ELT Bakery

The topic of last Wednesday’s evening #ELTChat on April 25 was How to combine face-to-face and online learning in blended courses? The experience with blended learning varied quite a lot among participants, which made the discussion really interesting. The #ELTChat was moderated by @ShellTerrell @SueAnnan and @theteacherjames. Thank you for great questions and for guiding us through such a rich chat! Four questions were answered throughout the chat.

What is a blended course?
Many participants gave definitions of a blended course. According to @SueAnnan It contains an element of f2f and online work. @DinaDobrou used Wikipedia’s definition: A mixing of diff learning environments. Combines traditional f2f class methods w/ more computer-mediated activities. @eltbakery quoted Sharma & Barrett (2007) “A language course which combines F2F classroom component with an appropriate use of technology.” @lissa77 added: Blended learning is when there is f2f classroom teaching along with some form of online/tech component.

How do we balance F2F & online components of a blended learning course?
@Aofemile suggested that content balancing depends on the course focus, learner’s needs and teacher’s skills. @Aofemile also stated that where learners have advanced IT skills put more content online, where internet access is problematic use more f2f. According to @ShellTerrell The balance will depend also on the teacher’s experience with blended learning & the tech involved. Good point raised by @eannegrenoble: Balancing content ? I find the f2f leads to the online – the online is an extension to what we do in class. @__CCE: The balance will depend also on the teacher’s experience with blended learning & the tech involved.

What are the factors that need to be considered when deciding the balance?
According to @ShellTerrell Age is also important in deciding on the appropriate balance. @TFilTeacher added: Age Appropriate Methods is crucial. We must know our students well so that we can challenge & motivate them. @tougo mentioned that the presence of teacher makes the difference, whether f2f or online (e.g. via Skype). @esolcourses suggested: The yardstick I generally use is whether or not they need my assistance to do it (some tasks don’t). @BrunoELT added: things that sts can discover by themselves & are motivators shld b dealt online. @irishmikeh added: relevance is the key. If it’S really relevant, chances they’ll do the online work is higher. For @antoniaclare it is important to integrate the ‘outside class’ work with the ‘inside class’ work to help with relevance. @esolcourses added: confidence, prev. learning experiences, and attitudes to tech can play a part as well.

What kind of content is better to teach asynchronously?
According to @SueAnnan You could do a large part of the theoretical stuff online, but the practical parts are better face to face IMO. The asynchronous part can be done at own speed. @Sandymillin added: no exp. of blended courses here, but I think reading-heavy or courses that need a lot of time to absorb bttr online. @JoHart mentioned that asynch works well for reinforcing activities, wtiting tsks etc esp if you use blogging, synch for initial intro of stuff & groupwk. @eltbakery mentioned: Regarding content, I believe extended grammar/vocab practice & receptive skills pract cause it can be done at SS own pace. @SphiaMav: I think the group element can work well asynchronously too especially online. @chiasuan: I’ve found adding webinars/recorded sessions to T Training courses very useful.

Links mentioned in the chat:
@JoHart: Just piloting strategy to try & instill online learning skills with literacy students: http://t.co/kIZm64KW
@eltbakery: Alternative Assessment for Busy teachers: http://eltbakery.edublogs.org/?p=1044
@sandymillin Would highly recommend the IH COLT for those wanting to find out more about online teaching http://t.co/kh2sCNSG
@pysproblem81 How do people use their VLE to support classes currently? This is BL, no? My ideas here: http://t.co/l6WjHzCF
@anotniaclare Blended learning plan for Speakout has just launched, so still a baby http://t.co/kPFmfmAw

Here’s a list of conferences and seminars for English teachers in South America in 2012. I am waiting for other TESOL organizations to confirm dates for this year’s events. I will be at the ABCI Conference in São Paulo and at the Braz Tesol National Convention in Rio de Janeiro. See you there!

ELT Conferences 2012 – South America

May 11-12  ARTESOL 25th Anniversary Conference Santa Fe – Argentina

May 25-26  VENTESOL 30th Annual Tesol Convention Valencia – Venezuela

July 6-8   IATEFL Peru International Annual Conference - Peru

July 9-11  Teaching Unplugged Course (Braz Tesol RN) Natal – Brazil

July 12-14  ABCI Conference São Paulo – Brazil

July 16-19 Braz Tesol National Convention Rio de Janeiro – Brazil

July 23-24  9th CTJ TEFL Seminar Brasília – Brazil

July 26-27 7th Share Convention Buenos Aires – Argentina

July 31-Aug 2  XX Peru Tesol Annual Conference Chiclayo – Peru

September 20-22 XXXVII FAAPI Conference San Martin de los Andes – Argentina

Please add any event which isn’t on this list.

On the last day of the IATEFL Conference in Glasgow, Chris Bowie gave the talk Life as an in-house corporate trainer: Moving beyond the classroom.
In this talk, he shares his experience training the staff from PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) based in Beijing, though he often has to travel to other offices in Asia and visit some of the 10,000 employees trained by him and another English trainer. He analyzes the issues he has faced by leaving the classroom and working as more than an English trainer for PWC. He presents 6 key tips he has learnt along the way.

