Posts describing lessons or activities for the ESL classroom.

Activities

Find useful resources and tips for teaching English with interactive apps and sites.

EdTech

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become the hottest topic of 2023. It exploded shortly after I submitted my <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/6-english-language-teaching-trends-in-2023" target="_blank">6 English Language Teaching Trends to Watch in 2023</a> post.&nbsp;

Who could have predicted just how much AI could change the world we live in, the way we teach, and the way our students learn? Not me!

There is always a fear that students use tools such as translation apps or AI to cheat on their assignments.&nbsp;However, harnessing AI&#39;s potential can be a fantastic way to learn a language.&nbsp;

In my last post, I wrote about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/10-practical-ways-teachers-can-excel-with-ai" target="_blank">10 Practical Ways Teachers Can Excel with AI</a>. In this related post, I&rsquo;d like to explore ways teachers can show students how to become more autonomous by&nbsp;using&nbsp;AI tools like <a href="https://chat.openai.com/" target="_blank">ChatGPT</a> or <a href="https://bard.google.com/" target="_blank">Bard</a>&nbsp;responsibly.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<h2>1. Tricky questions</h2>

AI chat tools are a wonderful, nonjudgmental&nbsp;source of information. They are perfect for asking difficult questions or queries that students may not feel confident to ask their classmates, teachers, or other English language users.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
For example, if a student is struggling with the difference between &quot;there,&quot; &quot;their,&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;they&rsquo;re,&quot;&nbsp;they could ask AI&nbsp;about it and receive a succinct, bullet-pointed response.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

To practice this in class, ask students to make a list of things they find difficult in English. Support them to ask an AI tool about one or two items on&nbsp;their list and then share the answers they received with the rest of the class.&nbsp;

<h2>2. Error correction</h2>

What we don&rsquo;t want is for students to ask AI to write entire essays, emails, or presentations for them. However, AI can give pretty accurate feedback on their written work or phrases they want to use.&nbsp;

For example, they could ask:&nbsp;

<blockquote>
Is this correct English?&nbsp;

&nbsp;I hope that I will speaking English well.
</blockquote>

ChatGPT can provide a corrected version.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
The sentence that you provided is not grammatically correct. It should be:

I hope that I will speak English well.
</blockquote>

Students could then ask it to clarify the reason for any corrections.&nbsp;For example:&nbsp;

<blockquote>
Why is &quot;will speaking&quot;&nbsp;not correct?&nbsp;
</blockquote>

The AI tool can then offer an explanation that the student can explore further.&nbsp;

This error correction technique works best with short phrases, sentences, or paragraphs. Longer texts can be more complicated, but can still be helpful to higher-level or more confident learners.&nbsp;

<h2>3. Translations</h2>

Translation tools can often be quite literal in their translations. AI tools seem to have a better grasp of idiomatic language or regional language variations.&nbsp;

Students can ask AI to translate words or phrases from one language to another.&nbsp;

<h2>4. Inspiration</h2>

AI chat tools can provide simple writing frames for learners. If their homework is to write a letter of complaint, students could ask AI to give an example, some structural tips, and a few useful phrases.&nbsp;

For example, the prompt could be:&nbsp;

<blockquote>
I have to write a letter of complaint for my English homework. Can you give me an example? What do I need to include? What phrases might be useful?&nbsp;
</blockquote>

In this instance, make sure students are aware that they are only cheating themselves out of learning if they copy the example&nbsp;rather than use&nbsp;it for inspiration!

<h2>5. Synonyms &amp; alternative phrases</h2>

As students progress through the levels, they&rsquo;ll want to use a greater variety of lexical items. AI tools can provide a variety of rich language ideas.

For example, a prompt of &quot;How else can I say &lsquo;very good&rsquo;?&quot;&nbsp;returned the following responses on ChatGPT:&nbsp;

<ol>
	<li>Excellent</li>
	<li>Outstanding</li>
	<li>Superb</li>
	<li>Impressive</li>
	<li>Exceptional</li>
	<li>Marvelous</li>
	<li>Terrific</li>
	<li>Wonderful</li>
	<li>Brilliant</li>
	<li>Splendid</li>
</ol>

Students can also do this with phrases and longer expressions. Here are some suggestions to try in class:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>I was late.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>I don&rsquo;t understand.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>When is break time?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What&rsquo;s the homework?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Do we have class tomorrow?</li>
</ul>

You could add an extra element of fun to this by asking students to predict what the chat tool might say and then comparing the responses.&nbsp;

<h2>Learn more at ElliiCon2023</h2>

If you loved this post, why not join us at <a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023" target="_blank">ElliiCon2023, Ellii&#39;s FREE virtual conference</a> on September 14 and 15? We will be exploring <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/behind-the-scenes-choosing-the-theme-for-elliicon2023" target="_blank">Humanity &amp; Technology in ELT: Striking a Balance in the Age of AI</a>!

We&rsquo;ve got an all-star lineup with digital experts such as <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elliicon2023-speaker-spotlight-nik-peachey" target="_blank">Nik Peachey</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elliicon2023-speaker-spotlight-jamie-keddie" target="_blank">Jamie Keddie</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elliicon2023-speaker-spotlight-charles-browne" target="_blank">Dr. Charles Browne</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elliicon2023-speaker-spotlight-russell-stannard" target="_blank">Russell Stannard</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elliicon2023-speaker-spotlight-dr-amin-davoodi" target="_blank">Dr. Amin Davoodi</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/elliicon2023-speaker-spotlight-angela-tribus-ramos" target="_blank">Angela Tribus Ramos</a>, and the fabulous Ellii crew: Tara Benwell, Ann Dickson, Tanya Trusler, Jen Artan, Lise Papineau,&nbsp;Ben Buckwold, and Eduardo Prause. Plus special guests <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/diego-boada/" target="_blank">Diego Boada</a>&mdash;instructional designer from the Catholic University&nbsp;of America&mdash;and Shelynn Riel and&nbsp;Anna Ciriani-Dean from the <a href="https://www.teacherthinkaloud.com/" target="_blank">Teacher Think-Aloud Podcast</a>!

<a href="https://ellii.com/conference/2023" target="_blank">Sign up for free now!</a>

<blockquote>
How do you use AI with your learners? We&rsquo;d love for you to share your own tips and activities.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

<h2>Related Lessons</h2>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1679-artificial-intelligence" target="_blank">Artificial Intelligence</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4579-when-chatbots-get-it-wrong" target="_blank">When Chatbots Get It Wrong</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/that-s-news-to-me/4500-tutoring-with-chatgpt" target="_blank">Tutoring with ChatGPT</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4468-ai-generated-content" target="_blank">AI-Generated Content</a></li>
</ul>

Developing Learner Autonomy with AI

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Stay up-to-date with ELT trends and ideas with articles from experts and teachers in the field.

Articles

If&nbsp;there&rsquo;s one thing I&rsquo;ve learned in my two decades of teaching English, it&rsquo;s that within every class there will be students with diverse needs.&nbsp;

Some learners will be strong at reading and writing&nbsp;while&nbsp;needing additional practice with speaking and listening. Others will speak completely fluently but may struggle to write. Then there are the learners who are super organized and self-directed&nbsp;versus those who arrive late and ask to borrow a pen.

As teachers, it&rsquo;s highly unlikely we&rsquo;ll ever have a class of students who are all at exactly the same level and learn at the same pace, so it&rsquo;s essential we figure out&nbsp;some easy ways to adapt our lessons to challenge every learner.&nbsp;

The good news is that we don&rsquo;t need to prepare multiple lesson plans for just one class.&nbsp;

Here are some super simple ways to differentiate your lessons without additional preparation.&nbsp;

<h2>1.&nbsp;Give options</h2>

Letting students choose their tasks gives them control over their learning and allows them to set their own pace.&nbsp;

In each class, there are likely to be &quot;fast finishers.&quot; These are learners who you always expect to finish quickly. It can be a challenge to find them something to do while&nbsp;they wait for other learners.&nbsp;

One option I&rsquo;ve found useful is giving students a &quot;difficult&quot; or &quot;very difficult&quot;&nbsp;option. For example, if students have ten&nbsp;comprehension questions on a reading text, the &quot;difficult&quot; option would be to answer five, while the &quot;very difficult&quot;&nbsp;option would be to answer ten.&nbsp;

This way, every learner feels that they have completed the task. By using &quot;difficult&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;very difficult&quot;&nbsp;instead of &quot;easy&quot;&nbsp;and &quot;difficult,&quot; each learner also has the perception that they have achieved something worthwhile.&nbsp;

An alternative to this is having some students work on the &quot;odd&quot;&nbsp;(e.g., 1, 3, 5) task numbers while others complete the &quot;even&quot;&nbsp;tasks. Fast finishers can then go back and complete both odds and evens.&nbsp;

<h2>2.&nbsp;Create an on-the-spot&nbsp;extension task</h2>

When I know some of my learners need a little more time to complete a task&nbsp;but other&nbsp;learners have already finished, I quickly think of different extension tasks for the fast finishers.&nbsp;

This doesn&rsquo;t mean coming to class with piles of worksheets (though I have found it helpful to have a few <a href="https://ellii.com/resources/grammar-usage" target="_blank">Ellii printables</a> at the ready on occasion).&nbsp;Here are a few extension&nbsp;ideas that can be used:&nbsp; 
&nbsp;&nbsp;

<blockquote>Extension Activities

<ul>
	<li>Read the text in pairs to each other</li>
	<li>Rewrite the text about themselves (e.g., changing he/she/they to&nbsp;I)</li>
	<li>Make questions for the rest of the class to answer later</li>
	<li>Add <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2966-vocabulary-cards" target="_blank">new words to their vocabulary</a> notebooks</li>
	<li>Research more information on the topic (and report back to class)</li>
	<li>Write a few sentences, a blog, a&nbsp;<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2559-writing-assessment-sequencing" target="_blank">timeline</a>, or a summary based on the text</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

<h2>3. Facilitate peer learning</h2>

I often find that students learn best from each other. When learners have the opportunity to explain something to others, they gain confidence in their knowledge and added understanding and memorization. Likewise, learners who receive support from other learners often benefit from an explanation in their first language or simply a new perspective or a simplified definition.&nbsp;

My students love it when I say &quot;Okay, you are a teacher now. Can you help the other students finish their work?&rsquo;&#39; You can see a certain pride from all learners, knowing that they are helping each other and supporting themselves.&nbsp;

When grouping students, consider the mix of abilities. You may wish to have a group of fast finishers working on a more challenging task&nbsp;while learners who need a little more support work on something else. Or it might be helpful to have stronger students support those who take a little longer.&nbsp;

<h2>4.&nbsp;Get digital</h2>

One of the beauties of using Ellii content is that every lesson can be delivered in a number of ways. It&rsquo;s perfect for face-to-face, online, or blended learning.&nbsp;

It&rsquo;s also super easy to assign tasks to individual learners or whole class groups, either for homework or as an extension activity in class. View the video below for a quick demo.

