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Q&A session (Questions and Answers) related to CLIL

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Q&A session (Questions and Answers) related to CLIL

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This accompanies the launch of the CLIL course starting 19.2.19 but may be of interest in general

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This was our LIVE question and answer session about CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning).
💥 You can learn more about CLIL, plus find lots more tips and practical support on our moderated...

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British Council online CLIL course starting 19.2.19

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British Council online CLIL course starting 19.2.19

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This online course isn't free (it costs 100 pounds) but you may be interested in what it can provide you with

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Overview

In this 5-week online course, you will be guided by our expert tutors through a series of awareness-raising activities, group discussions, live webinars and practical tasks which will help you develop your understanding of and ability to teach your subject in a second language.

Each week, you will develop your skills in a different area:

Week 1: Getting started (Introductions, collaborative tools, reflective practice)

This is a chance to familiarise yourself with the online platform, meet your tutor and other participants during a live webinar and find out what you will be expected to do in terms of contributing to forum discussions and assignments.

Week 2: Understanding CLIL - CLIL in practice

This module explores CLIL and its contexts, and helps you evaluate your strengths as a CLIL teacher. It also gives you a chance to consider useful techniques for supporting learners in English medium classes. You will compare CLIL contexts, including those in other countries, with your own and describe the difference between soft and hard CLIL. You will also evaluate your strengths in CLIL, identify examples of good practice in a given lesson, analyse features of CLIL, such as higher-order thinking skills and identify features which relate to your context. Finally, you will draw up a list of techniques that help learners follow English-medium classes, recognise the importance of observing and being observed and select an activity that highlights some of the features of CLIL and justify your choice.

Week 3: Engaging with CLIL - language demands and thinking skills

In this module you will think about what demands different language input has for your learners. You will also consider how to encourage higher-order thinking skills so your learners don't simply understand and memorise, but analyse, evaluate and create. You will think about what kinds of language demands texts can make on your learners, identify differences between BICS and CALP, identify thinking skills and ask questions that promote higher-order thinking skills. You will also learn how to incorporate development of thinking skills into lessons and reflect on how highlighting local language aspects can help your learners.

Week 4: Engaging with CLIL - supporting learners

This module will help you support learners through areas such as scaffolding, teacher talk, use of L1, learning aids and ICT. You will look at a number of different techniques to help learners in this way, and consider how teacher talk can be most helpful in your own classroom. You'll be able to use graphic organisers and other teaching aids to support learners. Finally, you'll learn more about using and sharing ICT resources for learners and teachers.

Week 5: Engaging with CLIL - assessment for CLIL

Assessment is the basis of syllabus and lesson planning. Although it may take place at the end of what can sometimes be a long process, it determines everything you do in the classroom. This module looks at the differences between CLIL and general assessment, considering areas such as formative and summative assessment, and whether to focus more on subject content or language. You will look at the purpose of assessment, identify the features of and describe the differences between assessment of learning (summative assessment) and assessment for learning (formative assessment) and prepare assessment criteria. You will be able to identify and analyse different techniques characteristic of formative and summative assessment types, resolve the question of whether to assess content or language and give guidelines on assessment in CLIL. Finally, you will identify the elements of a task which determine its language demands or risk, apply the '3 dimensions' model to assessment and identify key differences between CLIL and general assessment.

Price: £100 (British pounds)

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Exploring content and language integrated learning (CLIL)

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In this 5-week online course, you will be guided by our expert tutors through a series of awareness-raising activities, group discussions, live webinars and practical tasks which will help you develop your understanding of and ability to teach your subject in a second language.

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Final session, session five - More Riot Grrrl

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Final session, session five - More Riot Grrrl

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Riot Grrrl: The '90s Movement that Redefined Punk

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Final session, session five - Riot Grrrl (or gurrrl)

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Final session, session five - Riot Grrrl (or gurrrl)

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Mentioned in relation to the background of the band we're looking at today (No Doubt) - link below image

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Final session, session five - New wave/ ska

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Final session, session five - New wave/ ska

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Mentioned in relation to the background of the band we're looking at today (No Doubt) - link below image

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Final session, session five - handout materials for the song we're looking at today

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Final session, session five - handout materials for the song we're looking at today

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Final session, session five - Lyricstraining.com : for practising with songs at home 

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Final session, session five - Lyricstraining.com : for practising with songs at home 

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This site is one of the best I know for concentrated practice in listening, and is fun! (here, using the song we're looking at today in class)

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No Doubt - Don't Speak | Vídeo Musical, Letra de la Canción y Karaoke

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Aprende Inglés de una forma divertida con el vídeo musical y la letra de la canción "Don't Speak" de No Doubt

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Final session, session five.... using songs in class

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Final session, session five.... using songs in class

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Well! maybe not quite like this... but can you make out the meaning of these mimes? (they may be homophones for words in the lyric, or interpretations of meaning....)

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David Armand - Queen - Don't Stop Me Now (Interpretative Dance)

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¿Qué prefieres, escuchar toda la mitología griega pegado al pupitre, o descubrir el mundo de los héroes y los mitos a partir de su investigación en la música, la literatura y el arte contemporáneos? No contestes todavía. ¿Qué te gustaría más, volver del patio y que te expliquen en dos sesiones de una hora la evolución de los primeros habitantes de la tierra, o que tú y tus compañeros os lancéis a defender -con argumentación científica- el yacimiento que hay en el pueblo del al lado, que parece ser que amenazado por un pelotazo inmobiliario?

"Hombre, preferimos trabajar con los proyectos, que nos ayudan a aprender cosas que nos servirán para la vida real, y que nos motivan. Son retos", apunta uno de los alumnos de Cuarto de ESO del instituto público de Sils (Girona). Él es de los que está recabando información con sus compañeros para armar una defensa justificada del yacimiento -realmente existente, y anteriormente amenazado- del Camp dels Ninots, cerca de Girona.

El trabajo por proyectos ha relegado las asignaturas a un tercio del horario en este centro educativo gerundense, y cada vez gana más terreno, según los expertos, a la clásica organización compartimentada de las materias. "El conocimiento no es algo separado que se baste a sí mismo, sino que está inmerso en un proceso por el cual la vida se sostiene", proclamaba hace décadas el pedagogo americano John Dewey, una frase que adapta al siglo XXI Iolanda Arboleas, directora el instituto: "Queremos futuros ciudadanos que sepan relacionar aprendizajes, que sean capços de trabajar en equipo, de innovar, de adaptarse a los cambios y comunicar bien".

Además de algunos centros educativos públicos, que como en Sils hace años que apuestan por esta metodología, en las últimas semanas ha trascendido el atrevimiento de las escuelas de los Jesuitas de Catalunya, una institución centenaria que en su profunda renovación también ha decidido cambiar las asignaturas por los proyectos. O el siempre envidiado sistema educativo finlandés, que recientemente también ha visto en las asignaturas un signo caduco de tiempos educativos pasados.

Y es que los proyectos son sólo la palanca que permite a muchos docentes transformar los aprendizajes de sus alumnos en una actividad más motivadora -los gusta el reto-, cooperativa -suelen trabajar en grupo- y significativa -las propuestas suelen ser vinculadas al entorno del centro. "Los alumnos siempre te preguntan: '¿pero eso para qué me servirá a mí?' Pues bien, los proyectos sí, dan sentido a su aprendizaje. Está comprobado que les motivan", expone Neus Sanmartí, durante años directora del Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación de la UAB y coautora del libro ¿ Trabajamos por proyectos? "Los currículos de todo el mundo van hacia los proyectos, porque permiten un trabajo interdisiplinar: los conocimientos deben relacionarse porque en la vida los problemas reales son complejos".

Pero, ¿cómo lo hacen en Sils?

En el instituto de Sils tuvieron la suerte de empezar de cero. El centro abrió sus puertas en 2008 y lo hizo con un equipo de profesores con inquietudes pedagógicas y ganas de cambiar las cosas. "Sabíamos que queríamos acabar con los cuatro jinetes del apocalipsis de la Secundaria, en nuestra opinión orígenes de todos los males", recalca Arboleas, "que son la exigencia de unos niveles mínimos para todos los alumnos, la segregación por niveles, la obsesión del docente por su materia -muy propio de la ESO-, y la concepción del alumno como receptor de conocimientos", expone la directora.

