Tyson Seburn (@seburnt) is an incredibly multi-talented ELT star in our Personal/Passionate Learning Network! In Canada, he stays busy running his own website, CourseTree, managing an industry book distributor, conducting webinars, and teaching in the International Foundation Program at University of Toronto. Avid tweeter and blogger, his current area of interest is purposeful integration of online technology in the classroom. When Brad Patterson challenged us to interview our PLN, I quickly jumped at interviewing Tyson because we share a common bond, parents of doggy kiddos who have their own Facebook page. As the mommy of a social media puggy, Rosco, I understand the challenges Tyson must face as the proud daddy of a mini pincher socialite, Rocco. After our interview, Rosco decided to conduct his own interview with Rocco.

The 5 Standard Questions

For this challenge, each of us asks the following questions:

• If your students were to label you with 3 adjectives, what might they be?
• What would we find in your refrigerator right now?
• If you weren’t a teacher, what might your profession be?
• What do you find most difficult about the teaching profession?
• What was the last book/movie you read/saw, and what have you seen/read way too many times?

Pt I Video Interview With Tyson

In this interview be warned that Tyson and Rocco have caused a scandal within the Star Trek community! You’ll have to watch to find out how!

Pt II Video: Rosco’s Interview With Rocco

Find out the secrets of being a socialite dog. Rosco, the pug, gets the dirty scoop! No pun intended

Other entries in this Blog Challenge:

• Brad Patterson interviews Cecilia Lemos
• Cecilia Lemos interviews Shelly Terrell
• James Taylor interviews Ania Musielak
• Tyson Seburn interviews Vicky Loras
• Paul Braddock interviews Brad Patterson
• Ania Musielak interviews Vladmira

Dave Dodgson who is currently based in Turkey shares this post with great tips….

Tips for Connecting with Young Learners

I never planned to teach kids. I was trained to teach English to adults and never pictured myself working in a ‘school’ setting with students who only came up to my waist. And yet, here I am now in my 9th year of working in a primary school! I have to admit that my original reasons for taking the job had little to do with education or advancing my career and I suspect that, just like me, many EFL teachers who work with kids ended up doing so by ‘accident’ with little or no training given beforehand.

Now, I should stress that I love my job and I have no regrets about the career move I made back in 2002 (although I thought I would at the time!) but the first year was difficult. I had never been around children much (I’m the youngest in my family) and had little idea of how to connect with them, motivate them or understand them. In those days, all I was concerned with was keeping order in the class and I achieved that by being strict – I shouted, warned, threatened and glared (using my height to full effect!) – but I soon realised that that wasn’t the way to go. I needed to ensure the kids felt secure and confident in their learning environment and that they saw their teacher as approachable and someone they connected with. And so, I set about making this happen and this is what has worked for me over the years:

Be on their level – literally!

Think back to your primary school days – do you remember how big the teachers seemed? Well, we seem even bigger when we are standing and the kids are sat at their desks! This can be intimidating for some children so it’s important to put them at ease. Whenever I go to a student’s desk to monitor, help them or answer a question, I crouch down and put myself on their eye level. Even a small gesture like this can out them at ease and help them connect with you.

Ask personal questions – and remember the answers!

It can be particularly difficult for children to connect with a foreign teacher who perhaps doesn’t know their own language that well so I always strive to find out personal information about my students, even when their level of English is basic. I ask about their likes and dislikes, their families, their hobbies, their favourite celebrities and so on, all of which can be done with basic language. I then ask them about what they told me, whether in the lesson or in the corridor at break time. This really helps them feel valued and listened to. Just last week, I asked one girl about her baby sister and if she was talking yet – her face really lit up and she proceeded to tell me all sorts of things about her sister and her family. She even promised to bring a photo in on Monday, which I look forward to seeing.

Tell them about yourself and share their interests

I used to avoid telling students personal details about myself. I’m not sure why – maybe I thought they would make fun or use it as a chance to distract me from the lesson plan – but it was an unnecessary self-imposed barrier. How could they connect if the personal information only went one way? I’m not saying you should stand in front of the class and just talk about yourself of course, but it’s important to find and share common interests. For example, my students with younger brothers and sisters love hearing about my 5 year-old son and we exchange stories about them; students with pets like to know about my cat; the boys like my football facts and they are often surprised to learn I used to watch wrestling! Although I’ve outgrown that a bit now, I still feign an interest.

Keep your promises

Nothing can be more disappointing for a kid than when they feel let down by an adult. I experienced this early in my young learner teaching career when I promised we would start a story book on our syllabus the following lesson but then decided to wait until the following week. The class was really upset and had no interest in the lesson I had prepared instead. Even if these things seem minor to us, they can be very important to children so only say they will watch a video, play a game, do a project or have their work displayed somewhere in the school if you intend to follow through on it and are 100% sure it will happen!

Give them choices

Offering choices to students is a great way to make them feel a part of the learning process. If there’s only enough time left for one activity nut I have two or three more on my lesson plan, I’ll let them choose which one they want to do. When possible, I let them choose whether they want to work in groups, in pairs or individually. Sometimes, I even let them choose the topic for the entire lesson! This really helps show them that their teacher is willing to listen to them, is receptive to their ideas and is approachable.

Better that than some glaring, shouting, threatening giant!

What are your tips for connecting with kids? If you were not trained to teach kids, how did you adapt to working with them? Please share your thoughts in the comments section!