This is a great way to give fast finishers an additional challenge and boost their digital skills.&nbsp;

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wE-g6Db8ZQ0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>

<blockquote>
How do you adapt your lessons to support the diverse needs of your learners? We&rsquo;d love to know! Please share your ideas in the comments.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in these topics:&nbsp;

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/supporting-students-with-adhd">Supporting Students with ADHD</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-blind-low-vision-learners">Supporting Blind &amp; Low-Vision Learners</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-english-learners-with-dyslexia">Supporting English Learners with Dyslexia</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/a-quick-guide-to-universal-design-for-learning">A Quick Guide to Universal Design for Learning</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tips-for-developing-students-digital-literacy">8 Tips for Developing Students&#39; Digital Literacy</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/support-english-learners-from-refugee-backgrounds">6 Ways to Support Learners from Refugee Backgrounds</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/inclusive-festivities-valuing-every-learner-s-holidays">Inclusive Festivities: How to Value Every Learner&rsquo;s Holidays</a></li>
</ul>

The Power of Differentiation: Effective Strategies to Support Learners with Mixed Abilities

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No matter who your learners are, it&rsquo;s likely that they are learning English to improve their life chances. They may be hoping to secure their dream job, further their education, or communicate confidently with English users from around the world.&nbsp;

In order to do so, they&rsquo;ll also need to develop&nbsp;digital, work, academic, critical thinking, problem-solving, and/or intercultural communication skills.&nbsp;

These are just a few key &quot;life skills,&quot;&nbsp;also known as:

<ul>
	<li>soft skills</li>
	<li>21st-century skills</li>
	<li>transferable skills</li>
	<li>essential skills</li>
	<li>functional skills*</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4467-talking-to-a-tax-preparer" target="_blank"><img alt="life skills focus tag on Ellii" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3255/content_Screen_Shot_2023-06-22_at_2.56.20_PM.png" /></a> 
*Ellii previously used the Focus tag&nbsp;&quot;functional&quot; for content that focuses on these types of essential skills for newcomers to English-speaking countries. In 2023, we adopted the term &quot;life skills,&quot; which is more universally recognized due to its literal meaning.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

You will find many useful sections for teaching life skills on Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons">Lesson sections page</a> under the heading English for Newcomers. Alternatively, browse these ready-made collections: <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/everyday-topics/jobs-employment">Jobs &amp; Employment</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/casas-competencies">CASAS Competencies</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/linc" target="_blank">LINC Themes</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/clb-competencies">CLB Competencies</a>, and <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/academic-subjects/social-emotional-learning">Social-Emotional Learning</a>.

In this post, I&rsquo;ll explore ways to incorporate &quot;life skills&quot;&nbsp;into your English language lessons.&nbsp;

<h2>1. Identify key skills</h2>

Every learner and teaching context is different. It&rsquo;s important to first find out what skills your students need, or want, to develop. If they&rsquo;re young learners, you may want to focus on creativity, emotional intelligence, team building, and time management. However, if you&rsquo;re teaching learners who are soon to go to university, your focus may be on self-directed learning, presentation skills, academic writing, and digital literacy.

This <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2224-goal-setting-can-do" target="_blank">Goal-Setting</a> graphic organizer is a good way to support students to identify which skills they have and which skills they would like to develop.&nbsp;

<h2>2. Encourage self-reflection&nbsp;</h2>

Having clear goals and a plan for how to achieve them makes success more likely.&nbsp;

Likewise, the ability to identify progress, strengths, and areas for improvement is invaluable for self-development.&nbsp;

This <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2370-weekly-reflection">Weekly Reflection</a> form can help learners get into the habit of doing this. It can also help them develop their study skills, note taking, planning, time management, and self-direction.&nbsp;

You may also like this road-mapping activity I created for my book, <a href="https://wayzgoosepress.com/emily-bryson/" target="_blank">50 Ways to Teach Life Skills</a>. Creating a visual representation of a five-year plan can help make the goals within it seem more achievable.&nbsp;

The beauty of this journey-mapping tool is that it can be used for future or past events. Students can also draw this road map and use it to reflect on all the things that have happened over a period of time.&nbsp;

<img alt="Emily Bryson's Journey Map" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3266/content_Road-Map-2.jpg" />

<h2>3. Use authentic scenarios</h2>

When learning to communicate in English, students need to navigate a multitude of interactions.&nbsp;

For example:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1745-asking-for-help" target="_blank">Asking for Help</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1744-expressing-confusion">Expressing Confusion</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2327-offering-sympathy">Offering Sympathy</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2106-reporting-a-missing-item">Reporting a Missing Item</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1746-making-excuses">Making Excuses</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4415-asking-for-time-off">Asking for Time Off</a></li>
</ul>

Each of these requires its own unique vocabulary, grammar, and useful phrases. Giving learners the opportunity to practice these interactions in a controlled and supportive environment will give them the confidence to use them outside of the classroom.&nbsp;

Ellii has identified 41 <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/functional-english" target="_blank">Functional English </a>targets&nbsp;and created a resource for each. There are video assessments in many of the digital lessons (also viewable in the <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/dialogues/functional-english-assessment">Media Gallery</a>).

<h2>4. Try role-plays</h2>

Role-plays are excellent ways to build confidence with communication skills. They&rsquo;re also perfect for integrating problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and team building.&nbsp;

Give students a scenario that allows them to develop their identified skills&nbsp;or let them work together to create their own. You can challenge them further by adding some additional problems to solve.&nbsp;

For example, if they are role-playing how to complain in a restaurant, you could give students an emotion to act out (e.g., a tired waiter, a frustrated&nbsp;customer) or an unexpected challenge (e.g., the customer forgot their wallet).&nbsp;

If you&rsquo;d prefer something more scaffolded, you&rsquo;ll find plenty of ready-made scenarios to practice in Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/role-plays" target="_blank">Role-Plays</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/everyday-dialogues" target="_blank">Everyday Dialogues</a> sections.

<h2>5. Projects, projects, projects</h2>

Integrating projects into your classroom allows students to organically practice a multitude of skills. It also provides the opportunity to get involved with the local community, explore an environmental issue, raise funds for a good cause, or create a campaign.&nbsp;

Whatever project you choose can develop a multitude of skills such as those needed to create and deliver presentations, vlog, and blog. Learners will also learn the value of&nbsp;teamwork and negotiation as they refine their decision-making skills.&nbsp;

Try some ready-made&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects" target="_blank">Group Projects</a> from Ellii.&nbsp;

<a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects" target="_blank"><img alt="Ellii's Group Projects for ESL learners" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3259/content_Screen_Shot_2023-06-26_at_2.37.45_PM.png" /></a>

<h2>6. Get creative with assessments</h2>

Traditional assessments have their place and can be a useful benchmark for student progress. However, stepping away from quizzes can allow for more natural use of language. It can also make learners more relaxed and meet their learning preferences more closely.&nbsp;

Try assessment tasks such as <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/mini-debates" target="_blank">debates</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/6-steps-for-conducting-an-interview-in-english">interviews</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3029-the-language-of-presenting">presentations</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1828-how-to-write-a-blog-post">blogs</a>, or <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/takeaways-from-tesol-2022-project-based-learning">group projects</a>. These could allow for the use and development of multiple skills.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
What life skills do your learners need to develop? How do you incorporate them into your classes? Share your ideas with the Ellii community!
</blockquote>

<h2>Related Posts</h2>

If you enjoyed this blog post, you may also like these:&nbsp;

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/takeaways-from-tesol-2022-project-based-learning">Takeaways from TESOL 2022: Project-Based Learning</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-ways-to-supercharge-your-students-study-skills">5 Ways to Supercharge Your Students&#39; Study Skills</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tips-for-motivating-language-learners-to-set-and-achieve-goals">Tips and Resources for Motivating Language Learners to Set and Achieve Goals&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/creative-ways-to-set-personal-academic-goals-with-students">Creative Ways to Set Personal &amp; Academic Goals with Students</a></li>
</ul>

6 Tips for Incorporating Life Skills into Your English Language Lessons

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Translanguaging was one of the key themes at <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/iatefl-2023-highlights-key-takeaways-reflections" target="_blank">IATEFL this year</a>. English language learners bring a rich diversity of languages, cultures, and perspectives to our classrooms. Embracing these differences through inclusive multilingual teaching practices supports learning and provides students with an opportunity to take pride in their identities.&nbsp;

This post will explore translanguaging, its benefits, and some ideas for you to incorporate it in your classroom.&nbsp;

<h2>What is translanguaging?&nbsp;</h2>

Translanguaging is the use of multiple languages in order to communicate and support learning. It recognizes the linguistic skills that learners have and encourages their use to discuss, take notes, research, ask questions, or explain new concepts in class.&nbsp;

While immersive teaching practices focus on using only English, translanguaging allows learners to use their other languages to help them learn. For example, a teacher may explain something in English and then allow students to discuss it and explain it to each other in their first language. The teacher can then ask comprehension questions&nbsp;or use the students&#39; first language&nbsp;to ensure the class understands.