En su cruzada contra los jintes, en Sils encontraron un claro aliado en el trabajo por proyectos. Actualmente dividen el horario lectivo en tres franjas -que no asignaturas-, "que van de menos a más autonomía para el alumno". Las tres tienen el mismo peso horario. La primera es la de la llamada clase magistral. En el instituto consideran que también debe haber espacio para la transmisión de conocimientos. La segunda es la franja de los procedimientos. "Aquí metemos las mates y las lenguas, sobre todo la enseñanza procedimental. La ortografía y las ecuaciones, por ejemplo, se han de aprender a partir de la repetición", constata Arboleas. Y la tercera es la de los proyectos.

Hacen uno cada mes. "Al principio dejábamos que los alumnos decidieran libremente sus proyectos, pero nos encontramos que no salíamos de las tribus urbanas... Y ahora les damos orientaciones", detalla la directora. Esto les ha permitido repartir los temas con algo más de equilibrio en función de las materias, aunque el objetivo es que cualquier proyecto incorpore contenidos de cualquiera de las materias.

¿Cualquiera? Responde uno de los profesores del instituto, durante el recreto: "Sí, a ver, por ejemplo un proyecto sobre aislamientos -él es profe de tecnología-: incorpora tecnología, matemáticas porque tienes que tomar las medidas de la casa, ciencias naturales para estudiar los materiales con que lo puedes hacer, historia de la vivienda y los materiales de construcción del entorno, y lengua porque en todos los casos hacemos exposición oral al final...".

Para integrar todas las disciplinas los profesores tuvieron que despojar los currículos de cada área, con la intención de obtener aquellos conceptos imprescindibles "para que luego los alumnos construyan sus propios conocimientos". En este proceso, apunta Arboleas, no hay libro de texto que valga, pero sí los infinitos recursos de internet.

Las evaluaciones y el papel del profesor

Renunciar a las asignaturas, como han hecho en Sils, es tumbar una pieza de dominó. Automáticamente se tambalean muchas otras piezas, como los exámenes o el papel del maestro dominador del aula.

Quitar peso a los exámenes, tal como han hecho en Sils o en las escuelas Jesuitas, permite centrar la mirada más en la evolución de cada alumno. "Es la evaluación continuada que siempre hemos reivindicado pero que nunca se aplicaba", expone Arboleas. Los alumnos de Sils, simplificando el proceso, obtienen más de la mitad de su nota en función de su trabajo en el proyecto. "Se les valora que se esfuercen, que ayuden a los compañeros, que muestren interés, que mejoren", valora la directora.

De una manera similar se expresa Josep Menéndez, director adjunto de Jesuitas Educación, que pone el foco en las competencias: "Lo que reciben las familias en casa al final de trimestre es la evolución de sus hijos en competencias como la comunicación, la matemática, la ciudadana, la digital... Y luego eso nosotros lo convertimos, mediante un algoritmo, en las notas normativas, por cuestiones administrativas", concluye.

Este planteamiento -valorar los alumnos en función de su progreso y no de unos mínimos previamente marcados- permite además, como ocurre en Sils, que todos los estudiantes puedan seguir en una misma clase, tengan más o menos dificultades. "Aquí aprueban los que se esfuerzan", sentencia Arboleas, convencida de que así se refuerza la atención a la diversidad.

¿Pero como se mide el esfuerzo? ¿Y la colaboración? "Con observación", coinciden ambos. Como el maestro ya no tiene que pasar las horas impartiendo clase, se puede pasear por el aula analizando el trabajo los alumnos.

"El maestro se convierte en un estimulador de aprendizajes y un diseñador de situaciones didácticas". Esta es la definición de Arboleas del nuevo papel del docente. Menéndez tiene también la suya: "El maestro cede el centro de atención al alumno y pasa a plantear retos y acompañar; observar y evaluar", sentencia.

El impacto de los proyectos en el sistema

El impacto de la transformación de los Jesuitas ha suscitado un amplio debate en la comunidad educativa. El sociólogo Xavier Martínez-Celorrio aprovechaba para resaltar el conservadurismo de algunos institutos públicos a la hora de innovar, a lo que varios docentes han respondido que las instituciones privadas parten con ventaja de recursos, y que sí hay algunos centros públicos pioneros en este campo.

En el aspecto concreto del trabajo por proyectos, Sanmartí hace su diagnóstico: "Hasta ahora había algunos centros que trabajaban así, pero a contracorriente, y ahora quizás comenzará a pasar al revés. Sin embargo, dudo que el cambio sea generalizado. En general, el cambio se genera más en centros nuevos y en los que tienen alumnado difícil; los que ya tienen buenos resultados no se plantean estas transformaciones", expone.

En cuanto a la Administración catalana, que ya en 2007 incluyó en la ley que había que hacer un proyecto al año en Primaria, Sanmartí opina que "no ha habido ningún otro incentivo en esta línea". Así, ante la aparente apatía de la Generalitat, algunos centros como el de Sils han hecho su camino. "A nosotros nos han apoyado, y estamos contentos con el papel de la Administración: no nos ha dado grandes edificios ni muchos profesionales, pero nos ha dejado hacer y ha confiado en nuestra propuesta, que ya es bastante importante", valora Arboleas.

A veces no sólo hay que convencer a la Administración, sino también las familias. "Al principio se nos quejaban porque los niños no llevaban deberes a casa", recuerda la directora, que cree que las familias tienden a ser muy conservadoras al inicio.

Y es que decir adiós a un pilar del sistema educativo como han sido las asignaturas no es sencillo. Pero Arboleas matiza: "No es decir adiós, porque compartimentar el conocimiento también es práctico a veces, pero lo que no puede ser es que, como hasta ahora, vertebren todo un proyecto educativo o un centro. No tiene sentido", concluye.

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Adiós a las asignaturas: el trabajo por proyectos convence cada vez a más escuelas

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Institutos como el de Sils optan por facilitar el aprendizaje de sus alumnos a partir de los proyectos, un planteamiento que ofrece más ventajas educativas que las asignaturas: les motiva y les ayuda a conectar conocimientosEste es un reportaje publicado en El Diari de l'Educació

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Extract from a TV programme celebrating the poet, and introducing Scots singer-songwriter Paolo Nutini singing A Man's a Man for A' That (Is There for Honest Poverty...)

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Extra!!! Since it was Burns' Night recently - this is the song we mentioned in class:1

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Extra!!! Since it was Burns' Night recently - this is the song we mentioned in class:1

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The story of this song is in this wiki link

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" Is There for Honest Poverty", commonly known as " A Man's a Man for A' That" or " For a' That and a' That", is a 1795 song by Robert Burns, written in Scots and English, famous for its expression of egalitarian ideas of society, which may be seen as expressing the ideas of republicanism that arose in the 18th century.

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In-depth piece on divergent and convergent thinking

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When it comes to problem solving and idea generation, two ways are commonly cited, namely divergent and convergent thinking strategies. In an abundance of enthusiasm generated post-Sputnik 1, the convergent style of thinking was rapidly equated with typical intelligence.

On the other hand, divergent thinking was equated with creativity and both were not uncommonly presented as competing or conflicting processes. While divergent thinking was considered to be good, its counterpart was seen as either bad or a necessarily evil considerably exaggerated in business and schools. Having said that, an important development in recent years is the increasing acceptance of the fact that real creative production needs both divergent thinking and convergent thinking, and not just the former.

From this article, you'll learn 1) what is divergent thinking? 2) what is convergent thinking? and so 3) which is better? divergent vs. convergent thinking for idea generation.

WHAT IS DIVERGENT THINKING?

The term "divergent thinking" refers to that strategy of solving problems characterized by the proposal of a multiplicity of possible solutions in an attempt to determine the one that works. It usually happens in a free-flowing, spontaneous manner, where multiple creative ideas are engendered and evaluated. A manifold number of potential solutions are studied in a brief span of time, and unconventional connections may be drawn. Once the stage of divergent thinking is complete, information and ideas are structured and organized using convergent thinking. Brainstorming and free writing are two processes that involve divergent thinking.