————————————————————-

Dave Dodgson is an EFL teacher based in Ankara, Turkey, where he has lived for over 10 years. After spending the first couple of years of his career teaching adults, he started teaching Primary school children in 2002 and has never looked back (well, maybe he looked back a few times…) He is currently studying for an MA in EdTech and TESOL via the University of Manchester in the UK and is due to graduate in 2012. When not juggling with the demands of a full-time teaching job and distance study, he writes the odd post for his blog Reflections of a Teacher and Learner and spends as much time as he can with his beautiful wife and their 5 year-old son.

Challenge:
Try implementing some of these ideas and share with us your post about the experience!

If you enjoy this series, you may want to subscribe for FREE!

Welcome to the 23rd edition of the ESL/EFL/ELL Carnival with the focus on Young Learners! Let us start the month with some fantastic resources on motivating and managing young learners. These resourceful reading materials are from many of the finest bloggers, authors, and educators of the English language teaching world! So brew your favorite coffee and indulge in the quotes I share from each post.

You can also enjoy this slideshow with clickable links and music. Just click play and on any of the images to be taken to the post! And, feel free to embed this Vuvox slideshow on your own blog

Tips, Lessons, & Issues

In Carol Read’s ABC of Teaching Children blog, she asserts in her post, S is for Storytelling:

It is arguable that stories can play a similar role in the context of children learning a second, additional or foreign language as well. From my own experience over many years of teaching, I am convinced that it can. In our classes with children, the magic of stories seems to lie in the way that they provide shared contexts for promoting participation and developing emerging language skills in a natural and spontaneous way. Stories also potentially engage children’s hearts and minds, as people and as thinkers, with issues that are relevant, real and important to them.

In Richard Whiteside’s I’d Like to Think That I Help People to Learn English blog, he describes in his post, Let’s see what the magic bag thinks:

Sometimes in class we want to choose one child to do something and often this can be difficult because the kids get annoyed if they aren’t chosen. What criteria do you use to choose which child is going to do whatever it is, or go first? … I recommend a simple technique that I learnt a couple of years ago.

In Dave Dodgson’s Reflections of a Teacher and Learner blog, he describes in his post, Student (De)generated Dialogue:

My attempts to include more drama and more ‘unplugged moments’ in my lessons have continued in the new semester and so last week I decided to try some ‘unplugged drama’ with a twist on the classic ‘disappearing dialogue’.

In Sabrina De Vita’s weblog, she reveals in her post, Dogme with Young Learners:

Been thinking quite a lot about dogme recently, and it has just struck me that I am applying it in my young learners classes without even having noticed it.

In Leahn Stanhope’s Early EFL blog, she illustrates a lesson for us in her post, Tried and Tested Drawing Activity for Young Learners:

This is a really simple but highly adaptable  controlled practice activity that most children really enjoy. Quite simply take a piece of paper show the children how to fold it into 4 or 6. It depends on you. Next get them to number the boxes 1-4 or 1-6. Now you’re ready to draw.

In Sandie Mourao’s Picturebooks in ELT blog, she describes the book in her post, My Nose, Your Nose – Celebrating Individuality:

There’s a nice rhythm here, the two children shown as different, each on different spreads, then brought together with a similarity onto one spread.   Melanie Walsh uses this rhythmic, visual structure to reinforce her message, which culminates in bringing all four children together.

In Jason Renshaw’s English Raven blog, he points out in his post, Ways to Extend News Articles in the ELT Classroom for Multiple and Integrated Skills:

On my World News for Kids Teacher’s Page, I demonstrate how I build extensive ‘kits’ based on initial news articles, working through reading, extending into listening with additional topical content, then working through a variety of different speaking and writing activities.

In Barbara Sakamoto’s Teaching Village blog, she reminds us in her post, Rocco’s Day: A Student-generated Story Activity for Literacy Practice:

This foundation of spoken language is the perfect base from which to begin reading and writing. If students have a good teacher and/or a good course book, then the language they have learned helps them talk about the things that interest them, which means they can learn to write about the things that interest them, and can practice reading things that interest them. It’s a winning situation!…Today, I want to share a very simple  activity I use with emergent readers and writers.

In Marisa Constantinides’ TEFL Matters blog, she tells us in her post, Watching Young Learners at Work: From Practice to Principle:

This post is based on three activities on video with a young class in their first year of English videotaped as part of a training project for a course on teaching young learners.  At the point of  being video-taped, this class of Greek children attending classes in a small language school in Athens, had had about 40 hours of English in total, mostly concentrating on oral work.

In David Deubelbeiss’ EFL Classroom 2.0 blog, he posts a poem and illustrates how to use it in his post, Imagine…. (a poem about school):

Listen to the original song and share with your students. What do they imagine about education and school? Here’s what some elementary school students wrote me when I asked their class to give me questions they’d like to know answers about! Imagine if they had the time to explore as they wanted?

In Ken Wilson’s blog, he shares a guest post, Guest blog 21 – Beccy on teaching ‘difficult’ primary school pupils…:

I’d never met children with such a low opinion of their own abilities. And there were many like them in the class. The children were spectacularly down on themselves. They were disengaged. They thought they were “the worst class in the school”. Obviously, the urge to do something about this was strong.

In Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day blog, he tells us in his post, The Best Resources For Learning How To Use The Dictogloss Strategy With English Language Learners:

Dictogloss is primarily a listening and writing activity used with English Language Learners. It can certainly be done a number of different ways but, very simply-put, the teacher reads a short text, often one students are familiar with…Here are few of the best resources that I’ve found on using the dictogloss strategy.

In Erika Osváth’s For English Teachers – Angoltanároknak blog, she describes in her post, Our children transforming education in action:

Kids can do this so naturally, so why don’t WE, adults learn from them? It’s high time we paid more attention to what kids can teach us before they go to school and all their innate knowledge, abilities and aptitudes are slowly or quickly, for that matter, anaesthetised and then killed.

In Mark Chapman’s The TESOL Zone blog, he says in his post, ESL Writing for Children:

Writing is an important, if sometimes neglected skill, when teaching children English… It is needed at school, it deepens the student’s understanding of English grammar and vocabulary, it helps students develop their own thinking, provides an alternative creative output for children, allows students to work at their own pace alone, or can be used to encourage group work and more social interaction.

In Kevin Gallagher’s AbsolutESL blog, he says in his post, Humor in the ESL Classroom:

Whether I like to admit it or not, one of my biggest struggles in any classroom is maintain the attention of my students. It seems humor, especially in the East Asian countries where I taught, can help to break the ice.

In Mary Ann Zehr’s Learning the Language blog, she points out in her post, The Nation Sees a Drop in Latino Preschool Enrollment:

Yoshikawa observed that Mexican-American preschoolers have a very low rate of preschool enrollment in the United States, while the rate of enrollment for preschoolers in the country of origin of their families is very high.

Teaching YLs Effectively with Technology

In Burcu Akyol’s Blog My Integrating Technology Journey blog, she says in her post, DOs and DON’Ts of Blogging With Students:

This is a little reminder for the blogging ISTEK teachers. These guidelines are specific to our school but some of the suggestions might be valid for the other blogging teachers too.

In Eva Büyüksimkeşyan’s A Journey in TEFL blog, she describes in her post, Easy to Use Web 2.0 Tools:

They are digital natives, I know but they are only good at playing computer games and as they are young learners they are slower than the teenagers. However, they are more motivated and enthusiastic. I belive if they hear their voices published on their class blogs they will be more willing.

In Graham Stanley’s and Kyle Mawer’s Digital ELT Play blog, they describe in their post, Playing video games = Healthy body, healthy mind:

You’ve probably sat on a bus or train and see someone playing ‘braintraining‘ and finding out how old their brain is. You may even have played it yourself. This popular hand held puzzle video game was designed by a prominent neuroscientist who claims that playing the games’ puzzles reduces the chances of dementia in old age.

In the Pumkin English blog, the new free Iphone app for kids is described:

Learn the colors for free with our new iPhone app. We were on the iTunes “Whats New and Noteworthy” area. So you can be assured that it is noteworthy. In fact it is much more than noteworthy it’s amazing!

In Jennifer Verschoor’s My Integrating Technology Journey blog, she says in her post, Virtual Worlds for Young Learners:

Motivate your young learners by introducing virtual worlds in your daily teaching. I´ve been uploading several virtual worlds in my Web 2.0 online calendar!

In my post, Survival Tips for Teaching Kids English: 30 Tips & Resources, I reflect:

I remember teaching a group of 14 seven to eight year-old students. They climbed the walls (oddly there were racks on the walls), fought a lot, and flew paper airplanes everywhere. I went home after a 9 hour day and cried. I wanted to quit. I have a fighting spirit, though, so I went online to research lessons and ideas. Throughout the four years that I have been teaching in Germany I have collected some great research, resources, and tips to make me a much better English teacher of young learners!

Looking forward to the next carnival?

The Carnival welcomes any blog posts, including examples of student work, that are related to teaching or learning English. You can contribute a post to it by using this easy submission form. If the form does not work for some reason, you can send the link to Larry Ferlazzo via his Contact Form. The following edition will be published by Eva Buyuksimkesyan on September 1st. The November 1st edition will be hosted by Berni Wall. Let Larry Ferlazzo know if you might be interested in hosting future editions.

You can see all the previous editions of the ESL/EFL/ELL Blog Carnival here.

Challenge:

Try any of these resources with your young learners.

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

What are your tips for working with young learners?

Part of the Cool Sites series

Sometimes, the teachers of young learners get a bad reputation for playing all day in their classes. Let me tell you a secret. Any great teacher of young learners is definitely playing a lot in and out of the classroom! Play is an important part of development. Children are motivated by learning through play and learn a lot through playing such as:

• problem solving
• completing a small task before a larger task
• pacing
• following instructions
• collaborating
• developing skills to accomplish tasks

Play and Video Games

Many more lessons are learned by today’s digital games which have the social component to them. Try checking out the Playstations, Wii, and other game consoles. Many have ways for children worldwide to communicate and play with/against each other. Children are motivated to accomplish tasks and learn skills. They can continue the challenge until they accomplish it. Some get so obsessive they will spend all night trying to achieve the task so they can advanced to the next level! If it’s too tough the kids will research online forums, ask others experienced in the game, and apply what they learned into accomplishing the task. What I have described should be what learning in schools should look like. Below are some websites to find games for young learners to develop skills and learn English! I add these by theme to my class wiki, English Storytime, and encourage the parents to help the children play the games and monitor them. The children love playing these games and entering these virtual worlds! Some of the websites are games but do offer English adventures for children where they get a chance to have fun learning English! These websites are definitely preferable to children sitting in class completing worksheets.

