Teacher Talks at RMIT Vietnam

TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

Engaging teens: it is possible to harness the interests, dreams and talents of teens and young adults in the classroom, but there are pitfalls to try to avoid. Read on to find out what they might be and how to get it right. Have you found other ways to effectively utilize your learners’ interests?

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/…/3-techniques-increasin…

Join us at our next Teacher Talks in Danang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City for a morning of sharing and networking. Register at:
http://tinyurl.com/TeachertalksEngagement

teachingenglish.org.uk

Feedback is important, not only to guide students through their assignments, but also as a method of developing a new cycle of language input and making new opportunities for meaningful communication in English.

https://www.wanderingeducators.com/language/learning/esl-tips-importance-giving-feedback.html

Come join us at our next event to meet and share with others - sign up at http://bit.ly/TeachertalksEngagement

Teen Engagement in Learning Starts With Respect

Motivating teens: Sometimes we feel that there is nothing more we can do to motivate groups or individuals that don’t seem engaged. Here are a few more things to try - have any of them worked for you? https://www.edutopia.org/blog/teen-engagement-starts-with-respect-julie-baron

Come join us at our next event to meet and share with others - sign up at http://bit.ly/TeachertalksEngagement

edutopia.org

Please join us for a morning of sharing ideas and good practice. We look forward to seeing some old faces and welcoming new ones! Sign up here: http://bit.ly/TeachertalksEngagement

Collocation with advanced levels 2- classroom activities

Collocations: What are they? Why are they important? What are learner challenges in using them?

We'll have a look at answering these questions with our next few posts and try to understand the importance of learning collocations to our students.

This post will share a few low-prep, high usage activities for teaching/using collocations in the classroom.

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/collocation-advanced-levels-2-classroom-activities

teachingenglish.org.uk The first article - Collocation with advanced levels 1 - gives an overview of the topic of collocation

Learning Collocations

Collocations: What are they? Why are they important? What are learner challenges in using them?

We'll have a look at answering these questions with our next few posts and try to understand the importance of learning collocations to our students.

Our next post looks at a useful online tool for learners to use to help them develop a bank of collocations around the vocabulary they need to learn.

http://flax.nzdl.org/greenstone3/flax?a=fp&sa=collAbout&c=collocations

flax.nzdl.org There are many definitions of collocation. We think of collocations in the same way as expressed by Benson et al.: "In any language, certain words combine with certain other words or grammatical constructions. These recurrent, semi-fixed combinations, or collocations, can be divided into two groups:...

Collocations: What Are They & Why Are They Important?

Collocations: What are they? Why are they important? What are learner challenges in using them?

We'll have a look at answering these questions with our next few posts and try to understand the importance of learning collocations to our students.

First, take a look at this simple to understand overview of what collocations are, and why they are an integral part of language learning:

https://keepsmilingenglish.com/2015/03/collocations-what-are-they-why-are-they-important/

keepsmilingenglish.com English collocations are an extremely important aspect of the language. If you want to sound natural, you need to know why collocations are important. :-)

Teaching Communication Skills

Lots of activities in our classes involve students communicating with each other, through discussions, presentations, and other media. This article presents an interesting framework for identifying key sub-skills of communication, and suggests how we might go about teaching them!
https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-communication-skills

edutopia.org A framework for exploring with students what good communication looks like and for helping them develop the necessary skills.

TEACHER’S TOOLKIT LITE v.1

This teacher-created app was a little fiddly to download (it is just for Android, and not available in the play store so you need to download via the link) but it is worth it - dice, a coin to flip, random letter and questions word selectors, and an attention-grabbing noise-maker all in your pocket! '
What do you never go to class without?

https://eltcation.wordpress.com/2018/09/11/teachers-toolkit-lite-v-1/

eltcation.wordpress.com Every teacher needs a magical carry-all, sort of Mary Poppins’ capacious bag that would contain all ‘necessary’, ‘absolutely necessary’ and ‘could be handy’…

Productivity theme for MindMup

We have been tryiing out this great free tool for mindmapping - Mindmup (https://www.mindmup.com). You can use it for your own planning, or for your learners to plan essays, presentations or projects. Groups can work on one together, giving it potential for group projects too. How could you use it in your context? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtDtAWPJUhA&feature=youtu.be

MindMup now makes it easier to manage large maps with a new theme, called Productivity, which helps you put more information on a single screen, distinguish ...