Divergence is typically signified by the capacity to produce many, or a greater number of complicated or complex ideas from a single idea or simple triggers or ideas. It calls for making unexpected combinations, changing information into unanticipated forms, identifying connections among remote associates, and the like. In divergent thinking, a single question returns multiple answers, and though the answers vary considerably depending on the person, all answers are of equal value. Perhaps they did not exist ever before and so are novel, surprising or unusual. At times, this is true purely for the specific setting or in the experience of the person responsible for the variability in question. However, it may also be the case in an absolute sense.

Described below are eight elements of divergent thinking:

Complexity - The capacity to conceptualize difficult, multifaceted, many layered or intricate products or ideas;

Curiosity - The personality characteristic of displaying probing behaviors, searching, asking questions, learning to get more knowledge/information about something, and of being able to go deeper into ideas;

Elaboration - The skill of adding to, building off of or embellishing a product or an idea;

Flexibility - The capability of creating varied perceptions or categories wherefrom come a range of different ideas pertaining to the same thing or problem;

Fluency - The skill of engendering many ideas so as to have an increase in the number of potential solutions or associated products;

Imagination - The capability of dreaming up, inventing, or to think, to see, to conceptualize novel products or ideas, to be original;

Originality - The skill of coming up with fresh, unusual, unique, extremely different or completely new products or ideas;

Risk-taking - The readiness to be courageous, daring, adventuresome - take risks or experiment with new things so as to stand apart.

Divergent thinking has been detected in people with personality characteristics such as these - curiosity, nonconformity, persistence and readiness to take risks.

Bubble mapping, creating artwork, maintaining a journal, subject mapping, devoting some time to meditation and thinking, and building lists of questions are all examples of activities that trigger divergent thinking.

What follows is an extreme example of divergent thinking. Twitter developed an online service that did not have any obvious practical application. The social media platform then initiated it to find out how people used the application so that based on the findings, the application could be refined. Though launching something and finding out what the market for it is only after the launch doesn't have to be a bullet-proof strategy (most cases it's not), this seemed to be the case for Twitter.

WHAT IS CONVERGENT THINKING?

Convergent thinking is a problem solving technique involving the bringing together different ideas from different participants or fields to determine a single best solution to a lucidly defined problem. In other words, this is a kind of thinking that concentrates on finding out the single best or frequently, correct solution to a problem or answer to a question. The credit for coining the term "convergent thinking" goes to Joy Paul Guilford. He came up with the term as an opposite term to "divergent thinking." The focus for this thinking strategy is speed, logic and accuracy and on identifying the known, reapplying techniques, and amassing stored information. This strategy is best suited for situations characterized by a readily available answer that just has to be worked out or recalled by way of decision-making strategies. A vital facet of convergent thinking is that it culminates in one best answer, meaning there is no chance for ambiguity. You either have a right answer or a wrong one. This type of thinking is also associated with knowledge (one of the key facets of creativity) as it entails using existing knowledge by way of standard procedures.

Standard IQ tests measure convergent thinking. Logic thought flow, pattern recognition, the capacity to solve problems and testing knowledge can all be evaluated and graded in these tests. Standardized multiple choice questions are also an example of testing convergent thinking. One example of such a question would be:

Who proposed the Theory of Relativity?

a. Rutherford c. Kepling

b. Einstein d. Max Planck

The majority of school tasks also call for convergent thinking.

DIVERGENT VS. CONVERGENT THINKING

Given below is a comparison of the two thinking styles with the factors of comparison being mood, creative ability, intellectual ability, brain activity, personality and sleep deprivation.

Mood - Research shows that gearing up for a creative thinking job can bring on mood swings determined by the kind of thinking utilized for the task. As per the research, convergent and divergent thinking affect mood in converse ways. While the former triggered a negative mood, the latter triggered the exact opposite - a positive mood.

Creative Ability - Creative ability was gauged in a study having both divergent and convergent tasks. In the case of the divergent tasks, though taken as a group, all the tasks showed a connection, they were not significant when studied between conditions.

With respect to the convergent tasks, two kinds were used. The first were remote associates tasks, which provided the subject with three words and asked the subject what word the three given words are connected to. The second kind were insight problems, which provided the subjects with certain contextual facts and posed a question to them that called for shedding light on.

The convergent thinkers accurately solved a greater number of the five remote associates problems compared to their counterpart divergent thinkers. This was shown to be considerably dissimilar by a one-way ANOVA. What's more, when answering to insight problems, those who engaged in convergent thinking solved a greater number of insight problems compared to the control group. Nonetheless, no considerable difference was observed between subjects engaging in divergent thinking and convergent thinking.

Intellectual ability - A sequence of standard intelligence tests was utilized to measure the divergent and convergent thinking capacities of adolescents. Outcomes from the tests showed that subjects who were categorized as considerably divergent thinkers had considerably higher reading and word fluency scores compared to subjects who were categorized to be low on divergent thinking. In addition, the considerably divergent thinkers were revealed as having higher penetration and anxiety scores. On the other hand, subjects categorized in the considerably convergent thinkers groups were revealed to have higher average grades for the previous school year and less of a problem doing their homework which signifies that their parents pushed them in the direction of post-secondary education.

Brain activity - Alterations in brain activity were assessed in subjects in the course of both divergent and convergent thinking. To achieve this, researchers analyzed the electroencephalography (EEG) patterns of participants in the course of divergent and convergent thinking. The alterations in brain activity, as they appeared in the EEG, were different for the two kinds of thinking. In contrast to a resting control group, both divergent and convergent thinkers produced considerable Alpha 1, 2 desynchronization. While divergent thinking caused amplitude reductions in the cortex's caudal regions in the Theta 1 and 2 bands, convergent thinking caused coherence boosts in the Theta 1 band that was more right-sided and caudal. The considerable soaring of coherence and amplitude signifies a close iteration between both brain hemispheres.

Personality - Personality correlates pertaining to convergent and divergent thinking were studied. Results show that two personality characteristics namely Extraversion and Openness were seen to make possible divergent thinking. Openness analyzes intellectual curiosity, artistic interest, originality, liberal attitudes, and imagination. No personality characteristics were found to be associated with convergent thinking. This implies that all people irrespective of their personality engage in the convergent manner of thinking.

Sleep deprivation - A 1988 study by J.A. Horne revealed that even a single night of sleep deprivation can cause significant impairment to divergent thinking. On the other hand, people engaged in convergent thinking tasks were seen to be more pliant with respect to short-term sleep loss.

Convergent and divergent thinking are similar in that both thinking strategies are used to determine solutions to problems. Not just that but both strategies are directed at determining the best solutions. It is frequently seen that problems are solved through a blend of convergent and divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking brings out the best outcomes when it is used for open-ended problems that enable creativity. Convergent thinking is ideally suited for situations where there exists one best correct answer and it is feasible to determine the answer by way of evaluation of available stored information. In addition, though it doesn't look the case, convergent thinking also contributes to idea generation. However, owing to the fact that the focus of divergent thinking is ideas rather than process, any solution determined as a result of divergent thinking, frequently needs convergent thinking to convert it into a practicable to-do-list.

Moving to everyday life, here's an example of convergent and divergent thinking in practice.

It is true that withstanding the earth's gravity to travel in space has been a dream that existed ever since women and men first cast their eyes on the stars. However, it was only in the mid-20 th century that there was actually technology available to make the dream a reality.

October 14 th, 1957 is an important day in history. It was on this day that the Russians launched Sputnik into space, thereby initiating the space race. The success of the Russians in technology came as a bolt to the United States. In response, the country set up the National Aeronautics and Space Administration a year later.

In the first half of the 1960s, the then President John F. Kennedy sent letters to Wernher von Braun and other key persons in the aerospace industry. He wanted to know how the U.S. could defeat Russia in the space race. It was only after receiving expert advice pertaining to the matter that the president made his famous speech where he promised to get a man transported to the moon and also ensure his safe return, by the close of the decade. That speech assisted with rousing nearly 400,000 NASA staff and contractors to join hands as a cohesive team and achieve one of the best events of history in under a decade.

