Passwoord 4 a and 4 1

0:09Skip to 0 minutes and 9 secondsHello, and a warm welcome to our course,

Teaching English Online. My name's Lindsay Warwick. I'm Marie Therese Swabey.
Hello. We're going to take you through the course over the next four weeks. So in week
one, then, we're going to look at the context of teaching English online. We're going to
think about the technology you need and look at platforms and also think about the key
skills an online teacher needs. That's right. In week two, we're going to look at our
receptive skills. So we're going to talk about reading and listening and how it's different
teaching online to teaching face-to-face or how it's the same. And in week three, we're
talking about productive skills, so that's speaking and writing. Week four?

0:41Skip to 0 minutes and 41 secondsIn week four, we're going to think about language
teaching online and also how you can start and run your own business as an online
teacher and also how you can continue to develop professionally. Yep. And in every
week, in every step, there are activities for you to do. There are some recordings of
lessons online with real students. And we also have a couple of assignments. But I think
the most important part really is the comments box. So at the end of every step, there'll
be comments where we ask you to exchange ideas, say what you feel about things
you're learning on the course, and that sort of thing.

1:15Skip to 1 minute and 15 secondsAnd don't forget that when you complete a step,
make sure you do click on the pink button at the bottom of the page because then it
registers on the website that you've completed it. Absolutely. So let's get started. The
first task this week is, as usual, a getting to know you activity. So please tell us
something about yourself in the comments box, where you're from, why you're doing
the course, what are your experiences of teaching, that sort of thing. Good luck,
everyone. Yeah, good luck. Have a great week.

Introduction to the course and welcome

to week 1
23336 comments

Welcome to our Teaching English Online course. This course will help you transfer
your teaching skills from the face-to-face classroom to a digital environment so that you
can deliver effective lessons to your learners.

In the first week of the course, we’ll look at the online teaching context, examining
who learners might be, why you might want to become an online tutor, and the pros and
cons of working for an employer or working for yourself. We’ll also help you to
understand what you need to get started with technology, tools and resources, and key
skills.
In week 2 of the course, we’ll focus on planning and delivering effective online
receptive skills lessons. We’ll give you practical ideas and suggestions for tools,
resources and activities that will help learners to develop reading and listening sub-
skills.

In week 3 of the course, we’ll focus on planning and delivering productive skills
lessons. We’ll give you practical ideas and suggestions for adapting speaking and
writing lessons for an online context. We’ll also suggest ways to help learners with
pronunciation and recommend some useful resources for developing pronunciation.

In week 4 of the course, we’ll focus on planning and delivering language lessons online
with useful tools for setting context and practising using language. You’ll also have
some practical ideas and advice on how to set up and run your business. Finally, we’ll
consider ways that an online teacher can continue their professional development.

Outline of week 1

This week we’ll start with some introductions and then we’ll answer these questions:

 What do we mean by teaching English online?

 Who might the learners in an online lesson be?
 Why become an online teacher?
 Is it better to work for a company or for yourself?
 What equipment, tools and resources do you need to get started?
 What key skills do you need as an online teacher?

The tasks this week will take you three to four hours to complete.

Before you continue

If this is your first FutureLearn course, you may find it helpful to browse the Using
FutureLearn and FAQ pages before moving on.

Reflect and share

In the next step you’ll find out more about your lead tutors but, before you go there,
take a minute to introduce yourself to us and other course participants in the comments
section below. Tell us who you are, and where and who you currently teach. Read other
participants’ introductions and respond to at least three of them.

When you’ve finished this step click on the pink button to mark this step as complete.

© UCLES 2018
Online language teaching can be all sorts of teaching. It can be teaching groups,
individuals. I've taught a number of different learners one on one and in groups. Most
recently, I taught a group of refugees who were based all over the world in lots of
different time zones. They were all a similar level of English. They were all
intermediate level. It can be teaching on a platform, so that means an online school
where you sign up as a teacher, and then you deliver lessons to their students, much the
same as you would do in a face-to-face chain of schools. For one thing, they help plan
your lessons for you.

0:43Skip to 0 minutes and 43 secondsSo a lot of the different online platforms have
different structures already built in. Some online tutors, they own their own business, so
they will be finding students and teaching them and managing all that process
themselves. My online tutoring is in the context of business English, so it's normally
middle managers who are going abroad. So regarding how much time I spend doing that
each week, it fluctuates. I have certain clients who, if they're going abroad, I'll see them
quite a lot. I also have people that will contact me while they're abroad-- they've heard
something when they're out and they want to ask me immediately.

1:30Skip to 1 minute and 30 secondsAnd that's one of the real benefits of online
tutoring, is that they've got that kind of immediate access to the teacher. They don't have
to wait until they return from being abroad. Teaching online is any teaching that you do
online, it can be all sorts of ages-- very young children-- I know of a lot of teachers who
work with three, four-year-olds. The types of classes I teach can vary quite a bit
depending on the ages. So I teach anything from three years old to 12 years old, so you
can imagine there's a really big range in the types of classes they have. For the really
little kids, it's really focused on vocabulary and a little bit of phonetics as well.

2:11Skip to 2 minutes and 11 secondsSo being able to break down the actual sounds,
focusing on the alphabet and basic vocabulary of numbers, colours, toys, things like
that. You might work with adults. You could teach business students, professionals--
really the same range of students that you would get in a face-to-face context, you could
get them online as well. People are studying in their home environments, in their living
room, in their car. I had one lady working from her car. She wasn't driving. A successful
online lesson is a lesson where your student goes away knowing something they didn't
know at the beginning, or being able to do something they couldn't do at the beginning.

What does it mean to teach English

online?
10246 comments

Let’s begin by talking about what we mean by online teaching. Who do you teach? Who
do you work for? In this video, some of our teachers tell us about their teaching
contexts.

Task
Watch the video and make notes in your notebook about the type of teaching each of
our teachers describes. Who do they teach? What do they teach? Where are their
learners? Who do the teachers work for?

Name of teacher Notes

Jade  

Corrine  

Ollie  

Helen  

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

Check your answers

Reflect and share

Think about who your students might be. Who are you interested in teaching? Will you
teach younger learners, or adults? Will you teach learners in your own country? Or
learners from around the world? Would you prefer to work for a company or for
yourself? Share your ideas in the comments.

Working for a company or working for

yourself


 Intro
 Question1not attempted
 Question2not attempted
 Question3not attempted
 Question4not attempted
 Question5not attempted
 Question6not attempted
 Question7not attempted
 Question8not attempted
 Question9not attempted

As in face-to-face teaching, you can teach online working for a company or working for
yourself. Each has advantages and each has drawbacks. In this step, we’re going to
reflect on the advantages of each situation. Read the advantages in the quiz and decide if
they refer to working for a company or working for yourself.
Quiz rules
 Quizzes do not count towards your course score, they are just to help you learn
 You may take as many attempts as you wish to answer each question
 You can skip questions and come back to them later if you wish

Begin quiz

Getting to know your platform

7771 comments

In the previous step, one of the resources mentioned as essential for online teaching was
an online teaching platform. In this video, our teachers talk about some of the different
types of platforms you can use and some of the features the different platforms have.

Task 1

Watch the video and answer these questions:

1) What different platforms do they mention?
2) What different features/functions do they mention?

Check your answers

Task 2

Now let’s see if you can identify some of these features/functions on this screenshot of a
platform for delivering live lessons.
Look at the screenshot of an online platform and match the words below to the numbers
(1–10) on the platform.

Chat box Interactive whiteboard

Video of teacher Video of learners

Breakout rooms where students can work privately in

List of students in the room
pairs/groups

Pointer Hands up icon

Audio control icon Video control icon

Check your answers

Task 3

Go to this Quizlet to match some activities with these platform features. To match the
activities in Quizlet, drag and drop the matching texts onto each other. To navigate back
to the course please use the back button in your browser.

A: Hands up icon B: Audio icon C: Breakout rooms

D: Interactive whiteboard E: Chat box F: Pointer G: Share screen feature

Check your answers

Reflect and share

Which platform feature(s) do you think you would exploit the most? How?

© UCLES 2018

www.webwhiteboard.com

https://miro.com/webwhiteboard/

https://webroom.net/#webroom-features
https://www.eztalks.com/whiteboard/free-online-whiteboard-tools.html

Annotate (is that a website?)

https://quizlet.com/es

Other digital tools and resources

4578 comments

In Step 1.6, we talked about the equipment an online teacher needs and the resources an
online teacher can use, such as puppets and realia. In this step, we’re going to introduce
you to some digital tools that help to make digital lessons more successful.

Task

In the video Helen and Mary talk about some digital tools and some ways they can be
used in online teaching. Watch the video and make notes about what they say the tools
can be used for.

Teacher Tool Use

Helen A grammar reference tool (e.g. Cambridge Online Dictionary Grammar)  

Mary Screen or slide sharing  

Mary Google Docs  

Helen An online noticeboard  

Mary Memrise, Quizlet and other games/activities  

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

Check your answers

Adding a whiteboard

Digital tools and resources aren’t obligatory in online lessons but some teachers find
them useful and learners enjoy using them. One such tool is a whiteboard. You’ll
remember from your research in the previous step that Zoom and WebRoom have an
in-built whiteboard so you don’t need to use a separate tool if you are using these
platforms. If, however, you use a platform which doesn’t have its own whiteboard (e.g.
Skype), you might want to add one.

Miro is an interactive whiteboard tool that teachers can use in live online lessons. The
free version offers three editable boards which you can share with students so that you
and they can see what’s written there. If you’re interested in using this tool, go to
Miro’s Help Center to find out how to use it.

Reflect and share

How can teachers and students use an interactive whiteboard in an online lesson? Share
your ideas in the comments below.

© UCLES 2018

Skip main navigation

To do
2You have 2 notifications

MM








Teaching English Online

Cambridge Assessment English

 To do
 Activity
 Progress

Get extra benefits 

1.11

You’re halfway through

View transcript

Download video: standard or HD

Materials and activities for online lessons

Video transcript:
What kind of teaching materials might a teacher use online? Well, I still think of the
course book works pretty well, even for online teaching. Because it still sets out the
syllabus, doesn't it, and so it gives you a curriculum and it tells you what tenses to
follow and what vocabulary to introduce and that sort of thing. And you? Yeah, well
you might work for a company who provides teaching materials for you. So they might
provide PowerPoint presentations or something like that. And you may be able to adapt
them, depending on the company's policy. Yeah, and there's authentic materials as well.

0:40Skip to 0 minutes and 40 secondsOf course, the internet is full of YouTube videos,
and Ted Talks, and articles, and newspapers, and that sort of thing. Absolutely, and,
also, you might have learners that bring materials to lessons, mightn't you? If you're
doing a one-to-one class, you might have a business person who comes to you and says,
I need to write a letter or, I received this email, can you help me to understand it? The
materials I use for online teaching are very similar to what I'd use in a face-to-face
classroom. I do try and keep it simple.

1:10Skip to 1 minute and 10 secondsSo instead of giving lots of different handouts, I

might just give one handout so the students can refer to it easily instead of having to
navigate between different handouts. They might print it off beforehand. We also try
and keep the structure of the tasks as simple as possible, just so it's easier to manage
online. So maybe discussion tasks, such as ranking, or problem solving. Probably the
most important thing to remember if you're taking material or resources that you've used
in a face-to-face environment, is to think about the time. The fact that it will take longer
for you to cover the same amount of material. To think about the appropriacy of the
different tasks within that material.

1:56Skip to 1 minute and 56 secondsBecause, really, if you're doing language practise

tests, I think that that's probably better done in the learner's own time. So, perhaps,
taking out the tasks where it's about guidance or giving feedback and using those in the
online session and allowing the learners to go and do the learning, the practise, outside
the lesson. So you might consider flipping your lesson a little bit or thinking about how
a series of lessons will work with online study or independent study in between those
classes. I would give activities like reading to do before they meet me. And then during
the lesson, then, we can discuss the reading together.

We’ve looked at platforms and talked about digital tools and resources, now let’s start
thinking about materials and activities you can use when teaching online.

Task
Watch the video of teachers talking about materials and resources and complete these
sentences:
1) Marie Therese says coursebooks work because ……..

2) Lindsay says that if you work for a company that provides you with materials, you
may be able to …………..

3) Marie Therese says the internet is a good place for materials, for example, …….

4) Lindsay talks about learners bringing materials to lessons. For example, ……..

5) Jade says it’s important to keep tasks and handouts as ……

6) Helen says teachers need to plan what learners do in the lesson and to decide which
activities …….

Check your answers

Reflect and share

Our teachers talked about adapting materials for online teaching. Look at this page from
a coursebook. How might you need to adapt the material for a group online lesson?
Think about the features of a typical platform and about what you can/can’t do online.

When you have decided how you would adapt the coursebook materials, post your ideas
in the comments and read other participants’ answers. Are they the same as yours?

This coursebook activity is from Complete First for Schools by Guy Brook-Hart with
Helen Tiliouine ©Cambridge University Press and UCLES.

After you have posted your ideas for adapting the coursebook, you can compare your
ideas with Lindsay’s here.

© UCLES 2018

Other digital tools and resourcesvideo

An overview of key skillsvideo

Someone suggested this:

Preparation for class

Stds - list what parents and teenagers argue about
list posible punishments/ solutions
Give stds - useful vocab/ phrases/ questions I
based on the functions of complaining/ making excuses/giving advice etc
Find a short video clip /YouTube of an argument to watch
In session - warm up chit chat
The video clip - what were they arguing about? what had happened? Was there an excuse?
What was the solution?
Quick thumbs up poll agree with the teenager? Parent? the solution?
Can anyone suggest a better solution?
White board -collect problems and solutions/punishments
Elicit : phrases from HW - stds can write them on the w/board or in the chat
Speaking - if stds know each other pretty well perhaps could put them in breakout rooms to
share experiences briefly - after bringing them back together call on one or two to recount
anything interesting )
NOTE - Care needs to be taken here !!!
While stds are doing the activity T can observe and take notes
Collectively correct common errors + ensure to highlight good vocab use of language
If class is weak get them to repeat the role play
Then swap roles and repeat.
HW - record a dialogue w a std to post on edmodo

Nice ideas! 

1.12: An overview of key skills

Should we talk about key skills that you need as an online tutor? Yeah, and I think
actually a lot of the skills are the same for being an online tutor and a face-to-face tutor.
And I think the most important thing, really, is that you have an objective and you have
a clear aim for your lesson. I think it's very easy to fall into the trap of online learning,
equals online chatting. And so you and the learner sit and chat for an hour and we don't
really know why we're doing it, or what the learner is going to get out of it.

0:41Skip to 0 minutes and 41 secondsSo I think clear planning, clear objectives, and
clear learning goals at the beginning of every session is really important. Yeah, I agree.
The ability to really plan well. When you start the lesson, you need to know exactly
what you're going to be doing at every step. You don't want any dead time when you're
online. And also I think that it's the teaching techniques that you use in a face-to-face
lesson. Actually you can use them in an online context too. In fact, you need to use them
in online context. So not forgetting to give clear instructions to demonstrate activities by
eliciting an answer first or eliciting an example first to demonstrate what you want them
to do.

1:20Skip to 1 minute and 20 secondsThose are key things that help the lesson to go
smoothly. And it's much more difficult, isn't it, online to make sure that you've
understood what is being presented to you. So those checking skills are really important.
I think so, yes. So all the kind of techniques you use in the face-to-face environment,
you might need to adapt them slightly but you still need to be doing them online. And I
think that's really key. And using again, the front gestures can really break it down, so
counting the numbers of syllables with my hands, using this type of gesture to show, I
want you to speak, or you need to pronounce it differently. Using this to say, I'm still
listening.

1:56Skip to 1 minute and 56 secondsI'm still waiting for you. So these types of things to
make sure that they are successful. When we teach face-to-face, we need to establish
rapport and build rapport. But online I think that can be a harder job. It can be more
difficult for the teacher because the learners are in a different country. Everything seems
so distant, so I think teachers maybe have to work a little bit harder at establishing
rapport. Building rapport with certain students, sometimes it's very easy and you have
someone that you just click [with]. Other times, it does require more work. It may be
that you have people coming together from all different places.

2:32Skip to 2 minutes and 32 secondsSo for example, in one class I taught, it was, the
people were in the same country, but they all came from different places in that country.
So they never saw each other face-to-face, and they didn't build the same relationships.
So that's another thing to think about is how you get people to form relationships where
they feel safe and confident speaking to the other people in their group. And that
rapport, building that report is probably the most essential thing you really need to work
on when you're starting out with an online class. The key skills I would say you need to
have are really, really bringing a lot of energy to every single class.

3:06Skip to 3 minutes and 6 secondsSo I always thought I had a really good rapport
with my students, and that I was always a really friendly person. But sometimes after
giving these classes, my face almost hurts from smiling so much and from using so
many different expressions with the students. But it's really, really necessary.

While the principles of teaching and learning remain the same across different teaching
contexts, teaching online requires some new skills, as well as the adaptation of existing
skills to suit the digital environment.

So what key skills and techniques do online teachers need to employ when teaching
online? For example, being able to work with technology is a key skill.

Task 1

In the video, our teachers talk about key skills and techniques. What do you think
they’re going to say? Which skills and techniques used in face-to-face teaching can
teachers adapt for the digital classroom? Make a list of your ideas before you watch the
video.

Task 2

Now, watch the video and check your predictions. Which skills and techniques do the
teachers in the video mention?

Check your answers

To find out more about the key skills an online teacher needs, read Cecilia Nobre’s
article here on the differences between teaching online and teaching face-to-face. As an
experienced online teacher, Cecilia examines six key teaching skills and suggests useful
online tools to help put them into practice.

Reflect and share

One of the key skills for online teachers mentioned in the video is establishing and
building rapport. How do you think an online teacher of English can develop good
rapport with their learners and maintain motivation throughout a lesson? Share at least
one idea in the comments. Read other participants’ comments and like the ideas that you
want to try.

Task 2 Answers

1. Setting clear learning goals

Marie Therese says that an online teacher needs to be able to
plan and set clear learning goals so that lessons have a clear
purpose and aren’t just a case of chatting with the learner.

2. Planning
Ollie says that it’s really important to plan really well so that you
know what you’re doing at every step and that there is no ‘dead
time’.

3. Good management skills

Lindsay says that the teaching techniques you use in the face-
to-face classroom need to be used in the digital environment
too, although they may need to be adapted. Setting up tasks,
checking learners have understood the tasks and building
rapport can be more difficult online. That means the teacher
needs to be sure they can give clear instructions and
demonstrations of activities.
 4. Using gestures
Corrine talks about using gestures and shows us some
gestures she uses to count the number of syllables in a word, to
invite learners to speak, and to show learners that she’s
listening or waiting for them to speak. She says using gestures
helps her to make her lessons successful.

5. Establishing and building rapport

Marie Therese, Ollie and Helen talk about the need to establish
and build rapport. They suggest that teachers may need to work
harder at establishing and building rapport online than they do
in the face-to-face classroom. They talk about some of the
reasons why it’s more difficult to establish rapport in an online
lesson than in a face-to-face lesson.

6. Bringing energy to an online lesson

Corrine says that a key skill for teaching online is bringing and
maintaining a lot of energy in online lessons.

1.13: Developing rapport and motivating learners

Video transcript:

Probably it's best to bring in as much of your own personality as you can. It can be difficult
when it's just the camera, but it's really worth making the effort. And of course, making sure
you get to know your learner, as well, asking them questions so that you can address their
needs better that way. First of all, smiling. So just constantly, constantly smiling. And I try, it
depends, of course, on the student's level, but if the student can understand certain things,
then I try to make the content relatable for them. So even for the little, little kids that might
only be the three or four years old.
0:45Skip to 0 minutes and 45 secondsWhen I'm teaching them fruit, for example, and we're
talking about apples, saying do you like apples? [CHOMPING] And that way can say, yes, or, no.
And that way is something that's more personalised for them and they feel like it's not just a
random person making them repeat after them. I build rapport with my online learners in very
much the same way as I would do with a regular face-to-face class. So lots of encouragement
and motivation and praise. Because there's a distance between us, I think it's important to try
and get to know the learners individually as much as possible.

