What's happening in November 2023?
Whether you are a teacher or a teacher educator, this page gives you an overview of all the activity happening across our TeachingEnglish channels in November 2023.
For teachers this month, we'll be focusing on the theme of 'Managing resources', and 'Climate action' in celebration of the UN Climate change conference. For teacher educators, the focus is 'Supporting ongoing teacher professional development'. If you're interested in these themes, see below for information about:
- Current and upcoming free online training courses
- Upcoming online events and webinars for teachers and teacher educators
- Facebook and Instagram Live events
- Podcasts
- Current research and insights
In addition to our monthly themed events and content, we also have hundreds of lesson plans and classroom resources. Below we've selected some lesson plans connected to United Nations special days this month.
Online training courses
Our tutored course for the month is 'Climate action in language education'. Live events and discussions related to this course are hosted in our Courses for teachers community on Facebook. Find out about 'Climate action in language education' and all other courses open in November below.
- Climate action in language education
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Learn to integrate environmental issues in English language teaching and develop the skills you need to take and sustain meaningful and impactful action to protect the environment in your local context.
In this free 4-week online course, you will learn about the following:
-Introducing climate change issues into language teaching classes
-Developing and delivering lessons with a sustainability focus
-Making sustainability part of your learners' lives
Find out more and enrol on this free course - Creative resources for primary
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Inspire your primary learners by learning how to make high-quality resources out of creative and sustainable teaching materials. Develop your learners’ language and oral skills through effective use of resources such as flashcards, big books, and puppets.
In this free online course, you will learn about the following:
-Understanding flashcards for primary
-Understanding picture books for primary
-Understanding puppets and masks for primary
Find out more and enrol on this free course - How to teach vocabulary
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Help your learners notice, record, recycle and use new vocabulary more confidently with engaging, classroom activities.
In this free online course, you will learn about the following:
-Understanding vocabulary
-Engaging with vocabulary - recording and recycling
-Engaging with vocabulary teaching
Find out more and enrol on this free course - How to teach listening
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Develop your understanding of speaking skills and explore teaching techniques and activities which promote oral communication in the classroom for a range of ages and levels.
In this free online course, you will learn about the following:
-Understanding listening skills
-Engaging with listening - active listening
-Engaging with listening - strategies
Find out more and enrol on this free course
Online events and webinars
See our free online events and webinars for teachers and teacher educators below.
- Active learning methodologies - mini-event (17 November) (rescheduled from 10 November)
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This event will feature three webinars with ELT teachers and experts from around the world. All three webinars will help English teachers think about how they plan activities and lessons that involve active learning methodologies. The webinars are for teachers of primary, secondary and young adult English language learners.
Schedule and speakers
13.00pm - 14.00pm UK: Big ideas for little minds! STEAM in the YL EFL class (Eugenia Dell'Osa)
14.15pm - 15.15pm UK: Piloting PBL in the primary classroom (Ahisha Haneef)
15.30pm - 16.30pm UK: Teaching your students to learn and unlearn (Manal Sabah)
13.00pm - 16.30pm (UK time).
Find out more and register for this online event. - Climate in the ELT classroom - mini event (27 and 28 November)
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This event will feature two webinars and two panel discussions with ELT teachers and experts from around the world. All four sessions will help English teachers think about how they engage their students with climate issues in the classroom. The webinars are for teachers of primary, secondary and young adult English language learners.
Schedule and speakers
27 November
11am - 12pm UK: Embedding climate action into language classes (Cristiana Osan and Teo Naiba, Romania)
12pm - 12.40pm UK: Climate action in the classroom - practical ideas (panel discussion) (Hala Gharib, Tahany Rushdy, Heba Mohamed, Ghada, Egypt)
28 November
11am - 12pm UK: A cross-curricular approach to climate education (Cristiana Osan and Teo Naiba, Romania)
12pm - 12.40pm UK: Engaging learners in climate action - challenges and success stories (panel discussion) (Iman Hassan Zain, Shaimaa Hassan, Osama Mekki, Egypt)
Find out more and register for this online event. - Supporting new teachers: Insights from the education system in England (21 November)
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Please note the content of this webinar is not aimed at teachers, and is specifically for teacher educators who have a role in supporting the professional development of English language teachers.
How to prepare student teachers and support them in their first few years in school is a fundamental consideration for education systems around the world. In this webinar we discuss how this is approached in England. Will Grant, Programme Lead for the Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Secondary) at the University of West England, provides an overview of the different routes into teaching in the state system and the typical focus, content and aims of preservice education in England.
12.00pm - 13.00pm (UK time).
Find out more and register for this online event. - Facebook and Instagram Live events in November 2023
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Join our online community of more than 4 million teachers worldwide. We will be hosting weekly events throughout November via our Facebook and Instagram channels.
These 30-minute 'live' sessions are a great opportunity for you to join teachers from around the world.
Engage with English language teaching experts and community members on a range of topics and themes to help you develop your teaching skills, and share ideas and questions with a vibrant global online community.
See what's happening in our community on Facebook
See what's happening in our community on Instagram
For the classroom
See a selection of lesson plans below that you can use to focus on United Nation Special Days in November in your language teaching classrooms.
- International day against violence and bullying at school including cyberbullying (4 November)
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Title of lesson plan: Is it because?
