Course description:
The idea behind the course is that as language teachers we are generally focused on questions like ‘What am I going to teach?’ and ‘How should I do that?’. This is ok – up to a point.
I believe that beyond this point, we need to ask ourselves two very different questions: ‘What is it that makes my students tick?’ and ‘How can I engage them?’
To answer these questions, I have looked at the field of applied psychology and I have selected a number of practical ideas which can help the language teacher in her day-to-day work.
This course will present research findings relevant to us and our teaching context and then look at how we can apply these in practice. At each step, participants will be encouraged to experience the various activities so they can get a feel for what they are like from the students’ point of view.
Each of the sessions contains at least four easy and practical activities that teachers can use in their classes immediately.
Course details:
The course covers the following topics:
- Liking: This session looks at practical ideas for how we can get students to like each other (and like the teacher too).
- Habits: This session looks at practical ways of helping students develop good learning habits to improve their English.
- Motivation: This session looks at ways in which we can increase student motivation both in class and when students are studying on their own.
- Activities: This session looks at some activities which have greater motivational potential than others and aims to uncover their secret ingredients.
- Sociality: This session looks at the importance of interpersonal relationships in class and the activities we can use to boost class cohesion.
- The Teacher: This session looks at some elements which can make the teacher more likeable and more effective in influencing his/her students.
The course aims to give participants clear tips about what they should do and what they should avoid, as well as demonstrate at least 24 practical activities which can be used immediately in both a face-to-face and an online setting.
