Newsletter 2021#30

Good morning

This newsletter is going to be a little bit different to my usual one. I've got a new free video for you and a great 'borrowed' link, but I've also got something exciting to share.  Last week I gave you a hint and now I'm ready to tell you all about it. Here we go...

Something very new and exciting

Making educational videos has been a big part of my life for the past decade. What started out as an interesting hobby has become a very significant factor in bringing me interesting freelance opportunities and has grown into a way I can make a very good income from creative work that I can do when and where I want to - currently on a Greek beach.

In January, for the first time, I'm launching a new online eight week group programme called VoiCE - Video Creation for Educators. It's a bit different to my usual courses, because you'll work with a small group (I'm limiting numbers) with lots of support and feedback and over that two months I'll teach you everything I know about making engaging educational videos and help you in a very hands-on, practical way to make your own.

If you're a teacher who wants to attract more students or you've been asked to make more online material for your learners or you want to set up a business selling online courses and earn a passive income, video creation is a skill that will give you options, showcase your work and potentially change your life in the way that it's changed mine.

If you want more information about the programme, it's all here and if you think it might be for you, you can also book a zoom call with me at the same link to talk about it. Go have a look!

Something new

OK, enough about that. What else have I got for you? This week's free video is aimed mainly at trainees or novice teachers and it's all about the vital skill of eliciting vocabulary in the classroom. It goes through why you should do it, how you can do it and also highlights one of the big holes that novices often fall into when they try it. All in less than four and a half minutes! It's also the first video I filmed at my new flat... check it out.

Something borrowed

Finally, Hugh Dellar is someone whose work I really admire and he puts out a lot of useful material.  One of the things that I particularly like is the section on his blog called 'Chunk of the Day'. (There's also 'Intermediate word of the day', 'Phrase of the day' and 'Word of the day' - I'll leave you to explore). They're blog posts with useful chunks of language highlighted and some discussion questions at the bottom to encourage practice of the chunks. You can also  print it all out as a pdf for free. They're mostly for higher levels, but I could see how you could base really excellent lessons around these texts. If you want a recommendation, this recent one on 'having work done' is a great one both for lexical chunks and also for covering the active and passive voice and 'causative have' grammar. Enjoy.

Right, that's it. I hope that there was something in there to chew on over your coffee. Look forward to hearing from you if you want to talk about the VoiCE group programme and I'll see you next Sunday. Hope you have a great week,

Best

Jo