#51, Free Guide: SAEL Guide: Practical guide to designing , running and improving support websites for language teachers
By Tarun Patel
SAEL Guide: Practical guide to designing , running and improving support websites for language teachers
Proficiency in several foreign languages and the acquisition of ICT skills is a strategic priority in Europe today. These new demands have transformed the way languages are taught across the European Union. It is set against this backdrop of profound change that the SAEL project came into being.
This guide, one of the final outcomes of the project, contains practical suggestions for creating and updating websites designed to support the work of language teachers.
– What is a language teacher support website?
– How are these websites designed, run and improved?
– Who is involved in this process and what are the main stages?
– Why does a support website represent real added value for the teaching community?
This guide sets out to provide practical answers to all these questions. It includes recommendations, examples of websites and good practices for setting up, improving and running support websites which match the requirements in your country, region or institution.
Download ‘SAEL Guide’ by visiting http://www.eurosael.eu/en/guide/presentation
#50, ELT Resource: English-4U
By Tarun Patel
English-4U Offers Printable ESL lesson plans for teaching adult learners
- designed for one-to-one and group classes
- focused on developing speaking skills
- based on current news stories and hit songs
- easily integrated with coursebook material
- available 24 hours a day, wherever you are
- developed by teachers for teachers
As a teacher who has a lot of one-to-one classes with adult students, you probably have noticed that additional materials are necessary, but, as we all know, finding materials to supplement your course is time consuming. ESL lesson plans you will find on english-4u.com are prepared with adults and teenagers in mind.
English-4U team says, “You want to discuss current issues with your students. You need stimulating resources to make the students talk about current news stories. Almost all our ESL lesson plans develop speaking skills. Unlike long-past-best-before-date ESL publications, English-4U offers up-to-date materials based on current news, hit songs and issues your students will be thrilled to discuss.”
Teachers about our ESL lesson plans
“I am an American living in Italy and teaching ESL to native Italian speakers. I love the lesson plans, the tips and everything about your website!!!” - Susan
“Guys I’ve been teaching english for a while (6 years) not that long… these lesson plans have just made the lesson even better… Very useful ideas and latest songs!! the students love it!!” - Thanks, Ang
“I have been a member of this site for some time now, and can truly say that it ranks as one of the very most useful, thoughtful and intelligent sites for the purpose that I know.” – Jay
Explore English-4U at http://www.english-4u.com/
#47, ELT Resource: UsingEnglish.com
By Tarun Patel
UsingEnglish.com features teacher resources including free ESL handouts and quizzes, PDF lesson plans, teacher articles and a directory of teaching and reference resources. Also provides access to questions from students and teaching forum topics.
Handouts & Quizzes
257 free grammar and vocabulary teacher handouts & quizzes for English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers and instructors to use in the classroom or other teaching environment.Register for free and gain access to 206 additional ESL handouts & quizzes.
PDF Lesson Plans
154 free PDF lesson plans and handouts, with answers and teachers’ notes where needed, for all levels, including exam lessons.
Teacher Articles
67 articles on English language teaching, including career development and specialisation.
Visit UsingEnglish.com
ELT Newsletter, ELTWeekly Issue#47, English Language Teaching, ICT and ELT
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January 16th, 2010
#46, Resource of the week: ESLFlow.com
By Tarun Patel
ESLFlow.com was created in 1998 as a resource for researching ESL/EFL ideas and creating lessons/courses as quickly as possible.
Peter Snashall, the founder of this portal, initially used the Internet due to a lack of resources at the school where he once worked. This is, of course, the situation faced by many teachers around the world.
And increasingly this site has become an experiment in the creative possibilities offered by advanced search techniques. It is also an attempt to offer unencumbered information organisation, layout and navigation. The site is totally a work-in-progress and makes no pretence to being
comprehensive. Rather it aims to explore the endless possibilities offered by the Net….and the direction of the site shifts from month to month as new possibilities spring out of the Net (or my own mind!!).
ELT Newsletter, ELTWeekly Issue#46, English Language Teaching, ICT and ELT, Tarun Patel
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January 11th, 2010
#44, Resource of the week: ESL go
By Tarun Patel
ESL go – free English as a second language for learning + teaching ESL
ESL go is a free English community of ESL students and ESL teachers. We help ESL students learning English as a second language through free ESL classes and free English practice message boards. ESL go.com also provides free teaching ESL activities for TESOL, TESL, and TEFL.
Read about how to use this free ESL web site for learning English or teaching ESL + EFL.
#43, ELT Resource: HotChalk’s LessonPlansPage.com
By Tarun Patel
HotChalk’s LessonPlansPage.com is a collection of over 4,000 lesson plans from Preschool through High School and beyond, that were developed by Kyle Yamnitz, students and faculty at The University of Missouri, and more recently by the users of this website.
Launched in October of 1996, The Lesson Plans Page was developed to assist educators of all types.
Elementary school teachers get lesson plans that are ready to use in their classrooms.
College students get great example lesson plans or ideas to base their own lesson plans on.
Home schoolers can get lesson plans to use at home and parents can get ideas for educational activities to use with their children.
Follow this link for more information about the site’s author. They have worked hard to develop a good extensive resource for educators.
ELT Newsletter, ELTWeekly Issue#43, English Language Teaching, ICT and ELT
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December 11th, 2009
#42, ELT Resource: ESL-Library.com
By Tarun Patel
The ESL Library offers language teachers from all over the world access to thousands of printable flashcards and hundreds of ready-made lesson plans for the classroom. The site was originally known as ESL-Images.com, but changed its name to the ESL Library in March 2007.
