THE AGE FACTOR

IN TEACHINGDoes age matter?

Technology and age Event reviews

What inspires ELTAS teachers?

1/2018English Language Teachers’ Association Stuttgart

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3 | ELTAS NEWS

E L T A S M A G A Z I N E

Dear members,Normally, this page would be entitled “Letter from the Editor”, but you may have noticed a small title change. That’s because our previous editor-in-chief, Jennie Wright, stepped down from her role and, in an effort to get the magazine up and running for 2018, four members have taken on the role of editor. Rebecca, Andy, Katrin, and myself have gladly volunteered for the job and are excited to share the final product with you.

The editorial team isn’t the only new aspect of our news-letter. We’ve also added a new rubric called Inspirations. This is a space for members to share ideas, book tips, class activities, or anything that inspires. In this edition, you can read members’ handwritten post-it notes about what inspires them as English teachers.

In continuing with this focus on members, many of you have contributed to this edition of the newsletter. From writing articles and reviews to giving interviews, every piece has only served to make this newsletter relaunch even more special. So, thank you for your contribution and support!

Finally, this edition of the newsletter explores the topic of age and how it plays a role in English teaching and learning. We hope that you find the ideas shared insight-ful and thought-provoking, no matter your age.

Happy reading!

The ELTAS Magazine Team

L E T T E R F R O M T H E E D I T O R S By Kiara Graves

LETTER FROM THE EDITORIAL TEAM 3

KIARA GRAVES

LETTER FROM THE ELTAS CHAIR 4

KATRIN BERINGER

LETTER FROM THE COMMITTEE 5

MICHELLE JAGGER

SPOTLIGHT ON MEMBER: 6

ANDREW FURZE

ELTAS EVENT REVIEW: JULY 2017 7

KIARA GRAVES

ELTAS EVENT REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 2017 8

KEVIN LILLEY

ELTAS EVENT REVIEW: OCTOBER 2017 10

DINA ANTONA

ELTAS EVENT REVIEW: DECEMBER 2017 13

KRYSTYNA KEY

ELTAS EVENT REVIEW: JANUARY 2018 14

SAMANTHA TENNANT

MEMBERS' INSPIRATIONS:

WHAT INSPIRES YOU AS AN ENGLISH TEACHER? 16

ARTICLE: THE AGE FACTOR IN TEACHING DOES AGE MATTER? 20

REBECCA SPRENGEL

ARTICLE: THE AGE FACTOR IN TEACHING TECHNOLOGY AND AGE 22

LAURA EDWARDS

ARTICLE: THE AGE FACTOR IN TEACHING A PERFECT PAIR 24

KATRIN BERINGER

BESIG 2017 REVIEWS 27

VERA TILLNER

BESIG 2017 REVIEWS 28

MICHELLE HUNTER

BOOK REVIEW: A-Z COACHING 29

JENNIE WRIGHT

INSPIRATIONS:

A STUDENT WHO INSPIRES ME 30

REBECCA SPRENGEL

IMPRINT 31

IN THIS ISSUE

1 / 2 0 1 8

Rebecca, Kiara and Andy Y.

ELTAS NEWS | 4

Letter from your Chair

Dear members,

Thanks to a newly created group of committed and talented members, I am glad that you have this ma- gazine in your hands. Not in your hands, but on your screen? If so, you decided in our google survey to receive the digital version of our magazine only. Digital or not – this was probably not a question of how old you are. That’s what I dare to assume after reading Laura Edward’s article “technology and age”.

Personally, I find our topic stimulating because I have already experienced the pitfalls of making assump-tions prompted by the age factor. I remember bring-ing a text and a video clip on the augmented reality game Pokemon-Go for my university students. I was so confident that I knew what they wanted – and what was the response? They looked puzzled because they thought it was “childish stuff ”. Funnily enough, my 50plus students were intrigued by it probably because it was educational: through Pokemon-Go they understood what their teenage-kids were doing and they learned about location-based advertising at the same time. The bottom line for me is always to bring things to class which I find interesting hoping I can light a fire for whatever it is – no matter how old my students are.

In Rebecca’s interviews with different players in our business it was mentioned that there is a noticeable upward shift in the average age of trainers, who may range from 25 to 75. That’s great news – we all won’t get much of a pension I guess but we can always earn some good money to top it up without feeling too old for the business. Aren’t we privileged in this respect compared to managers? Aren’t they considered a bit past it once they are fifty plus? Ageism? Not so much in teaching.

For 2018 we have already lined up speakers to meet your requests. There’ll be a good mix of familiar and new faces – some of our speakers like Marjorie Rosenberg come on behalf of a publisher. At this point I can’t cherish enough the excellent team that makes ELTAS what it is – the hub for teachers who are looking for inspiration and who are willing to share their knowledge with like-minded colleagues. With ELTAS we can develop our skills and make friends at the same time.

Now I hope that you will enjoy the read and I am already looking forward to seeing you at our next workshop!

Yours Katrin Beringer Chair of ELTAS e.V.

5 | ELTAS NEWS

Letter from the Committee

Dear members,

We hope you are enjoying this edition of our ELTAS magazine. A lot of thought and creativity went into it and it is the work of our magazine team, who are also on the ELTAS committee.

In the past year, the number of committee members has grown; there are now 10 of us, led and organized by Katrin, our experienced chair. With the extra helping hands, we can share the workload and support each other in achieving our goals. Andy V. has been busy finding interesting speakers – at conferences and through recom-mendations from you and she always makes sure that the venue is booked and the room set up.

We all meet regularly and have picked some great locations, Welt Café, Stuttgart Library and Rudolf ’s Küche, to name a few. As in all productive meetings, we rely on Karin to keep a track of the minutes. She also provides valuable admin support at events. Koi also has an important role supporting Katrin, Andy and Karin. She often looks after our speakers, making sure their visit goes smoothly.

Networking with other ELT colleagues all over Germany is also a top priority and Katrin and Ingrid attended the Inter ELTA conference in Biberach (ELTAU) in March last year. They found out that all ELTA want to increase membership numbers. To promote ELTA organizations nationally, ELTA Berlin-Brandenburg chair Sherri Wil-liams designed an ad for our joint advertising activities. You find it published in this edition, too. Talking of advertising, Andy Y. promotes ELTAS to publishers and language schools and encourages them advertise online or in our magazine, another important source of income. This income along with membership fees and spending are painstakingly tracked by Ingrid, who keeps the books and not a cent is spent without her approval! She is also responsible for membership administration. Our web-master Frances is the powerhouse behind the ELTAS website. She is continually looking at ways to improve our online services. Have you registered in “Find the Trainer” yet? Those of us who are profiled have found it a great way to get new business. And me? I support

Frances with content management, event details and write a regular blog. We are both planning to extend our knowledge of WordPress and are attending several workshops this year.

Our newest committee member, Kiara has been busy creating and sending you a google survey so we can get an overview of how best to keep you updated. We hope you have replied.

Committee work keeps us busy and we all enjoy work-ing together. There are still some workshops to finalize this year and Rebecca and her team have already started brainstorming ideas for the 30th anniversary of ELTAS next year.

Spread the word, tell your colleagues in ELT about our workshops and networking opportunities, the more the merrier!