1:25Skip to 1 minute and 25 secondsSo usually there's-- just as there is in a regular classroom--
there's time before and after a lesson to get to know people and ask questions. Ask about how
their week's been. You start with yourself and you ensure that what you're saying and the way
that you're saying it is the way that you want them to respond, so try and be as friendly as
possible, for example. One thing that I think is important to help continue rapport throughout
the course is to make sure that the students aren't entirely focused on the teacher. So there
isn't just a one-way interaction between the student and the teacher.

2:00Skip to 2 minutes and 0 secondsI think it's important to encourage the learners to build
relationships with themselves, as it really helps when you're trying to take complete tasks in an
online classroom, if they get to know each other as well as possible, as well.

(end of video)

In the previous step we talked about how establishing good rapport with a learner and
maintaining their motivation can be more challenging online than in the face-to-face
classroom.

You shared some of your ideas for developing good rapport with learners and motivating them
during online lessons. Now, let’s hear from our teachers.

Task

Watch our online teachers talking about techniques they use to establish good rapport and
motivate learners. Put techniques A–H in the order you hear them.

A: Give encouragement and praise

B: Be friendly
C: Chat to students before/after a lesson

D: Bring in your personality

E: Encourage learners to get to know each other

F: Personalise the lesson

G: Get to know your students

H: Smile

Reflect and share

Ollie said that it’s important to get to know your students and to ask them questions. What
questions do you think are important to find out about your learners’ needs and interests?
Share a few ideas in the comments.

Answers

1. D:Bring in your personality

2. G: Get to know your students

3. H: Smile

4. F: Personalise the lesson

5. A: Give encouragement and praise

6. C:Chat to students before/after a lesson

7. B:Be friendly

8. E: Encourage learners to get to know each other

1.14: Tips for new online teachers of English

Video transcript:

So what advice would you give to a new online teacher of English? Well, I think the first thing is
to get to know your student. Find out what they're interested in. Find out why they're learning
English, but also do some diagnosis. Find out what they're good at, what they're not good at,
also what they think they're good at and not good at. I think needs analysis is really, really
important. I agree. What about you? I think planning is really key, in particular having a backup
plan. We always plan. We know what we're going to do, but thinking about what we're going
to do when things go wrong.

0:38Skip to 0 minutes and 38 secondsSo you set a student some homework and you want
them to have done that homework for the lesson. It's really important, but they've not done it.
What are you going to do-- things like that. It's a matter of planning. You really need good
ideas that are going to fill the time. So if you're teaching online for an hour, you need an hour
of material that naturally has variation in pace because you're not physically in the room with
someone. You're limited in how you can change the pace. So it's thinking very carefully about
the types of activities.

1:10Skip to 1 minute and 10 secondsThe advice I'd give to anyone who wants to become an
online teacher is to plan, plan, plan for all eventualities because of tech difficulties, basically.
That's the number-one issue you're likely to have. For one thing, making sure your technology
100% works. So I know that sounds like the bare basics, but technology fails you. And so I, for
example, one time a headset that I have used lots and lots of times on the exact same
computer. Just my very first class ever actually, it just did not work. So you have to understand
your platform and how it works before you start. And then, ideally, you should have a practise
with somebody else on the other end because actually it's really difficult.

1:59Skip to 1 minute and 59 secondsBecause if you're trying to teach and you have sort of
information in your head that you're trying to get across or a direction that you're trying to
push the conversation in, that's one thing. So then you are speaking. You're obviously kind of
arranging your teaching materials at the same time, and then there's this chat going on which
you can't actually read when you're speaking, although some people I guess they can. So then
there's this chat, and then maybe you're responding to people in the chat and you're trying to
speak again, and then a flag comes up to say that someone else is ready to do something. So
the management of that environment can be quite overwhelming when you start.

2:32Skip to 2 minutes and 32 secondsI think just making sure to review the information
beforehand because every now and then it still happens to me that I'm going through the
slides and I accidentally say something that's not exactly what was the plan. I use a different
vocabulary word, for example, say talk instead of chat when chat was really the word that they
wanted to focus on-- so just reviewing the material a little bit more. I think it's important to
make sure the students are comfortable with how the class operates, make them comfortable
with each other.

3:05Skip to 3 minutes and 5 secondsBefore you even start teaching a class, you might invite
your group or your learner to a session where you do a quick orientation to make sure that
they can use the tools from their perspective, to make sure that the internet connection
works. So you might just do a "getting to know you" activity, check it all works, check they can
all write on the blackboard or the whiteboard that's on the screen, and check that you're
happy with the interaction. And then when that session's over, you can welcome them into the
first real lesson, but you already know them. You've already formed a relationship with them.

3:34Skip to 3 minutes and 34 secondsSo it's a little bit easier for everyone to start
communicating and focusing on the language because they're not so worried about the
technical side of it. Yes, definitely prepare everything. Review all the materials that you're
going to be working with. But it's just like working in any other classroom environment, just
with a camera rather than in person. And be prepared to use your face a lot. [LAUGHS]

(end of video)

Whenever we start teaching in a new context, we find ourselves having to spend more
time researching and planning. We also need to pay more attention to the techniques we
use during lessons to ensure they are effective and to deliver lessons which are as
effective as possible.

Task
Watch experienced online teachers of English share their tips for creating effective
online lessons. Complete each sentence below with a word.

1. Get to know your student, do a needs _____.

2. Planning is key but have a _____ plan.

3. Plan fully and make sure there is a _____ of different materials.

4. Check that the _____ works.

5. Understand your _____ and practise using it.

6. _____ the teaching materials beforehand.

7. Make sure the students are _____ with how the class works.
 8. Run an _____ session before you start teaching.

9. Be prepared to use your _____ a lot.

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

Check your answers

If you’re planning on working for yourself, you’ll need to plan how you attract students.
Read Cecilia Nobre’s article here giving you tips on how to market yourself as an online
teacher.

Reflect and share

What do you think the biggest challenge might be when starting to teach online? Why?
How might you overcome it? Share your ideas in the comments and then respond to at
least two comments you read. Can you offer any advice to other course participants?

Answers
1. Get to know your student, do a needs analysis.
It’s important to get to know your learners to find out what their
interests are, what they want to learn, and what they are good
at in English and what they are not good at. This will help you to
plan lessons to meet your learners’ needs.

2. Planning is key but have a back-up plan.

Make sure that you plan thoroughly and that you anticipate
possible problems so that you are prepared when things go
wrong or don’t work as you planned.

3. Plan fully and make sure there is a variety of different

materials.
In the classroom, a teacher can be dynamic and learners can
move around, maintaining a good pace to the lesson. In the
digital classroom this isn’t possible, so a teacher needs to plan
to fill every minute of the lesson and to make sure there is a
good variety of activities and materials to help vary the pace.

4. Check that the technology works.

 Problems occur, but you can prevent some by checking
everything works in advance. When working for yourself,
consider having a technology check with a learner before a
lesson for 10 minutes. This will help the first lesson to go more
smoothly.

5. Understand your platform and practise using it.

Even with a simple platform that doesn’t have a lot of features,
it’s important to be able to use it confidently so that you can
focus on delivering lessons and not the technology. Get to know
your platform well by watching video tutorials or reading Help
pages on the website. Then, practise using the platform by
asking friends, family or colleagues to play the student or by
offering a student a free lesson. If you do the latter, make it
clear that there may be technical problems.

6.Review the teaching materials beforehand.

When planning your own lessons, this isn’t so likely to be
required, but if you’re using ready-made material, it’s very
important. Make sure you’re familiar with the teaching material,
so you exploit it in a way that ensures you achieve the learning
goals.

7.Make sure the students are confident with how the class
works.
Establish classroom rules and make expectations clear to the
learners. This will help lessons to go more smoothly.

8. Run an orientation session before you start teaching.

Whether you’re setting up an online class with a group of
learners or with a one-to-one learner, it’s useful to contact your
learners and run an ‘orientation’ session before you start the
actual lessons. This allows you to familiarise learners with the
technology and the platform and to get to know the learners a
bit. This makes the first lesson easier because you and the
learners are more relaxed.

9. Be prepared to use your face a lot.

When you’re teaching online your face is in front of the learner
more than in a face-to-face classroom. You can use this to your
advantage to create and maintain rapport by smiling and by
being friendly.

1.15: Ask us your questions

At the end of the week Lindsay and Marie Therese will answer your questions about the
topics we’ve covered this week on our Teaching English Online course.

Here’s a reminder of some of the things we’ve covered, which you can ask us questions
about:

The online teaching context:

 reasons for teaching English online

 working for a company or working for yourself

Getting started:

 tools and equipment for teaching online

 platforms
 resources

Key skills for online teachers of English:

 useful skills for online teaching

 engaging and motivating learners

Post your questions in the comments below. Don’t forget to read other people’s
questions and ‘like’ the ones you think are interesting. We’ll answer the most liked
questions at the end of the week.

1.16: Video review of week 1

We’ve come to the end of the first week of the course. In this video, Lindsay and Marie
Therese look back at some of the main talking points of the week. The video will appear
here on Friday 20 March.

Preparing learners for their English language assessments

You can adapt exam preparation materials in the same way you would adapt other
resources for online teaching. You can use your exam syllabus or coursebook to guide
your lesson activities and supplement with online resources or learner-generated
resources like images and vocabulary quizzes. Some exam preparation is better suited to
independent study, for example doing a practice test, reading, or doing extended
individual writing. You and your learners can use your online lessons to discuss
difficult questions, share useful strategies and, for example, do collaborative work,
speaking practice or group writing.

We’ll be sharing resources in the end of week review each week to help you prepare
learners for their assessments. This week, here are some general tips and some resources
to help you prepare learners for Cambridge A2 Key for Schools and Cambridge B1
Preliminary for Schools. You can also download them from the documents section
below.

Some other useful articles:

Supporting every teacher: using a video conference platform for teaching online

https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/03/16/using-video-conference-platform-
teaching-online/

Supporting every teacher: moving classes online #1

https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/03/13/supporting-every-teacher-moving-
classes-online-1/

Supporting every teacher: moving your classes online #2

https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/03/13/moving-your-classes-online-2/?
utm_source=wobl&utm_medium=blog&utm_content=woblcontent&utm_campaign=co
ntent

Supporting every teacher: teaching children online

https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/03/18/teaching-children-online/?
utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=fblink&utm_campaign=s
upportingeveryteacher

Supporting every teacher: Teaching your adult English class online

https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/03/19/teaching-your-adult-english-class-
online/

Supporting every teacher: good enough is good enough

https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2020/03/19/good-enough-is-good-enough/

Ideas for adapting group lessons

https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/2020/03/14/ideas-for-adapting-group-lessons-to-working-
on-zoom/
https://quizlet.com/

https://webroom.net/

https://h5p.org/node/247889

1.17: What's on next week?

Video transcript:

So week two, Lindsay. What are we going to be doing? Well, we're going to be talking
about something that students might do in class or they might do out of class, and we're
going to think about when they might do each of those things. So when you say in class,
you mean online. Absolutely. Or at home. For homework, yes. And we're going to think
about how you might share what you want them to do, whether it's in class or at home.
And we're going to think about, if you share it with them too early, how do you stop
them from doing what you want them to do outside of class instead of in class, if that's
what you want?

0:43Skip to 0 minutes and 43 secondsAnd what if they turn up online, in class, not
having done it? Absolutely. Yes. So these are things we're going to talk about, at least
some of them. Yeah. See you next week, everyone.

Here’s a taste of what we’ll be talking about next week.

Task
Watch the video. What do you think Lindsay and Marie Therese are talking about?
Share your ideas in the comments.

See you next week when you’ll find out if your ideas are correct.
Week 2: Helping learners with receptive skills - reading and listening

Start date:

1.

Welcome to week 2

This week we'll look at how to develop students' receptive skills - reading and
listening - when teaching online.

1.

2.1

Welcome to week 2 video (00:50)

2.

2.2

Teaching skills online vs teaching skills face-to-face article

2.
Helping learners to develop reading skills

Steps to help learners develop reading skills.

1.

2.3

How do online reading lessons differ from face-to-face reading lessons? video
(03:32)

2.

2.4

Reading in a lesson or for homework article

3.

2.5

Displaying and sharing reading materials video (01:49)

4.

2.6

Outline for an online reading lesson assignment

5.
 2.7

Review another learner's assignment assignment review

6.

2.8

Reflect on your feedback assignment reflection

7.

2.9

Useful online reading resources article

3.

Helping learners to develop listening skills

Overview of online listening lessons.

1.

2.10

Teaching listening skills in online lessons video (02:45)

2.

2.11
 A listening lesson video (05:50)

3.

2.12

Listening activities for online lessons article

4.

2.13

Useful online listening resources video (00:45)

4.

Round-up of week 2

Ask your questions, end-of-week video, what's on next week and test.

1.

2.14

Ask us your questions article

2.

2.15

Video review of week 2 video (14:14)

 3.

2.16

What's on next week? video (00:48)

2.1. Welcome to week 2

Hello, everyone. Welcome to week two. This week we're going to be doing reading and
listening, so developing receptive skills and we're going to be talking about how to teach them
online. We're going to think about how they're different-- online to face-to-face lessons. Yep.
We're going to be looking at how to share materials, recordings, and texts. We're going to
think about whether we get students to read a text in a lesson online or whether we would ask
them to do it before the lesson, and in which situations we might do each of those And we'll
be looking at a lot of resources and materials that you can use in online lessons. So enjoy the
week, everyone.

Hello and a warm welcome to week 2. This week we’ll focus on planning and
delivering effective receptive skills lessons online. We’ll talk about the similarities and
differences between face-to-face reading and listening lessons and online receptive
skills teaching. We’ll give you practical ideas and suggestions for tools, resources and
activities which you can use to help learners to develop sub-skills and improve their
abilities in reading and listening in English.

Outline of week 2

This week we’ll answer these questions:

 What’s the same and what’s different about doing receptive skills work in online
lessons?
 What activities can you use in online receptive skills lessons?
 What resources and tools are available to teachers and learners to use in
receptive skills lessons?

This week’s tasks will take around four hours.

We’re looking forward to working with you again. Go to the next step to start this
week’s activities.
2.2 Teaching skills online vs teaching
skills face-to-face

Receptive and productive skills lessons online and face-to-face are similar in many
ways, but the use of technology does mean there are some differences. Here, online
English teacher Cecilia Nobre shares her experiences of skills development online and
discusses the key differences between online and face-to-face skills lessons.

Task
Read the article. What key differences when teaching the four skills does Cecilia talk
about?

Teaching skills online By Cecilia

NobreTeaching reading, speaking, listening and writing online is
different from the face-to-face environment, but that doesn't
mean it's less effective. While teaching the four skills can feel
easier face-to-face in a number of ways because the teacher
and learners are in the same classroom, it is possible to adapt
and teach reading, listening, writing and speaking successfully
online. In this article, I will discuss how this can be done. What's
the difference between a Skype chat with a friend who's abroad
and teaching speaking online? Many students and teachers
might see both experiences as similar, but they shouldn't.
Teaching speakingonline is not like talking to a friend, even
though this idea may help students to feel more comfortable
and confident when joining a speaking lesson online. Teaching
speaking online requires the teacher to listen and watch the
students all the time, monitor their language, give feedback,
and encourage participation and engagement just as teachers
do in the face-to-face classroom. Feedback can be delayed or
on the spot and teachers can write on the chat box as students
speak or wrap up at the end of a task. Also, the teacher can use
the chat box or the screen (if they're sharing it) to clarify
questions. The advantage of teaching speaking online is the
recording, which doesn't happen face-to-face – teachers and
students can watch the lesson again and improve their
language. Teaching reading online can be as effective as
teaching it face-to-faceand it can be integrated with other skills.
The hardcover books and paper handouts are replaced by their
digital versions. There are many digital books and websites that
teachers can extract text or a story from and share with their
online students. Many videoconference platforms such as
Zoom, appear.in and Skype have the screen-sharing feature
which is quite useful for reading lessons. Additionally, students
can use the drawing tools on Zoom for annotation on the
screen, which is great when they are scanning or skimming a
text. Alternatively, the teacher or student can take a screenshot
of their reading materials, save it as a picture or pdf and add it
to the cloud or a Google Drive folder, thus going paperless,
protecting the environment and staying focused and organised.
Teaching listening, though a more receptive skill, can be
integrated with the productive speaking skill. It's possible and
crucial to use the right
cambridgeenglish.org | ©UCLES 2018Teaching English Online equipment.
Teachers need to ensure the students can listen to the videos
and audio files, as well as listen to the teacher themselves. On
Zoom, the teacher can share the computer audio, which will
enable the student to listen to the sound as clear as it can be,
but they need to use earplugs or a headset to muffle the outside
noise (if the student does the class in a café, office or noisy
place). All listening tasks can be perfectly conducted online,
such as pre-listening tasks, watching a video or listening to an
audio file, post-listening tasks, and decoding techniques (with
the help of the whiteboard, chat box or by sharing resources on
the screen). The audio can be rewound as many times as
needed. Teaching writing in a face-to-face classroom is usually
overlooked because it may be perceived as time-consuming
and it's generally seen as a homework task without much
thought – but it shouldn't be! Teaching writing online can be a
fun and enjoyable experience as long as teachers are aware of
the tools available and let their creativity spark. Writing is a
process that involves thinking, brainstorming ideas, polishing
them, thinking about the structure, connecting ideas,
proofreading and so on. At lower levels, writing out a jumbled-
word sentence from a text shared on the screen is a writing
task. Similarly, at higher levels, it is crucial that teachers set the
context of any writing activities and design an integrated skills
lesson. For instance, priming the students with a discussion
(speaking) about the text in pairs helps students come up with
creative ideas and motivates them to write. Also, another great
way to get students to write online is through a collaborative
writing activity. This can be done by sharing a Google Docs file
where each student is able to write at the same time on the
same file.

2.3. How do online reading lessons differ

from face-to-face reading lessons?

We're talking about the differences between teaching reading online and teaching
reading face-to-face. So what are the differences? Well, I think in terms of lesson
structure, it's probably going to be very similar. You're going to want to do some kind of
lead in where you're encouraging learners to want to read or motivating them to want to
read the text, where you maybe activate their existing knowledge and vocabulary so that
they're really ready to read. And then when they read, they're going to have some kind
of task to complete so that they're focused and reading with purpose. And then after
they read, they're going to be doing some kind of follow up.

0:42Skip to 0 minutes and 42 secondsSo it could be language from the text or some
kind of discussion using the text as a springboard. Do you agree that that would be fine?
Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. I think the question is of whether you read the text
in and out of the classroom. Yes. And I think that's an opportunity that online learning
provides, that there's this possibility that learners don't have to read while you watch
them read. But I think there are opportunities or necessities sometimes for learners to
read online with you. And I think two things, really, dictate that decision. The first is the
age of the learners and the second is the type of reading task or reading text.

1:21Skip to 1 minute and 21 secondsSo for example, when we're talking about the age
of the learners, when they're very young learners, you would read with them in the class
online because you are developing literacy at the same time as you are developing
reading skills. But with older learners - Well, I guess with older learners, then, they can
probably read at home, can't they? Absolutely. Because they're not so dependent on you.
They've got the literacy skills to be able to do that. But I think, as you say, it does
depend on the type of text and perhaps the task, doesn't it? Yes.

1:50Skip to 1 minute and 50 secondsI mean, if you are trying to develop, if you have a
text, for example, that requires students to read for specific information, so scan
reading. So for example, you have a newspaper article with times and so on about a
cinema film that you're going to watch, and you want the students to look at the
advertisement and just say what time the film starts and where the film is on. Those are
scan reading skills. And so you would do them in the class because you don't want them
to spend hours reading every word and looking them up in the dictionary. Those are
speed reading skills. So you want to develop them online, in the lesson.