Kennedy utilized data and facts to find out how the U.S. could defeat the Russians in the space conquest. That was an example of chiefly convergent thinking. The achievement of this remarkable feat called for the making of a lot of new technologies to design and manufacture the rockets, lunar modules, spacesuits and other necessary equipment. This required a considerable amount of divergent thinking.

Examples

Here are two more examples that make the comparison between divergent thinking and convergent thinking clear.

Divergent thinking: Mr. A's home is at a distance of five miles from work. His Chevrolet gets 30 MPG. However, he wishes to expend less fuel in his travel for both monetary and conservation-associated reasons. Money is not an issue. What choices does he have to cut his fuel consumption?

Convergent thinking: Mr. A's home is at a distance of five miles from work. His Chevrolet gets 30 MPG. However, he wishes to expend less fuel in his travel for both monetary and conservation-associated reasons. Money is not an issue. Which three vehicles are the best replacements for his car?

Both examples would result in important outcomes. The trigger for the convergent example could be some other problem - maybe his car was totaled, and he only had a weekend to find an answer to the problem. More time may be required to investigate the divergent example. However, it could still be possible to find an option that is entirely different from what the user asked - like devise a vehicle that runs off of air, or start a new business from home.

Image credit: Flickr | Playing Futures: Applied Nomadology under Attribution 2.0 Generic, Wikimedia commons | Msingh209 under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

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Idea Generation: Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking | Cleverism

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When it comes to problem solving and idea generation, two ways are commonly cited, namely divergent and convergent thinking strategies. In an abundance of enthusiasm generated post-Sputnik 1, the convergent style of thinking was rapidly equated with typical intelligence. On the other hand, divergent thinking was equated with creativity and both were not uncommonly presented as competing or conflicting processes.

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presenting ideas of divergent and convergent thinking

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 3

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 3

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A beautifully clear mindmap version of Ken Robinson's argument about creativity and schooling

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RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 1

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 1

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The most-watched TED talk of all time, Ken Robinson's 2005 description of the conflict between standardising schooling and creativity helped spark controversy and intervention (here with Spanish subtitles)

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Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 2

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 2

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Short piece by Ken Robinson on the three reasons why creativity is imperative in education

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Why is Creativity Important in Education? Sir Ken Robinson Video Series from Adobe Education

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Webinars to 'Learn How to Teach Your Next Pronunciation Class With Confidence as a Non-Native Speaker' and other topics

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English has undergone a profound change, becoming a truly global language, a Lingua Franca of the world. And as teachers we need to respond to this change in the classroom. Want to find out how? Join in below.

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EQUALITY FOR NON-NATIVE ENGLISH TEACHERS - And lesson plans!

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EQUALITY FOR NON-NATIVE ENGLISH TEACHERS - And lesson plans!

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This is a site advocating against the bias in favour of native English speakers as teachers - and it provides a lot of materials and lesson plans too

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In this section you can find links to lesson plans and activities aimed at raising students' awareness of native speakerism in ELT and the issues surrounding it which are immediately relevant to them, such as World Englishes and ELF, or qualities of good English teachers. As more activities are added, they will be divided into different levels. If you'd like to submit an activity or lesson plan, please get in touch here.

English with an accent - a listening lesson plan by Anes Mohamed.

English with an accent - a reading lesson plan by Anes Mohamed.

English as an International Language - by Sarah Priestley

Helping learners understand different accents by ELF Pronunciation

(NB This section is still under development and the lesson plans will be uploaded regularly, so please pop back every now and again to check what's new. You can also follow TEA on FB or Twitter, or via email to get the updates.)

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EFL and ESL classroom - TEFL Equity Advocates and Academy

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In this section you can find links to lesson plans and activities aimed at raising students' awareness of native speakerism in ELT and the issues surrounding it which are immediately relevant to them, such as World Englishes and ELF, or qualities of good English teachers.

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TASK BASED INSTRUCTION in the English language classroom

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TASK BASED INSTRUCTION in the English language classroom

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Resource Description:

After attending a Task-Based Instruction (TBI) workshop at the TESOL International Convention and English Language Expo in March 2015, I began to think about ways that I could implement these ideas in my own adult ESL context. Task-Teach-Task is a simplified TBI framework that focuses on using lead-in tasks (Task 1) to support instructors in diagnosing needs of students and helping learners self-assess their own knowledge. This formative assessment data is then used by the instructor to provide targeted instruction (Teach) based on the focal language feature(s) elicited by the first task (Task 1) and once again demonstrated in a different task (Task 2). In this instructional cycle, tasks are strategically developed with a focus on conveying meaning, eliciting language that is used by the learner for a communicative purpose and facilitating interaction and collaboration while utilizing focal language features. Over the course of six-weeks, I specifically practiced implementing Task-Teach-Task with feedback from other ELT Professionals and developed a template and several lessons.

Materials and Technology: TaskTeachTask_LessonPlanTemplate

TaskTeachTask_SampleLessonPlanwithSupportingMaterials

You will also find these files under the "Uploaded Files" section of this teaching tip.

Ellis, R. (2009). Task‐based language teaching: sorting out the misunderstandings. References: International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246.

Plews, J. L., & Zhao, K. (2010). Tinkering with tasks knows no bounds: ESL teachers' adaptations of task-based language-teaching. TESL Canada Journal, 28(1), 41.

Skehan, P. (2003). Task-based instruction. Language teaching, 36(01), 1-14.

William, S. (2015, February). Task-Based Instruction: Building Bridges from Classroom to Real Life. Retrieved from http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/tesolalis/issues/2015-02-06/7.html

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Task-Based Instruction: Task-Teach-Task Lesson Plan Template

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Resource Description: After attending a Task-Based Instruction (TBI) workshop at the TESOL International Convention and English Language Expo in March 2015, I began to think about ways that I could implement these ideas in my own adult ESL context.

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 6: some ideas to explore in English and language teaching, perhaps

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 6: some ideas to explore in English and language teaching, perhaps

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This blog introduces some methodologies you might find interesting to consider

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Know what my biggest mistake as a teacher was?

I was married to only one teaching methodology.

And just like any marriage, I needed to spice things up after a while.

When I started teaching some 20 years ago, my toolbox consisted of primarily the Audiolingual Method, otherwise known as the "Army Method." I think the name speaks for itself.

It wasn't until I learned more about all the great teaching methods out there, that I was able to make my classes more engaging and attractive to my students. And lesson planning became a lot easier.

While traditional methods are perfectly valid, they can quickly become outdated and lead to a lot of language-learning problems in the classroom. That's why it's important for second-language teachers to mix up their bags of tricks and add some flavor to the teaching methodology.

With new research leading to the development of the Humanistic Approach to Education, English teaching methods have become more intuitive and focus on a holistic view of language learning-going beyond the mere cognitive functions of the learner. This places greater value on external factors when compared to traditional methods, like allowing students to learn by applying language outside the classroom or building lessons based on students' strengths and interests.

Interesting, right? Let's jump right in and learn more about these humanistic methods.

1. Suggestopedia

Suggestopedia has caught on quite a bit over the last few years.

This method is based on memorization of language "chunks." For example, students read dialogues and texts aloud, usually to the rhythm of some type of music. The music is generally classical music, or some other genre suitable to target structure. This is known as "concert reading."

The use of concert reading fosters a comfortable learning environment, particularly for those students who feel shy and apprehensive.

The Suggestopedia method is suitable for all levels and allows for lots of creativity and fun. Even advanced students can get a kick out of "singing" through their dialogues. For example, if the focus of the lesson is prepositions, you can sing out the following sentence: "Joe went ___ the supermarket ___ the street." Then, students will shout back, "to" and "across" to fill in the blanks.

This type of reading makes for a great controlled practice following a grammar presentation.

2. Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

CLIL has been widely discussed in recent years, and for good reason.