Activities for Learners

Would you like to help your students find some self-study material? Try out this resource from Cambridge - learners choose the area they want to practise, their level, and how much time they have, and get suggestions of activities.
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/learning-english/activities-for-learners/

cambridgeenglish.org

Phonemic Chart: Learn the chart and type in phonetic symbols

Try out this great phonemic chart tool. You can use it to type phonemic script, find words already transcribed, learn about phonemes, and make flashcards to help your learners remember the script.
http://www.phonemicchart.com/

Do you use the phonemic script in class? Share your tips below ...

phonemicchart.com ADD SITE DESCRIPTION

Preparing for IELTS: Useful Links

Are your learners preparing for IELTS? Check out this great set of resources collated by Lizzie Pinard to share with them - https://independentenglish.wordpress.com/2015/01/25/preparing-for-ielts-useful-links/.
Share your own favourites in the comments!

independentenglish.wordpress.com Are you currently preparing for the IELTS exam? If so, you might have noticed that there is a lot of stuff available on the internet to help you. But where do you start? Here! This post gives you a…

Exploring the other 3Rs with YLs « IH Journal

Want to engage younger learners in topics around the environment and sustainability? The most recent IH Journal has some great ideas for the classroom by Xana de Nagy. Which is your favourite?

http://ihjournal.com/exploring-the-other-3rs-with-yls

ihjournal.com > My session at the recent IHWO Young Learners Conference at IH Reggio Calabria was on this and in this article, I’m going to focus on some practical ideas for exploring the idea of ‘reuse, reduce and recycle’ in the YL classroom. At the conference, I attended many inspirational sessions run b...

:: Phonetics Focus - A Sound Choice ::

This site looks really useful if you are using the phonemic chart in your classroom. To consolidate their learning, learners can play a range of (quite challenging) games on a PC or download the app.

http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/Phonetics_Focus/

If you try this out, please share your experience with the group. I like the Phonetic Pelmanism game :-)

cambridgeenglishonline.com

ReadyTeacher: pencil case series

This great blog site includes a series of interviews with teachers exploring the relationship between last-minute relief teaching and the principle of teaching with minimal resources. There are lots of useful tips.

Which is your favourite tip?

rteachr.blogspot.com data:blog.metaDescription

Teaching pronunciation: muscle, mind, meaning, memory

This is a great, very practical 7 minute video with Mark Hancock demonstrating 4 in class activities to teach the 4 Ms of pronunciation: muscle, mind, meaning and memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGdHVzlsrTc

Have you tried similar activities in your classroom?

Take a look at an English pronunciation lesson, with teacher and author Mark Hancock using materials and techniques from his books PronPack 1-4 (http://pronp...

Pecha Kucha - For the language and communications classroom

Pecha Kucha (Japanese for chit-chat) is a presentation format that is based on using 20 presentation slides but only talking about each of them for 20 seconds. I find this speaking activity unfailingly motivating for learners.

How could you adapt the task for different proficiency levels or ages?

https://peacheypublications.com/pecha-kucha-for-the-language-and-communications-classroom

peacheypublications.com Pecha Kucha (Japanese for chit-chat) is a presentation format that is based on using 20 presentation slides but only talking about each of them for 20 seconds.

[09/18/18]   Now that we've wrapped up all three events of our Extensive Reading Teacher Talks Series, we'd like to start sharing some of the wonderful material from them. Please head over to our Teacher Talks at RMIT Vietnam Teacher Chat Group to find it. If you haven't joined the group yet, head over now and see for yourself!

A selection of photos from our Danang Teacher Talks: Extensive Reading, September 10, 2018. Many thanks to all who participated and attended

A selection of photos from our Danang Teacher Talks: Extensive Reading, September 10, 2018. Many thanks to all who participated and attended

Memorisation activities

Are you unsure of whether your learners have understood and processed the language you have just taught them? This practical blog post is filled with memorisation techniques to help you.
Do you have any of your own to add? Discuss below!

https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/memorisation-activities/

sandymillin.wordpress.com I put together this selection of memorisation activities for a CELTA course at LangLTC in Warsaw and thought it would be a good idea to share the activities here too. The activities can be used: af…

A selection of photos from our SGS Teacher Talks: Extensive Reading. Many thanks to all who participated and attended!

A selection of photos from our SGS Teacher Talks: Extensive Reading. Many thanks to all who participated and attended!

Communicating learning outcomes to students – ELT Ideas

This is an interesting blog post discussing how one teacher was able to incorporate learning outcomes in a way that was meaningful for their students.
Is this something we should be doing in our classes? Is it only suitable for high-level learners, or could it be modified for all types of classes and students. We'd love to see your thoughts on this below!

http://www.eltideas.com/teaching-ideas/communicating-learning-outcomes-to-students/

eltideas.com

What exactly do we mean by speaking skills?

How do we 'teach speaking'? What does that even mean? This blog post may has some ideas for how we can be more focused with our speaking activities.

https://elt-resourceful.com/2017/12/05/what-exactly-do-we-mean-by-speaking-skills/

elt-resourceful.com A couple of weeks ago I received a comment on the blog from a teacher who asked me to write a post about speaking skills. This is what she said: ‘The other day I was asked to observe some students …

The Lessons of the Dandelion | Edutopia

Teaching is a rewarding job, but by no means easy. Hopefully new and experienced teachers alike can find some inspiration in this article!
https://edutopia.org/article/lessons-dandelion

edutopia.org The ubiquitous yellow bloom—beautiful but very tough—has worthwhile lessons for teachers embarking on their careers.