9 Digital Sites that Make English Fun for YLs

Kindersite- The Kindersite spearheaded by Joel Josephson (@acerview54) has 1000s of educational and fun content specifically designed for preschool, kindergartens, elementary, primary schools and special needs students. Register for free for full featured access, but it’s not required. The age level and themes are listed next to each game! Interactive stories, games, and activities are included. I get many of the games we play in class for my 4 to 10 year-old English language learners from this website!

ELT Digital Play- This blog lists reviews various games, describes their value and how to play them. I love the pictures shown and the kind of games they find which have children complete tasks and advance to different levels! These games are the kind children love to play and aren’t just simple tasks. Once again a great place I find treasures for my class wiki! Graham Stanley (@grahamstanley) and Kyle Mawer (@kylemawer). You can follow their Twitter account to be updated, @eltdigitalplay.

Pumkin English- Love this virtual world for children to learn English through cute characters accomplishing tasks and winning points! In addition, the site has 100 lessons and over 750 learning activities that help children practice pronunciation, listening, reading, and writing skills. Teachers have free accounts and there are free trial periods for parents. Children learn English through videos, games, songs, puzzles and quizzes. Parents are given daily reports of the child’s learning. Children can explore 5 virtual worlds and have over 100 animals join them along the way. There is also a foundation that is going to be set-up for kids who can not afford to play outside of school. You can follow their Twitter account to be updated, @pumkinenglish. Sometimes I play the games myself for fun!

Brainnook- a free online virtual world for kids to develop math and english skills with children worldwide. This site is in Beta so parents and children feel free to explore for free!

English Story Time Wiki- In my class wiki, you’ll find several activities, videos, fingerplays, and chants listed by theme.

Nick Jr- A free website that has several developmental games for children based on popular children’s shows. My 4 to 6 year-olds’ favorite game comes from this site, Wonder Pets Save the Baby Dinosaur!

English Attack- Adolescents and teens learn English through games, videos, news, music, and more. Paul Maglione (@paulmaglione) runs this website. Test the beta for free! I recently saw his presentation at TESOL France and the website looks really fantastic for older children and teenagers.

Webkins- Children buy these characters and get a code to enter the virtual world. It’s not made for English language learners but motivates children to speak English with millions of kids worldwide. Children really enjoy this virtual world.

Learn English Kids- Has several interactive stories, games, and printables for children of all ages!

YL Curriculum Resources

I remember when I first began teaching young learners how difficult it was to find great material. For this reason, I’d like to recommend you check out these 3 great sites for YL resources. Not all are free and nope they didn’t pay me to write this for them. Just appreciate their great materials for YLs.

Potato Pals- Accompanying this cute book series of potato pal adventures are Youtube videos, a Facebook community, drawing contests, a blog of their adventures, and more! All children’s books should have these elements to involve their communities. I really enjoy how the Potato Pals has children worldwide submit drawings and features them on a slideshow. It makes children feel special when the characters they read about communicate with them. The Potato Pals series is unique and forward thinking on how they involve kids through social media. Imagine a child sending their favorite character a drawing then looking on the website to see that drawing published. Children are on Facebook these days. At least my 12 year-old niece is and I can only imagine the joy she feels when befriended by a character she loves! The Potato Pals series is uniquely different than any other children’s series I’ve encountered for English language learners.

English Raven- I have previously written about English Raven’s games, lessons, flash cards and more! You pay what you want to have access to 1000s of materials and ideas! For one YL curriculum I paid megabucks so this is an absolutely bargain in my opinion. You get access to some great videos of Jason Renshaw playing the games with his very cute children Here’s just one of Jason’s great ideas to create a live reader for children starring them!

Cullen’s ABCs- This free video curriculum has so many creative ideas, finger plays, chants, and songs for young learners. I watched so many of Cullen’s videos to figure out how to engage my learners to learn the language. This free program really saved me when I began teaching 2 year-olds English and I share her videos with my parents to help them play the fingerplays at home with their children! Cullen has a free online pre-school for children and an iPhone app of 5 felt-board stories. Below is one great example of her free videos!

Young Learner Blogs

Here are some great blogs that often share YL lessons and ideas. I always find some fun ideas! Check them out and subscribe in one click with this bundle! These include the blogs by Digital ELTplay and English Raven above!

Early EFL
Teaching Village
Reflections of a Teacher and Learner
Sabrina’s Weblog
Esra’s Englishous Blog
Carol Read’s ABC of Teaching Children
For English Teachers – Angoltanároknak
Ozge Karaoglu’s Blog
So This is English
MY INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY JOURNEY
Picture Books in ELT
MABUHAY CLASSROOM

Challenge:

What is the amount of time you’re playing in your YL classes? By the end of the day you should be exhausted and in great shape from all the movement. Try increasing the amount of play in your YL classes for at least one week. Try having very few worksheet activities that week if possible and reflect on the difference.

You may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

Part of the Cool Sites series

Every Friday I am presenting free webinars thanks to American TESOL! We have an incredible time. Recently, we shared ideas for integrating drama in the classroom. Teachers do not have to be skilled in acting. Instead, the webinar was away to introduce teachers to different games that get students to tap into their creative juices and get them moving! As Ken Wilson said in a recent interview with me, “Animate your classes!”