ESL-Images.com started in 2002, and grew to be one of the largest online resources sites for language teachers. As ESL-Images.com grew in popularity, it was clear that it was time to start offering more features, greater content, and improved functionality. The ESL Library was our answer.
Today, over 20,000 language teachers have signed up for access to our lesson plans and flashcards. If you’re not already a member, check out the ESL-Library.com tour to learn more about all the benefits of joining.
ELT Newsletter, ELT Research Papers, ELTWeekly Issue#42, English Language Teaching, ICT and ELT
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November 28th, 2009
#40, ELT Resource: Teachit
By Tarun Patel
Teachit is a tried and trusted education resource used by thousands of teachers nationwide.
Specialising in English, Drama and Media Studies from primary to post-16, the online Teachit library offers 12,044 pages of classroom materials, schemes of work, lesson plans and teaching tools, all created by working teachers and – thanks to our team of Teachit contributors - constantly growing.
A phenomenal success since its launch in 1999, Teachit now represents a huge online community of teachers sharing resources to help focus their efforts in planning lessons.
Teachit takes a unique approach to educational publishing. Founded by English teacher Siobhain Archer in 1999 as a spare-time addition to her teaching workload, the online library of learning resources rapidly gathered its own momentum as her colleagues discovered the value of sharing their teaching materials. A compelling example of the true utility of the internet, Teachit grew unstoppably in response to its users’ needs.
Teachit’s subscription services, offering editable content and online access for ICT lessons, enable Teachit to function as a small, no-frills business, but more importantly, to share a proportion of revenues with its contributor network of teachers in the classroom.
Teachit.works brings ICT to life in English teaching. Using familiar technology (requiring no additional training or software) and linking seamlessly with existing Teachit materials, teachers can guide pupils through engaging and effective tasks online. With Teachit.works, ICT becomes an integral and useful part of every scheme of work.
Teachit shares a proportion of its subscription revenues with the teachers who contribute materials. The company works closely with the National Association for Teachers of English (NATE), is part of the National Grid for Learning, and is a member of the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA).
Explore Teachit
ELTWeekly Issue#33, ELT Resource of the Week: CLIL
By Tarun Patel
CLIL stands for Content and Language Integrated Learning. It refers to teaching subjects such as science, history and geography to students through a foreign language. This can be by the English teacher using cross-curricular content or the subject teacher using English as the language of instruction. Both methods result in the simultaneous learning of content and English.
The term CLIL was coined by David Marsh, University of Jyväskylä, Finland (1994):“CLIL refers to situations where subjects, or parts of subjects, are taught through a foreign language with dual-focused aims, namely the learning of content and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language.”
However, CLIL teaching has been practised for many years, from the Babylonian era to the early sixties when bi-lingual education was introduced in many schools around the world. Even if you are unaware of the term CLIL, you may already have been using CLIL methodology for many years.
Are you a CLIL teacher?
There are many ways of describing the characteristics attributed to CLIL. You may already be following and using many of its principles. If you are teaching on a programme or following a methodology listed below then onestopclil is for you.
- Bilingual Integration of Languages and Disciplines (BILD)
- Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)
- Content and Language Integration in Primary CLIP
- Content-based Instruction (CBI)
- Content-based Language Instruction (CBLI)
- Content-based Language Teaching (CBLT)
- English Across the Curriculum (EAC)
- English as an Academic Language (EAL)
- English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI)
- Foreign Language Immersion Program (FLIP)
- Foreign Languages as a Medium of Education (FLAME)
- Languages Across the Curriculum (LAC)
- Teaching Content Through English
- Teaching English Through Content
Find out more about CLIL in the informative article: What is CLIL? in the free CLIL Teacher Magazine. A more in-depth exploration about CLIL – what it is, what it is not and the challenges faced by CLIL teachers – can be found in the Methodologysection.
Visit OneStopCLIL.com
ELTWeekly Issue#33, English Language Teaching, ICT and ELT, Tarun Patel
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September 10th, 2009
ELTWeekly Issue#20, Cool ELT Resources
By Tarun Patel
ESLgo.com
ESL go is a free English community of ESL students and ESL teachers. We help ESL students learning English as a second language through free ESL classes and free English practice message boards. ESL go.com also provides free teaching ESL activities for TESOL, TESL, and TEFL.
Learning ESL – English as a second language/foreign language:
1. Take a free online ESL class. Each ESL class helps students who are learning English grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, or listening, and prepares you for one of the ESL discussion forums, where you can communicate with other English speakers.
2. Please do not be shy about using the English practice forums. While the guided practice provided by the classes is helpful, the most important thing is to communicate using English.
3. If you know anyone who is learning ESL, tell them about ESL go.com. Learning English is better when we do it together.
Explore ESLgo.com
TeacherBytes.com
Around the world, high technology is being used to create an education system for the twenty first century. The United Arab Emirates and the Arabian Gulf is no exception.
Teacher Bytes is an email newsletter and website created to assist English language instructors adapt to the technology of the Internet. It aims to be of particular use to teachers working in the U.A.E.
Teacher Bytes is compiled by Brian O’Flynn, who brings over ten years experience in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East in the fields of English language teaching and information technology.
Explore TeacherBytes.com