This method focuses on content more than language itself. In fact, language is seen as an enabler that allows students to use target structures within a given context.

This type of methodology is perfect for schools where teachers teach subjects in English, while the rest of the curriculum is taught in another language. As such, science, social studies and math can all be taught in this way. The language needed to comprehend the materials is integrated into the content in such a way where teachers don't cover grammar and vocabulary extensively.

One clear advantage of this method is that it allows lessons to be tailored to suit students' interests and preferences. CLIL is perfect for teaching language in a meaningful way so that students can see the real-life application of language, even as a means for cultural expression, seeing as CLIL lets you teach students language in its cultural context.

Want to teach with CLIL but you're running low on ideas? Check out OER Commons. There, you can browse free lesson plans and materials which you can customize to suit your students and your curriculum.

If you want to add more authenticity to your teaching curriculum, bring FluentU into the classroom.

Perfect for all teaching approaches, FluentU enables you to teach English to students using real-world material that makes lessons fun and engaging. Instead of the usual scripted dialogues and workbook activities, students master the English language while watching video clips from popular movies and TV shows, listening to English songs, reading articles from magazines and newspapers, watching documentaries and more.

The advantage of teaching with FluentU is that it enables students to learn language in its context. Teaching students using material made for English speakers, by English speakers, means that they become more exposed to American and British culture, learning to communicate more naturally as a result.

And best of all, FluentU comes with a range of helpful teaching tools that allow you to monitor the progress of your students, both as individuals and as a class.

Ready to transform the way you teach English? Start your free trial of FluentU today.

3. The Natural Approach

Also known as the "silent way," the Natural Approach is a teaching method based on the way babies and infants acquire native language.

When teaching with the Natural Approach, students initially receive nothing but input from the teacher-they're not asked to produce anything. Students may be asked to listen and repeat dialogues and conversations, but nothing more.

Over time, students are asked to produce so long as they comfortable doing so-based on the target structures taught. They start off with relaying the language taught while they build up their linguistic skills.

This method is perfect for true beginners particularly due to the intensive use of visuals and physical cues used to convey meaning. Since students are not asked to produce initially, this reduces learner stress.

A great way to put the natural approach into practice is by performing the activity, "the king wants."

For this activity, simply ask students for an item and start the sentence with "The king wants... (or the queen wants...)" For example, if you say, "The king wants a pencil," students must give you a pencil.

Don't have too many items in the class? Flashcards can work just fine. A fun twist to this activity is playing it with a timer. I am sure you will see everyone scrambling to please the king!

4. Total Physical Response

Speaking of physical cues, Total Physical Response or TPR, is another great method based on the silent way. TPR requires students to demonstrate understanding through a physical response rather than a verbal one.

As with the Natural Approach, students are not asked to produce any language until they are ready to do so. That's because TPR is all about acting out language, be it through mimicking or simply responding to visual and audio cues.

The game, "Simon Says" is a great TPR activity for beginners. Plus, it's a classic most everyone is familiar with. If you don't know how to play the game, read this guide on our favorite grammar games to learn how, while learning about other exciting games as well!

Got higher level students? Try playing charades! All you need is a few index cards or flashcards. Students are then given cards with words or pictures on them, and must act out the card until their classmates guess the correct word. Imagine the card says, "baseball," the student must use their imagination to help their classmates yell out "baseball!" Charades can be done competitively in teams.

In addition to being perfect for beginners, TPR can be utilized throughout instruction across all levels, focusing specifically on kinesthetic learners. This is a great way to get students to stand and shake it up.

5. Task-based Learning

This approach is my personal favorite.

The Task-based Learning approach focuses on communication rather than structure. That means that language is an enabler, just like in CLIL, in which each task must be relevant to students' lives and interests. This leads to meaningful learning as students will see where they can actually put their learning to use.

Grammar and vocabulary are essentially taught "on the fly" with this approach. Now, this doesn't mean we're winging it, but rather, language is taught within the context of the task, thus avoiding a teacher-centered grammar explanation.

This approach is student-intensive and is heavy on content. Its focus should be on what students are able to do based on their linguistic level. This approach can be used across all levels, but care needs to be taken in making sure that all tasks are level-appropriate.

The big difference between CLIL and Task-based Learning, is that CLIL is more about an entire subject whereas Task-based Learning is about focusing on individual tasks such as checking into a hotel, or even defending views on a given subject.

Don't know where to start? Check out this lesson template. It will certainly help you find your bearings while the sample lesson plan will give you a great starting point. It's a lot easier than you think!

Making Sense of It All

While traditional methods such as the Audiolingual and the Grammar Translation methods are still perfectly valid and useful, using newer methods can certainly spice things up in the classroom.

What's more, adding variety in your teaching method is important for creating a holistic teaching approach that connects with all types of learners.

So, what are you waiting for? It's time to get your feet wet and try something new an exciting!

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to teach English with real-world videos.
Bring English immersion to your classroom!

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5 New Approaches to Spice up Your Methodology of Teaching English

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Know what my biggest mistake as a teacher was?I was married to only one teaching methodology.And just like any marriage, I needed to spice things up after a while.When I started teaching some 20 years ago, my toolbox consisted of primarily the Audiolingual Method, otherwise known as the

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 4: practical videos 

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 4: practical videos 

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Make creativity a part of your teaching toolbox.

Learn how to use creativity in your classroom. In this module, watch interviews with renowned scholars in the field to see practice-based strategies to help you employ creativity every day and enhance academic outcomes.

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This module gives an overview of the use of creativity in a classroom context and supplies teachers with strategies to use creativity every day to enhance academic outcomes.

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Especially for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education

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Especially for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) education

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CK-12 is a non-profit, free educational foundation providing support and content as well as a web-based platform for STEM curricula

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Digital Library of Educational Resources, free

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Digital Library of Educational Resources, free

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A magnificent curated source of educational materials, lesson plans and more, all with creative cpommons licence

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Open Author helps you build and publish Open Educational Resources for you and for the benefit of educators and learners everywhere.

Learn more about creating OER

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Our award-winning OER Professional Learning programs support instructors and curriculum specialists to gain the necessary skills required to find, adapt, and evaluate high quality open materials.

In-person and virtual OER workshops help focus instructors to develop a "commons" mindset, to experience the benefits of open processes using the platform's tools, collaborative features, and workflows. This can include using Open Author for creating, remixing, and publishing shared curriculum.

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OER Commons is a dynamic digital library and network. Explore open education resources and join our network of educators dedicated to curriculum improvement.

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 5: blog with links

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Session Four - CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM 5: blog with links

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“Creativity is a great motivator because it makes people interested in what they are doing. Creativity gives hope that there can be a worthwhile idea. Creativity gives the possibility of some sort of achievement to everyone. Creativity makes life more fun and more interesting.” Edward de Bono

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Rather - gramática inglés en "English Grammar Today" - Cambridge University Press

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Rather - gramática inglés y uso de palabras en "English Grammar Today" - Cambridge University Press

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El Condor Pasa LYRICS VIDEO Simon & Garfunkel : (El Condor Pasa 1970)

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Erasmus+ funding accepted

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Pilgrims offers Business English courses for Professionals and . We offer Methodology courses for Teachers, Teacher Training Courses in the UK. Teacher Training courses are eligible for EU funding under Erasmus+ KA1 Action Staff Mobility.

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CLIL pedagogy The Holy Grail ~Diana Hicks

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A training available online

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This training is for teachers new to project based learning. I'll walk you through the different elements of PBL, and what it really looks like in the classroom. If you have any questions, please e-mail me. I'd also love it if you shared the link to this video with any other teachers you know that want to start implementing project based learning.

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Project-Based Learning Basics Training - Performing in Education

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This training is for teachers new to project based learning. I'll walk you through the different elements of PBL, and what it really looks like in the classroom. If you have any questions, please e-mail me. I'd also love it if you shared the link to this video with any other teachers you know that ...

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Extensive collection of articles and some materials on the use of CLIL

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In ELT, forms of CLIL have previously been known as ' Content-based instruction', 'English across the curriculum' and 'Bilingual education'.

