Description
Motivating and engaging students with a variety of compulsory texts are some of the highest challenges language teachers can face in the classroom. Although as a teacher, we sometimes think that students should feel compelled to study what we are fond of, we also know that the responsibility for student motivation and engagement rests with us.
This course will introduce several practical strategies for involving students more actively in the classroom with a special focus on reading and writing skills that are fundamental in the humanities.
During the course, participants will learn how to make their lessons more enjoyable. Throughout interactive activities, such as pair/group/teamwork, role plays, discussions, Task-Based Learning strategies, and flipped content they will also learn how to be more creative and use simple tricks to promote a student-centered learning environment, how to engage students with compulsory texts and how to improve their reading comprehension and writing skills.
By the end of the course, participants will have many practical ideas to apply to their lessons. They will feel more confident in maintaining student motivation and know how to create an effective and stimulating learning environment in the classroom, and how to improve students’ language skills.
Learning outcomes
The course will help the participants to:
- Reflect on different teaching styles and why they are all important;
- Implement creativity and diversity into the subject-based curriculum;
- Involve students in cooperative projects and problem-solving tasks;
- Evaluate pair/group work/discussions;
- Implement peer correction and peer assessment in the classroom;
- Support students in facing challenges and in learning by doing;
- Improve students’ reading comprehension and writing skills, grammar, and vocabulary acquisition;
- Understand and implement the flipped content and Discovery/x-based learning.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Course introduction
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities;
- Presentations of the participants’ schools;
- Using authentic content in Task-Based Learning (TBL).
Day 2 – Flipped classroom
- Traditional vs. Creative classroom;
- Discussion: My teaching methods;
- Managing my own Flipped Content;
- Examples of interactive flipped content activities.
Day 3 – Engaging strategies for grammar and vocabulary acquisition
- Teaching grammar without ‘teaching grammar’;
- Why does vocabulary matter?
- Serious grammar and vocabulary games for the whole class;
- Examples of interactive activities.
Day 4 – Scaffolding student’s writing and reading skills
- Thinking outside the box;
- Compulsory texts: teacher’s tricks for enhancing active learning;
- Examples of interactive activities.
Day 5 – Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
- Discussion strategies: how to get everyone involved;
- Examples of interactive activities.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.