2:26Skip to 2 minutes and 26 secondsBut other kinds of tasks or texts, for example, if
you want them to read an article in detail. Yeah. Then I guess there's no point. I mean,
you're just going to sit there in silence, aren't you? Exactly. That's something that really
should be done at home. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then in the lesson, what would you do?
Well, then you would pick up on the task that you set them. So you would check the
answers to the task, and kind of check understanding of the material, and then, of
course, you then lead on to the follow-up activity that you planned. Exactly.

2:53Skip to 2 minutes and 53 secondsSo you might get a speaking out of it, or you
might get them to do a little bit of language work or that sort of thing, in real time in the
lesson. So maybe there are other opportunities for reading in class as well. So you were
mentioning scan reading and there's also, I think, reading, looking at decoding skills. So
thinking about things like - Referencing? Referencing, and substitution, ellipses, and
things like that that can sometimes prove problematic for learners. And those are the
kinds of things that you can also do in the classroom as well, aren't they? So you would
get them to actually do it in the lesson, while you're there asking them questions. What
does it mean here?

3:24Skip to 3 minutes and 24 secondsWhat does it refer to and so on.

(end of video)

Let’s now focus on how we can help learners to develop reading skills in an online
environment. You’re going to watch a video of Lindsay and Marie Therese
summarising what they think are the key differences between online reading lessons and
face-to-face reading lessons.

Task
Watch the video. Are these statements true or false, according to what you hear?

1. The structure of a reading lesson is different in an online lesson.

2. Whether learners do the reading task in the lesson or for homework depends only on
their age.
3. Young learners are more likely to read texts in the lesson.
4. Adult learners are more likely to read texts in the lesson.
5. If the lesson focus is reading for specific information, the learners can do the reading in
class.
6. If the lesson focus is reading for detailed information, the learners can do the reading
for homework.
7. When learners read a text for homework, the next lesson can focus on checking the
learners’ understanding and follow-up work.

Check your answers.

In the next step, we’re going to look at different reading texts and activities and decide
if the reading task is best done in or out of the lesson.

Step – How do online reading

lessons differ from face-to-face
reading lessons?Answers1. The
structure of a reading lesson is different in an online
lesson.False. The key difference is whether the reading is done
in the lesson or for homework.2. Whether learners do the
reading task in the lesson or for homework depends only on
their age.False. It also depends on the text type and the task.3.
Young learners are more likely to read texts in the lesson.True.
They need support from the teacher. 4. Adult learners are more
likely to read texts in the lesson.False. They’re more capable of
reading independently, although it depends on the text type and
task.5. If the lesson focus is reading for specific information, the
learners can do the reading in class. True. Doing the task in
class pushes learners to scan-read and not read everything.
The teacher can set a time limit.6. If the lesson focus is reading
for detailed information, the learners can do the reading for
homework.True. This is likely to take the learner time. This is
time best used in the lesson on other things such as speaking.
7. When learners read a text for homework, the next lesson can
focus on checking the learners’ understanding and follow-up
work.True. The teacher can check answers to the task set for
homework and then discuss the text or do some follow-up
language work, for example.

2.4. Reading in a lesson or for homework

In the previous step, Lindsay and Marie Therese talked about how the text and task can
help to determine whether learners read a text in a lesson or for homework. Now, you’re
going to review some reading lesson outlines and decide whether the learner should
read the text in the lesson or for homework.

Task
Below are six outlines of different reading lessons. Click on the link to view the text.
For each plan, decide whether or not it’s better for the learner(s) to read the text in
the lesson or for homework, and why. Think about:

 the age of the learner

 whether or not the learner will need support

 how much reading needs to be done

 how lesson time is best spent.

Reading lesson 1: Reading sub-skill focus: Understanding cohesion 1 in a text.

Learner Text Task

A class of six B2-level A paragraph from a Identify examples of referencing words in the
adult learners longer article about paragraph and what they refer to. Identify
preparing for their B2 ballet. View the examples of substitution in the paragraph and
First exam. document2 what is being substituted.

Reading lesson 2: Reading sub-skill focus: Understanding detailed information in a

text.

Learner Text Task

One B1-level Answer a set of short-answer questions

An article about a summer
teenage learner aged and then select the best summary of the
camp. View the document3
15. article.

Reading lesson 3: Reading sub-skill focus: Understanding simple sentences and the
grammar/vocabulary within them.

Learner Text Task

One pre-A1-level young A set of true/false statements about a Decide if sentences are
learner aged 7. picture. View the document4 true or false.

Reading lesson 4: Reading sub-skill focus: Understanding different types of

questions and their appropriate responses.

Learner Text Task

A class of young learners A set of questions and answers. View Match each question with
aged 9. the document5 its answer.

Reading lesson 5: Reading sub-skill focus: Identifying a writer’s opinions.

Learner Text Task

1
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/cohesion
2
Reading lesson 1: Reading sub-skill focus: Understanding cohesion in a text
3
Reading Lesson 2
4
Reading Lesson 1
5
Reading Lesson 4
 Two different reviews A jigsaw reading task, i.e. each student reads one
A class of four of a film that has just article and identifies what the writer sees as the film’s
B2+ level been released. [View strengths and weaknesses. Each student then works
adult learners. Review A] [View Review with a student who has read the other article and they
B] share their information, comparing answers.

Reading lesson 6: Reading sub-skill focus: Recognising adverbs of attitude to

understand a writer’s viewpoint.

Learner Text Task

One B1-level adult A short text about the Identify two adverbs of attitude (i.e.
Business English mobile phone industry. admittedly/undoubtedly) and work out their
learner. View the document6 meaning.

Now, check your answers7. Of course, motivation also plays a part in deciding whether
to ask a learner to read in or out of the lesson. If a learner is unmotivated to read outside
the lesson, then it’s likely that you’ll need to ask them to read in the lesson, even if the
text is fairly long.

2.5. Displaying and sharing reading

materials

Video transcript:

When you're planning, another really important thing is how you're going to show
materials to people. Do you have a white board setup? Do you have something that you
want them to read? Do you have like an exercise and how are you going to show it to
them? So is it a PowerPoint slide? Is it something that's a PDF and they print it off or
they view it on their screen at home? Are you going to speak it and how much text do
you actually display at one time? So for example, for a reading, it kind of really makes
more sense for you to be able to show that text as a whole.

0:45Skip to 0 minutes and 45 secondsBut if you show it as a whole, it doesn't really fit
on your screen. So you've got to consider how you might split that text up or whether
you're going to scroll through it on the screen as you're talking. And sometimes that can
be really complicated because you're trying to read, and you're trying to communicate,
and you're trying to scroll all at the same time. So sometimes it's better just to cut it up

6
Reading Lesson 6
7
Check answers file
into smaller pieces, smaller chunks. So you might just pop a paragraph on the screen or
even a few lines from the paragraph and focus your attention on that part of the text.

1:13Skip to 1 minute and 13 secondsMaybe they've got the handout with a full text, but
what they see on the screen is just a smaller part of the text. And that goes for sort of
exercises and activities as well. Having a hand out with the full text or the full
information is a really useful resource because then they can see how it fits into the
plan. They can see and they can refer to other things at the same time. Whereas on your
screen, you've just got this really small square that you're looking at and it does become
quite difficult sometimes to follow the sequence or to follow a reading text.

(end of video)

When teaching a reading lesson, it’s important to plan how the text will be shared with
learners. Will you display it on your platform’s whiteboard? Display it on your screen
and share it with learners during the lesson? Or provide learners with a handout to print
before the lesson? In this video Helen discusses some of the things teachers need to
think about when planning reading lessons.

Task 1
Watch Helen and make some notes about these questions:

1. What different options does Helen mention for showing materials to learners?

2. What problems with displaying reading texts does Helen highlight?

3. What solutions does Helen suggest for sharing texts, exercises and activities.

Task 2
Now, evaluate each option yourself. Complete the table below with the potential
strengths and weaknesses of each option.

Means of sharing reading material Strengths Weaknesses

Display the text on a whiteboard    

Display the text on your screen and share your screen with learners
   
during the lesson

Provide learners with a handout before the lesson, e.g. via email    

Provide learners with a link to the text during the lesson    

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

Now, check your answers.

Reflect and share

How would you share reading materials with your students? Which digital tools would
you use? Share your ideas and experiences in the comments.

2.6 Outline for an online reading lesson

You’re going to choose a reading text and create an outline for a reading lesson. Decide
on the things below and submit your lesson outline. Another participant will peer
review your lesson outline and you will peer review another learner’s. Note that this is
an optional task and may add additional time to the course.

Task
 Describe your learner(s)

 State the reading sub-skill you want the learner(s) to develop

 Describe the text and include comments on ways you may need to adapt it for an
online lesson and to meet your lesson aims

 Describe the tasks you would use for the lesson

 Describe how you would share the reading materials with your learner(s)

 Say whether the learner will read the text in the lesson or at home.

Click here to look at Lindsay’s example

Note: You may want to write your assignment in a text editor (e.g. Microsoft Word) and
save it to prevent you from losing work in the event of a connection issue.

Assignment Guidelines

The reviewers will be asked to give you feedback on the following aspects of your
assignment, so you should consider these when writing:

 How will the lesson help the learner(s) to improve their reading skills?
 How has your colleague adapted the text effectively for an online environment?
  Has your colleague suggested the learner(s) read in or out of the lesson? Do you agree
this is an appropriate approach?

Your assignment
(d0!!!)

Please check your assignment carefully before submission as it cannot be edited afterwards.

2.7 Review another learner's assignment

You’re going to review an outline plan for a reading lesson a colleague on the course
has written. They were asked to decide on the things below and submit a plan.

 The learner(s)

 The text type and topic

 The reading sub-skill you want the learner(s) to develop

 The task

 Whether the learner will read the text in the lesson or at home.

Looking at the guidelines below, please provide useful feedback on the outline
plan. Give reasons to explain your answers. Highlight what works but offer a
suggestion if appropriate.

Example:

Q1 The lesson should really help your student to develop their ability to scan for
information quickly as you’ve planned lots of practice of the strategies you’ll introduce.
Maybe you could get the student to reflect afterwards to find out if the strategy helped
them or not.

Assignment Guidelines

You’re going to be asked to give feedback on the following aspects of the author’s
assignment:

 How will the lesson help the learner(s) to improve their reading skills?
 How has your colleague adapted the text effectively for an online environment?
 Has your colleague suggested the learner(s) read in or out of the lesson? Do you agree
this is an appropriate approach?
Please keep this window open and do not navigate away before submitting your
feedback. If you close the window or navigate to a different page, you will be given a
new assignment to review when you return.

You must first submit an assignment in the previous step before you can review other
learners’ assignments.

2.8 (reflections – I still have to do the assignments)

2.9 Useful online reading resources

There’s a wealth of authentic reading material available to teachers and learners online.
News reports, blogs, reviews, social media posts, advertisements, shopping sites and
magazine articles allow us to create lessons that give learners access to language used
authentically. There is also a range of useful reading materials specifically for learners
of English that teachers and learners can exploit.

Task
Below are four useful resources that teachers can use to create interesting and level-
appropriate online reading lessons for their learners, as well as websites that learners
can access themselves. Click on the link to each one and answer the following
questions.

 What level of learner is it appropriate for?

 What age of learner is it appropriate for?
 Does the site provide a complete reading lesson or do you need to build a lesson
around a text?
 Might it be useful for your learners?

Breaking News English

News in Levels

Learn Kids short stories

Cambridge Assessment English – Learning English

Check your answers

Reflect and share
 Which website would you use the most, do you think? Why?
 What other online resources do you use or know of where teachers and learners can
find useful reading material? (do!!!!)

Share your answers to both these questions in the comments. If you can, share links to
any useful online resources you know, and say a little bit about why the resource is
useful and/or how you use it on the Padlet wall here.

2.10. Teaching listening skills in online

lessons

Video transcript

Teaching listening online. What are the similarities to teaching listening face-to-face?
Well, I think the similarities are the framework. So we still have the same kind of
procedures that we would follow in a face-to-face classroom for delivering listening
lessons. So you'd still have a prelistening task or activity of some sort, a while-listening
task or activity for comprehension or for developing a specific subskill. And then you'd
have a follow-up, maybe a bit of language work or maybe a speaking activity or that
sort of thing. So the principles remain the same, that we still have our kind of
framework for listening lesson. But there are some things that are different.

0:42Skip to 0 minutes and 42 secondsYeah, I think quite often, online lessons are one-
to-one, not always, but they seem to be more commonly one-to-one. And just as one-to-
one lessons face-to-face, I think quite often the teacher becomes a listening resource. So
the student listens to the teacher, and that's how they get their listening practise. So we
can use live listening tasks. But I think task is important here, isn't it? Yeah, because
otherwise, you're talking all the time. The students are supposedly listening all the time.
But who knows what is happening in their head or whether they're understanding
anything. So again, principals of having a task with whatever it is that you're doing. But
live listenings are really useful, I think, and easy for teachers.

1:20Skip to 1 minute and 20 secondsSo do you want to describe one? So it could be, for
example, I describe a member of my family to a lower-level student or group of
students. And you would set the task before that. Yeah. And the task would be pick out
five things that I describe. Exactly. Yeah. And then when they give you the answers,
you can check if they've heard correctly. They know they've heard correctly. And if they
haven't, you can then help them to work out why they didn't hear correctly. Was there
some linking that makes the words difficult to understand or something like that?

1:46Skip to 1 minute and 46 secondsBut it's also important, I think, and useful to be
able to bring in recorded materials as well because then in your lessons, the students get
a different accent, they get a different voice to become accustomed to other English. It
is, yeah. And it's also important to set tasks that focus on particular subskills of
listening. Exactly. So, for example, listening for specific information, you might bring
in a recording of-- I don't know-- the weather forecast. Students have to listen for
particular bits of information for their particular area or something like that. Absolutely,
yeah. It is important though when you are bringing in audio or video from other sources
that you can actually play it through your platform. So it's usually OK.

2:24Skip to 2 minutes and 24 secondsBut it's always worth, I think, just checking--
Yeah. --having a trial run, maybe getting a family member to be at the other end as the
student-- just to check that they can actually hear it. And there's also copyright issues,
which are exactly the same as they are for face-to-face. Absolutely, yeah.

(end of video)

Let’s now think about teaching listening skills in an online lesson. When you teach a
listening lesson online, the structure of the lesson is likely to be the same as a face-to-
face lesson: you’ll establish a context and engage the learner(s), set a task or tasks while
learners listen and then follow up with some kind of speaking task or analysis of
language. However, there are some different approaches when teaching listening online.

Task 1
You’re going to watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talking about online listening
lessons. What do you think they might say about these things?

1. The main source of listening practice for online learners.

2. How a teacher can best exploit teacher talking time as listening practice.

3. The benefits of using recorded material.

4. What you need to check before a lesson.

Task 2
Now, watch Lindsay and Marie Therese and check your ideas.

Check your answers.

Reflect and share
What challenges can you foresee when teaching an online listening lesson? How might
you overcome those challenges? Share your ideas in the comments.

2.11 A listening lesson

Video transcript:

OK, so today, I'm going to tell you about a special weekend. I had a special weekend in
Sicily in Italy. So this was in June, I think-- yeah, June this year. Do you know Italy,
Elsie? I know Italy just when I was four years old. But I don't remember anymore. I
went to Rome with my parents. But I don't have memories about that holiday. So a long
time ago, yeah. A long time ago. So this is in Sicily in Palermo, so in the south of Italy.
OK, so I'm going to tell you this story. And I want you to write three things I did. So
write three things you hear that I did, OK? OK.

1:25Skip to 1 minute and 25 secondsSo I'm going to pause my camera so you cannot
read my lips. So you're just going to listen, OK? OK. So what are you going to do?

1:40Skip to 1 minute and 40 secondsI will write three things you hear-- I hear that you
did. Yes, in my story, very good. OK, you can write in your notebook-- yeah, it's fine--
or in the chat box, whatever you prefer, OK? All right, so I'm going to pause my camera
now.

2:05Skip to 2 minutes and 5 secondsAre you ready? Yes. OK, so I'm going to start
telling you the story. I decided to explore Agrigento in Italy at a weekend. On a
Saturday, I rented a bike and cycled for about 15 kilometres to the nearest beach. It was
fantastic. When I was there, someone recommended the Stairs of the Turks, or Scala dei
Turchi, a UNESCO heritage site in Sicily. So the next day, I decided to go there, and I
arranged for a taxi. When we arrived, the taxi driver dropped me off at the car park, and
I walked straight to the stairs, because they looked absolutely magnificent. I wanted to
climb them immediately, but the guard said we weren't allowed. So I went for a swim
instead.

2:59Skip to 2 minutes and 59 secondsThen suddenly, a lot of people started climbing

the steps. I got a bit confused because I thought it was illegal. But I swam all the way
there to climb quickly to the other side with them.

3:14Skip to 3 minutes and 14 secondsThey were all Italian and seemed to know it was a
good time to do that. When I finished climbing to the top, I realised there was another
small private beach on the other side. Oh, my. I climbed down and ended up spending
the rest of the afternoon there. After that, I watched the sunset and went to a lovely
lounge bar to have a drink and wait for the taxi driver again. It was a weekend I'll never
forget.

3:47Skip to 3 minutes and 47 secondsGo on.

3:51Skip to 3 minutes and 51 secondsYeah. OK, so I'm going to share the whiteboard
with you now. And let's see. So tell me some of the things, the three things you heard
that I did.

4:11Skip to 4 minutes and 11 secondsThree things you did in Italy? Yes, during that
special weekend. Yeah, yeah. You take a taxi.

4:28Skip to 4 minutes and 28 secondsMhm. You swim in the private-- you swim on the
sea.

4:43Skip to 4 minutes and 43 secondsYou decide explore the area.

4:53Skip to 4 minutes and 53 secondsYou had a fantastic weekend.

5:05Skip to 5 minutes and 5 secondsYou climbing on the cliffs. OK.

5:16Skip to 5 minutes and 16 secondsThe taxi driver recommended to you buy a bike or
rent a bike.

5:27Skip to 5 minutes and 27 secondsAnd you went to the place of whose is part of the
UNESCO heritage.

5:42Skip to 5 minutes and 42 secondsOK, yeah, that's good.

(see video – I’ve downloaded it)

You’re now going to watch part of an online lesson and see an example of a live
listening task in action. Live listening is where the teacher is the listening resource for
the class. The teacher talks (e.g. tells an anecdote or a story) and the students listen with
a clear purpose (i.e. a task set by the teacher). This is in contrast to listening to recorded
audio or video.

Task
Watch the video and answer the questions.

1. What task does Renata set Elci?

2. Why does Renata turn off her camera?

 3. What do you think happens next in the lesson?

Now, check your answers.

Reflect and share

Can you think of another live listening task that you could use with a learner or group of
learners that you’re likely to teach online? What would the learner(s) listen to? What
task could you set? Share your ideas in the comments.

2.12 Listening activities for online lessons

Let’s look at some examples of listening activities that can be incorporated into online
lessons or set for homework. These activities provide learners with a variety of text
types. As well as that, they have a clear learning goal and help learners develop a
particular listening sub-skill.

Task
Read six outlines of listening lessons (1–6). Match them to the learning objectives (A–
F). The learning objectives focus on listening sub-skills.

Outline of listening lesson

1. Jigsaw listening – for homework, half the class watch one talk and the other half
watch a different talk but on the same topic. In the next lesson, learners work in
pairs in breakout rooms and compare the speakers’ views and justifications.

2. A song – a young learner watches a video of people performing a song. The

teacher helps the learner to learn the words using pictures and mime, and they
sing along.

3. A dictogloss – in class, the teacher reads out a short text giving factual
information. The learner listens and then takes notes about what they heard.
These two steps are repeated. The learner then uses their notes to reconstruct the
text, typing it onto the whiteboard. The teacher offers feedback and support to
help the learner be more accurate. Finally, the learner compares their text to the
original.
 4. A film clip – in class, learners watch a short clip from a film with no sound.
They predict what they think the people were saying and type their ideas into the
chat box. They then watch with the sound on to check.

5. Questions – in class, the teacher reads out a set of questions. Each time, the
learner has to count the number of words they hear. The teacher asks the
questions again and the learner answers them.

