to the tasks the doctors perform. Each doctor can be given a scenario such as a 25 year-old young woman, Miss Brown, presents with a severe headache. How much detail the doctor is given can be modulated even to the point that all the doctor has is the name and age of the patient; or, if the patient has seen the doctor before, then some past history can be given. For safety and confidentiality reasons, the patient in the training is an experienced actress who has a defined role to play with medical information and details on personality, behaviour and attitude/ mood as well as accent. The history taking is watched by fellow doctors and other health professionals such as those mentioned above, including the language professional. The process is then followed by constructive feedback from the doctor himself, from the actress as the patient, the actress as herself, the other students and trainers. In this instance, the language input on the part of the language professional is dictated by the performance of the doctor in the scenario. The classroom The cost of providing the multidisciplinary training described in the previous section may make it difficult to replicate outside the hospital. However, it is possible to create scenarios where the doctors are the patients and their colleagues give feedback from different perspectives (social/ medical/ psychiatric) with the teacher maintaining the role of the language expert. If at all possible, you may be able to bring in actors/ actresses for the scenarios, which will enhance the training considerably. Your students can also be given open-ended problem solving tasks such as dealing with the performance of a colleague. The students discuss the problem in groups of about four within a defined time. Each group member has their own observer who gives constructive feedback on their group interaction. This latter task is a good way to improve insight and self-awareness. The same training principles apply in other areas of ESP such as business, engineering, finance and law where a problem solving approach can be taken to bring the language to life, focusing not on language practice, but on language use.Filed under: Business & English for Specific Purposes, Skills Tagged: English for Medicine, English for Specific Purposes, English Language Teaching, International English, Medicine, Oxford English for Careers, Roleplay, Sam McCarter

Here is a run down of the top blog posts I have read this week.I am hoping to make this a weekly feature (time permitting!).The first one isn't specifically edtech but contains from great advice from the UK National College for Teaching and Leadership on how to run successful school-led research projects.Students should be able to tell us what they are learning, not what app they are using. Wise words. This post runs through the top 10 ways we can use technology for learning.Macbooks, Chromebooks or ipads. This post tells us why we should think beyond the platform.Enjoy and have a nice weekend!This post originally appeared on Free Technology for Schools www.freetechforschools.com