Classroom activities that include drama skills include:

• role plays
• puppets
• pretend games
• mime
• pantomine
• total physical response
• dance
• music
• dress-up
• improvisation games
• puppetry
• storytelling
• digital storytelling

Find more activities by watching this webinar, Using Drama in the Classroom!

Drama Activities & Resources

Check out these resources to help you animate your classes!

Improv Games: Videos

• Game 1: Yes And (click to watch a video example)
• Instructions:
  • Put students into pairs
  • One student begins with a sentence and the other student says “Yes and” then adds more information.
  • Use a timer to get students speaking for 1 minute or longer.

• Game 2: Rumors (click to watch a video example)
• Instructions:
  • Put students into pairs
  • Student A makes up a rumor to tell student B.
  • Student B adds to the rumor then both students giggle.
  • Student B then makes up the rumor and student A adds to the rumor.
  • Use a timer to get students speaking for 1 minute or longer.

• Game 3: Pass the Prop (click to watch a video example)
• Instructions:
  • You will need an everyday object such as an eraser, a chair, a broom, or other object. You can choose to bring in as many as you want. We will use a broom as an example.
  • Place students in a circle.
  • Place 2 students in the center of the circle with the broom.
  • Student A decides what to pretend the broom is either than a broom. For example, student A may decide the broom is a spaceship.
  • Student A then demonstrates the broom is a spaceship through acting and using dialogue until student B figures this out.
  • Student B determines the broom is a spaceship and plays along matching the dialogue.
  • When a student in the circle imagines the object is something else that student taps student A or B and replaces that student in the skit.

• Game 4: Jibberish to English (click to watch a video example)
• Instructions:
  • You will need a bell or whistle.
  • Put students into pairs
  • Have the pairs make up a scene or give them one. They are choosing a scene they can easily talk about so they may want something simple like going shopping, playing a sport, etc. Or you could have the scene match your lesson topic.
  • Student A begins by speaking about the topic. Student B rings the bell every 10 seconds or so. When student B rings the bell, student A must speak in Jibberish (a made up language).
  • Use a timer to get students speaking for 1 minute or longer.

Resources for Using Drama With Young Learners

• Serious Drama With Young Learners by Ania Kozicka on Ken Wilson’s blog
• Teaching English Vocabulary to Young Learners via Drama (PDF)
  • research and activities listed
• Drama with Young ELLs
• Drama Techniques for Teaching English
• Storytelling and Drama by Carol Read
• Watching Young Learners at Work: From Practice to Principle by Marisa Constantinides
• ESL Children’s Drama Games
• Puppets in Primary
• Several Puppet Making Resources & Scripts
• Digital Storytelling- several links and resources

More Drama Resources

• My Drama Wiki with videos and more!
• Using Drama and Movement to Enhance English Language Learners’ Literacy Development
  • amazing background information (8+ pages) on using Drama with English language learners. You will get a solid understanding of the benefits and pedagogical basis for various activities
• 40 Drama Resources via Sean Banville
• Roleplay Tutorial
• Several Drama and Theater Resources via Cybraryman
• Animating Stories by Marisa Constantinides

Recommended Reading

• Drama and Improvisation by Ken Wilson
• The Drama and Theatre Category of Ken Wilson’s blog

Challenge:

Try one of these ways to animate your lessons!

If you enjoyed this post, you may want to subscribe for FREE to receive regular updates!

Interview 12 of Twittering for Education

The majority of classrooms have curricula based on coursebooks. Many teachers might feel that teaching from a coursebook kills creativity and makes learning boring especially when coupled with multiple choice tests. However, in many schools teachers are required to teach from a coursebook. A coursebook is just a tool. We can still teach fun lessons that get students applying their learning, but many of us just don’t know how. That is why I was extremely excited to speak with my special guest, Ken Wilson (@KenWilsonLondon), the author of Drama and Improvisation, which is filled with over 70 simple activities that help teachers animate their lessons. In the interview, Ken explains his background working with the English Teaching Theatre then shares some simple activities to help teachers animate their lessons. Ken also talks about the importance of integrating activities that help all students show their talents, creativity, and skills. I first met Ken on Twitter then attended his workshop at TESOL France. During the workshop, Ken had the audience of teachers be the students and become the teachers. His ideas were really helpful and the entire workshop was a lot of fun! He made gapfills become more like games and even animated the Table of Contents of coursebooks. I am super excited to participate in his upcoming workshop this weekend, 10 Things I Think I Know About Teaching.

Bio

Ken Wilson is a teacher trainer, an author of ELT materials and until 2002, an artistic director of the English Teaching Theatre. He trained to be an English teacher with John and Brita Haycraft at International House London and taught English in Seville before moving back to IH London, where he worked as a teacher and teacher trainer before going freelance. In the seventies, he wrote and recorded Mister Monday, the first-ever collection of ELT songs. Since then he’s written and recorded about 150 language teaching songs, many which you can read about and even download from his blog. He has worked as a performer, sketch-writer and eventually director with the English Teaching Theatre, a theatre company which used to tour the world performing stage-shows for learners of English. The company made more than 250 tours to 55 countries, in Europe, Latin America, Africa and the Far East. His most recent publications are Smart Choice, Just Right Advanced, Quick Smart English, Matura Masters, and Drama and Improvisation. Find him on Twitter, @KenWilsonLondon.

