Challenges Solutions Resources Examples

1. Children are not used to reading on their own. How will they develop their language as well as critical thinking skills?

Read-aloud activities in the classroom. This excites studentsʼ interest and results in written projects, afterwards.

-School library- Ebooks available online- Local bookshops

Cʼ Class: Sherlock Holmes/ Aʼ Class: Jack and the Beanstalk. Students drew and described their favourite scenes.

2. All age groups tend to get bored with paper activities. Books, board games or even arts and crafts sometimes seem to be too predictable. How can we spice up the lesson?

Web-based activities that are endless, free of charge and can take a variety of forms. They can supplement any activity on the coursebook.

Inspiration can be found anywhere on the Internet: -Teachersʼ blogs-Lists of web resources-Social networking sites, e.g. Twitter and Facebook

Enriching the coursebook units about global warming and geocaching with additional links giving factual and visual information on the topics. See also the ECPE studentsʼ wiki.

3. The Net contains a vast array of information, puzzling both teachers and students. How can information be selected and employed in the lesson?

Planning is the key. Teachers should always prepare before a lesson, visiting sites and choosing the most appropriate ones. Then, they should structure the activities in the most pedagogically appropriate way.

- Online dictionaries/ encyclopedias/ videos for students to get acquainted with the basic words or concepts.- Teacherʼs (or class) blog including the numbered stages of the activity and the links/ videos/ images to be employed. -Studentsʼ blog/wiki/ wallwisher allowing them to organize the findings of their web research.

C2-level students have created wallwishers visualizing hunger as an unprecedented scourge. Moreover, they have gathered information about foreign customs, like the Independence Day. See also the activities about Teachersʼ Day, dictating the steps to be taken and linking to studentsʼ online work. See also my studentsʼ blogs.

4. How can teachers who are not tech savvies incorporate new technology in their classes?

Teachers should try to interconnect through social networking or by email and read edtech gurusʼ blogs. Creating a blog is vital, as all other online work can be embedded in it.

-List of technology tips for teachers on my EFL wiki- List of web tools- Presentation on how blogs

can be used in EFL lessons-Posts intended for teachers

Embedded glogs, quizzes, wallwisher, PDF files, slides, photos and videos on Studentsʼ page, proving that blogs are the most useful teaching tool with great potential ahead.

Meeting everyday challenges in the EFL classroom by Christina Markoulaki