6. Which photo? – in class, the teacher displays six photos using the share screen
option. The teacher then reads out a sentence to describe one of the photos,
saying where something is, e.g. The cat’s sitting on the table. The young learner
says which photo the teacher is describing.

Learning objectives

A. To use body language and facial expressions to understand meaning.

B. To listen for the key points and key words/phrases.

C. To implicitly learn new vocabulary and language in an engaging way.

D. To understand prepositions of place.

E. To understand the speaker’s opinion and his/her justification for that opinion.

F. To recognise weak forms and connected speech.

Check your answers

Reflect and share

What other listening activity might you use in an online lesson? What listening sub-skill
will it help learners to develop? Share your ideas in the comments.

2.12 Useful online listening resources

Video transcript:

If you want to practise listening skills, there's loads of authentic material. So again, think about,
what does your student like, or what's your student interested, and then suggest TED Talks,
YouTube clips, news items, and get your students to listen to those. The good thing about
giving a range of listening activities is that they'll hear loads of accents, not just one accent.
And it will really help them get used to different conversations, different accents, different
environments.

There are many online listening resources that learners can use to help them develop
their listening skills independently. You’re going to review some of those resources and
think about their use in particular contexts.

Task 1
First, listen to Mary talking about opportunities for learners to practise listening online.
Answer the questions.

 What resources does Mary mention?

 Why does Mary think listening to a range of resources is beneficial?

Check your answers.

Task 2
Below are four case studies of learners looking to improve their listening skills. Visit
the four websites below and review the sites. Which one do you think each learner
would benefit from? Why?

Case study 1
Antonio is a B2-level business manager who travels abroad a lot for work. He’d like to
improve his listening skills so he can follow his colleagues’ discussions better in
meetings.

Case study 2
Katja is a five-year-old beginner learner. Her parents want her to listen to English
outside the classroom so she has a lot of exposure to it, not just in her weekly lesson.

Case study 3
Rodrigo is a 14-year-old A2+ level learner who is taking English lessons to improve his
grades at school. He finds it hard to hear individual words when he listens and he knows
he needs to improve his listening skills, but he’s not very motivated.

Case study 4
Lara is a B1-level adult learner who is really motivated to improve her listening skills.
Unfortunately, she’s a busy working parent so she doesn’t have a lot of time. She’d like
a resource with short recordings and quick tasks to complete so she can fit them into her
busy life.

CBeebies
ESL Brains

elllo - English Listening Lesson Library Online

LyricsTraining

You can check your answers here.

You can find a list of further useful websites here which you may want to explore.

Reflect and share

What other websites have you recommended to learners to help them with their
listening skills? Why? Share your ideas in the comments.

Answers:

Step – Useful online listening

resources Task 1 AnswersMary suggests
TED Talks, YouTube videos and news items. She suggests that
listening to a range of listening materials will help learners get
used to hearing different accents, which will help them to deal
with different situations better.

Step – Useful online listening

resources Task 2 Below are four case studies of
learners looking to improve their listening skills. Visit the four
websites below and review the sites. Which one do you think
each learner would benefit from? Why?Case study 1 Antonio is
a B2-level business manager who travels abroad a lot for work.
He’d like to improve his listening skills so he can follow his
colleagues’ discussions better in meetings.Case study 2 Katja is
a five-year-old beginner learner. Her parents want her to listen
to English outside the classroom so she has a lot of exposure to
it, not just in her weekly lesson.Case study 3 Rodrigo is a 14-
year-old A2+ level learner who is taking English lessons to
improve his grades at school. He finds it hard to hear individual
words when he listens and he knows he needs to improve his
listening skills, but he’s not very motivated.Case study 4 Lara is
a B1-level adult learner who is really motivated to improve her
listening skills. Unfortunately, she’s a busy working parent so
she doesn’t have a lot of time. She’d like a resource with short
recordings and quick tasks to complete so she can fit them into
her busy life.CBeebiesTEDxESLelllo - English Listening Lesson
Library OnlineLyricsTraining
cambridgeenglish.org | ©UCLES 2019Teaching English Online Task 2
AnswersThese are suggested answers:Case study 1–
TEDxESL provides clips of talks where people give their views
on a variety of topics. This high-level authentic material could
help Antonio to better follow different points of view. Elllo could
also provide some useful opportunities for Antonio to listen to
people talking about different topics and giving their opinions
although the texts are quite short. Case study 2– Katja is likely
to enjoy listening and singing along to the songs on the
CBeebies sites. The other websites are not appropriate for a
young child. Case study 3– Rodrigo might enjoy Lyricstraining
as it’ll give him practice in hearing individual words and he can
choose the music he likes. It might be more motivating to a
teenager than other listening sites although he might find some
of the recordings on elllo interesting too. Case study 4– Lara
could benefit from elllo as it provides hundreds of short audio or
video clips with accompanying multiple-choice questions. She
could regularly fit one into a busy schedule. It would also give
her practice in listening to a variety of accents. She might also
enjoy Lyricstraining but she’s likely to find TEDxESL too difficult.
She could watch videos where the transcript is available to help
her follow what she hears. Further useful listening
resources:BBC Learning English – lots of great materials here
including Six Minute English. For lower intermediate,
intermediate and upper intermediate levels. Channel One News
– daily news programme for young adults with a transcript. Big
Think – business people giving their views on a variety of
topics. Authentic material. British Council short stories – short
story videos for younger learners. British Council LearnEnglish
Teens – videos and tasks for teenagers.
Edpuzzle – add a video from a site such as YouTube and then
add questions during the video. Share it with your students who
watch and have to answer the question when it appears. Free
and paid for versions. ESLvideo – videos with accompanying
quizzes that have been created by teachers. Videos for children
and adults and a variety of levels. You can add your own video
from a site such as YouTube and add your own quiz for your
students

Whiteboard software: Open Board – it also lets you view edit

pictures when sts send you pics of their HW

2.14 Ask us your questions

At the end of the week, Lindsay and Marie Therese will answer your questions about
the topics we’ve covered in week 2 of our Teaching English Online course.

Here’s a reminder of some of the things we’ve covered, which you can ask us questions
about:

Helping learners to develop reading skills

 Deciding whether learners should read in or out of the lesson

 Online resources and tools for online reading lessons

Helping learners to develop listening skills

 Live listening tasks involving teacher talking

 Listening activities for online lessons
 Online resources for online listening lessons

Post your questions in the comments below. Don’t forget to read other people’s
questions and ‘like’ the ones you think are interesting. We’ll answer the most liked
questions at the end of the week.
2.15 ideo review of week 2
1409 comments

We’ve come to the end of the second week of the course and, in this video, Lindsay and
Marie Therese look back at some of the main talking points of the week. The video will
appear here on Friday 27 March.

We are running a survey to understand more about your experience teaching remotely
and the resources available. It should take around 3 minutes to complete. You can
access this survey here.

Preparing learners for their English language assessments

You can adapt exam preparation materials in the same way you would adapt other
resources for online teaching. You can use your exam syllabus or coursebook to guide
your lesson activities and supplement with online resources or learner-generated
resources like images and vocabulary quizzes. Some exam preparation is better suited to
independent study, for example doing a practice test, reading, or doing extended
individual writing. You and your learners can use your online lessons to discuss
difficult questions, share useful strategies and, for example, do collaborative work,
speaking practice or group writing.

This week, here are two example lesson plans to help you prepare learners for their
Cambridge exams in an online classroom:

 A2 Key for Schools Reading and Writing: lesson plan and handout
 B1 Preliminary for Schools Listening: lesson plan and handout

Dyslexia and Foreign Language Teaching

There have a been a number of comments and questions on the course from teachers
asking about teaching learners with special needs. There is a course on FutureLearn
from Lancaster University called Dyslexia and Foreign Language Teaching which starts
on 20 April 2020.

Add your comments and questions below.

2.16 What's on next week?

Video transcript

Lindsey, let's talk about next week. Yes, we're going to be talking about something that is so
important when we think about student learning. Yeah, because really this is the one thing
that really helps them to improve. Yes. And I know that you have a theory that doing it online
is much more effective than face-to-face. Well, I think it can be if you have a group of students
because you have the chat box where you can talk to individual learners and actually provide a
more personalised form of this particular thing, something that would be more difficult to do
in class, I think so, yes. That should hopefully be very interesting for you.

(end of video)

Here’s a taste of what we’ll cover next week.

Task

Watch the video. What do you think Lindsay and Marie Therese are talking about?
Share your ideas in the comments.

See you next week, when you’ll find out if your ideas are correct.

Week 3

Week 3: Helping learners with productive skills - speaking and writing

Start date:

1.
 Welcome to week 3

This week we'll talk about helping learners with speaking and writing when
teaching online.

1.

3.1

Welcome to week 3 video (00:57)

2.
 Helping learners to develop speaking skills

You're going to look at ways to help learners in your online lessons to become
more fluent and accurate when speaking English.

1.

3.2

Key things to remember when teaching a speaking lesson video (03:28)

2.

3.3

A one-to-one online speaking lesson video (05:42)

3.

3.4

A group online speaking lesson video (08:22)

4.

3.5

Developing group cohesion article

5.

3.6

Dealing with error correction in online speaking lessons video (03:26)

6.

3.7

Real-time error correction – you try it! video (01:48)

7.

3.8

Developing speaking skills outside a lesson article

3.
 Helping learners with their pronunciation

We reflect on pronunciation challenges that learners face and consider ways that
an online teacher can diagnose pronunciation problems and help learners with
those problems in an online environment.

1.

3.9

Diagnosing pronunciation problems video (01:06)

2.

3.10

Helping students to improve their pronunciation video (02:35)

3.

3.11

Useful online tools for developing pronunciation article

4.
 Helping learners to develop writing skills

A look at ways to help learners improve their writing skills.

1.

3.12

Teaching writing skills in online lessons video (01:55)

2.

3.13

An online writing lesson video (06:20)

3.

3.14

Giving feedback on written work in a digital environment video (04:44)

4.

3.15

Useful digital tools for developing writing skills article

5.
 Round-up of week 3

Ask your questions, end-of-week video, what's on next week and test

1.

3.16

Ask us your questions article

2.

3.17

Video review of week 3 video (14:29)

3.

3.18

What's on next week? video (00:38)

3.1. Welcome to week 3

Video transcript:

Hi, everyone. Welcome to week three. Welcome. This week, we're talking about
speaking and writing. We are. So we're going to think about how we need to adapt
speaking and writing tasks for an online context, particularly speaking activities, where,
if you have a group and you want to do pair work, but you don't have breakout rooms,
then what do you do? Exactly. And we're talking about group cohesion as well-- how to
develop rapport amongst a group of learners online. Yeah. We're going to think about
how we can help students to develop their pronunciation on online lessons. And
correction, of course-- how to give feedback in speaking and writing activities. Really
important. Absolutely.

0:43Skip to 0 minutes and 43 secondsWe're going to show you some useful digital
resources that you can use to create interesting speaking and writing lessons. Good luck,
everyone. Have a good week.

Hello and welcome to week 3. This week we’ll focus on planning and delivering
effective productive skills lessons online. We’ll talk about the similarities and
differences between face-to-face speaking and writing lessons and online speaking and
writing lessons. We’ll give you practical ideas and suggestions for tools, resources and
activities which you can use to help learners to develop speaking and writing sub-skills
and improve students’ productive skills.

Outline of week 3

This week we’ll answer these questions:

 What’s the same and what’s different about speaking and writing lessons online?

 How does a group speaking lesson differ to a face-to-face lesson?

 How can we help students to improve their pronunciation online?

 How can teachers provide learners with feedback on spoken and written work
effectively?

 What resources and tools are available to teachers and learners to use in
productive skills lessons?

This week’s tasks will take around four hours.

We’re very much looking forward to working with you all again this week. Go to the
next step to start this week’s activities.

3.2 Key things to remember when

teaching a speaking lesson

Video transcript

Teaching speaking lessons online? Yes. So again, we're talking about making sure that
you have clear objectives, that you have a good reason for doing it. You're not just kind
of chatting about stuff. Also, that I think the frameworks for a speaking lesson are
probably the same. You're going to have some preparation work. Do a bit of speaking,
and then of course, give a bit of feedback afterwards. So those things are the same. But I
think there are things that are different. And you wanted to talk a bit about instructions.
Yeah, I think, because you know, there is that distance when you're on an online lesson
that you need to be really, really clear with instructions.

0:44Skip to 0 minutes and 44 secondsSo you need to make sure that the instruction you
give is graded correctly. You know, you enunciate correctly, all the sort of things you
need to do to give good instructions. But you also need to check them. And also give a
demonstration where possible, so learners really understand what it is that they're doing.
Because you can't then, you can't then monitor and check. And fix it, exactly. And fix it,
exactly. So it's really difficult. Yeah, yeah. You might want to also type instructions into
the chat box, just to have a backup for people who haven't understood, something like
that. Yeah. And also there's this time lag thing that we were talking about before.

1:17Skip to 1 minute and 17 secondsYeah, there is a time like sometimes with the
technology, of course. So there's that horrible thing where you ask a question. And you
get silence. There's silence. And then you panic and you feel that you need to speak, so
you ask the question again. But of course, the student just hasn't had time to answer,
because they've only just heard you at their end. So they speak, you speak at the same
time, you all speak over each other and then it gets really confusing. Yeah. So it'd be
good to speak and then one Mississippi, two Mississippi three Mississippi, four
Mississippi. Exactly. You need to give a few seconds. Anyway, it's good practise
anyway to leave more wait time. Exactly, exactly.

1:47Skip to 1 minute and 47 secondsJust to keep in mind. Yeah. And there's also a
similar sort of problem to the group when who's to speak and you need to organise who
speaks when and put your hand up and that sort of thing when you have a group, so that
they don't talk over each other. Yes, you need to manage that really carefully. Yeah. So
all of those things you said are great. You can nominate. Or you could use the audio, the
microphone button, so that you can click it that to mute certain students or all of the
whole classes, so you just got one person who's speaking and can be heard by everyone
else. Yes.

2:19Skip to 2 minutes and 19 secondsAnd problems also, the same sort of problems you
have with face to face, where you have a weaker student. Yeah, and with a weaker
student, you could obviously, you don't want to put them on the spot if they're feeling
scared about speaking in front of the other learners. You could actually use the chat box
so they can type their answer in the chat box to you. It could be just to you directly, not
to the whole group. So then they're actually participating, they're doing the tasks. And
they're starting to build that confidence. And you can give them some positive
reinforcement. And after a couple of lessons, you can get them. They'll start speaking.
Exactly, yeah.

2:49Skip to 2 minutes and 49 secondsAnd of course, the chat box is a major feature for
giving feedback. Yeah, definitely. So there are a few different features when you're
giving delayed feedback on speaking. You can use the chat box, as you say. Yeah. And
here I think what's fantastic is, because you can often speak to individual learners
directly, you can actually give personalised feedback. You can also use the whiteboard.
Yeah. For whole class feedback. Or you could, if you don't have a whiteboard, you
could type into a Word document and then share your screen with a student. So few
different ways to give feedback there.

Our next focus is on helping learners to develop their speaking skills in online lessons.
You’re going to listen to Lindsay and Marie Therese talking about key things to
remember when teaching speaking lessons online.

Task
Watch the video. What do Lindsay and Marie Therese say about these things?

1. Lesson objectives

2. Lesson staging/framework

3. Instructions

4. Managing time lags

5. Managing dominant and quiet learners

6. Feedback

Check your answers.8

8
Check answers file (pdf 3.2)
Reflect and share
What speaking activities do you often include in your face-to-face lessons? Do you
think these can be used in an online lesson? How might you need to adapt them? Share
your ideas in the comments.

3.3. A one-to-one online speaking lesson

Video transcript

So Caio, in today's lesson we are going to talk about jobs. OK. Caio, in the future, what
kind of jobs would you like to do? I would like to be a web designer or an architect.
OK, and why? I would like to be a web designer because I like IT and I like-- yes, to
design something. I'm very creative.

0:46Skip to 0 minutes and 46 secondsTo give an opinion you can say I think. OK? Yes.
I think. Good. Good. Which you can also use another word. The other word would be--

1:08Skip to 1 minute and 8 secondslook. Do you know how to say this?

1:13Skip to 1 minute and 13 secondsWith opinion.

1:17Skip to 1 minute and 17 secondsOf my opinion, this is very demanding. Yes. This
is a very demanding job. Listen. Listen. In my opinion, this is a very demanding job.
Repeat. In my opinion, this is a very demanding job. Yes. Listen to the pronunciation,
Caio. In my opinion. In my opinion. Good. In my opinion is the same as I think. I think.
OK.

1:54Skip to 1 minute and 54 secondsSo Caio, now you have the three jobs. You will
describe them. Then give your opinions about them and say what you like or dislike
about each job. And you are going to choose the best one from them. But we are going
to do this like a game. OK. Yeah. Whenever you use the new expression-- look. Can
you see them here-- Yes. Whenever you use, you will get two marks. So the maximum
would be It would be 2 times 6-- would it be 12? You would get 12 marks. OK, 12
marks. Good. So now, I'm going to give you time for you to prepare. OK. OK. Start
preparing.

2:57Skip to 2 minutes and 57 secondsOK. The carpenter-- in my opinion the job is

rewarding because yes, when you finish something, you can see what you have done--
like a table, or a cupboard, or a chair-- and it's beautiful, and that's-- I think it's
rewarding.
3:24Skip to 3 minutes and 24 secondsGood. So you've used the six words, and you've
won. You've got 12 marks. Good job, Caio. Thanks. Good job, yeah. But now, let's look
at the things that you have said. Can you see this screen? Yes, I can. OK. So you used
the adjectives like rewarding and challenging.

3:50Skip to 3 minutes and 50 secondsYou completed the task well. Something that
you-- that I really liked was when you said when you talked about the carpenter's job.
You said that it would be very nice to see what-- What you have done. Yes. That's really
nice. What you've done. It's really nice. This is-- you said this. It's-- you have used the
present perfect to talk about the result. To see something that you've done. That was
really nice. You've also used the word "rewarding." That was also very nice.

4:36Skip to 4 minutes and 36 secondsGood. OK, now-- help me here.

4:50Skip to 4 minutes and 50 secondsThere are two problems here, Caio.

4:57Skip to 4 minutes and 57 secondsI would like. That's correct. But please, don't say
"I would." Say more naturally.

5:08Skip to 5 minutes and 8 secondsI want. I'd like. I'd like.

5:15Skip to 5 minutes and 15 secondsTo earn. I would like. How much? To earn a lot
of.

5:24Skip to 5 minutes and 24 secondsYeah, good. So can you say that again for me? I'd
like to earn a lot of money. Good.

An online speaking lesson is likely to be structured in a similar way to a face-to-face

speaking lesson. Learners will be introduced to the topic, be given some useful language
where appropriate, have time to prepare, have plenty of opportunities to speak, and then
receive feedback on their performance.

In this video, Cristina teaches a speaking lesson to 15-year-old Caio. The lesson
objective is:

The student will be able to extend his speaking by giving opinions, talking about
preferences and giving reasons for his choices.

Task
Watch the video and answer these questions.

1. How does Cristina stage the lesson? Is it the same or different to a typical face-
to-face speaking lesson?
 2. What feature of the platform does Cristina exploit to help Caio develop his
speaking skills? How does she exploit it?

Check your answers.

Reflect and share

How would Cristina need to adapt her lesson with a group of learners? What other
platform features might she want or need to exploit to make sure that the lesson met its
objective?

3.4 A group online speaking lesson

Video transcript (though I’d like to watch it / download it)

So, we're going to talk about exchanging opinions today. And I have a couple of
questions for you to answer. So, here they are. Please read them. So you're going to
work with a partner. And I'm go to open-- Sorry-- I'm going to open breakout rooms
now. We can speak about it forever. Forever. I'm sorry, but you only have three minutes
to do this. Oh. All right, so let me open the rooms.

0:46Skip to 0 minutes and 46 secondsSo please join them.

1:01Skip to 1 minute and 1 secondSo, where is our questions? Guys, you can find them
in the chat box. Oh, OK.

1:11Skip to 1 minute and 11 secondsHere we go.