Yours Michelle

OVERVIEW ELTAS TEAM 2018:

Chair: Katrin Beringer Deputy: Koi BurkartSecretary: Karin Scheffold-MoklerTreasurer & Membership Secretary: Ingrid AbeleEvents: Andy Vogt-NasWebmaster: Frances BöttingerWeb Support: Michelle JaggerMagazine: Rebecca Sprengel, Kiara GravesAdvertising: Andy Yarahmadi

ELTAS NEWS | 6

SPOTL IGHT ON MEMBER

I was born and raised in the English West Country between Agatha Christie’s creek and Jane Austen’s seaside resort (perhaps for TV fans Rosamund Pilcher country). After completing my Bachelor and Master degree I went to prison for a year:

WHERE I WORKED AS A PROBATION OFFICER

FURTHER ALONG THE COAST AT FORD PRISON.

I left Sussex after seven years for the proverbial four-letter word: LOVE. My wife had secured a good job here in Germany and following a TEFL course at Brighton University I came into English teaching. Originally I worked for private language schools and taught a wide variety of students from all over the world. After teaching extensively in further training I moved into higher education at university as well as company work.

THE MOST UNUSUAL PLACES I HAVE TAUGHT:

in a pub: before it opened on the phone: before I got dressed in Davos: apres-ski to an ex-drug dealer (prison flashback but Asperg this time)

WHO HAVE I TAUGHT:

Doctors, lawyers, engineers, technicians, office workers, IT-specialists, bankers, architects and many more.

WHY CAN ENGLISH TEACHING BE A GREAT JOB:

It is fun, you have a captive audience to laugh at terrible jokes, you become part of your students’ world and can help them deal with their issues, you can innovate and change lessons as you go along – as varied and as interesting as life itself.

THE WORST THING ABOUT THE JOB:

The traffic around Stuttgart! I live in the Weissenhof Siedlung on Killesberg and I am currently teaching at the university, in the automotive industry, tech companies, b2b wholesalers and the IHK.

WHY DID I JOIN ELTAS:

I joined to participate in a forum for English language professionals and to stay abreast of the latest trends and developments through interesting workshops.

Spotlight on Member: Andrew Furze

7 | ELTAS NEWS

EVENT REVIEW: JULY 2017

Using Mind Maps in the English Classroom with Ron Morrain Eltas Event Review by Kiara Graves

July 22, 2017, held at ISM Hochschule, Stuttgart

When I arrived at the International School of Management, Stuttgart for my very first workshop hosted by ELTAS, I was not sure what to expect. The title of Ron Morrain’s workshop, “Using Mind Maps in the English Classroom” seemed intri- guing, but not ground-breaking. Mind maps? That’s nothing new. What can he have to say that I haven’t heard before? I’ve used mind maps for years, both as a student and teacher. Like most people, I assume, I had always associated mind maps with brain-storming – a useful tool, but certainly not the heart of my teaching and learning repertoire. Despite arriving with my own assumptions about the topic of the day, I hoped that this event would provide me with both new ideas for my teaching practice as well as the opportunity to connect to other like-minded professionals – something that I have found to be especially difficult to do as a freelance English teacher/trainer.

Morrain’s passion for teaching and learning was evident from the start. He began the workshop by joyfully giving each participant a copy of his book “Why Mind Maps” which proved to be a useful reference tool during and after the workshop.

He then quickly highlighted the characteristics of effective Continuing Professional Development, which set the tone for the workshop. A brief review of student-centered teaching and learning methods generated inter- ests among participants. As a final topic before the break, Morrain addressed the importance of giving students the opportunity to create an authentic product. Morrain led a group brainstorm of potential pro- ducts and good-naturedly challenged ideas that did not adhere to the cha-racteristics of an observable or objective assessment.

The break provided the opportunity to reenergize with coffee and a tasty snack while enjoying the camara-derie of peers. I was very happy to meet new people who kindly offered advice, shared their experiences, and discussed the many ideas already generated by the first half of the workshop. The best part of the work-shop, however, came after the break.

Morrain resumed by reminding us that “every student has a story” and emphasizing the importance of allowing English learners to tell these stories, as they can be power-ful motivators for learning. He then introduced his version of a mind map, which is designed to this end. It is not the standard brainstorm mind map, but a series of structured questions and tasks that lead to the creation of an authentic product by students. It is simple to make, yet invaluable for student-centered learning. We worked in pairs to

create our own mind maps on the topic of social media before ana-lysing and discussing our ideas as a group. Finally, we ended by preview-ing several prefabricated mind maps that are otherwise only available in Morrain’s books.

I think it is safe to say that I wasn’t the only one who left the workshop feeling excited and inspired by this fresh look at an old tool. “Don’t do the learning for them,” Morrain reminded us more than once. A simple, but powerful reminder that has stayed with me as I’ve continued to design learning experiences for my students. Since attending this work-shop, I have also begun to consider how I can incorporate mind-maps into my own teaching practice. I was more than satisfied with my experi-ence, and I can’t wait to see what the next ELTAS workshop has to offer!

A former US school teacher, Kiara

recently relocated to Stuttgart where

she works as a freelance English

trainer. She is also a member of the

ETLAS newsletter team.

ELTAS NEWS | 8

EVENT REVIEW: SEPTEMBER 2017

Blend to perfection – Blended learning in the English language classroom with Laura Edwards Eltas Event Review by Kevin Lilley

September 23, 2018, held at ISM Hochschule, Stuttgart

Laura gave us a very inspiring talk on blended learning. Her main focus, which she specifically stated, was to encourage us to get started using blended learning in our classes and that’s how she approached the workshop. She has a Master's in Communication Theory so she knew her stuff and could speak from experience.

Starting with a definition of blended learning, she went on to detail a whole list of tools which can be used to help students and teachers contact each other. Some of the advantages of blended learning being: combin-ing classroom and online learning, catering to different learning preferences, offering learners more flexibility, creating more time for in-class interaction, putting learners more in charge of their learning. She told us that

“blended learning is not just a novelty, but an approach that transforms and improves the learning processes”.

The use of digital tools has become commonplace in today’s society and can be harnessed in language learn-ing. Through the large range of tools available, there are many ways in which technology can enhance language learning. The point was stressed over and over that the use of technology should empower students to be more independent, and as such, less dependent on the teacher, more creative and that content can be personalized. It is important for teachers to think about the kind of students they have, whether Business English learners, teenagers, children, adult, examination courses etc. and think about the kind of approach that might work for them before embarking on their journey. Let’s look at some of the tools which Laura presented.

Padlet: For sharing learning content, homework or extra reading resources, creating topic walls for presentation skills etc. Students can also create their own learning diary or language notebook walls.

Lesson Paths: Write your own articles, add files, and create quizzes.

Word it Out: Word Clouds can be created to pre-teach new vocab before reading or listening tasks or to show which words appear most often in a text

Vocaroo: for recording student speaking content.

Using technology tools give learners the chance to communicate with each other beyond the classroom plus it gives them the chance to share their work and review other’s work. The feature Screen-o-matic allows a teacher to record lectures, webinars, demos, games, Skype calls etc., and share via YouTube or directly in a video file.

Under the heading: ‘Communicate and Collaborate’, Today’s Meet is a tool which can be used to improve meetings, presentations by allowing learners to interact directly by introducing themselves and/or leaving com-ments for the others to read and then react to. You can use Skype as a teaching resource which can also be used

to send files and share screen content. Group calls can also be set up. Google docs is also a resource which can be used to create and edit docs online or offline.

