Readers' Letters
Letter 1
Hi,
this time it is about an introductory routine.
Enjoy.
If you think somebody else may benefit from the post, pass it on.
Mija Selič
Letter 2
WELCOME BACK TO THE HELBLING READERS BLOG NEWSLETTER
THE WORLD OF EDGAR ALLAN POE
Explore the mysterious world of Poe with your teen classes!
Looking for some magic? Here is a great selection of young readers and readers for teens and adults to add a spark to your class.
FIVE CHILDREN AND IT IN THE CLASSROOM
Read and learn with our activities based on Edith Nesbit’s magical children’s book.
Visit the Helbling Readers BLOG to get the latest tips and resources for your classroom and Book Club
For further information on all Helbling English materials, and to order your copies contact your local Helbling distributor or contact us directly at info@helbling.com
Letter 3
I hope you are all well and that 2018 brings you happiness and prosperity. I want to start by introducing myself. I am the new rep for Delta Publishing and over the coming months I look forward to telling you about our publications and exciting projects at Delta Publishing.
I want to thank those who I have already visited for giving me the opportunity to visit your school and show you our books. I would also like to thank you for your very useful feedback. The knowledge I gained from your experience is invaluable and we will use this information to publish the materials you want and need!
It was also great to meet many of you at the English UK Southwest conference and at the TESOL Paris conference.
Regarding our plans for 2018, our first conference will be IATEFL Brighton in April. I am happy to report that we will be sharing a stand with our UK stockist BEBC. This will give all of you the opportunity to browse and buy our books on the spot. I will be there to guide you and help you find the books you need.
On the subject of books, our 2018 catalogue arrived with news of five new titles ! Two of these books are a series called Real Business English and they are at B1 and B2 levels. The other three books are all photocopiables. They are the following:
Using Humour in the English Classroom A2
The Games Book A1-B1
Around the Year A1-A2
Please follow the links to download some sample pages which I hope you will enjoy using with your classes.
For more information on all DELTA products, please visit our website . And please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any ideas, questions, or comments about Delta Publishing.
All the best, Sandra Savory
Letter 4
PS Klett & Delta
2017 was an important year for DELTA as it became a brand of the renowned German publishing group, Klett. I had the opportunity to visit their headquarters in Stuttgart back in September 2017 and met the lovely group of people who are happy to move forward with DELTA and develop new DELTA projects.
Letter 5
Are you stuck in a teaching rut?
In our complimentary MET online article, Marisa Constantinides and Shaun Wilson offer their suggestions for how you can move on from the feeling of being stuck or in a teaching rut. This might be from feeling as though your teaching or results are not improving, from lacking inspiration and motivation, or worrying you are losing your love of teaching. Marisa and Shaun share their ideas for getting out of that rut, and explain how it can start by focusing on your professional development at home.
5 more business theories to apply in the classroom
"While there are many differences between the business world and the English classroom, there is a common underlying interest in human psychology and motivation in both fields. We could derive significant benefits by broadening our horizons and learning from theories that are not strictly ELT-related, and considering how we can apply them so as to lead our students towards success in their learning."
In the second part of this blog series, Chia Suan Chong continues to explore how we can learn from industries outside our own. This time, she looks at management styles, the Curse of the First and USPs, amongst others.
Five things you always wanted to know about teaching grammar with technology
Have you been wondering how you can use technology to teach grammar? In our featured article this week Nicky Hockly answers the following questions:
- Why would I want to use technology to teach grammar? Can’t I just explain grammar to my students in class?
- I’m a big fan of dictation as a grammar practice activity. Surely I don’t need any technology to give my students a dictation!
- Some of my students need extra grammar practice. What additional online grammar materials could I recommend?
- What about creating my own grammar practice materials? After all, I know exactly what extra grammar practice my students need.
- What about using technology for grammar games in class?
You need to be an ETp subscriber to be able to read ETp articles.
Letter 6
How meditation can make us better teachers
'You can't pour from an empty bag': stress and burnout are becoming more and more common for teachers, so in our featured article from the January edition of MET, Ushapa Fortescue discusses how meditation can help.
Meditation is 'simply having a relaxed awareness of the present moment'. Ushapa explains how this can be achieved in a number of ways, with no uncomfortable sitting positions needed, and be easily incorporated into your daily life. Benefits include 'improved immune system and energy levels, lowered blood pressure, better sleep, decrease in anxiety and feelings of depression', which in turn can lead to a decreased risk of burn out and lower levels of stress for teachers.
Modern English Teacher articles are only available to MET subscribers.
W: www.modernenglishteacher.com
T: 01273 434943
E: info@modernenglishteacher.com
Letter 7
Hello good people –
This week, I need your help.
One of the units in my new storytelling course is titled A Story-Based Approach to Video.
I would like to give you all this unit as a gift. And I will be sending it out in parts over the next few weeks. However, I need some language samples in order to complete it. And that's where you come in.
Before I tell you what I need, I have to ask you to watch a video. It's an advertisement for a British brand of chocolate called Galaxy. Perhaps you have seen it before – it features screen legend Audrey Hepburn. I first saw the advertisement on YouTube a couple of years ago and have been sitting on it since then. (Please do not take that last sentence literally.)
In the unit, I will be deconstructing this advertisement in detail. There is a very good reason why I have chosen it. But I won't tell you why at this stage. That would spoil the surprise.
Anyway, here is the advertisement:
Click here to watch the advertisement on YouTube.
Jamie Keddie
Letter 8
What I need from you ...
If you would like to help, and if you feel brave enough to do so, here is what I would like you to do:
- Watch the advertisement again – 2 more times, even.
- Create a 'talking head' video in which you describe the advertisement from beginning to end as if you are telling a friend about it – a friend who has never seen it before.
- Importantly, say whether or not you like the advertisement and why/why not.
To make the video-making process as simple as possible, I have set up a Flipgrid page. If you have never used Flipgrid before, you can find out how to use it here.
Click here to access the Flipgrid platform.
Some notes
- Privacy: Your video will stay on the Flipgrid platform. However, anyone with the link will be able to see it. It is possible that I will want to refer to your video in my ebook and make your video public. However, I will not do this without getting your permission first.
- Mistakes: As you make your video, focus on telling the story. Please do not worry about aiming for grammatical perfection. One of the videos on the platform is from my own brother (see Alastair K above). In his video, he makes a countable/uncountable error and no one even noticed or cared. Specifically, he said: And she's eating a chocolate. Perhaps he should have said: And she's eating a piece of chocolate/a bar of chocolate.
- Getting it right: The Flipgrid platform allows you to review your video before you upload it. Make sure that the lighting and audio are good before you do so.
- Rehearse: It is a good idea to practise/rehearse what you are going to say before recording.
- Your email: When you upload your video, Flipgrid will ask you for your email. Although this is optional, I suggest that you provide it. This will allow you to delete the video from the platform whenever you want. It will also make it easier for me to get in touch if I need to refer to your video.
- Time limit: I have set the video time limit to 90 seconds.
If you have any questions at all, please drop me a line. I am always very happy to help.
I hope to see a few videos from you good brave people soon!
Thanks in advance
Jamie Keddie :)