1:17Skip to 1 minute and 17 secondsSome years ago, we had one person on our project.
It was on customer site. And--

1:30Skip to 1 minute and 30 seconds--maybe. There was about one--

1:38Skip to 1 minute and 38 secondsa new system. And my colleagues want to make a
new functionality inside another. But they was totally, totally different. So, I understood
it. And I explained my opinion, and showed arguments why we did not-- we had no--
hadn't do it, or didn't have to do it.

2:31Skip to 2 minutes and 31 secondsWhen we've asked for someone's opinion, this
person needs to express it. So can you think of some phrases that you can use to state
your opinion? From my point of view? OK. As I see it? I think? In my opinion? In my
mind-- Great. Can you please type them in the chat box-- well, at least one phrase from
each of you?

3:20Skip to 3 minutes and 20 secondsOK, we have a puzzle here. And you need to find
the phrases. So, there may be one word or several words. You have mentioned some of
these phrases. And you only need to look for them, well, vertically or horizontally-- so,
not diagonally. You can use the tool and just circle them. Full phrase will be in one
line? Yeah, that's right.

3:55Skip to 3 minutes and 55 secondsAnton, do you have a question?

3:59Skip to 3 minutes and 59 secondsI wanted to ask about, should we find it in one
directional from the left to the right, and from up to down? Yes, yes, exactly.

4:15Skip to 4 minutes and 15 secondsGood job. Ah, something is missing on the left.

4:22Skip to 4 minutes and 22 secondsYou missed a letter, for some reason-- a nice one.
Yes.

4:36Skip to 4 minutes and 36 secondsSo now, let's move on to task 4. Please read the
instructions. Hmm.

5:06Skip to 5 minutes and 6 secondsIf you're done reading, please take a Yes up on
Zoom.

5:27Skip to 5 minutes and 27 secondsMm-hmm, wonderful.

5:39Skip to 5 minutes and 39 secondsMaybe you have talked about some file, maybe
we have the whole information how we can check in this complaint. What can we do?
So, firstly, I would again disagree with you, because I call him yesterday, and I speak
about his new project.

6:14Skip to 6 minutes and 14 secondsSo there is another scenario. Please read it. Line
20? Line 20. OK, so now I would like three people to have a talk about this. So you're
all together on the same team. So I would just exchange opinions-- agree or disagree.
Ask one another and use the key phrases. So the other three people, please type the key
phrases they use in the chat box. So, let us start. Sergei, Dmity, and Kate. So please
have a conversation. Ksenia, Igor, Anton, please type the phrases.

6:59Skip to 6 minutes and 59 secondsYou can start.

7:04Skip to 7 minutes and 4 secondsHi, guys, we have a problem. Tell me more, please.

7:11Skip to 7 minutes and 11 secondsWe can't meet the deadline. So we need to extend
our team, but our customers don't want to do it. So, as I see it, we should--

7:33Skip to 7 minutes and 33 secondsI don't know, catch up somehow?

7:41Skip to 7 minutes and 41 secondsI have a phrase that I would like you to correct.
7:48Skip to 7 minutes and 48 secondsWe make a lot of mistakes. Just one phrase.
Really?

8:09Skip to 8 minutes and 9 secondsYeah, so if we have a verb, then we use about.

How do you feel about that?

(end of video)

Planning a group speaking lesson is often more challenging than planning a one-to-one
speaking lesson. We need to consider how we can ensure all learners in the group have
the opportunity to develop their speaking skills. This may mean using platform features
such as breakout rooms for the main speaking task, or if those are unavailable, asking
learners to do the task as a whole group.

In this video Inna teaches a lesson to a group of Russian adults in a company. The
lesson objective is:

By the end of the lesson, students will be better able to ask for and give opinions,
agree and disagree.

Task
Watch the video and answer these questions.

1. How does Inna exploit each platform feature below? Complete the table.

Platform feature How it’s exploited

Breakout rooms  

Chat box  

Interactive whiteboard  

Tick icon  

Share screen  

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

2. How does Inna’s exploitation of platform features ensure that all learners in the class have
the opportunity to achieve the lesson objective?

Check your answers.

Reflect and share

How would you deal with a weaker learner in a group lesson? What might you do to
offer them support? Is there a particular platform feature you could exploit? Share your
ideas in the comments below.

3.5 Developing group cohesion

Group dynamics can play an important role in the success of a class. The dynamics of
an online group of learners may be different from those of a face-to-face group. This
means that an online teacher needs to actively employ techniques to ensure that a group
can bond with each other as well as with their teacher.

Task

Read the article below where Helen writes about the challenges of teaching an online
group.

 What problem does she describe?

 What solutions does she suggest?

Helping to create a cohesive group

Working with a group in a digital environment can bring new challenges to overcome.
The learners are not in the same building or perhaps not even in the same country and
the distance created by the technology can have an impact on group dynamics.

Learners don’t automatically build the same relationship with each other that they might
in a face-to-face environment, so it’s important for the teacher to help them build that
relationship. The first thing you can do is to model good communication and polite,
respectful behaviour. Treat your students in the way that you expect them to behave
with each other and show interest in their lives in the way that you hope they show
interest in each other’s lives.

Begin your course by giving students the opportunity to get to know each other, just as
you would in a face-to-face lesson, such as sharing information about their jobs or
where they live. Set easier tasks to complete at first to help learners build confidence
and feel comfortable speaking in English with each other. Then, in future lessons, give
learners the opportunity to personalise lesson content (e.g. topic or language) so they
continue to learn about each other. Encourage them to show interest in what each other
says by nominating a learner to ask a follow-up question.

If possible, use breakout rooms to allow for pair or small group work. This puts learners
in control of the conversation and helps them get used to conversing online without you
controlling the conversation as usually happens in the main classroom space.
If breakout rooms aren’t available, put learners in control by asking one of them to ask
another learner a question. That learner then asks another learner a question and so on.
Make sure all learners ask and answer a question. These questions can be part of a lead-
in to a topic, or they could be practice of a particular grammar structure, e.g. questions
with How often, or questions about the past.

Helping learners to establish a good rapport with each other and encouraging all
learners to participate in the lessons will help learners to grow in confidence, be more
productive and enjoy their lessons more fully.

Check your answers. (check pdf)

Reflect and share

In the article Helen talked about problems with teaching online groups. What other
problems do you think teachers might have with teaching online groups? Share your
ideas in the comments. Read other participants’ comments and reply to them with
suggestions for dealing with the problems.

3.6 Dealing with error correction in

online speaking lessons

Video transcript

Lindsey, let's talk about error correction with speaking activities. So we talk about
immediate feedback and delayed feedback. Let's start with immediate feedback, how is
it different? Well I think that you would do immediate and delayed in the same way.
Immediate would be more with, obviously, a focus on accuracy, and then delayed with a
focus on fluency. Yeah, so if you're doing a bit of language work prior to the actual
speaking activity, you might use immediate feedback. Exactly. Now when students are
speaking in class, and if the focus is on accuracy, you would pull a face when you want
them to correct. You might repeat half of what they said up to the point where they
made the error.

0:50Skip to 0 minutes and 50 secondsAnd hope that they then correct. Exactly,
something like that. Now when you are listening to students speaking online, especially
if your face is a little video-- They're never going to pick that up. They're never going to
pick up a funny face or a hesitation or a little noise. Exactly. Or if you repeat the
sentence, you're probably going to interrupt them. The lag might make it awkward and
so that becomes problematic. OK, so solution? Well, I think online teachers tend to do
less immediate correction. It's not fully delayed to the end of the activity, but once that
student has finished their turn. Then you might actually say, you said this, can you
correct it?

1:32Skip to 1 minute and 32 secondsOr you might, for example, agree with them that
you're going to hold up a big card, or with young learners, a puppet or something like
that, and agree with them before they speak-- That they need to stop when you hold it
up. Exactly. Yeah. So I think those are some things to think about with immediate
correction. Fine. And so let's talk about delayed correction. So we're talking here,
they've done the speaking activity and now you want to give them a bit of feedback on
that and pick up some errors and maybe some examples of good language. Yeah,
absolutely. We can use the chat box, can't we, for that?

2:00Skip to 2 minutes and 0 secondsSo you're listening, they're chatting, and you're
typing in the chat box which involves some dexterity and multitasking. Yeah, I do think
that if you're not a fast typist it is something you probably need to practise. Yeah,
because you know you can't just write it and then write it on the board. You do need to
be sort of typing as you listen. I must admit, I tend to use a Word document, because
then I can just have a quick check before I send it to them rather than using the chat box.
That's a good idea. But actually, the chat box can also be used when you're actually
doing the feedback. Would you like to explain that?

2:33Skip to 2 minutes and 33 secondsWell as you say, we can use a chat box or a Word
document or the whiteboard to share the errors. And then I think what is great compared
to a face to face lesson, actually, is that you can get the students to all correct the errors
at the same time. So you put the errors on the whiteboard, for example, and then you
say to students, can you correct them in the chat box? And you can be seeing them
correcting them and to see which ones they can't correct, which you then spend more
time explaining. And the ones that they know-- And that's definitely an advantage to
online teaching than the face to face.

3:06Skip to 3 minutes and 6 secondsBecause in the face to face classroom, only one or
two will shout out the correct answer and everybody else just sits and watches. But this
way you involve all the learners. I think that's fantastic feedback for you as a teacher,
and it gets all the students thinking which is really important.

Feedback is an essential part of the learning process and learners in an online

environment need to know where they are now in their learning, where they need to go
and how they can get there just as much as a learner in a face-to-face context. One
element of feedback is error correction. Error correction online is likely to be dealt with
slightly differently than in face-to-face lessons.

Task
Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talking about some error correction techniques you
can use in your online lessons. Which statements refer to immediate correction and
which refer to delayed correction.

1. We should include examples of good language used.

2. It needs practice.

3. It’s hard for students to recognise when it’s needed.

4. Less of this is done in online lessons.

5. We can use Word, the whiteboard or the chat box to elicit it.

6. It’s possible to personalise it with the chat box.

7. You could prompt it with a card or puppet.

8. All learners can get involved via the chat box.

Check your answers here. (check pdf)

Reflect and share

How do you usually correct errors in face-to-face lessons? How might you need to adapt
this for an online environment? If you already teach online, what changes have you had
to make to the way you elicit corrections to errors? Share your ideas in the comments.

3.7 Real-time error correction – you try

it!

Video transcript (watch video)

When I was a child, I lived within a small city without sea. And for me, long time ago, I
think the wonderful-- a wonderful holiday was on the beach. To stay on the beach. My
favourite holiday was-- when I was eight or nine years old, I spend my time with my
cousins in a big house, a family house. And went to the beach, and like some activities
outside. And was a real good environment. Familiar environment. It was very nice.
When I was a child, I used to go, uh, where I was born. Yes. And I went with my
cousin.
1:14Skip to 1 minute and 14 secondsAnd there, also my grandparents. And is beautiful,
the countryside. We can play in street, people are friendly, I was happy in my
childhood.

(end of video)

You’ve just heard Marie Therese and Lindsay talking about the challenges of
multitasking when dealing with delayed error correction. In this step, you’re going to
practise typing examples of good language and examples of errors as you hear them.

In this video you will see Julia, Joanna and Carolina doing a speaking task. The task
they were set was Talk about your favourite holiday when you were a child.

Task 1
First, open a Word document then watch the video and, at the same time, type onto the
Word document the feedback you would give to the learners. Remember that you will
not want to correct every single error but you will want to pick out key areas that the
learner needs to work on to improve their speaking skills. Don’t forget to provide praise
for good responses!

Task 2
Review your notes and make sure they’re quickly ready to share with Julia, Joanna and
Carolina as you don’t want them to sit and wait for a long time to receive the feedback
from you. Check that the notes are easy to follow and are organised clearly, e.g. errors
of one type grouped together.

Reflect and share

How easy or difficult did you find the tasks above? Why? Share your ideas in the
comments.

3.8 Developing speaking skills outside a

lesson
Speaking practice is no longer something that can only be done in a lesson. There are
many digital tools that allow learners to communicate outside the classroom and
complete speaking tasks, both synchronously and asynchronously. Let’s look at some of
those tools and consider how they can benefit learners.

Task
Below are links to three digital tools followed by three descriptions of the tools. Match
the tools (1–3) to the descriptions (A–C). Click on the links to visit the sites.

1. Voki
2. Flipgrid
3. Voice Spice

A. Students record themselves talking about an enjoyable trip away to practise using the past
simple. They share a link to their recording via their class online chat group and listen to each
other’s. In the next lesson, they vote for the most enjoyable trip and the teacher gives overall
feedback.
B. The teacher creates an avatar and adds their voice, introducing themselves to a new
student (a young learner). The student creates their own avatar and introduces themselves to
the teacher.

C. The teacher records a video, asking all of their students at an intermediate level to talk
about a film they’ve enjoyed watching recently. The students then record their own videos,
completing the speaking task. Despite the fact that each student has one-to-one lessons with
the teacher, the students watch the other videos and then tell the teacher which film they
heard about that they’d like to see and why. The teacher provides overall feedback on the
students’ performance.

Check your answers.

Note that for each of these activities, the learners (or their parents) will need clear
instructions on how to use the tool. This might mean demonstrating this in a lesson
and/or giving written instructions. There are also video tutorials available on websites
such as YouTube for these kinds of websites. Older learners could watch these tutorials
in English to help them with their listening skills.

Reflect and share

Go to the Padlet and record a short message telling other participants which of the
above tools you’d like to research further and why. Then, listen to two other recordings.

If you need help using Padlet, click here. (Don’t upload copyrighted or trademarked
images, video or other content which you aren’t authorised to use.)
Answers:

Step – Developing speaking

skills outside a lessonTaskBelow are
links to three digital tools followed by three descriptions of the
tools. Match the tools (1–3) to the descriptions (A–C). Click on
the links to visit the sites.•Voki•Flipgrid•Voice SpiceA.Students
record themselves talking about an enjoyable trip away to
practise using the past simple. They share a link to their
recording via their class online chat group and listen to each
other’s. In the next lesson, they vote for the most enjoyable trip
and the teacher gives overall feedback.B.The teacher creates
an avatar and adds their voice, introducing themselves to a new
student (a young learner). The student creates their own avatar
and introduces themselves to the teacher.C. The teacher
records a video, asking all of their students at an intermediate
level to talk about a film they’ve enjoyed watching recently. The
students then record their own videos, completing the speaking
task. Despite the fact that each student has one-to-one lessons
with the teacher, the students watch the other videos and then
tell the teacher which film they heard about that they’d like to
see and why. The teacher provides overall feedback on the
students’ performance.
cambridgeenglish.org | ©UCLES 2019Teaching English

Online Answers1. Voki – B. The teacher creates an avatar

and adds their voice, introducing themselves to a new student
(a young learner). The student creates their own avatar and
introduces themselves to the teacher. In this app you create an
avatar and add your voice to make it speak. Basic characters
are free but learners need to sign up to use it. Free app
available. 2. Flipgrid - C. The teacher records a video, asking all
of their students at an intermediate level to talk about a film
they’ve enjoyed watching recently. The students then record
their own videos, completing the speaking task. Despite the fact
that each student has one-to-one lessons with the teacher, the
students watch the other videos and then tell the teacher which
film they heard about that they’d like to see and why. The
teacher provides overall feedback on the students’
performance.This is a video discussion platform where teachers
create a private space for a class, set a speaking task and
learners reply with a video. One classroom is free. You can
create as many discussions within that classroom as you like
and learners don't need to sign up. Free app available.3. Voice
Spice - A. Students record themselves talking about an
enjoyable trip away to practise using the past simple. They
share a link to their recording via their class online chat group
and listen to each other’s. In the next lesson, they vote for the
most enjoyable trip and the teacher gives overall feedback.
Learners can record and share audio recordings for free. They
simply go to the website, make their recording, save it and then
save the link. The recording is stored in the cloud. Students
share the link with you and/or classmates to listen to.

3.9 Diagnosing pronunciation problems

Video transcript

So if you're going to teach speaking, obviously, your student will do lots of speaking in
your session, which is great. You can also get them to do lots outside the session as
well. So making, for example, YouTube videos is really popular. You can ask your
student to make short videos on particular topics, send them to you. And that's great. If
your student wants to work on individual sounds - so a lot of students quite like, yeah,
seeing their improvement on particular words that are difficult. A good thing to do is
identify specific areas. Research your students' language background to realise, OK,
they speak this language. They will probably have this difficulty.

0:47Skip to 0 minutes and 47 secondsLook out for that difficulty, and then direct them
to something like there's a really good app, Sounds Foundations, I think it is. And they
can practise the pronunciation of sounds on that.
The first step to helping learners with their pronunciation is diagnosing issues they may
have in relation to sounds, word stress, sentence stress and intonation.

Task
Watch Mary talking about ways to help learners with their pronunciation. Then, read the
quotes from online teachers saying how they diagnose their learners’ pronunciation
issues. What different methods are mentioned? (You can click on the image to expand
the quotes.)

Screen reader accessible version of the quotes (check pdf)

Check your answers.

Reflect and share

Which method for diagnosing pronunciation problems mentioned in the quotes do you
think is the most useful? Go to our poll and add your answer. You can view the results
here. If you choose Other, let us know what that is in the comments.

Answers:

Step – Diagnosing
pronunciation problems Answers

Ana asks new students to make a recording that she can listen
to outside the classroom to analyse the learner’s pronunciation.
Daniel researches typical L1 pronunciation problems that his
learners may have and listens out for those during lessons.
Tony records an online lesson with his students’ permission and
uses that to assess their pronunciation issues

3.10 Helping students to improve their

pronunciation

Video transcript

Lindsay, teaching pronunciation online has some advantages. It does, yeah. I think we
would teach pronunciation in the same way we do face-to-face. We correct students. We
help them to get it right. You've got this wonderful camera on your device that you can
get very close to, so the teacher can go very close to the camera and really show the
position of the mouth. And the student can really have a look and see. The position of
the teeth and the tongue and the lips and shapes. Exactly. And you can get closer in the
way that you just wouldn't in the classroom, I think, sometimes.

0:43Skip to 0 minutes and 43 secondsAnd also the student can then come closer to the
camera and look at themselves and try and copy and see if they're doing it in the same
way. And the teacher can look at it as well and say, no, your mouth is not around
enough. Make your mouth rounder or something. Exactly. Yeah. So the student
basically has a mirror in the classroom by looking at the camera. So that's one way.
Yeah. I think recording is really useful for helping pronunciation. So for example, the
teacher can record the student and take it home at their leisure, listen to it really
carefully, and identify specific areas of pronunciation that the student has difficulty
with.

1:18Skip to 1 minute and 18 secondsThe students can take the recording and listen to it
after, maybe just do it again and keep doing it until they feel they've got it really right.
You could have recordings of the teacher that the student takes home and repeats.
There's also a whole world of YouTube videos and people with different accents. And
so the more the students listen, the more they improve their pronunciation. Absolutely. I
think it's important for the students to notice. They listen to the video, they really notice
how people from around the world pronounce things differently in English and choose
the model that they want to mimic and then listen and repeat, listen and repeat. Yeah.
And of course, there's also using the board.

2:01Skip to 2 minutes and 1 secondYeah, so just like in a face-to-face classroom, you

can use the board to draw the mouth, position of the tongue or to show linking, for
example-- something like that. That would be good. Yeah. And also there are apps,
aren't there? There's sounds app that you can download, or the student can download
specific sounds to practise. Yeah, that's a really good app so students can listen to the
different sounds and repeat. And that's a good way of getting them using the phonemic
script as well, if that's something you want them to do.

Online teachers can help learners to develop their pronunciation in much the same way
as face-to-face teachers do: by modelling pronunciation and giving learners the
opportunity to practise that same pronunciation with feedback and tips from the teacher.
There are tools that online teachers can exploit to benefit their students’ pronunciation.

Task
Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talk about how to help students improve their
pronunciation in online lessons. Complete the sentences with a word in each gap.

1. A teacher can get close to the ______ to show the position of their mouth when
producing a sound. The student can do the same to see if the position of their
mouth is the same.
 2. A student can ______ a lesson and listen back to evaluate and improve their
pronunciation.