Why is CLIL important?
With the expansion of the European Union, diversity of language and the need for communication are seen as central issues.

Even with English as the main language, other languages are unlikely to disappear. Some countries have strong views regarding the use of other languages within their borders.

With increased contact between countries, there will be an increase in the need for communicative skills in a second or third language.

Knowledge of the language becomes the means of learning content

Language is integrated into the broad curriculum

Introduce the wider cultural context

Prepare for internationalisation

Access International Certification and enhance the school profile

Improve overall and specific language competence

Prepare for future studies and / or working life

Noticing of the language by the learners

Focus on lexis rather than grammar

Opposition to language teaching by subject teachers may come from language teachers themselves. Subject teachers may be unwilling to take on the responsibility.

Most current CLIL programmes are experimental. There are few sound research-based empirical studies, while CLIL-type bilingual programmes are mainly seen to be marketable products in the private sector.

In the UK the incentive comes from the Content and Language Integration Project (CLIP) hosted by CILT, (the National Centre for Languages) which is the UK government's centre of expertise on languages. CILT monitors a number of projects covering the 7-16 age range and involving innovations in language teaching such as the integration of French into the primary curriculum. Other research is based at the University of Nottingham, while teacher training and development courses in CLIL are available through NILE (the Norwich Institute for Language Education).

CLIL is based on language acquisition, but in monolingual situations, a good deal of conscious learning is involved, demanding skills from the subject teacher.
The BBC and British Council are not responsible for the content of external web sites, neither do we endorse them. These are the recommendations of the writer.
The lack of CLIL teacher-training programmes suggests that the majority of teachers working on bilingual programmes may be ill-equipped to do the job adequately.

There is little evidence to suggest that understanding of content is not reduced by lack of language competence. Current opinion seems to be that language ability can only be increased by content-based learning after a certain stage.

Some aspects of CLIL are unnatural; such as the appreciation of the literature and culture of the learner's own country through a second language.

Focus on language related to the subject. Level and grading are unimportant

Pre-, while- and post-reading tasks are as appropriate in the subject context as in the language context.

Develop multilingual interests and attitudes

Diversify methods & forms of classroom teaching and learning

Increase learner motivation.

Learning is improved through increased motivation and the study of natural language seen in context. When learners are interested in a topic they are motivated to acquire language to communicate

CLIL is based on language acquisition rather than enforced learning

Language is seen in real-life situations in which students can acquire the language. This is natural language development which builds on other forms of learning

CLIL is long-term learning. Students become academically proficient in English after 5-7 years in a good bilingual programme

Fluency is more important than accuracy and errors are a natural part of language learning. Learners develop fluency in English by using English to communicate for a variety of purposes

Reading is the essential skill.

Languages will play a key role in curricula across Europe. Attention needs to be given to the training of teachers and the development of frameworks and methods which will improve the quality of language education

The European Commission has been looking into the state of bilingualism and language education since the 1990s, and has a clear vision of a multilingual Europe in which people can function in two or three languages.

How does CLIL work?
The basis of CLIL is that content subjects are taught and learnt in a language which is not the mother tongue of the learners.

CLIL helps to:

CLIL in the classroom
CLIL assumes that subject teachers are able to exploit opportunities for language learning. The best and most common opportunities arise through reading texts. CLIL draws on the lexical approach, encouraging learners to notice language while reading. Here is a paragraph from a text on fashion:

The miniskirt is a skirt whose hemline is high above the knees (generally 200-300 mm above knee-level). Its existence is generally credited to the fashion designer Mary Quant, who was inspired by the Mini Cooper automobile, although André Courrèges is also often cited as its inventor, and there is disagreement as to who invented it first.

The language to be looked at in a passage like this falls into three categories - subject specific, academic and other lexis including fixed expressions and collocations:

The treatment of this lexis has the following features:

The future of CLIL
There is no doubt that learning a language and learning through a language are concurrent processes, but implementing CLIL requires a rethink of the traditional concepts of the language classroom and the language teacher. The immediate obstacles seem to be:

Until CLIL training for teachers and materials issues are resolved, the immediate future remains with parallel rather than integrated content and language learning. However, the need for language teaching reform in the face of Europeanisation may make CLIL a common feature of many European education systems in the future.

Where is CLIL happening?
CLIL has precedents in immersion programmes (North America) and education through a minority or a national language (Spain, Wales, France), and many variations on education through a 'foreign' language. Euro-funded projects show that CLIL or similar systems are being applied in some countries, but are not part of teacher-training programmes. There has been an increase in the number of schools offering 'alternative' bilingual curricula, and some research into training and methodology. Several major European organisations specialising in CLIL projects have emerged, including UNICOM, EuroCLIC and TIE-CLIL (see web references for details).

Further reading
Translanguage in Europe www.tieclil.org
Centre for Information on Language, Teaching and Research www.cilt.org.uk
Forum for Across the Curriculum Teaching www.factworld.info

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Content and Language Integrated Learning

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In ELT, forms of CLIL have previously been known as ' Content-based instruction', 'English across the curriculum' and 'Bilingual education'. Why is CLIL important? With the expansion of the European Union, diversity of language and the need for communication are seen as central issues.

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Helpful insights into CLIL in the classroom

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Maybe you've already heard of the four Cs of CLIL, which are, according to Do Coyle who first proposed them, key aspects of implementing CLIL? The four Cs are: content (subject matter) , communication (language) , cognition (thinking skills) and culture (EIO). However, based on a talk we gave last May, giving an overview of what we do as CLIL trainers, we want to suggest another four.

1. COLLABORATION
There are two ways to think about collaboration in CLIL. First, there is the collaboration that needs to take place between learners. Working together on projects, solving problems together, small group tasks and other co-operative learning formats are strategies for getting the learners to collaborate and through this collaboration use and learn the language of the classroom and produce spoken output . Language is a social activity and we learn language through social interaction.

The second aspect to collaboration in CLIL is the work that happens between teachers. One way to deliver CLIL in an effective way is the development of integrated projects, between different subjects across the curriculum (e.g. history with English, or a week-long project involving the whole team on one topic, like "energy") . Our experience is that if the teachers collaborate in this way the learners learn better , since language and content are recycled and revisited, and are more motivated to work on these types of project.

2. CHOICES
It is important for a teacher to be able to differentiate in a CLIL lesson, and to indentify and understand the differences between the learners in a CLIL classroom. These differences have multiple perspectives - there will be differences based on language proficiency, differences based on students' ability to understand and work with the given content of a lesson, then there are also differences based on students' learning preferences, their interest, and the pace at which they learn. Differentiation is thus a complex issue for a CLIL teacher.

For example, when children enter the TTO there can be big differences in the level of their English. Some children have had vvto, others have had very little English at all at the primary school. How does a subject teacher deal with these different levels of language proficiency and at the same time teach all the students the same content? There are several strategies for differentiation that we can look at. Giving students choices in the ways that they learn and the content of their learning is one approach, and there are various ways for a teacher to manage this. We also help teachers to be aware of providing input in a variety of ways to appeal to different learning styles/ intelligences.

3. CREATIVITY
Learners need to experiment with language, and creatively transform the input in a lesson into output (writing or speaking). We've carried out a research project recently into tvmbo, and it was clear from this research that students learn more, according to their own perception, if they are creative: making things, writing things, giving presentations.

Tasks need to have an authentic context, the classroom has to be an engaging and inspiring context for learning and a space that motivates learners to take risks. We encourage teachers to be more creative with, for example, their writing assignments. Teachers tell us that the training we provide also inspires them to be more experimental, to take risks, to tolerate the buzz and noise of a classroom that encourages creativity.

Creating is also the highest thinking skill according to Bloom's taxonomy of learning objectives.

4. CONNECTIONS
There are at least two types of connection worth mentioning in a CLIL context.

First, there is the necessity to build connections within a lesson. It is important to begin by working from the prior knowledge of learners, guiding them into the lesson content, then also to identify connections across subjects in order to further consolidate learning, to provide links to the next lesson or back to previous lessons, and finally to end a lesson with a reflection task that helps the students to synthesize their learning. A CLIL lesson is like a three-course meal: starter (warming up activity), the main course, and a reflection activity at the end.