Previous Interviews

Check out the previous interviews Twittering for Education- Jo and Phil Hart, Twittering for Education- Eric and Melissa Sheninger, Twittering for Education- Will and Elle Deyamport, Connected Principals- George Couros, 1:1 Programs- Rich Kiker, Mobile Learning with Kids- Scott Newcomb, Effective Leadership: Interview with Patrick Larkin, Using Skype for ELT Lessons: Interview with Marisa Pavan, Teachers as Leaders and Continuous Learners: Interview with Dr. Doug Green, Blogging with Students: Interview with Greta Sandler, and What Does the Innovative School Look Like? Interview with Dr. Tom King.

Challenge:

Try one of the ideas suggested by Ken Wilson to animate your lessons!

If you enjoy this series, you may want to subscribe for FREE!

What are your thoughts?

Part of the Cool Sites series

Image courtesy of @teflpet.

In the picture above you can see a great friend of mine, Emma Herrod, and her son who have video-conferenced with my classes and workshops. When the teachers in my last workshop interviewed Emma via Skype about our interaction through Skype they were excited about technology. Most of the teachers had been reluctant towards technology but Skype is one of those fantastic free tools that gets teachers new to technology motivated to try the technology. For this reason, I love to show teachers and administrators Skype. Skype is one of the top tools I introduce to teachers, administrators, and my students. This tool has tremendous learning potential, is free, easy to use, and has incredible buy-in.

I have been fortunate to have people in my Skype network who will Skype with me at the spur of the moment or make themselves available for my various classes in Germany. This year I have been fortunate to Skype in the following ways:

• Emma and her son Skyped my class of 5 year-olds. Her son taught my young language learners how to make an origami box.
• Emma also Skyped my adult learners to answer their questions about the UK elections and to teach them British idioms.
• Steven Anderson has Skyped my administrators, teachers I’ve trained, and adult classes. Topics usually include what makes a great Skype lesson and the ideas for integrating Skype in schools.
• Matthew Farber‘s sixth grade class Skyped my adult class and answered questions about the differences between Germany and the US.
• Candace Townsley‘s sixth grade class Skyped middle school students, my director, and toddlers about the Wild West.
• I have Skyped with several educators to train them online or their staff. Please feel free to ask me to Skype with your staff! I love doing this!

In the process of training teachers to integrate Skype effectively with their classes and using Skype to get my German students to interact with students worldwide, I have found several incredible resources. Feel free to share these resources with other teachers. Consider showing Skype to teachers taking the first steps with technology and who may be very reluctant to try integrating technology in their classrooms.

Skype in Education

Technology 4 Kids Wiki: Skype Resources
Using Skype at School (The Dummies Series)
Skype in School Wiki
50 Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom
Student Inter-school Debating with Skype by Lois Smethurst
Giving Students Skype Jobs by Langwitches
Skype an Author Wiki
10 Ways to Use Skype in the Classroom
Motivating Adult Learners: Skype an Expert

Finding Classes to Skype

List of Classrooms Ready to Skype
Want Ads by Classes Wanting to Skype for Specific Project
Skype Other Classrooms- List by Sue Waters
EPals Global Community

Recording Skype Sessions

Automatically Recording Skype Calls with MP3 Skype
15 Apps for Recording Skype
Using PowerGramo

More Resources

Improving Skype Calls by Sue Wyatt
How to Produce Video Interviews for Your Blog With Skype
Using VuRoom to Hold A Skype Conference
Make group video calls with up to 10 people with the new beta version of Skype for Windows

Langwitches Presentation: Around the World with Skype

One of the best Skype webinars I have seen! Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano’s Presentation, Around the World with Skype!

Challenge:

Try any of these resources and blog about your experience. Blogging helps you reflect and decide how you can apply this learning to improve your instructional methods.

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What are your ideas for integrating Skype into the classroom?

Part of the series: The 30 Goals Challenge, Goal 25: Plant a Seed

(picture from www.veezzle.com)

Marisa Pavan from Argentina shares this post about her journey with Goal 25: Plant a Seed and how she planted a seed with her students….

A couple of years ago inspired by the members of my Personal Learning Network (PLN) via Twitter (@Mtranslator) I decided to start using technological tools in my group classes. I teach English as a Second Language to 15-16-17-year-old teenagers who have intermediate and upper-intermediate levels. My thrust has been the relevance of helping students become independent, life-long learners. Although my students lack the necessary maturity to value the significance of becoming autonomous, I am convinced that I have planted a seed. I have received the approval and support from the director of the school of language where I work and parents’ compliments. I have noticed how motivated my students feel in class when we use, for example, videos of movies to practice past verbs like in http://moviesegmentstoassessgrammargoals.blogspot.com/2010/02/coraline-past-perfect-x-simple-past.html or when we play vocabulary games, such as http://www.smarttutor.com/home/lessons/Vocab_PrefixSuffix_L3_V1_T3a.swf. I have devised blogs and wikis in which I upload the links of the material we use in class so students can reuse the material at home, projects the students can develop at home and tasks for further practice.

As Shelly Terrell has expressed in her publication of the 30 Goals, it is not easy to keep the faith. However, I am a persevering person and I am not going to give in even though when I ask students if they have visited the blog/wiki to play language games I upload or to do a listening task, they reply negatively. When I show them those links in class, students express enthusiasm but it fades away quickly. I am sure that my students will need technological skills in their future careers and will give the importance to this opportunity in the future.