3. A teacher can use the ______ to show how words are linked together.

4. Students can listen and notice the pronunciation in online ______ and use it to
improve their own pronunciation.

5. Students can use online tools such as Macmillan’s ______ app to practise
pronouncing sounds.

Now, check your answers.

Reflect and share

What pronunciation challenges do your learners typically face? How might you help
them with those challenges in a one-to-one lesson? Share your ideas in the comments.

Task
Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talk about how to help
students improve their pronunciation in online lessons.
Complete the sentences with a word in each gap.

Answers
1. A teacher can get close to the camera to show the position of
their mouth when producing a sound. The student can do the
same to see if the position of their mouth is the same. 2. A
student can recorda lesson and listen back to evaluate and
improve their pronunciation.3. A teacher can use the
whiteboard to show how words are linked together. 4. Students
can listen and notice the pronunciation in online videosand use
it to improve their own pronunciation.5. Students can use online
tools such as Macmillan's Soundsapp to practise pronouncing
sounds.
3.11 Useful online tools for developing
pronunciation

Let’s now look at some useful online tools that teachers can use in lessons, and learners
can use outside of lessons, to improve their pronunciation.

Task
Read the descriptions of the online tools and click on the links to find out more. Then
answer these questions:

1. Which tools help learners to produce sounds?

2. Which tools help learners to produce words?
3. Which tool focuses on sentence stress and intonation?
4. Which tools provide a reference for learners of English?
5. Which tools could be used in an online lesson?
6. Which tools are more likely to be used for self-study?

A free, interactive version of the phonemic chart. Click on

Sound Foundations interactive each sound to hear it or alternatively download a non-
phonemic chart: interactive version.

Study sounds and practise using them. Free version

Sounds: The pronunciation app: available. Paid-for full version available. Includes an
interactive phonemic chart.

A free pronunciation dictionary. Listen to how words,

Forvo: including names of places etc., are pronounced by people
from around the world.

A website and app. Watch a video, learn the words,

record yourself copying the pronunciation and get a
EnglishCentral:
grade. Minimal free content. A lot of content with a
subscription.

Tim’s free pronunciation workshop videos look at the

BBC Learning English:
sounds of English including weak forms and assimilation.

Ship or sheep
Free practice of minimal pairs
http://www.shiporsheep.com/

Check your answers. (see below)

Reflect and share
Which of the tools above do you think would be most helpful to your online learners?
Why? Share your ideas in the comments.

Task

Read the descriptions of the online tools and click on the links
to find out more. Then answer these questions:1.Which tools
help learners to produce sounds?2.Which tools help learners to
produce words?3.Which tool focuses on sentence stress and
intonation?4.Which tools provide a reference for learners of
English?5.Which tools could be used in an online lesson?
6.Which tools are more likely to be used for self-study?

Answers
1. Which tools help learners to produce sounds? Sound Foundations interactive
phonemic chart, Sounds: the pronunciation app, BBC Learning English, Ship or Sheep.
2. Which tools help learners to produce words? Sounds: the pronunciation app, Forvo,
BBC Learning English, Ship or Sheep. 3. Which tool focuses on sentence stress and
intonation? English Central. 4. Which tools provide a reference for learners of English?
The Sound Foundations interactive phonemic chart, Forvo, Ship or Sheep. 5. Which
tools could be used in an online lesson? Potentially all of them to demonstrate their use
but English Central and Sounds: the pronunciation app are more likely to be used for
self-study. 6. Which tools are more likely to be used for self-study? Again, all of them
could be used for self-study, but EnglishCentral and Sounds: the pronunciation app in
particular.

3.12 Teaching writing skills in online

lessons

Video transcript

We're focusing on writing skills now and helping learners to develop those. Yep. And,
probably, it's very much the same as in a face-to-face classroom. The actual writing will
probably take place at home. So you'd set it as a homework task. But as in a face-to-face
classroom, the set-up of it would need to be in the class. So if you are doing - I don't
know, they have to write a description of something or they have to write a letter, you
would provide a model during the lesson. Maybe you'd give a reading comprehension
task for them to do. You'd talk about layout. You'd talk about the way that the thing is
organised, text structure, and so on.

0:43Skip to 0 minutes and 43 secondsAnd you might do some language input during the
lesson for them to be able to produce that writing task. And, of course, there's also the
issue of subskills. Do you want to talk a little about writing subskills that you might
develop during the lesson? Yeah, well, you might, for example, focus on punctuation or
linking ideas or helping learners to, I don't know, use a wider variety of vocabulary or
word order or something like that. So you might do a little bit of practise of writing in
the classroom. Sure, things like formal, informal register - Exactly. - formal, informal
language, you know, which is appropriate for which type of letter, for example, or
email. Absolutely.

1:20Skip to 1 minute and 20 secondsBut like you say, the main writing task will
probably be done at home. But then, as a follow up to it, in the next lesson, you'd do
some stuff on feedback, a little bit of correction, wouldn't you? You would, absolutely.
So you'd give feedback. And I think what's great is when learners are using technology
to write rather than by hand, as a lot of learners do in the face-to-face classroom. You've
got learners sending you a Word document with the text on, so you can do quite a lot
with that. There are quite ways that you can give feedback, written feedback, and also,
oral feedback, as well.

Let’s finish this week by focusing on developing learners’ writing skills in an online
classroom. While an online teacher’s approach to writing skills will be similar to that of
a teacher in a face-to-face classroom, there are some differences due to the nature of
teaching online.

Task 1
Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talking about teaching writing skills online and take
notes on the things below to help you do the next task.

Activities done in and out of the lesson  

Lesson structure  

Writing sub-skills  

Feedback on writing  

Please write your notes on a piece of paper

Task 2
Imagine you’re teaching a writing lesson to a B2-level one-to-one adult learner, who’s
preparing for university. The lesson focus is on structuring a paragraph in an essay.

Read these five tasks which make up the lesson. Which are you likely to do in class?
Which are you likely to do out of class? Why? Use your notes from task 1 to help you.

1. You provide the learner with a model essay paragraph and ask the learner to
identify where the main point is stated (the topic sentence) and the purpose of
the other sentences (supporting details).

2. You ask the learner to put five sentences in the correct order to create a cohesive
and coherent paragraph.

3. You ask the learner to write an essay paragraph on a topic already discussed in a
previous lesson.

4. You ask the learner to write a complete essay.

5. You provide feedback to the learner on the quality of their essay.

Check your answers.

Reflect and share

Think of a writing lesson you teach face-to-face. How do you think you might need to
adapt it when teaching online? Why? Share your ideas in the comments.

Task 1Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talking about

teaching writing skills online and take notes on the things below
to help you do the next task. Answer
Activities done in and
out of the lessonThe actual writing part of a lesson will probably
be done at home but pre-writing and post-writing tasks can be
done in class. Lesson structureAs in a face-to-face lesson, the
teacher will perhaps show a model, analyse the structure/layout
and some language, do some language input and then give
feedback to the learner after they’ve written the text. Writing
sub-skillsTeachers might want to do some work on sub-skills
during the lesson such as punctuation, linking ideas, helping
learners to use a wider variety of vocabulary or word order.
Feedback on writingWhen learners send their work online, there
are a few different ways of giving feedback using digital tools.
More on that later in the course! Task 2
Imagine you’re
teaching a writing lesson to a B2-level one-to-one adult learner,
who’s preparing for university. The lesson focus is on
structuring a paragraph in an essay.Read these five tasks which
make up the lesson. Which are you likely to do in class? Which
are you likely to do out of class? Why? Use your notes from
task 1 to help you. Task 2 Answer 1: You provide the
learner with a model essay paragraph and ask the learner to
identify where the main point is stated (the topic sentence) and
the purpose of the other sentences (supporting details).
cambridgeenglish.org | ©UCLES 2018Teaching English Online This is best
done in the lesson as the task is short and the learner will need
support from you.2: You ask the learner to put five sentences in
the correct order to create a cohesive and coherent
paragraph.This is best done in the lesson as it checks the
learner’s understanding of paragraph structure.3: You ask the
learner to write an essay paragraph on a topic already
discussed in a previous lesson. This could be done either in the
lesson or for homework. If the paragraph will take the learner
some time, it might be best done at home. However, it could be
done collaboratively in class, with you guiding the learner, e.g.
What’s your topic sentence going to be? You could also have a
combination of the two, with some preparation done together in
class, and the learner finishing the paragraph for homework.4:
You ask the learner to write a complete essay.This is best done
at home as the learner will need time to think, plan and write. 5:
You provide feedback to the learner on the quality of their
essay.This can be done orally in the next lesson or it could be
given in oral or written form for the learner to review at home.
Either way, it’s a good idea to check learners have understood
your feedback, as the message a teacher wants to convey is
sometimes misunderstood.

3.13 An online writing lesson

Video transcript

Super. OK, so at the top there, the first thing you can see is paragraph development.
And I've written a short paragraph there. And there are five spaces. Could you please
have a look at the words underneath, a to e and try and pop them into the right place?
Right. Yeah. So specific examples, topic sentence, linking words, reasons and general
statements. First states the main idea. And 3, number 3. There in number one. Sorry, it
says "A well written paragraph usually begins with a clear topic sentence. B, it states
your main idea." OK. Yes. Yes. "The paragraph then develops with a series of one or
more general statements, each of which is supported by reasons or specific examples."
There we go.

1:17Skip to 1 minute and 17 secondsYou've made the change. --linking words are used.
Linking words, yes. Great. OK. So we're going to have a look at this paragraph
structure, just like this. And we'll go to, later on, use some of the words that we looked
at a moment ago, some of those nouns and adjectives. If you scroll down the page a
little bit, you'll see the title, It Takes All Sorts. Yeah? Mm-hm. And I've got a box there
with six different linking words and phrases in. Mm-hm. OK. So below that, as you can
see, I've got a paragraph there all about Raphaele Mm-hm. And it's a description of him.

2:08Skip to 2 minutes and 8 secondsAnd I'm following the paragraph structure that
you've just looked at, so the topic sentence, general statement, specific examples. And I
should have these linking words in there. But I've left them out. So in the gaps you can
see, 1 to 6, could you try and pop those linking words and statements into the right
place? Yes. OK.

2:41Skip to 2 minutes and 41 secondsNeedless to say

2:49Skip to 2 minutes and 49 secondsWell, again, you're on form today. Not a single
mistake. Well, thank you. OK. Are you happy with all of those phrases? Nothing you're
unfamiliar with? No. I think you've seen them all before. Yeah. Yeah. I use them quite a
lot. Apart from the last one, like needless to say, again, it's not something I use often
But I know the meaning. It just doesn't come natural, probably. Sure. OK. Not a
problem. You're going to practise that for homework. But first of all, so scrolling back
up, OK, so we've got our paragraph developments. Yeah? Could you show me, in the
paragraph that I've written, where each of these features are?

3:46Skip to 3 minutes and 46 secondsSo the first one, the topic sentence, where is that
in my paragraph?

3:56Skip to 3 minutes and 56 secondsOK. It should be the first one. It is. OK. It's not a
trick question. It's not a trick question. OK. OK. So that first sentence there, that's my
topic sentence. And it introduces the main idea. Raffaele, 15 years old, and he's lazy.
Mm-hm. OK. So following it up, then, we've got the general statement, which is?

4:25Skip to 4 minutes and 25 secondsWhich is my general statement?

4:29Skip to 4 minutes and 29 secondsYour general state--

4:33Skip to 4 minutes and 33 seconds"I say this because he's one of the laziest, least
motivated people I know Great. OK. So after that, what are we looking for?

4:46Skip to 4 minutes and 46 secondsWe would be looking for D and A. For reasons
and examples For reasons and examples which are here So, let's tie everything together.
At the top, you've got the structure of the paragraph. Down here, you've got the example
with six different linkers that I've used. Previously, we looked at these eight different
nouns and adjectives of personality. Yes. And you told me that candid, resolute, and
valour were three that you were not so familiar with. Yeah? Yeah. OK. For homework,
what I'd like you to do is choose one of those words-- I don't mind which one-- where
you've written a little sentence for me. Choose one of them.

5:58Skip to 5 minutes and 58 secondsAnd could you expand that out into a full
paragraph like that, following that format of topic sentence through on down to reasons
and specific examples. Mm-hm. OK? Yes.

(end of video)

As we’ve discussed, a student may write sentences or a short text in a writing lesson, or
they might write a text for homework. In this step, you’re going to watch Ollie teach a
writing lesson to Antonella where she examines a model text in the lesson and then
writes her own text at home.

Task
Watch the lesson and answer the questions.

1. What do you think the objective of the lesson is? (i.e. what writing sub-skill is
being taught?)

2. What features of

2. the platform do Ollie and Antonella use to help Antonella achieve the lesson
objective? How do they use them?

Check your answers.

Reflect and share

How might an online teacher deliver feedback on a learner’s writing in an online
context? Share your ideas in the comments.

3.14 Giving feedback on written work in

a digital environment
Video transcript (watch video anyway)

Antonia, thanks very much for sending me through your essay. I'm going to give you
some feedback on it now. So firstly, the introduction, then. I think this is well-
structured. So you start off with a general statement about the topic. You then go on to
talk more specifically about the area of the topic that you're going to talk about in your
essay. And you finish by making a very clear statement about what the essay is going to
include. So this makes your introduction really clear. And it's also an improvement on
the way you've structured introductions in the past, so well done on that.

0:36Skip to 0 minutes and 36 secondsIn terms of your main body paragraphs, you do
present two points of view, one point here and the second here. And these paragraphs
are also well structured. So you start off with your topic sentence here and here, to
introduce the topic, great. And then you have your supporting points here. And then you
finish with a concluding sentence, which kind of states why you think that governments
should pay for cultural funding. Now your supporting ideas are quite short and it does
make the paragraphs quite short. And really, at this stage, you need to be expanding
those main ideas more. So those main body paragraphs more, I should say.

1:21Skip to 1 minute and 21 secondsSo think about adding one or two more reasons to
support the argument, may be an example. And that will help you to expand both of
these paragraphs a little bit more. Your conclusion is fine. It summarises the main
points, OK, it paraphrases. But just be careful here, where you are giving your opinion.
You're not quite answering the question. So you say that you believe governments are in
the position to assure free cultural events, which is true. But do you actually think that it
is their responsibility, which is here in the question. So make sure you do answer the
question when you are stating your opinion. OK, let's look at some of the language then.

2:09Skip to 2 minutes and 9 secondsJust be careful that your subject and verb do
actually match. So here you've got believe, people believe, not believes, because
obviously people is plural. And the same here, you've got a plural noun so you need
plural determinant with these.

2:29Skip to 2 minutes and 29 secondsI think the word you mean here is perspective.
And we talk about in the conclusion.

2:37Skip to 2 minutes and 37 secondsHere you used to fund as the subject of the
sentence, but actually, when a verb is a subject, we would use the gerund. Here you've
used the word exposition. I think this is probably a false friend in your language,
because in English, we would say exhibition.

2:59Skip to 2 minutes and 59 secondsOh here, I've just noticed here, because everybody
learns about history. So again, make sure that the conjugation is correct between the
subject and the verb. To introduce your conclusion, it's better to use in conclusion or to
conclude.
3:19Skip to 3 minutes and 19 secondsAnd while there's nothing wrong here with get
less money, the grammar of the vocabulary is correct, you might want to start thinking
about using higher level vocabulary and more academic, more formal vocabulary. For
example, received lower levels of funding. This just sounds more appropriate for an
essay. So to summarise then, the strengths of your essay are that you structured it very
well, four very clear paragraphs. The introduction is well-structured and very clear. The
reader understands exactly what you're going to talk about.

3:59Skip to 3 minutes and 59 secondsThe main body paragraphs are structured well and
the conclusion is fine. But things to work on, number one, in your conclusion, if you're
going to state your personal view, make sure you answer the question. Number two, try
to expand your main body paragraphs by adding more reasons or examples. And
number three, start thinking about using more formal language. And one thing you can
do is to look at page 66 in the course book, because that has some examples of more
formal verbs and nouns that we might use in essays. So use that to help you. And we'll
do more on that during the course as well. So lots of strengths there, and clear
improvement, well done.

4:40Skip to 4 minutes and 40 secondsIf you have any questions about my feedback, do
ask in the next lesson.

(end of video)

There are several digital tools that allow online teachers to provide useful feedback to
learners on their written work. Teachers can provide feedback orally in a lesson, or you
might prefer learners to receive and digest their feedback via email or a shared link
outside the lesson.

Task 1
Watch the video which shows a screencast of Lindsay providing oral feedback when
marking a piece of written work produced by her learner. What are the strengths and
weaknesses of this format, for both the learner and the teacher?

Note that a good tool for such feedback is Screencast-o-matic. It allows you to create
the video, save it in the cloud and share a link to it with your student.

Task 2
Now look at three other ways of giving feedback on written work. Click on the links in
the table and then complete the table with the strengths and weaknesses of each
feedback type.

Tool Strengths Weaknesses

Review tools in a wordprocessing document, i.e. track changes and    

comments

A shared document, e.g. Google Docs (see below)    

Interactive whiteboard    

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

Check your answers.

Reflect and share

Which of the tools above would you like to explore further? Why? Share your ideas in
the comments.

Interactive whiteboard:
3.15 Useful digital tools for developing
writing skills

There are many tools online that learners can use to help to develop their writing skills.
Some of those tools encourage creative writing, some provide support and others
provide feedback. In this step, you’re going to reflect on which tools are the most
appropriate for different learners.

Task
Visit the websites below and decide which are appropriate for these learners. There may
be more than one site that you could use with each type of learner.

 Learners who want to be creative.

 Young learners.

 Learners who want to create a product.

 Learners who want feedback on their writing.

Storybird Book Creator

Make Beliefs Comix Write & Improve

Check your answers. (see pdf)

Reflect and share
Which of the digital tools above do you think your online learners would find useful?
Why? Share your ideas in the comments.

3.16 Ask us your questions

At the end of the week, Lindsay and Marie Therese will answer your questions about
the topics we’ve covered in week 3 of our Teaching English Online course.

Here’s a reminder of some of the things we’ve covered, which you can ask us questions
about:

Helping learners to develop speaking skills

 Ways in which a speaking lesson online is different from one face-to-face

 Ways in which we can help learners improve their pronunciation
 Ways of dealing with error correction
 Useful tools for developing speaking skills outside the classroom

Helping learners to develop writing skills

 Tools that learners can use for writing in lessons

 Tools for providing learners with feedback on written work
 Useful tools for developing writing skills.

Post your questions in the comments below. Don’t forget to read other people’s
questions and ‘like’ the ones you think are interesting. We’ll answer the most liked
questions at the end of the week.

3.17 Video review of week 3

Watch video
We’ve come to the end of the third week of the course and, in this video, Lindsay and
Marie Therese look back at some of the main talking points of the week. The video will
appear here on Friday 03 April.

Preparing learners for their English language assessments

You can adapt exam preparation materials in the same way you would adapt other
resources for online teaching. You can use your exam syllabus or coursebook to guide
your lesson activities and supplement with online resources or learner-generated
resources like images and vocabulary quizzes. Some exam preparation is better suited to
independent study, for example doing a practice test, reading, or doing extended
individual writing. You and your learners can use your online lessons to discuss
difficult questions, share useful strategies and, for example, do collaborative work,
speaking practice or group writing.

This week, here are two example lesson plans to help you prepare learners for their
Cambridge exams in an online classroom:

 A2 Key for Schools Reading and Writing: lesson plan and handout
 B1 Preliminary for Schools Speaking: lesson plan and handout

Add your comments and questions below.

3.18 What's on next week?

Here’s what’s on next week.

Video transcript:

It's week four next week. It is. And I'm wondering now, I need a website. Mm-hmm. But how
will they know about my website? How will they know about me? How will I get them to come
to me? How can you keep them? Exactly. And also, how are they going to pay me? Do I need to
give them certificates? These are all good questions, and I think questions that we will answer
next week. Yes.

Week 4: Teaching language, starting and running your business and

profession...

Start date:
1.

