Inquiry-Based Learning: Developing Student-Driven Questions

As a language teacher, I use all kinds of tricks just because making students speak and building their self-confidence in keeping the conversation going is the most essential for me. When I teach Polish, my foreigners and I have to speak only Polish, and also my English classes are run wholly in English. I teach without a bridge language. This way they are required to forget about native language and start speaking as well as thinking in a foreign language. Thinking in a foreign language, this is basically what I want my learners to achieve. My students learn the language in different contexts, mostly singing phrases, expressions, collocations, idioms, phrasal verbs also telling stories. Moreover, I prompt them to speak to everybody, even to themselves in a foreign linguistic communication. Consequently, they can communicate as well as discuss a variety of beautiful narrations. Many teachers spend most of their time altering each other’s errors.
Nevertheless, I correct only fundamental mistakes, as I don’t want students to stop talking. I also encourage my learners to listen to songs, see flicks with captions in a language they learn, read a lot and then forward.

Halina's Online English Classes

I am a passionate non- native English teacher from Poland. Teaching is a big part of my life. With that understanding, I am a lifelong scholar.
I am in a blended learning/ training and flipped classroom.
The traditional physical classroom settings for my lessons are not efficient enough.
In my view, technology gives us many new possibilities.
I prefer blended learning, which means, taking advantage of both, traditional f2f techniques and opportunities confronted by new technologies.

An occasion to meet and connect with people from the entire Globe is one of the reasons I appreciate online communication, very much.

I retired in October 2013 and signed for a freelance Senior Lecturer occupation at the Wroclaw University of Technology.

At present, I am going to continue taking and giving online English courses. What is more, I am confidently getting ready to finalize my online project Halina’s English

Leonard Cohen Dance Me To The End Of Love

Lala, lala

Marek-Kiczkowiak about Native and Non- Native English Teachers

What makes a good English Teacher?

Slog's Dad

Slog's Dad
Slog's Dad is a story by the renowned British author David Almond and is the third of the BritLit kits produced by Russian teachers under the guidance of Alan Pulverness from NILE (Norwich Institute of Language Education). This BritLit kit is aimed at developing interest in and motivation for reading, based on creative exploration of the literary text.
Topic
Magic
Level
Upper-Intermediate / B2+
Age
14+
Aims

1. Pre-reading activities activate language and cultural knowledge necessary for understanding the story, as well leading into the genre of magical realism.
2. While-reading activities are designed to encourage predicting and interpreting, which are crucial for building up motivation for reading.
3. After-reading activities are focused on the style and themes of the story, which provides a good opportunity for the development of reading skills, as well as prompting imagination and creativity.

The ‘kit’ is aimed at developing interest in and motivation for reading, based on creative exploration of the literary text.

Pre-reading activities activate language and cultural knowledge necessary for comprehending the story, as well leading into the genre of magical realism.

While-reading activities are designed to encourage predicting and interpreting, which are crucial for building up motivation for reading.

After-reading activities are focused on the style and themes of the story, which provides a good opportunity for the development of reading skills, as well as prompting imagination and creativity.

The ‘kit’ was designed by Russian teachers and methodologists under the guidance of Alan Pulverness,  Assistant Academic Director, Norwich Institute for Language Education, UK.

By;

 Elizaveta Bogdanova Ludmila Borbotko Olga Romanova Svetlana Sokolova Olga Sventsitskaya Ludmila Talsi Marina Vorontsova

 Tell a fantastic story

 Sample story: Once a baby was left at home with its sister, Anna, who was only 5 years old. Their parents went to the supermarket to do some shopping. Anna was playing with the baby when she heard a dog barking outside. She opened the window and looked out. There was a rabbit being taken for a walk by Mr Fletcher, who lived nearby. Oh, the rabbit was so lovely that Anna couldn’t but show it to her little brother. She took him to the window. It was not very difficult. Then she put him on the window- sill and… the baby… fell down from the fifth floor! Guess what? He landed right on the fluffy rabbit … safe and sound!

Why You Need To Include Narrative In Your Online Learning

Why You Need To Include Narrative In Your Online Learning:
Want to know why you need to include Narrative In Your Online Learning? Check all the reasons why you need to include Narrative In Your Online Learning.

By Juliette Denny

April 4, 2017

Storytelling is my primary teaching approach.

The main benefit to using narrative in training is that stories are easier to remember

 It just involves creating a story in your mind containing all the elements you want to recall.

The ancient memory recall technique that’s still used by majority of teachers and students is not effective at all.

Memorizing isolated vocabulary doesn't  make any sense.
Students should learn the language in the natural contexts, with the expressions, the phrases, and idioms.

 

Interview with Marek Kiczkowiak

Interview with Marek Kiczkowiak

Interview description

Marek shares his work in raising awareness of native speakerism with employers, teacher training organisations and customers. Marek looks at the need to discuss global English, address the different training needs and prepare trainees and learners expectations as best we can.

Reducing the demand for native English speaking teachers

Submitted by Anne Radowick on Tue, 2017-04-04 10:31

Marek points to the weak link in the cycle when he mentions marketers and agents.  I think students are open-minded about who they will consider a "real" teacher. It may be the prejudice of their parents that keeps this system going as well.  How are you going to reach the marketers? Do they go to conferences? Are they keeping up with the myriad of changes that come with our profession? If they do not, then it will be quite difficult for them to be on the side of the students and promote learning from a well-qualified teacher of whatever background.  Once the seller makes it clear that a product is no longer on offer, the buyers will have to adjust their wants to what is available.  Who doesn't enjoy a good rotary dial telephone?? But they are no longer for sale so we move on and make do with our smartphones.  And lo and behold, calls go through.  The same will happen in TEFL if agents can get the customer to move on to the next generation of product. 

I am a Non - Native English Teacher

Submitted by Halina Ostankow... on Tue, 2017-04-04 12:15

I am a Non- Native English Online Teacher looking for the line of work for a long time.
The biggest problem is my nonnativeness.
I have been offering English Conversational Online Courses for some time and had a lot of students participating for free.
Alas, when it comes to paid courses, nobody has decided to sign, nonetheless.
I would require the necessary question about how dependable is a teacher, what science does he use, what are the methods and the teaching effectiveness.