<h2>Why is it beneficial to language learning?&nbsp;</h2>

There are many benefits to translanguaging:&nbsp;

<h3>1. Translanguaging values learners</h3>

Using multiple languages in the classroom recognizes and respects the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of English language learners. Being bilingual or multilingual is an asset. Translanguaging supports learners in their&nbsp;understanding of how their linguistic skills can be beneficial for life and work as global citizens.

<h3>2. Translanguaging boosts confidence</h3>

Translanguaging allows learners to express themselves in many ways. Using their first language can reduce anxiety and provide thinking time, giving them the confidence to take risks and communicate in English.&nbsp;

<h3>3. Translanguaging supports learning</h3>

Multilingualism enhances brain function, aids memory, and makes it easier to understand and learn other languages. This helps students&nbsp;focus, study, and learn English more effectively.

<h3>4. Translanguaging aids cross-cultural communication</h3>

Valuing diversity and cultural identity in the classroom provides a safe space for intercultural conversations. This allows learners the opportunity to share their differences in curious and respectful ways.

<h2>How can I incorporate translanguaging in my classroom?</h2>

Chances are that you are already using translanguaging techniques. For example, if you encourage learners to write vocabulary translations in their notebooks or use bilingual dictionaries, you are&nbsp;incorporating&nbsp;translanguaging in your classroom.

Here are some other examples:

<h3>1. Multilingual collaborative translations</h3>

When teaching new vocabulary, it can be interesting to ask learners how to say the words&nbsp;in their first language(s). This gives them a chance to share their language abilities, learn other languages, and have a bit of fun drilling pronunciation.

Creating word clouds&nbsp;can be a fun way to do this. You could display the visuals&nbsp;on the wall and create more throughout the course.

<img alt="translanguaging word cloud" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3243/content_word-cloud.jpg" />

<h3>2. Collaborative projects</h3>

Task-based or <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/group-projects">project-based</a> learning is a flexible way for students to learn. There can be many different tasks within a project including researching a topic, writing a report, recording a podcast, and delivering a presentation.

To use translanguaging, students may choose to complete different tasks in different languages. For example, they may research the topic in their first language and then talk to a partner and create a poster in English.

<h3>3. Note-taking</h3>

When listening to a recording or a video, students may choose to write down their ideas. They could do this in English,&nbsp;in their chosen language, or in a mix of language(s).

They may wish to lay out their notes using a mind map or&nbsp;graphic organizer,&nbsp;or by adding doodles, diagrams, or translations. They could later share or explain these notes with another student.

<h3>4. Preparation, then translation</h3>

Some learners may find it easier to complete tasks in their first language and then translate into English. You could give them time to write a text in a language of their choice and then translate it. Support them to use online tools such as translation apps and bilingual dictionaries.

You may also wish to use AI as a comparison for their translation. Once they have translated their text to English, ask an AI tool to translate the original text (in their first language). Students can then look for interesting style features and phrases to enhance their work.

<h2>Celebrating &amp; supporting ELLs</h2>

As language teachers, our students bring a wealth of skills to class. Translanguaging offers an inclusive approach that celebrates their diversity and talents. By celebrating multilingualism, we can create learning environments that are welcoming and support cross-cultural understanding.

Translanguaging: Embracing the Power of Multilingualism in Your Classroom 

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Universal Design for Learning&nbsp;(UDL) is an educational framework created to make learning inclusive and accessible for everyone. It appreciates that every learner is different and, therefore, has unique learning needs, interests, and goals.&nbsp;

In any English language classroom, learners may have diverse abilities, beliefs, experiences, backgrounds, and languages. UDL celebrates the diversity of students and aims to provide the right learning experience for everyone, regardless of age, (dis)ability, gender, race, religion, or sexual orientation.&nbsp;

To do this, UDL aims to minimize barriers to learning so that every individual learner can have the best learning experience possible.&nbsp;

There are three principles to UDL:&nbsp;

<h2>1. Provide multiple means of representation</h2>

Barriers to learning can be reduced or removed by providing information and learning experiences in different ways.&nbsp;

For example, learners with vision impairments can benefit from audio support tools, such as Ellii&rsquo;s <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-use-microsoft-immersive-reader-on-ellii" target="_blank">Immersive Reader</a> function, which describes photos using alternative text (alt text) and reads aloud. Most of Ellii&rsquo;s lessons have downloadable or streamable audio files to accompany texts too.

<img alt="Ellii's Read &amp; Listen task" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3216/content_Screen_Shot_2023-05-29_at_3.00.14_PM.png" />

Audio support tools are equally beneficial for learners who have low level literacy, who are learning in noisy places, or who want to improve their listening skills.&nbsp;

With Ellii, there are lots of ways to provide diverse learning opportunities.&nbsp;

Take this <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1566-what-did-you-do-yesterday-irregular-verbs" target="_blank">lesson on the simple past</a>, for example. It has a variety of task and interaction types: vocabulary, grammar structure practice (alone and in pairs), pair work to find out what people did last week, listening, a group speaking activity, and a review/assessment task.

<img alt="information gap" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3229/content_ellii-work-in-pairs.jpg" />

Of course, how you use and adapt each lesson is up to you. You could:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>email students the worksheet to do some tasks in their own time</li>
	<li>complete some (or all) of the tasks together in class (print or digital)</li>
	<li>set some (or all) of the digital tasks for homework</li>
	<li>provide additional learning options:&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/video/simple-past" target="_blank">video</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3660-a-trip-to-the-bank">Word Bank Reader</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1643-simple-present-present-progressive-stories">Grammar Story</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/1594-simple-past" target="_blank">Grammar Practice Worksheet</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2807-simple-past">Super Simple Grammar</a>, <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2138-find-someone-who-didn-t">Interactive Activities&nbsp;</a></li>
	<li>search Ellii&#39;s blog for other <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/5-fun-activities-for-irregular-verbs">fun activity ideas</a></li>
</ul>

<h2>2. Provide multiple means of action &amp; expression</h2>

This principle refers to giving learners choices in how they wish to learn. Involving students in their learning can be mutually beneficial and increase motivation.&nbsp;

Discuss with students how they prefer to receive feedback and which tasks they&rsquo;d find useful for homework. In class, you could assign all of Ellii&#39;s digital&nbsp;tasks to your learners, but ask them to complete 3&ndash;5 of their choice.&nbsp;

<img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3218/content_Create-Assignment.png" />

Throughout the course you could also let them choose their own assessments. For example:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Writing: write&nbsp;an <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2365-how-to-write-a-note" target="_blank">informal letter</a> (students choose who to write to and the topic)</li>
	<li>Reading: <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4062-canadian-territories-superlative-adjectives">give three texts to choose from</a></li>
	<li>Speaking &amp; Listening: interview a partner, have a group discussion, have a class <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/mini-debates">debate</a>, do a presentation with Q+A, make a video, record themselves using the speaking task, etc.</li>
</ul>

<h2>3. Provide multiple means of engagement</h2>

The final UDL principle centers around offering activities that engage students and keep their interest. This involves finding out which topics interest students and how they like to learn. Ellii&#39;s <a href="https://ellii.com/collections">collections</a> show how vast the content library is. For example, you can teach/review <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar">grammar</a>&nbsp;targets by using&nbsp;traditional grammar lessons, true or fictional stories that present the target in context,&nbsp;mini-grammar lessons that showcase the target within non-fiction readings,&nbsp;videos, etc.

At the beginning of a course, it can be helpful to ask learners what topics they&rsquo;d like to learn about. Try an Ellii <a href="https://ellii.com/resources/assessment-tools">Needs Assessment</a>, such as this one.