In the area of ‘Quiz and Assess’, the feature Quiz-ziz was presented: This is an activity which allows

Gabriel and Dawn are trying out a new tool

Blended learning can be fun!

9 | ELTAS NEWS

students to play against each other in the classroom or as homework. Quizlet allows the teacher to create tools for learning such as digital flashcards, games and learning tools.

What’s the added value of these tools and features? According to Laura, it means that you and your learners can spend more time engaging with English. Students have more freedom to learn when it suits them. Students can create and share content. Tasks are more varied and interesting.

Laura gave us some good tips about how to approach the whole area of blended learning by setting ourselves a goal. You can either set the bar high by deciding you want to offer a fully blended course by, say, early next year, or possibly, offer some tutorials and content as blended learning in addition to your face-to-face teaching. Or, alternatively, a more modest aim would be to say that students should be able to access some online content and do some project work in class.

Steps on the way to these goals would be: creating content and lesson plans for blended modules, be it grammar, pronunciation, presentation, small talk, CV writing, exam preparation etc.

The next step is then to think of how you can use the tools with different students in different contexts and then test tools one by one with different groups at diffe- rent levels, keeping a note of what worked and what

didn’t and getting feedback from students. There are a few things to keep in mind when thinking about blended learning, though. One is copyright and respecting and citing sources, the other is that using social media is not everyone’s thing and that there may be people who would be left out if you insisted on using social media in class.

Laura also gave us some guidance for pricing. She stressed that preparing and setting up content for blended learning does take time and needs to be taken into account when pricing.

I hope these notes have given you an idea of what is available in the area of blended learning and that we will be able to try out as many of these tools as possible. It would be interesting to hear about the experiences of other teachers at future workshops.

Kevin Lilley is an experienced

Business English trainer in the

Stuttgart area with a large

portfolio of customers located

in various sectors of the German

economy. Additionally, he teaches

German as a foreign language.

Laura Edward in action

Koi presenting our ELTAS mug

Katrin, Michelle and Georgia have completed a task together

ELTAS NEWS | 10

EVENT REVIEW: OCTOBER 2017

October 21, 2017, held at ISM Hochschule, Stuttgart

In this workshop Tim Philips provided us with a plethora of information on using visuals in the classroom. Drawing on images from National Geographic and Ted talks, Tim demonstrated to us how we can maximise the opportunities offered by just one single image, so that it becomes a resource providing us with an assortment of possibilities that may be exploited for language learning.

Citing facts and figures, Tim explained how powerful the dissemination of visual information has become in our daily lives. Three hundred hours of video are uploaded to You Tube every hour, on average we take ten photos per day on our devices, predominately on our smart phones. As Tim suggested, images have become the currency of young people today if not increasingly for us all, too.

With regards to using visuals, Tim pointed out the importance of always trying to choose an image that is interesting and appropriate to your group of learn-ers. We, as human beings are curious people, he added, reminding us also of children´s inquisitiveness that we,

as adults, tend to lose. So, if we transfer this aspect to the classroom situation, picking a suitable image can ignite learners´ curiosity, engaging and inspiring them. Another crucial aspect mentioned was that there is no correct response to visuals as they are open to interpretation, so every response given is valid.

Images may be potent but how can we exploit them for language learning? Referring to Bloom´s taxonomy, Tim suggested that this educational framework could be deployed as a guide when using visuals. For example, at the knowledge level, low-level learners could list lexical items present in the image; moving on to the compre-hension stage, we could ask learners to interpret the visual or give a prediction of what will happen next. We could continue in this way by increasing the complexity of the questions, or the tasks assigned to our learners in accordance with their language levels. (A list of ques-tions/verbs to use that can easily be adapted can be found on the internet by searching Bloom´s taxonomy). >>>>

Visual Literacy in the 21st Century Classroom with Tim Phillips, sponsored by National Geographic Learning Eltas Event Review by Dina Antona

Our speaker Tim Philips

Thank you, Tim!

A fully booked workshop

1 1 | ELTAS NEWS

WebinarsWe want English language teachers to experience the excitement and joy of learning as well. That’s why we strive to help teachers

achieve personal success and be better citizens of the 21st century.

Sign up at:NGL.Cengage.com/webinars

NGL.Cengage.com/elt

All you need is a good

internet connection!

Join our regular webinars from authors, National Geographic

Explorers and speakers from the TED stage.

ELTAS NEWS | 1 2

One image showed a workman painting the Golden Gate bridge which Tim revealed to us little by little adding to our curiosity, whilst eliciting responses to the question “Where was this picture taken?” In the class-room, this could lead to an internet search task to find out how long it takes to paint the Golden Gate, thereby increasing learner involvement – far better than just pro-viding this piece of information ourselves. We then wrote a list of questions, each containing the pronoun “he” that could be posed to the workman.

Writing a caption for a photo, using no more than three words, was another enthralling group activity we per-formed for a different photo. A list of the captions could then be created with learners explaining their word choice followed by the entire group deciding on the appropriateness of each caption. Other suggestions could be for learners to create dialogues for the people in the images, roleplay the picture, write a diary entry or use grammar such as connectors to create a story. In other words, using the visual as an impetus for new lexis, collo-cations and other language learning opportunities.

Ultimately, we are aiming to go beyond the aesthetic appreciation of an image, to be in the position to decon-struct it and find meaning, so that visual literacy pro-motes critical thinking. It was a stimulating and fruitful workshop and although it was a sunny afternoon outside it was well worth missing to come away with so many ideas.

Originally from London

Dina is based in the

Stuttgart area. She

has worked for many

years as a Business

English trainer in both

academic institutions

and companies.

EVENT REVIEW: OCTOBER 2017

Visual Literacy in the 21st Century Classroom with Tim Phillips, sponsored by National Geographic Learning Eltas Event Review by Dina Antona

Monica, Sabine and Mauline

13 | ELTAS NEWS

EVENT REVIEW: DECEMBER 2017

Raising Your Voice with Phil Gunderson Eltas Event Review by Krystyna Key

December 2, 2017, held at ISM Hochschule, Stuttgart

The last workshop in 2017 coincided with the Christmas party, so I thought choosing the topic and the speaker was quite important. Actor Phil Gunderson set us all into a festive, happy mood and provided lots of group activities as the workshop itself was about using voice intonation, different sounds, mimic and gestures to cre-ate get-together fun.

The first part of the workshop was entitled “Voice Work Basics”, and the following activities were introduced and truly exercised:

Ha/hm conversation (warming up vocal chords and working on vocal clarity) – we stood in the circle and tried to send ha/hm impure in both directions, paying attention to which impulse was received, so we could copy the right one. It was great fun and a useful exercise before the real pronunciation part of the lesson.

Tongue twisters: e.g. “Betty Botter“ or consonant clusters such as

“KTD” and “PBG”. The emphasis is on connecting voice, breathing, creating mouth shapes, and stretching vocal chords.

In the group game “Birds in Paradise,” we were placed in pairs with one person leading and one person blindfolded. In this exercise, the first partner calls to the blindfolded one using a consonant cluster, and the blindfolded person must turn and move towards the sound.

