The pre-season seminar/workshop was held on Saturday 24th June at Ace English Malta . It was very well attended by around 120 members. According to the positive feedback we received, it was a very useful and productive morning for all. The workshops were as follows:
FIRST SESSION Adrian Theuma:A Picture Speaks a Thousand WordsDo you have an upper-intermediate class asking for a lesson on idiomatic phrases? An intermediate class with problems remembering collocations? Maybe even a beginner class that needs to work on vocabulary and word associations? In this session, I will use Word Dominoes™ in practical and fun activities to use in such situations, guaranteed to stick in your students' minds and liven up vocabulary lessons.
Alan Marsh: Beginnings(repeat session from AGM 2018) Rapport building with a new class on their first day is, of course, essential: but students also need to feel that they have begun to learn and make progress. In this workshop, Alan will be sharing some ideas for setting up a new class, mixing icebreakers with a language focus, so that students go away feeling both happy and challenged, language-wise.
Justyna Rogers: Learning in the Wild – Extending Learning Outside the Classroom.This workshop is designed for teachers who teach conversation classes and take their students outside of the schools. I believe that many schools in Malta offer a great opportunity for foreign students to practise their skills in a real-life, native English environment. This session will look at a variety of speaking activities which can be organised outdoors and will also offer an opportunity to reflect on benefits for students.
Natasha Fabri: Presentations – Business English and beyond.What makes a great public speaker? What makes for a great presentation? How can you make your delivery better in terms of planning and delivery? In this interactive session, we will explore simple but effective ways to increase learners’ confidence when presenting, particularly from a Business English perspective.
Norman Borg: BYOD/T – The Bare Essentials.Imagine an Internet-intensive activity in a classroom where there are no computers or interactive whiteboards but only the students’ personal tablets and smartphones. The main objective of this session is to make participants aware that it takes very little effort to use technology in a bare classroom with no technological equipment, by providing tried and tested activities using only students’ devices.
SECOND SESSION Alan Marsh: Plan B – Saving the day with no materials! (repeat session from MATEFL January 2016 with some changes) Has it ever happened to you? Electricity cut? Or the DOS changes your class at the last moment? Or s/he asks you to take in some extra students because their teacher is ill? And you have nothing prepared! Here are some techniques and activities to get you through the morning. And you don’t need to copy or download anything! Aimed at Pre-Intermediate classes and above. Jean Theuma: Game on!Teaching teenagers can be tough! But one way to tackle this is by using material which taps into many students’ enjoyment of competitive activities. In this session, we will explore some flexible game formats which can be adapted easily to include various topics and language points, how to make games into teaching tools, and tips to make sure your class stay engaged.
Karin Grech: Art in the EFL Classroom (repeat session from November 2017) As a response to a growing interest in art tourism, Karin has created “Art”-themed materials for her EFL classes and in this workshop she shares some of them. These include a creative introduction activity for all levels and hours of material for higher-level learners.
Pam Borg: To App or Not to App – that is the question!We will be looking at how to incorporate apps into English language teaching and learning. Plus, some simple lesson ideas for activities for students using their mobile phones. We will consider classroom management issues, share our experiences and try out some innovative applications, so BYOD!