Age group: Primary
Level: A2 (9-10 years)
This is a series of activities and related worksheets for you to download and use with the storybook Is it because? Learners will make an anti-bullying poster and give a presentation of the story. It forms part of the Promoting diversity through children's literature series, produced by the British Council Teaching Centre in Paris.Title of lesson plan: Anti-bullying
Age group: Secondary
Level: B1 and above
In this lesson, students will learn about the problem of bullies and how to behave if you are a bystander. Note that there is no emphasis on victims of bullying, because you may have victims in your own class and it is important to be sensitive about this. The aim is not to point the finger at anyone, but instead to discuss and question our beliefs about what bullying is and how it can be dealt with.Title of lesson plan: The Copy
Age group: Secondary
Level: B1 and above
This kit is based on a story by Paul Jennings, the third of his stories subjected to the BritLit treatment. Like most of Jennings' tales it centres on a hapless school student who, in this case, tries to find an ingenious way to shake off the bully who has been tormenting him and, at the same time, keep his girlfriend. - World Science Day for Peace and Development (10 November)
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Title of lesson plan: Asking for change
Age group: Secondary
Level: B2 and above
In this lesson, students will read some extracts from famous speeches asking for change, analyse the use of rhetoric (ethos, pathos and logos) in these speeches and then work to write their own persuasive speeches asking for change. - International Day for Tolerance (16 November)
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Title of lesson plan: A Multicultural Society
Age group: Secondary
Level: B2 and above
These materials are based around the different ethnic minority groups which make up the UK population. There are a range of reading and discussion tasks, which enable students to reflect on their own culture and minorities within it.Title of lesson plan: Changing ideas of beauty
Age group: Secondary
Level: B2 and above
This lesson plan for adults and teenagers explores the concept of beauty. The lesson begins with students looking at a photo of a young woman with vitiligo and discussing their reactions to the photo. They then go on to read about a model with vitiligo, Chantelle Brown-Young (also known as Winnie Harlow), and discover what makes her special.Title of lesson plan: Othello
Age group: Secondary
Level: B2 and above
This lesson uses Othello to explore early modern and contemporary attitudes to race and gives students supported practice in analysing and interpreting extracts of the play. Students will be introduced to four key characters, will engage in role play and will use persuasive language to act out a mock court case. The session culminates in a discussion of how current issues pertaining to race interact with those in the play, and can be extended by writing a formal letter. - World Children's Day (20 November)
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Title of lesson plan: Politics and youth
Age group: Secondary
Level: B2 and above
This lesson plan for teachers of teenage and adult students at Intermediate level and above is based on the theme of politics. Students will develop reading and speaking skills and revise language of politics.Title of lesson plan: Young market traders
Age group: Secondary
Level: B2 and above
Young market traders is a complete set of teaching resources designed around interesting and unusual photographs with activities to activate your students' higher level critical thinking skills. This pack deals with the topics of travel, lifestyle, childhood and child labour and practises both listening and speaking skills. - World Television Day (21 November)
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Title of lesson plan: Young people and television
Age group: Secondary
Level: A2 and above
This lesson plan for teachers of teenagers and adults at pre intermediate level explores the theme of TV programmes. Students will make a poster and develop speaking skills in the form of a role play.Title of lesson plan: Rants and raves: TV recorder
Age group: Secondary
Level: B1 and above
This activity provides short listening practice based around a monologue about the benefits of a TV recorder.Title of lesson plan: Rants and raves: TV talent shows
Age group: Secondary
Level: B1 and above
This short listening practice activity is based around someone complaining about talent shows on television.Title of lesson plan: Rants and Raves - Reality TV
Age group: Secondary
Level: B1 and above
This activity provides short listening practice based around a monologue regarding reality TV in the UK. The monologue provides observations of reality TV. - UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 28) (30 November)
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Title of lesson plan series: Climate Action in Language Education
Bring environmental issues and the fight against the climate crisis into your classroom with these twelve lesson plans. This series of lesson plans provides teachers with step-by-step guidance and resources to help to address issues of sustainability in the classroom.
Podcast episodes
See all our podcast episodes connected to November's themes below.
- The Climate Connection
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The Climate Connection is a ten-part podcast series from the British Council which explores the relationship between the climate crisis and language education.
Across the ten episodes, you'll hear from a wide range of leading practitioners working in the sector – teachers, trainers, researchers, publishers and authors. We’ll travel from Colombia to China, Moldova to Mali, and Palestine to Poland in our quest to share what’s happening at the cutting edge of climate action in language education.
Listen to all the episodes and download the show notes
Publications, research, and insight
See our publications related to November's themes below.
- Managing resources self-study booklet
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This self-study guide for teachers and teacher educators looks at managing resources. It forms part of a series of self-study booklets, in which teachers will find useful theory and practice for teaching English effectively, including short case studies and professional development activities to do individually and with colleagues.
Managing resources self-study booklet - Climate action in language education: Activities for low resource contexts
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This publication provides teachers with a bank of thirty activities, based on ten climate change themes, with step-by-step guidance for each activity. They are an ideal starting point to help to address issues of sustainability in the classroom. The activities cover a range of levels and age groups, and each explores climate change through one of ten topics, from sports to storms and from farming to fashion. They are designed with flexibility in mind, can be integrated within existing curricula and are all designed for contexts without access to audio equipment, printing or photocopying facilities.
Climate action in language education: Activities for low resource contexts