Secondly, CLIL is about looking at the content of lessons and of the wider school curriculum from the point of view of connecting to the world. This can be achieved by developing projects in which schools connect to each other, but also by bringing the experience of students in the outside world into the classroom.

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Maybe you've already heard of the four Cs of CLIL, which are, according to Do Coyle who first proposed them, key aspects of implementing CLIL? The four Cs are: content (subject matter) , communication (language) , cognition (thinking skills) and culture (EIO).

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a blog which began from a twinning intiative between teachers in Europe keen to keep their skills alive. Lots of materials on CLIL and other stuff (though the blog is dormant now, I think)

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a community for teachers' professional development, based on one belief:

if we work together, we can be each other's experts.

And together, we can grow.

Our adventure as LifeLonglearningTeachers started in summer 2008, when together with colleague and friend Monika Kiss, I had the idea of creating an eTwinning project called "LLT - Lifelong Learning Teachers".﻿﻿﻿﻿ ﻿

It was at the time a rather uncommon use of eTwinning, being the very first project aimed at teachers, not students, working together. We wanted to create a sort of web 2.0 cafè for European teachers, where we could share passions, ideas, issues and hopefully solutions about our job. I'm afraid I didn't know anything about Communities of Practice at the time, but that's exactly what we were building, without knowing any theories first. And that's what we got in the end: lots of engaged teachers exchanging ideas, creating projects, sharing tips and hints, chatting, or just lurking around.

﻿﻿﻿
Later on, when I eventually got to know about Etienne Wenger ( blushing) I was shocked to see how perfectly reality resembled theories: I could re-read LLT and its evolution in time through Wenger's papers. And I suddenly understood we had built something that was going to last.

More than 70 schools, from all over Europe, joined in the LLT adventure - we enjoyed a couple of fantastic, exciting and restless years. We got lots of national Quality Labels, the European Quality Label, different National excellence awards, we were invited to speak about the project at the 2010 eTwinning Conference in Seville, and eventually received more requests than we could deal with.

That's when we reached the point where Twinning, and the TwinSpace tools, got too narrow for us.
So in October 2009 we created this blog which became our official meeting point. We kept using LLT TwinSpace as an archive and moved here our chatting and sharing.

Almost at the same time, it became too stressing for me to manage so many people with so many different needs. I quickly reached what my husband called the "no-real-life stage", spending 80% of my life on line (and 20% sleeping!).

Our original idea was to create a very flexible and light web - no musts, no fixed rules in our community, just common passions (pupils, sharing, teaching) and common sense. Members had always been free to come and go and to contribute when and if they wanted. We eventually realized we had gone beyond the project. We closed LLT, as an eTwinning project, at the end of 2010.

But the community was not dead: just as any living being, it was evolving to a different stage. That's why it didn't dissolve, but widened instead. We went on meeting here, and we met lots of new teachers, from all over the world. Beyond the project first, beyond the European dimension then. Maybe it's because being a teacher is so special and exciting all over the world. And because teachers need each other.

That's in short the story behind this blog. We went from LifeLongLearningTeachers to The Next Generation of LifelongLearningTeachers when we became eTwinning Ambassadors and Teachers' Advisors.

We needed then another space where to "play" with trainees, have them familiarize with edu tech, meet in a safe place and, once again, we took advantage of the TwinSpace to share materials, lesson plans, documents etc. Together with Monika, we believe being a teacher can be a great adventure, and lots of fun - and the learning process itself can be a great adventure ad lots of fun, for both teachers and students.

Now you know where you are.

No super-experts here, just teachers feeling lucky to do the job they love and trying to improve by sharing.

Feel free to read, comment, contribute, give and take, or just have a look. That's why we are here.

PS thanks to all of the great people that made LLT, the great writers in this blog, and the great friends who keep coming. And welcome to all the others!

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a community for teachers' professional development, based on one belief: if we work together, we can be each other's experts. And together, we can grow.

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FREE ONLINE WEBINARS - Primary and Secondary

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FREE ONLINE WEBINARS - Primary and Secondary

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CLIL, TIC, HOTS, Pronunciation.... all kinds of topics! Highly recommended.

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Would your students like to take part in a virtual exchange with kids in the UK or elsewhere, using Google Slides, flipgrid or other technical connections? Sign up by 2.1.2019

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Invitation to participate in an ESL Virtual Exchange -

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Beyond just PBL - practical suggestions on how to incorporate the 4 c's into your classes

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Beyond just PBL - practical suggestions on how to incorporate the 4 c's into your classes

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This post is written by Stephanie Howell, an Instructional Technology Coordinator in Pickerington, Ohio. You can connect with Stephanie on Twitter at @MrsHowell24 and check out her blog.

Technology has changed every aspect of our lives. Friends are at our fingertips and you can binge watch countless shows and movies without even leaving your couch. We as a society are exposed to more content and diverse ideas than ever before.
So how does this affect education?
If students become proficient communicators, collaborators, creators, and critical thinkers, they'll have great advantages in being prepared for the future. Technology lets us use a variety of teaching strategies and activities to bring the 4 C's - communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking - into our daily lessons.

Here are some examples of ways my district has utilized technology to incorporate the 4 C's into any subject area. Each title is linked to a page on my website with even more details.

Students can use different audio recording and hosting applications ( Anchor, Podbean, Audacity, Garage Band) to create a podcast sharing their ideas on a topic of their choice with a large audience. Communication has evolved these days to the point where one voice can reach most of the world.

Students can collaborate on these podcast projects with not just students in their classroom but also with students and specialists in another location. They can include them as guests on their own podcast or in a response post, either by recording audio together (Zencastr) or by recording segments and stitching them together with an audio editor ( Audacity, Garage Band).

Furthermore, students improve their critical thinking skills, developing their opinions to deliver on an episode and hearing others' opinions on other podcasts - or their own show.
Learn how students can create a podcast on Anchor for FREE in this post!
In this protocol, created by Jon Corippo and Marlena Hebern in their book The EduProtocol Field Guide, students are put into small groups and are given a segment of a unit/lesson about new material. Each group creates a slide to teach their most important findings about their topic to the rest of the class. Students are limited to 10-20 minutes of collaborative work.

Time is not the only limitation. Students are also given a special ingredient (hence "Iron Chef") to include in their presentation. The special ingredient could be a video, GIF, or bullet points. You can find more Edu Protocols here.

In this project, collaboration and critical thinking are a natural part of the creation process. Their presentations will let them practice and improve communication skills.

Giving students choices in their learning helps students with their education. In the "Would You Rather" activity, students choose between two activities packed with the 4 C's. Teachers can re-use the lesson, rearranging and making small changes while using different content. which allows for endless creative options for the students. Students are able to think outside of the box and produce amazing projects.

Examples:

Technology provides students with more opportunities to use the 4 C's. Some of the limitations that teachers once faced have been eliminated by technology. Adding the 4 C's can increase student engagement, and technology makes this easier than before. What are you waiting for?
For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links: Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail! Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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3 ways to incorporate the 4 Cs into any class

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This post is written by Stephanie Howell, an Instructional Technology Coordinator in Pickerington, Ohio. You can connect with Stephanie on Twitter at @MrsHowell24 and check out her blog. Technology has changed every aspect of our lives. Friends are at our fingertips and you can binge watch countless shows and movies without even leaving your couch.

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This is the project I did, following the steps given by Jennifer Schmidt in a course I took in the CPR  in November 2017

https://www.thecogentconstruct.com/pbl

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One snowy January day, I asked a classroom of college students to tell me the first word that came to mind when they thought about mathematics. The top two words were "calculation" and "equation."

When I asked a room of professional mathematicians the same question, neither of those words were mentioned; instead, they offered phrases like "critical thinking" and "problem-solving."

This is unfortunately common. What professional mathematicians think of as mathematics is entirely different from what the general population thinks of as mathematics. When so many describe mathematics as synonymous with calculation, it's no wonder we hear "I hate math" so often.