Getting Started With Person-First Language | Edutopia

Using person-first language is a way we can welcome students with different abilities and learning differences into our classroom.

https://edutopia.org/article/getting-started-person-first-language

edutopia.org Focusing on who students are as individuals—instead of on learning differences or other descriptors—starts with empathy.

Important Questions to Ask Your Students | Edutopia

Empathy is one of the key skills of a great teacher. Read this article to find out how to improve yours!

https://edutopia.org/article/important-questions-ask-your-students

edutopia.org Discovering your students’ answers to these questions can help you create positive conditions for learning.

web

It is important that we understand the problems that students of English whose first language is Vietnamese may struggle with. Read this article to help you understand our students better!

http://viethoc.com/Ti-Liu/bien-khao/khao-luan/analyzingsomepersistenterrorsinenglishmadebyvietnamesespeakers

viethoc.com Main public website - Viện Việt-Học - viethoc.com

Strategies to Help Your Students Feel Heard | Edutopia

Sometimes, as teachers, we get so caught up in trying to make sure our students listen to us, we forget to listen to them. This article has some great advice in it!

https://edutopia.org/article/strategies-help-your-students-feel-heard

edutopia.org One way to cultivate a classroom culture in which students feel valued and respected is to focus on listening to them.

Beyond single words: working with meaningful lexical chunks | TESOL

This is a great post, with lots of activity ideas, which may inspire you to help students master English through the teaching of lexical chunks!

http://hongkongtesol.com/blog/2018/01/beyond-single-words-working-meaningful-lexical-chunks

hongkongtesol.com Real communication is much more complex than just memorising a word. When we communicate we need to put grammar to work, understand our interlocutor and the situation.

Improving Reading Skills Through Talking | Edutopia

This article helps explain how we can improve our students reading skills by getting them talking!

https://edutopia.org/article/improving-reading-skills-through-talking

edutopia.org Partnering on note taking, a strategy developed for struggling readers, helps middle and high school students process what they read.

Delta

Have you ever thought of taking the DELTA to improve your teaching skills?
https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/delta/

sandymillin.wordpress.com The Cambridge Delta (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) is an advanced teaching diploma for teachers of English as a Foreign Language. My Delta (overview) I completed Modul…

Conversation Questions for the ESL/EFL Classroom (I-TESL-J)

Do you ever find yourself stuck for questions to ask your students on a topic. This website has a huge number of questions, arranged by topic. Enjoy!
http://iteslj.org/questions/

iteslj.org Interesting questions for discussions in Engish lessons.

Group Work That Really Works | Edutopia

Lots of teachers at RMIT like to have students work together to write essays. Could this work for you?

https://www.edutopia.org/article/group-work-really-works?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

edutopia.org A group essay writing activity pushes every student to contribute—and it can lead to real growth in writing ability.

We are delighted to announce our next Teacher Talks with special guest speakers along with RMIT presenters.
We will also have the pleasure of hearing local Extensive Reading specialist Vo Huong share her experience and research in Ho Chi Minh City.
Register for your FREE place at: https://tinyurl.com/teachertalksextensivereading

Why won’t they speak?!

https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2018/03/14/why-wont-they-speak/
Do you ever have problems getting students to speak? Let us know if these tips are helpful!!

sandymillin.wordpress.com

Ten Pre-Listening Activities - EFL Magazine

Teaching listening is hard. Here are ten activities that help activate schemata and get students ready to listen! https://eflmagazine.com/ten-pre-listening-activities/

eflmagazine.com Ten Pre-Listening Activities Our Pre-listening activities play a very important role in helping students to learn how to listen in the foreign language.

Picnic English | Learn English with free worksheets

One thing our students often say is that they would like to do more with songs in class! Here is a great website with activities that you can use to bring more songs into your classroom! Enjoy :)

http://picnicenglish.com/

picnicenglish.com Free song worksheets and video worksheets to learn English. Teach vocabulary and grammar from pop culture. Lesson plans for students of EFL, ESL, TEFL, TOEFL.

V is for Vocabulary teaching

This is one of our favourite blogs on ELT, written by someone who has spoken in the past at RMIT Vietnam, Scott Thornbury. In this post, he gives some helpful principles to help you take your vocabulary teaching to the next level! https://scottthornbury.wordpress.com/2013/06/02/v-is-for-vocabulary-teaching/

scottthornbury.wordpress.com A teacher educator in Norway reports on how she has used ideas from my book How to Teach Vocabulary (2002) on an in-service course for local primary and lower secondary school teachers. Mona Flognf…