Editorial
Dear HLT Readers,
Welcome to the April issue of HLT. First I would like you to meet Natalia Mukhina from Russia, the winner of the Bonnie Tsai Scholarship for 2018.
Natalia Mukhina from Russia
We had a lot of fantastic contributions; in total around 70. In the words of the Jury (Mario Rinvolucri, Paul Davis and Hania Kryszewska):
Natalia’s submission was unusual because it dealt with being creative within a rigid syllabus; she shows how the IELTS preparation classes that she teaches can be made non-routine. She is saying that a communicative, creative atmosphere is the only way of escaping the utter drudgery of exam preparation books, which are much more stultifying even than course books. There is nothing romantic about Natalia; she is writing about the absolute need for her classroom to be more awake than a dormitory. The exercise she presents is clear and practical, and does really prepare for the exam.
You can read Natalia’s contribution in Winner of the Bonnie Tsai Scholarship for 2018: The Role of Creativity in my Classroom. Studying and Using Vocabulary Creatively and Collaboratively. We hope to run another competition soon, so keep your eyes open and start planning your contribution.
As for Pilgrims news, we are all ready to go to IATEFL Brighton. As you can read in Pilgrims News: Pilgrims at IATEFL Conference, Brighton 2018 Pilgrims is one of the sponsors of IATEFL, and sponsors of a raffle in which you can win Pilgrims courses. So if you are planning to attend IATEFL Brighton do come to take part in the raffle or to chat to the Pilgrims team (stand 48).
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My name's Viviana Miglino. I'm the Primary School Principal of a bilingual school in Argentina, South America. Our educational project for this academic year (March through December) is "C2C: Communication to Coexist" In keeping with our school vision for this year, I'm planning to carry out a project in which our students can communicate with other English speaking peers in the world, to widen their knowledge of foreign cultures and create relevant and significant opportunities for them to develop respect, tolerance for and appreciation of diversity and ethnicity. I'm writing to ask you whether you would be interested in taking part in this dream of mine, encouraging your students to take part in this project. If you are, I would kindly ask you to write to me so that we can start sharing ideas as to how to carry it out. To begin with, I'm thinking about email writing and perhaps skype or FaceTime calls among our students, but we could even dream of having cultural interchange trips! I invite you to think this over, let our creativity flow and enjoy the privilege of having the chance to educate for tolerance, equality and love! Best regards to you all,
Viviana Miglino |
Pilgrims are also closely cooperating with the C Group. One of the outcomes was C Group presence in Japan last year; you can read about it in JALT 2017: Four Corners Tour by Malu Sciamarelli. Also we are happy to let you know that around 50 TEFLers, members of the C Group, will be presenting at IATEFL Brighton. You can see a full list in The C Group Presenters - IATEFL 2018, Brighton UK
However, if you are not planning to attend IATEFL this year, you can keep in touch with the C Group and read Teachers Talking Shop: Stories Shared Over Coffee and Cake by Uwe Pohl and Anna Szegedy-Maszák.
I am very happy that Mario Rinvolucri, the founding father of Humanising Language Teaching magazine, has started to regularly contribute to the mag (again). In this issue you can read two of his texts: How to Block Students from Doing Good Academic Writing in which Mario interviews Akvilina Ljungborg from Sweden, and “ Doubling” as a Language Learning Technique. We are also making plans how to celebrate HLT’s 20th Birthday next year. If you have any suggestions do write to me. We will look at all the ideas very carefully, and plan something… a special issue, a conference, fireworks display...
In this jam packed issue you will find a lot of creative and inspiring ideas for the classroom: The Giving Tree Gave to Me… by Angeliki Voreopoulou, Creativity in My Classroom by Martina Kobal, What’s the WeathART Like? by Elisa Bertoldi, If You Seek Gamey - A Receptive Skills Based Lesson Focusing on Listening by Robin Usher, A Personalized Conversation Puzzle by Aned Muñiz, Teaching Profanity in the Foreign Language Classroom by Steve Mullen, Breaking the Ice: A Lesson Plan to Help EFL College and University Students Overcome Anxiety by Mark Mallinder, Traditions and Customs of Great Steppe by Zaure Kulchikenova, and Experiential Listening by Michael Tooke.
