A Short Talk with Conversation!


Written by - Setareh Dabbagh
conversation between two people
Image by josemiguels from Pixabay

Hello everyone and welcome to my Language Teaching and Learning talk show. I’m Language Pedagogy and here with me is Conversation. Today we’re going to have a fantastic talk about the history and current standing of this amazingly popular ESL task. Well, I have been in this profession since day one and frankly I haven’t seen any classroom task as appealing to students as conversation, so I thought, why not sit together and talk?

Language Pedagogy: Thanks for being with us today. I am sure that our audience is excited to hear from you.

Conversation: Oh, glad to be heard.

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Online Success for TESL Ontario 2020 Virtual Conference


Written by - Svjetlana Vrbanic @lanavrb
Image source: TESL Ontario

As a TESL Ontario guest blogger and ESL teacher, I was excited to attend the TESL Ontario 48th Annual Virtual Conference held November 5-7. Called Resilience: Re-envisioning Language Education Together, the conference was held online using PheedLoop.

A virtual conference—who would have thought it?

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Symbolic New Materialism: From Theory to Practice


Written by - Guest Contributor

A Brief Introduction to New Materialism

The interconnectedness of two people's stories symbolized through this unique artwork
Image source: www.bigstockphoto.com

Consider how much time instructors and students spend in front of electronic screens and how essential technology has become within the last eight months. Meetings and lessons delivered via Zoom and other online platforms are the new normal. Given the challenging times that we are facing including new approaches to learning, living, and overcoming adversity, the idea of new materialism is gaining momentum.

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Summary of the #Representation in ELT discussion


Written by - teslontario

On October 23, 2020, teachers from Ontario and other provinces gathered on Twitter to discuss representation in ELT (English Language Teaching). This #teslONchat was a joint event with the popular #CdnELTchat. The hour-long chat was guest moderated by Tyson Seburn (@seburnt) while Vanessa Nino (@vnino23) kept the questions coming, and Jennifer Chow (@jennifermchow), Augusta Avram (@ELTAugusta), and Bonnie Nicholas (@BonnieJNicholas) from the #CdnELTchat team welcomed participants and kept the conversation flowing.

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I fell off my chair during my online class!


Written by - Azi Pordel
Happy Asian woman in hijab raising arms and stretching body while working with laptop in cozy cafe
Image Source: Bigstockphoto.com

Teachers have always been associated with having a lot of movement in their workplace. The nature of teaching and checking on students always allowed teachers to be ambulant and move around the classroom. However, COVID-19 has sent most ESL teachers home and behind their laptops all day long. Besides physical issues that sedentary behaviour can bring to everyone, it can affect the creativity and eagerness of teachers despite their good intentions. Here are five tips for those at home who feel the pain in their back and knees and want a change!

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Maintaining Balance & Thriving During COVID-19


Written by - Guest Contributor
Painted rocks, creative outlet, message of hope.
Image source: Gonul Turkdogan

What can EAP/ESL/EFL instructors do if they are laid off or have much reduced hours during COVID-19? This question concerns most of us. Like many others, I was laid off. I believe that with persistence and creativity we can stay positive. As examples to stimulate discussion, here are several things that I have found beneficial.  

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Organizing Teaching Materials in Google Classroom


Written by - Guest Contributor
E-learning graphic organizer depicting a computer screen.
Image by B_A from Pixabay

No matter how trivial it sounds, in an online class the organization of course content is absolutely essential. Let me share a few practical observations.

1. Materials and Assessments

The most basic organizational tenet of an online classroom stems from the platform itself: in my case it was Google Classroom which gives an opportunity to divide learning content into assignments, quiz assignments, questions, and materials within a section called Classwork. It is a slight deviation from the terminology usually employed in the LINC/ESL world, but one easy for learners to accept. Understanding the distinction between materials and the other options is primarily important for students.

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Peer Feedback: Not the Sandwich, but Sunny-Side-Up, Please


Written by - Cecilia Aponte-de-Hanna
Image source: www.bigstockphoto.com

Peer feedback (otherwise known as peer assessment) can be useful to both the receiver and the giver of the feedback as long as the feedback is meaningful. For this to happen, peer feedback needs to be constructive; it should start with a positive observation before pointing to an area or areas for improvement; and it should include a suggestion on how to improve, which means that the focus needs to be procedural. This is not the case in the sandwich feedback approach.

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How to Approach Creative Writing!


Written by - Setareh Dabbagh
Journal with title "Write Ideas" on it, next to a pencil.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Writing is an art, and art is supposed to be creative. But how come there’s a course called “Creative Writing?” How is this different from any conventional “Writing Course?” To be even more specific, should we have a course called – Creative Writing – in ESL, or can a conventional “Writing Course” do the job?

As an ESL teacher, I think that in the world of language pedagogy every piece of writing should be creative and therefore whether the course is called “Writing” or “Creative Writing,” creativity is an inherent part.

In this article, I’d like to share with you what happens when I teach a Writing course, which to me is no different than a Creative Writing course.

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