<a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3182-needs-assessment-pictorial"><img alt="Ellii Needs Assessment" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3230/content_ellii-needs-assessment.jpg" /></a>

How to keep learners engaged and motivated can be one of the most challenging parts of being a teacher. Providing multisensory learning is a great way to do this:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://help.ellii.com/category/253-digital-homework">Interactive tasks</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/lets-laugh-10-resources-activities-for-inspiring-laughter-in-your-class">Laughter</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4552-fun">fun</a></li>
	<li>Games&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/categories/activities">activities</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://open.spotify.com/user/dmq8qckunpt5o3g9ixyupia0a">Music</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/4506-away-from-india" target="_blank">Photo Prompts</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/role-plays">Role-Plays</a></li>
</ul>

Learner training in <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-importance-of-growth-mindset-for-learning-teaching" target="_blank">mindset</a><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/the-importance-of-growth-mindset-for-learning-teaching" target="_blank"> and confidence</a> are crucial too. Teach students that <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-help-students-fix-recurring-grammar-mistakes" target="_blank">mistakes</a> are an essential part of learning, celebrate progress, and create a welcoming classroom atmosphere.&nbsp;

A quick summary

Universal Design for Learning is a teaching tool to help you create learning experiences that meet the needs of all learners.&nbsp;

Ask yourself, do my classes&hellip;

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">make all learners feel included?</li>
	<li class="correct">give students choices?</li>
	<li class="correct">provide a variety of learning options?&nbsp;</li>
	<li class="correct">make learning multisensory?</li>
	<li class="correct">ask learners what, why, and how they want to learn?</li>
</ul>

And finally, here is a sketchnote I created for the British Council BBELT conference. Maria Jose Galleno Valdez provided some excellent ideas for removing barriers to learning and incorporating UDL principles.&nbsp;

<img alt="UDI sketchnote british council" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3231/content_sketchnote.jpg" />

You can find more information about UDL and access the full framework at <a href="http://www.cast.org/">www.cast.org</a>&nbsp;

If you are interested in inclusion in the classroom, here are some other posts which you might find interesting:&nbsp;

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/supporting-students-with-adhd" target="_blank">Accessibility: Supporting Students with AD(H)D</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-english-learners-with-dyslexia">Accessibility: Supporting English Learners with Dyslexia</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/accessibility-supporting-blind-low-vision-learners" target="_blank">Accessibility: Supporting Blind and Low-Vision Learners</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/support-english-learners-from-refugee-backgrounds" target="_blank">6 Ways to Support English Learners from Refugee Backgrounds</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tips-for-developing-students-digital-literacy" target="_blank">8 Tips for Developing Students&rsquo; Digital Literacy</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/inclusive-festivities-valuing-every-learner-s-holidays" target="_blank">Inclusive Festivities: How to Value Every Learner&rsquo;s Holidays</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

<blockquote>
How do you make learning universal for everyone? Have you tried any of the design principles in this post? Let us know in the comments.
</blockquote>

A Quick Guide to Universal Design for Learning

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Tour around the ELT conference circuit as our team shares conference highlights and session reviews.

Conferences

Over the years, I&rsquo;ve lost count of how many workshops, talks, and webinars I&rsquo;ve delivered and attended.&nbsp;

What always strikes me is that every ELT professional brings such a unique perspective to the industry. There are so many diverse teaching contexts and experiences. Sharing them with the world is essential for progress.&nbsp;

In this blog post, I&rsquo;ll share my top tips for delivering a successful conference workshop, webinar, or talk.&nbsp;

<h2>Know your stuff</h2>

It goes without saying that you should talk about something you know well.&nbsp;

I remember attending a meeting at Education Scotland. One of my colleagues was updating the team on a project they were working on. They were amazing. The presentation just flowed without the need for visuals.&nbsp;

Afterwards, I commented on how well they&rsquo;d delivered the update. Their response was to shrug and say, &quot;I just talked about my job.&quot;&nbsp;

So, just talk about your job! It&rsquo;s a topic you know well because you do it every day.&nbsp;

<h2>Share your passion</h2>

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andycowle/?originalSubdomain=uk">Andy Cowle</a> is one of the most engaging presenters I&rsquo;ve ever seen. He&rsquo;s delivered teacher training sessions for numerous ELT organizations over the years.&nbsp;

When I asked him for his top tip on public speaking, he said this:

<blockquote>
&nbsp;&quot;It has to be something you care about.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
&mdash;Andy Cowle
</blockquote>

That comment was a critical incident for me in terms of public speaking. It was the moment I realized I had to share what I love most about teaching with the world.&nbsp;

If you&rsquo;re speaking about a subject that bores you to tears, it&rsquo;s unlikely you&rsquo;ll be able to get enthusiastic about it. Choose something that makes you sing&nbsp;and it will make you glow!

<h2>Use engaging visuals</h2>

I recently received this feedback:&nbsp;

<blockquote>
&quot;Thanks for an interesting and visually stimulating presentation&mdash;often it&#39;s one or the other but rarely both.&quot;

&mdash;Helen Morfydd, National Centre for Learning Welsh
</blockquote>

Visuals are so important for conveying meaning and keeping participants engaged. They&rsquo;re also invaluable in reminding you what you want to talk about. Consider using them to tell a story, to serve as&nbsp;speaking prompts, or to base an activity on.&nbsp;

For example, I like to use this image I drew of marigolds to have participants share ways to create a positive classroom atmosphere. Using annotation tools&nbsp;or Post-it notes, attendees add their ideas. It&rsquo;s cheerful, fun, and a bit different.&nbsp;

<img alt="marigolds drawing" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3195/content_marigolds-drawing.jpg" />

It&rsquo;s also a great way to remove the need for text. Using a lot of words on a slide can be overwhelming and distracting. Participants may read the text rather than listening to the presentation.&nbsp;

<h2>Be interactive</h2>

Some of the most memorable workshops I&rsquo;ve attended have involved interactive tasks. I still remember <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/johanna-stirling-5aa35717/">Johanna Stirling</a> demonstrating various spelling activities at IATEFL way back circa 2009. The rest of the sessions are long forgotten!

Including activities for participants will not only make your session memorable, but it will also take the spotlight off of you. Plus, every audience is full of participants with great ideas and a wealth of experience. Give them an opportunity to share their knowledge and get involved.&nbsp;

Interaction is especially important during online sessions. In a face-to-face session, people are more likely to make the effort to stay focused. It would be socially inappropriate to stand up, walk out, or start doing a bit of work.&nbsp;

In an online session, it&rsquo;s all too easy to turn off screens and microphones. If there&rsquo;s no interaction, there&rsquo;s no reason for participants not to start checking their emails!&nbsp;

Add interactive tasks such as discussion questions and idea&nbsp;sharing as often as possible.&nbsp;

<h2>Practice</h2>

Talking to yourself&nbsp;or a supportive friend&nbsp;is invaluable when it comes to delivering a successful presentation.&nbsp;

Practicing your session helps you to put the words into your muscle memory&nbsp;and ensure that your timing is spot on.&nbsp;

Before talks at a conference, I like to get my laptop (or phone) out and use it to display the slides. I&rsquo;ll then stand up and time myself. If I have activities that I need to draw, I&rsquo;ll rehearse those in my notepad.&nbsp;

This boosts my confidence&nbsp;and, in some cases, has made the live session feel like I&rsquo;m on autopilot, as I knew it so well.&nbsp;

Online sessions don&rsquo;t need to be memorized so thoroughly since you can always refer to notes or use presenter view to remind you of the next section, but it can still be handy to have a quick read through before logging on.&nbsp;

<h2>Get inspired</h2>

Watching others can be a great way to develop as a public speaker. When you see someone you think is awesome, think about what it is that makes them so engaging.&nbsp;

One of the most inspiring speakers I know is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/chia-suan-chong-27655b28/" target="_blank">Chia Suan Chong</a>. She talks a lot about Intercultural Communication Skills and presents the ELTons every year. She has a welcoming presence and a permanent smile. She uses a lot of stories, visuals, and activities to make her sessions appealing and interactive.&nbsp;

I also always make time to see <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-waters/">Harry Waters</a>. He has an infectious energy and a laid-back manner, which makes people feel relaxed. In his webinars, he uses some magical technique (<a href="https://obsproject.com/">OBS Project</a>) to make words float next to his head rather than using the share-screen function to display slides.&nbsp;

<h2>Exude confidence</h2>

Public speaking can be nerve-racking. Even experienced speakers get nervous before, during, and after a session.&nbsp;

It&rsquo;s completely normal.&nbsp;

Someone once told me that instead of getting anxious about a presentation, it&rsquo;s better to reframe the emotion to excitement. This shift in mindset helps me to view pre-session nerves from a more positive perspective.&nbsp;

Staying positive is crucial for confidence. It&rsquo;s important to remember that 99% of the people attending the session want to see you doing well, and they expect you to do well.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhavnagupta2304/">Bhavna Gupta</a> talks about the ELT community being full of marigolds. These are delightful, orange flowers. They are also known as &quot;companion plants&quot;&nbsp;because they help all their neighboring plants to grow.&nbsp;

When you&rsquo;re preparing for your session, visualize a room (or screen) full of marigolds. They&rsquo;re all there to support you.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
What are your top conference speaking tips? Do any ELT speakers spring to mind as particularly inspiring? What makes them stand out?
</blockquote>

Speaking at an ELT Conference: Top Tips for Successful Presentations

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I have been attending IATEFL since around 2008. It&rsquo;s such a brilliant opportunity to stay informed about current practices in ELT, meet new people, and catch up with long-lost contacts.&nbsp;

Here are some of my highlights, reflections, and key takeaways!

<h2>Highlights</h2>

<blockquote>
&quot;It&rsquo;s not about the destination, but the journey.&quot; 
&mdash;&nbsp;Ralph Waldo Emerson.
</blockquote>

This was how my conference started...&nbsp;

I cycled 264 miles from Glasgow to Harrogate <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/page/emily-bryson-cycle-to-iatefl-harrogate-2023-for-hup">to raise money for The Hands Up Project</a>. HUP provides remote theater, storytelling, poetry, and other creative language learning opportunities for children in Palestine.&nbsp;I managed to raise &pound;1,600! This was my third and most challenging ride to IATEFL. Once complete, I discovered I&rsquo;d ascended 6,000 meters&nbsp;(19,000 ft), which is the equivalent of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro!

Learn more about <a href="https://www.handsupproject.org/" target="_blank">The Hands Up Project</a>.