Now a couple of recommendations selected from the wealth of titles in this issue… For teachers of small kids there is Comparing the Rate of Vocabulary Growth in Students who are English Language Learners in the Preschool Classroom by Allison Garrett and Linda Plevyak.
For those interested in classroom practice there are: Consciousness-raising Approach in ELT Classroom by Mahshad Tasnimi, Working With Mixed Ability Adult Classes: Using Cooperative Practices that Reflect 21st Century Skills by Serafina Filice
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PRESS RELEASE 9/3/18
New BAC International English Language Provider The British Accreditation Council (BAC) are set to launch the new International English Language Provider scheme (IELP) at a prestigious event hosted at the House of Commons in Westminster on 9th March 2018. The new scheme is open to international English language providers who are based outside of the UK, and who are recognised as outstanding in their field. Drawing upon 30 years’ experience of providing accreditation to independent further and higher educational institutions, BAC have developed the new scheme to meet today’s increasing global need for the delivery of high quality English language education. Designed by trusted experts in the accreditation and English language fields, the scheme is set to raise quality standards within English language institutions globally, and offers the opportunity to become part of BAC’s globally recognised accreditation body. The purpose of the scheme is to acknowledge the quality of institutions and training providers, encompassing teaching quality and the learning experience for students, supporting institutions in their efforts to continually improve, and providing a rigorous inspection-based accreditation service that is evidence based and dedicated to raising standards. Worldwide, an estimated 1.5 billion people are currently using and learning English and by 2020 it is estimated that the number will rise to 2 billion. This growth is potentially due to the rising global business market and more countries joining the global trend of international business partnerships. English is becoming the most commonly accepted language of international business resulting an increased demand for the provision of high quality English instruction, and the scheme is designed to recognise only those providers who have outstanding English language provision. Paul Fear, BAC CEO, comments, “The launch of our new IELP Scheme demonstrates our commitment and passion to raise the quality standards of institutions who deliver English language programmes around the world. The new scheme reflects best practice in international English language education and sets the bar high for providers to aspire to. There is a need for independent and transparent quality assurance for international English language providers, and our new scheme will set the pace for strengthening English language delivery and will ensure outstanding levels of support to reassure students, parents and partners of the high quality of their chosen English language provider”. The scheme is available from March 2018. For further information, and to request the IELP scheme and brochure, contact BAC info@the-bac.org. ENDS Contact Details: Editor Notes: Currently BAC accredits more than 230 institutions across 20 countries and provides consultancy support to a number of national education departments. Their reputation has grown as an internationally respected quality assurance organisation meeting the needs of providers who are committed to achieving and maintaining BAC’s high-quality standards. BAC offer globally recognised quality assurance schemes that confirm an institution has met a gold standard. This provides students and stakeholders with the reassurance that they are studying and working with a credible organisation and in turn the institution gains a competitive edge in the global education market. |
Those interested in teacher training and teacher development will surely enjoy: Investigating EFL Teachers’ Perspectives on Teachers' Professional Development and Barriers of Professional Development by Zeinab Sazegar and Khalil Motallebzadeh, Out of Fashion, Out of Mind? A Defence of MI Theory by Alex Moore, and Creating TKT Training Videos with Screen Recording: An Action Research by Tien Mai.
You will find news from the publising market in Short Book Reviews by Hanna Kryszewska, and in the Book preview and Publications sections, and in the Readers’ Letters section.
Enjoy the April issue of HLT
Hania Kryszewska
HLT Editor
E-mail: hania.kryszewska@pilgrims.co.uk
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Hania Kryszewska