So I set out to solve this problem in a somewhat unconventional way. I decided to offer a class called "The Mathematics of Knitting" at my institution, Carthage College. In it, I chose to eliminate pencil, paper, calculator (gasp) and textbook from the classroom completely. Instead, we talked, used our hands, drew pictures and played with everything from beach balls to measuring tapes. For homework, we reflected by blogging. And of course, we knit.

Same but different

One crux of mathematical content is the equation, and crucial to this is the equal sign. An equation like x = 5 tells us that the dreaded x, which represents some quantity, has the same value as 5. The number 5 and the value of x must be exactly the same.

A typical equal sign is very strict. Any small deviation from "exactly" means that two things are not equal. However, there are many times in life where two quantities are not exactly the same, but are essentially the same by some meaningful criteria.

Imagine, for example, that you have two square pillows. The first is red on top, yellow on the right, green on bottom and blue on the left. The second is yellow on the top, green on the right, blue on bottom, and red on the left.

The pillows aren't exactly the same. One has a red top, while one has a yellow top. But they're certainly similar. In fact, they would be exactly the same if you turned the pillow with the red top once counterclockwise.

Sara Jensen

How many different ways could I put the same pillow down on a bed, but make it look like a different one? A little homework shows there are 24 possible colored throw pillow configurations, though only eight of them can be obtained from moving a given pillow.

Students demonstrated this by knitting throw pillows, consisting of two colors, from knitting charts.

Sara Jensen

The students created square knitting charts where all eight motions of the chart resulted in a different-looking picture. These were then knit into a throw pillow where the equivalence of the pictures could be demonstrated by actually moving the pillow.

Rubber sheet geometry

Another topic we covered is a subject sometimes referred to as "rubber sheet geometry." The idea is to imagine the whole world is made of rubber, then reimagine what shapes would look like.

Let's try to understand the concept with knitting. One way of knitting objects that are round - like hats or gloves - is with special knitting needles called double pointed needles. While being made, the hat is shaped by three needles, making it look triangular. Then, once it comes off the needles, the stretchy yarn relaxes into a circle, making a much more typical hat.

Carthage College, CC BY-SA

This is the concept that "rubber sheet geometry" is trying to capture. Somehow, a triangle and a circle can be the same if they're made out of a flexible material. In fact, all polygons become circles in this field of study.

If all polygons are circles, then what shapes are left? There are a few traits that are distinguishable even when objects are flexible - for example, if a shape has edges or no edges, holes or no holes, twists or no twists.

One example from knitting of something that is not equivalent to a circle is an infinity scarf. If you want to make a paper infinity scarf at home, take a long strip of paper and glue the short edges together by attaching the top left corner to the bottom right corner, and the bottom left corner to the top right corner. Then draw arrows pointing up the whole way around the object. Something cool should happen.

Students in the course spent some time knitting objects, like infinity scarves and headbands, that were different even when made out of flexible material. Adding markings like arrows helped visualize exactly how the objects were different.

Different flavors

Carthage College

If the things described in this article don't sound like math to you, I want to reinforce that they very much are. The subjects discussed here - abstract algebra and topology - are typically reserved for math majors in their junior and senior years of college. Yet the philosophies of these subjects are very accessible, given the right mediums.

In my view, there's no reason these different flavors of math should be hidden from the public or emphasized less than conventional mathematics. Further, studies have shown that using materials that can be physically manipulated can improve mathematical learning at all levels of study.

If more mathematicians were able to set aside classical techniques, it seems possible the world could overcome the prevailing misconception that computation is the same as mathematics. And just maybe, a few more people out there could embrace mathematical thought; if not figuratively, then literally, with a throw pillow.

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One snowy January day, I asked a classroom of college students to tell me the first word that came to mind when they thought about mathematics. The top two words were "calculation" and "equation." When I asked a room of professional mathematicians the same question, neither of those words were mentioned; instead, they offered phrases like "critical thinking" and "problem-solving."

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Session

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A great site to support and inspire you to use innovative tech in your classes - free resources available

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A great site to support and inspire you to use innovative tech in your classes - free resources available

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Here's a site that may stimulate you in finding ways to use tech in your classroom, as well as draw on expertise and support from other innovating teachers

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We love sharing practical ideas that work, and we're generous with them to a fault. Find what you need through articles, books, videos, in-person presentations and more.

About Ditch That Textbook

We can do better than marching
chapter by chapter through a textbook.

In his own classes, Matt Miller found that textbooks were more an obstacle to learning than a help. He ditched them. For years, he's learned what works better than traditional "textbook" teaching and shared those ideas widely. His workshops and keynote speeches empower, entertain and inspire teachers to move forward confidently.

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Create amazing, unforgettable learning experiences.

When your students use Docs, Slides, Sheets and more in G Suite, they can do so much more than write an essay or do an oral report.

But how?

Coming up with creative classroom activities with Google tools is our jam. Learn how your students can create ...

* stop-motion animation
* infographics
* digital interactive notebooks
* and more.
Check out our FREE resources, including downloadable templates!

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The lessons are our way to change the world through our students! 🙌Thanks for all the resources @jmattmiller #Interface2019https://t.co/SxUXoWPfgr

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Want to make sure you're using your technology meaningfully? That you'll get results? This video series will give you some insight.

Take the Tech to Learn Online Course

Learn how to move the needle for learning with tech. With these six areas, you'll see results from your tech use.

©2023 Ditch That Textbook by Matt Miller.

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Awesome teaching, one lesson at a timeWe love sharing practical ideas that work, and we're generous with them to a fault. Find what you need through

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For English Bacchilerato students up to 1am February 18th: 15-second Video Vocabulary Challenge from the New York Times

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For English Bacchilerato students up to 1am February 18th: 15-second Video Vocabulary Challenge from the New York Times

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/17/learning/student-contest-our-sixth-annual-15-second-vocabulary-video-challenge.html?emc=edit_ln_20190117&nl=learning-network&nlid=5755247520190117&te=1
And here - an example video:

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http://webinars.pearson.es/?utm_source=AdsPearsonES&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=webinarELT_feb19

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Pearson & Anaya 2nd Annual Webinar Series for Teachers

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Controversies abound in just about every aspect of life and teachers will certainly agree that education is no exception. Whether we are talking about the pros and cons of technology in the classroom, or the benefits of games or a bilingual education everyone has an opinion.

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DIY CROSSWORDS AND OTHER PRINTABLE PUZZLES

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DIY CROSSWORDS AND OTHER PRINTABLE PUZZLES

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There are sites where you can generate your own word searches, crossword etc. One is https://www.education.com/worksheet-generator/reading/word-search/ and another is http://tools.atozteacherstuff.com/free-printable-crossword-puzzle-maker/

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Detailed plans of how to design, implement and assess PBL in class: various articles here at edutopia.org and here on a youtube playlist, the Five Keys to succesful design and implementation -

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The Five Keys to Project-Based Learning - YouTube

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Well-designed project-based learning (PBL) has been shown to result in deeper learning and engaged, self-directed learners. Learn more about the five core el...

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What is it?
An explanation in English (with a version in Spanish you can go to here

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What is it?  (What is it not?)

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Inspiration.... and techniques to inspire and be inspired in class

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Inspiration.... and techniques to inspire and be inspired in class

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There are four 'c's now fashionable in teaching: c ollaboration, c ommunication, c ritical thinking and c reativity. What are the other two, perhaps most important of all?  If you want to be reminded of what teaching can really mean - watch this talk by Joe Ruhl.

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Teaching Methods for Inspiring the Students of the Future | Joe Ruhl | TEDxLafayette

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excellent source of visual material, ideas, inspiration, collaboration - ELTpics.com and takeaphotoand.wordpress.com

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Any tech ideas to share? Please add them here!

For starters...
Free Images with commons licence (quick and easy to upload)

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Hello! Welcome! And how to get started together

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Hello! Welcome! And how to get started together

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Starting 2019 with a new group is such a real pleasure.

Please take a moment to watch ths video on how to use padlet and contribute to this wall, in case this is new technology for you. Enjoy!

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How to use Padlet in the Classroom - Padlet Tutorial