Welcome to week 4

This week we'll talk about teaching language (grammar and vocabulary) and
then move on to 'next steps' – setting up your own business and professional
development.

1.

4.1

Welcome to week 4 video (00:58)

2.
Teaching language – grammar and vocabulary

Intro to teaching language

1.

4.2

Online language lessons video (05:32)

2.

4.3

Setting context video (02:54)

3.

4.4

Useful online tools for setting context article

4.

4.5

Flipping your online classroom video (01:19)

5.

4.6
 Practising language in online lessons quiz

6.

4.7

Useful online tools for grammar and vocabulary lessons article

3.

Getting your business started

Marketing yourself as an online teacher, creating a website, attracting and

keeping students, and testing new students.

1.

4.8

Attracting students to your online teaching business video (04:11)

2.

4.9

Running your online teaching business video (04:52)

3.

4.10
 Testing new students article

4.

4.11

Privacy, security and copyright article

4.

Professional development for online teachers

A look at ways that online teachers can continue their professional development.

1.

4.12

An overview of professional development video (03:30)

2.

4.13

Self-reflection activities for online teachers article

3.

4.14

Joining an online community of teachers video (02:16)

 4.

4.15

Ask us your questions article

5.

Round-up of week 4

So what's next?

1.

4.16

End-of-course video and further reading video (15:39)

2.

4.17

Good luck! article

Welcome to week 4
717 comments

Welcome to week 4, our final week of the course. This week we’ll focus on planning
and delivering effective language lessons online, how to set up and run an online
teaching business and ways that online teachers can develop their professional skills
beyond this course.

Video transcript: Hi, everyone. Welcome to week four of the course, and it's actually the
final week. And hasn't it gone quickly? This week we're going to talking about teaching
language, aren't we? We are. For example. We're going to talk about how we can set
context online. Yeah, you're going to give us an example of flipping the classroom. I
am. And we're also going to think about practising language online as well, with some
useful tools that learners can use. Yeah, and then the second part of the week we're
talking about how to set up your own business. And all of those questions I asked last
week, I hope will be answered.

0:36Skip to 0 minutes and 36 secondsAnd then we'll end by thinking about professional
development, because it can be a bit lonely as an online teacher can't it? Absolutely. But
there are places you can go and things you can do to continually develop your practice
and so on, improve your teaching. So enjoy the last week, everyone.

Outline of week 4
This week we’ll answer these questions:

 How can we set context in online language lessons?

 How can we flip our online classroom to allow for more practice in a lesson?

 How can we adapt activities and exploit tools to provide sufficient practice of
language?

 How can we get our online business started?

 How can we attract and keep students?

 How can we continue to develop our online teaching skills beyond this course?

The tasks this week will take you around four hours. There is an optional task of
creating a video for a flipped lesson. You’ll need to set aside more time for this task.

We’re looking forward to our final week with you and very much hope you enjoy it.
4.2: Online language lessons

As with face-to-face language lessons, online language lessons give learners the opportunity to
notice language in context, understand how that language is used, formed and pronounced,
and practise using that language in a meaningful way.

Task
Watch the video which shows clips of various lessons. What is the purpose of each
activity you see? What resource is used to make it work online? Complete the table with
the information.

Teacher Activity purpose Resource used

Cecilia    

Renata    

Inna    

Cristina    

Renata    

Cristina    

Cecilia    

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

Video transcript: (I’ve downloaded the video)

Show me your-- Pedro? Show me your shoes. Shoes.

0:15Skip to 0 minutes and 15 secondsLet me see them. Oh, well done. OK. Show me
your socks.

0:24Skip to 0 minutes and 24 secondsThere. Did they move? Where are they? Where
are they? Your smelly socks. Oh, I see. Let me see. Ah, well done. Excellent.
[LAUGHS]

0:37Skip to 0 minutes and 37 secondsWe have to remember that in the past when we
use the past simple, we have two kinds of verbs. We have regular verbs, remember?
Yes. The ending-- how do they end? What's the ending of the regular verbs? Is it AD?
AD or ED? ED, sorry. Yes. Good. So the regular verbs end in ED. And the irregular
verbs are irregular. Yeah. So that's why they're called irregular because there isn't really
a rule. Yeah? But there are less verbs of irregular verbs I can share with you, OK?
Couldn't. I couldn't agree with you more. OK.

1:37Skip to 1 minute and 37 secondsOops.

1:42Skip to 1 minute and 42 secondsTake. Take. Hm. Take, take, take. Hm. Why the--
ah, it was a new phrase for me. What's your take on? What's the opposite of an
interesting job? It's a boring job. OK.

2:05Skip to 2 minutes and 5 secondsAnd you find a job that makes you tired, it is? A
tiring job. You're right. Now let's continue. Caio, do you know the opposite of a well-
paid job? I think it's a worse paid job. Not really. It's a badly paid job. Can you say that
after me? Badly paid job. Badly paid job. Good. So what's the problem if a job is badly
paid? What is low? Do you know? The salary. Very good.

2:48Skip to 2 minutes and 48 secondsI was a bit confused. It's fine. What I said in this
story was "I got". I got. But I can use "I was". I was confused. Yeah. Well, "I got" is
because something changed. Ah, right. Yeah? Yeah. Right. So I got confused. I was
looking at people climbing. And I got confused. I was like, why are they climbing? I
thought we weren't allowed to climb. Because I want to eat. I thought it. Ah. Very good.
OK. I thought-- I thought. I thought, thank you so much. I thought it was illegal. But it
was-- And now it is. Yeah. Fantastic. It was illegal. The firefighter-- I think the
firefighter is a very demanding job, too, because it's dangerous.

3:54Skip to 3 minutes and 54 secondsA firefighter has to run into a house to help
someone. Yes. He don't even know who's the person in it.

4:08Skip to 4 minutes and 8 secondsBut I also think that it's rewarding because when
you save somebody, you-- you're the hero. Are you ready for the game, Pedro? Ready?
Yes. OK. Pedro, can you wear your t-shirt?

4:34Skip to 4 minutes and 34 secondsAh. Well done. Excellent. One point for you,
Pedro. One point. Pedro, can you wear your shoes? Your shoes, Pedro?

4:50Skip to 4 minutes and 50 secondsAh. Let me see. Ah. OK. Good. [LAUGHS] Well
done. Yeah. Two points for you, Pedro. Now, Pedro, [LAUGHS] now listen. Listen.
Pedro, you there? Can you wear your trousers? Your trousers.

5:16Skip to 5 minutes and 16 secondsHm. And a zipper.

5:23Skip to 5 minutes and 23 secondsOK? Yes. Well done. [LAUGHS]

Link to video: https://view.vzaar.com/19352966/download

Reflect and share

Think about how you teach grammar and vocabulary in your face-to-face lessons. How
will you adapt this approach to an online classroom? Share your ideas in the comments.
4.3. Setting context
3840 comments

Teaching language in context is incredibly important, as it helps learners to understand

how the language is used and what it means. Online teachers need to consider how
they’re going to set context to convey meaning. They need to ensure that the method is
appropriate for an online lesson.

Video transcript: 0:08Skip to 0 minutes and 8 secondsSetting context is really

important, isn't it, when teaching language? Absolutely. Because as in a face-to-face
classroom, online classroom, when you're teaching language, the most important thing
is to show students how language is used and what it means. And without a context,
that's really hard to do. So I think there are three ways of setting context, aren't there?
Well, that's what we've decided. So the first way is teaching language in context where
you set the context in the classroom. And would you like to give some examples,
maybe? Yes, sure. You might want to use pictures. It would be nice to obviously gather
some pictures and share your screen with learners. Or put them on the interactive
whiteboard, something like that.

0:46Skip to 0 minutes and 46 secondsYou could also use some nice digital tools for
maybe creating little funny cartoons that include your learners with funny situations that
they'd enjoy. Which maybe then maybe the cartoons could even be using the language.
Absolutely. Yeah. You could tell anecdotes. You could include your learners in these
anecdotes or stories, make up stories. Avatars. Avatars. Yeah, you could have speaking
avatars, which is quite amusing. Or you could have short texts. Yep, sort of guided
discovery where the language is embedded in the text, a short few sentences, and you
ask them some questions about past answers, which action happened first, and that sort
of thing. As in a face-to-face classroom.

1:23Skip to 1 minute and 23 secondsBut I think what you want to avoid is a lot of text,
long readings. So you need to display on the interactive whiteboard, don't you? So it
needs to be quite short so everyone can see it clearly, and not too much information.
Exactly. And so the second type of context setting is something that would be a kind of
flipped classroom approach, where the context would be set by the students doing a
homework task prior to coming to class. Do you want to talk about that? Yes, sure. So
this would be the teacher - you - creating a little video where you're presenting the
language in a context, and probably even clarifying the language as well.

1:58Skip to 1 minute and 58 secondsSo dealing with meaning, form and pronunciation.
So that's, what did we have? We had context in the class, we had context in the flip
classroom beforehand. And context, I think we're going to talk about now where it
happens unexpectedly - I think that's the only way I can describe it - where something
comes up or a student comes and presents with something that they want you to teach
them. Do you want to say about that? Absolutely. So maybe they've received a business
email and they don't understand part of it, there's some language they've never seen
before, and they're asking you about it.

2:28Skip to 2 minutes and 28 secondsSo you want to explain it, and obviously you want
to you know - well, I suppose there's a context there already, but you might want to
create other context to help them. So this is where you're basically thinking on your feet.
Yes. And here you're probably going to do it more orally. You're not going have created
anything in advance. So it's just coming up with ideas and then using the whiteboard or
the shared screen to give other examples in this case.

Link to video: https://view.vzaar.com/15458885/download

Task
Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talking about setting context in online lessons and
answer the questions.

1. When do teachers typically set context, according to Lindsay and Marie

Therese?
2. Which ways of setting context do Lindsay and Marie Therese mention? Choose
from the list below.

A picture A drawing
A cartoon A short text
A video
A film clip
presentation
Realia
An anecdote or story
(props)
An avatar The learners
Reflect and share
What ways do you typically use to set context of language items in a face-to-face
classroom? Do you think these will be easily transferable to a digital classroom? How
might you need to adapt your method(s)? Share your ideas in the comments and reply to
at least two comments by other participants.

4.4 Useful online tools for setting context

In the last step, Setting context, you heard Lindsay and Marie Therese talking about
different ways to set context. For example, through a very short story or pictures shared
on a platform’s interactive whiteboard. Let’s look at some digital tools that online
teachers can use to create an engaging context in language lessons.

Task
Visit the online tools below and read about what each one does. Some of them you’ve
seen before, but you might need to remind yourself about what they do. Then match
each one to the lesson outlines (A–D) below.
SMS Generator Make Beliefs Comix Sketch.io Storybird

A. Lesson objective: The learner will be able to name parts of the body. The teacher brings
up this website on her computer during a live lesson and draws an outline of a human body.
The teacher then uses the picture to teach a young learner the names of the parts of the body.

B. Lesson objective: The learners will be able to use the present continuous and ‘going to’
for future arrangements and plans. Before the lesson, the teacher creates a comic strip which
shows a conversation between three people talking about their plans for the evening. The
teacher displays this on the shared whiteboard in the live lesson.

C. Lesson objective: The learner will be able to understand a story in the past which uses
irregular past verbs. Before the lesson, the teacher creates a short story book which involves a
large image accompanied by a short text. In the lesson, the teacher displays the story book on
his screen and shares his screen with a young learner.

D. Lesson objective: The learner will be able to make arrangements. Before the lesson, the
teacher creates a text conversation between two people making arrangements to go out and
saves it as an image. In the live lesson, the teacher displays the image on the shared
whiteboard.
Reflect and share
Think about a language point you could teach using one of the online tools above. Who
are the learners? What is the language point? What is the context? What tool could you
use to set the context? Share your ideas in the comments.

4.5 Flipping your online classroom

1048 comments

Flipping the classroom has gained popularity in recent years. The flipped classroom
stemmed from subject teachers’ desire to provide learners with more application of the
things they learn. It involves learners receiving input via a video from the teacher for
homework and spending lesson time putting that knowledge into practice with teacher
support. Some English language teachers have been experimenting with this approach in
order to provide learners with more practice during lesson time.

This would be the teacher-- you-- creating a little video, where you're presenting the
language in a context and probably even clarifying the language as well, so dealing with
meaning, form, and pronunciation. So it would be a very short video. And you can
simply just get out your phone. And you can just record yourself even standing in front
of a white board or a little mini white board or something like that. Or you can use some
really nice apps where you have an interactive white board on your device that you
record your voice over as you're typing or writing on it. So you create these little videos.
And then you share them with the student. And they-- Set a task.

0:45Skip to 0 minutes and 45 secondsThey set a task, yep. So they watch the video.
They do the task, and it's sort of checking their understanding. And then when they
come to the next live lesson with you, you obviously check they've understood the
video. You do some little short clarification tasks to make sure they've really understood
how to form the language and so on. And then in the lesson, they would do practise.
Loads and loads of practise, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, fantastic. You don't have to make
your own videos, either. You can curate them. So you can find other videos online of
other teachers also presenting that language. Yeah.

Task 1
Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese speaking about flipping your online classroom. Put
the lesson stages in order.

The learner spends lots of time practising the The teacher creates or curates a short video
language. presentation of the language.

The teacher checks answers to the task and Learners watch the video for homework and
does some short clarification tasks. complete a task.

Task 1
Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese speaking about flipping your online classroom. Put
the lesson stages in order.

The learner spends lots of time practising the The teacher creates or curates a short video
language. presentation of the language.

The teacher checks answers to the task and Learners watch the video for homework and
does some short clarification tasks. complete a task.

You can find out more about flipping your classroom here.

Task 2
Lindsay mentioned different ways of creating or curating video presentations of
language that learners watch at home. Click on the links below to watch four different
types of videos. What do you think are the benefits and potential drawbacks of each
type?

A screencast made by the teacher.

A video made by the teacher.

A curated video from a website (e.g. engVid.com).

A video which accompanies a coursebook (e.g. Macmillan Gateway series).

Task 3 (Optional)
We think it might be a good idea for you to practise making a video or a screencast
presenting a grammar structure or some vocabulary items to learners you typically
teach.

 Choose a grammar structure or some items of vocabulary.

 Think about how you’re going to present it in context and how you’re going to clarify
the meaning, form and pronunciation.
 Create a video that’s no more than about five minutes long.
 When you have finished, share your video on our Padlet here.
 Watch one or two other videos and think about how you could improve yours.

Note - some advice from Lindsay

If you decide to create a video, we suggest that you do one of two things:
 1. Use the Video option in Padlet and record it directly onto the site.

OR

1. Use the camera on your mobile device or laptop/PC, save the video in the cloud (e.g.
Google Drive or Dropbox) and then share a link to that file on our Padlet.

If you choose to create a screencast, you could use one of these tools: app Explain
Everything (a small cost), or Educreations (free for a basic account). Alternatively, if
you have a recent edition of Microsoft PowerPoint, you can use the Record Slideshow
option in Slide Show (top menu bar). You can find tutorials on how to use each of these
tools on sites such as YouTube. Search for the name of the tool and the word ‘tutorial’
and select one that’s fairly up to date.

Once you’ve created your screencast, save it in the cloud, sharing a link to our Padlet.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect! In class, you might stumble over your words a
little. If you do the same in your video, it’s fine. It just makes you come across as
natural.

4.6 Practising language in online lessons

Quiz

When teaching face-to-face, we use a variety of activities to give learners the opportunity to
practise language. These include role plays, class surveys and questionnaires. While some of
them can be used in an online lesson with little change, others need to be adapted and some
are unlikely to work effectively at all. In this quiz, you’re going to decide whether different
language practice activities can be used in an online lesson or not.

Quiz rules
 Quizzes do not count towards your course score, they are just to help you learn
 You may take as many attempts as you wish to answer each question
 You can skip questions and come back to them later if you wish
Question 1
Could a role play activity used in a face-to-face one-to-one lesson work in an online
one-to-one lesson? i.e. a shopping role play with a shop assistant and a customer.

Yes, with no modification.

Yes, but with some modification.

No, it won’t work in an online environment.

Correct

 Lindsay Warwick Lead Educator

A role play can be used in an online one-to-one lesson just as it could in a face-to-face
one-to-one lesson. The teacher will have to take the role of the shop assistant while the
learner takes the role of the customer. Just as in a face-to-face lesson, the learner might
need two or three minutes’ preparation time to plan what to say.

Question 2
Can a ‘find someone who’ mingle activity be used in a group online lesson? i.e. learners
ask other learners in the group if they’ve done activities on a list to practise the present
perfect simple.

Yes, with no modification.

Yes, but with some modification.

No, it’s unlikely to work in an online environment.

Correct

 Lindsay Warwick Lead Educator

It’s unlikely that a ‘find someone who’ activity would work in an online classroom as
learners are unable to mingle in the same way they can face-to-face. Having said that,
they can work in pairs in breakout rooms so it would be possible for an online teacher to
pair learners for two minutes and then re-pair them with a different partner for another
two minutes, etc., so they speak to a few different partners. It would be difficult for
them to speak to everyone in the class though.

Question 3
Can a questionnaire be used in an online group lesson? i.e. learners work in pairs and
ask and answer questions they’ve created from prompts using vocabulary related to
holidays.

Yes, with no modification.

Yes, with some modification.

No, it’s unlikely to work in an online environment.

Correct
  Lindsay Warwick Lead Educator

Yes, learners can complete a questionnaire in pairs in an online classroom, but it would
require modification. Learners would need to be given access to the prompts that help
them form questions. They would need to be placed into breakout rooms to work in
pairs. They could work with one partner to form the questions, and then a different
partner in a different breakout room to ask and answer the questions.

Question 4
Can half a crossword activity be used in an online one-to-one lesson? I.e. one person
has a crossword with half the items filled in and the other person has a crossword with
the other half of the items filled in, e.g. with adjectives describing personality. Each
person defines the words in their crossword so that their partner can complete their
crossword.

Yes, with no modification.

Yes, with some modification.

No, it’s unlikely to work in an online environment.

Corrrect

Yes, half a crossword activity can be used in an online one-to-one lesson. The learner can have
one half of the crossword and the teacher can have the other. However, the crossword will
need to be shared with the learner via a handout.

Question 5
Can a class debate be used in a group online lesson? i.e. half the class argue for a topic
and the other half argue a different point to practise language of opinions, introducing
reasons and giving examples.

Yes, with no modification.

Yes, with some modification.

No, it’s unlikely to work in an online environment.

Correct

 Lindsay Warwick Lead Educator

Yes, a class debate can be used in a group online lesson, although some modification
will be needed. The teacher will need to make sure that all learners have the opportunity
to practise the language while not speaking over each other. This can be done by
learners clicking on the ‘hands up’ icon in the platform to show they want to speak, or
the teacher muting all learners except the one person that they want to speak.

Question 6
Can a written gap-fill activity be used in any online lesson to practise grammar or
vocabulary? i.e. learners complete a set of 10 sentences by adding in the appropriate
word.

Yes, with no modification.

Yes, with some modification.

No, it’s unlikely to work in an online environment.

Correct

 Lindsay Warwick Lead Educator

Yes, a gap-fill activity can be used in an online lesson to practise grammar, although a
teacher needs to question whether it’s the best use of class time. Class time is better
spent on oral practice of language items, whereas written practice can be done at home.
Having said that, a few gap-fill items displayed on a whiteboard can help an online
teacher to check learners have understood the meaning and/or form of a language point
before they move on to oral practice. Learners can give their answers orally or type
them into the chat box. The latter gives all learners in a group the opportunity to answer.
If you would like to see all of the questions and Lindsay’s answers, click here.
4.7 Useful online tools for grammar and
vocabulary lessons
2105 comments

We’re now going to look at some online resources that can be used when teaching
language online, either during a lesson, or when setting learners homework, or if you’re
encouraging them to do some self-study.

Task
You’re going to research three digital tools for use in language lessons.

Click on the links below and find out what each one does if you’re not already familiar
with them. Then, answer these questions:

Is it for use in lessons, for self-study or both?

For what purpose can it be used in online learning?

What age group(s) of learners is it appropriate for?

