After 18 years in China, Hong Kong, and Abu Dhabi, and 13 years Bowen Island, Canada, my wife and I moved to Montreal in 2019. I travel extensively (44 countries so far!) attending conferences and conducting teacher training. I present also dozens of webinars each year.
As Covid-19 has made us all too aware, webinars are an efficient way to reach a large number of people in different locations, including their own homes. I have presented webinars for international audiences of up to 1,000 participants from multiple countries as well as more directed webinars aimed at a small group of teachers gathered in the same classroom. In both cases, there are opportunities for participants to interact through online chat and question and answer sessions. Here is a small selection of webinars I have presented in the last two years. I’m happy to create new ones according to your training needs.
Recent Webinars
Teachers and students now expect more varied opportunities for formative assessments to let students gauge what they need to improve upon, summative assessments that fairly determine students’ readiness for progressing to another level, and assessments that illuminate what works and doesn’t work in the classroom. Using the example of StartUp, a new eight-level series for adult learners, this talk explores how new methodologies and new technologies can make assessments both more transparent and more enjoyable.
These days, teachers face challenges engaging blended learners, particularly if both teachers and learners are new to blended learning. Challenges include: choosing a model that works, finding access to technology, assessing needs, motivating learners, offering feedback, managing time, and assessing performance. These and other issues point to the need to re-think how teachers engage blended learners in ways that are different from what worked in the traditional classroom. With a focus on adult and young adult learners, this presentation offers practical strategies to help get the most out of blended learning.
Misfortunes of all kinds have a way of bringing out the best in people and, when disasters and challenges arise, they often lead to rapid torrents of large and small innovations. There are several changes in education at the moment that promise to have lasting beneficial impacts on teaching and learning. This workshop outlines seven of these, identifying challenges and ways in which improvements in education will happen.
Language is a problem-solving tool. Our first language impulses are about getting what we want. Much language education extends this simple function but, increasingly, language education involves thinking critically about the world and engaging with it in creative ways. In the ecosystem of language teaching and learning, there remain traditional connections among teachers, students, books, and assessments, but there are also new digital resources and paradigms to exploit them. This presentation explores how teachers can engage students in critical and creative thinking, fuelling motivation and making learning more efficient and effective.
A key purpose in Learning English for Academic Purposes (LEAP) is to enhance students’ critical thinking skills for those questions that do not always have set answers. Critical thinking is also fostered when teachers present problems without clear solutions. This talk engages teachers to rethink how students learn and offers strategies to get them thinking more critically about the ideas they encounter in academic contexts.
It’s not enough to speak a second language, one has to be able to think in it, and think critically. When learning English for Academic Purposes at the secondary or university levels, students struggle to adopt critical thinking skills that can help them decode and reflect on what they listen to and read and make inferences on topics they don’t know. Taking a learner- centered approach, this presentation outlines a variety of critical thinking skills, easy-to-teach approaches, and examples of materials that can be used. The presenter will share his experience in writing four textbooks for Learning English for Academic Purposes as well as experiences teaching a range of students in a variety of academic contexts.
Language teachers face many challenges in the classroom, and these challenges increase when they have to work with large classes but have few support materials. However, there is hope! Strategies for both teachers and for students can make learning more efficient and effective. This presentation focuses on the flipped classroom, a set of strategies to help students learn language more efficiently and effectively. Special attention paid to information and communication technology.
The Teenage Brain – Ken Beatty, Tuesday 28 March 10 am PST
This session sets the theme for this weeklong course of teacher training webinars for teachers of secondary students. Dr. Ken Beatty, an expert in technology in language learning, explains what science teaches us about how teenagers think and how that informs our language teaching practice. Using examples from Wider World, the new Pearson/BBC secondary course, he demonstrates how content and pedagogy can frame and maximize learning outcomes for teenage students.
Interactivity – Ken Beatty, Saturday 1st April 10 am PST
How can we use the interactive features of past and present technologies to enhance teenagers’ learning processes? How can these processes mirror how teenagers already interact with the world? What role does interaction play in memory and learning? What happens to the brain when it is engaged in purposeful interaction?
The Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries profoundly impacted all aspects of life. The creation of factories influenced the design of schools in which learners were all treated like identical products and inferior ones were thrown away. Much of this thinking endures in today’s schools where learning is more focused on a majority passing tests than on achieving true language competence for all. This talk examines the types of tasks we typically give language learners and outlines new ones that better prepare them to engage in the critical thinking skills and other skills necessary for success in the 21st century.
The purpose of assessment is to allow learners to recognize their individual arcs of personal progress and to help teachers reflect on the effectiveness and efficiency of their classroom curricula. In this workshop, we look at how we can scientifically measure and improve the assessments that we currently give, as well as ways to step away from bell curves that unfairly sort learners. We explore alternative assessments that provide richer washback effects. Examples are drawn from English for Academic Purposes, but the principles, tricks, and tips are applicable across learner ages and language levels.
A continuum of classroom tasks, materials and situations stretch from the inauthentic and constructed to the authentic. Tasks and materials are further moderated by teachers’ and materials developers’ selection processes. This presentation outlines the challenges of working within the continuum. Practical applications to EAP, curriculum development and methodology are discussed.