The second game was even more fun. We formed a circle, and the first 4 people in the circle were asked to think about a sound which they were going to introduce to the group. The first person introduced the sound which then traveled through the circle until all participants made that same sound. After the first sound reached the quarter of the group, the second person introduced their sound. By this point, a quarter of the group was making one sound while another was making the new one. Again, after a short while, the third person introduce the next sound and movement. Thus, there were always new

sounds and new movements going around. The group really enjoyed the sense of polyrhythmic harmony as well moments of discord.

After the break we continued with storytelling exercises like the one called “Fortunately/Unfortunately”. To use this activity, ask students in groups of 2 or more to create a story where one fortunate event is followed by an unfortunate event. For example, “Fortunately, I had a parachute……. unfortunately it had a hole in it……fortunately there was a haystack below….. unfortunately there was a hidden tractor in the haystack….”

Phil demonstrated how you can prepare a short presen- tation of a story using pictures, drawings or cards, the PECHA KUCHA presentation style. Depending on the size of the group, the teacher can limit number of slides and also the time allocated to each slide. I often use

this with my BE students. You can find more information about PECHA KUCHA on the Internet.

I found the workshop and the ideas introduced both very useful and enjoyable. It was good to do something

“outside the box”. We often tell students to do that, but, just like them, we prefer to

remain in our comfort zone. Teaching based only on the knowledge sharing model is how most of us learned. However, in today’s world, with all of the technological developments, we need to address and help to develop non-robotic skills. We need to teach art, emotions and inter-personal interaction, too.

Member of ELTAS since 2006 during which time she was an active member of the committee wearing different hats. Her roles included events, accounts mana- gement, deputy and finally chairperson.

Phil giving instructions

ELTAS NEWS | 1 4

EVENT REVIEW: JANUARY 2018

January 20, 2018, held at ISM Hochschule Stuttgart

Many English trainers work with coursebooks, but sometimes find them rather bland and uninspiring, or not relevant to the learners´ needs. I was hoping to get some inspiration from this workshop and I was not disappointed!

Dina is a dynamic and enthusiastic presenter who gave a very interesting, hands-on workshop. There was plenty of time for discussion and interaction in which lots of great ideas came up.

At the beginning, we discussed why a coursebook was like a ready-made curry sauce, and the following points were made:

PRODUCTION

Both are diligently prepared, include everything you need and are mass produced.

Different levels of spiciness

Mild, medium, hot and extra hot (compared to the CEFR levels in ELT- A1 to C2)

KEY INGREDIENTS

A jar of curry sauce has its core ingredients, and so does a coursebook. These are a methodology, with specific teaching and learning approaches, equal focus on the four skills, grammar and lexis.

COOKING METHOD

Like following cooking instructions, teachers´ books give us a commentary, useful information or background, options for a warmer, a lead-in and desired learning outcomes.

Dina argued that coursebooks are essentially creative, as they have been lovingly created by a dedicated team. However, she asked us to consider this question:

Does the extensivesness of a coursebook unintentionally impede teachers from taking risks and allowing their own creativity to blossom? Here is what we came up with.

Coursebooks have an expiry date. In today´s fast chang-ing world, coursebook content can become very quickly outdated.

What do learners like? Teachers need to think about what the students would like, not only what we think they would like.

Coursebooks are a lifeline for beginner teachers.

Activities in the coursebooks can actually inspire our creativity.

It was suggested that coursebooks can help us to foster our own creativity but we need to have the courage to take risks and not be afraid to do something different, to step away from the tried and tested formula of the book.

Dina gave us some great suggestions for spicing up the visuals, texts, dialogues and language given in the books.

Personalisation – making the material more memorable for learners.

Using the visuals – giving a new meaning and context to the pictures

Changing the situation – using the small texts or dia-logues provided and creating a new context.

As trainers, we always think about what we are teaching our students and whether we are giving them the best we can. Using a coursbook can be a lifesaver for a new teacher, but sticking rigidly to its structure can result in boring and predictable lessons. If we dont use a course-book at all, then we could spend many hours searching for and preparing our lesson material. Dina was very aware of the reality facing many trainers today and made us feel that using a coursebook is fine, but we don´t need to follow it to the letter. Find what you like, what your students like, be aware that your learners are probably different to you, and different to each other. Try different things, be creative, use material that is there, add your own ideas, and make it work for you.

Variety is the spice of life!

Creativity – the ingredient to spicing up your coursebook with Dina Blanco-Ioannou Eltas Event Review by Samantha Tennant

15 | ELTAS NEWS

Samantha Tennant has worked in ELT since 1996, she is a DELTA qualified teacher and holds the ARELS diploma in Academic Management. Originally from the UK, she spent almost ten years living and working in Brazil before relocating to Stuttgart in 2013. She is currently the Director of Studies at Language Service Dr Lukes.

Members enjoying the break

Networking!

What inspires you?

Waiting for the AGM to begin

Dina talking about curry!

ELTAS NEWS | 16

1 7 | ELTAS NEWS

Steph and Alison (on the le�� with the Hueber editorial team

Steph and Alison (on the le�� with the Hueber editorial team

ELTAS NEWS | 20

Does Age matter?

1. HOW OLD ARE YOUR/YOUR TEACHERS’ STUDENTS?

University students: 18-28 VHS business and intensive courses: 25-50 VHS conversation classes: above 50, some over 70; special classes for seniors In company: 25-50

2. ARE THE STUDENTS IN YOUR/ YOUR TEACHERS’

GROUPS OF THE SAME AGE?

University: yes VHS: “The students in my B2 conversation class are between 45 and 65. They’ve been together for many years. It happens again and again that younger people join the class and drop out after a very short time. They feel awkward, or not part of the group. My students tend to talk a lot about their everyday life. Do the young ones get bored with their stories?

In company: A mix within a 10 year range.3. DOES PREPARING FOR DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS

AFFECT YOUR/ YOUR TEACHERS’ LESSON PLANNING

AND CHOICE OF MATERIAL? IF SO, HOW?

University: “All of our lesson plans are based on stu-dent needs and language level they are in. The age isn’t relevant.”

“Yes, digital is obviously an aspect. University students often check their smart phones immediately for anything they are not convinced about, or anything that interests them and they want to know more about. For this age group it is good to have done this too before the lesson to be prepared for their comments and questions. E.g. if a company is mentioned in a course book they will want to know if it’s a real company or one made-up for the purpose of the book:”

THE AGE FACTOR IN TEACHING

Author: Rebecca Sprengel

We, at ELTAS, were curious to find out what impact age had on our teaching, so we decided to ask people in and outside Germany to answer 6 questions. Five women from the Stuttgart area got back to us with their answers. They were: a well-known materials writer/teacher, the head of the English depart-ment in Adult Education (VHS), the owner of a language school teaching mainly in companies, a university Business English Program Coordinator and a young teacher. A number of them either teach or have taught in various situations, therefore their answers have been grouped as follows: University, VHS and in Company. Most of them preferred not to be mentioned by name. You know who you are and we are more than grateful for your contribution. Does age matter? What are the differences between younger and older students and teachers? Our interviews set out to answer these questions. We did not want to consider other issues such as culture, gender, learning styles or background at this time. Here is a summary of the respondents’ answers.