<img alt="Emily Bryson arrives in Harrogate for IATEFL 2023 after cycling 264 miles from Glasgow " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3175/content_Emily-Bryson-Route-Profile-Harrogate-cycle.jpg" />

Another highlight was speaking at the conference. I had three sessions to deliver. One at the pre-conference event, one at the main conference, and one at the Hands Up Project conference.&nbsp;

My first workshop was for the Inclusive Practices &amp; Special Educational Needs and Leadership and Management special interest groups. The focus was on well-being, so my <a href="https://emilybrysonelt.com/freebies/" target="_blank">active doodling meditation</a> and<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being"> inner troll vs. inner angel activity</a> fit perfectly. I was scheduled at the end of the day because they knew my session would be interactive and they wanted me to get feedback using <a href="https://emilybrysonelt.com/feedback-comes-in-many-forms-but-the-best-is-a-fairy/">the feedback fairy</a>!

At the main conference, I gave an overview of National Geographic Learning&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.ngl-emea.com/teaching-through-crisis" target="_blank">Teaching through Crisis</a> series. This series provides free resources, professional development videos, and well-being support for teachers and students learning in difficult circumstances.&nbsp;

The day after the conference, I was honored to deliver a similar session for NGL on developing learner voices at the Hands Up Project conference. I left this event feeling so inspired by all the wonderful things this charity does for children who really need it.&nbsp;

<h2>Key takeaways</h2>

As with every conference, key themes emerged. These could be different for everyone that attended, but for me, the hot topic was&nbsp;diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As predicted in my <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/6-english-language-teaching-trends-in-2023">2023 ELT Trends blog post</a>, this continues to be a popular topic. Wiktoria Allan&rsquo;s session on AD(H)D was so popular that they had to close the room and many (myself included) couldn&rsquo;t attend.&nbsp;

Peter Fullager and Thorsten Merse each delivered excellent sessions on how to make LGBT+ inclusion more visible.

<img alt=" Sketchnote of Peter Fullager's IATEFL session on taboo in ELT." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3176/content_Emily_Bryson._Peter_Fullager._IATEFL_2023.jpg" />

Tyson Seburn spoke about the importance of questioning language usage for inclusive purposes. He used a four-step framework. Here&rsquo;s the sketchnote:&nbsp;

<img alt="Sketchnote of Tyson Seburn's 2023 IATEFL session on our language of exclusion." src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3177/content_Tyson_Seburn_IATEFL_Emily_Bryson_Sketchnote_April2023_1.jpg" />

<h3>De-centering ELT</h3>

<a href="https://www.hornby-trust.org.uk/decentring-elt" target="_blank">The Hornby Scholars</a> gave a world-changing talk about the need for ELT to meet the needs of teachers and learners in individual contexts. Their session shared the importance of materials, methodology, and professional development that reflects reality and is suitable for local contexts.

<img alt="IATEFL sketchnote by Emily Bryson of the Hornby Scholars talk about the need for ELT to meet the needs of teachers and learners in individual contexts" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3178/content_Decentring_ELT_Emily_Bryson_ELT_sketchnote_1.jpg" />

Translanguaging&nbsp;

Translanguaging is the use of multiple languages to support learning. Students can use their first language&nbsp;or a language they share with other&nbsp;learners to generate meaning, discuss questions and ideas, or take notes. The English language classroom is then a multilingual space where language diversity is embraced to enhance the learning experience.&nbsp;

This was a prominent topic throughout this conference, interwoven with de-centering and de-colonizing ELT (e.g., moving away from so-called &quot;native speaker&quot;&nbsp;models) with a view to embracing all global Englishes.&nbsp;

<h3>Trauma-informed practices</h3>

This may be a theme that stood out to me personally, but it seemed as if ESOL and learners facing difficult circumstances had more of a voice this year.&nbsp;

Lesley Painter-Farrell gave an emotional plenary sharing the experiences of her learners, who have experienced forced displacement or migration.&nbsp;

She asked us to imagine a life where we were forced to leave home, never see our families, live on a limited budget, and communicate across a language barrier.&nbsp;

Powerful stuff. I cried. As did many others.&nbsp;

<img alt="Sketchnote of Lesley Painter's 2023 IATEFL plenary on the experiences of her learners who have experienced forced displacement or migration" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3179/content_Emily_Bryson._Lesley_Painter._IATEFL_2023.jpg" />

At the ESOL pre-conference event, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&amp;v=533580844823232" target="_blank">Lora Agbaso</a> shared her own experiences of forced displacement&nbsp;with&nbsp;a touching metaphor of how seeking asylum can leave you feeling suspended in a lonely sea. She shared some great advice for teaching learners who have experienced trauma.&nbsp;

<img alt="Sketchnote of Lora Agbaso's 2023 IATEFL session on her own experiences of forced displacement" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3180/content_Lora_Agbaso_sketchnote_EmilyBrysonELT_1.jpg" />

<h3>Reflections</h3>

IATEFL 2023 was a whirlwind of a conference for me. I feel like I met so many people in short bursts, but didn&rsquo;t get enough time with anyone!&nbsp;

If I could wish for one thing, it would be that my drawing tablet could have been light as a feather so I could have brought it on my bike for sketchnoting. But it wasn&rsquo;t, so I didn&rsquo;t. And I still enjoyed creating my analogue notes.&nbsp;

In many ways, IATEFL&nbsp;and other conferences&nbsp;can feel like the annual meeting of the ELT clans! It&rsquo;s a time to share ideas, discuss challenging topics, and take steps to improve.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
Did you attend IATEFL or another ELT conference recently? What were your highlights, key takeaways, and reflections?&nbsp;
</blockquote>

<h2>Related</h2>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/speaking-at-an-elt-conference-demystifying-the-application-process" target="_blank">Speaking at an ELT Conference: Demystifying the Application Process</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-an-elt-conference">How to Get the Most Out of an ELT Conference</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-2023-in-portland">TESOL 2023 in Portland: Feeling the #ELT Pulse</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/sketchnoting-101-supercharged-professional-development-with-visual-notes" target="_blank">Sketchnoting 101:&nbsp;Supercharge Professional Development with Visual Notes</a></li>
	<li class="blog-post"><a href="https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2023/05/04/4-takeaways-from-iatefl-2023/" target="_blank">4 takeaways from IATEFL 2023 by Jo Szoke</a></li>
</ul>

IATEFL 2023: Highlights, Key Takeaways & Reflections

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Speaking at an English language teaching convention is an excellent way to develop professionally and share your ideas with the world. Maybe you&#39;ve been inspired by speakers at a recent conference or perhaps you need motivation to attend an&nbsp;in-person event down the road.&nbsp;

In this blog post, I&rsquo;ll explore tips for finding the right conference and writing a successful speaker proposal.&nbsp;

<h2>Finding the right conference</h2>

When it comes to ELT conferences, there are so many to choose from. Which one you select will depend on a number of factors.&nbsp;

Firstly, consider how easy and cost-effective it is to travel there. I&rsquo;ve always coveted a trip to TESOL in the US, but so far it&rsquo;s been highly impractical and overly expensive to make that happen.&nbsp;

Online or hybrid events are a good alternative. These are&nbsp;perfect opportunities to network internationally and share your message with the world&nbsp;without having to leave home. They&nbsp;also have the added advantage of saving time. Travel days and time spent at conferences can really eat into working hours, which can be a big consideration if you&rsquo;re not getting paid to attend.&nbsp;

Smaller local conferences are a great place to start, especially if you are speaking for the first time. A room with 20&ndash;40 delegates, possibly familiar and friendly faces, will ease you in gently and allow you to gain confidence.&nbsp;

<h2>Deciding what to speak about</h2>

Every teacher has something important to say. Each educational context is unique and sharing what has worked for you can inspire and support others.&nbsp;

<img alt="Emily Bryson ELT at IATEFL 2023" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3132/content_Emily-IATEFL-Presentation.jpeg" />

Emily Bryson presenting on teacher well-being at IATEFL 2023 in Harrogate. Learn more about Emily&#39;s thoughts on the&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being">inner troll here</a>.

Presentation topics at conferences are often limitless. Think about what you&rsquo;ve been working on recently. It could be:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>A class project</li>
	<li>Action research</li>
	<li>Your favorite teaching activities</li>
	<li>A problem you&#39;ve solved</li>
	<li>A collaboration with other organizations</li>
	<li>Content you&rsquo;ve developed</li>
</ul>

Some conferences have themes. For example, inclusive learning or removing barriers to learning. It&rsquo;s important that your topic fits with the overall theme.&nbsp;

<img alt="Emily Bryson's sketchnote of the Coffee Talk on Simplicity for ElliiCon 2022" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3135/content_2022-10-11_Emily-Bryson-Drawings_01.png" />

In 2022, the theme of #ElliiCon&nbsp;was Simplicity. Emily sketchnoted the Coffee Talk that the Publishing team hosted to kick things off.&nbsp;During the conference, speakers focused on hacks, simple activities, and tools to make teaching a little less hectic. You can watch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLP0N5nuiA3aMqdcebjNOfZUGdOEGRmrms">recordings</a> on our NEW Ellii for Teachers YouTube channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@elliiteachers">youtube.com/@elliiteachers</a>. Stay tuned for the 2023 theme&nbsp;and be sure to join Ellii for this free online conference in September!