Like Shelly, I believe in passion and I feel passion for teaching English. However, I know that as a teacher of English I am not only helping my students develop language skills but also contributing a great deal to their growth as social beings. It is essential for them to learn how to be independent responsible members of society. For that reason, I need to make it clear for them that I am a guide, a facilitator, an assistant in their learning process but that they should assume responsibility for the goals they want to achieve. Besides, it is necessary for me to confer self-assurance to them so that they become strong to face their challenges.

What seeds (values) do you feel you have planted in your students?

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Marisa Pavan holds degrees in translation, interpretation and teaching from Instituto Superior Nº 28 “Olga Cossettini”, Rosario and has two decades of experience in teaching English as a Second Language. She has over 6 years experience working as a freelance English-Spanish/ Spanish-English translator. She is skilled in languages, translation, interpretation, training students to develop listening, speaking, writing and reading strategies, CAT tools and communication. You can also find Marisa on Twitter, @mtranslator.

Challenge:
Try Marisa’s challenge and plant a seed in your students whether it be through using or a methodology!

Download your free copy of The 30 Goals Challenge: Join the Movement e-book!

Don’t forget to leave a comment that you accomplished this goal using the hashtag #30Goals!

Submit a guest post for The 30 Goals Challenge Series!

Part of the Cool Sites series

As an English language teacher I love opportunities to teach culturally responsive lessons (CRT), a type of curriculum that celebrates and responds to various cultural issues through student-centered instruction. In a previous post, Do Our Students Realize They Live in the World, I explain why all students need to develop skills in collaborating with others worldwide. These skills are rarely thought in schools. How many teachers do you know in your school that participate in international projects?

Nelson Mandela is an incredibly wise man who realized that one way to unify people in a nation is through sports! The World Cup is the sporting event that unites nations and brings the world together to rejoice, cheer, kick, scream, rant and now blow our vuvuzelas! My adult English language learners are having rich discussions about the World Cup and my kindergartners are also enjoying learning about sports! However, you can use the World Cup to teach any subject, such as math, history, and statistics.

Lesson Ideas

Below are the resources I have been using with my adult English language learners (pre-intermediate level) and hope they provide you with ideas:

Sean Banville’s Listening Exercises & Quizzes

To prepare for the class, I suggested my students complete these activities in our wiki:

1. Please read this article about Germany in the World Cup
2. Then listen to the MP3 of the article without reading the article
3. Now take these quizzes to check your understanding- Quiz 1 and Quiz 2

Sue Lyon’s Video & Listening Quiz On Vuvuzelas

• In class, we sparked thoughtful discussion by watching a video on the ESOLCourses blog about banning Vuvuzelas.
• As a class we created a concept map of what we remembered from the video about Vuvuzuelas and what we had each observed.
• Then we took this video quiz.
• We then separated into two groups to debate the issue if Vuvuzelas should be banned! We had an incredible discussion with the majority of the class voting on Sue’s poll to not ban them. Many of the students came up with great arguments, such as Vuvuzelas being a tradition, a symbol of hope, preventing coaches from communicating with players, and more!

Can I Play This at Home? The World Cup Online Game

• In class, students also created questions for this fun game, Can I Play This at Home.
• This game has the students choose a team, then answer questions correctly to make the footballers make a play.
• Students are submitting their questions on the website then having their classmates play the game at home.
• There are also preset questions in several categories, such as math, spelling, and grammar.

Here are more World Cup resources and ideas:

• Use these free creative common photos from Pic App of players, crazy fans, and more to have students create dialogues using Super Lame Word Balloon generator.
• Quizlet: Want to Sound Like a World Cup Expert? created by Ana d’Almeida!
• Pearls of Wisdom from Soccer Greats by Ken Wilson- Students will have a fun time seeing famous players and discussing the quotes they say. Students then find their quotes from their own favorite players and a great photo to accompany the quote!
• More World Cup Lesson Ideas by Eva Büyüksimkeşyan!
• The Best Sites For Learning About The World Cup by Larry Ferlazzo
• The World Cup 2010 – Quizzes & Activities by ESOLCourses
• World Cup Video Lessons by ESOLCourses blog
• Over 50 World Cup Lessons, Resources, & Ideasby Sean Banville

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I would like to thank the following bloggers for mentioning Teacher Reboot Camp in their posts of 10 blogs you should look at. Please, look at their blogs and if they are in this list, It’s Worth Voting for These Blogs, then consider voting for them. I read these blogs on a regular basis and find so many incredible gems in them. I will describe these briefly, then go into detail about the ones I nominate. Unfortunately the rules say I can’t include these in my top 10.

• The PLN Staff- One of my favorite blogs that is always filled with incredible wit and a lot of charm.
• A Journey in TEFL- Eva describes her use of web 2.0 tools with her students. Love her reflection!
• Sean Banville’s blog- I admire how Sean describes incredible ways to use technology effectively with students.
• The Island Weekly- Anne shares videos, music, and posts that are thought-provoking. She also covers culture and other issues.
• Sheetal Makhan- Some of these posts have literally had me in tears. She shares world issues many are too afraid to blog about.
• Doing Some Thinking- Henrick makes educators reflect on how students learn best. I love the pedagogy and critical view of teaching practices.
• Early EFL- Leahn shares incredible tips and resources for teaching young learners.  This is a new gem I recently subscribed to.
• The VE Blog by Miguel Mendoza- Provides great insight into various technologies for professional development and classroom use.
• Bright Ideas Blog- I find some truly amazing videos and resources on this blog which is why I tweet it so much!