21 | ELTAS NEWS

VHS: Yes. I often have to consider where my students are in life when looking for ways to make lessons relevant. I have found that many older students prefer to be taught more traditionally while younger students prefer more modern approaches.” In company: “One of the main considerations for all teachers, young and old, is dealing with the ever-present and ever-expanding role of digitalization, both in the working areas and in the lives of students. Digitalization is pervasive in methodology, in media access, in materials development, and in publishing.”

4. CAN YOU/ YOUR TEACHERS RELATE BETTER TO

STUDENTS OF YOUR/THEIR OWN AGE GROUP?

University: “Our teachers are quite familiar with work-ing with students and put a lot of effort into keeping up with the trends and interests of the students.” VHS: “Age shouldn’t matter too much. Good teachers should always relate to their class, no matter how big the age gap. But of course it’s maybe easier if you have a lot in common with your students.” In company: “I feel like I can relate just as well to students from all age groups. There is always common ground when one is willing to look for it. Additionally, just because someone is the same age as I am does not mean we have the same experiences or perspectives. If I approach my classes and students with an open mind and genuine curiosity, I find that we can relate quite well.”

“Assuming the same level of energy and dedication to the task, it may well be that the vigour and sparkle of younger teachers is very appealing, but older trainers may also have the definite advantage of their extensive experience and adeptness in working with numerous groups on a great variety of teaching contents.

5. DO YOU/YOUR TEACHERS USE DIFFERENT MEDIA

AND EQUIPMENT ACCORDING TO YOUR/THEIR STU-

DENTS’ AGE?

University: “No, we use the resources available to us at the university.”

VHS: “Yes, more digital with younger students. Paper-based materials with pensioners – preferably with clear images and larger print.” In company: “I do not vary my media or equipment based on age, but rather based on the preference of my students/classes and general availability of resources.”

“While the cyber world may be second nature to younger teachers, it is a “must” for older teachers to become competent and confident in these constantly changing

technologies. Digitalization can greatly facilitate language teaching and learning, and it expands our

“teaching toolbox” in a way we would not have expected even 10 years ago.”

6. DO YOU/YOUR TEACHERS’ BEHAVIOUR/TEACHING

STYLE CHANGE DEPENDING ON WHICH AGE GROUP

THEY ARE INTERACTING WITH?

University: “No. Although, with university students becoming younger (G8), some first semester students act as though they are still at school, so classroom manage-ment possibly becomes more of an issue.”

VHS: “In a class with elderly people I would speak more slowly and maybe a bit louder, too. I would avoid too much moving around in the classroom… Although I would also never stop challenging older people, because that’s also why they join our English classes.”

In company: “I try to vary my approach based on the needs of my student/class. Perhaps age influences this, but I do not consciously consider it.”

Finally, the question we didn’t ask but should have done.

Is the teacher’s age relevant? Fortunately the language school owner did it for us.

“Some of our staff have been in professional English training for over thirty years. While most of our students are employed in industry and have stayed at roughly the same average statistical age of between 25 to 50 years, there is a noticeable upward shift in the average age of trainers, who may range from about 25 to 75 years of age. This means that students are generally experiencing more senior teachers than they did before the turn of the century.

It is our experience that the more “seasoned” teachers are generally well received by our students and clients of any age.”

In conclusion, it seems that age does matter – in a pos-itive manner. It offers teachers the opportunity to vary our material and teaching styles. It unlocks the door to our creativity, encourages us to be learner centred and become even better teachers.

Author: Rebecca Sprengel

ELTAS NEWS | 22

It’s hard to believe that the websites and apps that get us through the day, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Insta-gram, Youtube, or Netflix, just didn’t exist 15 years ago. Back in 2003, we logged into our Hotmail accounts from internet cafes and rented DVDs from Blockbuster. Cam-era phones had not yet come on the market, and selfies were but a distant dream.

Now we’re always online, and laptops, tablets, and smartphones have become so embedded in our work and private lives that we wonder how we lived without them. This has inevitably had an impact on education, particularly on language teaching. The internet allows us to access resources to help engage our students and bring lessons to life.

Yet, while some teachers feel excited about the oppor-tunities technology brings and regularly have students carry out research or create content online using their devices, others are more hesitant. Some teachers, par-ticularly those working with teens or university students, worry that their students know more than they do and a failed attempt at introducing technology into the lesson will mean they lose their students’ respect. Such fears stem from the belief in a divide between the technologi-cal ability of those teaching and those being taught.

In 1962, to explain how various technologies are adopted by the general population, Everett Rogers came up with the diffusion of innovations theory, something which remains relevant today. He believed that there are four factors that influence how an innovation spread: the innovation itself, communication channels, a social system, and time. When people are convinced about something new, they communicate their enthusiasm to other people. The better the innovation, the faster word

spreads, and the faster it will be adopted.

The internet, of course, speeds up the process even more. Yet we don’t all immediately jump on the latest trend. Individuals have characteristics that cause them to adopt innovations at different rates. Rogers put adopters into 5 categories: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, Laggards.

Innovators are idealistic risk-takers who are excited about trying new ideas and have enough money to do so. Early Adopters are those who like the idea of being trendsetters and quickly join in once the advantages of new technology become apparent. The Early Majority are pragmatic people who wait till they see proof before acting on the innovation.

The Late Majority are practical and skeptical people who are slow to adopt an innovation, often doing so after most of society has adopted it. Laggards are the last to adopt an innovation. They are traditionalists who tend to have a strong dislike of change and may often be isolated in their viewpoints.

So, while we often assume it is the young who drive trends, in reality, the rate of uptake of an innovation has more to do with attitude than age. Essentially, it boils down to a willingness to accept change.

Although that may make sense, somehow, when it comes to technology, there’s a lingering feeling that age is a key factor in defining how successful a person can be at getting to grips with something new. After all, there must be some truth to the adage ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’, right? This type of thinking strongly influences how likely we are to embrace technology for learning and it can prevent us from seeking out the

Technology and age – examining assumptions

THE AGE FACTOR IN TEACHING

Author: Laura Edwards

23 | ELTAS NEWS

instruction or guidance necessary to become proficient in available tools or websites for ourselves. Whether technophobe, technophile or something in between, we have to recognise that there is no one correct approach. Identifying which of Roger’s five categories of adoption we belong to can help us understand our own attitudes and consider how these affect our teaching.

For years, we’ve been hearing about the ‘digital natives’, those born in the years after the widespread adoption of digital technology. Exposure to technology from such a young age supposedly gives them a far greater under-standing of technology than ‘digital immigrants’, those born before these tools became commonplace. The idea that the digital immigrant will always be a few steps behind the natives has had a terrible effect on the confi-dence of many teachers, who worry that their knowledge can never match those of their students purely because of the era they were born into. But even Marc Prensky, who coined the term in 2001, has since distanced himself from the concept. The fact is that while children today are more likely to be comfortable with new technology, their use of it, like that of most adults, is often super-ficial. They have no instinctive understanding of com-puter programming or how the internet works. The IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study International Report (2014) assessed computer and information literacy skills of 60,000 students around the world and revealed that while 92% had access to com-puters and the internet at home, the majority of them only able to use computers to complete basic and explicit information-gathering and information-management tasks. The report also states that while some of those participating in the study were independent and critical users of computers and information technology, many were not.