Whatever you decide to speak about, I recommend choosing something you know well and that you are genuinely passionate about. Your knowledge and enthusiasm will shine through during the session.&nbsp;

<h2>Staying informed</h2>

Once you&rsquo;ve selected which conference you want to speak at, it&rsquo;s a good idea to follow the organization on socials. This is where they&rsquo;ll post information about their call for proposals.&nbsp;

If the conference has a mailing list, I recommend signing up&nbsp;so you don&rsquo;t miss any important information or dates.&nbsp;

<h2>Writing the conference proposal</h2>

Each conference has a slightly different application process. It&rsquo;s important to read the speaker proposal guidelines thoroughly before you apply&nbsp;and to get your application in on time.&nbsp;

In general, for English language teaching conferences, I&rsquo;ve found that most calls for proposals require the following:&nbsp;

A title: Usually 10 words or less. The catchier, the better.&nbsp;

An abstract: This is usually around 50&ndash;100 words and is a summary or your session. This is the text that participants will read when choosing the&nbsp;sessions they will attend. It&rsquo;s a good idea to make it as appealing as possible. Including keywords will make it easier for delegates to find you in a&nbsp;search&nbsp;if the conference program&nbsp;is online or in PDF format.&nbsp;

A summary: This is more detailed information for the conference organizers. It&rsquo;s likely to be 200&ndash;500 words, but could be more. Here is where you can give information about the type of presentation you&rsquo;re doing, what activities you&rsquo;re including, and whether you&rsquo;ll be promoting a product or giving access to openly available content.&nbsp;

A bio: In this section, you get to briefly summarize yourself. Give the key points of interest and focus on your professional life. I tend to tweak my bio based on what I&rsquo;m talking about and my audience. You may wish to include things like how long you&rsquo;ve been in ELT, what roles you&rsquo;ve played (e.g., teacher, materials developer, researcher), your qualifications, any publications, and specific areas of interest or expertise you may have.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
My top tip is to save all your conference applications in one place. This way, if you speak about something similar in the future, you can easily tweak them.&nbsp;&nbsp;
</blockquote>

It&rsquo;s also a good idea to ask a friend to read it over for you. Ask them to check that it meets the guidelines, it&rsquo;s clear what the session will be about, and it sounds interesting enough to attend.&nbsp;

<h2>Session types</h2>

You may be asked to specify whether you&rsquo;re delivering a talk or a workshop. If you intend to speak for the duration of your allotted time, select talk. If you&rsquo;re planning something more interactive&nbsp;where participants work together or discuss certain aspects of the topic, choose workshop.&nbsp;

<h2>Funding and getting paid</h2>

This is the tricky bit. The majority of ELT conferences don&rsquo;t have the budget to pay all their speakers. Often it&rsquo;s only the plenary speakers that receive a payment or funding for expenses (e.g., travel, accommodation, and food).&nbsp;However, it&rsquo;s also common to get a reduced rate or free pass to the conference itself in exchange for speaking.&nbsp;

In order to get paid, you could do one of the following:&nbsp;

Ask your boss:&nbsp;If you&rsquo;re speaking about a topic related to your organization, they may have a budget to pay your conference fees and expenses. They may also be able to either pay you or compensate for your time through additional vacation days at a later date.&nbsp;

Represent a publisher or other organization:&nbsp;If you&rsquo;ve been working for a larger ELT organization, they may want you to represent them and deliver teacher training based on one of their products or services. You could approach them, stating the benefits from their perspective.&nbsp;

Ask the conference organizer:&nbsp;Sometimes there is a budget to pay speakers or to supplement their travel and accommodation fees. It can be worth asking.&nbsp;

Look for scholarships: Large international conferences, such as IATEFL, have a range of scholarship opportunities. Get organized and research these early. They are offered for a range of reasons, such as:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Where you live (e.g., Africa, Latin America)</li>
	<li>Your teaching experience (e.g., IATEFL has one for early career teachers)</li>
	<li>Your area of expertise (e.g., pronunciation, research, inclusion)</li>
</ul>

Stay positive when you&rsquo;re applying for these scholarships and consider applying for more than one. Some are oversubscribed, but others struggle to find the right applicant each year. It&rsquo;s often a game of being the right person at the right time!&nbsp;

<blockquote>
What are your top tips for applying to speak at an ELT conference? Feel free to share them in the comments. We&rsquo;d love to hear from you.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

Speaking at an ELT Conference: Demystifying the Application Process

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As I write this, I&rsquo;m preparing for a long-distance bike ride. I&rsquo;ll be cycling 250 miles between Glasgow and Harrogate to raise money for the <a href="https://www.handsupproject.org/" target="_blank">Hands Up Project</a>.&nbsp;

It&rsquo;s the third time I&rsquo;ve cycled to IATEFL. In 2022, I cycled from Glasgow to Belfast (via ferry) for <a href="https://www.amalaeducation.org/">Amala Education</a> and in 2019 from Glasgow to Liverpool for <a href="https://codeyourfuture.io/" target="_blank">Code Your Future</a>.&nbsp;

Each time, people have donated generously and then commented in awe:

<ul>
	<li>&quot;I just don&rsquo;t know how you can do that.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;I&rsquo;d never be fit enough.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;You&rsquo;re an amazing human.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
</ul>

However, I&rsquo;m not any more amazing than any other human. I&rsquo;m also not even superfit. What gets me to my destination is my growth mindset.&nbsp;

<img alt="Emily Bryson biking to IATEFL" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3128/content_content_Emily-bike.jpg" />

<h2>What is a growth mindset?</h2>

A growth mindset is having the self-belief that you can succeed at life&rsquo;s challenges. It&rsquo;s about having&nbsp;the confidence to try new things, push yourself, and learn from mistakes. People with a growth mindset believe that they can achieve anything if they try hard enough.&nbsp;

The opposite is a fixed mindset. This is when someone doesn&rsquo;t believe that they can do something, so they avoid&nbsp;it or give&nbsp;up when things get difficult. People with a fixed mindset may believe that their skills and abilities are unchangeable.&nbsp;

<h2>Why is a growth mindset important for students?</h2>

Confidence is crucial for language learning. Students who believe that they can learn to develop their skills, memorize new words, and communicate fluently are much more likely to succeed.&nbsp;

These learners also tend to be more self-directed, motivated, and resilient. When tasks are difficult, they&rsquo;ll find a way to complete them rather than giving up.

<h2>Why is a growth mindset important for teachers?</h2>

As teachers, we are role models. When students see someone who believes in themselves (and in them),&nbsp;this inadvertently gives them confidence.&nbsp;

Giving students praise and&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/introducing-grade-feed" target="_blank">supportive feedback</a>&nbsp;while&nbsp;encouraging them to develop new skills can have a huge impact on student&rsquo;s self-belief and mental well-being.&nbsp;

From a professional development perspective, cultivating a growth mindset is key to learning new teaching skills or making career advances.&nbsp;

<h2>How can we boost our learners&#39; (and our own) growth mindset?</h2>

Positive self-talk is the key to a growth mindset. We need to be kind and reassure ourselves (and our learners) that anything is possible with effort.&nbsp;

I&rsquo;ve had moments when I&rsquo;m cycling uphill into horizontal rain. The only option is to continue and the best way to reach the destination is to pedal as hard as possible. In moments like this, I have mantras:

<ul>
	<li>&quot;Just keep pushing.&quot;</li>
	<li>&quot;I can do this.&quot;</li>
</ul>

I&rsquo;ve adopted similar mantras when I have multiple deadlines or an overwhelming to do list:

<ul>
	<li>&quot;Keep going.&quot;&nbsp;</li>
	<li>&quot;One more.&quot;</li>
</ul>

I remember once reading an article by Juliana Buhring, a round-the-world cyclist. She mentioned that she finds reframing her thoughts invaluable when things get tough. Instead of &quot;This is awful,&quot; reframe it to &quot;This is fun&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;I&rsquo;m definitely learning something today.&quot;&nbsp;

This can be particularly helpful when it comes to mistakes. For some learners, mistakes can be demotivating and anxiety inducing. However, in reality, they are the <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tesol-2023-in-portland-top-takeaway">best learning opportunities</a>.&nbsp;

Whenever my learners make a mistake, I&rsquo;ll respond with &quot;Oh good! I&rsquo;m so glad you did that. That&#39;s a really common mistake. Now we can talk about it and practice.&quot;

You can also support your learners&nbsp;and your inner voice&nbsp;by reframing with the word &quot;yet.&quot;

For example:&nbsp;

<blockquote>
Student: I can&rsquo;t do this.&nbsp;

Teacher: You mean, you can&rsquo;t do this YET?

Student: I don&rsquo;t know how to use narrative tenses.

Teacher: You mean, you don&rsquo;t know how to use narrative tenses YET?
</blockquote>

This instantly demonstrates that skills are there to be developed. It&rsquo;s only a matter of time and hard work.&nbsp;

You may also like this post about switching off your inner troll and paying more attention to your <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being" target="_blank">inner angel</a>.&nbsp;

<a href="https://ellii.com/blog/activity-to-boost-confidence-and-well-being"><img alt="inner devil vs inner angel" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3127/content_content_content_Screen_Shot_2022-05-24_at_1.32.44_PM.jpg" /></a>

<blockquote>
Share a comment with Ellii. How do you feel about growth mindset? Is it something that comes naturally to you? How do you support your learners to be positive and confident about developing new skills?
</blockquote>

The Importance of a Growth Mindset for Learning & Teaching

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There are so many incredible English language teaching conferences around the world. It sometimes feels like it&rsquo;s always conference season.&nbsp;

Whether you&rsquo;re attending a large international conference in person (e.g., <a href="https://cms-tesol.ae-admin.com/tesol-convention-2023/schedule">TESOL</a> or <a href="https://www.iatefl.org/conference/home" target="_blank">IATEFL</a>)&nbsp;or joining a virtual&nbsp;conference online&nbsp;(e.g.,&nbsp;BBELT, Educast, or <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/reflecting-on-elliicon2022" target="_blank">ElliiCon</a>), you&rsquo;ll need to be prepared in order to get the most out of the experience.&nbsp;

Here are some of our top tips.