This is the third of a six part series of articles from two ELT professionals who have successfully done just that: Mike Hogan and Bethany Cagnol. Here, they share advice on mapping out a marketing strategy. Following on from our previous articles, once you’ve thought about your income and expenditure needs, defined your services, carried out a SWOT analysis and researched your potential market and competitors, the next step is thinking about how to market and sell your training to clients and differentiating yourself from similar organizations. Where to start? Your business strategy is essential and also provides your starting point. You need to know where you are now, where you’re going and why. Your marketing strategy must then match your business strategy. The Market Mix 4 Ps is a good starting point. Get ready to define your Product, and in the case of ELT, your service. The place, promotion and price are the other three Ps. When thinking of the place, consider whether you’ll offer your services virtually or face-to-face, and whether you’ll offer them from home, a hired training room, the clients’ premises or elsewhere. Promotion refers to the channels you’ll use to communicate what you have to offer; researching your market and potential competitors can help you define these. With regard to price, you’ll need to think of the value of what you’re offering in its own right, but also relative to current market conditions, your competitors, and other factors. Getting noticed There’s no single ‘best’ way to market your ELT services. First, think about your prospective clientele and where they turn for information. If they read industry-specific journals, why not submit an article that draws on your expertise in this field. If they go to conferences, consider presenting some research or running a workshop. Conferences can also be useful in developing contacts with your peers, which in turn can lead to future project collaboration. Professional-looking business cards are essential, as is an online presence. Do you have a website or at least an online profile? Can you or your services be easily found online when doing a search for your area? How are you building a brand around your name? It’s not something which can be done overnight and requires patience and a step-by-step approach and a great deal of patience. Building relationships and serving needs Marketing is all about serving needs. Serving your customers’ needs requires skills in building relationships, finding out what they need and considering how you can meet those needs. You might even be able to create a need that a client was previously unaware of, which you, of course, can fill. When you meet with potential clients, focus on listening to what’s important for them, rather than trying to push your services. When you truly understand their needs, you’ll be better positioned to package what you can offer in a more suitable way. Get involved in ‘the business’ of language teaching. If you’re a freelancer, you’re the service provider and the school/client is your customer. Treat them like one. Care for them. Remember: they aren’t obliged to fill your schedule. Sales Sales and Marketing are inextricably linked. It’s essential that you’re comfortable presenting, negotiating, and talking about prices and money if you’re going to be selling your services. This doesn’t come easy to many, but you can actually find tips in coursebooks in the sales, marketing, presentations and negotiations sections. Remember all those roleplays you’ve done with your learners? Apply the same principles to your meetings with clients. With practice, it gets easier! If a potential client schedules a meeting with you, they’re probably also talking to your competitors. Don’t wait to reply to that email or draft that offer until tomorrow. Do it today. Complacency and overconfidence can be deadly. And even if your client is a long-standing and satisfied one, always assume that could change at any moment. Fend off competitors by continuing to offer tailored, top-quality services that differentiate you from the rest. Sometimes you may get a training contract with more training than you can deliver. This is when it becomes necessary to hire / subcontract other freelancers to work on your behalf. Remember they’ll be delivering the training under your name and your brand, and this can be pretty scary at first. So the importance of continued quality control in such instances can’t be stressed enough. Finally, a marketing plan is always in a state of flux. You need to monitor it regularly and adjust as necessary to react to changing market conditions and stay aligned with your overall strategy. This article first appeared in the January 2014 edition of the Teaching Adults Newsletter - a round-up of news, interviews and resources specifically for teachers of adults. If you teach adults, subscribe to the Teaching Adults Newsletter now.   © Mike Hogan and Bethany Cagnol, 2014. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the authors with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Business & English for Specific Purposes, Professional Development Tagged: Becoming a freelancer, Bethany Cagnol, ELT, ELT professionals, Freelancing, Mike Hogan, Teaching adults

Keith Morrow, an ELT consultant and trainer, reflects on how ‘authentic’ activities can provide an effective learning and teaching experience in the ELT classroom, ahead of his webinar on the subject.  Two buzz words in one title. Not bad! How authentic are you feeling today? Will the real you be going into class to do real things? And are you feeling autonomous? A free spirit or a cog in the machine? For a long time we have thought about ‘authenticity’ mainly in terms of materials. Let’s use real material from the real world in class. Down with stilted dialogues about John and Mary, up with real texts from magazines - or of course from the Internet. They are bound to be more interesting, because they are real. Umm, well - are they? Last weekend I got a notice from the tax authorities reminding me that I owe them some money. This was pretty boring even for me, but for a learner of English in a classroom anywhere in the world, being made to read my tax demand would be absolutely deadly. It has no connection to their world, and so they how could they engage with it? To use a distinction that Henry Widdowson made nearly 40 years ago, the text is ‘genuine’ - but the only person in the world for whom it is ‘authentic’ is me. I think that finding ways to make activities ‘authentic’ for learners is at the heart of good teaching. But what does this involve? How can we do it? Comments and suggestions are welcome. I’ll be exploring this and making some suggestions in the webinar I am leading next week on Tuesday 15th July and on Wednesday 16th July, so please come and join in. And while you are at it, what about ‘autonomy’? What can we do in the classroom to help learners to take charge of their own learning? And equally intriguing - what can we do to help teachers to develop their own skills? Again, please share your comments and suggestions. In the webinar I’m going to be drawing on two articles from ELT Journal to illustrate some ways of doing both of these, and I hope to be able to share links with you so that you can access the articles free of charge.Filed under: Adults / Young Adults, Professional Development Tagged: EFL, ELT, English Language Teaching, Keith Morrow, Professional Development, Teacher Development, Webinar