Media headlines focus on the amount of time teens and young people spend ‘glued’ to their smartphones, but it’s not just the kids. Internet use is rising year on year across all age groups. According to the 2017 report by the UK’s Office of Communication (Ofcom) entitled Adult media use and attitudes, 86% of all adults go online and 72% now use smartphones to do it. Statistics from the PEW research centre on social media use among adults in the USA (2017) show only a slight difference between those aged 18 to 29 (at 86%), and those aged 30 to 49 (at 80%). These findings prove that it is misleading to believe that technology use and knowledge can be slotted into homogenous groups based on age. Furthermore, the

notion that young people possess skills their teachers, because of their age, can never obtain, creates an unnec-essary rift in the teacher-student relationship and places the teacher in a hopeless situation. It implies that no matter what you do, you’ll never be a ‘native’, and are therefore destined to remain out of touch or behind.

Recognising the digital native rhetoric as a myth allows us to dispense with harmful generalisations about technology skills and focus instead on finding ways of providing our students with teaching strategies and tools that align with what they want and need.

Technology can play an important role in enhancing language learning in and out of the classroom. As with any change or innovation, it can be intimidating for both teacher and learner, regardless of age. Just remember that confidence comes with time and practice and has little to do with your date of birth.

Fraillon, J., Ainley, J., Schulz, W., Friedman, T. and Gebhardt, E., 2014. Preparing for life in a digital age: The IEA International Computer and Information Literacy Study international report.

Han, Z., 2013. Forty years later: Updating the fossilization hypothesis. Language Teaching, 46(2), pp.133-171.

Ipsos, M.O.R.I., 2007. Student expectations study: Key findings from online research and discussion evenings held in June 2007 for the Joint Information Systems Committee. Bristol: Joint Information Systems Committee ( JISC).

Ofcom, 2017. Adult media use and attitudes. Available from: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/102755/adults-me-dia-use-attitudes-2017.pdf

PEW Research Centre, 2017. Social media fact sheet. Available from: http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants: Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6.

Rogers, E.M., 2010. Diffusion of innovations. Simon and Schuster.

Laura Edwards is a teacher, test author, examiner trainer and digital materials developer, who’s worked in Ireland, the USA, Spain and Germany. She recently completed an MA in Technology, Education and Learning and her teaching interests include task-based learning, podcasting and digital portfolios.

ELTAS NEWS | 24

Hello Pam and Tiffany. Thank you for taking part in this interview!

HOW DID YOU END UP WITH THE

SAME CAREER?

Tiffany: Whilst studying for my A Levels, I was working during the summer months as a student group leader at a local EFL school in Malta. This involved taking teenage students out on activities around the island. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and the students often encouraged me to become a teacher myself. With additional encouragement from my mother, I then went on to train and become a certified EFL teacher. I was a summer teacher throughout my University studies and then moved onto full time teaching in the same school as my mother.

Pam: I initially trained as a Drama and English teacher way back in the early 70’s, spent time in sales and mar-keting and at one point owned my own business. When I moved from England to Malta, in the 90’s I literally fell into TEFL which was a growing industry in Malta at the time. It was living in a foreign country that helped me truly understand the importance of English as an

international language and that’s the main reason I went into TEFL. Since then, I have moved on to becoming a Teacher Trainer and a Director of Digital Academic Resources (DODAR).

TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT

YOUR WORK IN MALTA.

Tiffany: Over the years, I have taught a wide variety of students of different ages and levels. My main focus has been on teaching General English to international adult students. I have also taught

Business English and English for Exam Courses, and I’m currently specializing in teaching IELTS.

In the future, I aspire to follow in my mother’s footsteps as a teacher trainer and digital resource designer. In fact, I was recently chosen to take a Train the Teacher Course to help me begin on this path.

Pam: As a DODAR, I am responsible for designing lessons and courses for General English, Business English, Exam Courses, English for Young Learners and English for Special Purposes. All teaching resources that I create are designed for digital interactivity, to be used

Together with a handful of other ELTAS members I attended the BESIG conference in Malta last November. At lunch I got to know the young Malta based teacher Tiffany Borg and while we were talking about how nice it would be to discover more of the island, she took action and organized a bus shuttle for 20 colleagues and booked a table at a rooftop restaurant in the historic town Mdina. What a treat! We were overwhelmed by her hospitality. Her mother Pam Borg – also in the teaching business – joined us for dinner and months later they didn’t hesitate to take part in this interview: I expected interesting insights from mother aged 63 and daughter aged 23 – and I was not disap-pointed! Their answers reveal how very fruitful the cooperation of generations can be!

A perfect pair – An interview with Mother and Daughter Author: Katrin Beringer

Pam and Tiffany Borg

THE AGE FACTOR IN TEACHING

25 | ELTAS NEWS

in conjunction with Interactive Whiteboards, tablets and mobile devices in the classroom and online.

In my role as a Teacher Trainer, I train teachers for TEFL and I hold training workshops and speak at conferences on how technology can be incorporated into TEFL and used as a teaching tool.

DO YOU EVER CONSULT EACH OTHER AT WORK TO GET

ANOTHER GENERATION’S PERSPECTIVE ON A PROBLEM?

Tiffany: Yes, absolutely! We have such different perspec-tives so consulting and sharing our ideas proves really interesting. She provides a lot of theoretical input and I tend to provide the input of practicality.

Pam: Yes, all the time! Part of my role as DODAR is to research new digital technologies for teachers to use. I like to get Tiffany’s perspective from a practical teaching viewpoint and sometimes I even ask her to explain some things to me. She has a younger take on technology as she is a digital native, whereas I’m from the generation that saw the first home computer and the dawn of the internet.

DO YOU THINK IT IS AN ADVANTAGE WHEN YOUR

STUDENTS ARE ROUGHLY YOUR OWN AGE?

Tiffany: Actually, yes I do, I’ve noticed that students find me easier to relate to and my methods more engaging and practical. By being of a closer age to my students, I believe I can better understand their needs. Therefore, I’m able to incorporate technology into the lessons, not only to aid understanding but also to prepare them for using English in the outside world.

Pam: As a Teacher Trainer, definitely! Many older teach-ers have a fear of technology and use age as an excuse not to use it. But there I am at the age of 63, proving that age is not an obstacle and you can teach old dogs new tricks if you have the motivation and enthusiasm.

WOULD YOU SAY THERE IS AN AGE GROUP OF STUDENTS

THAT IS AN “IDEAL” FIT FOR YOU PERSONALLY?

Tiffany: Although I adapt my teaching styles according to age group, I would say at this point, I prefer to teach adult groups. Teenagers often tend to associate elder age with higher authority, so it can take longer for them to respond to a young teacher.

Pam: Not really, I’ve taught English to students ranging from 4 to 73 years of age. I think as a teacher you adapt your approach and teaching style to the needs and age of your students.

When it comes to teacher training workshops I like a mixed age range because technology is not limited by age, only mindset. Even young teachers can have difficul-ties using technology in their teaching. It’s all about the individual teacher’s own comfort zone with technology and how it affects their classroom management. This is not an age thing, it’s more about individual personality and identifying one’s strengths and weaknesses.

WOULD YOU SAY YOUR AGE AFFECTS YOUR STYLE OF

TEACHING? DO YOU EMPLOY A LOT OF TECHNOLOGY?