<h2>1. Keep it simple!</h2>

Conferences can be overwhelming. There are often a lot of different sessions to choose from, and there&rsquo;s a risk of feeling like you&rsquo;re constantly rushing from one session to the next.&nbsp;

When I first attended IATEFL, I somehow managed to attend a session in every single time slot. That must have been about 10 sessions a day!

Needless to say, I was exhausted, and I probably didn&rsquo;t have time to process much of what I was learning.&nbsp;

In short, don&rsquo;t do what I did! Take it easy and enjoy the chance for some real&nbsp;professional development.&nbsp;

<h2>2. Choose your focus</h2>

When there is too much choice, it can help to pick a developmental goal or an area of interest and stick to that.&nbsp;

For example, when I was studying for my <a href="https://www.trinitycollege.com/qualifications/teaching-english/diptesol">DipTESOL</a>, I tried to attend as many sessions on <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/pronunciation">pronunciation</a> as I could. Then, when I was developing as an author and materials writer, my focus shifted to resource creation topics. Nowadays, I&rsquo;m naturally drawn to anything involving <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/graphic-facilitation-101" target="_blank">visual thinking</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/supporting-students-with-adhd" target="_blank">accessibility</a>, or teaching learners from <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/support-english-learners-from-refugee-backgrounds">refugee backgrounds</a>.&nbsp;

<h2>3. Have a (loose) schedule</h2>

So you&rsquo;ve chosen your areas of interest&nbsp;and you know it&rsquo;s unrealistic to attend everything. This is where having a plan&nbsp;and prioritizing sessions you are especially interested in helps.&nbsp;

If the conference has an app or a digital program, use the search function (or Ctrl + F) to look for keywords or speakers you want to see. Circle, highlight, or add any specific sessions you want to attend to your diary.&nbsp;You could color code&nbsp;or add some sort of mark to any that you really want to see.&nbsp;

<h2>4. Break times are brilliant</h2>

Make the most of your break times. It&rsquo;s important to give yourself time to relax and digest all the information.&nbsp;

If your conference is online, make sure to move around, refuel, and get away from the screen for a while.&nbsp;

If you&rsquo;ve traveled a long way to attend a conference, schedule time to go sightseeing, meet other attendees for a coffee, or have a wander round the exhibition space.&nbsp;

<h2>5. Network&nbsp;</h2>

What I missed out on most at my very first IATEFL was the networking. I was so determined to see as much as I could that I missed out on the real opportunities.

Some of my most life-changing experiences have been when I&rsquo;ve skipped sessions or met someone interesting at break time. I met all three of my publishers for the first time at IATEFL!&nbsp;

Try to strike up conversation with the person sitting beside you during a workshop or over lunch. Conference attendees are typically receptive to making new connections and connecting on social media.&nbsp;

Take photos of sessions you attend, post them on social media, and use any relevant hashtags. If you can, tag the speaker. Most people are delighted to have been mentioned on socials and will probably reshare your post.&nbsp;

<h2>6. Sketchnote</h2>

It can often be a challenge to stay focused during workshops or talks, especially as the day goes on. One of the best ways to pay attention, process the learning, and identify the key takeaways is to <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/sketchnoting-101-supercharged-professional-development-with-visual-notes" target="_blank">sketchnote</a>.&nbsp;

This is essentially adding simple drawings, arrows, borders, and diagrams to your notes. I find I&rsquo;m much more likely to review my notes, share them, and remember them whenever I sketchnote them.

Here&rsquo;s an example:&nbsp;

<img alt="Green Action in ELT and virtual meetings notes" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3085/content_elt-conference.jpg" />

I tend to find that whenever I sketchnote someone&rsquo;s webinar, talk, or workshop, they&rsquo;re always delighted. Even when I was just starting out. So feel the fear and post on socials anyway! You can tag me @EmilyBrysonELT and @ElliiLearning for an even greater reach.

Find out more about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/sketchnoting-101-supercharged-professional-development-with-visual-notes">sketchnoting</a> by reading my previous blog post right here on Ellii.

<h2>7. Get social&nbsp;</h2>

As I&rsquo;ve mentioned, conferences aren&rsquo;t just about attending workshops. They are opportunities to meet new people, plant seeds for future projects, and have fun!&nbsp;

Both online and face-to-face conferences often have social programs. When <a href="https://innovateeltconference.com/the-event/" target="_blank">Innovate</a> was hybrid, it had a networking space, where people could log in simply for a chat. <a href="https://www.iatefl.org/conference/home">IATEFL</a> tends to have evening events such as a Quiz, Pecha Kucha, and Concerts. There can often be guided sightseeing within the schedule.&nbsp;

These are some of the best times to make connections. You could also arrange informal meet ups with people in ELT-themed social media groups.&nbsp;

<h2>8. Visit the exhibition hall</h2>

Conferences often have spaces for publishers, education providers, and other relevant organisations to share their products and services with you.&nbsp;

Take time to wander round, speak to the exhibitors, browse the books, and trial any software or learning tools.&nbsp;

If you like free stuff and discounts, this is the most likely place for it! Publishers may offer sample copies of their books for attending a workshop, while course providers may have discount codes for signing up during the conference.&nbsp;

<h2>9. Speak!</h2>

Presenting at a conference is an excellent way to develop professionally and share your expertise with the world. It&rsquo;s also invaluable to build your online persona.&nbsp;

I&rsquo;ve found that public speaking has created a snowball effect for me in terms of project offers. Many people have contacted me after conference sessions requesting that I speak at other events or collaborate with them in some way.&nbsp;

If you&rsquo;re still building your confidence with teacher education, start small by presenting at a local event&nbsp;or ask the conference to limit the attendance of your session. They could give you a smaller room or a later time slot, for example.&nbsp;

<h2>10. Enjoy the journey!</h2>

This one has two meanings. Firstly, enjoy the journey of the conference itself.&nbsp;Whether it&rsquo;s one day or a full week, you&rsquo;ll notice how you&rsquo;ve developed over the course of the event. Take time to reflect and have fun.&nbsp;

The second meaning is about enjoying the physical journey. As highlighted in the sketchnote above, conference travel, especially international, can have a significant effect on the environment.&nbsp;

If possible, find creative ways to reduce your carbon emissions. Consider ride-sharing, taking the train, or combining your trip with a vacation or another event. You could even cycle.&nbsp;

I&rsquo;m a big fan of cycling, and I&rsquo;m getting a bit of a reputation for cycling to conferences. So far, I&rsquo;ve cycled home to Glasgow from SATEFL (Perth, Scotland), from Glastonbury (yes, the festival) to NATECLA (Birmingham), and to IATEFL in Liverpool and Belfast.&nbsp;

Last year, my cycle not only cut emissions, but I also managed to raise &pound;2,000 for <a href="https://www.amalaeducation.org/" target="_blank">Amala</a>, a charitable organization that provides education for young adults living in refugee camps.

This year, I intend to cycle 250 miles over three days to IATEFL in Harrogate to raise money for the <a href="https://www.handsupproject.org/" target="_blank">Hands Up Project</a>.&nbsp;

You can find out more about my cycle on my own <a href="https://www.justgiving.com/page/emily-bryson-cycle-to-iatefl-harrogate-2023-for-hup?utm_term=jJ53wWV8k " target="_blank">blog</a>.

<blockquote>
What are your top tips for conferences? Feel free to share them in the comments. We&rsquo;d love to hear from you.&nbsp;&nbsp;
</blockquote>

How to Get the Most Out of an ELT Conference

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If you read <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/authors/emily-bryson" target="_blank">my Ellii blog posts</a> regularly, you&rsquo;ll know that I&rsquo;m passionate about bringing visuals and simple drawings into the language classroom. In addition to making content more memorable,&nbsp;they are a powerful way to support understanding,&nbsp;process information, boost&nbsp;creativity, and encourage&nbsp;critical thinking.&nbsp;

In this post, I&rsquo;ll explore sketchnoting and why it&rsquo;s so useful for teachers and their professional development.&nbsp;

<h2>What is sketchnoting?&nbsp;</h2>

As language teachers, we are forever asking students to deduce meaning by looking closely at words. Sketchnoting is the perfect example to use as a demonstration. The clues are very much in the name&mdash;taking notes with sketches!

Sketchnoting is also known as visual note-taking or, more formally, visual recording. It essentially combines text with drawings and diagrams to capture key information.&nbsp;

Here&rsquo;s an example:&nbsp;

<img alt="sketchnoting research session" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3065/content_sketchnoting-research.png" />

You&rsquo;ll notice that the drawings are quick and simple. Their purpose is to communicate key concepts and support understanding rather than to be&nbsp;artistic masterpieces. They also act as visual cues that can aid memory.&nbsp;

<h2>The benefits of sketchnoting for teachers</h2>

When I first started attending conferences and teacher training workshops, I would take copious notes during sessions. Those notes mostly ended up in a dusty notebook on a forgotten shelf or in the recycling bin! I certainly never looked at them again.&nbsp;

Once my Smartphone became my conference (and life) sidekick, I tried taking digital notes using a notepad app. I then had loads of digital notes that I occasionally searched for&nbsp;if the need arose.

I then discovered sketchnoting, and I haven&rsquo;t looked back. Now, every time I take notes, I take pride in making them something that I want to look at again and again. I give myself time to finalize them and really process the information within them.&nbsp;

When I think back on conference talks I&rsquo;ve sketchnoted, I can clearly visualize the key points. If I want to review a certain topic, I can find it easily in my &quot;sketchnotes&quot;&nbsp;folder. In addition, sharing them on socials means that I get to review the content every time someone comments.&nbsp;

Here&rsquo;s one from ElliiCon2022&nbsp;that tends to generate a lot of discussion on socials&nbsp;and that really sticks in my head. For me, the bathtub picture always reminds me that self-care is much more than a hot bath!