If you are tagged, follow these rules:

1) Insert the picture above into your blog with a link back to the blog that nominated you
2) List 10 blogs you feel others should read
3) Tell the bloggers you have nominated that you have tagged them

Here are my 10 (in no order) recommendations in 2 categories, including the reasons why you should visit their blogs and my favorite posts.

English Language Teaching Blogs

• Linguistic Consultancy by Marisa Pavan- This is a relatively new blog but is filled with great tidbits of how to use technology effectively. What I really enjoy is Marisa’s honest reflection on the tools she uses and how it impacts her learners.
  • Check out What Do Students Learn When They Learn a Second Language?
• Education Technology in ELT by Vicky Saumell- She shares so many incredible technology resources and blogs how to integrate them effectively with students.
  • Check out Visual literacy: Flickr-fed web 2.0 tools
• TeflTecher by Ian James- I love the lesson plans that go along with some the most innovative uses of technology I have seen. They are the kind you can’t wait to try in your classroom.
  • Check out Talking Photos : Fotobabble and Wallwisher
• ELT Ideas by Marian Steiner- Reading Marian’s posts is like reading beautiful prose. He explains teaching in a very poetic way that is quite beautiful.
  • Check out What Twitter Feels Like
• Esra’s Englishous Blog by Esra Girgin Akiskali- Esra shares great tips for teaching English to young language learners. She also reflects on various instructional methods.
  • Check out A-Z EXPERIENCE LIST OF A TEACHER: TEACHING VERY YOUNG LEARNERS
• Ozge Karaoglu’s Blog- You won’t the amount of technology resources she shares anywhere, which is why she is known as the Edtech queen.
  • Check out 100 Digital Storytelling Tools for Your Digital Selves + Natives (Part 1)
• Burcu Akyol’s Blog- I have learned so much about professional development in ELT in this incredible blog.
  • Check out the entire Spread Your Knowledge Series
• Nik’s Quick Shout! Blog by Nik Peachey- The most difficult part was trying to decide which Nik Peachey blog I would list. All are incredible and deserving of numerous awards for his incredible contribution to getting language teachers to use technology effectively with their students.
  • Check out Future of Educational Technology 1: The Digital Divide
• Digital Play Blog by Kyle Mawer and Graham Stanley- I love the free online games shared and explored in this blog! You’ll be hooked as well.
  • Check out Top Ten interesting ipod/iphone apps for English language learning
• Jeremy Harmer’s Blog- This one has been named many times by others and for a reason, it is simply a must read for all educators. Jeremy makes educators reflect on their presentation styles and actions on social media. Yes, Jeremy has been mostly read by the entire ELT world but really he should be read by all educators.
  • Check out Hot Metal, Apps, Dogme in the World of Avatar

Education Blogs

• The Nerdy Teacher by Nick Provanzano- Nick writes with such pizazz and energy. Daily it seems he knocks out another thought-provoking post. He challenges educators to rethink the way students learn.
  • Check out the entire 10 Weeks and No Tests series. Scroll to the bottom and read up!
• ICT in Education by Terry Freedman- Daily Terry’s posts make me reflect on the way I teach with technology. There is no sugar coating in this blog, but challenges to become a better educator and the experience to back this up.
  • Check out Shock tactics: 7 ideas for teaching with technology
• Technology Tidbits: Thoughts From a Cyberhero by David Kapuler- Daily David shares the best free tools and resources available for educators. He includes brilliant examples!
  • Check out 50 Sites in 60 Minutes
• Pair-of-Dimes For Your Thoughts by David Truss- His posts continuously make me reflect on my pedagogy and instructional practice.
  • Check out A Brave New World-Wide-Web! (The video version)
• Sue Waters Blog- I learned how to blog through Sue’s wisdom! Without her help and encouragement this blog would not be where it is.
  • Check out Running A First Time Reader Audit On Your Blog
• Teaching With Soul Blog by Lisa Dabbs- Lisa Dabbs is an administrator and leader who writes with continuous passion.
  • Check out Holding on to Hope…(not losing it)
• Education on the Plate by Deven Black- This blog amazes me with the amount of passionate posts. It’s thought-provoking and inspiring like its author.
  • Check out I Screw Up & Come Out Ahead
• You Blog by Monika Hardy- Monika is extremely passionate about education. She posts often and full of passion. Her blog aims to revolutionize and improve education and her students are doing this!
  • Check out In the craziness of innovation, how does public school assess it
• Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age by Maryna Badenhorst- I love reading the creative way she implements technology in her classes. It is unique and makes you want to just dive in!
  • Check out Claymation/Stop Motion
• So You Want to Teach- Joel has a real voice that speaks with passion and honesty about the teaching profession. He inspires growth and has been doing this for 3 years!
  • Check out 9 Reasons To Quit Teaching (And 10 Reasons To Stick)

Narrowing down to these took some time, because I read several blogs and love them all. Please check the blog roll for more favorites or follow my tweets @shellterrell.

Challenge:

Take time the rest of the week to read these blogs and see which ones to add to your daily read! If you’re tagged in this post, please spread the love.

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