Tiffany: I would probably say that my age fuels my eagerness to experiment with technology in the class-room. I use a lot of technology in different ways; mainly interactive whiteboards, tablets and mobile phones. I try to incorporate the use of technology as a dynamic learn-ing tool opposed to an entertainment feature. Having the confidence to experiment with technology helps to bring the real world into the classroom, which I’m quite a fan of.

Pam: I have gained experience over the years and my teaching style has evolved because of that, but one thing I consider very important is to keep up with the times and as we live in a digital world this inevitably impacts on our teaching and student’s learning.

HOW DO DIRECTORS OF STUDIES PICK TEACHERS –

DOES AGE MATTER? WHAT HAVE YOU OBSERVED?

Tiffany: I’ve noticed that younger teachers are often more successful at gaining and maintaining new posi-tions, especially in tech-savvy schools. It seems that less experienced teachers can be more easily molded to suit the ways of a developing school. Older teachers tend to have their own ways of doing things, which may appear outdated and prevent willingness to adapt.

Pam: Well, it all depends on the directors of studies, their agenda and the needs of the school. There is an assumption that experience comes with the length of time you have been teaching but I believe you must consider the overall range of teaching experiences. A teacher who has been teaching A2 for ten years is often less experienced than a teacher of 5 years who has taught a broader range of levels.

Forward thinking tech-savvy EFL schools however, require teachers with experience using IWBs or digital devices for example and there is an assumption that younger teachers will be better, but as I said even younger teachers can be technophobes. These types of schools often provide technology training regardless of age. >>>>

ELTAS NEWS | 26

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING YOUR AGE ARE

IN TEACHING? ARE THERE ANY DOWNSIDES AT ALL?

Tiffany: I believe my age is a strength not a setback. I feel at this age, there is still so much to learn and try in the teaching world and it enables me to have an open-minded approach to innovative ideas that I come across. My age makes me more enthusiastic and easily inspired than others, and I’m not afraid of experimenting or making mistakes in the classroom; I know it’s part of the learning and development process.

Downsides? Hmm… as a new teacher I used to receive a lot of shocked faces from students and colleagues as they expected a teacher to be much older than I was, so it took longer for me to establish the same level of respect that I enjoy today. After I realized that my age was a strength, I think students then began to view it in the same way.

Pam: It’s great being an oldie because I can relate with the older teachers and I’m a bit of a surprise for the younger teachers. I’m just an oldie who loves technology!

DO YOU THINK THAT AGEISM IS AN ISSUE IN THE

TEACHING BUSINESS?

Tiffany: I’m not sure whether it can be called an ‘issue’ but I definitely think it exists. I always find myself to be the youngest in the room whenever I attend training courses or conferences and I can’t help but ask myself why? Where are the people my age? Is age an intimidat-ing factor? It could well be.

Pam: It can be, because we often associate older teach-ers with being over the hill and stuck in a teaching rut, especially when it comes to integrating technology in teaching. But as I said before it’s all about a teacher’s mindset not their age.

ONE LAST QUESTION. WHO IS MORE TECH-SAVVY,

YOU OR YOUR DAUGHTER/MUM?

Tiffany: Brilliant question! Funnily enough, I would say we are both pretty tech-savvy in different ways to be honest. My mum tends to be the tech researcher and generator, she’s great at finding new websites and apps to experiment with, and she’s also great at evaluating their teaching/learning potential.

I’m the one who goes off and tests the ideas in the classroom. It takes zero convincing for me to try out a new tech-idea in the classroom, most of the time quite spontaneously! I then report back to her and we discuss the effectiveness and ways it could be used in class. What I’d call the perfect pair!

Pam: Haha! Well, we have different tech-savvy roles here. I’m the researcher and get paid to explore and play with innovative technologies, finding ways to apply and incorporate them into TEFL and then training teachers how to use them. Tiffany applies these technologies in the classroom, tests them out and can feedback on the effectiveness. She’s my ideal partner as she gives me an honest professional opinion.

27 | ELTAS NEWS

30th IATEFL BESIG Annual Conference – 10 – 12 November 2017 in Malta

Liz Jolliffe: Coaching into motivation

Reviewed by Vera Tillner

Even though this session was in one of the rather unpop-ular slots (the last session before the final keynote speech of the conference), the conference room was packed with teaching professionals eager to find out how we can coach our students into motivation. Liz did a fine job in raising our own motivation right from the beginning by explain-ing the SCARF model to us and making us learn it by heart (and repeat it various times during the session as well!).

Without doubt, motivation is a key factor to successful training. The question then arises, how can we motivate students and thus enhance their learning experience?

Liz presented the SCARF model by David Rock which includes five domains:

S status who are we in the classroom?

C certainty knowing the agenda

A autonomy being in control of our own learning

R relatedness perception of being related to others in the group

F fairness everyone is treated equally

When all of the above psychological needs are met, motivation increases.

Liz then guided us to come up with activities to increase the above domains:

Status team-building activities

Certainty give students the courses’ agenda

Autonomy give students control over their training choices

Relatedness icebreakers

Fairness increase transparency and be consistent

Overall, this was a truly engaging and motivating work-shop which reminded us of the fact that learning can only happen in an environment which makes us feel better. So creating this kind of environment for our students is just as important as choosing the right materials. Don’t forget your scarf !

For further information about the SCARF model, check out Pam Holloway’s article on http://www.aboutpeople.com/increasing-engagement- and-motivation-using-the-scarf-model/

BESIG 2017 talk review

ARTICLE

Liz Jolliffe photo: Rudi Distl

ELTAS NEWS | 28

Conversations over breakfast in MaltaReview by Michelle Hunter

The best thing about BESIG (Business English Special Interest Group) conference in Malta for me this year was the blending of Research with Business – the joint ven-ture between RESig (Research Special Interest Group) and BESIG, and the resulting intergroup discussions. Recent experience of studying towards a Master’s degree has given me a deep interest in researching teaching practice. I have been learning how teachers - curious about what goes on in their classes - conduct practi-tioner research in order to improve their teaching and, of course, their learners’ learning experience.

For me the cream of the crop was the pre-conference session with Sarah Mercer and Daniel Xerri on how to go about finding a research question. We also had the opportunity to mix in small groups discussing each step and reflecting together on our individual situations. Two people in my group – one from Russia, the other from Holland – were able to connect over a shared pedagog-ical situation relating to learner motivation, which lent itself to possible collaborative research. The step-by-step reflective questions were invaluable for me as I am work-ing on my next piece of practitioner research. All-in-all, the BESIG conference in Malta this year was well worth the trip, and I have many memories of enriching and stimulating conversations – the informal, over-breakfast ones as well as those during the sessions. A true boost for my ongoing personal and professional development.

BESIG 2017 talk review

The two authors Michelle and Vera

Mauline and Ingrid at conference dinner

Impressions of the island

29 | ELTAS NEWS

Title: An A-Z of Coaching Publisher: ASK Publications, digital and print Authors: Michelle Hunter, Ben Dobbs Media reviewed: Print version with photocopiable activities Level: Intermediate to advanced learners

Name of Reviewer: Jennie Wright More info : http://bit.ly/2HcAbYq (Academic Study Kit)

WHO IS THE RESOURCE / MATERIAL FOR?