<img alt="sketchnote self-care ElliiCon 2022" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3070/content_content_Self-care-sketchnote.jpg" />

The best bit about sketchnoting for me is that it&rsquo;s finally helped me to pay attention! This is something I&rsquo;ve been terrible at my whole life. My math teacher wrote in my school reports that I&rsquo;d learn more if I wasn&rsquo;t staring out the window! If I&rsquo;d known about sketchnoting then, I may actually have understood the concept of logarithms (or maybe not)!

So, in sum, sketchnoting:&nbsp;

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="correct">generates a desire to review notes</li>
	<li class="correct">aids focus, understanding, and information processing</li>
	<li class="correct">is a great way to get creative</li>
	<li class="correct">makes notes memorable and fun</li>
	<li class="correct">supports professional development</li>
</ul>

<h2>How to get started with sketchnoting</h2>

The good news is that anyone can sketchnote. Here are some of my top tips:&nbsp;

<h3>1. Use erasable pens (or pencils)!&nbsp;</h3>

When starting out, I found Pilot Frixion pens invaluable. This meant I could make mistakes, redraw any icons I wasn&rsquo;t happy with, and still have finished notes that were bold and visible.&nbsp;

If you look closely at this one, you&rsquo;ll notice where I&rsquo;ve erased sections.&nbsp;

<img alt="sketchnoting flip session" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3066/content_sketchnoting-flip.png" />

<h3>2. Experiment with different headings and sections</h3>

Using dotted lines, double lines, clouds, banners, or boxes is a good way to separate different information&nbsp;or make your headings stand out.

The sketchnote below uses a name plaque for the title and for the speaker&rsquo;s name. It also uses a thought cloud, speech bubble, set of headphones, and&nbsp;large piece of paper to separate different pieces of information.&nbsp;

<img alt="sketchnote for Nik Peachey's session at ElliiCon 2022" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3064/content_nik-peachey-sketchnote.jpeg" />

<h3>3. Practice drawing simple icons</h3>

The doodles in these sketchnotes are based around international iconography. They are simplified icons that are part of a &quot;visual vocabulary&quot;&nbsp;that can be developed with practice, just like learning vocabulary in any language. To get started, try copying the drawings you can see in the sketchnotes in this post or search for &quot;icon&quot;&nbsp;images online for inspiration.&nbsp;

<h3>4. Relax and have fun!</h3>

Sketchnoting is a great way to quiet the mind and relax. See it as an opportunity to get creative and to interact deeply with information. Your notes are for you to develop and learn. There&rsquo;s no need for perfectionism or letting your inner troll judge you too harshly. Enjoy the process and you&rsquo;ll soon be totally hooked!

<h3>5. Feel the fear&nbsp;and share them anyway!</h3>

Sharing your notes can be daunting, but there is absolutely no pressure or need to do this. However, I have to say that every single time I&rsquo;ve shared my visual notes, they&rsquo;ve had a positive response. In fact, sharing them gave me the confidence to improve.&nbsp;

In summary, sketchnoting is an excellent way to make professional development more fun, memorable, creative, and effective. The next time you find yourself taking notes, try adding some doodles and diagrams!

<blockquote>
Have you tried sketchnoting at conferences or teacher training events? We&rsquo;d love to know your thoughts and experiences. Please share them in the comments.&nbsp;
</blockquote>

Sketchnoting 101: Supercharge Professional Development with Visual Notes

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The ability to study effectively and autonomously is crucial for success in any learning situation.&nbsp;

As an ESOL tutor who teaches adult learners with varied educational histories, I see this all too clearly in my classes.&nbsp;

Learners with well-developed study skills can organize their time, prioritize tasks, and make progress faster than those who are new to education.&nbsp;

Here are some tried and tested ways to incorporate study skills into your classroom.&nbsp;

<h2>1. Let students share ideas</h2>

Over the years, I&rsquo;ve found that one of the best ways to encourage learner autonomy is to let them do it themselves.&nbsp;

Allow time in class for students to share their own study tips with each other. This can be through structured discussions or as a follow-up to a reading or listening activity on the topic.&nbsp;

Students often have similar challenges to overcome, so they are best placed to give each other ideas on what works for them.&nbsp;

They also know exactly what they like and can recommend the best apps, websites, videos, graded readers, and other resources.&nbsp;

It was during an idea-sharing discussion like this&nbsp;that I was surprised to learn that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@Ellii">YouTube</a> is one of my students&rsquo; favorite ways to learn a language.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0MvnNQjMzmbT19jEPA18aypjjde_zyo4" target="_blank">Ellii&#39;s Grammar Video Playlist</a>&nbsp;is an example of something your students may like for self-study.&nbsp;

<h2>2. Explore note-taking options</h2>

There are lots of different ways to take notes, but structuring notes&nbsp;well and having a system can really enhance the learning experience.&nbsp;

When students are first developing their note-taking skills, I find that drawing a huge notebook on the whiteboard and using it to demonstrate layout works really well for this.&nbsp;

I can then lay out my whiteboard exactly as I want students to copy it to their notebooks.&nbsp;

<img alt="Emily Bryson's notebook drawing sample for whiteboard " src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/3006/content_Emily-Bryson-Notebook-study-skills-Ellii.jpg" />

You may also ask&nbsp;students to consider:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>keeping separate notebooks (or sections of a notebook) for <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/2966-vocabulary-cards" target="_blank">vocabulary</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/grammar">grammar</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/collections/english-foundations/letters">phonics</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/pronunciation">pronunciation</a>, messy notes, etc.&nbsp;</li>
	<li>using different colors of pen to highlight key points</li>
	<li>re-writing their notes after class</li>
	<li>looking at other students notebooks for ideas</li>
	<li>&quot;sketch noting&quot; (e.g., adding simple drawings to illustrate key points)</li>
	<li>using visual tools&nbsp;such as mind maps, diagrams, charts, and <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/graphic-organizers-for-language-skills-development">graphic organizers</a></li>
</ul>

Try this related <a href="https://ellii.com/lessons/writing-in-english">Writing in English</a> lesson on <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3569-how-to-take-notes" target="_blank">How to Take Notes</a>.&nbsp;

<h2>3. Work on time management</h2>

Time-management skills are essential for balancing academic and personal tasks. They can also make larger goals more manageable&nbsp;by breaking them into smaller steps and ensuring learners meet their deadlines.&nbsp;&nbsp;

You can:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>praise good timekeeping in class</li>
	<li>support students to create a study schedule</li>
	<li>introduce them to digital tools such as online calendars and task list planners such as <a href="https://trello.com/" target="_blank">Trello</a></li>
	<li>discuss, plan, and review their language learning goals regularly</li>
</ul>

<h2>4. Consider well-being</h2>

People learn best when they are relaxed and in a comfortable environment. Developing good study habits can support this.&nbsp;

In class, ask students to consider how they learn best. Ask them to discuss the following.

Their perfect study environment:

<ul>
	<li>What furniture do they need?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What stationery, books, or devices do they need?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Do they prefer a quiet space or a bit of background noise?</li>
</ul>

Their perfect study time:&nbsp;

<ul>
	<li>Is there a particular time of day they like to study?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>How often do they take breaks?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>What do they do when they take a break?&nbsp;</li>
	<li>Do they have a study schedule?</li>
</ul>

In general, having consistent study habits, and sticking to them, can work well. Encourage students to get into a routine with their studies&nbsp;and to take regular breaks to allow their brains to focus and retain information. Having a designated, quiet&nbsp;place to study with the right stationery is invaluable too.&nbsp;

<h2>5. Look for natural learning opportunities</h2>

Language development is more successful when learners have a chance to practice their skills. Encourage them to try to do this as much as possible outside the classroom. This will make it much simpler for them to remember what they&rsquo;ve learned and give them confidence to use their English.&nbsp;

If your learners live in an English-speaking country, class trips, community visits, volunteering, work, and internships can be excellent ways to practice their English and learn new skills. You may wish to invite recruiters, charities, or local organizations to your classes to present their opportunities. This in itself is an opportunity for learners to practice their English.&nbsp;

If your learners don&rsquo;t live an English-speaking country, there are still plenty of ways to help them practice. You could encourage them to meet the other class members socially outside of class&nbsp;and try to speak in English when they are together. For young learners, speak to the parents and try to arrange extracurricular events. Incorporating activities such as drama, <a href="https://ellii.com/media/videos/stories-songs" target="_blank">songs, or stories</a> in English can give structure and added opportunities to practice.&nbsp;

You could also look online. Websites such as <a href="http://meetup.com" target="_blank">Meetup.com</a> often have language exchange events all over the world. Plus, there are lots of social media groups where learners can meet other English users. Encourage them to join online groups based around their interests.

If you&rsquo;d like more ideas for study skills, you may also check out Ellii&#39;s&nbsp;<a href="https://ellii.com/collections/casas-competencies/learning-and-thinking-skills">Learning &amp; Thinking Skills</a> collection.&nbsp;You may also want to use this lesson on <a href="https://app.ellii.com/lesson/3675-study-skills ">Study Skills</a> with your B1&ndash;B2 (intermediate&ndash;high intermediate) learners.&nbsp;

<blockquote>
What&#39;s your top tip for supporting your learners to develop their study skills?&nbsp; Please join Ellii&#39;s community by sharing a&nbsp;comment. 
</blockquote>

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Emily Bryson