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Good morning
Here we are in the middle of the first IATEFL conference online (it started yesterday and finishes tomorrow). I gave my talk yesterday and have been to a few others, so I'll dedicate next week's newsletter to telling you something about it, but I thought I'd wait until it was over. This week, I've got a game of two halves for you. Some videos on instruction giving and checking for trainees and novice teachers, and some more research-based CPD for those of you with more experience. Here we go...
Something old
A couple of weeks ago, another CELTA tutor (thanks Jean!) asked me if I'd make a video about Instruction Checking Questions and I've done this (see below), but I thought that at the same time it might be useful to also include a video I made a few years ago on giving clear instructions. You can find it here, but you might also like to see (for a Sunday morning smile) a video example of (deliberately) bad instructions and a Monty Python example of instructions. Enjoy.
Something new
OK - you've given clear instructions (you think) but how do you know that they've understood you? Instruction Checking Questions (ICQs) are something that you will definitely hear about if you are doing a CELTA course and this video will talk you through what ICQs are, why they're useful and some potential problems with them.
Something borrowed
Finally, sometimes it really amazes me how much is out there on the net for free. This series of papers from Cambridge University Press on digital pedagogy is a good example. If you follow the link and scroll down, you'll be able to access four really well researched papers on Using mobiles in the classroom, Blended language learning, Developing critical thinking in EAP programmes and Personalization in adaptive learning technology. None of these are light reads, but they're all thought provoking, so if you feel like a bit of depth to your CPD this week, challenge yourself to choose one and read it.
See you next week and hope you have a great one.
Best
Jo