This book is about how to apply coaching principles to teaching, although you do not have to be a coach to use these activities with your learners. The materials are best used with higher level learners (from intermediate level), but I can easily see how it could also be used with lower level students (including A1), e.g. B for Brainstorming where students are asked to think of ways to remember new vocabulary and then label responses with codes. I also think this is ideal for business English learners and a lot of my students would find most of the tasks relatable to things they have done at work.

LAYOUT & CONTENT:

The book is primarily divided into activities from A-Z, with an introduction and information regarding how to use the activities for teachers. Each activity runs through the alphabet, e.g. N for Negotiation (an activity to help learners develop a positive attitude and skills for negoti-ation), P for People of interest (identifying useful traits and behaviours), and Z for Zzzzzzz (recognising the value of sleep for learning).

Each activity has teacher’s notes, but they also encourage you to think about how best to use the activity to meet your learners’ needs. In the teacher’s notes it gives you information on duration of task, activity type (individual, group, etc.) and also how many activity sheets you need to photocopy and who gets what.

DID I TRY THE RESOURCE OUT AND WITH WHOM?

Sadly, I was only able to try out a couple of tasks with my business English students this month, but I’m looking forward to trying out the rest. The activities were quite familiar to my learners as they do these types of coaching tasks at work. Because of this, it was not difficult to carry out the tasks and I got immediate buy-in.

STRENGTHS:

It really is a good one-stop shop to start to apply coach-ing into your daily teaching. This is the perfect place to start as it’s so easy to follow and implement. And last but not least, the topics are engaging, with intriguing ideas and tasks designed to arouse curiosity and learners’ inter-est. Also (I probably shouldn’t say this) it really helps decrease lesson planning time! Yeah!

WEAKNESSES:

I always lament that there is no colour in these photo-copiable books, but this is just my personal preference. I didn’t find any weakness in the content.

WOULD I RECOMMEND IT?

Definitely

RECOMMENDATION:

I give it four stars ****

**** This reviewer highly recommends it *** This reviewer recommends it ** This reviewer recommends it with reservations * This reviewer does not recommend

NB: the review is subjective and does not necessarily represent the opinion of ELTAS

Book review: An A – Z of Coaching Reviewer: Jennie Wright

BOOK REVIEW

Jennie Wright is a teacher, presenter,

blogger and ELT author based in

Germany. Her blog

http://teflhelperblog.wordpress.com/

features free professional develop-

ment resources and she co-authored

Experimental Practice in ELT:

Walk on the wild side.

ELTAS NEWS | 30

As a client/student who has become a good friend, Beate Bretzger has always inspired me. A successful woman in the male dominated engineering world, she has never lost her sense of fun. She combines tough business and staff decisions with the joys of beings a wife, mother and grandmother. As the manager of Euro-engineering’s most successful branch in Stuttgart, she was, for a long time, the only woman branch manager and the only one who did not have an engineering background. Euro-engineering is one of the leading European engineering service compa- nies and has 37 offices in Germany. So, what is the secret of her success? I asked her.

“Good networks, having a mentor in the company and lifelong learning,” she said with her wide grin, which, I am sure, is also a key to her success. The then divorced mother of two sons now in their thirties worked

part-time and obtained her econom-ics degree in 1999. True to her belief in lifelong learning, she went on to become a certified automotive project manager in 2004, a certified business mediator in 2014 and a certified DISC personal assessment trainer in 2016. She also became patron of the in-house training Campus in 2014.

She joined Euro-Engineering in 1998 and built up the Stuttgart office with a male colleague. In the begin-ning, she did a typical woman’s job: HR and office manager. However, after having successfully built up a large client base including the world’s largest supplier of automotive com-ponents in Stuttgart Gerlingen, she was promoted to Branch Manager in 2008. She knew the men in the company were keeping a very close eye on her, but then she had also become familiar with their strategies. “Right after my promotion, I stayed up all night reading “Die Spiele der

Macht” (Power Games)”, she told me. She also took note that her male colleagues were interested – and still are – in the car she drives, so it comes as no surprise to see her driving a sleek and powerful sports car.

Beate also believes in building wom-en’s networks inside and outside the company. Her success in the field has motivated women in the company to move up the ranks.

Finally, Beate describes herself as a people person. She has earned the affection of her young staff who describe her as “always in a good mood and always looking on the bright side of life.” She is also not afraid to ask her client if she doesn’t have the technical answer. “Display lots of self-confidence, even if you have to bluff a little,” she told me.

Beate inspires me because she is successful, feminine, universally liked and has a great sense of humour.

ARTICLE

A student who inspires me: Beate Bretzger – a successful woman in a man’s world Author: Rebecca Sprengel

Rebecca and Beate

31 | ELTAS NEWS

Imprint

Editors: Rebecca Sprengel, Kiara Graves, Katrin Beringer, Andy Yarahmadi

Designer: Christian Köhler, Frankfurt

Project Coordinator: Katrin Beringer

Advertising: Andy Yarahmadi

Proofreaders: Rebecca Sprengel and Kiara Graves

Cover Photo: MelSi, Pixabay.com

Photos: Andy Vogt-Nas, Frances Böttinger, Rudi Distl, Mauline Lawrence, Katrin Beringer

Publisher: Verlag Durchblick GmbH, Mühlacker, www.durchblick-online.de

Illustrations: p. 16, 17, Christian Köhler

English Language Teachers’ Association Stuttgart e.V. (ELTAS) was founded in 1989 as a professional association based in Stuttgart, Germany, with the aim of providing a forum for the professional development of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language. Since its inception, ELTAS has grown into a recognised body registered under German law as a non-profit-making charitable association (gemeinnütziger e.V.). ELTAS NEWS is a non-commercial publication serv-ing the professional interests of English language teachers in Germany. This association in its production and distribu-tion is non-profit-making, charitable organisation registered under German law. The views expressed in ELTAS NEWS are not necessarily those of the editorial team or of ELTAS. All material (contents and layout) is copyright and may not be reproduced without express permission. All enquiries for permission to reprint should be directed to the edito-rial team. Copyright: ELTAS accepts full responsibility for the originality of the content of the contributions. Where copyright material has been reprinted, every effort has been made to contact the copyright owners. We apologize for any omissions and will rectify them when details are supplied.

© 2018 ELTAS e.V.

All rights reserved.

English Language Teachers’ Association Stuttgart e.V.

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Sprachen fürs Leben!

For further information visit www.klett-sprachen.de/delta

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Real Business English Student’s Book with MP3 CD

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Real Business EnglishDeveloped together with inter­nationally operating companies in Germany, it is ideal for in­house training.

BUSINESS ENGLISH

BUSINESS SKILLS ACADEMIC PURPOSES

Delta Business Communication SkillsA series designed to help learners to master 8 communication skills required in international business

Heads upHeads Up is a practical student­based speaking course, perfect for short Business English courses and in­house training.

International Management EnglishSeries of 4 titles covering key aspects of international business operations

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EXAM PREPARATION

Delta Academic ObjectivesThis series of 3 course books is designed to help students adapt to the challenge of academic study in English.

IELTS AdvantageThis series of 3 titles offers step­by­step guidance to achieving high IELTS speaking, listening and writing scores.

In 2017, Delta Publishing, an award­winning ELT publisher, merged with Ernst Klett Sprachen. Delta has been publishing creative ELT material for over 20 years, strongly believing in offering teachers well­designed, innovative and fundamentally practical material.

DELTA PUBLISHING

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