 
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL SESSION

 
Bowie starts out by giving a brief background of his corporate clients:
•    10,000 employees from different positions within the same company
•    Professions include: auditors, tax accountants, consultants and managers.
•    Level: Mostly B1-B2
•    Age range: Mid 20s to mid 30s
•    Materials: Own material + digital tools

This talk was not only interesting for the 6 tips given by Bowie, but also because I was able to compare the BE teaching context in Asia with the one in Brazil. Although I’ve been working here as a freelance English trainer in international companies with small groups, Bowie has been hired exclusively to work at PWC. According to him, one of the benefits of being hired by a company is that “your clients feel more confident and open to talk about the company and their professional lives.”

 
One of the problems he has been through is the fact that there is a fixed annual budget and, even though there might be a shift in the demand or kind of training throughout the year, the budget cannot be altered. For this reason, the use of technology and digital tools is so important in order to reduce costs.

In one of his slides, he shows a 70-20-10 ratio as how his clients learn business English:
•    70% on the job learning
•    20% from colleagues
•    10% training

Being ‘outside’ the general hierarchy of the company was also a problem at the beginning. What’s his position among the staff? One of the tips he gives is to stay in constant contact with key people and know who you should talk to.

 
One interesting point he makes is how his position and duties have drastically changed over the last few years. Despite being initially hired as an English trainer, he has been working in other areas such as managing and coaching staff. That was only possible because he was flexible and open to exploit opportunities (which is also one of his tips).

The research done by Bowie together with his experience in China have made me think about another level in Business English teaching. You are not only helping clients to develop business skills and achieve tasks involved in BE teaching – you are also part of the whole corporate system. Education & corporations entangled – or has it always been like that?

Photo from http://adrianpronchart.wordpress.com/

Adrian Underhill opened the 46th Annual IATEFL Conference with a talk on two emerging and connected fields which greatly impact our profession: Systems thinking and action, which involves the complex ‘messes’ we find ourselves in and Post-heroic leadership practices which emerges out of the failure of traditional forms of leadership to deal adequately with ‘messes’.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL SESSION

Underhill states that context is everything, everything is connected. Connectedness rather than control might be an option we should be looking for. He starts out by suggesting the audience to:
1. Think of a simple difficulty-situation you have faced recently at your workplace.
2. Think of a complex situation you have faced recently at your workplace.
3. Now list the ways in which the simple and complex situations differ.

He then states the difference between mess and difficulty and suggests some of the effects these two issues can cause in a school or institution.

Difficulty: someone can be worked out and we can use our existing knowledge to fix it. A mess is extensive, uncertain, and ambiguous. There’s no correct view. No tidy fix within current thinking.

• Everything in a system affects everything. Blame doesn’t work here. You can’t predict a classroom or the staff room from any of the bits.

• Systems thinking tends to see relationships as primary and things as secondary.

• Everyone who is alive has influence. But how do you take responsibility for it?

• Hierarchical leadership cannot handle today’s complexity.

Underhill then suggests some solutions to dealing with such complexity in a school.

• Leadership can come from anywhere in a system.

• The essential leadership job is to help people adapt values, adapt reality or adapt both. (Heifetz)

• A healthy school strives to develop people’s internal commitment by aligning its purposes with the purposes of people. People are doing what it’s essentially important for them. By aligning purpose and value you create coherence. As a school become coherent, it becomes more transparent. Feedback is more transparent. We value feedback but we’re not living in a transparent system.

Adrian Underhill is the series editor of the Macmillan Books for Teachers, author of Sound Foundations: Learning and Teaching Pronunciation, and recently brought out SOUNDS: The Pronunciation App.

Photo from bjovanovic.wordpress.com

Jeremy Harmer was the facilitator of this year’s Pecha Kucha night sponsored by Pearson. He first introduced the idea of Pecha Kucha and how it works.  The first Pecha Kucha was done at the University of Exeter in 2008 when Lindsay Clandfield invited some teachers. Jeremy compared the first experience as being in the Coliseum. He then introduced the eight presenters of the night: Vicky Hollett, Jeoff Tranter , Barbara Sakamoto, Shelly Terrell , Herbert Puchta , Willy Cardoso , Vicky Saumell , Helena Gomm.

• Vicky Hollett mentioned her experience in learning to speak ‘merican’. She talked about her experience of living in Philadelphia and how things such as politeness, style and discourse structure are different in the US.

• Willy Cardoso from Brazil gave a Pecha Kucha on Teaching at the edge of chaos.

• Shelly Terrell explained her love for technology and helping other teachers use it. A bunch of amazing possible or impossible apps were introduced. “I wish there was an app for that!”

• Barbara Sakamoto talked about teaching in Japan and being an author.

• Joeff Tranter gave a hilarious talk on Alcholinguistics.

• Vicky Saumell talked about The Power of Choice.

• Helena Gomm gave a very interesting Pecha Kucha entitled Don’t shoot the editor! and the troubles of writing books for different markets.

• Herbert Puchta closed the night with a very interesting talk on The Real Secrets of Teaching Teens Successfully.

So, shall we count them in?  5…4…3….2….1…

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL PECHA KUCHA NIGHT.