If you’re already familiar with it in the face-to-face classroom, how might it work
differently in an online environment?

1. Kahoot

Kahoot is an online tool designed to check learners’ understanding or knowledge.

What is Kahoot?

A maths class playing Kahoot

2. Quizlet

Quizlet is an online tool designed to help learners memorise information, e.g.

vocabulary items.

What is Quizlet?

3. Quiz your English

The Quiz your English app is a language game which learners play with other users
from around the world and compete for points.

What is Quiz your English?

Reflect and share
How do, or how could, you use the tools above in online lessons? What other online
tools or resources do you use when planning and delivering grammar or vocabulary
lessons? Share your ideas in the comments.

4.8 Attracting students to your online

teaching business

Video transcript:

One of the best ways of attracting new students is to quite simply go out and meet
people. If you're interested in working with state schools in the area, go to the schools,
meet the coordinators of courses. Likewise, if you're interested in business English, go
to companies in the area, meet the people in HR, advertise your services face to face. A
personal website where I advertise my services and people know who I am and can find
me online wherever they are. Having a blog nowadays is probably one of the best and
fastest ways to attract prospective students. So be clear about the services you offer and
the digital products that you use in your work.

0:55Skip to 0 minutes and 55 secondsEncourage comments, and be ready to respond.

You can also ask your current or former students to share their feedback. Nowadays,
something that works really well is advertising on LinkedIn. You can advertise all types
of courses on LinkedIn, including young learners' courses. The reason is that the parents
are on LinkedIn. Another way to attract students is through the use of social media,
especially three social media channels, which are Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. I
would like to talk about Instagram especially. You can post videos with tips, grammar
tips, pronunciation tips, challenges, quizzes. It's really effective. I would suggest that
you create a flyer. I did that.

1:46Skip to 1 minute and 46 secondsIt's a one-page document in the learner's first

language in which I talk about the types of courses I teach, the duration of the courses,
the length of the lessons, and I include some information about methodology as well. If
you do a good job with the students that you have, word of mouth, your name will
spread and you will get calls. Creating a shortened video showing an online lesson in
which I teach three learners. Whenever students come back to me asking questions
about the types of courses I teach, I can send them the link to the video. They can watch
it, see me in action, and this is a way of getting to know me.

2:36Skip to 2 minutes and 36 secondsFrom my experience, there are two ways to keep
students. One is with quality and flexibility of the lessons that you provide. And that's
true of anything, really. If the quality is good, people will return for the same service. I
think it's important to show that you are there for them, you support them in this
learning journey. So I would create, for example, WhatsApp groups with the students. I
would say one of the best ways to keep students is to customise your course. So focus
on your students' interests and needs, and be flexible. To show my students that I can
use their time well, I always give them a study outline.

3:20Skip to 3 minutes and 20 secondsA study outline is a course programme that shows
the content of each lesson not in a very detailed way. It's concise. And it shows what
students can do between sessions. You also need to make sure your online course is user
friendly. So try out different digital tools and online learning methods to make online
learning simple, diverse, and effective. I always refer to assessment. Assessment will
show your students that their performance is being monitored, their progress assessed.
And this is a way of keeping them, because it shows them that the learning objectives
are clear and are being met.

End of transcript

If you decide to start your own online teaching business, you need to be able to market
yourself in order to grow your business. In this step, you’re going to hear tips from
some of our online teachers about ways to attract and keep students.

Task
Watch the video. Note down the tips that the teachers give for:

1. Attracting students

2. Keeping students

You can read more about attracting students in Cecilia Nobre’s article here giving you
tips on how to market yourself as an online teacher. (See pdf)

Reflect and share

What do you think will be the best way to attract and keep students in your context?
Share your ideas in the comments.

4.9 Running your online teaching

business
 Video transcript:

The document is a contract that bonds the teacher and the students. It is in the learner's
first language, and it is signed either by the student or by one of the parents. I ask that
they read and sign an agreement with me. The agreement is in two parts, really. First
and most importantly is outlining the objectives. So what do the students want to
achieve, and what do I think is realistic in the time frame that we've agreed upon? And
the other part, which I think is equally important, is that the student agrees that they will
do self-study and that they will complete homework.

0:52Skip to 0 minutes and 52 secondsI usually do an interview before the first class so I
can assess my student, this potential student, assess their level, their objectives. And in
this interview, in this meeting, you can talk about your conditions. But make sure you
have them written and signed. So they will sign a virtual contract. There is a website
called SignNow. And there are other websites where you can sign digitally. So they are
able to sign the document digitally and send it to you. Something else that the terms and
conditions should refer to is your cancellation policy. For example, if a student contacts
me 24 hours before the scheduled lesson, it's absolutely fine to reschedule it. It's not a
problem.

1:49Skip to 1 minute and 49 secondsHowever, if they write to me one hour before the
scheduled lesson, in this case, it's not possible to postpone it. It's as if the lesson were
given, and it must be paid. But this is only possible because this type of information is
highlighted in the terms and conditions document. To get paid, I send invoice at the end
of every month, detailing exactly what I've been doing with the clients. And I always
give a pay-by date. So it tends to be 30 days after receipt of the invoice. My students
pay for the course in advance. And they pay for a minimum of 10 lessons. So they make
a bank transfer. I give them my bank details.

2:36Skip to 2 minutes and 36 secondsAnd they can do the payment like that. Currently
there are plenty of online money transfer service providers. So it might be a good idea
to do some research beforehand and choose a couple most suitable options. One of the
best things about being a freelancer or starting your own business is that you finally get
to organise your own teaching schedule. And this is a wonderful thing. However, it can
mean you end up working too much. So keep in mind that it's very important that you
do leave time aside for yourself. You need to be flexible. Clients will be asking you for
lessons in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening.

3:21Skip to 3 minutes and 21 secondsAnd it's possible that you'll fill that time up every
day of the week. But you mustn't. Keep some time set aside for yourself. I hardly ever
teach two back-to-back online lessons. The reason is I need at least 20 minutes between
sessions. I need time after the session to download and save the recorded video. I also
need time before the next lesson. There is no secret to administration. It's just a matter
of being organised. Write down absolutely everything. You might want to use an online
learning management system. That could make it way easier to get access to all student-
related statistics, for example, the amount of lessons conducted, your students'
performance, and their attendance as well.
4:15Skip to 4 minutes and 15 secondsAt the end of the course, I always send to my
students something like a certificate in which I describe what they learned during the
course in relation to the programme taught. And I always list three or four points for
further development. Go slowly and make sure you do things correctly and do things
well. There's no point rushing things. Lay a solid foundation and build things up from
there.

End of video

Once you’ve attracted students, you need to ensure that you run your business
effectively so that you maintain good relationships with your students, get paid on
time and keep good records. In this step, you’ll hear more tips from our online
teachers on running your own online teaching business.

Task
Watch the video. Take notes on what tips the teachers give about each of the things in
the table.

Topic Useful tips from online teachers

Terms & conditions  

Getting paid  

Your teaching schedule  

Administration  

Other  

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

Reflect and share

What other tips do you think would help an online teacher run an effective business?
Share your ideas in the comments.

Answers:
4.10 Testing new students

When you start teaching a new student, you’ll probably want to assess their level of
English so that you can plan and deliver the most effective lessons you can. While you
can assess the learner’s listening and speaking skills through an interview, you might
want to use a more formal test or encourage the learner to self-assess so they can set
their own goals. In this step, you’re going to look at three online tools you can use with
new students.

Task
Click on the three tools below (1–3) and find out what each tool does. Then, match it to
its description (A–C).
 1. Test your English

2. European Day of Languages

3. British Council

A. A simple version of the European Common Framework of Reference for teachers

that learners can use to self-assess their English.

B. A free online test which helps learners to select the best Cambridge English
Qualification for them. Even if your learners aren’t planning on taking a Cambridge
exam, this tool can be a very useful way of finding out a learner’s level when you begin
teaching them.

C. A quiz that helps learners to self-assess their language skills.

Check your answers.

Reflect and share

What other tools might be useful in assessing a learner’s level? Share your ideas in the
comments.
4.11 Privacy, security and copyright

One aspect of teaching online that a teacher must consider is online security and
privacy. It’s important to be aware of online data and privacy laws in your country and
the country in which your learners reside. You will need to do some research on this
before you start teaching, although there are areas which will be common across all
regions. Think about the data you store on your learners and how these learners’ privacy
may be affected when you ask them to use your platform or other digital tools.

Task
Look at the activities below. Which do you think are acceptable? Which do you think
are not acceptable?

1. A teacher records some lessons for her 2. A teacher gets a teenager’s parent’s permission
own professional development. The before logging onto a website outside their
learners are unaware of this. normal learning platform.

3. A teacher shares a learner’s work on 4. A teacher has a list of their students’ email
social media to highlight something addresses on a noticeboard behind their desk
interesting. where they teach their online lessons.

Check your answers.

You can read more about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) here which
governs privacy in Europe.

Copyright laws
Copyright laws that apply to online teaching are basically the same as those that apply
to face-to-face teaching although these may differ from country to country. This means
that we shouldn’t use or share copyrighted material that we don’t have permission to use
online. You can read more about copyright laws in the ‘See also’ section below.
4.12 An overview of professional
development

Video transcript: Close transcript

Download video: standard or HD

0:08Skip to 0 minutes and 8 secondsIn the last part of the course, really, we're going to
talk about professional development. And I think we need to begin, really, by talking
about lessons themselves and about getting feedback from learners. Yeah, absolutely. I
think it's really key, isn't it? Because it's-- when you're teaching online, you're often
alone at home. You're not in a staff room, so-- Yeah. Professional development is very
different. Yeah. And the first thing you can do is, obviously, get feedback from learners.
Now if you are employed for a company, the learners will probably be required to kind
of give feedback on lessons anyway. And sometimes parents do as well. Parents, yeah.
So then that's obviously a good source of feedback for you.

0:46Skip to 0 minutes and 46 secondsAnd if you work for yourself, I think you need to
devise some kind of feedback form that you ask learners to fill in on a regular basis, so
that you can really think about your lessons and about whether it's giving them value.
Absolutely. And you might find, if you're advertising through a sort of a platform then,
you might get feedback through that too. So it's not just actually getting the feedback as
it is acting on it. Absolutely. I think it's oftentimes that we get feedback. And if
somebody says something we don't like, we kind of say, oh, phht. Phht. And we don't
bother so much about it.

1:15Skip to 1 minute and 15 secondsOr we feel terrible about it, and then spend the time
worrying about it. Worrying. Yeah. We need to do something about it. Absolutely. And
so I think it's a question of looking back at that lesson, or looking back at those lessons,
and saying, OK, how can I change this to make them different? Because especially if
you're self-employed, that feedback is key, isn't it? Because if you're not consistently
getting high ratings, that's going to impact on the amount of customers that you're going
to get, or the learners that are going to want to have lessons with you. Yeah, yeah. So
feedback was the first thing.

1:44Skip to 1 minute and 44 secondsThe second thing is really about reflection and
changing your lessons, which I think we've talked about as well. And what's the third
thing? Observation. OK. So if you're fortunate to work for a company who provides
trainers or managers, perhaps who give do observations of your lessons and give you
feedback. Because that's not always the case. They might observe your lessons-- And
not give you feedback. For sort of quality control. But not necessarily developmental
feedback, which obviously, we as teachers-- we do need, don't we? Ummm. We might
reflect ourselves-- Yeah. But we do sometimes need someone else to come in and tell us
about something that we haven't really noticed.

2:20Skip to 2 minutes and 20 secondsYeah, but if it's not possible, I think you can
record your lesson and observe yourself. I agree. And do some reflection on that. Or ask
a colleague. Ask if you go to a conference and you meet other online teachers, or if you
meet them online, then you can also ask them to observe and give feedback and do peer
feedback which is useful. And I think this online community thing is an important thing.
Join an online community is another important thing. If you're teaching online, you
don't have a staff room, unfortunately. And when you start teaching, the staff room is
the best place to learn. So you really need to think about how you're going to replace
that.

2:53Skip to 2 minutes and 53 secondsIf you're working for an organisation, they might
have a good mentoring system. But if you're on your own, or you work for an
organisation that maybe doesn't have as much peer to peer professional development,
there are other places you can go. So look on Twitter. Look for weekly chats about
teaching. Look for courses, such as this one, on how to develop online teaching skills.
Really connecting with another online teacher is probably the most useful thing to do.
 End of video

We’re now going to turn our attention to professional development for online teachers.
Online teachers tend to work alone, which means they don’t always benefit from the
kinds of professional development that teachers in a physical school receive. An online
teacher is likely to need to seek out professional development opportunities themselves.

Task 1
Watch Lindsay, Marie Therese and Mary talking about different ways that an online
teacher can develop their teaching skills. What do they say about the development
activities below? Take notes.

Activity Notes

Feedback  

Reflection  

Observations  

Replacing the staff room  

Please note down your answers on a piece of paper

Check your answers.

Task 2
In what ways do you develop your teaching skills at the moment? Go to our poll to
choose the best answer for you. Is it similar or different from other participants of this
course? You can view the results of the poll here.
4.13 Self-reflection activities for online
teachers

You’ve just heard Lindsay, Marie Therese and Mary talking about the importance of
reflecting on lessons. Let’s then think about some specific reflection activities that
online teachers can do to help them develop their online teaching skills.

For example, if a teacher is worried that their classroom instructions are poor, they can
record a lesson, then watch it, focusing on how they give instructions. They can note
down the strengths and weaknesses of their instructions and plan to overcome the
weaknesses in their next lesson.

Task
Read the four situations (A–D) and answer Questions 1–5. (You can click on the image
to expand it.)

1. What reflection activity could you do in each situation?

2. What is the focus of the reflection?

3. Would you reflect during the lesson or after the lesson?

4. Would you need to record the lesson?

5. What would you need to do after the lesson to actively make improvements to
your teaching skills?

Reflect and check

What other reflection activities could an online teacher do to reflect on their lessons?
Share your ideas in the comments.
4.14 Joining an online community of
teachers
 Video transcript:

Close transcript

Download video: standard or HD

0:09Skip to 0 minutes and 9 secondsLindsay, we talked earlier about being a bit lonely
being an online teacher and how isolating it can be. But there are online communities,
aren't there, that we also mentioned earlier? Let's explore that a little bit more. There's
Twitter, isn't there? Yeah, there is Twitter. So that's a good place to meet other teachers.
So if you go on and follow a few teachers that are already on Twitter or search for some
of the people that you're familiar with, people who've written books that we know on
Twitter - - that we've probably mentioned earlier in the course, haven't we? Absolutely.

0:41Skip to 0 minutes and 41 secondsAnd if you can follow them and you can see who
they follow and you follow those people, then you start to develop this personal learning
network. Yes. And you can comment on things that they post. You can post things
yourselves. People will start to follow you. And this network grows, which is lovely.
Nice. And there's Facebook, of course. There is. So you can create your own Facebook
group and invite other online teachers that maybe you've met at conferences or
something like that. You can invite them to join. Yeah you could - - and you can share
materials, can you? Share materials, share ideas for lessons. Absolutely, you could.

1:12Skip to 1 minute and 12 secondsYeah, you could share videos of your lesson if
you've got the learners permission, of course, so that you could do observations of each
other and peer feedback. Or you can join groups that are already created. So if you go
onto Facebook and you search something like "online teachers" or "online teachers of
English", or even just "teachers of English", you're going to find other teachers. You can
ask other teachers if - Sure, sure. And there are people that do regular blog posts as well,
aren't there, that are very experienced already in teaching online? So again, look it up on
Google. Absolutely. So you can search for it online, look for online teachers online
teaching English.

1:49Skip to 1 minute and 49 secondsAnd then you know you need to comment I think,
don't you? Comment on the blogs, get involved in the discussion. And also it might be a
way of helping solve problems that you have. Maybe you have problems with a learner
that you can't get motivated. Post a question. Somebody will answer it, won't they?
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. People are so helpful online. It's great. I agree.

End of video

You’ve heard Lindsay and Marie Therese suggesting that online communities are a
good way for online teachers to connect with each other. They’re now going to suggest
ways in which you can join an online community.

Task 1
Watch Lindsay and Marie Therese talking about online communities. Which specific
online communities are they referring to with these suggestions?

1. Follow a few teachers that you know or people who’ve written books.

2. Create your own group.

3. Share materials and videos of lessons for peer feedback.

4. Join a group that exists.

5. Comment to get involved in the discussion.

6. Post a question to get a solution to a problem.

Task 2
Join a new online community. Here are some suggestions:

 Go to Twitter and follow three teachers you haven’t followed before

 Go to Facebook and join an online teaching community

 Find a blog on language teaching and add a comment

 Choose a social network you like and find an online community of language
teachers on there.
Reflect and share
Which online community did you join? Tell us about your experience in the comments.
Read other participants’ comments. Do any of them make you want to join another
online community?

4.15 Ask us your questions

In the final week of the course, we’ve talked about these things:

 Setting context in language lessons

 Flipping the classroom

 Using tools and adapting activities for practising language

 Attracting and keeping students

 Running an online teaching business

 Testing new students

 Copyright, privacy and security

 Professional development for online teachers

Type any questions you have about these topics or anything else related to the course in
the comments. Remember to ‘like’ the questions posted by other participants that you
want answering as we’ll answer the most popular ones.

https://sandymillin.wordpress.com/

There are also some useful blog posts on online learning here:
https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/

https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/larry-ferlazzo/top-blogs-resource-sites-
teachers-english-language-learners
 https://eflnotes.wordpress.com/tag/scott-thornberry/
This is a great archive of articles, as is the blog of International House Seville
http://ihjournal.com/blog
there´s hours of reading here for anyone who is interested

Teaching Young Learners Online

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/teaching-young-learners-online

4.16 End-of-course video and further

reading

We’ve reached the end of the course and, in this video, Lindsay and Marie Therese look
back at some of the things we talked about this week and in previous weeks. The video
will appear here on Friday 10 April.

Useful lesson materials

Below are links to good quality lesson materials.

Peachey Publications (Nik Peachey)

Film English (Kieran Donaghy)

Lessonstream (Jamie Keddie)

Further viewing
Helen and Ollie have created and presented a really good, very practical webinar. You
can watch a recording of it. It’s called Getting started with teaching English online.

Further reading
Below are books and articles that you may want to read in order to find out more about
teaching English online.

Teaching Online by Nicky Hockly and Lindsay Clandfield

100 Ways to Teach Language Online by Shane Dixon, Justin Shewell and Jenny
Crandell
How to Teach English Online and One-on-One Like a Pro

World of Better Learning blog by Cambridge University Press

How to get started as an online teacher of English by Emma Segev

Tips from experienced online teachers on planning and resources

Facebook page created by Miguel, a participant who took part in the first run of this
Teaching English Online Course Reach and Teach

Help us improve the course

We’re carrying out research to help improve the Teaching English Online course and to
better understand the needs of teachers delivering or intending to deliver lessons online.
We’d like to invite all learners on the course to take part in this optional survey. By
taking part in this survey, you’ll help shape what future developments are made on the
course and how Cambridge Assessment English will support teachers in delivering
lessons online. We’ll use the findings to ensure our developmental efforts align with
your needs.

The survey should take around 10 minutes and you can access it here.

Preparing learners for their English language assessments

You can adapt exam preparation materials in the same way you would adapt other
resources for online teaching. You can use your exam syllabus or coursebook to guide
your lesson activities and supplement with online resources or learner-generated
resources like images and vocabulary quizzes. Some exam preparation is better suited to
independent study, for example doing a practice test, reading, or doing extended
individual writing. You and your learners can use your online lessons to discuss
difficult questions, share useful strategies and, for example, do collaborative work,
speaking practice or group writing.

This week, here are two example lesson plans to help you prepare learners for their
Cambridge exams in an online classroom:

 Vocabulary focus - A2 Key for Schools Reading and Writing: lesson plan and handout
 Grammar focus - B1 Preliminary for Schools Reading: lesson plan and handout

Another Cambridge Assessment English course on

FutureLearn
Inside IELTS: Preparing for the Test with the Experts starting 11 May 2020

Add your comments and questions below.